After leaving Kangxi's tent, the Crown Prince ran into the First Prince after only a few steps. The First Prince was immediately resentful when he saw that the Crown Prince had come out unharmed.
"The Crown Prince's second brother is truly capable. Even with such a lapse, Father Emperor can forgive him. He's no ordinary person!"
The Crown Prince was already in a bad mood, and hearing the eldest prince's sarcastic remarks made him even more unhappy.
"Brother, instead of wasting your time talking nonsense with me, you should pay more attention to the people you've taken in. I've heard that some of your people are dishonest and have robbed ordinary people of their money and grain. What do you think, brother?"
The eldest prince turned ashen-faced upon hearing this.
He did have a few dishonest men under his command, and they did go too far during the march. He kept this a secret, and had no idea where the Crown Prince got the news from.
"Second Brother Crown Prince, you're really joking."
Crown Prince: "Brother should know whether I was joking or not."
Finally, the eldest prince left with a livid face.
The crown prince breathed a sigh of relief when he saw him leave.
He came here specifically to apologize. He didn't plan to use the eldest prince's weakness now. If he exposed the eldest prince's affair, the eldest prince might do something desperate.
It would be better to leave things as they are now, so that the eldest prince has something to consider.
As for the rest, we'll talk about it after he gets through this.
The prince thought this through and then returned to his tent with a worried expression.
After leaving the Crown Prince's side, the eldest prince returned to his own tent and immediately flew into a rage.
"Go and find out how the Crown Prince knew about the people around me."
The eldest prince felt that there must be someone close to the crown prince, but he didn't know who it was. He still had to investigate, and once he found out, he would definitely tear that person to pieces.
Yinzhen was unaware of the conflict between the Crown Prince and the First Prince; he was currently thinking about returning home as soon as possible.
This expedition was not entirely smooth; quite a few rumors, some true and some false, have been sent back, which must be worrying the young princess.
Yinzhen was somewhat uneasy.
Emperor Kangxi also wanted to return as soon as possible. Although the Crown Prince was in charge of the overall situation in the court, he was unsure about many things and had accumulated a lot of memorials that Emperor Kangxi needed to review when he returned.
The army was rapidly returning to the capital, and just one day's journey away, another major event occurred.
Emperor Kangxi fell ill.
At first, I just felt cold and uncomfortable all over my body, and then it slowly turned into a persistent high fever.
The imperial physician initially treated it as a seasonal cold, but despite using a lot of medicine, the symptoms did not improve at all; in fact, they seemed to be getting worse.
In the end, Emperor Kangxi's high fever caused him to become somewhat delirious.
The Crown Prince, the other princes, and the accompanying court officials sensed that something was amiss; Kangxi's illness seemed rather unusual.
The Crown Prince and the other princes and nobles were in front of the small courtyard where Emperor Kangxi was recuperating. When the imperial physician came out, the Crown Prince hurriedly asked, "How is Father Emperor?"
The imperial physician looked pale and said, "Your Highness, His Majesty may have contracted malaria."
Everyone was taken aback upon hearing this.
malaria?
Malaria is not incurable, but it depends on fate. Some people are lucky and recover, while others are unlucky and die.
This is really hard to explain.
Yinzhen was taken aback when he heard this. He thought that such a thing should not have happened. He had also dreamed that Kangxi had malaria. However, he thought that Kangxi should have had malaria a long time ago and that he would not get it again. He did not expect that he could not avoid malaria.
He wasn't worried, as malaria could be cured with the foreigner's cinnamon, and they were only a day's journey from the capital, so the foreigners' church should have cinnamon.
Yinzhen knew it could be cured, but others didn't!
The Crown Prince looked grief-stricken: "No matter what, we must do everything we can to save Father Emperor. You should know if anything happens to him."
The imperial physicians all wore bitter expressions upon hearing this. Malaria was such a common disease, especially since Emperor Kangxi had been misdiagnosed. This situation was not good!
When the Crown Prince got angry, the faces of the eldest prince and the other princes also turned sour.
If Emperor Kangxi were to suffer any mishap, the Crown Prince's ascension to the throne would be legitimate, and the lives of the princes would certainly not be as good as they are now. After all, it is different for a father to be emperor than for a brother to be emperor.
Especially since the relationship between these brothers is not very good.
At this moment, all the princes and nobles except the Crown Prince were wholeheartedly praying for Kangxi's safety, with an unprecedented sincerity.
As for the Crown Prince, he was worried that while his father, Emperor Kangxi, was indeed his father, he might not have been without other thoughts in his heart.
After giving instructions to the imperial physician, the crown prince, with a stern face, dismissed him to treat Kangxi.
The Crown Prince turned to his brothers and said, “Father is seriously ill. For the sake of stability in the court, I hope that you, my elder brother and all my younger brothers, will be careful with your words and actions. Father will surely be able to overcome this difficulty.”
After the Crown Prince finished speaking, the First Prince was the first to react: "What the Crown Prince says is true."
When the eldest prince said this, his expression was not exactly respectful, but it was still serious and earnest.
For the first time, the Crown Prince saw an expression of "respect" on the First Prince's face, which made the Crown Prince feel a little secretly pleased.
However, the Crown Prince managed to maintain his composure and did not reveal any inappropriate expressions.
Crown Prince: "You should all go back first!"
After the Crown Prince finished speaking, everyone went back.
Seeing his brothers' respectful and submissive demeanor, and after everyone had left, a slight smile appeared in the Crown Prince's eyes. This smile was fleeting, but it was spotted by the secret guards that Kangxi had arranged to be stationed outside the door.
That evening, the guards told Kangxi about the expressions of the Crown Prince and the other princes. At first, Kangxi was somewhat relieved, as the Crown Prince's arrangements were reasonable given his serious illness. However, when he heard that the Crown Prince couldn't help but smile after everyone left, Kangxi's relief vanished.
He was so angry that he spat out a mouthful of blood.
The guard regretted his words, wishing he hadn't spoken up, as he had caused the Emperor to vomit blood.
"Your Majesty, this servant will summon the imperial physician."
Kangxi said, "No need, I am fine for the time being."
Kangxi knew his own body best; he had only coughed up blood due to feeling suffocated, and he knew it wasn't a serious matter.
Kangxi, who was originally tormented by illness, suddenly had a stronger desire to live. He was unwilling to die like this, as he had not yet sat on the throne enough.
"Give the order to secretly find renowned doctors, and bring together all the physicians who have treated malaria before."
Emperor Kangxi could not believe that he would die here.
He survived smallpox as a child, he survived the court being controlled by the regent minister when he was young, he survived being trapped on the battlefield, there's no reason why he couldn't survive a minor malaria.
Emperor Kangxi was the least likely person to believe in fate.
Upon hearing this, the guard replied, "This servant will go find it immediately."
Emperor Kangxi was too ill to move, so he had to recuperate in place, and the Crown Prince took charge of the overall situation.
Another day passed, and the imperial physician told the crown prince, "His Majesty's health is deteriorating."
His words implied that the patient might not be able to be cured.
The eldest prince and others became increasingly respectful to the crown prince, and even those who were not from the crown prince's lineage showed him great respect.
The crown prince was both uneasy and thoroughly enjoying the feeling of being treated with respect.
He was named Crown Prince from birth and received the highest honors, second only to the emperor. However, the feeling of having someone above you is different from not having anyone above you.
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