Irked by the fact that Noble Consort Ruan was sobbing hysterically on the sidelines, the veins on the back of Emperor Lin’s hand felt like they were going to burst out. He suddenly turned around, raised his hand and slapped her face with a significant force as he said angrily, “Now you decide to cry?! What sort of mother were you before this happened?”
Noble Consort Ruan was stunned by the slap that she temporarily forgot that she was crying. She continued to stare blankly at Emperor Lin with a shocked expression.
Lin Feilu spoke suddenly and asked Meng Fuji, who was beside her, quietly, “Doctor Meng, is it depression?”
Meng Fuji replied, “It is recorded in the medical books that the disease in the body can be cured by medicine, but the disease in the heart is something that even doctors cannot cure. Depression stems from the heart and the constant negative thoughts would cloud one’s mind with troubles and mess up their mental states, eventually leading them to seek a way out to find respite.”
Emperor Lin frowned and said, “What do you mean? Little Fifth Princess, do you mean that King Qi suffers from depression?”
Lin Feilu’s voice was a little hoarse, “Yes. If it weren’t for him having depression, why would he ingest poison and try to kill himself?”
She had long known that Lin Ting was in a worrying state.
He showed too many telltale signs of having depression, something that she had seen one too many times in the modern world.
She should have thought long ago that such a gentle and kind person was prone to be subjected to mental illness when faced with the endless persecution from their mother’s family. The kinder someone was, the more likely they were to get hurt.
Noble Consort Ruan was stunned and she muttered for a long time, “How…how could…”
Lin Feilu looked at her coldly, “Is Noble Consort Ruan truly unaware of the cause of the Eldest Imperial Brother’s depression?”
Noble Consort Ruan shuddered, but she was speechless for a while.
The little servant who went to obtain the medicine finally came back at this time as he hurriedly brought in the boiled medicine. Meng Fuji and several imperial doctors gave Lin Ting the medicine together. He was in a coma, so he only managed to drink half of the medicine whereas the other half was sprinkled all over his collar, dripping from his mouth.
Noble Consort Ruan cried again when she saw this scene unfold. However, this time, she didn’t dare to cry out loud any longer. She merely covered her face with a handkerchief and sobbed softly.
Several imperial doctors developed new antidote prescriptions and immediately went to make more of them after reporting it to the Emperor. Emperor Lin stayed in King Qi’s Residence until late at night before returning to his palace. Lin Feilu wanted to stay here whereas Noble Consort Ruan was unwilling to leave. Meng Fuji, too, had to stay behind to observe the Eldest Imperial Prince’s condition.
The entire King Qi Residence was dyed with a thick layer of gloom.
As soon as Emperor Lin left, Noble Consort Ruan took Lin Ting’s hand and cried for a while. She desperately asked Meng Fuji, who was standing beside her, as if she was grabbing a life-saving straw, “Will my Ting Er wake up?”
At this time, she finally seemed to resemble the look of a mother.
Meng Fuji said sternly, “This humble one will try his best to detoxify the poison, but his heart disease is difficult to cure. His Highness King Qi was determined to seek death, so whether he can wake up or not depends on his own wishes. If you allow this humble doctor to say something inappropriate, I can say that even if he wakes up successfully for now, there is no guarantee that he wouldn’t try to kill himself in the future.”