2026-01-16 13:00:15Sophia stood frozen, both hands pressed over her mouth. Her eyes were wide with horror, locked on her father's failing body.
Marcus exploded. "HE'S DEAD!" His voice cracked with fury and grief. "That bastard killed him!" He spun toward the guards restraining Ethan. "Take him to prison! NOW! I want him charged with murder!" The guards yanked Ethan toward the door. His feet dragged across the polished floor, but his expression never changed. Blank. Calm. Unreadable. "Move!" One guard shoved him hard between the shoulder blades. Richard stumbled after them, phone shaking in his hand. "I'm calling our lawyers. He'll rot in prison for this." The VIP suite doors burst open. A man in his sixties strode through, gray hair perfectly styled, wearing an expensive suit under his white coat. Two assistants flanked him carrying medical equipment. Doctor Heinrich Volkov. The most celebrated physician in the country. He had treated presidents and royalty. Marcus's head snapped up. "Doctor Volkov! Thank God you're here!" He rushed toward the renowned physician, grabbing his arm desperately. "Please, you have to save my father! That fraud did something to him, his vitals crashed, we need you immediately!" Volkov's sharp eyes took in the chaotic scene. The flatlined monitors. The crash cart. The terrified staff. The patriarch lying motionless. "Everyone step back," he commanded. The staff obeyed instantly, clearing space around the bed. Volkov approached Thomas Ashford with measured steps. He placed two fingers on the old man's neck, checking for pulse. Then leaned close, listening to his breathing. His assistants began connecting portable monitoring equipment. Marcus hovered beside him. "Can you save him? Please tell me you can reverse whatever that charlatan did." Sophia finally moved, stepping closer. Her hands had dropped from her mouth but trembled at her sides. Richard stood in the doorway, blocking the guards from taking Ethan any further. "Wait. Let's see what Doctor Volkov says first." Volkov straightened slowly. "His vitals are perfect." Silence crashed through the room. "What?" Marcus leaned forward. "That's impossible. The monitors were screaming, his heart stopped, we saw it!" Volkov pulled a small penlight from his pocket, checked Thomas's pupils. Then pressed his stethoscope to the old man's chest, listening intently. "Heart rate steady at 72 beats per minute. Blood pressure 118 over 76. Oxygen saturation 98 percent. Lung sounds clear." He moved the stethoscope lower. "Liver function..." He paused, frowning. "Liver sounds completely healthy." Doctor Chen pushed forward. "That's medically impossible! He had stage four Crimson Rot Syndrome! His liver was 90 percent necrotic!" Volkov's eyes narrowed. He turned to his assistants. "Run a full metabolic panel. Now." They inserted a needle, drew blood, fed it into a portable analysis machine. Two minutes of agonizing silence. The machine beeped. Results displayed on screen. Volkov stared at the numbers. His face went pale. "Every marker is normal. No disease. No cancer. No infection." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Who treated this man?" At that exact moment, Thomas Ashford's eyes snapped open. Everyone froze and shock waves peeled through the halls.
