"Mother, mother... mother, I beg you, you are the only one I have left, please don't let me go, I can't bear to leave you, I want to stay here, wuwuwu..."
Zhou Zeyu knew that walls have ears, but now he did this just to let Zhou Beichen hear it.
"Mother, I know that after Grandpa rebelled, the Emperor no longer likes me and my brother. If you die, then there will be no one in this world who truly loves me. Please don't drive me away, Mother... Dad... Dad..."
Zhou Zeyu fell to the ground in a daze. Then, he heard Li Shuren's hysterical cry, "Help, help! The Second Prince has fainted."
A single stone caused a thousand ripples. Not long after, several guards ran in and carried the second prince out. They could not care about Li Shuren's life or death, as she would not live for many days anyway. But no matter what, they could not ignore the safety of the second prince.
When Zhou Zeyu was picked up, no one saw it. A cold smile appeared on the corner of his weak mouth, and he buried his head in the guard's arms. On the way, he secretly opened his eyes and looked around. This was the road to Xuan Zheng Hall.
The guards walked very quickly. When they arrived at Xuanzheng Hall, Zhou Beichen was discussing matters with General Ye in the hall. Deshun had recovered and had returned to serve the emperor.
"Hey, what happened to the Second Prince? Why did he faint? Wasn't he fine when we went to Li'an Palace?"
Deshun lowered his voice and trotted to the guard. The guard knew that Deshun was Zhou Beichen's confidant, and replied in a low voice.
"Eunuch Deshun, in my opinion, all the painstaking efforts of Consort Hui will be wasted on the Second Prince. These past few days, no matter how Concubine Li beat and scolded the Second Prince, the Third Prince couldn't stand it and ran away. But the Second Prince is truly filial. No matter what, he refused to run away. Look, after the Third Prince left, the Second Prince lost his appetite for several days. Today, he cried so miserably, calling both mother and father. What does such a young child know? It makes me sad to see him. Look, he fainted, and I carried him to find the Emperor."
Deshun hesitated for a moment, "But right now, the Emperor is busy with important matters. If I interrupt him like this, I'm afraid he'll get furious."
Zhou Beichen has been in a bad mood these days, and Deshun knows it.
The guard looked at the child in his arms, his face showing embarrassment. "Then... Eunuch Deshun, you have to make a decision. No matter what, since the emperor is willing to care about the second prince, he must have this child in his heart. If something happens to the child, how are we going to explain it to the emperor?"
Deshun immediately called a young guard and ordered him to call one of the only two imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Bureau.
Zhou Zeyu's eyelids moved, and a sly smile appeared at the corner of his mouth. He knew that no matter what, his father would not be able to bear with him, so now he would use this unwillingness to bear with him to make a comeback.
"Now quickly carry the Second Prince to the side hall."
Deshun thought about it and led the way.
About an hour later, General Ye finally left the Xuanzheng Hall, and Zhou Beichen had some free time. Deshun felt nervous and exchanged a glance with the guard. The two of them told Zhou Beichen about Zhou Zeyu, and then they knelt down nervously.
"I have made an independent decision. Your Majesty, I beg you to punish me."
Zhou Beichen sat upright on the dragon throne, without asking anyone to stand up, and his eyes made it difficult to see clearly. At this time, Xiao Shunzi came in from outside with a happy face.
"Your Majesty, this is a secret letter from Princess Chang'an in Anshan. When we took it from the carrier pigeon, we disinfected it with lime powder."
"A warm secret letter?"
Zhou Beichen's eyes lit up, but in a moment, they returned to normal.
"Bring the letter here."
Xiao Shunzi presented the letter with both hands. Zhou Beichen took the letter in his hand, but was a little hesitant to open it. God knew how afraid he was that his two children would be infected with the plague.
"Dad, I'm glad to hear from you. After many days of hard work, the plague in Anshan has been brought under control. Of course, many people have died, but my brother and I are in great health and enjoy everything we eat. I hope Dad and Mom won't worry too much. In addition, Nuannuan has something to tell Dad and Mom. The director of the Imperial Hospital gave my brother and me one pill each, one from his ancestors' treasured collection of medicine specifically for treating various epidemics. It's said to be effective against all kinds of poisons. My brother and I both took it, and we're in better health these days."
"Also, the officials of the Ministry of Works are doing their duty diligently, and the imperial physicians are even more dedicated, researching medicine day and night. I believe that in a few months, we will be able to return. Father, Mother, don't worry."
In just a few lines, the filial piety of the daughter and son was revealed between the lines, which made Zhou Beichen's eyes blurred. He threw the letter aside and cursed.
"If these two little bastards dare not come back safely, I will let them go."
Deshun knew that good news had come from Anshan, and he was delighted. He rubbed his knees and was about to speak when he saw Zhou Beichen stand up from the dragon throne and walk towards him.
"You two, get up."
Deshun and the guard felt relieved and stood up to follow him out. When they reached the courtyard, they realized that Zhou Beichen was heading towards the side hall.
"You just said that you placed the Second Prince in the East Side Hall."
Deshun bowed. He couldn't understand what the emperor meant, so he could only be more respectful and said, "Yes."
"What did the imperial physician say?"
Zhou Beichen asked calmly, without any major emotional ups and downs.
Deshun pondered for a moment and replied carefully, "Your Majesty, the imperial physician said that the Second Prince didn't have any serious illness. He fainted because he was too sad at such a young age. Also..."
Deshun hesitated for a moment, and the guard continued, "These past few days, ever since the Third Prince went to see Consort Shu, the Second Prince has lost his appetite. When he fainted today, he even called out 'Mom' and 'Daddy'."
Zhou Beichen paused and sneered, "He has no appetite. Is he planning a hunger strike to protest? He's been spoiled."
As he was speaking, Zhou Beichen had already entered the side hall. A palace maid opened the curtain and revealed that the second prince had woken up inside the room, but he looked listless, his lips had lost their color, and his face was pale. Zhou Beichen glanced at him briefly, then turned and sat on the chair next to him.
Second Prince: “…”
He was a little surprised. This shouldn't happen. Normally, when his father saw him so weak, he should have asked him the reason. But now, he didn't say a word.
In order to avoid the imperial physician, he had been pretending to be serious these past few days and had not eaten much. Now, he was really dizzy and felt dizzy from hunger.
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