Ruan Niang glanced at Eunuch Cao and nudged Wei Dongling. "Bring an assistant and wait outside the door then, just in case."
Eunuch Cao shot a look at Wei Dongling and silently acquiesced.
Wei Dongling gave the Ninth Prince a look to calm down and followed Ruan Niang towards the bedroom door.
Two eunuchs were waiting on either side of the bedroom door. When they saw Eunuch Cao approaching, they quickly bowed their heads and saluted. Eunuch Cao casually picked up a record book from the tray in one eunuch's hand and handed it to Ruan Niang. It detailed the emperor's daily routine since he fell ill. Ruan Niang flipped through it carefully, growing more and more alarmed as she read.
For nearly half a month, the emperor had been mostly unconscious. Even when he woke up occasionally, the situation was far from optimistic. He suffered from convulsions, coughed up blood, and babbled incoherently. In the past two days, the blood he coughed up had turned dark. It seemed that his days were numbered.
Ruan Niang's face grew solemn. She handed the record book to Wei Dongling. Eunuch Cao opened the heavy bedroom door for her and led Ruan Niang inside.
The heavy wooden door slowly closed again. Wei Dongling waited outside the door, flipping through the record book. She looked up at the Ninth Prince below the steps, feeling a pang in her heart. Even though the emperor had been a tyrant, he was still the father of this body. While she didn't have much affection for him, it might be different for Murong Yuchen.
That poor child had been alone since childhood. He must have desperately hoped that the emperor would spare him a glance!
There were no servants in the bedroom. The emperor lay there alone, as still and quiet as a corpse. Ruan Niang let out a silent sigh as she looked at the emaciated and bloodless man on the sickbed. She walked up to him, placed three fingers on his wrist, and pondered for a long time.
After waiting for a while, Eunuch Cao saw that Ruan Niang finally let go of the emperor's wrist. He stepped forward anxiously and asked, "Madam Ruan, is there any hope for the emperor's illness?"
The emperor had been poisoned for a long time. How could he be saved? Ruan Niang frowned and replied, "I can only give it a try." With that, she stood up and took out the Nine Needles for Restoring Yang that she always carried. She instructed Eunuch Cao, "Please fetch some water for me to wash my hands. I need to use the needles to draw out the blood."
"Okay." Just as Eunuch Cao was about to call the young eunuch outside the door, unexpectedly, Ruan Niang suddenly struck. A silver needle pierced the back of Eunuch Cao's neck, and he slowly fell to the ground.
"Forgive me." Ruan Niang carefully supported Eunuch Cao and gently dragged him to a chair and sat him down. Then she walked to the emperor's side and inserted several silver needles one after another into his head.
Wei Dongling was waiting anxiously outside the door. Finally, she heard a call from inside the bedroom, "Young Master Ling, come in and help." Wei Dongling hesitated for a moment, then quickly nodded to the two young eunuchs at the door and pushed the door open.
Since the emperor was afraid of drafts, all the windows in the bedroom were tightly closed. The few candles on the table cast a dim light over the large bedroom. When Wei Dongling saw the haggard emperor on the sickbed, her heart skipped a beat. She glanced at Eunuch Cao, who was lying unconscious in the chair, and stepped forward to ask softly, "How is the emperor?"
Ruan Niang shook her head and whispered, "It's too late. There's nothing we can do. If you have anything to say, say it quickly." With that, Ruan Niang inserted a silver needle into the Baihui acupoint on the emperor's head. The emperor on the sickbed suddenly convulsed and slowly regained consciousness.
"Father!" Wei Dongling sat by the sickbed and softly called out.
The emperor seemed not to hear. He kept reaching out his hand and calling, "Water, water..."
Wei Dongling quickly went to the table beside and fetched a cup of tea. She held a spoon to the emperor's lips to feed him. But suddenly, the emperor pushed her hand away forcefully. The teacup and porcelain spoon in Wei Dongling's hand fell to the ground with a clatter, and the tea spilled all over the floor.
The two young eunuchs guarding outside the door quickly pushed the door open and rushed in. They saw the emperor on the sickbed flying into a rage and roaring, "Get out! Get out of here!"
Wei Dongling stood there, stunned and at a loss. Ruan Niang stepped forward and stood beside the chair, blocking the young eunuchs' view of Eunuch Cao. She coldly scolded the two at the door, "The emperor told you to get out! Are you deaf?"
The two young eunuchs saw Ruan Niang's angry face and were caught off guard. Seeing that Eunuch Cao behind her didn't say anything, they could only tremble and back out.
The bedroom door closed again. Ruan Niang quickly stepped forward and inserted several silver needles into the emperor, which finally calmed him down.
Wei Dongling carefully touched his emaciated hand and said in a trembling voice, "Father?"
The emperor tried to open his eyes and looked at Wei Dongling. His lips trembled as he asked, "Wanlin?"
Seeing that his consciousness had cleared, Wei Dongling was both happy and sad. She whispered, "It's me! Father, how did you end up like this?"
The emperor lovingly stroked Wei Dongling's hand and replied irrelevantly, "Wanlin, it's so good that you're not dead! So good! It's my fault. I shouldn't have sent you to marry into a foreign land..."
Wei Dongling held his hand and shook her head. "I'm fine. Father, don't worry."
The emperor tightly grasped her hand and refused to let go. He said guiltily and urgently, "Wanlin, I'll reward you with a lot of gold, silver, and jewels... As long as you like, I'll give them all to you..."
Wei Dongling choked with sobs. "Father, stop talking. You need to get better soon." If you don't get better, how can you reward me with gold and jewels!
The emperor half-sat up and glanced at the broken porcelain pieces on the ground. He rambled incoherently, "Wanlin, father may not live much longer. You should quickly leave the palace and hide. You can't come back... Those heartless bastards! They poisoned the water... Wanlin, my good child, go. Don't come back again..."
So the emperor had deliberately knocked over the teacup just now because he knew the tea had been tampered with? After all, the emperor was still clear in his mind! And he still cared about her safety!
Wei Dongling said coldly, "Father! Tell me! Was it that scoundrel Murong Yunqian who poisoned you? Does he have the antidote?"
The emperor shook his head repeatedly and sighed. "Wanlin, don't go... You're no match for him. He'll kill you..."
Wei Dongling complained, "Father, since you knew this, why did you always protect him in the past?" Now that the Tenth Prince had the support of the King of Rui and the Xiliang Prince, he had become a powerful force. It would be extremely difficult to get rid of him! A brute like him should have had his meridians broken and been locked up in the Ten Thousand Buddhas Pagoda for life!
The emperor's face darkened. He sighed and said, "I've thought about the Ninth Prince, but it's a pity! He's a hopeless case. To achieve great things, one needs to be ruthless. I've looked at all my sons, and only Murong Yunqian has the courage and determination..."
Wei Dongling gritted her teeth angrily. "Father! But Murong Yunqian is not only ruthless! He's also venomous! He even dared to harm his own father! And he's persecuted his brothers and sisters! If such a vicious person ascends to the throne, what will happen to the people of the world?"