Chapter 25

The Queen saw off the old lady of the Marquisate and personally sent the senior palace maid by her side to prepare the carriage and instruct her to ensure that it was safely delivered to the Marquisate.

Old Madam Hou sat in the carriage, opened the curtain, and looked back at the red brick and yellow tile palace.

The Queen's people around her said, "Don't worry, the Queen said that she will tell you immediately if there is any news."

"Got it. Thank the Queen for me."

Arrived at the Marquis’ Mansion.

Mother Fang, who served Madam Hou, came forward quickly and thanked the palace maids around the Queen.

The gate of the Marquis's Mansion opened and closed again, and only when they entered the courtyard of the Marquis's old lady did Mother Fang ask softly, "Old lady, didn't you bring the little prince back?"

Madam Hou: "It is impossible to bring her back. His Majesty will never agree to it."

Fang's mother: "What about you?"

Madam Hou: "I seized the right opportunity, some were to vent, some were to support. The rest was just acting."

As soon as the incident at the temporary palace came out, a big commotion broke out, and the foreign relative of the Marquis' Mansion finally had a reason to interfere in the royal affairs.

She made the request to take the child away in front of the emperor, and her attitude was clear. So in the situation where the seventh prince was killed just now, no matter the emperor was giving face to her and the old man, or was thinking about Yueqing in his heart, or was on guard against the person who acted secretly, the final result would be this.

His Majesty took the Seventh Prince away and raised him personally. There is a huge difference between a child you have raised yourself and one you have not raised, even if it is just for a few days.

However, His Majesty was still unhappy that she came into the palace like this today. Thinking of what the emperor said before he left, Madam Hou asked, "Did Xu Jianyan send someone over again?"

Mother Fang said, "After all, he is the Marquis's second brother."

Madam Hou said, "What an idiot! Next time you come, I will just throw boiling water at you."

Mother Fang responded with a yes.

Old Madam Hou thought of her little grandson lying in bed and sighed slightly. No matter how worried and reluctant she was, she had already done everything she could and could only do so much.

What happens in the future will ultimately depend on the emperor's will.

-

Purple Palace.

The bedroom of Emperor Chongzhao here is low-key yet luxurious. There are four bedposts, each with nine dragons circling. It is not a bed, but a small room. There are three red sandalwood screens with exquisite gold painting on them, and the scenery on each side is different.

There was an incense burner at the end of the bed, with sleeping incense lit in it.

Emperor Chongzhao liked to use incense and would mix it himself according to the season. Most spices were expensive, so this was one of the few expensive hobbies for the emperor.

After Qu Dubian was carried in, he smelled the odor and thought that the lives of this father and son were too different.

Seeing Emperor Chongzhao coming back, the palace maids in the hall took action to help him wash and change clothes.

Emperor Chongzhao had just handed the child, who seemed to be asleep, to Eunuch Yu and asked him to carry him to the bed when he saw the young child start crying again, whimpering as he cried.

He had no choice but to carry the person back, go over and put him on the bed himself.

Unexpectedly, this didn't work. The child couldn't leave his hand. It was as if he could sense it and would sob if he left his hand.

Emperor Chongzhao could only sit by the bed, holding his young son on his lap with one hand, and taking the wet handkerchief with the other hand, simply wiping his face and calling it a day.

He waved.

Eunuch Yu let down the bed curtains, left the eunuchs on duty in the hall, and went outside the Zichen Hall.

Ye Xiaoyuan was waiting here, and as soon as he saw him come out, he returned the badge.

"You can give it to me tomorrow. You must be tired. Go and have a rest." Eunuch Yu did not ask him what he did with the badge.

Ye Xiaoyuan: "It's okay, eunuch, is His Highness asleep?"

"You really care about the little prince," Eunuch Yu whispered, "He is asleep, but he is very clingy. He only wants Your Majesty to hold him and won't let him go. He will make a fuss if you let him go."

Ye Xiaoyuan asked about the time when he was first called back to Ju'an Palace, the way the little prince avoided His Majesty, and the strange atmosphere in the palace: "At that time, the little prince didn't seem to be very close to His Majesty. Did something happen before I came?"

"this……"

Eunuch Yu hesitated for a moment, but still told Ye Xiaoyuan what happened when the little prince was just found and reached out to His Majesty for a hug but was rejected.

"It was the first time that the father and son met, so His Majesty might have felt a little awkward. But now, isn't it great? The Seventh Prince is the first prince to be left in the Purple Palace and be taken care of by His Majesty himself."

Ye Xiaoyuan forced a smile.

"Yes, your highness is the first one."

But looking around the entire palace, which prince grew up in Ju'an Hall, which was comparable to the cold palace, was mistreated by servants, and was harmed by drugs? Which prince had not seen his father since childhood?

