Chapter 62 Parental Love

Zhang Mi's heart was pounding in his throat. He looked at Consort Xin, who was about to collapse, and the Emperor, whose face was red and stiff from the cold wind, with a troubled expression. He repeated his words tremblingly.

"Your Majesty, I have truly done my best. If Your Majesty is so eager to see your son, please... please put on your mask and go see him again."

A sudden pang of sorrow gripped Yinzhen's heart, and an ominous premonition instantly enveloped his entire body. Even his usually indifferent eyes revealed obvious panic—"What's going on? You mean, Fifth Prince... what happened?"

Lu Yingfeng's wailing suddenly rang out. Zhang Mi wiped the fine beads of sweat that had inexplicably appeared on his forehead in the winter heat, and explained through gritted teeth, "Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince is already young, and his fever has been refusing to subside for days, which is already taking a toll on his health. Now he is also coughing up blood..."

He trembled as he prostrated himself, no longer raising his head—"Your Majesty, I am truly powerless. Please forgive me!"

As Yinzhen listened to what he said, he closed his eyes expressionlessly, sat down in the chair, and clenched his fists so tightly that the knuckles protruded and turned white.

No one can know the turmoil in his heart; all that people can see is a silent emperor sitting quietly.

"Your Majesty! I must go in!" Lü Yingfeng pushed away the hands that Hong Xihai and Xue Xin were trying to help her up, and knelt down with her hands on the Emperor's knees.

“Hongzhao is still so young. The palace servants are all coming and going with their faces covered. He must be terrified right now. I must go and keep him company.”

She suppressed her trembling, desperately raised her hand and clenched the dragon robe on Yinzhen's knee, and said in a breathy voice, "Even if... even if it is true as the imperial physician said, that I gave birth to him, he should be lying peacefully in my arms, not lying there all alone with no one daring to come forward."

These words, spoken with tears streaming down his face, brought tears to the eyes of even Su Peisheng, who was listening nearby, let alone Yinzhen, who had longed for his parents' love since childhood.

As if to verify her words, Xiao Dezi dared not enter the door and knelt down at a distance, his voice quite low – “Your Majesty, the prince has been running a fever these past few days and is not lucid at all. When he is in pain, he does not cry out, but in his delirium he keeps calling for his mother.”

Yinzhen felt a pang of heartache upon hearing this. Moved, he reached out and took Lü Yingfeng's trembling, icy hands, which were gripping his knees tightly. He pulled her up to sit beside him, his brows furrowed as if he were suppressing something. After a long while, he finally found his voice and spoke, "You... are very good. Our child is blessed to have a mother like you."

What Lü Yingfeng wanted to hear wasn't inappropriate praise; she was about to continue speaking when she heard the person beside her gasp, as if making a decision.

"I will go."

The deep, resolute voice reached everyone's ears with a measured tone, yet it struck them like a hammer blow.

Zhang Mi panicked and waved his hands repeatedly to stop him, saying, "Your Majesty's health is in grave danger. Please reconsider!"

Su Peisheng's expression also tightened, and he stepped forward, whispering, "Your Majesty..."

Before he could finish speaking, Yinzhen waved his hand to interrupt, "My mind is made up, there's no point in saying more."

But who would dare to shoulder such a huge responsibility? A slight mistake could cost them their heads. Zhang Mi crawled two steps on his knees, his face contorted with pain, on the verge of tears.

"I implore Your Majesty to reconsider. There is still no effective treatment for this epidemic. If something were to happen to us, how would I explain it to the Empress Dowager?"

Yinzhen ignored all of this. He stood up and stared intently at the tightly closed door where the prince was, and said in a deep voice, "All of you imperial physicians and palace servants come and go every day, and you are all in good condition in front of me. I am the Son of Heaven, and I am protected by the dragon's aura, so naturally nothing will happen to me."

Su Peisheng knew that if the Emperor was determined to go, no one could stop him, but he still had to say a few more words. He hesitated before speaking, "Your Majesty, what about the Empress Dowager…?"

Yinzhen's gaze darkened, and he remained silent for a long while—"The Empress Dowager's concern for me stems from maternal love, and my desire to see my child is also out of parental affection. I believe the Empress Dowager will understand."

Seeing that the Emperor was truly determined, and with no other options, Su Peisheng prepared a thick cloth soaked in medicine and carefully secured it to the back of the Emperor's head. He then covered the Emperor's dragon robe with a layer of white cotton cloth scented with mugwort to protect him.