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Zhu Yu tugged at Lu Liangwei’s hand, saying with an edge of fear in her voice, “Miss, how come the Emperor...”Lu Liangwei shook her head, gesturing for her to stop talking.Zhu Yu could only shut her mouth and obey her uncomfortably.The small group walked through the busy streets and finally arrived at a secluded alley.There was an inconspicuous house at the end of the lane.The person who opened the door was an elderly man. Although he was advanced in his years, there was not a single strand of facial hair on his face. Lu Liangwei guessed that this man was once a eunuch of the palace and was sent here to guard this house. It was clear that this person was a close confidant of Long Yang.Long Yang entered the house first. Lu Liangwei did not dare to dawdle and followed him inside.After stepping in, she realized that although the house was not large, it was quiet and peaceful. There were no extra people apart from the elderly man guarding the house.It seemed that this was Long Yan
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The physician nodded and did not reject it as he took the payment. “Don’t worry, miss. This Hanging Pot Medical Hall is a place to treat and save people. We will take good care of this child.”Lu Liangwei could tell that this physician was not a bad man. She took a money pouch from Zhu Yu’s hands and passed it to the physician. “This money pouch belongs to the child. Please return it to him when he wakes up.”The physician took it from her and promised in goodwill.Lu Liangwei went to take another look at the child. He was lying on the bamboo bed, looking like a little clump. It was truly a pitiful sight. A part of her still worried about leaving him here.Even though it was March now, the temperature was still a little low. She reached out for the blanket on the bamboo bed and covered the child with it. Next, she took out a piece of silver and handed it to a worker from the medical hall.“Can I trouble you to make a trip to help this child buy two sets of clean clothes? You can keep
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Zhu Yu was stunned. “Miss, let me do it.”Right at that moment, the weight on Lu Liangwei’s hands lightened. The little beggar had been carried off by someone.Lu Liangwei was a little astonished when she saw who did it. “Why are you here?”Chu Qi glanced at her without saying a word.It was only then that Lu Liangwei saw Long Yang appearing behind him.This man was wearing an ordinary loose, green robe today. He could scarcely hide his charisma and charm while walking on the busy street.His deep, mysterious eyes looked over from afar and people immediately held their breath as an invisible feeling of pressure enveloped wherever he looked.He was holding a hand fan that was not opened. All he did was hold on to it.He walked over casually, moving a little lazily and a little carefree.His face warned off people from coming closer and was filled with a sense of abstinence, but it attracted the looks of passersby as they watched him.However, there was an aura about him that made one a
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Lu Liangwei did not eat much of anything, although Zhu Yu was enjoying the dishes quite happily.She used to come here often, but all she did was stand by the side while she watched the Miss eat.This was the first time she got to savor the dishes of Drunk Fragrance Pavilion and the taste was as heavenly as rumored.As her maidservant’s head was buried into her food, Lu Liangwei’s gaze started to sweep the area.Right at that moment, a handsome man walked down from upstairs.It took one look for Lu Liangwei to recognize this handsome man. It was no one other than Lu Yunshuang disguised as a man.A good-looking young man followed behind her.That young man was Lin Qingyuan’s fiancé, Chen Xuping.Chen Xuping walked behind her, which was why he let his adoration for Lu Yunshuang shine in his eyes without hinder.The main hall was filled with customers shuffling in and out, and the pair did not notice Lu Liangwei seated at the corner.Once they walked out of Drunk Fragrance Pavilion, a li
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There was another thing. The Emperor had taken over the reins of ruling the country for quite a while but had not sired a child to date. He had no alternative but to appoint Long Chi as the Crown Prince. This surely meant that the Emperor must be suffering from some secret illness.How could a woman maintain her status when she has entered the Palace yet could not produce a child?When Long Chi becomes the Emperor and Yunshuang becomes Queen, would they treat Weiwei well?There were too many complications involved and the Dowager Duchess did not explain every one of them to Aunt Lan.All she hoped, was that she had overthought this.Lu Liangwei and Zhu Yu left the Grand Duke Mansion after exiting Longevity Hall.All this while, she had stayed inside the mansion while reading medical books. Otherwise, she would be experimenting around with medicinal ingredients. Besides entering the Palace yesterday, she had never truly stepped out of the mansion doors.She went for a round of window s
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The Dowager Duchess nearly burst out laughing. She pointed at Lu Liangwei’s head as she scolded playfully, “Is that bowl of longevity noodles plated with gold or is it plated with silver? Such gall for you to ask for that!”Lu Liangwei smiled and replied, “It was supposed to be worth nothing, but when the Emperor insisted on rewarding me with the Southern Seas pearls, well, because of the Emperor, the noodles are now one-of-a-kind. Isn’t that the same as being plated in gold or silver?”The Dowager Duchess turned toward Aunt Lan, grumbling, “Just listen to this girl, she’s getting glibber by the minute. It was but a normal bowl of longevity noodles, but when she’s talking about it now, it has become one-of-a-kind.”It sounded like a complaint, but cheerfulness was evident in her eyes and her expression.Aunt Lan laughed along as well. “If it was up to me, this glibness of Second Miss should be used for business purposes, it would be such a shame no to.”“That’s right, that’s exactly r
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