The Emperor Rui could clearly feel the pain in his body, his head and chest were also hurting and tight, and even his soul was being torn apart, enduring agonizing torture. If he could still clearly know that he was in a nightmare at the beginning, then now this suffocating and terrifying atmosphere, which was too real, had made Emperor Rui unable to distinguish between reality and dreams.
The Emperor on the bed's complexion grew worse, and his murmuring voice became smaller. Seeing his complexion change from pale to green, and even faintly turning purple, Su Muqing felt something was wrong. She quickly scanned Emperor Rui with a detector and found that his consciousness was very chaotic, and the blood vessels in his head were starting to slowly block. This was a precursor to a cerebral hemorrhage! Not daring to delay any longer, or the consequences would be very serious, Su Muqing quickly used a healing spell to treat Emperor Rui, helping his blocked blood vessels to flow normally. Emperor Rui could not die yet; he had not yet issued a self-criticism edict, nor had he vindicated the Prince of Parallel Kings' Mansion in front of the world. He had not yet cleared the injustice on Huo Si Zhun's name, nor had he apologized to those innocent people who had died unjustly.
Huo Qiyuan also naturally saw Emperor Rui's condition. As Su Muqing started to save him, his mouth opened and closed, but the words "Don't bother about him" couldn't be spoken in the end. He naturally knew Su Muqing's intention; keeping Emperor Rui was because he was still useful. Huo Qiyuan let out a heavy sigh, then turned his body somewhat stiffly, afraid that he would do something he would regret if he couldn't control his inner anger. Emperor Rui, perhaps due to having committed too many sins, had very unstable emotions and a very chaotic consciousness in his mind, and was also showing signs of being scared to death. This was not a metaphor, but the actual gallbladder within Emperor Rui's body had already expanded significantly. If it couldn't be controlled and treated, his gallbladder would rupture in minutes.
After a period of arduous treatment, Emperor Rui's condition finally stabilized. His blood vessels were unblocked, and his gallbladder was treated. His breathing was no longer rapid, and his complexion slowly returned to normal. Seeing Emperor Rui improve, Su Muqing quickly withdrew her hands, cutting off the faint light still between her fingers. After doing this, her forehead was already covered in a thin layer of sweat. Su Muqing's healing spell could not use external force, and due to the severe depletion last time, it caused her fatigue to double every time she used it. This time, in order to unblock Emperor Rui's blood vessels, she had consumed a lot, and even the color of the phoenix tail feathers at the corners of her eyes had dimmed.
Huo Qiyuan saw Su Muqing's face turn a little pale, and the dimming mark at the corner of her eyes, and quickly reached out to support her arm. "Let me help you sit over there for a bit." Su Muqing did not force herself and nodded with a pale face. Sitting on the spacious chair, she began to close her eyes and rest, regulating her internal energy.
In his nightmare, Emperor Rui was in extreme pain and once thought he would die like this. Who knew that a wave of comfortable energy suddenly and slowly spread throughout his body. Emperor Rui exhaled heavily, like a drowning person finally breathing fresh air. Emperor Rui greedily gasped, and the pain and tightness in his head and chest also eased. He suddenly opened his eyes, but being somewhat dizzy and groggy, his vision was still blurry. After his breathing became smoother, he felt his throat was very dry. Emperor Rui stiffly turned his head, wanting the eunuch on night watch to bring him water. However, in his daze, he seemed to see a figure standing in front of him. If he had seen such a situation before, he would have screamed in fear of an assassin. But after experiencing the nightmare that felt like a trip to the gates of hell, Emperor Rui's psychological resilience seemed to have strengthened considerably. Emperor Rui did not yell loudly, but blinked his eyes hard, trying to get a clear look at the person. However, the candlelight was too dim, and his vision was blurry, making it impossible for him to see who the person was.
Huo Qiyuan saw Su Muqing begin to regulate her breathing and then turned to walk towards the large bed. He approached step by step, and only when he stood by the bed did he realize that Emperor Rui had woken up at some point. "You... are... who?" Looking at the increasingly clear face in front of him, Emperor Rui asked with a hoarse throat. Upon seeing the face before him, Emperor Rui's eyes showed a hint of surprise, but more so, astonishment. This was a man of unparalleled handsomeness and a clear, cold, and noble temperament. Even standing there without speaking, he exuded the kingly aura that only those of high status possessed. Could there really be such a transcendent man in the world? How could he not remember ever meeting him? Emperor Rui's memory clearly did not contain any record of this person, yet he always felt that this face seemed familiar.
Huo Qiyuan looked coldly at the middle-aged man on the bed, who was staring blankly, his thin body exposed as he propped himself up. He hadn't expected that after only a few years of not seeing him, he would have become so aged and frail. He remembered Emperor Rui was not even forty years old, wasn't he? Not receiving a reply from the man, Emperor Rui spoke again in a hoarse voice, "You... who are you?" Huo Qiyuan stared at him for a long time, then finally spoke, "It seems we haven't seen each other for too long, Brother Rui, you don't recognize me anymore!" Emperor Rui's eyes suddenly widened. Brother Rui? He couldn't remember how long it had been since he had heard that address. And this familiar voice, though he hadn't heard it for many years, was also a haunting sound that Emperor Rui could never forget, and it was the most hidden, dirty thought he least wanted to be unearthed. This address of "Brother Rui" made Emperor Rui fall into a brief period of contemplation.
Most of the royal family members addressed each other as "Imperial Brother" or "Prince Brother," rarely directly addressing each other by name as "Brother." And Emperor Rui had only ever allowed one person to address him this way – Huo Qiyuan! At that time, the late Emperor had not appointed an heir for a long time. Huo Si Zhun held significant power and was highly regarded by the late Emperor. All the princes who intended to contend for the succession knew that given the late Emperor's temperament and trust in him, he would definitely seek the opinion of the Prince of Parallel Kings' Mansion. All the princes went to great lengths to win over the Prince of Parallel Kings' Mansion. The best idea was to form a marriage alliance with the mansion, but this ultimately failed. Unlike other princes who exchanged power and gold for conditions, Emperor Rui, who was then a prince, pursued a policy of sincere friendship. To show his approachability and uniqueness, he never emphasized his identity in front of Huo Qiyuan. He always maintained a humble demeanor, earnestly befriending them. In fact, Emperor Rui's actions back then were not entirely without genuine feeling. After all, Huo Qiyuan was truly outstanding, and forming a genuine friendship with him would have no drawbacks. Moreover, the late Emperor had also greatly valued Huo Qiyuan at the time, even treating him in a way that was almost indistinguishable from how he treated his own sons.