The old emperor was watching his daughter test the temperature of his medicine with a complicated expression when, in a second, the medicine and the bowl were smashed in his face.
"ah……"
The old emperor covered his face and cried out in pain.
The head eunuch standing nearby screamed and rushed forward to check.
"Your Majesty, His Majesty is injured! Quickly summon the imperial physician..."
"Yes, this servant will go right away."
A moment later, the old emperor removed his hand, revealing a gash on his forehead from which blood was gushing, and his old face was scalded red.
The old emperor was in so much pain that he was gasping for breath, but he looked much more energetic than his usual half-dead state.
Fu Gui said coolly, "It still takes my sister An'an to help. This is much more effective than taking medicine."
The head eunuch's voice trembled with fear: "Heavens! It's all blistered! How could Your Highness be so reckless? Damaging the Emperor's health is a grave crime!"
The old emperor endured the pain and said, "Huang'er didn't do it on purpose."
Qi An sneered inwardly, "This was not intentional; it was deliberate."
The bowl of medicine was only lukewarm, not hot at all, but Qi An deliberately heated it before throwing it in the old man's face.
Anyway, he only does shameless things, so his shamelessness is useless.
The chief eunuch, having received the Empress's favor, was about to continue trying to sow discord between Qi An and Qi An when Qi An slapped him away.
Blood mingled with teeth as it fell, and the eunuch's body flew through the air until it crashed into a jade screen, whereupon he fell to the ground unconscious.
The old emperor was startled: "Huang'er, you..."
Qi An said coldly, "You dog of a servant, how dare you criticize me, the princess?"
Turning to the old emperor, Qi An looked aggrieved: "Your subject didn't mean to, I just suddenly felt my arm go numb, that's why..."
She suddenly widened her eyes: "Your Majesty, I just took a sip. Could there be something wrong with the medicine? Father, please wait a moment. I will go and investigate immediately. If anyone dares to harm you, I will exterminate their entire family."
Upon hearing this, the old emperor struggled to sit up: "Cough cough, no need to go. This was personally prepared by Fuhai, there's absolutely no problem."
Fu Hai was the eunuch who was knocked unconscious by Qi An's slap.
"If Father says no, then no. Your son will go and make you another bowl."
After Qi An finished speaking, she turned and walked out. The old emperor had just breathed a sigh of relief when he saw her suddenly stop and turn back.
"Father said I am your pride?"
The old emperor nodded: "Of course, the Dayu royal family can't find a child more outstanding than you."
He sighed inwardly and added, "It's a pity she's a princess. If only she were a prince."
In this way, he wouldn't worry about the Nie family's empire changing hands after his death.
If only Nie Ming, that good-for-nothing, were half as good as Yu Huang.
Qi An, backlit, smiled slightly: "Father, rest assured, your son will definitely make you... even more proud."
The old emperor nodded with satisfaction: "Father believes in you."
Qi An walked out of the palace, just as the old imperial physician arrived with his medicine box. Upon seeing her, he quickly knelt down to pay his respects.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Eldest Princess."
"Get up, go and check on Father's burns. Also, check the remaining medicine on the ground to see if there's anything wrong with Father's medicine."
The old physician looked startled and immediately lowered his head to hide it: "Yes."
Qi An continued walking towards the outside of the palace: "I will personally prepare the medicine for my father."
Watching her leave, the old imperial physician was still in shock. Hearing the emperor call, he hurried inside.
After applying the medicine to the emperor, the old imperial physician looked at the spilled medicine on the ground and cautiously asked:
"Your Majesty, does the Eldest Princess...do she know?"
The old emperor shook his head: "She probably doesn't know. She was just worried about me, so...sigh..."
The imperial physician paused, a hint of reluctance flashing across his face.
"The princess is very filial to the emperor. She never entrusts the care of the emperor to anyone else. She even sends people out of the palace to post imperial notices to recruit folk healers, hoping that His Majesty will be healthy again."
The old imperial physician was the head of the Imperial Medical Academy and had watched Nie Yuhuang grow up; he simply couldn't bear to harm her.
But how could a mere imperial physician defy the emperor's decree?
He could only try to persuade the emperor to remember the princess's good qualities, to consider their familial bond, and to spare her.
The old emperor was visibly moved. After a moment of silence, he said, "Huang'er... she's very good, very good."
He closed his eyes briefly, then opened them again. The warmth was gone, replaced only by the coldness and ruthlessness of someone in a position of power.
“But I am first and foremost the emperor, and only secondly her father. For the sake of the stability of the empire, I… have no choice but to do this.”
The old doctor felt a chill in his heart and dared not offer any further advice.
The emperor continued, "When will the medicine take effect? She is already three months pregnant. If she miscarries later in the pregnancy, it could endanger her life."
The child must die, but Huang'er must protect the kingdom for him; nothing can happen to her.
The imperial physician said, "At most another month. By now, the princess's legs should already be starting to feel numb."
The emperor hardened his heart and said, "Increase the dosage. I... I don't have much time left."
"This old minister... obeys the decree."
Qi An and Fu Gui listened to every single word.
Fu Gui cursed, "Damn it, how shameless! What kind of father is this? It's disgusting!"
Qi An's voice was cold: "The old man wants to use Nie Yuhuang's abilities to protect his country, but he is also afraid that Nie Yuhuang will become greedy for imperial power and that his good-for-nothing son will be no match for her."
So they poisoned her beforehand, rendering her unable to have children, unable to leave the palace, and only able to serve as a tool in the transition of imperial power.
Fu Gui said angrily, "He wants it all, yet he has the nerve to say that Nie Yuhuang is his pride. How hypocritical!"
Qi An shrugged: "Actually, there's no conflict. Think about it, isn't he quite similar to some parents in the modern micro-world?"
Where are they similar?
Qi An shrugged: "Give love to the outstanding daughter, leave all the property to the good-for-nothing son, and then claim to the outside world that he loves his daughter the most."
Fu Gui: "...That's really true."
"Damn it, that old bastard doesn't have many days left to live. When are we going to send him to his grave?"
Qi An chuckled and shook his head: "Not only will we not kill him, we will also save him. It would be too easy for him to die now and be done with it."
“I want him to watch his worst fears come true one by one, such as being betrayed by everyone, having no descendants, and losing his country.”
Fu Gui clapped his hands: "Good, whatever he's afraid of, we'll do it."
Qi An stretched out his hand, and a bowl of medicine appeared in his palm.
"Not killing him for now doesn't mean he won't suffer. There are plenty of ways to make him wish he were dead."
Thinking of something, Qi An placed his palm on his lower abdomen, a red light flashed, and the tiny embryo disappeared.
When he returned to his bedchamber, the Empress Dowager and Nie Ming were also there.
Upon seeing her, Nie Ming fearfully hid behind the Empress Dowager.
Seeing this, the old emperor felt even more frustrated. How could he possibly hold onto his throne with such a cowardly attitude?
The Empress Dowager scolded, "Yu Huang, how can you be so useless? You even managed to burn your father while feeding him medicine."
Qi An shoved the scalding hot bowl into her hands: "You're useful, you feed her."
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