The First Princess blushed at his words. "I'm sorry, I have pushed you without consideration."
Li Luo was only a Resonant Master. That single drop of liquid energy was all he had. He had to be 80 or 90 percent spent now.
An apologetic look arose in her red phoenix eyes. "Junior Li Luo," she said softly, "I know my request is unfair, but still I must make it. We have to ascertain the cause of the change.
"I ask for your help one more time. If you can really treat the Emperor, we will all be deeply indebted...
"Whenever you wish, at any time, call and we will answer to repay this debt."
Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e looked at each other with uncertainty. What was the First Princess implying?
Or did she know that House Luolan had trouble headed its way?
It was not unthinkable. As the center of power, the royal court's intelligence networks ran deep, as did its power. It sat at the core of a great network of information, while House Luolan was merely at a fringe position.
However, was she referring to the unknown agent moving against them? Or worse, was the royal court itself involved in the conspiracy? In the absence of more information, everyone else was suspect.
After all, House Luolan had a great treasure to protect, one that held the secret to becoming a King.
Li Luo and Jiang Qing'e exchanged a look, seeing the answer they needed in the other's eyes. They needed a strong ally.
Perhaps the First Princess had been willing to draw closer ties with Jiang Qing'e before, but it would have been a cautious and reserved relationship. Before Jiang Qing'e formally reached the Duke Stage, their relationship would have been rather casual.
That was all they could have hoped for. After all, one was the center of power, the other was a beaten house.
If they wanted to renegotiate the relationship, they would have to bring something worthy to the table.
Who would have thought that the day would come so soon? And the negotiating table itself had become the negotiating chip. Li Luo suddenly had the First Princess losing her composure...
Could he really have the power to heal the little emperor's natural frailty?
No one—not the First Princess, and not even Li Luo himself—had believed anything would come of this, and yet the Grey One had spoken with conviction.
The temptation of the little emperor's health had drawn deep commitment from the First Princess, and now the threads of fate had drawn them close.
The commitment that they would answer when House Luolan was in need.
Such was the importance of the little emperor's wellbeing.
"Your Highness, I will try again." Li Luo nodded. "But I will need a few hours. My resonant power is completely spent."
A few hours was a tricky duration. Neither long, nor short. And yet the little emperor had a schedule to keep. He had to return to the palace in time.
The First Princess took out a jade bottle, shaking out a single pill. "This is a revivification pill. It can greatly boost your resonant power recovery. I think you will find that it is exactly what you need."
Li Luo was tempted to say that he could recover by himself, but considering his state, he decided it was wiser to accept it.
He swallowed it, then he sat down in the lotus position to recover his lost resonant power.
The little emperor was looking at Li Luo. "Grey One, can... can he really make me well again?"
The grey-cloaked old man smiled tenderly at him. "Your Majesty, there is certainly a slight fading of darkness in one corner of the lotus tattoo. That is a hard fact.
"Whether it is due to Li Luo... We will need him to test it again.”
The little emperor looked at Li Luo with doubt. Could he really be a better healer than all the Dukes?
The little emperor was so caught up in his thoughts that his face started to flush red, and soon a wheezing cough followed, along with a wracking pain that contorted his face in misery. He clutched the divan and keeled over.
The old man knew at a glance that the boy had become too worked up, which had triggered an episode. He pulled out medicine and made the little emperor swallow.
The First Princess quickly came to his side as well, calming him. She turned to Jiang Qing'e. "I have never dreamed that this would happen."
Both knew that this was supposed to be nothing more than playing doctor, but things had gotten real all of a sudden.
"With him around," Jiang Qing'e noted with amusement, "miracles have a way of happening."
The First Princess smiled. "Before this, I would have doubted it. After tonight? No longer."
"Your Highness, don't get your hopes up before we confirm things..."
If Li Luo truly had the ability, that would be ideal. But if this were all just a false alarm, then the royal court members would be crushed.
The First Princess gave her a slight nod in acknowledgment, then she settled down quietly to wait for Li Luo to recover.
It took close to an hour.
When Li Luo opened his eyes again, he could feel many people staring at him in silence.
He immediately went to the little emperor's side.
Both palms bringing resonant power forth, he squeezed out another drop of precious healing energy, which he dripped onto the lotus tattoo.
Everyone held their breath.
The same result—no disturbance, and the drop vanishing into the back.
The squinted eyes of the old man were wider than ever before, his breathing ragged with excitement.
"Well? Grey One?" There was an unusual note of anxiety in the First Princess' voice.
His face was solemn as he nodded.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness... A bit of black lotus energy has indeed faded with Li Luo's drop of power."
The First Princess sank down into a chair.
For once, her red phoenix eyes turned truly red as tears of happiness welled.