The imperial physician returned beaming, took out the pill, and the other imperial physicians began to study it.

The food given to the emperor was of utmost importance and required special care, especially medicine. No one dared to give the emperor this pill rashly.

Normally, when imperial physicians administer medicine to the emperor, they must personally test the medicine to ensure there is no danger before the emperor can take it. But here there was only one pill, and it was gone after one test.

This pill, shaped like a pigeon egg, was dark and wrapped in a dirty piece of oiled paper; it looked utterly unreliable.

After smelling the pill, the imperial physicians all shook their heads. The pill had no medicinal smell at all, but instead smelled strongly of mud. It was clearly a lump of black mud.

Could this be considered medicine? Would it have any effect? ​​No one could guarantee it. The imperial physicians remained silent, unsure of what to do.

But at this time, the emperor's condition was critical and there was no cure. If things continued like this, the emperor would not last much longer.

The imperial physicians informed the Fourth Prince and the court officials of the matter, and they were to decide whether to administer the medicine to the emperor.

Everyone stared at the pill, shaking their heads repeatedly. Could this even be considered medicine? The Fourth Prince suspected that it was just mud pills made by the old Taoist priest digging mud out of his feet.

Whether this pill is effective or not, no one can say for sure; you'll only know once you've used it.

At this moment, an imperial physician spoke up: "I have a way that may be able to test whether this medicine is effective for the emperor."

The Fourth Prince was delighted upon hearing this and said, "What method do you want to use? Tell me quickly."

"We can place this pill near the emperor's nose while he is asleep, allowing him to inhale the medicinal aroma. At the same time, we can take his pulse. If the medicine is effective, we can sense it through changes in the emperor's pulse and complexion."

Based on these circumstances, we will then decide whether or not to administer medicine to the emperor.

Everyone nodded; it seemed that this was the only way.

When the group arrived at the imperial bedchamber, the emperor, who had just taken his medicine, looked pained.

So far, the Emperor has been bedridden for more than twenty days, in a daze every day, unable to move, and feeling worse than dead.

Upon seeing the Fourth Prince arrive, the Emperor struggled to open his eyes, his gaze filled with longing.

The Fourth Prince sat by the bed and grasped the Emperor's hand, which was as cold as iron and devoid of any warmth.

The emperor opened his mouth and spoke in an extremely weak voice, "Has Qing'er returned?"

The Fourth Prince felt a pang of anxiety. The Emperor's eagerness to see Li Guang indicated that he had realized his days were numbered.

"Your Majesty need not worry. Qing'er will be able to return to the capital in a few days. The imperial physician says that Your Majesty's condition has improved."

"It won't be long before His Majesty recovers and is able to resume his duties. The Great Northern Dynasty cannot be without an Emperor."

The emperor forced a smile and said, "Your Highness need not comfort me. I am well aware of my condition. What I need to do now is to hand over the throne to Qing'er and watch him govern the country."

"A country cannot be without a ruler for even a day. I have been bedridden for over twenty days, and the affairs of the court have piled up like a mountain. I urgently need Qing'er to return and manage them."

The emperor's few words moved everyone around him; even in his illness, the emperor still cared about state affairs.

The officials and imperial physicians all knelt down and said, "We are incompetent, Your Majesty has suffered."

After saying these words, the emperor used up all his strength and quickly fell into a deep sleep.

Seeing that the emperor was asleep, several imperial physicians came over. They were going to test the pill to see if it would be effective for the emperor.

The imperial physicians surrounded the bed. Some took the emperor's pulse, some observed his complexion, and others held pills in front of his nose so that he could inhale the medicinal smell.

The Fourth Prince and the ministers watched from the sidelines. Apart from the Fourth Prince, the other ministers had no idea what the imperial physicians were doing.

Gradually, the emperor began to react. The most obvious sign was his heartbeat quickening, which could be felt from his pulse. In addition, his breathing also became noticeably faster.

The imperial physicians were delighted. It seemed that the pill should be effective. A stroke occurs when blood vessels in the brain are blocked, preventing blood circulation and causing stroke symptoms.

If this medicine can restore blood circulation to the brain, the stroke symptoms will gradually disappear, and the emperor's condition will improve.

Just as the imperial physician was getting excited, the emperor suddenly coughed and vomited up all the medicine he had just drunk. At the same time, he lost control of his bladder and bowels, and a foul smell quickly filled the entire palace.

Everyone was terrified, and the imperial physicians quickly collected the pills and began emergency treatment for the emperor.

What was originally thought to be a very safe testing method turned out to be in this state. If the emperor hadn't caught his breath, they would have become the sinners of the Great Northern Dynasty.

After the imperial physicians provided emergency treatment, the emperor's cough subsided, but his condition was not optimistic; he had already fallen into a coma.

It took a lot of effort for everyone to clean up what the emperor had expelled, and only then did the unpleasant smell lessen.

In the following days, the emperor remained in a daze, and his condition worsened. Previously, the emperor's mind was still somewhat clear, and although his speech was slurred, it was still possible to understand what he was saying.

Now look what's happened! The emperor only smelled this pill and he's already like this. If he were to take it, wouldn't it be the death of the emperor?

The imperial physician, who had obtained the pills, trembled with fear. Now was not the time to settle scores with him; he would just have to see if the emperor could pull through in the next few days.

Four or five days later, the emperor finally regained consciousness. It seems that the emperor had just been on the verge of death, but in the end, he did not go in.

Seeing this, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. The Fourth Prince leaned down and whispered something in his ear.

"How is Your Majesty feeling? Is there anything you wish to say?"

At this moment, the emperor was very weak and unable to move; only his lips trembled slightly.

The Fourth Prince put his ear close to the Emperor's mouth, and the Emperor's mouth trembled for a long time before he finally uttered a single word.

"Hungry……"

The emperor had not eaten or drunk anything for many days. Even a healthy person would find it unbearable, let alone a seriously ill patient.

The emperor has just woken up and feels hungry, which means he wants to eat something, and that's a good thing.

"His Majesty wants to eat, so please prepare it quickly and let His Majesty eat," the Fourth Prince said excitedly.

In fact, the emperor's food had already been prepared, but given his health condition, he could only eat liquid food.

This liquid food is a rice porridge made from rice water, which is not only nutritious but also easy to digest.

The rice porridge was then served, and someone lifted the emperor's head up while a eunuch fed him little by little with a small spoon.

Some time ago, when the eunuchs fed the emperor, he would vomit it up immediately after it went in.

This time it was different. After feeding him several times, the emperor reacted well and showed no signs of vomiting.

Everyone was overjoyed. The emperor's ability to eat would alleviate his illness, and eating more would help him fight off the disease.

After the emperor ate half a small bowl of rice porridge, the imperial physicians forbade further feeding. The key was to feed him small amounts frequently. If the emperor was fed too quickly, he would spit out the rice porridge, and all the previous efforts would be wasted.