The young prince fell ill and ran away just to see His Majesty.

When he really saw her, His Majesty was unwilling to even hug her.

Ye Xiaoyuan did not see the scene with his own eyes, but just by imagining it a little, he could know how aggrieved and disappointed the little prince felt.

Eunuch Yu: "You have served the young prince before. Does he make trouble at night?"

"Don't make a fuss," Ye Xiaoyuan said, "Your Highness has always been very sensible. Even when he was sick, he just didn't like to talk much."

Walking out of the bedroom, Ye Xiaoyuan saw a man kneeling at the foot of the stairs. He was wearing an official uniform, but the style was different from that of other officials.

"Who is that?"

Eunuch Yu: "The Director of the Astronomy Department just knelt down. His Majesty doesn't want to see him, and we dare not inform him. We asked him to leave but he refused. There is really nothing we can do."

"Yeah?"

Ye Xiaoyuan glanced coldly at the person kneeling at the bottom of the stairs. After he finished reciting all the vicious curses in his mind, he turned and left.

-

Inside the palace.

The little prince who Ye Xiaoyuan said had become quiet after falling ill was now whimpering on the dragon couch. He wanted to cry but didn't want to be held in arms, and would cry even louder if anyone held him.

Emperor Chongzhao was overwhelmed and he held the child and rocked him awkwardly, and the child stopped crying.

He had just put the child down and fell asleep next to him when the child started humming again.

Emperor Chongzhao turned over, patted his back, and ordered, "Go to sleep."

Qu Dubian thought that if his cheap father could sleep tonight, he would write his name upside down! The original owner had suffered so much for nothing, and now he was only collecting some interest.

Emperor Chongzhao saw that the child began to sob in his sleep again, mumbling:

"Mother..."

He was stunned for a moment, then sighed and picked him up.

Qu Watanabe stopped humming immediately.

Emperor Chongzhao sat cross-legged on the bed, holding the child for half an hour, and in the end he could hardly feel the existence of his legs.

He stared blankly at the drawn bed curtains, listening to his young son's steady breathing, and wondered if he would fall asleep this time.

Emperor Chongzhao gently raised his arm, and the next second, the child opened his mouth and mumbled: "Banban...thirsty..."

Emperor Chongzhao: “…”

He didn't dare move his hands and opened the curtain with his foot. When he stepped on the footrest, the numbness in his legs suddenly rushed up to the top of his head. He took a deep breath for a few seconds and felt his sleepiness disappear instantly.

The one on duty in the Zichen Hall today is Eunuch Bao. He and Eunuch Yu take turns keeping watch.

He was squatting in the outer room, dozing off, when he was kicked awake. He was so frightened that he tried in a panic to pick up his fallen hat.

Just as he was about to plead guilty, Emperor Chongzhao immediately said, "Hush."

Eunuch Bao covered his mouth immediately.

"Call the doctor."

Eunuch Bao nodded, and Doctor Yang was called over. He thought that something had happened to the young prince again, so he trotted all the way. Now, after diagnosing Qu Watanabe's condition, the tension in his heart relaxed a little.

He whispered an order and the palace servants brought a bowl of warm water mixed with medicine.

"Your Majesty, if His Highness is thirsty, feed him some of this, it will be more effective in reducing fever."

Emperor Chongzhao signaled Eunuch Bao to come over and feed him the diluted medicine. He sat on the bed and adjusted his position slightly. However, Eunuch Bao held the spoon and could not feed him a single mouthful.

The child's mouth was tightly shut and he refused to open it.

Eunuch Bao wiped the sweat from his head, his hands shaking a little as he looked at Emperor Chongzhao as if he was a piece of trash.

"...I am here."

Emperor Chongzhao took the spoon and blew on it. He thought it would be easier for him to feed the baby, but after a while, he put the spoon back into the medicine bowl.

With a clang sound.

Bao Gonggong, holding the medicine bowl, bowed his head deeply, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, are you still going to feed me?"

Emperor Chongzhao stared at his youngest son's mouth which was still tightly closed. The tense curve in his mouth made him look as stubborn as a stubborn person. He found the situation very tricky.

Was it also so difficult for the concubines to raise their children when he couldn’t see them?

No, at least the other princes have maids to take care of them.

But the kid in his hand refused to let anyone serve him, as if he could smell something like a puppy.

Emperor Chongzhao took another deep breath, picked up the spoon again, and fed the medicine with the attitude of handling government affairs.

It was good enough if he could feed it once out of ten times. When the kid frowned and swallowed it with small sips of disgust, he even felt a little strangely relieved.

At least I drank it.

