The man on the bed was visibly startled. His gaze shifted from fatigue to rigidness, then from rigidness to endurance, and finally back to fatigue.
Chang Yan did not know what ups and downs he had experienced in this short span of time. He only heard the man's voice growing increasingly hoarse as he said, "How bad is it?"
Thus, the original blunt words were choked back down his throat.
Even the meager father-son relationship would turn into meager concern, disappearing in anger and surging forth in reluctance.
The image of Ju Noble Consort and her son lying still flashed across Chang Yan's mind. Chang Yan's lips parted slightly. "There were...some unexpected situations."
"Oh." The Imperial Court said nothing.
He still lay in bed like that, but it was as if he had a premonition. His muddy eyes glazed over with a layer of crystallization, yet he stubbornly held back his tears.
He took a deep breath, and his fingers as thin as kindling wood clutched the edge of the bed. He lightly lifted his hand several times, only to let it fall heavily back down.
"Go ahead, speak." After a long pause, he said softly, "I have the right to know."
A generation of emperors, what storms had he not seen?
Chang Yan could no longer conceal the truth. In a low voice, he said, "The Eldest Imperial Brother was mistakenly injured by Noble Consort Ju. His blade was tainted with the lethal poison of Datura Stramonium, and he could not be saved."
"Noble Consort Ju was remorseful and grief-stricken. She took her own life in the Qianqing Palace."
There was no embellishment or hyperbole, only the most truthful account stemming from the prince's loyalty to the emperor.
Chang Yan closed his eyes, and countless imagined scenes flashed through his mind.
There were scenes of the Imperial Court scolding and raging, scenes of irrelevant people being implicated, and scenes of crying bitterly to the heavens.
Yet in the end, the world was silent.
When he opened his eyes again, he only saw a teardrop slide down the man's cheek and disappear without a trace into the bright yellow pillowcase.
"I see. So that's what happened," he responded woodenly. "You are dismissed. Take good care of the Crown Prince's Residence and work for the well-being of all people under heaven."
Chang Yan was unusually stunned. It was only after some time that he came to his senses, revealing the confusion a youth his age should have.
"Go now, child." The Imperial Court was still as calm as ever. "Go fulfill your grand plans and do what you must."
There was no blame or implicating others.
I did not kill Bo Ren, yet Bo Ren died because of me.
Zhu Changhong probably resented the Imperial Court the most when he passed away during the transfer of power, but when you thought about it, he was the one Zhu Changhong shouldn't have resented the most.
After all, it was Zhu Changhong himself who had placed the sovereignty firmly in Chang Yan's hands.
Perhaps the moment he decided to name the crown prince, he had already foreseen the children's fate. Yet before the end was set in stone, residual hope always remained.
He hoped they could safely come of age and then leave Fengjing, hoped they could live peacefully in their fiefs, hoped they would not harbor hopeless ambitions.
But reality was always cruel.
Just like when he and his brothers had fought over power in the past - his overly ruthless elder brothers had resorted to all kinds of schemes, even going as far as to frame each other. In the end, they had successively been eliminated, leaving only him, the one with the gentlest temperament.
Imperial princes would always harbor desire for that position within easy reach, mixed with their original resentment and anger, stimulating the greatest greed.
In the end, only a few of the Imperial Court's cousins and their sons and nephews remained by his side.
He was not capable of asking the imperial sons not to fight, just as back then, his extraordinarily accomplished Father Emperor had not been able to stop his eldest brothers from killing each other.
"If you dare to fight, you must dare to die," his late father's resonant voice still rang in his ears, loud and clear.
The Imperial Court had also told himself thus, and could not bear to be too harsh on Chang Yan.
But after the Qianqing Palace had regained its tranquility, all those feelings of doting surged to his heart. Their past affection, from the infant's very first wail after birth, to growing up being carried on his shoulders, to babbling his first words and toddling about, to riding up on horseback and calling out "Father Emperor" in a clear voice.
From getting to know each other as innocent children, to twenty years of love and company, to personally cooking then accidentally spilling white lotus seed congee on the floor.
A sharp pain wrenched his heart, and he suddenly opened his mouth, spurting out large amounts of fresh blood.
Something was being wrenched out from his body. Was it his life, or that tenacious will?
The thick red stained the bright yellow, just like that lively and cheerful girl back then, discovering him in the crowd, someone who did not fight or snatch. She had taken the initiative to generously share, "Here, you take some too."
He turned up the corners of his lips before sinking into unconsciousness.
In a blurry haze, someone panicked and rushed over. It was the Grand Housekeeper who had been by his side for many years, as well as the one who would soon take over the realm - his son.
"Apply needles."
"Ginseng, put ginseng in his mouth."
"Quickly decoct medicine."
"Hurry and wipe away the bloodstains..."
The entire Qianqing Palace became a flurry of activity. All of the imperial physicians, from the oldest to the youngest, gathered here. The most senior oversaw the acupuncture, while the younger ones brought items and did not dare utter a sound even if their arms grew numb with fatigue.
Chang Yan and Zhu Changheng stood at the bedside. The few consorts waited in the side halls. The Jiang Sheng siblings had also not gone far.
Palace turmoil had just occurred, followed immediately by the Imperial Court coughing up blood.
The consecutive incidents were mentally exhausting, yet also within expectation.
"His health was already poor to begin with," Zhu Changheng said softly. "Now that he's coughed up blood, I'm afraid..."
He did not dare say more, but everyone understood.
The Imperial Court probably did not have much time left.
"He did not blame me or break out in fury," Chang Yan said remorsefully. "I should have noticed something was wrong."
"Even if you had noticed, it would have been useless. The situation was beyond our control," Zhu Changheng consoled his younger brother.
Zhu Changhong had taken up too much of their father's love, leaving scarcely any for them.
But no matter how little, it was still their father's love.
If the Imperial Court really closed his eyes forever, they would be fatherless.
The two brothers shared a rare moment of empathy, staring blankly as the Imperial Medical Office busied themselves, as countless silver needles were inserted, their hearts lodged in their throats all the while.
No one knew how much time had passed.
The old imperial physician finally removed all the needles, wiping away sweat. "The danger has passed for now, but we'll have to keep watching to make sure his condition doesn't worsen again."
Everyone in the Qianqing Palace let out a breath of relief. The Grand Housekeeper went limp against the bedpost, choking back sobs. "Your Majesty, Your Majesty cannot abandon this old slave. You must pull through!"
Who could say for certain? The imperial physicians continued wiping away sweat, discussing how to administer needles and medicine.
As crown prince, Chang Yan had undoubtedly gone through preparations for everything.
Zhu Changheng patted him on the shoulder. "It's been hard on you."
If the crown prince had only been half-reigning before, needing to report on important matters, then with the Imperial Court's complete loss of consciousness, the authority to govern was fully vested in the Crown Prince's Residence.
The experienced imperial clan members even suggested hastening preparations for the dragon robes, in case there was need for enthronement.
Chang Yan was averse to the idea deep down, but still gave his assent.
He personally watched as the Imperial Court finished taking his medicine and saw the imperial physicians out, leaving only Sun Siji to keep vigil at his sickbed. After ordering the Grand Housekeeper to go rest, Chang Yan quietly closed the doors to the Qianqing Palace's main hall.
Zhu Changheng had left early to return to the manor for some matter. Upon hearing the news that the emperor had survived, the consorts had also successively taken their leave. Only the empty, desolate hall remained.
Chang Yan could not help but sigh. Turning around, he saw five figures standing in rows under the eaves of the side hall.
