The Fourth Prince's feelings for his father were complicated. When he was young and raised by Empress Tongjia, he felt some warmth from his father, but not much. More often, he saw his father praising and valuing his second brother, Yinreng. Also, when they were both studying at Wuyizhai, his father personally taught his second brother the most, followed by his eldest brother, Yinti.
More often than not, what the Fourth Prince saw was the Emperor's cold indifference and majesty.
The indifference was directed at him, at his mother, and at the thirteenth prince, especially at the thirteenth prince. The fourth prince had witnessed how the thirteenth prince had survived in the palace for so many years.
Tonight, as the Fourth Prince looked at his father, the Emperor, on the bed, he suddenly realized that his father had grown old.
But the Fourth Prince did not want his father to leave just like that; he actually wanted to play the role of a filial son in front of his father for a few more years.
This will at least maintain the surface calm for a few more years.
Fourth Master was genuinely hungry at this moment. He was lost in thought, thinking about the shredded chicken noodles from Li Chenjiao's small kitchen in the East Courtyard, plus a bowl of hot and spicy soup...
But for now, Fourth Master can only dream about those things.
Fifth Master, who had been eagerly anticipating the arrival of the imperial physician, was the first to speak when he saw the shadow reflected in the screen inside: "Is the imperial physician out?"
He blurted it out, but upon closer inspection, he realized it didn't quite look like the figure of the Imperial Medical Academy's head. However, after he spoke, the Third Master was the first to stand up and go to greet him.
From Liang Jiugong's perspective, the disappointment on Third Master's face is clearly visible.
He respectfully nodded to the gentlemen: "The imperial physician has examined His Majesty and found that His Majesty is merely suffering from a fit of anger and is otherwise fine. His Majesty needs to rest now and it is inconvenient for anyone to stay by his side, so he specially sent me to escort you gentlemen back."
It was extremely difficult to discern any change in expression on Liang Jiugong's shrewd face.
At this moment, the Third Prince was unusually proactive: "Is Father really alright? What did the imperial physician say?"
He wanted to ask more, but Yinreng stopped him: "Keep your voice down, don't disturb Father's peace and quiet while he's recuperating."
Third Master had no choice but to quiet down, but he still stubbornly kept peeking inside.
Liang Jiugong straightened his shoulders slightly to block the Third Master's view, and said in his usual tone, "Fengzhong, see the gentlemen out."
Feng Zhong stepped forward from the side and gestured for them to proceed.
Fourth Master slowly stood up. Fifth Master looked around for a moment, then gritted his teeth and said, "Ninth Brother, come and help your Fourth Brother."
At first, Lao Jiu was somewhat reluctant. He and his fourth brother had never had a good relationship, and besides, his fourth brother always had a stern face. Being with his fourth brother was like facing the scholars in the study. He didn't move.
But when he turned his head, he saw Eighth Master standing next to him. He subconsciously snorted and looked away. He didn't want to talk to Eighth Brother at the moment.
He finally approached his tenth brother, but to his surprise, the tenth master simply bowed and turned to leave, showing no sign of lingering.
Ninth Master had gotten himself into a bad mood. He touched his nose sullenly. He was still in a bad mood. Why didn't anyone come to take care of him?
Naturally, Fifth Master had to discipline his younger brother. In the end, Ninth Master was reluctantly pulled by Fifth Master to help Fourth Master, even though Fourth Master didn't really need to...
However, since Fifth Master wanted to get away, Fourth Master simply went along with it, since he didn't spend much time with Ninth Master anyway.
After all the princes had left, Liang Jiugong's straight back slowly slumped down. He didn't know what expression to make, so he just blankly returned to the inner room. Fortunately, His Majesty had already closed his eyes.
The judge and Liang Jiugong exchanged a glance, then shook the medicine box in their hands before shaking their heads.
Liang Jiugong gestured for them to go, and then waved for someone to take the judge away.
He chose to stay firmly by the Emperor's side, without moving an inch.
His Majesty was not asleep.
He asked, "They've all left? What did they say and do?"
The Emperor had actually heard some things, more or less, but Liang Jiugong was his eyes when he couldn't see.
Liang Jiugong simply recounted everything he had seen: Yinreng's indifference, the Tenth Prince's dismissive gesture, the Eighth Prince's concern, the Fifth Prince's hesitation, the Ninth Prince's pettiness, and the Fourth Prince's words as he looked around before leaving, even though the Fourth Prince himself hadn't said anything.
The Emperor remained silent for a while, as if his words had exhausted all his strength. Liang Jiugong waited quietly, even if the Emperor said nothing.
"When I pass away one day, Liang Jiugong, what do you want to do..."
The Emperor was remarkably open-minded. Although he hadn't completely let go of life and death, the great achievements he made during his years of rule were more than enough for him.
But people are always dissatisfied at times, and at such times, the emperor always wants to see what others are dissatisfied with.
What does Liang Jiugong want to do in the future? He has spent most of his life in the palace, and what will his future hold...?
A smile suddenly appeared on his face: "This servant is always very happy to accompany His Majesty on his southern tours. I only hope that I can go to Jiangnan with His Majesty again."
The Emperor, upon hearing this, fell into reminiscence: "The scenery of Jiangnan is truly beautiful. Traveling south in spring is indeed... wonderful. You old fox, you've been egging me on again..."
The imperial physician has said that even with the best efforts to treat him, he will probably only have about two years left.
The old wounds from his early battles, plus the blow at Changchun Garden, have fundamentally damaged His Majesty.
When Liang Jiugong's thoughts were exposed, he just smiled and said, "It's just a little selfishness on my part. I haven't thought that far ahead about what will happen in the future."
The Emperor didn't say anything more; he already had a plan in mind.
"Let's go south when spring arrives." The Emperor also had some thoughts about it, but who knew if there would be another opportunity next year.
"By then, the fourth prince's injuries should have healed, so let him and the fifth prince stay behind to oversee the country."
The Fifth Prince's temperament meant that His Majesty only mentioned him incidentally.
Liang Jiugong's eyelids trembled slightly, and he finally only said "yes".
Although he felt a little strange, wondering why His Majesty had suddenly decided on the Fourth Prince.
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