Chapter 103 The Sickly and Tyrannical Crown Prince 1

He lived to be twenty-one years old, in the dead of winter.

Crown Prince Rong fell seriously ill and remained unconscious. The Emperor and Empress were heartbroken and went to the Imperial Ancestral Temple to pray for the Crown Prince. Three days later, the Crown Prince woke up, but due to his naturally weak constitution, he was still unable to recover.

The following spring, on the Crown Prince's birthday, the Imperial Preceptor divined that there was a pure yang object in the northern border region. He said that if it were taken and brought into the Eastern Palace, it could ward off evil and disaster for the Crown Prince.

The following month, the emperor appointed the Grand General of the State as commander-in-chief to lead a northern expedition to the border. Within six months, they had entered the capital of the northern capital, captured the tribal chief, and sent all the tribal warriors to prisoner.

All the treasures from the northern frontier, except for those of the extreme yin nature, were sent to the Eastern Palace.

...

East Palace, Chongming Hall.

Spring has been here for quite some time now, but the palace doors are tightly shut. The bitter smell of medicine wafts out from the cracks in the door, occasionally accompanied by a weak cough or two.

“My son, those treasures were specially selected by your father from the spoils of war in the north. I had the palace servants bring them up for you to see,” the Empress said, sitting on a round-backed chair by the couch, the tassels of her phoenix crown swaying in the breeze, wiping away tears with a handkerchief in one hand. “You refuse to drink your medicine, and you refuse to use the methods the Imperial Advisor divined. Do you really want your mother, an old woman, to outlive her son?”

"What kind of method is this? It's nothing but a charade. That Wu Miao is Father Emperor's lackey. Father Emperor has long been wary of the northern frontier. He's clearly using my name to start a war!"

A pale, almost transparent hand emerged from behind the bed curtains, using all its strength to knock over the medicine bowl brought by the eunuch, before collapsing limply onto the couch.

His knuckles turned white and he trembled as he tried to sit up, but to no avail. The man on the bed became increasingly agitated, his voice weak as he gasped for breath. The empress, who was beside him, quickly got up and patted his back to help him catch his breath.

"If he truly cares about me, he should abdicate immediately. The Hall of Mental Cultivation is the place with the most yang energy in the world, why won't he let me live there?"

The Empress was greatly alarmed and hurriedly said, "My son! How can you say such things? If it gets back to your father's ears..."

She helped the person on the couch to sit up against the headboard, with several soft pillows placed behind their back to prevent them from getting hurt.

The person behind the bed curtains gave a cold laugh.

He lifted the bed curtains, revealing a pale, thin, and beautiful face shrouded in illness.

His eyebrows were thin and reached his temples, his skin was as white as snow, and even his hair had a lustrous sheen as if it had been carefully tended. A thin nightgown wrapped around his slender figure, and a faint crescent-shaped red birthmark on his cheekbone was the only color on his face.

Those dark purple heterochromatic eyes, once prophesied as auspicious omens by the imperial advisor, swept coldly over all the palace servants in the hall.

"Let's see who dares to utter a single word."

The palace servants all bowed their heads, not daring to utter a sound.

This Crown Prince is the youngest son of His Majesty, born late in life.

When the Empress was pregnant with the Crown Prince, she was no longer a young girl. The little prince in her belly was not very well-behaved and was very restless. There were also signs of premature labor. The imperial physicians all said that this pregnancy might not be able to be saved. If she forced the birth, the Empress's life would be in danger.

But the Empress insisted on her own way, saying that if the child didn't live, neither would she. Later, the Emperor had no choice but to ask the Imperial Advisor to perform a divination, which said that it was because the child in the Empress's womb had an extremely noble destiny that this happened.

So, while their little prince was still in the Empress's womb, he was made crown prince, in order to prevent the unborn prince from dying young due to his noble destiny.

This incident was once widely regarded as a beautiful story of the emperor and empress's love, but the truth behind it was unknown to them, the servants.