The dusty door slowly opened, and Yinzhen, with a blank face, stepped in without pausing. Lü Yingfeng, who was also prepared, hurriedly tried to follow, but Xiao Dezi tugged at her sleeve without making a sound.

The familiar courtyard came into view, but after only a few days away, Yinzhen felt that the courtyard was much more empty and desolate. The usual sounds of Hongzhao reading and laughing were gone, and the little eunuch by his side, who was being bossed around by him, was nowhere to be seen.

He walked to the door, raised his hand, paused for a moment for some reason, took a soft breath, and then exerted force. The door in front of him opened with a click.

The room was quiet and empty. Yinzhen stepped inside. Perhaps the servants knew he was coming in, so they opened all the windows to let the sick air out. The biting winter wind swept mercilessly through the small room.

Even in the howling wind, Yinzhen clenched his fists, feeling cold. The person on the bed remained lying quietly and motionless, with only faint breathing.

Yinzhen walked to the bedside. This was the first time he had seen the child in many days. His usually chubby, baby-faced child looked thin even as he lay on his side, his brows tightly furrowed. Even in his sleep, he looked restless.

Hongzhao practically grew up in his arms, and Yinzhen dared not imagine how he had managed to get through these past few days.

He disregarded everything else, bent down and sat on the edge of the bed, reaching out to touch the child's face beside him, only to find it burning hot.

“Hongzhao, You’er, it’s your father. Your father has come to see you.”

She gently coaxed him while stroking his smooth forehead with her warm hands.

Hongzhao seemed to sense the gentle call. He forced himself to open his eyes slowly, and looked up at the person in front of him with a dazed expression.

"Um?"

Upon recognizing who it was, Hongzhao's pupils dilated sharply. Ignoring his already weak and feeble body from the fever, he shrank back to the bedside, pressed himself tightly against the wall, and clutched the blanket to cover the lower half of his face, his voice muffled.

"Father! How can you come in! Your son has already caused you worry, and I can't let you be put in danger as well. Please leave!"

Looking at his feverish eyes and pale face, Yinzhen felt even more heartbroken upon hearing these words.

"Nonsense." He deliberately scolded with a stern face, but his hands were more honest as he pulled the little person who was huddled in the corner towards him. Hongzhao had been burning with fever for many days and had no strength. He could not resist and was pulled into his arms by his strength.

The little one in his arms was much lighter than a few days ago. He imitated how Lü Yingfeng always coaxed the child, gently patting Hongzhao's back—"I am the emperor, and you are my son. I will not allow anything to happen to you, so you will naturally turn bad luck into good. In a couple of days, you will be pestering me to teach you to ride a horse again."

Hongzhao smiled weakly and stopped resisting.

The movement caused the blanket to flip over, and a corner of a blood-stained handkerchief was clearly visible to Yinzhen. Thinking about what Zhang Mi had just said, Yinzhen frowned, and his arms tightened unconsciously.

The little person in his arms said in a hoarse voice, "Father, if I can be your son again in the next life, you must recognize your son then."

"Don't talk nonsense, what about the next life?" This was the first time Yinzhen had felt this way. The child's two words seemed to tug at his heart, and even his breathing was filled with a subtle pain.

Hongzhao never expected his father to go to such lengths for him. It would be a lie to say he wasn't moved. After thinking for a moment, he said, "Father, I understand what the imperial physicians mean. Please don't blame them. I have something I'd like to ask of you."

After waiting for a while without receiving a reply, Hongzhao was not in a hurry. He took a breath and said to himself, "Physician Zhou Qi once said that he had developed a prescription that only needed one more ingredient to complete. I heard from the imperial physician that my son's condition is one of the most serious. I thought... why don't I give it a try? If it really works, it will be my way of relieving Father Emperor's worries."

Knowing that Yinzhen was about to scold him for being silly, he coughed lightly twice, stretched out his hot little hand, and loosely grasped the hands that were hugging him—"Father, your son is terrified now. I'm afraid that I will never see Father and Mother again, afraid that Shuer and my brother will be bullied, and even more afraid that Father will forget me after he has a child he likes better."

The room was quiet for a moment. Yinzhen's arms remained clasped tightly. After a while, he sighed softly and was about to speak when Su Peisheng's troubled voice came from a distance.

"Your Majesty, Xia Yi from the Sticky Rod Office has an important matter to report."