"I will visit Father now." Then Lucas proceeded straight into the Tranquil Hall without waiting for anyone to inform the emperor
about his arrival. Francis squinted his eyes, but said nothing. His brother Lucas had always been a special person. There was no
need for him to ask for their father's permission, no matter whether he went to the Imperial Study or into the Tranquil Hall.
"Your Highness, you too must be here to visit His Majesty," Andy greeted Francis.
"Lucas just returned from the disaster relief, so I walked with him. He did a great service during the relief efforts, and this has
impressed many officials. I'm sure Father will be very happy when he comes to know about this," Francis said calmly.
"Bastard!" While both Andy and Francis were talking, they heard an angry yell from the emperor. They were still waiting outside,
so they didn't know what was happening inside the Tranquil Hall. Suddenly, they saw Lucas rushing out with blood on his face.
His head seemed to have been hit.
"What's wrong, Lucas?" Francis was quite astonished.
Covering the wound on his forehead, Lucas said, "I'm fine. I don't know why, but Father somehow lost his temper all of a sudden.
Look, he even smashed my head. Lord Andy, you're too unkind. My father was in a terrible mood, but you didn't tell me. I wasn't
just scolded, but was hit when I went in. My face is very important to me. Without this handsome face, how could I flirt with the
beautiful girls?"
'You deserve it!' Andy secretly scolded, 'Are you even aware of the current situation we are in? His Majesty is getting weaker and
weaker, and the empire is facing internal and external challenges. Now the imperial court has strongly advised either Prince
Jason or Prince Francis to be the heir to the throne. But here you are, still worried about your face and flirting with beautiful girls.
No one is satisfied with you. How dare you be close to His Majesty and talk about beauties? Who else deserves more to be hit?'
"Hurry up. Take Lucas to the Imperial Academy of Medicine and have his wound dressed." Francis ordered someone to take
Lucas for dressing his wound.
Lucas pressed his head and weakly leaned against a guard. "I think I will die. My face will be ruined. My Yvette will be
heartbroken to see me like this. I need to see her."
"Lucas, you'd better have your wound dressed up first." Francis frowned. "Don't frighten the beauty with blood covered all over
your face."
"Yes, you're right, Francis. I must get my wound dressed first. I will not come back to the Imperial Palace any sooner. Father is
too bad-tempered. I've just spoken a few words and look at my head now. It's ruined," Lucas said. Lucas, supported by the
guard, headed straight to the Imperial Academy of Medicine. Along the way, he leaned his body against the guard and cried out,
"Ouch!"
Francis watched Lucas walking away, and then he stepped into the Tranquil Hall. The emperor was visibly in a rage. Francis
stopped at a fair distance away and said, "Good day, Father."
"Francis, it's you." The emperor looked dispirited. The pieces of broken teacups were still on the floor, and some of them were
visibly stained with blood. Presumably, they were from the cup used to smash Lucas.
"Tell me, Father, why are you so angry?" Francis summoned someone for clearing up the fragments on the floor before he went
in closer to the emperor. "Father, you don't look well. Is something wrong?"
"Those people in the Imperial Academy of Medicine are useless. Days have passed since I asked them to make the Longevity
Pill. But what did they invent? They are not at all effective in performing their job." The emperor was feeling so unwell. He felt as
if thousands of ants were biting him all over. He kept on scratching his ears and cheeks and didn't know what to do. He felt that
he was living a hell of a life and even thought death would be much better.
"Father, don't be angry. I trust the Imperial Academy of Medicine. I am sure that they will make the new Longevity Pill soon. You
may just have to sustain these miseries for a few more days." Francis was actually thrilled to see that the trembling emperor
huddled himself up on the bed. While suffering in bed in the past, Francis too wished to die. But his conscience didn't allow him
to end up as a loser, and he wished even harder to stay alive.
"Go and fetch the pills for me. I want it now." The emperor threw whatever he got in his hands at Francis, but luckily the latter
could dodge them. Looking at the emperor acting foolishly, he stood plainly with no superfluous expression on his face.
"Yes, Father. I will go to the Imperial Academy of Medicine and urge the imperial physicians to speed up their work on the
Longevity Pill." Then he turned around and walked out. "Lord Andy, take good care of my father."
"Yes, Your Highness." After sending Francis away gingerly, Andy took care of the emperor. Since the emperor was addicted to
the pill, his yearning for it was irresistible. He had already consumed all the pills he had, and only then did they find that the
emperor almost broke down. He was not only irritable, but also incontinent, which was a great shame to him as the ruler of a
kingdom.
"Your Majesty, let me get you dressed." Andy looked after the emperor without complaint. Because he was addicted to the pill,
the emperor lay down on the bed like a pool of mud. He was already in poor health, and it was the pill that kept him going. But
after Felix's sabotage, his condition became even worse. He found it even hard to move his fingers. The bones and skin all over
his body ached so much that he felt like killing someone for reducing his frustration or even hurting himself, as if this was the only
way to reduce the effect of pain.
"Felix... I want to see Felix immediately. Bring him here. I want to ask him what the hell this Longevity Pill is!" the emperor
commanded.