"What did you say?"
The Duke of Zhenguo was originally sitting in the main seat, but he stood up suddenly after hearing the words of the court doctor.
The court physician repeated his guess in a low voice, "At first glance, this medicine is indeed for conditioning the body. It even contains a lot of precious herbs that most people can't afford. But in addition, it also contains a few unnecessary herbs. On their own, they are non-toxic and are good for nourishing the body. However, for those with heart disease, they are a chronic poison. Taking them for a long time will make the heart more fragile."
The Duke of Zhenguo took a step back in a daze and fell back into his armchair, his face full of disbelief.
The wife of the Duke of Zhenguo was furious. She slapped the armrest angrily and said bitterly, "What sin did our family commit? How did we wrong him that he would harm my daughter like this!"
She slapped her hands repeatedly until her palms turned red. The bracelet on her wrist accidentally hit the ground and broke into two pieces. The court doctor's eyelids trembled.
The Duke of Zhenguo's eyes were red, but he still had some sense. He held his wife's hand and turned to ask the court doctor, "Can I recover after stopping this medicine?"
The court doctor hesitated and shook his head. "This thing is actually a poison in essence. If it is not eliminated and excreted, it will still accumulate in the body. However, once the medication is stopped, the body will slowly detoxify itself, just a little slower."
"Do you have any idea?"
The Duke of Zhenguo stared at the palace physician intently. The physician gave a wry smile and said, "I am incompetent and cannot think of a way to detoxify the poison for the time being. However, I heard that the Imperial Master's residence has many talented people and legendary doctors. Perhaps they can find a way."
"National Master..." The Duke of Zhenguo hesitated. The National Master was a moody person with a quirky personality. He might not even look at them if they came to him.
But since it concerns Lan Shuang's life, he can't care about those things.
He pondered for a moment and said, "Please keep today's matter confidential. I will do my best to help the Imperial Master."
"Your Excellency, you are too kind. If it weren't for you, I wouldn't be alive today. I feel incredibly guilty for not being able to help."
The Duke of Zhenguo waved his hand and said, "It's getting late, go back and rest."
The court doctor then withdrew.
The candlelight in the main hall flickered, and only the sound of the Duke Zhenguo's wife sobbing could be heard.
The Duke of Zhenguo closed his eyes and said, "This matter must be made known to Rong'er and Ru'er."
…
Soon, the lights in the study of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion were on. Lan Rong and Lan Ruo met at the door and looked at each other. Lan Ruo was puzzled: "Brother, you are here too?"
Lan Rong frowned, "Well, my parents called us all here, I'm afraid they have something important to tell us."
Lan Ruo thought so too. When they pushed the door open, they saw the Duke of Zhenguo and his wife with cold and serious expressions, but red in their eyes. They were sitting side by side in the main seat, looking extremely oppressive.
Lan Rong's heart sank: "Dad, Mom, what happened?"
"You guys sit down first."
The Duke of Zhenguo pointed to a chair on the side. Lan Rong and Lan Ruo sat down hesitantly. The wife of the Duke of Zhenguo couldn't help but cover her face and burst into tears again.
"Mom?!" Lan Ruo was startled. "What happened?"
"Well, let me tell you." The Duke of Zhenguo recounted the whole story.
Before Lan Rong could say anything, Lan Ruo slapped the armrest and stood up, her eyes wide. "Is he crazy? What's wrong with my sister? Why would he torture her like this? On the surface, he pretends to be affectionate and friendly, but behind the scenes, he uses such despicable means to drain my sister's body. Bah! Bastard!"
She was so angry that she was pacing around the room. "I shouldn't have agreed to let my sister enter the palace. I should have let me go. I'm going to drag that bastard down with me and die together!"
Lan Rong also gripped the armrest tightly. With a "click", everyone in the room was silent for a moment. They all looked and saw Lan Rong loosen his hand expressionlessly. The armrest of the chair made a whine and fell to the ground.
Lan Ruo: “…”
I suddenly regretted not learning martial arts back then, otherwise I wouldn’t have to walk around in circles when I was angry.
Lan Rong stood up calmly amidst the mixed looks from the crowd. He looked at the Duke of Zhenguo and said in a deep voice, "Since the Emperor is unkind, don't blame us for being unjust."
"Our Lan family has been loyal for generations, and we've never harbored any rebellious thoughts. With his imperial decree, we reluctantly sent our sister away. But what about him? He's wary of our achievements, but doesn't dare to act directly. So he resorts to this method to harm our sister. This not only hurts her, but also signals his intent to kill us. If we continue to tolerate this, our Lan family will be destroyed one day."
"That's right! Big brother is right, Dad, Mom, I've known for a long time that the emperor is not a good person. We can't just sit there and wait for death. We have to find a way to save my sister! She is so weak..."
Lan Ruo's voice choked as she spoke.
The Duke of Zhenguo sighed. He had been in the court for many years and had seen too many dirty things. He had also thought that he might be feared by the monarch, but he did not expect that this day would come so soon.
He slowly stood up and scanned the faces of everyone present.
He could understand that Nangong Yi was afraid of him and wanted to harm him, but he should never, ever lay a hand on his daughter.
"Madam, please come back to the palace tomorrow and ask Shuang'er what she plans to do. Tell her not to be afraid. The Zhenguo Mansion will always be her backer. No matter what choice she makes, we will support her."
"good."
The wife of the Duke of Zhenguo nodded heavily.
…
That night, the lights in the Duke Zhenguo's Mansion were on, and no one could sleep.
The next day, the wife of the Duke of Zhenguo entered the palace again on the pretext of delivering some supplements to the imperial concubine.
After Nangong Yi found out, he asked her how long she had been there, and the people below said less than half an hour.
Nangong Yi didn't think much about it.
Little did he know that in just half an hour, he had already lost the loyalty of the Duke of Zhenguo's Mansion.
…
After finishing the memorials at hand, Nangong Yi went to Lan Shuang's palace to have a meal.
Because of her poor health, Lan Shuang always ate light food. Nangong Yi's arrival was sudden, and she hadn't prepared anything that suited his taste. She asked worriedly, "Your Majesty, should we ask the imperial kitchen to make a new table?"
Nangong Yi shook his head: "Don't bother with that. I'm tired of all the delicious food. It's nice to change the taste occasionally."
The palace servants served him some food, tested it for poison, and then placed it in front of him.
Lan Shuang glanced at the dishes on the table. Hmm, you want to change the taste, right?
She picked up a piece of fish that Nangong Yi disliked, carefully picked out the bones and placed it in his bowl. "This steamed fish tastes quite good. Your Majesty, please try it."
Nangong Yi doesn’t like eating fish very much, but because Lan Shuang likes it, he always accompanies Lan Shuang to eat some, and never mentions that he doesn’t like it.
He looked at the fish in the bowl and smiled, "Your Highness is thoughtful."
Lan Shuang immediately gave him a sweet smile, then watched Nangong Yi pick up the fish and put it into his mouth, his face changing as he was stabbed.
"hiss--"
He turned around and spat out the fish meat, which had a tiny bone stuck in it.
"This..." Su Ming asked nervously, "Your Majesty, are you okay?"
Lan Shuang blamed herself so much, "I'm sorry, Your Majesty. I'm clumsy and didn't pick it out cleanly."
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