“Short Life?” After hearing this, Xiao Huayong was first slightly surprised, finding the name interesting and unique when considering it alone.
His habitually upturned lips suddenly froze, then slowly fell, his gaze growing heavy.
Originally intending to amuse the Crown Prince, the atmosphere suddenly stiffened. Tianyuan couldn’t identify what had gone wrong, his heart suddenly leaping to his throat.
Xiao Huayong’s face showed a stormy silence. It wasn’t that he was being oversensitive, but he had never understood why Shen Xihe had chosen him specifically among all the princes.
Initially, he thought it was because he was the Crown Prince, making everything more legitimate. Later, he deliberately tested her, thinking Shen Xihe knew about his poisoning in Mingzheng Hall eleven years ago and his distant relationship with His Majesty, meaning he wouldn’t trouble the Northwest according to His Majesty’s dying wishes.
The test results showed that Shen Xihe knew nothing about his poisoning. Later, he wondered if it was Shen Xihe’s intelligence that let her see through His Majesty’s favor toward him – a favor that wasn’t truly empathetic – and that’s why she chose him.
This guess was also overturned, remaining a mystery in his heart to this day.
He investigated his medical records and sought people to assess the poison in his body, thinking she cared for him. But she was such a cold person – even when Xiao Wenxi’s actions were so obvious, she showed no jealousy, proving she didn’t care about him at all.
He then thought perhaps she cared for him because she didn’t want her carefully chosen partner to become unsuitable for cooperation.
Only now did he suddenly understand that perhaps he had been wrong from the start.
She chose him precisely because she saw that his life would be short, and whether checking his medical records or finding people to investigate his poison, she just wanted to confirm if he truly had a short life!
Suddenly, Xiao Huayong felt a sharp pain in his chest, and a rush of blood surged up, causing him to uncontrollably cough up a mouthful of fresh blood.
“Your Highness!” Tianyuan cried out in shock, quickly supporting Xiao Huayong.
Xiao Huayong only felt his vision blur before collapsing.
“Quickly summon the Imperial Physician!” Tianyuan roared toward the door.
The news of Xiao Huayong vomiting blood and fainting upon arriving at the temporary palace alarmed everyone. Emperor Youning abandoned the important matters under discussion and strode over with several princes. The blood stains on the ground, not yet wiped away, caused Emperor Youning’s face to darken.
Seeing this, the princes’ eyes flickered, especially Xiao Changying who showed a particularly contemplative expression.
Prince Xin, Xiao Changqin, hadn’t come to this hunt, officially saying he needed to stay in the palace to accompany the Empress Dowager, but actually, because he insisted on observing mourning for Gu Qingchi and shouldn’t take his life.
But ever since the Crown Prince had stepped forward to protect Director Dong’s family, Xiao Changqin had said to Xiao Changying: “Our Crown Prince is the one who hides the deepest.”
“Fifth Brother means that the one who seized the autumn grain from your hands and reorganized it was the Crown Prince?” Xiao Changying was shocked.
“Otherwise, why would he step forward to protect the Dong family?” Xiao Changqin smiled enigmatically. “You don’t think he was truly sharing His Majesty’s worries? If I’m not mistaken, Dong Biquan must have made a deal with the Crown Prince using his family’s safety. He is His Majesty’s confidant after all.”
Xiao Changqin had wanted to make this move too, but had no one to use in the imperial prison and couldn’t contact Dong Biquan. Yet the Crown Prince had managed it, showing that their seemingly isolated and helpless Crown Prince influenced the court.
“But the Crown Prince’s health…” Xiao Changying suddenly realized, “Could the Crown Prince be faking his illness?”
The Crown Prince suffered from a strange disease and would live at most three to five more years – what would he scheme for? Why not just enjoy his remaining life in peace and luxury? They all thought this way, which is why after years of overt and covert struggle, no one had thought to move against the Crown Prince.
While he lived, the position of Crown Prince didn’t need to be openly contested, allowing them to secretly nurture their forces.
But now they suspected the Crown Prince might be faking his illness!
If he was faking, it was truly shocking – how many times had the Crown Prince’s illness alarmed the entire Imperial Medical Office? Yet not one person from the entire Imperial Medical Office had exposed his deception – wasn’t that terrifying?
Who would dare use the Imperial Medical Office’s people again? Wouldn’t that be placing their lives in the Crown Prince’s hands?
“I originally didn’t believe it either,” Xiao Changqin had never suspected the Crown Prince of faking his illness, precisely because each time the Crown Prince fell ill, it caused such a great commotion – how could such a deception be maintained? But now he couldn’t help but suspect, “Look, hasn’t someone always suffered misfortune whenever he falls ill?”
Thinking carefully, Xiao Changying felt this was true.
Looking at the pool of blood today, Xiao Changying hesitated again. Today the Crown Prince didn’t seem to be targeting anyone, yet he still fell ill. Perhaps the Crown Prince’s target hadn’t been revealed yet?
While they were speculating, the Chief Imperial Physician had already checked the Crown Prince’s pulse, his expression very grave: “Reporting to Your Majesty, the Crown Prince’s illness flared up, causing him to vomit blood.”
Actually, it was anger attacking his heart, but the Chief Imperial Physician hadn’t received any hints, and particularly since Tianyuan had shaken his head at him, he knew not to reveal the truth.
The recent series of events had also caused Emperor Youning to harbor some suspicions about Xiao Huayong, but today’s incident dispelled his doubts. Today was genuinely an illness attack, unrelated to anyone.
Xiao Changying also waited for a long time, expecting more to come, before confirming the Crown Prince had truly just fallen ill. He felt they had all suspected wrongly, and sent someone to deliver a letter to Xiao Changqin.
When Shen Xihe heard about Xiao Huayong vomiting blood and fainting, her first reaction was similar to Xiao Changying’s, waiting for someone to suffer misfortune. After waiting all afternoon without hearing any follow-up, she realized Xiao Huayong might truly have had a poison attack, and she brought Random Happiness to visit him.
Xiao Huayong had just woken up and taken his medicine, and was listening to the Chief Imperial Physician’s nagging: “Your Highness, what exactly caused you such anger? Don’t you know you nearly had the poison attack your heart? You must not do this again, otherwise this humble servant will have to accompany you in death.”
“Your Highness…” Tianyuan nervously began, “The Princess has come…”
“Don’t see her.” Before Tianyuan could finish, Xiao Huayong coldly spat out these two words.
Tianyuan had guessed that the Crown Prince’s angry blood-vomiting was because of the Princess but didn’t know why. Knowing the Princess had come, he still hoped seeing her would improve the Crown Prince’s condition.
Though he often felt the Crown Prince had become a different person because of the Princess, he had become more vivid, more human.
Although Tianyuan found it troublesome, he had to admit that His Highness thinking of the Princess was better than His Highness being lonely.
No longer viewing life and death with indifference, he had developed a will to live, actively cooperating with treatment and striving to survive.
His Highness had long since put life and death aside. Even seeking the Immortal’s Belt was only because they had threatened him with death. If he had truly been determined to get the Bone-Shedding Pill, he wouldn’t have let the Princess take it away so easily.
He hoped His Highness could succeed together with the Princess. With the Princess, His Highness was always gentle and bright, even laughing more often, and the Eastern Palace was no longer cold and gloomy.