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The Empress Dowager was taken aback when she suddenly saw a strange man appear before her.
"Who are you? Why are you here?" After the initial shock, the Empress Dowager quickly connected the dots. "It's you! You harmed my Prince! What have you done?"
Liu Yuan was restrained by the Imperial Guards, unable to move. From the moment he slipped into the palace with the intention of poisoning Murong Jing, he had prepared for the worst.
If he could escape, that would be ideal. If not...
"Hahahahahaha!" Despite being held down by several guards, Liu Yuan burst into wild laughter. "What have I done? Oh, nothing much, just administered a little poison to your precious prince."
The Empress Dowager turned pale with shock and anger. "You audacious fool! How dare you! Hurry and bring out the antidote! Otherwise, I will make sure you die a terrible death!"
"Old hag, do you think I'm afraid? If I were afraid, I wouldn't have dared to sneak into the palace alone!" Liu Yuan's face twisted with malice. "I'm as good as dead anyway; if you don't kill me, Gu Bei won't let me live! But I won't die in vain; I'll take your future emperor down with me!"
Liu Yuan continued to laugh maniacally until the guards pressed down on him harder, abruptly cutting off his laughter and replacing it with uncontrollable coughing, which was quickly muffled. All that remained was Liu Yuan's futile struggle.
"It can't be true, it can't be!" The Empress Dowager forced herself to stay calm, though her body trembled slightly. She clutched Murong Jing's hands tightly but was careful not to grip too hard for fear of hurting him.
"Prince, Prince, wake up! Don't scare Mother Empress!" The Empress Dowager's eyes were red as she fought back tears and turned to shout angrily, "Where is the Imperial Physician? Why hasn't he arrived yet? Hurry and send someone to fetch him!"
"He's here! The Imperial Physician is here!" A courtier rushed in with the Imperial Physician, urging him to examine the prince quickly.
"Yes! Yes! I will do my utmost!" The Imperial Physician trembled in fear, not daring to slack off.
The Empress Dowager snapped, "It's not about doing your utmost; you must save him!"
"Yes! Yes! I understand!" The Imperial Physician was frightened by the Empress Dowager's intense demeanor and quickly agreed.
Liu Yuan coldly interjected from the side, "Don't waste your efforts; this poison is something I've meticulously gathered. Just a trace of it guarantees no chance of survival! You might as well prepare for his last rites!"
"Shut up! Someone gag this man; I don't want to hear another word from him!" The Empress Dowager was furious; if she didn't suspect he might have the antidote, she would have killed him already!
However, as if to confirm Liu Yuan's words, blood suddenly began to seep from Murong Jing's mouth and nose. The Imperial Physician rushed forward to apply pressure, but it was of no use. As time passed, the blood flowed more and more freely. Murong Jing trembled all over, his eyes barely open, yet he was violently vomiting dark red blood.
"Prince! Prince!" The Empress Dowager could no longer hold back her tears, which streamed down her face in large drops. But faced with Murong Jing's tragic state, she felt nothing but heartache and helplessness.
The Imperial Physician exhausted every possible means of rescue, yet it was all in vain. He knelt on the ground and said, "Empress Dowager, I beg for forgiveness. The poison has already penetrated deep into his organs; no medicine can save him!"
"Impossible! You incompetent doctor, what nonsense are you spouting!" The Empress Dowager scolded the Imperial Physician angrily. "Bring all the Imperial Physicians here; let them save the Prince!"
The courtiers hurriedly rushed off, turning the palace into chaos.
"Mother Empress..." Perhaps it was the excruciating pain that brought him back to some semblance of consciousness. Murong Jing slowly opened his eyes. Blood continued to pour from his mouth, soaking the silk bedding beneath him and staining his clothes.
The Empress Dowager immediately focused all her attention on Murong Jing, gently stroking his chest. "Prince, how do you feel? Are you any better?"
Murong Jing felt an overwhelming pain throughout his body; his consciousness flickered in and out. Deep within him, there was a faint realization that he did not have much time left.
"Mother Empress, your son is unfilial; I cannot serve you any longer." Murong Jing spoke haltingly, gasping for breath in between. "Fortunately, there is still Shangyang who can honor you on my behalf."
