Even the usually composed Qiu Hu covered her mouth after hearing the receding footsteps. She swallowed hard and shakily lowered her hand.
"I haven't heard of it..." Qiu Hu stopped mid-sentence, unable to say the rest.
Li Chenjiao, seemingly unconcerned, finished saying what Qiu Hu hadn't dared to say.
"I haven't heard that the Crown Prince is sick... and he even needs to take a medicinal bath, so he must be quite ill..." But not a word of it has gotten out.
However, after Li Chenjiao finished speaking, she couldn't help but cover her mouth. What she said, "Then he must be quite ill," didn't sound like a good thing.
She didn't mean to wish the Crown Prince any bad luck.
However, there was absolutely no word about this. Could it be that Fourth Master didn't come back today because of this? He must be having a really tough time.
During the day, he had to accompany the Emperor and travel, and at night he couldn't rest either, having to look after the Crown Prince. Wasn't that hard work?
No one knew whether the Crown Prince's illness was mild or severe, so Li Chenjiao could only ponder silently.
Then we traveled for two more days, and the word "rush" really describes the journey of those two days. Even at night, we would only have a short rest after traveling until late at night.
When the Emperor arrived in Dezhou, Li Chenjiao felt nauseous. They had been traveling for four or five days straight, and for the last two days they had been traveling day and night. Although no news came out, the fact that the Fourth Prince hadn't returned to the carriage to rest for two days confirmed to Li Chenjiao that the Crown Prince was probably really sick.
The fact that they've been traveling for several days in a row is probably because His Majesty is worried about the Crown Prince's health.
This was a real hardship for Li Chenjiao. As soon as she got off the carriage, she nearly vomited uncontrollably. If it weren't for the fact that Li Chenjiao's period had just ended recently, both Green Plum and Green Bamboo would have been overjoyed, thinking that their mistress was pregnant.
The Emperor stayed in a small palace in Dezhou, while the princes stayed in several scenic gardens, some distance apart. The Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince stayed a little closer, while the Prince of Zhi and the Thirteenth Prince stayed much further away.
The Crown Prince did not live elsewhere, but was granted special permission by His Majesty to also reside in the small palace.
However, I heard that the Crown Prince was not seen during the day, but a sedan chair was seen entering the small palace where the Emperor was staying in the evening.
Li Chenjiao dared not inquire about these matters and knew nothing about them, but these were all arranged by the Fourth Prince and the Prince of Zhi, though they were acting according to the Emperor's orders.
Prince Zhi did not seem particularly happy about the Crown Prince's illness, but the Fourth Prince had seen Prince Zhi occasionally make sarcastic remarks on a few occasions.
Prince Zhi and the Fourth Prince went in to see the Crown Prince several times, but he was still unconscious. The imperial physician said that the Crown Prince's old illness had flared up and he had fainted from the unbearable pain. It would be extremely fortunate if he could be awake for even half a day each day these past few days.
I heard that the Crown Prince was not fully recovered when he arrived, and the journey was arduous, causing his knees to ache every day. After being caught in such heavy rain that day, he also seemed to have developed a headache.
The imperial physicians on both sides spoke as if the Crown Prince was going to... something bad happen, and the Fourth Prince's brows never relaxed.
Soon after, the younger princes arrived, having rested. They had only learned of the Crown Prince's illness today; before that, only their father, the Prince of Zhi, and the Fourth Prince knew.
The princes were all still young, and most of them genuinely cared about the Crown Prince.
However, fearing to disturb the Crown Prince's peace, everyone could only catch a glimpse of him from afar, through the bed curtains.
The Fourth Prince stood neither too far forward nor too far back. He had known for several days that the Crown Prince was ill, but he noticed first that his father, the Emperor, had somehow gone to the outer room.
The Thirteenth Prince, who was standing beside him, noticed his unusual behavior and whispered, "Fourth Brother." The Fourth Prince looked away and said, "It's nothing."
Thirteen naturally didn't believe it, but since everyone was there, he couldn't ask too many questions, so he had to withdraw his worried gaze.
After watching for a while, everyone retreated to the outer room. The Emperor sat silently at the head of the table, the tea beside him still steaming.
Prince Zhi was the first to bow, and since the Crown Prince was still in the inner room, everyone bowed silently.
His Majesty merely raised his hand in a perfunctory manner to excuse everyone from the formalities.
His Majesty looked at the Prince Zhi, the Fourth Prince, the Thirteenth Prince, the Fourteenth Prince, and the Fifteenth Prince one by one, and finally lowered his head to pick up the teacup beside him and took a sip.
"Thirteenth Prince, you've been running around by your fourth brother's side quite a bit lately." The Emperor didn't mention the ailing Crown Prince when he spoke; instead, his gaze lingered on the Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince standing together.
Thirteen's heart skipped a beat, and he didn't dare to reply. It seemed that he and Fourth Brother hadn't been interacting too closely lately, had they? He thought about the past few days.
At this point, it was naturally the Fourth Prince who spoke up: "Replying to Father Emperor, it is I who trouble Thirteenth Brother to take good care of Fourteenth Brother..."
The Fourteenth Prince pouted and replied unhappily, "Who needs him to take care of us?"
The Emperor stared at Fourth Prince for a moment, then suddenly laughed: "You, as the elder brother, have the nerve to trouble your younger brother... Thirteen, remember to ask your fourth brother for money next time."
When the Thirteenth Prince said yes, his voice trembled slightly, and his back seemed to be covered in sweat.
He didn't believe his father would ask such a question for no reason. Could it be that his father had discovered he and his fourth brother were getting too close? That wouldn't be a good thing.
The Thirteenth Prince pursed his lips, fearing that this would implicate the Fourth Prince.
However, right now, the Emperor is probably more concerned about the Crown Prince's health, but he should avoid visiting his fourth brother too often these days.
The thirteenth prince didn't even dare to raise his head at this moment. Fortunately, his father didn't ask anything else afterward.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
