That night, Hongli stayed by Yonglian's side. Yonglian slept a lot during the day and wasn't very sleepy at night. It was rare for his father to be with him, so he didn't want to close his eyes and just wanted to say a few more words to his father.
With Hongli by her side, Yuying felt a little more at ease. Hongli advised her to go to sleep for a while, but Yuying's eyelids were too heavy and she couldn't stay awake any longer, so she went to rest in the East Warm Pavilion.
Yonglian had already taken the medicine prescribed by the divine doctor. Unable to sleep, he asked his father what was fun to do at the Summer Palace and the Hunting Grounds. He couldn't see it with his own eyes, so hearing about it would be good enough.
Hongli described the scenery there to him, saying that the Mid-Autumn Festival there was similar to that in the palace, where people would worship the moon, admire the moon, eat mooncakes, and release lanterns to make wishes.
Listening to his father's description, Yonglian couldn't help but feel a longing in his heart, "Your subject also has a wish to make..."
"Oh?" Hongli said gently, "What wish do you want to make? You can tell me."
"I want to get better quickly, stop drinking bitter medicine, and go to the Imperial Study to study with everyone. Also..." He hesitated for a moment, but Hongli gently dispelled his concerns.
"Say whatever comes to mind, without any reservations."
The Emperor is suddenly being so kind to him, probably because he is so ill and difficult to recover, which is why he is being so patient.
If he really can't survive, then what is there to fear?
Thinking of this, Yonglian felt saddened and finally couldn't help but express his deepest wish, "Your subject wants to play with Your Majesty. Your subject likes Your Majesty very much, but Your Majesty Mother has always forbade your subject to play with him..."
Both brothers wanted to get closer to each other, but because of the Empress, they never dared to get too close. Such a simple matter had become a wish he had never dared to express. Hongli was filled with emotion and for a moment did not know what to say.
The Emperor did not reprimand him, which reassured Yonglian slightly. He tentatively asked, "Father, after I recover from my illness, can I play with my elder brother?"
Even if he recovers, Yu Ying will not be able to get rid of her resentment towards Yong Huang and will definitely still not allow them to be together. But such an answer is too cruel, and Hong Li cannot bear to tell him the truth.
To give him a glimmer of hope, Hongli nodded. "Alright, I promise you, once you've recovered, you'll be allowed to play together."
Upon hearing this, a glimmer of light finally appeared in Yonglian's dim eyes. "Really? That's wonderful!"
Overjoyed, he then talked to his father about other things, all of them trivial matters. For example, he had a eunuch bring his paintings and calligraphy to his father for his perusal, hoping to receive his father's guidance.
Hongli examined them closely and noticed that the flower he painted most often was the lotus. "You seem to really like lotus flowers?"
Nodding, Yonglian said, "That year, I painted a lotus flower. Father Emperor praised me for painting it so lifelike. Since then, I have been particularly fond of lotus flowers and thought that if I worked harder, I could paint it even better and perhaps receive praise from Father Emperor again."
Hongli vaguely remembered what he had mentioned. At the time, it was just a casual compliment, but he did not expect Yonglian to remember it so well.
Children are always exceptionally perceptive, but he's so busy dealing with so many things that he doesn't remember those little details. He doesn't realize how much influence his unintentional remark can have on the children.
Hongli felt deeply guilty and gently stroked his little head, saying softly, "When you get better, I'll take you to Rehe to see the lotus flowers next year. There are many rare varieties there, including twin lotuses!"
"Great! Great!" Yonglian looked forward to it, but was also worried. His smile faded. "I don't know if I can make it to next summer."
Hongli felt a slight lump in his throat, but forced a smile and comforted him, "The divine doctor has already changed your prescription. You will get better soon. Don't overthink it, just focus on recovering."
Although Yonglian was young, he could sense that his father was just trying to comfort him. He feared he wouldn't live much longer and, not wanting to leave with regrets, Yonglian pleaded:
"Are there still lotus flowers? I'd like to see them with Father Emperor now, okay?"
“Lotus flowers? It’s already September, the lotus flowers in the palace have already faded,” but not wanting to disappoint the child, he said to Yonglian:
"However, the water in the Yuanmingyuan is different from other places. The lotus flowers there should still be blooming. I will have someone pick them."
Yonglian immediately sensed something was amiss. "Yuanmingyuan is far from the palace. This is too much trouble. I won't go. Let's talk about it next year!"
Hongli smiled indifferently, "No trouble at all. The guards will be back on fast horses in an hour or two. Just wait, and you'll see the lotus flowers before dawn."
Emperor Hongli then ordered Li Yu to convey his oral message, arranging for guards to ride at top speed to the Yuanmingyuan Garden to pick lotus flowers.
The palace gates were closed at night and should not be opened unless there was an emergency. However, Yonglian's situation was not optimistic, so Hongli made an exception and ordered the city gates to be opened so that the guards could go to the Yuanmingyuan to pick flowers.
The emperor attached great importance to this matter, and the guards dared not delay. They set off immediately, traveling day and night to the Yuanmingyuan.
Yu Ying slept for an hour and a half. In the latter half of the night, she got up and came over. She saw Hongli sitting by the tent, wearing a robe, guarding Yonglian.
She had never seen Hongli care so much about the children. She hoped that this incident would change Hongli's opinion of Yonglian and make him spend more time with the children.
At this moment, Hongli was resting his head on his hand with his eyes closed. He only opened his eyes when he heard footsteps.
Yu Ying whispered, "Your Majesty, you must be tired after guarding this place for so long. You have to go to court tomorrow, so please go and rest for a while. I can stay here and watch over you."
Yonglian was sleeping soundly. Hongli touched his forehead and found that he no longer had a fever, so he felt a little relieved and went to lie down in the East Warm Pavilion to rest.
Preoccupied with his worries, he couldn't sleep soundly, waking up in a fright as soon as he fell asleep. In his half-awake state, he vaguely heard a shrill cry.
"Yonglian! My son!"
Hongli was startled and immediately sat up. He quickly put on his shoes, got out of the tent, and hurried to the West Warm Pavilion. As soon as he lifted the curtain, he saw Dongling running over, crying:
"Your Majesty! The Second Prince... he..."
Dongling choked up and couldn't speak a complete sentence. Hongli sighed inwardly and rushed inside. He saw Yuying sitting on the edge of the bed, tightly embracing Yonglian, tears streaming down her face, sobbing uncontrollably.
"Yonglian, wake up! Get up and take your medicine, don't sleep anymore."
Yonglian's eyes were closed, and he showed no reaction.
The imperial physician and the renowned doctor both came to examine him, then shook their heads and sighed, kneeling down to beg for forgiveness, saying that the Second Prince had already passed away.
Just then, a eunuch came to report that he was holding six lotus flowers and that the guards had brought back the flowers from the Yuanmingyuan Garden.
Li Yu took the lotus flower and walked step by step to the tent, choking back tears, "Your Majesty..."
Hongli's heart clenched. He sat by the tent, holding Yonglian's small hand tightly, and said to him softly as usual, "Yonglian, the lotus flowers have been picked. Didn't you want to see the lotus flowers with me, Yonglian?"
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