Chapter 190 Tachibana's Apology
According to Zhou Qi, the Crown Prince was truly exhausted from days of worry and toil, which is why he had been in a deep sleep and had not woken up.
Although Yinzhen was worried and stayed by the child's side all day, he only thought that as long as the child woke up and the fever subsided, he would recover completely after a few days of rest. But it wasn't until he actually saw Xiao Dezi lift the blanket to apply medicine to Hongzhao that he realized that the child had endured so much pain without uttering a single sound.
Hongzhao was already fair-skinned, which made the bruises and swelling on his knees appear even more grotesque and terrifying. Yinzhen stared at him without blinking. Xiao Dezi skillfully changed the dressing for the Crown Prince. The yellow, blue, and purple bruises on Hongzhao's knees were distributed like an ink painting, showing a tendency to spread into a whole area.
"What's going on? Didn't you prepare a cushion for the Crown Prince?" Yinzhen almost couldn't suppress his voice as he questioned.
"How dare this servant?" Xiao Dezi turned around and replied, his face showing empathy and heartache. "But the cushion wasn't very thick, and the one made of cattail grass wasn't very soft either. Now that the weather is getting cold, no matter what you use, the cold air will seep into your bones."
He seemed to be pouring out all the words he had been holding back: "To be honest, Your Majesty, I even secretly took the knee pads and gave them to the Crown Prince. At that time, the Crown Prince already needed my help to get up slowly. His knees were already in terrible shape, but the Crown Prince still scolded me severely and even fined me my monthly salary."
"The Crown Prince said that Your Majesty is so grieved by the passing of the Empress Dowager that you are almost ill. He must guard the Shouhuang Palace for you and cannot let such a trivial matter bother you."
As Xiao Dezi spoke, he kowtowed deeply, wiped the tears that had slid down his face with his sleeve, and when he spoke again, his voice was choked with barely perceptible sobs.
"What this servant said today was all things His Highness the Crown Prince is not allowed to say on a normal day. I beg Your Majesty to punish me. I will also apologize to the Crown Prince when he wakes up. But... but this servant just couldn't bear to watch... that's why..."
His voice grew softer and softer as he spoke, until he almost couldn't continue.
Not to mention the unpleasant feeling in his heart, even Yinzhen didn't know how to feel sorry for this overly sensible child after hearing it, and felt a tightness in his heart.
This child must have gone to great lengths to hide it from me. How could I have been so blinded by greed these past few days, not noticing anything until he fell seriously ill, only then realizing the truth belatedly?
He didn't know what he was feeling or how to describe it. He only knew that whenever he met Hongzhao, he was no longer a calm and dignified emperor, but a father who was often negligent and sometimes even at a loss.
He really didn't know how to love this child anymore.
Love is always a feeling of indebtedness. If Hongzhao were to crown himself an Oscar-winning actor, he would have to give Xiaodezi an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor. With him, things would truly be twice as effective.
Calculating the time, it was about time. Hongzhao moved his eyelids and slowly opened his eyes. His vision was very blurry, and he couldn't react for a while.
"The Crown Prince is awake!"
Xiao Dezi's voice clearly showed surprise, and he dashed off towards the imperial kitchen.
"Father..." He turned his head groggily, his gaze settling on the bright yellow figure—"How long have I been asleep? Has Father had breakfast yet?"
Yinzhen couldn't help but chuckle when he heard this, and gently tapped his forehead twice. "Breakfast? It's time for dinner now. I've had the porridge kept warm and have also prepared some side dishes. I suppose you must be hungry since you haven't eaten all day."
"A whole day?" Hongzhao propped himself up and peered out the window at the sky. Sure enough, he was met with complete darkness. His face showed obvious surprise—"Your Majesty, you slept until evening? Doesn't that mean you've missed important business!"
When Yinzhen met his anxious gaze, he felt his heart soften even more when he thought of what Xiao Dezi had said earlier. "What important matter is there? The most important thing is for you to get well. You didn't even know you had a fever. Doctor Zhou said that it's only because you have a good constitution that your fever would have come down so easily."
Yinzhen thought that this boy was the type to keep all his troubles to himself, so he decided to just let him say everything at once today.
He sat up straight, facing Hongzhao, his hands on his knees, his whole body taut. His seriousness made Hongzhao involuntarily tense up as well.
"Yesterday, I didn't ask for your opinion on the matter of impeaching the Governor-General of Zhili in court. I didn't even remember it myself. We don't need to remember such casual slander and defamation. If we really have to remember, it should be the person who made the impeachment. We will definitely punish him properly in the future. Otherwise, do they really think that a scholar's mouth can distort right and wrong?"
Yinzhen's palms were red from his own rubbing. He clenched his fist and loosened it several times before finally reaching out and gently patting Hongzhao's head. He said awkwardly, "These days... Father hasn't been able to pay much attention to you. You've suffered."
The fact that an emperor would not apologize is the most humiliating thing he could say.
Hongzhao quickly shook his head at him, his round eyes sincere and clear—"My son is perfectly fine, it's like he just took a nap. He even has more energy than yesterday, really!"
...
The father and son's heartfelt conversation further strengthened their already close relationship, and Hongzhao's fever subsided that very day. However, at Yinzhen's insistence, he remained in bed for several days before getting up. Although his illness wasn't severe, he still missed the army's departure for the campaign.
In addition to Prince Xun, the Emperor also personally selected one other person to accompany him on this expedition.
This man was the emperor's nephew and the crown prince's study companion—Amur.
Hongzhao naturally understood Amur's intentions. Amur was to marry a princess in the future. If it were any other princess, having the status of a prince would be quite acceptable in terms of status. However, Amur was to marry the emperor's most beloved eldest princess, Hongjin. Not to mention a prince, even a prince would be considered somewhat lacking.
Sending Amur to accompany the army on this expedition was for two reasons. First, he was getting on in years and needed to be sent out to see some blood and temper his character. Second, the battle was going very smoothly, and if he returned with a respectable record, the emperor would surely reward him. Whether it was an official position or a noble title, it would be something he earned himself, and it would also bring honor to the princess.
Anyone with discerning eyes could see that the Crown Prince's companions were all given prestigious positions, one going on a military expedition and the other at sea. This clearly showed that the Emperor was already intentionally cultivating subordinates for the Crown Prince.
Looking at that fool who went to report the matter, I'm afraid his grave will be overgrown with weeds in a couple of days. It's truly a sad state of affairs.
If you don't court death, you won't die.
That day, Hongzhao was drawing something on Xuan paper with a brush when the voice of Eunuch Su rang out from outside.
"Your Highness, the two sorcerers that the Thirteenth Prince found among the common people have arrived."
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