"Mother!"
The mother and son had not seen each other for a long time, and the prince's eyes reddened.
"Jing'er!" The Empress saw the dark circles under the Crown Prince's eyes, and her heart ached terribly.
What has happened to his son?
The Empress helped the Crown Prince up: "Granny, go and fetch the imperial physician!"
"Pfft!" A mouthful of blood gushed out.
"Jing'er!" The Empress exclaimed in alarm, "Quickly! Summon the imperial physician!"
"Mother! There's no need to waste your energy." The Crown Prince collapsed.
The eunuchs and palace maids immediately helped support the prince, and together they helped him into the inner room.
The Empress had not seen the Crown Prince for a long time.
Thanks to the Crown Prince's deliberate concealment, his condition was unknown to everyone except a few people in the Eastern Palace, not even to the Empress.
Looking at the weak Crown Prince on the bed, the Empress felt as if her heart was being torn apart.
"Why are you doing this to yourself?" The Empress's tears streamed down her face.
Granny Gan also shed tears.
"Mother, your son is unfilial... After I am gone, please stop arguing... Take care of Jun'er and live a good life." The Crown Prince said with difficulty.
"Jing'er, don't speak, rest for a while," the Empress said, weeping.
Before coming to the Eastern Palace, the Empress was still angry with the Crown Prince for being so useless.
The emperor is in his prime and will not abdicate early, but at least for now, he will not groom another successor.
Even if the crown prince is just a figurehead, he is still a powerful tool for dealing with Prince Jin and the other princes.
Compared to Prince Jin's wolfish ambitions, the Emperor would much rather see the Crown Prince rise to power.
As long as the Crown Prince is there, the two powerful families can withstand their siege.
It would be a heinous crime to dare to openly display their ambitions for the throne.
The emperor will eventually grow old. As long as the crown prince is capable and cultivates his own power step by step, inheriting the throne will be a natural thing.
The Empress forgot that she herself was so engrossed in vying for the Emperor's favor that she resorted to simple and brutal methods of beating the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince had always been physically weak, and under the Empress's heavy pressure, his health deteriorated day by day.
After moving to the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince and the Empress became much more estranged.
The Emperor arranged a marriage for the Crown Prince, and the Crown Princess also came from a humble family.
However, the choice of the Crown Prince's consort was the only time the Crown Prince was extremely grateful to his father.
With the Crown Princess by his side, the Crown Prince's mood improved considerably, and his life regained its vitality.
Gradually, he began to handle government affairs.
If things continue like this, the crown prince will soon be able to truly establish himself.
However, the hemp rope always breaks at its thinnest point, and the Crown Princess died of postpartum hemorrhage after giving birth to her eldest son.
She left behind her infant son and the ailing crown prince.
The crown prince was so heartbroken that he almost followed him.
"Mother, Jun'er is a good child. Don't treat him like you treat me."
"As long as Jun'er is healthy and safe, as long as he can stay alive, that's enough. Father can give that position to whomever he wants, Mother. This time, you must listen to your son."
The prince said it with difficulty.
He knew his days were numbered, and his biggest worry was his son.
This poor child lost his mother first, and then his father.
The Crown Prince was worried about his son staying with his grandmother, but she was the only one he could entrust with his life.
He had a very tiring life in this lifetime.
Since the death of the Crown Princess, the Crown Prince has been utterly devastated.
He's clinging to life, solely for the sake of his child.
He simply can't hold on any longer.
He used to think that as long as he converted to Buddhism, his heart would become peaceful and his illness would get better soon.
As a result, the Eastern Palace almost became a Buddhist holy site.
But the prince's heart found no peace, and his body grew weaker and weaker.
He stopped all medications and forbade the imperial physicians from entering the Eastern Palace.
The Eastern Palace closed its doors to visitors, and it became rare to see the Crown Prince in the palace.
If the emperor doesn't care, then nobody else cares either.
The prince lost the will to live.
He was going to the underworld to reunite with his crown princess.
This was the only thing the Crown Prince resembled his mother in his entire life; both mother and son were deeply devoted to love.
"Where is the imperial physician? Why hasn't the imperial physician arrived yet?" the Empress roared.
"The imperial physicians won't come; no one in the Eastern Palace dares to ask them for help," the Crown Prince said weakly.
"Mother, I entrust Jun'er to you. You must listen to your son and not let him develop ambitions or think about things he shouldn't."
The crown prince gasped for breath, looking pleadingly at the empress.
"What do you mean he shouldn't even have a chance? That position was rightfully his. If you put your mind to it, no one can take what's rightfully his."
The queen was hysterical.
"Jing'er! You will be alright. Granny Gan, quickly go and invite Miss Jiang to the palace." The Empress's hands were trembling.
“Miss Jiang?” Granny Gan was taken aback.
"Go quickly! She even saved Consort Mei's unborn child, so perhaps she can also help the Crown Prince."
"Yes!" Granny Gan immediately left the palace.
This time, she prepared a luxurious carriage and palanquin, waiting at the palace gate.
The Empress looked at the bloodless Crown Prince, and her heart ached.
This is her son, her hope.
"By imperial decree, summon Imperial Physician Zhou immediately. If the Crown Prince's illness is delayed, I will have the entire Imperial Medical Academy executed."
The Empress did not know what the Crown Prince had said to Imperial Physician Zhou. As the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, he allowed the Crown Prince's condition to worsen without reporting the truth to the Emperor and Empress.
Your Majesty! Did he know? That he deliberately allowed the Crown Prince to defile his own body?
The Empress was deeply troubled.
She said urgently to the Crown Prince, "Jing'er! Listen to what your mother has to say. Not only is Lan'er your beloved, but you also have your mother and Jun'er! You cannot go with Lan'er, you cannot do as others wish."
Lan'er is the Crown Princess's given name.
When the Crown Princess was alive, the Empress did not treat her very well.
A woman with no family background is of no help to the crown prince.
The Empress completely forgot that she herself came from a humble background, so what right did she have to look down on the Crown Princess?
After tormenting the Crown Princess several times, the Crown Prince threatened to resign from his position, and only then did the Empress give up.
"Mother, I'm sorry!" The Crown Prince closed his eyes.
He was too tired and couldn't keep going.
The Empress exclaimed in surprise, "Jing'er, Jing'er!"
The Crown Prince's personal nanny spoke up, her eyes filled with heartache: "Your Majesty the Empress! Let the Crown Prince sleep for a while; he is already very tired!"
"How did you serve the Crown Prince? If anything happens to him, you will all be buried with him."
The old woman said, "Yes, Your Majesty the Empress will obey your every command. Now, I beg Your Majesty to allow the Crown Prince to rest for a while."
Those who served the Crown Prince had long been resigned to death, and they were heartbroken to see him living like a walking corpse every day.
At this moment, Imperial Physician Zhou rushed over.
"Imperial Physician Zhou, quickly examine the Crown Prince." The Empress immediately stepped aside.
After bowing, Imperial Physician Zhou placed his hand on the Crown Prince's pulse, his expression growing increasingly grave.
"Imperial Physician Zhou, how is the Crown Prince?" the Empress asked anxiously.
Imperial Physician Zhou knelt down: "Your Majesty, I am incompetent, please forgive me!"
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