Where Did She Get Such Gall

Lu Liangwei was not intimidated. After saying her piece, she straightened her back and gazed quietly at Long Yang with her ink-black eyes.

They were a pair of incredibly beautiful eyes. When she was looking at others, it seemed as if they were full of starlight. It was extraordinarily beguiling.

Long Yang was silent. Second Miss Lu was probably the only person who had ever dared stare him down directly like this.

She was nothing but a brat of around fifteen years old. Where did she get such gall?

He pondered about how she hanged herself in her pursuit of the Crown Prince. Perhaps it was because she did not cherish life, that she no longer feared anything?

While Long Yang sank into deep thought, he heard the young lady speak on with her clear voice, "If I have not made a mistake in my diagnosis, Your Majesty's illness was probably caused by some form of toxin. It was a poison that was ingested when Your Majesty was young.

"These toxins were not completely eliminated at that time, and they have slowly accumulated and mutated. Now, it is already nearing your veins. If it is not put under control, the poison will very quickly invade your intestines. When that time comes, even the Celestial Immortal cannot save you."

Once these words left her lips, Zhao Qian's eyes widened as he gaped at her in shock.

Other people would not understand, but he had been by the master's side for a long time, so he knew it all clearly.

When the emperor was young, he had indeed been poisoned, but that poison was not any sort of potent, highly toxic poison, so it had not quickly taken his life.

However, to remove it was extremely tricky. Even with the might of the entire imperial hospital, they were unable to completely remove the poison from the master's body.

As time went on, that poison was slowly eating away at his body.

Although it was hard to tell from his external appearance, every time the master's illness was triggered, it was an incredibly difficult time for him. He felt as if he could die from the pain!

Thump!

The sound of knees hitting the floor shocked the few people in the study room.

"Zhao Qian!" Long Yang was the first to react, his face cold as he stared at the man.

However, it seemed as if this time, Zhao Qian had eaten the heart of a bear and the guts of a leopard1, as he turned a deaf ear to his master's words.

He kowtowed slightly toward Lu Liangwei. "Second Miss Lu, please save our master!"

Lu Liangwei looked at him, forcing herself to stay calm despite feeling nervous.

Seeing the eunuch getting so emotional meant that what she said was probably spot on.

"Why are you doing this, Butler Zhao? As long as His Majesty chooses to trust me, naturally, I will never give up even if I die a dozen times over."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Qian immediately turned to face Long Yang. Throwing caution to the wind, he said, "Master, Second Miss Lu is still young. Earlier, it was only out of her eagerness to save you that she inadvertently offended you, Master. Please allow her a chance to make things up to you."

Seeing the eunuch speaking up for his sister, Lu Tingchen instantly heaved an inward sigh of relief.

Ever since the emperor was young, Zhao Qian had been serving him by his side. After all these years, his loyalty had never faded.

Although Zhao Qian was a eunuch, his words carried more weight than Lu Tingchen's.

Sure enough, Long Yang glanced at Zhao Qian and his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Pressing his lips together, his eyes seemed to flash a hint of anger.

Chu Qi kneeled as well. He stared silently at Long Yang with his ink-black eyes, not saying a word. 

Long Yang glanced at him. "Even you believe Second Miss Lu's words?"

Chu Qi shuffled his knees forward a few steps, reaching out a hand to tug on the corner of Long Yang's robes. When he lifted his head again, his black eyes held were glinting with hope. "Since it's already like that, why not trust her this once?"

Seeing that even Chu Qi had kneeled down, the last bit of worry in Lu Tingchen's heart also faded.

Even though Chu Qi was only fourteen years old, his skills in martial arts were outstanding. Despite his young age, he was already the emperor's personal guard and held the role of guarding the monarch's private chambers. 

It was said that Chu Qi was brought back by the emperor from a land of war years ago. All these years, he had kept him by his side and even personally taught him martial arts. In name, they were master and servant, but in reality, they were more like father and son.

If it were not for the fact that Chu Qi's surname was not Long, the emperor would probably have selected him as his heir ages ago. Why should he even have any ties with Long Chi?!