Luo Wei had wrongly accused Long Xuan but still had a cold expression. Even without poison, this man could still find other ways to get rid of his elder brother. Luo Wei looked back at Luo Qi, calculating in his mind that he couldn’t let him stay in the capital for too long. He needed to send Luo Qi back to Yunguan as soon as possible. Only when he returned to Yunguan could Luo Wei feel more at ease. At least in Yunguan, it wouldn’t be so easy for Long Xuan to harm him.
Luo Qi shook his head at Luo Wei. The way Luo Wei had just treated Long Xuan made him feel as if this little brother of his was the one bullying people.
“Do you have nothing to say to me?” Long Xuan asked Luo Wei.
At this moment, Fu Dao shouted loudly from outside, “Your Majesty!”
The high-pitched voice carried a crying tone, making the three people inside the room feel uncomfortable.
“Come in,” Long Xuan said. If Fu Dao had made such a sound, something must have happened again. Long Xuan felt upset for no reason.
After Fu Dao rushed in, he immediately knelt down on the ground.
“What happened?” Long Xuan asked.
“The Empress Dowager,” Fu Dao cried on the ground and reported to Long Xuan, “The Empress Dowager has passed away!”
Luo Wei hurriedly asked, “Be clear about what you’re saying. Which palace’s Empress Dowager has passed away?”
Fu Dao said, “It’s the Empress Dowager from Xiangnian Hall.”
Luo Wei turned to face Fu Dao. That woman from the Liu clan had died? This couldn’t be true! Luo Wei remembered that the imperial physician had told him just a month ago that this woman was only a little weak in health and not in good spirits. How could a woman who hadn’t even had a serious illness suddenly die? “What did the imperial physicians say?” Luo Wei seemed to have forgotten that Long Xuan was sitting behind him, “How did the Empress Dowager die?”
Fu Dao bowed his head to the ground and said, “This servant doesn’t know. Please go to Xiangnian Hall, Your Majesty.”
“Are people in Xiangnian Hall all dead?” Luo Wei said incredulously. “They can’t even explain how the Empress Dowager passed away?”
Fu Dao knelt there, not daring to lift his head.
Luo Wei wanted to turn around and see how Long Xuan would respond, but before he could turn back, he heard his elder brother Luo Qi suddenly exclaim, “Your Majesty!”
Luo Wei quickly turned around, but his movement was not as fast as Luo Qi’s. By the time he turned back, he saw Long Xuan being supported by Luo Qi, as if he was about to fall to the ground. Luo Wei was stunned for a moment and he didn’t know what to do.
“Call the imperial physicians!” Luo Qi said to Luo Wei. “His Majesty has fainted.”
Accustomed to seeing Long Xuan’s strong demeanor, Luo Wei looked at the man who was being helped by Luo Qi to lie back on the dragon bed. Seeing this person in such an unconscious state made Luo Wei doubt a little. Could this person really be Long Xuan?
“Xiao Wei!” Luo Qi saw Luo Wei standing still and quickly called out to him.
“Fetch the imperial physicians!” Luo Wei instructed Fu Dao as he finally came back to his senses.
Fu Dao hurriedly got up from the ground and rushed out, shouting loudly for the physicians as he ran.
Luo Wei walked to Long Xuan’s dragon bed and asked Luo Qi, “How is he? How could he be like this so suddenly?”
Luo Qi said, “Maybe he couldn’t bear to hear the news of the Empress Dowager’s death.”
Luo Wei glanced at the unconscious Long Xuan’s tired and pale face. Luo Wei furrowed his brows, but he still said coldly, “Is there something he can’t bear?”
Luo Qi didn’t reply and just covered Long Xuan with the quilt.
At this time, the imperial physicians ran in with Fu Dao.
The leading imperial physician saw Luo Wei standing there and hurriedly bowed to him, asking, “Your Highness, how is the Emperor?”
“The Emperor fainted,” Luo Wei said, “Go and take a look at him.”
