Inside the Imperial Purification Hall.
Wei Huaixu sat behind a large desk, the memorials laid out in front of him still untouched after an hour, and the words of the imperial physician echoed in his ears.
"Her Majesty's trip to Yunshan Temple and catching a cold was merely a trigger. Her lung disease was caused by external injury, and she has been taking medicine that has been depleting her body for many years. Now she is almost at the end of her life."
Upon hearing this, Wei Huaixu felt as if something had collapsed in his mind, his ears were ringing, and for a moment he felt dizzy.
He braced himself against the table to steady himself, and it took him a while to recover.
His voice was already extremely hoarse when he spoke: "Is there really no other way?"
"The losses are too severe, and I am powerless to help."
To put it bluntly, Consort Liu's body is currently in such a state that it looks fine on the outside, but is actually rotten inside.
Unless there is a way to give her a healthy lung, even Hua Tuo in the afterlife would be powerless to save her.
Wei Huaixu rubbed his forehead and closed his eyes. "How much longer can she hold on?"
"If one relies on expensive medicinal herbs to prolong life, the maximum lifespan is no more than a year."
"You must use the best medicine. If it's not available in the palace, find it outside the palace. You must save her life for me, until the very last moment."
"Yes, Your Majesty, I will do my utmost."
He waved his hand, his voice weary, "Alright, you can leave now."
The imperial physician bowed and took his leave, but was called back just as he reached the door.
He quickly knelt back down, "Does Your Majesty have any further instructions?"
"Is there any possibility that Medicine King Valley can cure her illness?"
"This...I have heard that the divine physician Wang Hebai passed away not long ago..."
"I remember he also had a disciple."
"Perhaps His Majesty could invite him to give it a try."
Therefore, Wei Huaixu quickly issued an imperial edict inviting Liu Chenglin to the palace to treat Qingying's illness.
These past two days he hasn't dared to go to Baoyi Palace. He doesn't know why, but he's a little afraid to face her now.
At this moment, Yu entered and announced, "Your Majesty, Physician Liu requests an audience."
"Let him in." Wei Huaixu composed himself, straightening up.
Liu Chenglin walked in, knelt down and bowed, "This humble subject greets Your Majesty."
"Rise, Doctor Liu. How is Qingying?" Wei Huaixu asked nervously, his hands, hidden behind the desk and resting on his knees, clenching unconsciously.
"As the imperial physician said, the oil in the lamp has run out and the lamp is extinguished."
He seemed to have lost all his strength in an instant, unable to pretend any longer. He supported himself on the table, his fingers trembling slightly.
Is there really no other way?
“My prescription can temporarily alleviate her symptoms, but…”
"What?" His heart clenched again in an instant.
Liu Chenglin held up three fingers and said, "At most three years."
Wei Huaixu was overjoyed.
Three years, a full two years longer than the imperial physicians predicted, is undoubtedly the only good news among all the bad news.
"but……"
But!
"Can you just finish what you're saying all at once?" Wei Huaixu was so frustrated that the veins on his forehead were bulging.
The emperor's power was so great that even someone as composed as Liu Chenglin felt a chill run down his spine from the emperor's furious gaze, as if he would be beheaded if he didn't speak to the emperor's approval in the next second.
Liu Chenglin quickly said, "She can't have children, otherwise she will surely die. Moreover, she can't take any other medicine besides my medicine."
Wei Huaixu didn't seem too displeased with this, and nodded, "I understand. I'll trouble you to take good care of her illness."
"This is what a commoner should do."
——
After leaving the Imperial Palace, Liu Chenglin went straight to the Phoenix Palace.
"She can't have children?!"
Upon hearing this news, Liu Shushu was overjoyed, grinning from ear to ear. "Looks like even the heavens couldn't stand it anymore, hahaha..."
Seeing her beaming with joy, Liu Chenglin opened his mouth but ultimately didn't tell her the news that Qingying was dying.
For some reason, he felt that Liu Shushu was becoming more and more unfamiliar to him.
Shushu, who used to be the kindest person, even willing to lend a helping hand to strangers, can now smile happily in the face of a life about to end.
A doctor's compassion, or perhaps out of an unbreakable blood bond, even though he disliked Liu Qingying, he couldn't help but feel some melancholy and sadness upon learning of her condition, in addition to shock.
He felt a little regretful after saying those words to Tong Xia.
He stood up to say goodbye: "Sister Shushu, I have some things to attend to at my clinic, so I'll be leaving now."
"You rarely come to the palace, and you're leaving so soon? Why don't you stay and have dinner with me before you go?"
"No, I'm used to a simple life. The food in the palace is too luxurious, and I can't get used to it."
Liu Shushu's smile froze for a moment. She vaguely felt that he seemed to be implying something. She looked at him suspiciously, but did not notice anything different. So she could only say, "Brother Lin, take care. I will have Xiao Dengzi escort you out of the palace."
The roads in the palace are winding and circuitous. It was getting dark, and since he wasn't familiar with the area, he needed someone to guide him out of the palace.
"Then I'll have to trouble you."
He gave a slight bow and withdrew from the palace.
Walking along the long palace road, the sky gradually turned dark blue. Xiao Dengzi carried a lantern, which could only illuminate a small section of the road ahead.
Liu Chenglin was walking at a leisurely pace when he suddenly heard a soft sobbing sound. He paused for a moment, then stopped.
As they passed the gate of a palace, they looked up and saw that the vermilion gate was locked with chains, and above it, on a faded plaque, were three large black characters: Tinglan Pavilion.
Xiao Dengzi had already walked quite a distance before realizing that his master hadn't followed. He turned around and asked, "What's wrong, sir?"
Are there people living in this house?
Xiao Dengzi glanced at the palace gate and said, "That's Consort Jin from when the late Emperor was alive. She was imprisoned here because she was mentally ill."
"Consort Jin..."
The title itself suggests that the person in question has been severely oppressed in the palace.
"My lord, hurry up and we'll miss closing the palace gates."
Hearing the sobs coming from inside, Liu Chenglin frowned and continued walking forward.
It's said that the inner palace is a place that devours people, and it seems that's true. When Consort Jin entered the palace, she could never have imagined that she would end up like this, locked within a small palace wall, unable to live or die.
He thought that Qingying was the emperor's favorite concubine, and she shouldn't have fallen to such a state.
——
Just as Qingying was about to rest, Wei Huaixu suddenly arrived.
No one informed her, and Qingying stopped her from lying down when she saw him.
What brings you here?
"Can't I come?" He smiled gently, walked over and sat on the edge of the bed, helping her lie down. "I was just worried about you, so I came to see you."
"I'm fine. Chenglin said today that I'll be better after taking the medicine and resting for a while."
"Okay, so you need to rest well, take your medicine on time, and don't worry about anything else."
"good."
He gently tucked the blanket around her and said softly, "Go to sleep, I'll stay here with you."
Qingying nodded obediently and closed her eyes.
Wei Huaixu stared intently at her sleeping face, his eyes gradually reddening.
No one knew better than himself how afraid he was of losing her.
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