All they knew was that the young crown prince had been spoiled by the emperor, empress, and his maternal clan since childhood. He was in poor health and had a strange temper. Serving this unpredictable crown prince in the Eastern Palace was not the most comfortable way out in the palace, but servants who wanted to enter the Eastern Palace still fought tooth and nail for it.

"Never mind, the things your father sent were just the unlucky trinkets of those barbaric villagers from the north, and your mother wouldn't even look at them," the Empress sighed. "But your mother has brought some things today, surely you'd like to take a look?"

"What is that?" Xie Rong looked listless. He had just said something harsh to intimidate the palace servants, but now he was weak and leaning against the couch, his vision blurring.

"System, is this the Crown Prince you were talking about?"

[Wow, host! This is the only suitable small world you've found! This is the Crown Prince!]

Xie Rong was very angry, but she didn't yell at it, otherwise she would be out of breath if she said another word.

It's better to be a cat!

At least cats can still catch butterflies and meow.

The personal maid, who understood the Empress's signal, left the bedchamber and returned a few moments later with a group of men wearing shackles.

“Your Highness, Her Majesty knows that you spend all your time in your bedchamber and are inevitably feeling depressed. So she had your maternal grandfather send some tribal prisoners of war from the north. These are all top-quality slaves, tough and robust, with plenty of yang energy. They are no less than the spoils of war from the north, and they can also help you pass the time.” The nanny finished speaking respectfully, then turned to the group of prisoners of war and said sternly, “Have you not greeted Your Highness yet!”

These prisoners of war were renowned warriors from the northern tribes, their muscular physiques far surpassing those of the people from the Central Plains.

Now that they have fallen into the prince's slavery, they inevitably harbor resentment and indignation.

Not to mention that being a slave to an enemy country is humiliating enough, just look at the Crown Prince of this Celestial Empire. Who doesn't know that he's been a sickly child since birth? He can't carry anything on his shoulders or lift anything with his hands. He has to catch his breath after walking three steps. He spends all day hiding behind the bed curtains, showing no signs of masculinity. If this Crown Prince were born in the northern frontier, where they admire martial prowess, he would only bring shame upon the entire tribe and make them the laughingstock of the warriors of other tribes!

The bed curtains on the Crown Prince's bed were specially made by the Imperial Household Department. They were light enough to let in moonlight, but also protected the Crown Prince's noble body from the cold wind. Since Xie Rong could remember, he had spent most of his time behind these bed curtains, and even the other princes and princesses in the palace rarely saw his true face.

Xie Rong lifted the bed curtains, revealing a small gap.

He scanned the row of robust prisoners of war, finally fixing his gaze on the tallest man in the middle.

The people in the palace are all shrewd. The old nanny understood immediately and gave a wink to the soldiers escorting the prisoners of war. The prisoner in the middle was then brought before Xie Rong.

"Look up." The voice coming from inside the bed curtains was soft and hoarse, carrying a lingering sickness.

The man had thick, fierce eyebrows and wheat-colored skin, a common sight in the northern frontier, but compared to the slender, jade-like fingers that held up the bed curtains, he appeared particularly coarse.

With such delicate hands, how could the Celestial Empire dare to make him the future emperor? Could he even hold onto the imperial seal?

The man sneered inwardly, completely disregarding this useless crown prince, and refused to raise his head.

He wanted to see if this sickly fellow would be so angry that he would die on his bed.

However, he was destined to be disappointed. Seeing his disrespect, the soldiers beside him forcibly lifted his head.

The bed curtains were parted a little more, and before he could see the person inside, a strange fragrance mixed with the smell of medicine entered his nostrils.

The man's chest heaved violently, his sharp, hawk-like black eyes fixed on the sickly prince's androgynous, handsome face.

How can a man who smells so strongly of perfume be honored as a prince? What makes him a prince? This seductive fragrance?