Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 88487 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 442(@200wpm)___ 354(@250wpm)___ 295(@300wpm)
Jin was worried that if their father died, Ming Tao would toss aside all the work and not complete his last classes to get his master’s degree.
He stepped into the hall and found Qin waiting to usher him to the doctor’s office so they could have a private word. The second he stepped inside, the doctor jumped to his feet and bowed deeply.
“Dianxia, are you feeling well?” he asked in greeting, already pulling his stethoscope from his pocket.
Jin waved him off. “I’m fine, just tired. I didn’t sleep well last night.”
“Would you like me to prescribe you something to help you sleep?”
“No. No, I’m okay. I wish to know about the emperor. Are you seeing any improvement?”
The doctor motioned to a chair in front of the desk and waited for Jin to sit before he moved behind his desk to his own chair. “I’m sorry to say, Dianxia, that the only improvement we are going to see now is no change in his condition. His heart is weak and both valves are struggling to keep working. The positive is that we are seeing no problems with kidney, liver, or lung function, but there’s no avoiding it; he needs a heart transplant.”
“And the emperor has an extremely rare blood type,” Jin whispered. The doctor had warned him that this was likely. The only trouble was that someone needed to die for his father to live. Someone with a rare blood type who was also an organ donor.
“We have one option to buy us time, but I am not a fan of it because of the emperor’s age. If his condition deteriorates so that it looks unlikely he will last until we find a replacement, we can use an artificial heart. It is a hard recovery, and if we find the replacement heart while he is still recovering from the artificial heart surgery…”
Jin nodded. “He might not survive the second surgery and we will have wasted a heart that could have gone to someone else in need.”
The doctor wrung his hands on his desk. “I am so very sorry my news isn’t better, Dianxia.” Dr. Chen was the head of cardiology and ranked as one of the very best surgeons in all of East Asia. Jin trusted his assessment and believed he was doing all he could to save the emperor’s life.
“Have you spoken to my father—I mean the emperor about this yet?” He stammered, cursing himself at such a lazy slip, but at a time like this, it was hard to see him as the emperor. Right now, he felt like the man lying in the hospital bed was his father first.
“No, I haven’t. I wanted to discuss it with you before speaking to him.”
Jin grunted. “Good. Can you wait another day or two? Prince Jin Ming Tao arrives home tomorrow. I want the chance to discuss this with him, and then we can both be there when you tell the emperor.”
Dr. Chen looked relieved at the suggestion. “Yes. Yes, of course. I will wait for you both to visit with the emperor.”
Pushing to his feet, Jin offered the doctor a small bow of his head and left the office, making the long, solemn walk out of the hospital to the waiting car. When they were on the road to the palace, Jin checked his messages to find a check-in from his brother to say he was packed and heading to the airport. If the weather remained good, he would land in the morning. Jin replied that Ming Tao would, in fact, be going to the palace after landing to shower and change so he could present himself to their father.
The reply was an emoji of a little person sticking his tongue out.
God, he missed Ming Tao.
It would be good to have his brother home.
Except for the assassins. What if there was a mistake? What if they confused him and his brother and they killed Ming Tao instead?
It was something he’d never considered because his brother had been out of the country. But now… No, no no no no. This had to be fixed. He needed to talk to West. To figure out this mess before his brother stepped onto Gaoxing soil.
“Dianxia? Is everything all right?”
It was only when Qin’s concerned voice broke through his dark thoughts that he realized he was sitting there, clenching his phone in his shaking hands.
Jin cleared his throat and nodded. “Yes. Just…worried about the emperor. Prince Jin Ming Tao messaged to say that he’s hoping to land in the morning. I want the car that picks him up to bring him directly to the palace. He’s not allowed to see the emperor until he meets with me first.”
“As you wish, Dianxia. I’ll see that it’s done.”
“What does the rest of my schedule look like? When am I done today? I need to catch up on some sleep.”