The emperor's face darkened, and he raised his hand.
"The Empress Dowager is currently unconscious. If you can cure her illness, I will pardon the crimes of your Luo family. However, your Luo family will never be allowed to enter the capital again. Are you willing to give it a try?"
As soon as the Emperor finished speaking, Empress Qi hurriedly spoke up to stop him.
"Your Majesty, this is absolutely unacceptable. She is the one who caused the Empress Dowager's illness. If we let her treat the Empress Dowager now, what if she takes out her personal grudge and harms the Empress Dowager?"
The Emperor's eyebrows twitched slightly, and he snorted disdainfully.
"The lives of her entire family are in my hands, what does the Empress have to worry about?"
Empress Qi fell silent and did not utter another sound.
The Emperor then looked at Luo Zhiwan, "Do you dare to agree to this?"
Zhiwan frowned slightly, thinking to herself that she wished she would never have to enter the capital again, and that she would never have to do with the royal family again. She quickly agreed.
"Of course I dare to agree, as long as His Majesty does not break his promise."
"Hmph! I am the ruler of a country, and my words are law. How could I go back on my word? Since you have agreed, then let the Crown Prince take you to the palace immediately. Guards, take the Luo family into the Ministry of Justice's prison. Luo Zhiwan will enter the palace to treat the Empress Dowager's illness."
Upon hearing this, Leng Chuchen quickly stood up to stop her.
"Father, the Luo family members may stay at the Crown Prince's residence temporarily..."
Empress Qi spoke up again to stop it.
“Chen’er, it’s not yet certain whether Luo Zhiwan can cure your grandmother’s illness. This whole family are hostages, how can they go to your Crown Prince’s residence? You should leave now.”
The Emperor nodded in agreement.
"The Empress is right. Until the Empress Dowager regains her senses, the Luo family will remain criminals. Even if Luo Zhiwan holds the imperial edict, she cannot absolve them of their crimes."
Leng Chuchen looked at Luo Zhiwan and saw the determination in her eyes, which reassured him a lot.
He has no other wish than for his family to be safe and sound.
Soon, the Luo family members were taken away, and Luo Zhiwan was also taken into the palace.
Walking on the way to the palace, Leng Chuchen said softly:
"I'm sorry, it's all my fault."
She raised her eyebrows and smiled calmly.
"It's not your fault. I should thank you for giving me that life-saving imperial edict. Otherwise, what would I have to offer to negotiate with the emperor?"
It turned out that he had ordered people to search all the government offices that had received imperial edicts and the doctors who had answered them before, and that's how they found the edict this morning.
After finding them, he couldn't wait to hand the imperial edict to Leng Chuyang, who was escorting them, hoping that the edict could save the Luo family's lives at a critical moment.
Even so, he felt that he was too useless and had not helped them at all. On the contrary, he had caused them so much trouble.
Therefore, he felt guilty towards her.
"Are you confident about the Empress Dowager's illness?"
"No. "
She shook her head, then nodded.
"But I will do my best, for the safety of my family, and so that I will never have to enter the capital again."
When she said the last sentence, Leng Chuchen's eyes darkened, as if a thousand pounds were weighing on her heart.
He led her to the main hall of the Longevity Palace, where the maids rushed out to pay their respects, but he simply waved them away.
When they arrived at the Empress Dowager's bedchamber, only Granny Zhen and two maids were there. He stepped forward and gave them instructions:
"All of you step back. Miss Luo has come to treat the Empress Dowager on the Emperor's orders."
Granny Zhen waved her hand at the two maids, and they left. But she stood there like a Buddha statue, motionless.
Leng Chuchen knew that Granny Zhen was loyal to the Empress Dowager, and without the Empress Dowager's decree, it would be impossible for her to leave the Empress Dowager's side.
He nodded to Luo Zhiwan.
"Zhiwan, please!"
Luo Zhiwan sat down on the round stool next to the Empress Dowager's bed. Granny Zhen stepped forward and took the Empress Dowager's wrist out from under the quilt. Zhiwan placed her fingers on the Empress Dowager's wrist and began to take her pulse.
After a while, she moved her hand away, sat still, closed her eyes slightly, took a deep sniff, then opened them again, got up, went to the table, raised her hand, picked up the incense burner on the table, and smelled it.
A perfect smile curved her lips as she turned to Leng Chuchen and said:
"Replace the incense and open all the windows here."
Upon hearing this, Granny Zhen hurriedly stepped forward to stop her.
"No, the Empress Dowager is frail and cannot be exposed to the wind. You are trying to harm her by doing this."
Leng Chuchen looked at Luo Zhiwan with some difficulty, and she replied coldly:
"If you want the Empress Dowager to wake up, do as I say."
Granny Zhen still looked unwilling, so Leng Chuchen directly called out to the people outside:
"Someone come here..."
One by one, the servants appeared at the door, and he gave the following instructions:
Open the windows and remove the incense.
These people glanced at Granny Zhen, then lowered their heads and dared not move.
Leng Chuchen frowned slightly in displeasure, then strode over to the window and opened it...
Granny Zhen rushed over to stop her.
"Your Highness, this is not right. The Empress Dowager is afraid of the wind, and the Empress specifically instructed this old servant not to let her be exposed to the wind."
"Now that Miss Luo is being ordered to treat the Empress Dowager, are you trying to disobey the imperial decree by obstructing her?"
"But Your Highness..."
Leng Chuchen shouted loudly:
"If anything happens to Grandmother, I will take responsibility. Granny Zhen, you may leave."
Granny Zhen knew that her ability to wield power in the inner palace was all thanks to the Empress Dowager's protection.
The Crown Prince always treated her with utmost respect, and it was only because of the Empress Dowager that he respected her.
She cannot and dares not stop the Crown Prince from doing what he is about to do.
She could only go to the Empress Dowager's side and lower the bed curtains to reduce the Empress Dowager's exposure to drafts.
But Luo Zhiwan walked over at that moment, lifted the bed curtains, and replied without regard for anything else:
“If Granny Zhen wants the Empress Dowager to remain unconscious, she can simply lower the bed curtains again.”
Granny Zhen stood there hesitating for a moment, then Leng Chuchen came over and gave the instructions:
“Granny Zhen, Miss Luo is a doctor; she knows the Empress Dowager’s health better than you do.”
At this moment, the wind blowing in from the window gives one a refreshing feeling.
The scent of incense began to dissipate at that moment.
Leng Chuchen looked at Luo Zhiwan and asked curiously, "Don't you need to prescribe a medicine for the Empress Dowager?"
A cold smile curled at the corner of her lips, then she shook her head.
"It's not that the Empress Dowager is ill, it's that someone doesn't want her to wake up."
No sooner had she finished speaking than the Emperor and Empress suddenly appeared, and he questioned her sternly.
"Who is so bold as to not want the Empress Dowager to wake up?"
Upon hearing the Emperor's voice, she hurriedly knelt down to pay her respects, but the Emperor simply waved his hand.
"Stand up and answer."
After she stood up from the ground, the emperor asked again,
"You just said that someone doesn't want the Empress Dowager to wake up. What's going on?"
Empress Qi also frowned and questioned at this moment.
"You're talking nonsense. Even the Emperor treats the Empress Dowager with great respect. Who would dare to lay a hand on her?"
Zhiwan pondered for a moment, then raised her eyebrows and replied.
"Your Majesty, the reason why the Empress Dowager has been unconscious is not due to fright or illness. The cause lies in the incense in this room and the airtight room."
"Nonsense."
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