After the Fourth Prince's birthday, it was winter, and autumn truly arrived, with the weather becoming slightly cool.
It was cool in the capital, but Dezhou was still a bit stuffy, and the rain at night made it even more noisy and humid.
When Li Jia brought in the medicinal soup, the Crown Prince was taking a medicinal bath. He heard the sound and his eyelids trembled slightly.
The Crown Prince opened his eyes and looked at the sky outside: "It's past midnight? I remember, yesterday was the Fourth Prince's birthday."
The medicine was still a little hot, so Li Jia put it on a small table to the side. She gathered her sleeves and skillfully pressed on the Crown Prince's half-exposed shoulder.
"The eldest prince of the fourth prince's residence is gone?" the Crown Prince asked, his voice seemingly unsurprised.
Li Jia said that the news had been sent back a few days ago, but it was delayed because the Crown Prince was not feeling well these days.
The young master said "Oh," but his tone still seemed somewhat surprised.
In his previous life, he remembered that the eldest prince of the fourth prince was named Honghui by the emperor, who is now the second prince raised by the fourth prince's wife. He heard that the emperor also named him Honghui.
As expected, although there may be changes, it is ultimately difficult to change the established facts.
The Crown Prince suddenly sighed: "Dezhou is not comparable to the capital. In a few days, I will have someone send you and Hongxi back to the capital."
Li Jia stopped what she was doing: "Do you think I can't stand this little bit of grievance? If you can stay here, why can't I?"
Clearly, Lady Li Jia was at least favored by the Crown Prince, otherwise she wouldn't be speaking with such a defiant tone.
The Crown Prince sighed again: "You... I don't even know when I'll be able to return to the capital."
Upon hearing this, Li Jia suddenly laughed out loud: "Although staying here is not very comfortable, it is still better than being in Yuqing Palace."
The Crown Prince remained silent for a while. He seemed to be thinking about something when he suddenly raised his hand and pressed Li Jia's hand.
Although the Crown Prince's hands were soaking in the medicinal bath, they were still slightly cold. Li Jia suddenly felt a lump in her throat: "The medicinal bath is cold. Let me help you out. It's time for your medicine."
The Crown Prince forced a smile, but couldn't manage it: "I'll soak a little longer."
Li Jia ignored him and went straight to the side to get her nightgown.
"You don't want to go back to the capital, do you? But you can't be so careless with your health."
Li Jia, the person who shared her bed with the Crown Prince, was certainly aware of his health condition. It was precisely because she knew this that she couldn't bear to watch.
The Crown Prince chuckled and said, "Now you know everything. I'm all alone."
He yawned in a very inappropriate and rude manner.
Upon hearing this, Lady Li threw the Crown Prince's nightgown aside and said, "Take your medicine before you sleep." This sounded more like she was acting out of spite.
Li Jia took the medicine from the small table, tasted it herself, and didn't even frown.
After the Crown Prince changed out of his nightgown, Lady Li Jia produced some candied fruit from somewhere.
She looked down at the medicine and said casually, "You're very irritable now that you're sick, like you're trying to coax me..."
Li Jia suddenly stopped speaking halfway through her sentence, and simply handed over a glance: "I have nothing of value, does Your Excellency not even leave me a reputation for virtue?"
Upon hearing this, the Crown Prince shook his head helplessly: "Yinjia..."
He looked up and saw that Li Jia's expression seemed to be stunned and sad. The Crown Prince then closed his eyes and let out a long sigh.
A moment later, the Crown Prince snatched the bowl with one hand and drank the medicine in two or three gulps.
"Are you satisfied now?" He sat down to the side.
Li Jia immediately stopped crying and smiled, then said, word by word, "I don't know what you want to do, but you are ruining your body like this, I..."
As she spoke, tears welled up in her eyes again.
The Crown Prince raised his hand to wipe away her tears: "You're such a grown woman, aren't you afraid that Hongxi will see this and laugh at you, your mother, for crying?"
Li Jia sobbed, "I haven't even told Hongxi about your father yet."
The Crown Prince had no choice but to say, "I won't stay in Dezhou for long, and they won't feel comfortable letting me stay here."
Li Jia gradually stopped crying: "Anywhere is fine, as long as you are healthy, that's better than anything else."
Li Jia followed the Crown Prince, and from beginning to end, she never sought his favor. From the moment she entered Yuqing Palace, her only wish was for the Crown Prince to be well.
The Crown Prince knew, he always knew, he knew everything.
Although the Crown Prince told Li Jia that he wouldn't stay in Dezhou for too long, he didn't actually return to Dezhou until the very end of the twelfth lunar month.
The past month or two in the capital city haven't been particularly peaceful, but it certainly hasn't been entirely calm either.
The Prince Zhi's faction eventually found some minor charges against him, but those charges would have been insignificant to any prince, and His Majesty didn't care at all.
On the contrary, they would send all sorts of expensive tonics to Texas from time to time.
Although the Crown Prince's health had improved, it was still difficult for him to fully recover. As the weather turned cold and winter approached, the Crown Prince began to feel strained when walking, with his legs experiencing sharp, intermittent pain. Later, His Majesty sought out a renowned doctor from Jiangnan and traveled a long distance to Dezhou, where the doctor finally managed to treat him somewhat. Although the pain still lingered, it no longer prevented him from walking.
So, in the twelfth lunar month, the Emperor learned that the Crown Prince's legs were able to walk again, and on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, he ordered Longkodo to personally lead a group of people to Dezhou to bring the Crown Prince back to the capital.
Because of the Crown Prince's poor health, the journey home was naturally longer.
Finally, the Crown Prince returned to the capital late at night on the second day after the Lunar New Year.
Although the Crown Prince had finally returned to the capital, and it happened to be the New Year, His Majesty, being considerate, exempted the Crown Prince from all formalities and instructed everyone not to disturb the Crown Prince's recuperation at Yuqing Palace.
It seems that His Majesty has returned to the way he always was with the Crown Prince, still thinking of him even now.
But is everything really the same as before?
The Fourth Prince finally saw the Thirteenth Prince, whom he hadn't seen for a long time; the Thirteenth Prince had lost weight.
In the small palace in Dezhou, everyone was only thinking about the Crown Prince. Although the Fourth Prince had made many arrangements before leaving Dezhou, they still had to be on guard every day. Even though the food was not lacking, the Thirteenth Prince had not had a good night's sleep for a long time.
It wasn't just the thirteenth prince who hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.
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