Then he saw Ertai sitting on the ground, surrounded by wine jugs. Fu Lun was both angry and helpless, but he couldn't care less about that now.
“Father, she doesn’t want me anymore.”
Ertai, reeking of alcohol, looked up at Fulun, whose eyes were filled with anxiety and worry, and murmured, the deathly stillness in his eyes almost tangible.
"You're still drinking! Something's happened to Princess Shen!"
Seeing Ertai, who was completely drunk and reeking of alcohol, no longer the handsome and bright man he usually was, but exuding an aura of decadence and death, Fulun roared, his eyes filled with heartache.
"What? What happened to her, Father? What happened to her?!"
Upon hearing this, Ertai's hazy eyes snapped back to attention. He stumbled to his feet, grabbed Fulun's clothes, and anxiously asked, "Is this what you mean?"
She's prone to accidents.
At this moment, Ertai had forgotten everything that had happened between them; his eyes and heart were filled only with concern for Chen Nian.
"Princess Shen is critically ill—"
...
Upon receiving news of Ertai's arrival, the Empress Dowager put down the bowl and chopsticks she had been forced to eat a little food with, and went to the main hall to wait for Ertai's arrival.
"Your Majesty, Little Princess... Little Princess... I want to go in and see her."
Ertai stumbled into the Cining Palace, saw the Empress Dowager sitting on the throne, and immediately knelt down, kowtowing and begging.
Smelling the pervasive smell of alcohol in the air, and seeing the gaunt face, disheveled clothes, messy hair, and stubble on his chin, the old lady almost didn't recognize him.
It's only been a few days.
The changes are too great.
She looks sicker than the sick person she used to be.
"Your Majesty—"
...
"Ertai, I know your feelings for Niannian, but do you know about Niannian's condition? Niannian has a heart condition, and she could leave you at any time. Can you bear the consequences?"
Looking at the people kneeling and kowtowing below, and thinking of the person still hanging by a thread in the inner room, whose life had been saved in the past few years, but for some reason still hadn't woken up, the Empress Dowager's eyes also reddened.
She could see clearly Ertai's feelings for Niannian. She had watched them grow up together. She thought Ertai could change Niannian's mind, but in the end, it was impossible. When Niannian was critically ill, she still chose to push Ertai away.
"Yes, she left, and I'll stay with her."
Hearing the Empress Dowager's account of his meditation, Ertai, overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information, paused for a moment before speaking in a hoarse voice with unwavering conviction.
He couldn't accept that she would leave him; if she did, he would choose to leave with her.
His original plan was to stay with her in the shadows.
Even if he couldn't stand openly by her side, he still couldn't bear to let her out of his sight.
He couldn't live without her, and this time he wouldn't let go.
However, after listening to the Empress Dowager describe the situation of Chen Nian, Ertai finally got the answer.
A chill ran through her body as if she had fallen into an ice cellar. She froze. Was this the reason she rejected her? Was it because of that trip, when she said she would bring trouble to others?
"Okay, you can go in now."
Hearing the unwavering certainty in Ertai's tone, the Empress Dowager closed her eyes and nodded.
With the Empress Dowager's approval, Ertai stumbled in and saw the lifeless body lying on the couch. Tears welled up in his eyes and streamed down his face.
"Meditation—"
Ertai looked at the pale-faced man lying on the bed, his life hanging in the balance, and with trembling hands, he touched Shennian's face.
Unfortunately, Chen Nian is currently unable to give him any response.
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