Even now, he was still protecting Daoping. The little eunuch beside him was speechless, but he could only do as he was told.
Daoping glanced at the old emperor with some resentment, and was reluctantly taken away. Despite his usual efforts to please the emperor, the old emperor still refused to trust him at this moment!
The imperial physicians arrived quickly, because it was the emperor who had been injured, and everyone from the Imperial Medical Academy came, fearing that they might not be able to save the old emperor.
During the treatment, the old emperor also suffered, vomiting blood every now and then, and his face would turn pale instantly.
Upon hearing the news, the princes rushed to the palace to attend to the ailing emperor, so that if the old emperor were to pass away, they could immediately inherit the throne.
When he was seriously ill, the old emperor specially allowed Consort Liu to serve him. Whenever he was sick, he liked to have Consort Liu serve him. Consort Liu was beautiful and gentle, and she served him with all her heart.
At this moment, Consort Liu was weeping bitterly by the old emperor's bedside: "Your Majesty, seeing you like this breaks my heart! I feel like my heart has stopped beating. Please touch it..."
She cried as she pulled the old emperor's hand to her heart. The hand was soft and yielding. The old emperor was suffering from pain, but he found comfort in this moment and felt much better.
"Don't cry, my beloved consort is so considerate! I will get better, don't worry!"
The old emperor patted her hand with his other hand, a smile on his face.
However, the imperial physicians looked very serious. They couldn't determine what was wrong with the old emperor's symptoms for the time being.
While the old emperor was not in immediate danger of poisoning, he was also vomiting blood and his face was visibly pale.
"Imperial Physician Zhong, what's wrong with His Majesty? Is there any way to stop the bleeding?"
Consort Liu forced herself to speak, and held the old emperor's hand tenderly, which made the old emperor feel very satisfied.
He could sense that Consort Liu genuinely cared for and loved him, unlike the other concubines who would only cry on the surface but were actually plotting something.
"Your Highness, the Emperor has been given a slow-acting drug, which is why he keeps vomiting blood."
After much research, the imperial physicians reached a consensus: the old emperor's symptoms indicated poisoning, but the specific type of poison still needed to be determined.
"How could you suddenly be poisoned? Xiao Quanzi, you're the one who always tests medicines for the Emperor. How come you're perfectly fine, but the Emperor has fallen ill?"
Consort Liu wiped away her tears, looking at the kneeling eunuch with grief and indignation, and continued, "If I had known it would be like this, I would have preferred to be the one to test the medicine for His Majesty! I would rather have something happen to myself than have something happen to His Majesty!"
Xiao Quanzi knelt on the ground, repeatedly begging for forgiveness: "Your Highness, please calm your anger. This servant has indeed been testing the Emperor's food for poison. This servant has tried all of the Emperor's food, except for... except..."
"What is it? Just tell me!"
Consort Liu acted as if she would personally teach Xiao Quanzi a lesson if she weren't still holding the old emperor's hand and reluctant to let go of him, which moved the old emperor deeply.
"I haven't tried the pills that Dao Ping Zhenren sent!"
Koizumi seemed to have no choice but to speak the truth.
The old emperor's expression was somewhat subtle. Imperial Physician Zhong then said, "Your Majesty, we just examined the box containing the elixir and found that there was indeed a small amount of poison inside. The amount was very small and not fatal. In principle, it should not have been detected. However, Your Majesty is a lucky person. It is not too late for it to be detected now. But if the poison penetrates deep into the lungs and internal organs, then it will be too late to save you."
Although an antidote could not be prepared for the time being, at least the old emperor's life was not in danger, so the imperial physicians were no longer in a hurry.
The old emperor still couldn't quite believe that Dao Ping was really behind it, and remained silent for a long time. It was Consort Liu who asked, "What should we do now? Do you have any methods to detoxify?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me. There is no antidote available at the moment. Your humble servant is willing to try acupuncture to detoxify His Majesty and see if it works."
"Then let's begin quickly, His Majesty's health is of utmost importance!"
Consort Liu stepped aside slightly, but still held the old emperor's hand tightly, and said gently, "Your Majesty, rest assured, I will always be with you!"
The old emperor nodded, his heart filled with emotion.
He vomited twice while the imperial physician was giving him acupuncture, and Consort Liu personally wiped it away each time.
He felt a little weak, but still asked, "Have my unfilial sons arrived yet?"
Consort Liu hurriedly said, "They arrived a long time ago and are kneeling outside right now. However, I was worried that the princes would disturb His Majesty's peace, so I didn't let them in. Does His Majesty wish to summon them?"
The old emperor nodded, indicating that he understood. Indeed, the Imperial Concubine was the most considerate.
"Let the third prince come in to see me."
As he said this, the old emperor sighed slightly, feeling utterly powerless.
Consort Liu agreed, then instructed the eunuch beside her to summon Prince Chen, and said, "Then I shall excuse myself for a while."
As he spoke, he got up to leave, but the old emperor grabbed him, saying, "What do you mean by 'avoiding'? You stay here."
Consort Liu is his pillar of support now, and he fears he won't be able to hold on if she leaves.
Consort Liu smiled sweetly and said in a coquettish voice, "Alright, alright, Your Majesty, I won't leave. I'll stay here with you."
The imperial physicians seemed to have grown accustomed to such cloying conversations, remaining unmoved as they diligently helped the old emperor detoxify, though the effects were still not very noticeable.
However, they attributed it to the fact that it was a slow-acting medicine, and the effects wouldn't be completely eliminated all at once. It was better to proceed slowly and cautiously. The emperor would have to suffer a bit, and it was inevitable that he would vomit blood for the next few days.
When Prince Chen entered, the old emperor was resting with his eyes closed, his arm was covered with needles, and he seemed to have become much weaker than before.
Prince Chen knelt and bowed, saying, "Your subject pays respects to Your Majesty."
"Get up. I'll leave Daoping's matter to you to investigate. If he really has something to do with Dongting, you can handle it yourself. But if you prove he's innocent, you have to send him back to me safe and sound."
Ultimately, he still wanted to try, thinking that Daoping, a highly accomplished Taoist master over two hundred years old, would not get involved in such worldly affairs again.
As for his poisoning, it was most likely a setup or something.
Even with the old emperor in such a state, he still chose to believe Daoping. Prince Chen had nothing to say and didn't want to say anything more to him. He simply said, "Yes, Your Majesty, I will definitely give you the truth."
He accepted the order and left. When he went out, the other princes were still kneeling outside. They saw him come out and left immediately, and they were all a little unhappy.
"Why was he allowed to leave?"
Prince Jing spoke with some displeasure, saying that this shouldn't be the case!
He had barely opened his mouth when someone next to him burst into tears.
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