After feeding half a bowl, Emperor Chongzhao stopped.

Feeling relieved.

The psychological activities of Eunuch Bao and Emperor Chongzhao reached unity at this moment.

The child smacked his lips.

She rubbed Emperor Chongzhao's arm affectionately, but called out: "Banban..."

Companion? He remembered that it was the little eunuch who had always been with his youngest son.

Emperor Chongzhao felt as if he had worked so hard only to make wedding dresses for others. With a subtle sense of dissatisfaction, he lay back on the bed.

This time, Emperor Chongzhao thought of a good idea. He put the person on his chest and let the child sleep on him. Although he would feel suffocated when sleeping, he could still sleep for a while.

It’s almost dawn. If you don’t sleep now, you can just put on your clothes and go to court.

Just as he was starting to feel sleepy, Qu Duanbian moved and said, "Wu... shush."

Emperor Chongzhao jumped up immediately.

"Someone come, someone come!"

Qu Dubian quietly opened his eyes a little.

If he were still a baby, he would have to draw a map on his cheap dad.

It was another round of tossing and turning until four in the morning. He either wanted to drink water, or he wanted to pee, or he was in an uncomfortable position and groaned.

Emperor Chongzhao was exhausted.

The Purple Palace was brightly lit.

-

Side room.

Ye Xiaoyuan had just finished telling Wen Xiaochun what happened today.

"Even if it was an accident, it was because of your kindness that you gave me the herbs that I survived," Wen Xiaochun said softly, "I will never forget this kindness."

Ye Xiaoyuan: "Of course I trust you."

He even dared to burn down the Astronomical Observatory, so how could he still doubt Wen Xiaochun's loyalty to His Highness?

"I just didn't expect that someone had already framed Your Highness."

Wen Xiaochun: "I'm not as familiar with the palace as you are, who do you think it could be?"

"The most likely ones are just..." This is not their territory, Ye Xiaoyuan did not say the rest, fearing that there might be eavesdroppers on him.

He gestured twice on the ground. Qu Watanabe had taught them these words, and they all recognized them.

Wen Xiaochun, "Is it not possible that it is the Stargazing Department?"

Ye Xiaoyuan thought: "It's unlikely. Otherwise, they wouldn't have gone to such great lengths to send His Highness away."

"The Imperial Hospital has been sealed by His Majesty. A thorough investigation is underway, but I don't know if anything can be found. Your Highness is living with His Majesty now, so it's safe for the time being." He drew another line of words on the ground with his fingertips: Someone will probably investigate the fire in the Observatory next, and the kitchen will certainly be involved, so you must not reveal anything.

Although he borrowed Eunuch Yu's badge and took Wen Xiaochun back to the kitchen to clean up the mess, he should be more cautious in the next few days.

Wen Xiaochun didn't say anything for a while, just looked at Ye Xiaoyuan silently.

Ye Xiaoyuan: “?”

Wen Xiaochun said in a low voice: "...Ahem, I can't recognize all these words, so I don't understand them."

“…”

Both were speechless.

Ye Xiaoyuan punched him twice.

-

Eunuch Yu came in on time to take over Eunuch Bao's shift, ready to serve Emperor Chongzhao when he went to court.

He first met Eunuch Bao and was shocked. There were dark circles under the man's eyes, as if the little yang energy he had was sucked away by some little goblin.

When he looked at the bed again, he was even more stunned. Emperor Chongzhao's hair was disheveled and a lock of it was grasped tightly by the sleeping baby in his arms, which would be pulled down from time to time, and Emperor Chongzhao's head would have to lower down.

The emperor's eyes were calm, with two obvious dark circles under them.

Eunuch Yu: “…”

Emperor Chongzhao: "It's time to go to court, right?"

Eunuch Yu has good professional ethics and said, "Yes, Your Majesty."

Emperor Chongzhao rubbed his brows and said, "Go and call the one who serves Xiaoqi... Ye... Ye Xiaoyuan."

After Ye Xiaoyuan arrived, Emperor Chongzhao asked him to hold the child, and Qu Dubian immediately started making a fuss.

Kicking his legs and twisting his body.

Ye Xiaoyuan shook him gently and patted his arm, "Your Highness, be good..."

After a night of tossing and turning, Emperor Chongzhao subconsciously wanted to hug her back again, but he immediately stopped and asked Eunuch Yu to change his clothes quickly - the tacit master and servant reached their peak speed in changing clothes.

After simply wiping his face, Emperor Chongzhao quickly walked out of the palace.

As the cold wind blew outside, my confused brain, which had been tortured all night, gradually became clear.

Emperor Chongzhao walked away calmly. No matter how noisy he was, could he go to court holding a little baby?