The Empress Dowager hurriedly covered his mouth, anxious. "What are you saying? You won't have any issues; I will never allow anything to happen to you! Shangyang is doing well with her husband; as your royal sister, how can you let her worry about you!"
"I know I was wrong," Murong Jing attempted to smile, but he exerted all his strength; to others, it only appeared as a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth.
The Empress Dowager quickly pressed down on him. "Don't talk for now; rest well. There are so many Imperial Physicians in the palace; surely one of them can detoxify you!" Yet as she comforted both herself and Murong Jing with these words, her heart grew colder.
Murong Jing's hands were becoming increasingly cold; he had lost all warmth.
It hurt so much. This was the only sensation Murong Jing could feel now; he had never experienced such pain before. It was a near-destructive agony that required all his strength just to stifle any cries of pain, his lips and teeth already bloodied from biting down hard.
It was only because he was covered in blood that no one noticed.
Murong Jing could feel something within him, like a tide, quickly receding and pulling his consciousness into a dark abyss.
That was the vitality of life.
"Am I going to die?" Murong Jing wanted to ask, but he no longer had the strength to speak; his voice failed him completely.
Who would have thought? He never imagined he would meet his end in such a way. His gaze fell on Liu Yuan not far away, who was silently laughing maniacally, being pinned down by the guards.
Murong Jing's vision blurred, and he could no longer make out Liu Yuan's expression; he only felt a deep sense of unwillingness.
He had just begun to touch the throne, just made a friend in Gu Bei, and there was Yeh Hsiao-Han—he hadn't even heard her say she liked him.
There were so many things he hadn't had the chance to do. He hadn't told Mother Empress that he seemed to have come to understand that the splendor of the palace could not compare to the vastness of the outside world.
Perhaps if he were given a little more time, he could echo what Mother Empress once said to him. What he was obsessed with was the process of striving for the throne; he didn't have much interest in the throne itself.
But now, he had no more time to consider such matters.
Flashes of his recent life in the military camp crossed his mind—brutal yet exhilarating. There were also carefree moments, like when he and Shangyang Princess fought in the Imperial Garden, only to be scolded by Mother Empress, each of them held up by an ear for a lesson.
If only he could live a little longer... Murong Jing coughed up a mouthful of black blood, his gaze already becoming unfocused.
"I'm sorry..." He weakly reached out his hand but grasped nothing; it fell limply into the air.
The atmosphere instantly froze, with only the sound of his heartbeat pounding wildly in the oppressive silence.
"No, no! Prince, wake up!" Empress Dowager rushed forward, helpless and panicked. She wanted to touch him but hesitated, her face filled with alarm.
The Imperial Physician stepped forward to check his pulse and breathing, trembling as he said, "Empress Dowager, please accept my condolences. The prince has passed away!"
"No!" The Empress Dowager refused to believe it, collapsing onto the bed, but all that lay there was a gradually cooling corpse, silent and unresponsive.
The Empress Dowager felt a tightness in her chest, her breath caught, and she fell backward.
"Empress Dowager! The Empress Dowager has fainted!"
Panic erupted in the palace. With so few rulers present, now that two had collapsed, there was hardly anyone left to maintain order.
In the end, it was the Court Lady beside the Empress Dowager who hurried to the General's residence to inform Gu Bei and Yeh Hsiao-Han of the turmoil in the palace.
"What! How could this happen?"
This unexpected event caught them off guard. Gu Bei and Yeh Hsiao-Han quickly set aside their tasks and followed the maid to the palace.
When they arrived, the Imperial Physicians were huddled together whispering. Upon seeing them approach, they hurriedly stepped forward to pay their respects.
"There's no need for that." At such a moment, neither of them exchanged pleasantries; they directly entered Murong Jing's chamber. Yeh Hsiao-Han stepped forward to examine the situation closely while Gu Bei watched her anxiously from the side.
After a long pause, Yeh Hsiao-Han withdrew her hand and sighed.
"It's too late; it's already..." Moreover, the poison was too potent; even with a divine physician present, it seemed nothing could change the grim reality.
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