Shi Qi opened the door curtain for Ling Shumo, and was greeted by a strong herbal scent that was so strong that it made people want to vomit.
Looking inside, Ling Xihe was lying flat on the bed with her eyes closed. Lu Jinshu was sitting on a chair in front of her bed, a look of exhaustion evident between his brows.
Ever since his daughter fell ill, Lu Jinshu had skipped the morning and evening greetings from the other harem servants, concentrating solely on staying by his daughter's bedside. However, even if he shed many tears for Ling Xihe, it didn't help his daughter's condition in the slightest.
Jiufu heard a noise behind him and turned to see Ling Shumo striding in. He hurriedly tugged at Lu Jinshu's sleeve, saying anxiously, "Master, His Majesty has come to see the Highness. Don't just sit here. Hurry up and get up and greet His Majesty."
Jiufu urged him several times, but Lu Jinshu seemed deaf and continued to stare blankly at the unconscious Ling Xihe. Even when Ling Shumo walked to his side, he still did not react at all.
Lu Jinshu wore a crimson-purple dress embroidered with large crabapple blossoms. The waist of this dress should have been tied with a matching ribbon, outlining his perfect figure. But now, the ribbon was only tied loosely in a knot, and the double-layered skirt was particularly messy, making him look bloated, obviously not carefully groomed.
Looking at his hairstyle again, the wisps of hair clearly hadn't been washed in a few days. Two red gold filigree hairpins were inserted into his hair to secure it, which completely didn't match the clothes he was wearing today.
Lu Jinshu's face wasn't flawless; compared to the beauties in Ling Shumo's harem, his features were merely regular. His most striking feature, compared to the others, was his noble and graceful temperament.
In Ling Shumo's memory, on the day when she first uncovered Lu Jinshu's miserable life story, this man leaned against the window with his eyes lowered, like a snow-white orchid blooming in a deep valley. The alienation and loneliness emanating from his bones made people feel heartbroken when they looked at him.
The broken beauty of Lu Jinshu, the beautiful outline of his face when he turned sideways, and the faint shadows floating in his eyes, these complex and intertwined things in him have a fatal attraction for a woman.
All in all, Lu Jinshu in Ling Shumo's memory is definitely a beauty.
Now, when Ling Shumo went to see Lu Jinshu again, she only saw a slovenly and haggard man. Lu Jinshu's current appearance no longer held any allure for any woman who had even slightly seen the world. Not to mention, his wife was the ruler of a nation, having seen all manner of beauties. It was impossible for her to be interested in him in his current state.
Ling Shumo stared at Lu Jinshu's haggard face for a moment, lost in thought. She didn't feel disgusted, only heartache. Just how much mental torture must Lu Jinshu have endured to have ravaged him to this point? Ling Shumo had more than just Ling Xi and one other child. While it was true that she loved and cherished Ling Xihe the most, no one could deny that she would have more children in the future. But to Lu Jinshu, Ling Xihe was her only child.
Ling Shumo couldn't help but sighed, "Let's go serve the food first. If there's anything, we can talk after we finish eating."
The food was served on the table quickly.
On the table, the dishes were plentiful and fragrant, but Ling Shumo and Lu Jinshu found their food bland. The atmosphere was completely silent.
Ling Xihe had been comforted over and over again in the days since the accident, and Ling Shumo had already said all of them. She looked at Lu Jinshu, who was about to cry again, and she really didn't know what to say.
Ling Shumo had invested a great deal of energy in raising her daughter, Ling Xihe. This was her eldest daughter, her first child, and ultimately, she was unique. But now, the situation had become like this. Even though she was the supreme ruler, she felt helpless against Ling Xihe's illness. It felt like a huge stone was weighing her down, and Ling Shumo felt suffocated.
Lu Jinshu choked up and said, "Xihe must have been harmed by someone. She absolutely couldn't have run to the middle of the lake to play on her own. She must have been harmed... Your Majesty, Xihe is usually very playful, but you know she is definitely a child who knows her limits. I absolutely refuse to believe that she fell into the lake because of her playfulness. She must have been harmed by someone. Your Majesty, you must stand up for Xihe!"
Lu Jinshu stared at Ling Shumo without blinking, but Ling Shumo's response was a long silence. The day Ling Xihe fell into the lake, heavy snow fell from the sky, and any traces left on the shore were covered by the vast white snow.
Whether it was Lu Jinshu or Ling Shumo, they both sent people to repeatedly investigate the incident of Ling Xihe falling into the water at Qiong Yu Lake, but the results were very disappointing and they found nothing.
Lu Jinshu couldn't help crying out loud, Ling Shumo took him into her arms, her hands gently stroking Lu Jinshu's back, silently comforting him. Apart from this, there seemed to be nothing else she could do.
Ling Shumo's voice became a little hoarse. "You basically haven't touched the food on the table. I know you're upset, but you should at least eat something. Only when you're well can you take better care of Xihe, right?"
Lu Jinshu's voice was muffled. "I don't want to disappoint Your Majesty, but I simply have no appetite."
Ling Shumo couldn't bear to see Lu Jinshu torturing himself like this, so she used her chopsticks to pick up the crispy pork from the plate closest to her and passed the piece of meat to Lu Jinshu's lips, "I'm here to feed you myself, so eat a little, just as a token of my respect."
Lu Jinshu swallowed the small piece of crispy meat. Seeing that he was willing to eat, Ling Shumo continued to eat and picked up another piece of crispy meat with chopsticks and passed it to his lips. Lu Jinshu's lips opened slightly, and just as his upper and lower teeth bit the crispy meat, his expression suddenly changed.
Lu Jinshu used his tongue to push out the half-eaten piece of crispy meat. He turned his head, propped himself up on the table, and vomited onto the floor. There was nothing in his stomach to begin with, and apart from the piece of crispy meat he had just swallowed, he was left with only dry heaves.
Jiufu hurriedly brought the basin of water over.
Ling Shumo took a towel out of the basin, wrung it dry, and then carefully wiped the corners of Lu Jinshu's lips.
Seeing Lu Jinshu in such distress, Ling Shumo's accumulated rage threatened to explode the entire palace. Her eyes grew icy cold. "If Ling Xihe was really pushed into the lake by a villain, and I find out who murdered my daughter, I will throw him into a snake den and leave him to die."
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