He had originally thought he would never set foot in Empress Lu’s quarters again. Undeniably, Empress Lu truly hadn’t raised the children well, hadn’t fulfilled her responsibilities as a wife, let alone her duties as the mother of the nation.
But no matter what, Emperor Jianzhang couldn’t forget how Empress Lu had accompanied him through the most difficult period, walking step by step to reach where they were today.
Empress Lu had always been gentle—he had always known this.
Moreover, if not for the knot in his heart regarding the Crown Prince that led to a vicious cycle, Empress Lu wouldn’t have reached this point. If one were to assign blame for all this, in the end it could only fall on Grand Empress Dowager Rongxian, on himself. Though Empress Lu bore responsibility, it was minimal.
He sighed, thinking of the children. The gloom between his brows was thick. When he entered Qingning Hall and discovered Empress Lu was not there, he heard from Attendant Hu that Empress Lu had gone to see the Crown Prince. He nodded and simply sat in the side hall for a while.
When Empress Lu returned, he gently asked about the Crown Prince’s health.
Speaking of which, after the recent war in Xibei, there were many matters to handle. It had been a long time since he had the attention to visit the Crown Prince—he didn’t know how his condition was now.
Emperor Jianzhang’s feelings toward this son were extremely complex. On one hand, he felt he was unworthy of the position of Crown Prince; on the other hand, because now only this son remained by his side, he couldn’t help but soften toward him somewhat.
Compared to when the incident first occurred and she had walked on thin ice, Empress Lu now appeared much more composed. She softly replied, “He had been improving earlier. Imperial Physician Yan and Attendant Sun both said that as long as he recuperates well, there shouldn’t be any major problems…” She lowered her eyes and sighed. “But this morning, somehow…”
Empress Lu steadied herself before continuing. “This morning, Dongping was accompanying him for a meal when somehow he collapsed again…” Her voice carried a hint of tears. “The imperial physicians have all examined him. They say as long as he wakes up in time, this winter shouldn’t be a major problem…”
Emperor Jianzhang understood the implication in these words. For a moment, he was somewhat stunned and couldn’t react. After a while, he asked, “Why didn’t you report this to me earlier?”
“You were deliberating matters in the Grand Secretariat…” Empress Lu sat somewhat wearily at Emperor Jianzhang’s side. “Now that the Xibei matter is settled, aren’t there new troubles in Fujian? He also said not to disturb you…”
Emperor Jianzhang lightly scolded, “Nonsense! The safety of the heir apparent—can that be treated as child’s play?”
But though he spoke of “heir apparent,” who didn’t know the Crown Prince was destined never to ascend the throne? Empress Lu looked distantly out the window, then grasped Emperor Jianzhang’s hand in return. “This way… is also good…” She looked at Emperor Jianzhang. “Living like this now, life is worse than death for him. And in the future… what would happen then?”
When Emperor Jianzhang truly abdicated, would Zhou Weizhao directly ascend the throne, or would the Crown Prince ascend first?
Emperor Jianzhang and the ministers of the Grand Secretariat would absolutely not allow the Crown Prince to ascend. Wouldn’t the Crown Prince then become a retired emperor without ever having been emperor?
The future held too many variables after all—who knew what changes might occur by then?
For the Crown Prince, living like this without being able to obtain anything—it would truly be better to die.
Though somewhat cruel, Empress Lu felt this way everyone would be much more at ease. Hardening her heart, she said, “The time is sufficient. His only wish is nothing more than to see Dongping marry and have children. Hurry and arrange Dongping’s marriage… Let him depart without regrets.”
Emperor Jianzhang glanced at Empress Lu but ultimately said nothing. After leaving, he thought for a long time and finally lifted his feet toward the Eastern Palace.
It had been a long time since he had seen the Crown Prince. This son had disappointed him far too many times. Many mistakes were caused by him and Prince Gong competing for favor and being jealous of each other. In the Xibei matter, though Prince Gong’s crimes were unforgivable, the Crown Prince also bore inescapable responsibility.
He had once very much wanted to give up on this son. In fact, he had indeed made that choice.
But he was ultimately a father. No matter how harsh or venomous his words, he could never truly harden his heart toward his child.
Prince Dongping was attending to the Crown Prince taking medicine. The Crown Prince’s mouth seemed even more crooked than the last time he’d seen him. With each spoonful Prince Dongping fed, he had to use a cloth to wipe away the porridge that flowed out.
Emperor Jianzhang stood behind the screen, quietly watching for a long while, before finally stepping inside.
Prince Dongping hurriedly rose to pay respects but didn’t dare raise his head. After the incident with Han Zhengqing, he always felt himself filthy all over, feeling inferior before everyone.
Emperor Jianzhang warmly told him to rise, asking whether the Ministry of Rites had sent the wedding garments, and whether he had secretly gone to see his future wife.
His questions left Prince Dongping both flattered and very nervous, unsure for a moment how to answer.
Emperor Jianzhang laughed. “What’s there to be shy about? Which young man doesn’t do some romantic things in his youth? You should be more lively.”
His amiable and pleasant attitude left Prince Dongping shocked and uncertain what to do. The Crown Prince was visibly very happy, waving his hand toward Prince Dongping, signaling him to thank Emperor Jianzhang.
Prince Dongping then solidly kowtowed three times to Emperor Jianzhang. He was very grateful that Emperor Jianzhang hadn’t investigated his identity closely—if Emperor Jianzhang had truly pursued it, even if in the end it was proven he was the Crown Prince’s son, he would have no face to stand in the imperial family anymore.
Moreover, now Emperor Jianzhang and Empress Lu had even selected a quite good princess consort for him—at least much better than he had imagined—which was already very unexpected.
Emperor Jianzhang waved his hand, telling him to rise and then dismissed him. Only then did he turn to look at the Crown Prince.
Compared to before, the Crown Prince was much more haggard. His eye sockets had sunken so thin that through his light sleeping robe, one could see the protruding bones, somewhat frightening.
No matter how much he was nourished with delicacies from land and sea, fed ginseng and deer antler, once a person’s spirit and vitality were gone, everything was gone.
Emperor Jianzhang looked past his skeletal body to his face and said in a low voice, “Rest assured. I understand your meaning. Weizhao is a kindhearted child. As long as Dongping behaves properly, he will tolerate him.”
The Crown Prince nodded and struggled to utter an acknowledgment, then admitted his wrongs to Emperor Jianzhang.
Emperor Jianzhang felt deeply moved. He actually was no longer angry at the Crown Prince. Too many things had happened in this past year, his emotions had changed too rapidly—he truly had no extra energy left to be angry. Looking at the Crown Prince’s appearance for a long time, it ultimately transformed into nothing but a sigh.