Chapter 107 - Cured Pursuit

Lei Xing just scrutinized the bowl and its contents and made no move to accept it. After a while, the Emperor then sighed and said, "Xing er', you should hurry and drink it and rest some more."

Lei Xing glanced at him and nodded. Xiao Ruo then wanted to feed it to her, but she persistently insisted on drinking it herself and so they obliged and gave her bowl. She held it in her lap and glanced around at all the faces watching at her, then covertly looked at her ring and saw it change color. Then she frowned and sighed in annoyance

{...As expected, these idiots are trying to kill me -_-)...}

Lei Xing frowned and looked up at the head physician and asked, "What's in this?"

The Head physician knit his brows, a bit displeased with being questioned but respectfully informed her of the whole list of beneficial herbs that went into the brew and finished with, "...and the flowers."

Lei Xing's raised her eyes, "The flowers...the ones that caused this?" 

The head physician saw her worry and thought to enlighten her and informed, "Your highness, sometimes the cure is in the poison itself."

Lei Xing frowned at him and asked, "Do I look like a guinea pig to you?" 

They all blinked, confused with her question. She did not wait for a response and motioned for Xiao Ruo to take the bowl, but before Xiao Ruo could grab it, the Emperor took it from her hands and tried to reason with her, "Xing er', just beca-"

"I'm not drinking it." Lei Xing resolutely said, glaring at him. 

The head physician knit his brows and explained, "Your highness, it is perfectly safe a-"

"Did you drink it?" Lei Xing bit out.

"Well, no bu-"

"Then you don't know. Why don't you drink it first? And if it doesn't kill you, then I'll drink it." Lei Xing stubbornly said, her energy level had surged up all of sudden and she was ready to fight. 

The head physician and the others were at a loss on what to do with the Noble consort who was behaving like a spoilt child and so looked to the Emperor, who was frowning at Lei Xing. Lei Xing faced the other direction, ignoring him. She was not going to let them force her to take poison.

The Emperor then sighed and turned to the head physician, "Has my brother taken it already?"

On hearing that, Lei Xing's ears perked up and she immediately turned to him and asked, "Your brother is sick too?"

The Emperor glared at her, then she pouted and looked away.

{...I just asked a question, there's no need to look at me like I punched your face or something -_-)...}

The head physician bowed and informed, "Yes, he has already taken it and his condition has already seen improvement." They had come up with this solution much earlier in the day, but since Lei Xing was asleep they sent it to Prince Yi first. Also, Lei Xing's seemed to be in worse condition than Prince Yi, so they were scared of making her worse, especially considering how the Emperor had been sticking to her side all day, if anything happened to her, their heads will roll. 

The Emperor then turned to Lei Xing, "You've heard it. Hurry and drink it."

Lei Xing looked at him, then frowned at the bowl in his hand. She was aware that some toxins could be used as a cure but was still a bit hesitant on ingesting it giving her current state caused by said toxin. The Emperor then took it upon himself to feed her and brought a spoonful to her mouth. Lei Xing jerked her head back.

The Emperor then frowned and ordered, "Open." Lei Xing looked at him with an aggrieved expression, then looked back at the spoon, let out a breath.

{...Since the guinea pig is fine, I guess it's fine then -_-)...}

Lei Xing reached for the spoon to feed herself but the Emperor, seemingly at the end of his patience, frowned and sternly said, "Sit quietly and take your medicine." So Lei Xing sat still with a frown, begrudgingly being fed.

{...Why are you talking to me like I'm a child? You're the one behaving like a child! -_-)...}

Just as they were half-way through the bowl, an Imperial doctor suddenly burst through the doors and shouted, "Head physician, there's trouble!"

They all froze and the head physician immediately reprimanded him for his rude behavior. He quickly bowed and apologized. He looked at the half-empty bowl in the Emperor's hand, then at Lei Xing and panicked informed, "Prince Yi has collapsed!"

Lei Xing blinked up at him, then went wide-eyed, "Huh?"

Her mouth hung open for a bit, then she broke into a hysterical coughing fit. The Emperor quickly dropped the bowl and held onto her, patting her back as the head physician quickly ran over to check on her condition.

Lei Xing was instinctively trying to cough up the medication but ended up in a painful dry retching session, after calming down a bit and breathing heavily. They brought water to her, and she moved her hand from her mouth to see blood in her palm. Her eyes went wide and then rolled to the back of her head.

{...These idiots T_T)...}

Lei Xing slipped into unconsciousness and went limp in the Emperor's arms. Everyone in the room panicked. The head physician applied some acupuncture, then assured the Emperor, "Your majesty,  there is nothing to worry about. The blood is only as a result of suffering a shock in her weakened state-"

"I can see that...and the poison you just fed her?" The Emperor coldly asked through gritted teeth. The head physician immediately got on his knees, along with the other Imperial doctors in the room.

The head physician then went on to explain, "It is possible that their bodies need some time to...familiarize with the medication...Wh-which is why Prince Yi ended up collapsing. He must have overexerted himself...And Her highness...it was due to the shock on the news, otherwise -... She just needs some time to rest and properly recover..." The head physician finished kowtowing, with the others following.

The Emperor did not say anything. Once Xiao Ruo had finished wiping the blood from Lei Xing's hand. He gently put her down on the bed and properly covered her with the blanket. Then he glared down at the head physician's head. After a long stretch of silence, the Emperor took a deep breath then calmly said, "Rest? Very well then, I understand. Rise..." 

The Head physician let out a sigh in relief thankful for the Emperor's understanding, he bowed his head again then stood up. The Emperor then calmly continued, "...Since you have said this. If anything does happen to her beyond rest, I will consider it your doing...at a minimum. So it is in all your best interests to make sure it is simply rest." 

The head physician looked up at the Emperor's slight smile, felt a shiver and looked down, then assured again that she will be fine. The Emperor nodded and told them to leave.

When they got outside, the head physician harshly scolded the Imperial doctor who had brought the information about Prince Yi and blamed him for shocking Lei Xing and worsening her condition. Then assured him that if he were going to die, he will make sure to take him along with him. 

The Imperial doctor apologized profusely, but the head physician scoffed and walked off to quickly make his way to Prince Yi's manor to find out what went wrong and fix it before it was too late. 

After they were left alone, the Emperor frowned as he stared at the unconscious Lei Xing. He was enraged, and it took a lot of self-control to handle that with calm demeanor. He was also annoyed with himself with this incident as he had forced her to take the medication.

{...She is going to be alright...right?... }

{...}

The Emperor waited for a while, then his frown deepened when no response came. 

{...It makes no sense for you to have brought her to me only for her to die now...when I've finally started to see a happy future again...Wouldn't that be too cruel?...}

{...}

Still, he received no response.