Chapter 88
**Chapter 88: The Crown Prince's Illness**
It was said that the King of Yan had flown into a rage last night.
Since the Crown Prince fell ill, the weight on the King’s shoulders had grown heavier. He had been preoccupied with state affairs for so long that his care for his children had become limited. The King never expected that the Crown Princess, the children's own mother, would resort to "reducing their food" as a form of punishment—just because Li Yao had secretly sent food to her brothers!
Poor Li Yao had been so hungry that she was hiding cakes under the table!
Li Chengke and Li Chengzhen often stayed up late to study, falling ill time and again.
The King ordered Fu Gui to investigate deeply, and it was discovered that the Crown Princess had bribed Scholar Sun from the Hanlin Academy with a large sum to secretly tutor the two children! If the censors got wind of this, the King would surely be overwhelmed by the petitions they would submit!
Realizing the gravity of the situation, the King finally recognized that the Crown Princess was not a qualified mother. He sent someone to the palace that very night to inform the Empress about Li Yao's poisoning, hoping she would intervene.
The Empress, furious, smashed a cup in anger. This morning, she sent Mama Qian to the King’s residence under the pretense of missing her three grandchildren, taking them into the palace for safekeeping.
The Crown Princess wept and wailed, convinced that the Empress was trying to take her children away. She nearly smashed the statue in the Buddhist hall. Arriving at the palace in a carriage to plead with the Empress, she still hadn’t returned by afternoon, indicating that things were not going smoothly.
In short, the royal residence was in complete disarray.
Cai Ping rolled her eyes, curious, and asked, “My lady, do you think the King will use this as an excuse to divorce the Crown Princess?”
The relationship between the King and the Crown Princess had long been superficial. Now that this incident had come to light, it seemed unlikely that their feelings could ever be repaired.
Shen Wei wiped the sweat from her forehead with a towel, seeing things clearly: “The Crown Princess’s family is the Dan Tai clan, a prestigious family with a history of a hundred years. For the sake of the Dan Tai family’s reputation, the King won’t divorce her.”
Marriages between royal families and noble clans were tied to interests and would not be easily severed.
Thus, Shen Wei’s goal was not to become the primary consort.
Her aim was to become a favored secondary consort, to have the King’s protection, to bear children, and to live a life of peace and prosperity in this era.
Shen Wei also reminded Cai Ping, “From now on, keep any thoughts of divorce to yourself. Words can lead to disaster; be cautious.”
Cai Ping nodded obediently, “I understand, my lady.”
In the sweltering afternoon, just as Shen Wei was about to return to her room for a nap, a clear voice rang out from the wall: “Lady Shen’s courtyard is truly beautiful. The scenery is lovely, and the lady even more so.”
Shen Wei paused in her steps.
She saw a young man in white perched on the wall of the Liuli Pavilion, his name was Mo Shenyi.
Mo Shenyi held a porcelain bowl in his hands, half-filled with desserts from “Wei Yan Ji” in Yanjing.
His crisp voice reached Shen Wei’s ears: “I’ve wandered around the King’s residence, and your courtyard is the most charming, with lush flowers and exquisite pavilions. You must be a thoughtful young lady.”
Shen Wei wore a faint, detached smile and did not respond.
Lowering her voice, she instructed Cai Ping, “Have the two guards at the entrance escort this person away.”
The two guards at the entrance were the King’s specially assigned “Tiger Guards,” skilled in martial arts.
Mo Shenyi was politely escorted away by the guards.
Shen Wei reined in her smile and turned back to her room. As the King’s favored concubine, having a strange man perched on her courtyard wall could certainly stir up a scandal.
It was best to have him sent away.
...
In the Daqing Palace, in the Kun Ning Palace.
All the palace maids and eunuchs had been dismissed. In the center of the main hall, the Crown Princess knelt on the ground, tears streaming down her face. She pleaded, “Mother, are you really going to take my three children away? Being separated from them is worse than death!”
The Crown Princess never imagined that a small mistake could lead to such dire consequences.
The King had erupted in fury, berating her as a cruel mother.
The Empress had taken the three children away from her.
With a cold husband and a harsh mother-in-law, her two sons were the only solace for the Crown Princess. Without her children, what hope could she have in the oppressive King’s residence?
The Empress clutched her chest in anger: “Yao’er is only eight years old! As her mother, how could you reduce her lunch? Letting her go hungry enough to eat moldy cakes... Even a stepmother wouldn’t do such a thing!”
The Crown Princess felt even more wronged: “I know my daughter well. Yao’er is greedy; she—”
“Silence!” The Empress nearly wished she could crack open the Crown Princess’s head to see what kind of foolishness lay within.
Unwilling to relent, the Crown Princess insisted on bringing her three children back to the King’s residence.
With tears streaming down her face, she begged, “Mother, if word gets out that you’ve taken my children, how will the world view you? How will they see me, the Crown Princess? Wouldn’t the reputation of the King’s residence be utterly ruined?”
The Empress rubbed her temples.
She was too weary to listen to the Crown Princess’s pleas and ordered the old matron to take her to a side hall, preferring not to see her.
Mama Qian, who served the Empress, presented a calming tea, and the Empress took a few sips. Mama Qian tactfully remarked, “Your Majesty, the Crown Princess does have a point. If you insist on taking the three little ones into the palace, it won’t reflect well on the King’s reputation. Recently, the Prince of Heng and Concubine Qian have been instigating the censors, keeping a close watch on the King’s residence, looking to expose any faults…”
The Empress was well aware of the schemes of the Prince of Heng.
He suspected that the King might inherit the throne and had been targeting him both openly and covertly.
The Empress sighed: “The three children are truly pitiful. Just look at Yao’er; she’s as thin as a cat at eight years old. Chengke and Chengzhen are forced to study hard every day; they’ll soon become as frail as the Crown Prince.”
The Empress’s greatest regret in life was the immense pressure she had placed on the Crown Prince, leading to his frail health and short life.
She could not bear to watch the Crown Princess follow the same path.
Mama Qian suggested, “Your Majesty, why not send four experienced old matrons to the King’s residence to help the Crown Princess care for the three little ones?”
The Empress set down her teacup, pondering for a long while before finally nodding slowly.
The three children must remain with the Crown Princess. But the responsibility of raising them would require the oversight of four old matrons. The Empress would also periodically intervene to prevent the Crown Princess from making further mistakes.
With the matter of the children settled for now, the Empress instructed Mama Qian, “Later, go to the East Palace and inquire whether the wandering physician Yuan Jing has the ability to cure Yuan Chang’s illness.”
The Empress still held onto a glimmer of hope regarding the Crown Prince’s illness. She hoped that Mo Shenyi could heal him.
As long as the Crown Prince recovered, all the current troubles could be resolved.
...
...
As dusk fell, the blood-red sun cast its glow upon the glazed tiles of the East Palace. Inside the Crown Prince’s chamber, he lay against a soft pillow, his face pale and devoid of color.
The Crown Princess and the King sat silently in nearby chairs.
Mo Shenyi was busy taking the Crown Prince’s pulse and administering acupuncture, working diligently for quite some time before wiping the sweat from his brow.
The Crown Princess, nervously clutching her handkerchief, spoke with a hint of expectation, struggling to hold back her tears: “Mo Shenyi, how is the Crown Prince? Can he be cured?”
Table of Contents
