Chapter 99.1 – Letting Go of Past Grievances
After returning from the Eastern Palace, Lu Qipei had another good talk with Qi Yang. She firmly said that the Crown Prince would not find anything, and Qi Yang was initially at a loss gradually calmed down.
In the following days, the Eastern Palace remained calm, as if the extreme test that day never happened.
Qi Yang was worried for a while, and it was only after seeing everything continuing as usual did she truly become relieved. However, because the Crown Prince knew about those things, even though he couldn’t verify it, once he became suspicious, Qi Yang could no longer depend on him like before.
On the other hand, Lu Qipei also took the time to return to the Lu family, reminding Qi Bo to restrain everyone and not let the Crown Prince catch a handle on them. At this point, even if Qi Bo still had some resentment or dissatisfaction with Lu Qipei, he still did his work well.
And Lu Qipei never doubted Qi Bo’s ability in doing things. After all, he was someone who managed to maintain his power even under Xie Yuan’s influence, forcing the latter to plot to the north!
At the beginning of August, King Wu was finally found. Unfortunately, his appearance was no longer as lively as when he left the capital in high spirits.
What Mingzhou sent back to the capital was a coffin. The person inside was dressed in brocade robes and crown, but the body had been soaked in water and endured long-distance travel in this hot weather, and it was no longer in good shape.
It was said that when Consort Wu opened the coffin and saw it, she couldn’t restrain herself from crying and fell seriously ill afterwards. However, there were also rumors that the condition of King Wu’s body was too bad, Consort Wu inhaled too much gas and vomited, and it was this shock that made her fall ill.
In any case, King Wu Mansion indeed lost its master, and just like that, another of the Emperor’s sons was gone.
The Emperor did not value the other princes aside of the Crown Prince very much, but at the end of the day, they were his sons. Even though he had been prepared ever since he received the news that King Wu was washed away by the flood before, he still felt very sad when he really received news of his son’s death.
Incidentally, the autumn rain of August dissipated the summer heat that lingered in the capital, and the Emperor inadvertently fell ill.
In the end, the elderly were the ones who couldn’t stand sickness the most. Although the Crown Prince had been sickly for the past three years and had to rest in bed to recuperate from time to time, he was after all still young, and could slowly recuperate after each bout of illness.
But the Emperor was different. Although it was just a minor sickness, it seemed to have destroyed his health, and made the originally hale and hearty person look much older.
There was always a knot in Qi Yang’s heart when it came to the Emperor, but right now, she couldn’t help but worry. “I went to the palace for an audience today, and when I saw Royal Father, the brilliance in his eyes seemed to have reduced, and there were silver hairs on his head.”
When she said that, she looked at Lu Qipei, her eyes filled with worries and fragility that she herself did not notice.
Lu Qipei hugged her and patted her back to comfort her, but there was nothing more she could do. People were born, grow old, become sick, and die. This was something that no one could stop, not even if you were the Emperor, the richest man in the world.
What’s more, the Emperor’s condition right now wasn’t anything big; he just got sick and grew older. But he would still grow older every day.
Qi Yang naturally understood this fact. She worried for a few days and asked the royal physician how the Emperor was doing, and gradually let go of her worries. For a while, she went to Xuanshi Hall more and to the Eastern Palace less.
The Emperor was aware of this, and one day he smiled and shook Qi Yang’s hand, saying, “You’re still the one who worries about me the most. When I was sick, everyone would quickly come running, and once I got better, everyone disappeared one by one. Only you always care about me. Recently, you haven’t even gone to see your Royal Brother.”
Hearing this, Qi Yang’s heart skipped a bit, then she immediately smiled and said, “What is Royal Father saying? I used to go to the Eastern Palace often, that’s because Royal Brother was weakened and often fell ill. But now that Royal Father is sick, of course it’s more important than Royal Brother.”
The Emperor laughed at her words and only believed her a bit. Well, whether he believed it or not, it was beyond others’ speculation. He raised his hand and stroked his daughter’s hair, saying, “Your brother is kind and strict on himself, he will definitely be a wise ruler in the future. You have been close to him since childhood, and this is a bond that no one else can trade for. Don’t drift away from his just because of a small matter.”
Qi Yang raised her eyes in a daze, and met the Emperor’s gaze that seemed to understand everything yet also contained warmth. Her heart suddenly felt some pain, and all the grievances and knots in her heart from the past live seemed to have disappeared.
Seeing that her eyes were a little red, the Emperor was startled, then he smiled again. “What is it, have you been wronged? If you’ve been wronged, don’t hide it. Now there’s still Royal Father to call the shots for you. If the Crown Prince have wronged you, I will scold him for you!”
Qi Yang couldn’t help but smile when she heard this, and it was as if time had returned to back during her childhood. But she knew that this kind of warmth only lasted for a moment, and she soon broke out of it herself. “No, Royal Brother did not wrong me. It’s just that there was some misunderstanding between us, and things were a little unpleasant before… I really can’t hide anything from Royal Father.”
The Emperor didn’t ask her for the specific reason, and after saying a few words casually, he pushed Qi Yang and said, “Go and clear things up with your brother quickly, so things won’t go too long and really create a rift between you.”
After this conversation, the Emperor really looked as if he was getting old, and worrying about all kinds of things for his children.
Qi Yang sighed inside, and went to the Eastern Palace after exiting Xuanshi Hall.
