"Your Majesty, they are cursing Yunfei, cursing your most beloved Xiao Liu. How can I remain calm?"

Empress Chen's eyes were filled with tears and grief.

The emperor looked down at Xiao Yunfei, who was lying unconscious on the ground, and a trace of sorrow flashed across his face. But as the ruler of a country, he could not show his grief, no matter how sad he was.

The emperor sheathed the bloodstained knife back into the scabbard at the guard's waist. "You have failed in your duty to guard the weapons. Go and receive your punishment!"

"Yes, Your Majesty!"

The guard knelt on the ground and kowtowed deeply before heading to the Department of Punishments.

The Emperor then looked at Empress Chen and gently advised, "Don't worry. If the imperial physicians in the palace can't cure it, there are still famous doctors throughout the land. I will issue an edict to search far and wide for renowned doctors to treat Xiao Liu."

As the emperor finished speaking, someone in the crowd said, "I heard that Physician Jiang has recently come to the capital. Physician Jiang's medical skills are superb; he can bring the dead back to life and heal the wounded. If we can invite Physician Jiang here, he can surely save His Highness Prince Jin!"

Upon hearing this, Empress Chen's crying stopped abruptly. She looked at the guards and eunuchs behind her and roared, "Hurry up and fetch Physician Jiang for my son!"

Seeing that these people were going to "invite" Doctor Jiang, Shen Yuan knelt down on the ground with a thud.

"Your Majesty, I'm afraid it's too late. The poison in Prince Jin's body has already begun to spread!"

Upon hearing Shen Yuan's voice, everyone turned to look at Xiao Yunfei. They saw that his exposed skin was covered with purplish-red veins, which were becoming increasingly dark and turning black.

The heart meridian, which was originally protected by long needles, is now also tainted with poison, and even the needle tips are blackened by the poison.

Upon seeing this, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy knew something was wrong. After hesitating for a long time, he knelt down and stepped forward, saying, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty the Empress, the poison has spread to the heart. I'm afraid His Highness Prince Jin will not live to see the divine physician outside the palace!"

"Can't wait?"

Empress Chen's hopes, which had just been ignited, were extinguished by bucket after bucket of cold water, which she simply could not accept.

Enraged, she kicked the academy official away and then slapped Shen Yuan across the face.

With a sharp "smack," the razor-sharp, gold-plated armor grazed Shen Yuan's face, leaving a bloody mark. Bright red blood rolled down her fair cheeks, dripping onto her collar one after another, looking extremely horrifying.

Shen Yuan was knocked to the ground, but she got up again and knelt down properly.

"Your Majesty, please calm your anger!"

"Calm down? My son is dying, how can I calm down! Didn't you say you could protect my son's heart and stop the poison from spreading? Why has the poison spread now? It's you who's harming my son, it's you! Let me tell you, if my son doesn't survive, you won't survive either!"

Empress Chen bent down and pinched Shen Yuan's chin tightly with her fingertips, with such force that it seemed she could crush Shen Yuan's bones.

Shen Yuan frowned in pain.

Everyone who witnessed this scene was astonished, realizing that the usually gentle Empress Chen had such a cruel side.

They all felt sorry for Shen Yuan and that young imperial physician; this was truly an undeserved disaster!

Moreover, Shen Yuan clearly only said to postpone it, to buy time for Prince Jin and to get the imperial physician to come. She had already done that, but she was still angered by Empress Chen.

If I had known this would happen, I would have been better off not stepping forward to help treat and save lives.

Just as Empress Chen was venting her anger, the poison in Xiao Yunfei's body had completely spread throughout his body.

A pool of black blood flowed from the corner of his mouth, and the needles inserted into the acupoints on his body were all completely corroded black by the poison.

The head of the Imperial Medical Academy hurriedly reached out to feel Xiao Yunfei's pulse. He frowned and lifted Xiao Yunfei's eyelids to take a look, only to find that Xiao Yunfei's pupils had begun to dilate.

This time, there was no need for the imperial physician to say anything; everyone could see that Xiao Yunfei was completely beyond saving.

Empress Chen rushed forward, hugged Xiao Yunfei tightly, and cried, "Yunfei, Yunfei, please wake up! I beg you, please open your eyes and look at me!"

No matter how much Empress Chen cried out, Xiao Yunfei did not respond.

Among the crowd, Xiao Yuncheng's expression was beyond ugly; his face was deathly pale, and his eyes were filled with regret and fear.

He... he just wanted to teach his sixth brother a lesson, to stop his men from opposing him and to stop him from coveting things he shouldn't have.

He just wanted to make him look foolish so that his father and mother would dislike him.

He...he didn't want to kill him!

Just then, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy said again, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, I can buy you a moment to revive Prince Jin and allow him to leave a few words on his deathbed."

Upon hearing this, the emperor tilted his head back to hide the bitterness in his heart, took a deep breath, and said, "Agreed!"

Following the emperor's orders, the imperial physician carefully stepped forward, removed all the needles from Xiao Yunfei's body, and then took out a thin, long, three-edged needle and inserted it into Xiao Yunfei's forehead in an attempt to stimulate his consciousness.

Xiao Yunfei coughed dryly, vomiting a mouthful of blood again. His eyelashes trembled, and after a long while, he slowly opened his eyes and looked at Empress Chen, who was holding him.

"Mother...Mother..."

Empress Chen held Xiao Yunfei's hand and sobbed, "Fei'er, you...you just hold on a little longer. Your mother will definitely find a divine doctor to cure you. Please just hold on a little longer, okay?"

"Your son..."

I'm afraid I can't hold on any longer.

But... why is this happening?

The poison Xiao Yuncheng used was merely a potent aphrodisiac. After learning about this from the spy, he had already taken the antidote beforehand.

The poison he used was only one that appeared severe when it took effect, but in reality, it did not harm his body.

He only wanted to take advantage of Xiao Yuncheng's drugging of him to turn the tables on him and use his "illness" to force his father to depose the crown prince.

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