Chapter 502 Arong, that's different.
Xuan Ting sniffed, then nodded heavily, and was led out the door by Commander Liu, looking back every few steps.
Then the Emperor glanced at Eunuch Li.
Eunuch Li immediately arranged for someone to take Jiang Nuanzhi and Doctor Que to the inner room.
The room fell silent again. Chi Heng sat down impatiently on the floor, looked at the Emperor, let out a heavy sigh, and remained silent.
He looked at Li Rong again, and remained silent for a long time before lowering his head, seemingly lost in thought.
In a daze, it started to snow, and the wind whistled through the cracks in the window that had just been opened, carrying snowflakes in.
The emperor, who hadn't seen the wind for several days, suddenly sensed the clear air and took a deep breath.
The cold air made his throat itchy, and he coughed again.
The next second, a handkerchief was handed to him from the side. The emperor subconsciously took it, and when he looked up, he saw that the person who handed him the handkerchief was none other than Li Rong.
He took it in a daze, then a smile crept onto his lips. But there was a hint of sadness in that smile.
“Arong, you’ve finally become a little closer to me. Even as I’m dying, I’m happy.”
Li Rong pursed her lips, then glanced at Chi Heng: "Close the window."
With his eyes lowered, he handed over the teacup beside him: "Would Your Majesty like some tea?"
The Emperor shook his head, watching Li Rong put down the tea. Seeing that Li Rong was guarding his bedside and hadn't left, the Emperor was stunned for a moment. After a while, he spoke again: "Arong, Xuan Ting... he's only ten years old. I'll say it again, can you help me protect him?"
Li Rong lowered his eyes and sighed after a long while: "Why are you doing this? You know I'm also on the verge of death. Anuan said that if my poison isn't cured, I won't last two months."
You know perfectly well that, whether for the sake of the nation, for myself, or for the Li family, Xiao Yuanshan and I are destined to be enemies to the death. Regardless of whether you speak or not, I will stand behind Xuan Ting.
The Emperor gave a faint, dazed laugh, the dried black bloodstains on his lips cracking open. His voice was gentle: "Arong, that's different."
Li Rong lowered his eyes and said after a while, "Anuan hasn't said that you can't cure her yet, so don't worry too much and wait patiently."
The Emperor's smile deepened slightly, and after a long while, he finally replied, "Alright."
Then, I lay back down.
For a moment, only the whistling wind could be heard inside the room, along with the faint voices of Jiang Nuanzhi, Doctor Que, and others talking in the small room.
A silence spread through the room.
Chi Heng squatted there sighing, while Li Rong sat guarding the entrance to the bedroom, also keeping his eyes down and remaining silent.
The emperor, lying on the dragon bed, gazed at the draped bedspread, lost in thought. After a while, perhaps truly exhausted, he gently closed his eyes and fell asleep.
Jiang Nuanzhi was so busy that it was already dark when she left the palace.
Today, due to the heavy snow, the entire sky is shrouded in mist. On the long bluestone path leading out of the palace, between the red walls and green tiles, the snow falls softly, creating a unique scene.
However, none of them were in the mood to appreciate it. Each was lost in their own thoughts.
Jiang Nuanzhi was holding Xuan Ting's small hand and could even feel his little body trembling. Seeing that they were almost out of the palace gates, she sighed softly, stopped, tilted the umbrella in the palace servant's hand towards Xuan Ting's head, and then knelt down to look at him.
"Xuan Ting."
Xuan Ting clenched his fingers tightly, his eyes already red and swollen. Hearing Jiang Nuanzhi call his name softly and gently, the tears he had been holding back burst forth again: "Aunt Nuan."
His voice was still trembling, and his eyes, filled with tears, looked at Jiang Nuanzhi: "It's my fault. I didn't invite the Imperial Advisor to treat Father Emperor."
As his son, I had no idea that my father was so seriously ill. He even insisted on leaving the palace to play.
"It's my fault. My father was assassinated, and I couldn't do anything about it."
The little boy's eyes were already filled with boundless hatred.
Jiang Nuanzhi let out a long sigh, concealing his eyes, which were filled with emotion. She also wiped away the tears on his cheeks.
"Xuan Ting, do you believe Aunt Nuan?"
When Jiang Nuanzhi removed her hand again, large tears welled up in Xuan Ting's red eyes once more.
"Aunt Nuan, I believe in you. You can cure Father Emperor, right?"
Jiang Nuanzhi held his cold little hands in her own: "Trust Aunt Nuan, Aunt Nuan has a few things to tell you."
Upon hearing this, Xuan Ting tensed up and stared intently at Jiang Nuanzhi.
"First of all, you are very good, you have never been bad. Aunt Nuan was your age and was not even half as good as you are now."
"Secondly, regarding your father's illness, Aunt Nuan needs to go back and study it carefully with the Imperial Advisor before she can give you an answer. Aunt Nuan assures you that she will do her best."
Xuan Ting looked at Jiang Nuanzhi through teary eyes: "Aunt Nuan, tell me the truth, is Father... really about to leave me? Is his illness very serious, much more serious than An Dehai's illness before?"
Jiang Nuanzhi looked at him seriously: "This is the third thing I told Xuan Ting. Xuan Ting, everyone has to face birth, aging, sickness and death. Just like the rising sun, you cannot control it."
Actually, it's not just your father, but us, your master, and Aunt Nuan—we will all eventually leave. It's just a matter of time. This is the inevitable ending.
Xuan Ting, neither you nor I can decide when the sun rises, but we can decide what we do when the sun rises.
It's like how we can't decide when to leave, but we can decide what to do before we leave.
As she spoke, Jiang Nuanzhi sighed to herself, "Your father's health is declining, and Aunt Nuan can only try to increase the time he stays by your side, but she cannot change the outcome."
Xuan Ting, you will eventually have to face this day. But what can you do? At this moment, you are truly by your father's side, aren't you?
Don't let the outside world bother you, don't worry too much about the future, and don't let hatred overwhelm you. Now, as your son, all you need to do is stay by your father's side and take care of him. And wait for Aunt Nuan's good news. Let's try together to keep your father alive a little longer, okay?
Xuan Ting's tears continued to stream down his face. He lowered his head and, after a long while, finally spoke:
"Aunt Nuan, but Xuan Ting doesn't want to part. Xuan Ting hates parting."
Jiang Nuanzhi's eyes also stung a little. At this moment, she stopped trying to reason with the child and instead hugged him in the cold, snowy air.
She patted his back silently and gently.
It was unclear how much time had passed, so long that a thick layer of snow had settled on the top of the umbrella Li Rong had been holding for them, before Xuan Ting finally stopped sobbing.
He wiped his face, seemingly reverting to the appearance of the Sixth Prince as others had seen him.
"Auntie Nuan, don't worry, I'm fine now. I know what to do."
"It's cold outside, go back early. Remember to eat the food Aunt Nuan brought you. Xuan Ting, take a nap, and when you wake up tomorrow, Aunt Nuan will stay with you by your father's side. She won't leave you alone."
Then, Jiang Nuanzhi took a bag of candy from her bosom, picked out a piece and put it in his mouth, then gave him the rest: "Alright, eat a piece if you're in a bad mood. But Aunt Nuan will be here in a few hours. Be good, go back now."
As he spoke, he patted his head.
Xuan Ting sniffed, obediently bid farewell to Li Rong and the other person, and then, clutching the candy Jiang Nuanzhi had given him, disappeared step by step into the palace walls.
(End of this chapter)
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