At his words, the Dowager Duchess finally heaved a sigh of relief and stood up.
The Emperor had always been a sedate and restrained man, but he had lost his usual composure time and time again for Weiwei’s sake.
She sighed inwardly.
Although she wished that Weiwei could always be loved by the Emperor, he was clearly too smitten with her.
On a personal level, it was a good thing that Weiwei was so cherished by the Emperor.
However, it was not favorable to the kingdom.
The Emperor was clearly swayed by his personal feelings for Weiwei.
If the court officials and the people were to find out, they would definitely think that Weiwei had bewitched the Emperor into ruining the kingdom.
Thinking of that, she could not help adding with solemn earnestness, “Weiwei’s fortunate to have your love, but Your Majesty, going too far is as bad as not going far enough. Sometimes, caring too much for Weiwei isn’t a good thing for her; in fact, it might backfire. Rumors can destroy a person too, you know.
“When you keep overstepping the mark for Weiwei’s sake, you’re bringing about her ruin instead of showing your love for her. This time, I’ve given orders to seal off all news of Weiwei’s disappearance from the outside world.
“If you insist on causing a commotion, then this matter will be exposed. Weiwei’s the Empress and a woman; if news of her kidnapping gets out, she’ll be attacked by all sorts of rumors even if she returns safely. Also, your care for her will attract the malicious speculations of treacherous people. In fact, they’ll even make a big fuss out of this incident and force you to dispose of Weiwei.”
Her words made Long Yang shudder in realization and filled him with shame.
“Thank you for the advice, Grandmother,” he eventually rasped.
The Dowager Duchess shook her head and raised a hand to massage the spot between her eyebrows, smiling ruefully. “My age is really catching up with me. Since you’ve woken up and understood what needs to be done, I’ll take my leave now.”
Long Yang quickly ordered Zhao Qian, “Escort the Dowager Duchess back to the Grand Duke Mansion.”
“Yes, Master.” Greatly relieved that the Dowager Duchess had managed to persuade his master, Zhao Qian hurried forward and took her arm obligingly. “Let me escort you out of the palace, Madam.”
The Dowager Duchess did not refuse. “Thank you, Butler Zhao.”
Zhao Qian replied reverently, “The pleasure is mine.”
After hearing that the Emperor had woken up, Chief Physician Lin immediately rushed over to examine his pulse.
Finding that the Emperor was still a little weak, he wrote out a new prescription at once and instructed the servants to prepare the medicine.
“Please take care of your health, Your Majesty,” he advised gravely once he returned.
He had served the Emperor for many years, and he was one of his trusted aides too. During the past few days, he had been here keeping watch over the unconscious Emperor, so he naturally knew about Lu Liangwei’s disappearance.
Long Yang nodded and said, “Summon Chu Yi here for me.”
Chief Physician Lin called for Chu Yi right away.
The moment Chu Yi entered, he fell to his knees in front of the bed. “Master, I’ve failed in my duty to protect the Empress. Please punish me.”
Long Yang said evenly, “It’s not your fault. You may rise.”
Now that he had calmed down, the gears in his mind started to turn rapidly.
The kidnapper was no ordinary person. It was really peculiar that they had managed to sneak into the heavily-guarded palace and abduct Weiwei without alarming anyone.
Chu Yi bowed his head in shame.
The past few days had been unbearable for him too.
After all, his master had entrusted him with the task of guarding the palace, but he had repeatedly failed in his duty and fallen short of his master’s expectations.