The imperial physicians quickly went forward to examine Long Xuan.
Luo Wei walked up to Fu Dao and said, “Go and ask Prince Xin to come in.”
“This servant obeys.” Fu Dao hurriedly went out. Prince Xin was waiting to be summoned in the main hall of Changming Palace, so there was no need to leave the palace to find him.
After the imperial physicians examined Long Xuan’s condition, their expressions became less tense.
“How is he?” Luo Wei asked from behind.
The chief imperial physician hurriedly replied to Luo Wei, “In response to Your Highness, the Emperor’s fainting was due to a momentary anger affecting his heart. He will be fine after resting for a while.”
Not due to excessive grief, but to anger? Luo Wei looked at Long Xuan with a probing gaze. Than woman Liu should have stopped living long ago, but this person wouldn’t have killed his own birth mother, right?
Prince Xin walked in briskly. As soon as he entered, he asked loudly without even sitting down, “What’s happened now? What’s wrong with His Majesty?!”
Everyone in the room looked at Luo Wei.
“Yunqi, what happened?” Prince Xin immediately asked Luo Wei again.
Luo Wei said, “Uncle, just now Xiangnian Hall reported that Empress Dowager Liu has passed away. His Majesty fainted due to excessive grief.”
The imperial physician who had just spoken to Luo Wei shrank his neck. He had just misspoken and was now in trouble.
“Great sorrow and great anger are actually not much different,” Luo Wei said to the imperial physician with rare kindness, “Don’t think too much about it.”
“This official thanks Your Highness.” The imperial physician hurriedly thanked Luo Wei.
Prince Xin didn’t understand what these two were talking about. He was just thinking in confusion: Lady Liu had died. Yesterday, Long Xuan had visited her, and now this woman was dead?!
At this time, an imperial physician inserted a needle into Long Xuan’s philtrum acupuncture point1.
After a moment, Long Xuan suddenly opened his eyes and woke up.
“Your Majesty,” Prince Xin walked quickly to Long Xuan’s dragon bed, bowing and asking, “How do you feel now?”
Long Xuan had just awakened from unconsciousness and looked at Prince Xin suddenly appearing in front of him, unable to react.
“Your Majesty?” Prince Xin saw Long Xuan ignoring him and called out to him again.
Luo Wei then stepped forward and, standing behind Prince Xin, said to Long Xuan, “Your Majesty fainted from excessive grief just now. Your Majesty, do you feel better now?”
Excessive grief? Long Xuan wondered why he would be excessively sad. Upon this thought, Long Xuan remembered that his birth mother had just died.
Seeing Long Xuan’s face initially showing some color but then suddenly turning pale again, Prince Xin quickly said, “The Empress Dowager can finally reunite with His late Majesty. I hope Your Majesty can take comfort.”
Prince Xin’s words made Long Xuan and Luo Wei both think it was a joke. Would Emperor Xingwu be happy to see this woman whom he had despised when he was alive?
“Where is the person who came to report the death?” Long Xuan spoke up, “Bring them in. I have something to ask.”
Fu Dao hurriedly went out again, and soon brought in a timid palace servant.
Long Xuan was supported by the imperial physician as he sat up from the dragon bed. Without even looking at the palace servant, he asked, “When did the Empress Dowager pass away?”
The palace servant whispered, “The Empress Dowager always slept until noon, but today, it was past noon and the Empress Dowager still hadn’t gotten up, so…”
“I’m asking when?!” Long Xuan impatiently interrupted.
“Your Majesty, spare this servant’s life!” The palace servant was so frightened by Long Xuan’s shout that he quickly kowtowed and begged for mercy.
- 人中” – rén zhōng : an important acupuncture point located on the face, precisely at the midpoint of the philtrum, which is the vertical groove between the base of the nose and the upper lip. It is particularly useful to revive consciousness and restore alertness. ↩︎
Boundless Dao 
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