translator â xiao he lian
chapter 111.1
ever since the emperor fell ill, he yu has been serving at his majestyâs bedside. although his majesty no longer manages many affairs like before, he can clearly see the attitude of the court and those in the palace.
at first everyone thought that the emperor was just suffering from some minor illness and he would recover after a few days of rest.
but now that the days are long and everyone knows that the emperorâs days are numbered, they no longer pay attention to him and even openly side with the fourth prince or the crown prince and dare to treat the emperor as if he were a living death.
especially concubine rong, who was once the emperorâs favorite, had time to organize the upcoming family banquet but had no time to come and see the emperor.
on the contrary, prince xuan, the fourth prince born by concubine rong, came to accompany the emperor whenever he was free.
after all, he yu has been working in the palace for decades and his heart was as clear as a mirror but he also knows that he canât tell the emperor these words, because the emperor has always been thinking about concubine rong.
this afternoon, it was rare for the emperor to be sober, so he yu hurried forward, holding a cup of tea for the emperor to moisten his throat.
the emperorâs complexion turned yellow and his body exuded an unpleasant smell of medicine. when he opened his mouth to speak, the smell of medicine became stronger: âhe yuâ¦has concubine rong been here?â
he yu fingertips clasped the cup of tea, he hung his head, lowered his eyes and said: âreplying back to your majesty, when concubine rong came over, your majesty was still sleeping, consort consort rong could not bear to disturb your majestyâs rest, so she went back.â
in fact, concubine rong hadnât shown her face in qiankun palace for a while but he yu couldnât bear to let the emperor down, so he lied.
sure enough, after the emperor heard that concubine rong had come over, a ray of light seemed to brush through his cloudy eyes as he said, âgo, invite concubine rong here.â
he yu hesitated but he didnât dare to say anything on the surface, and said, âyes.â
he didnât know if concubine rong was willing to come.
but the emperor is the emperor, even if the emperor is sick, he is still the emperor, so he thought that consort rong would not have the guts to disobey the emperorâs request.
with a restless heart, he yu ordered the eunuchs and maids who served the emperor and hurried out of the bedroom.
outside, the sky was still gloomy, like a heavy cage that covered the entire palace.
the snow had stopped but it was drizzling, and the fine curtain of rain was like a hazy veil, vaguely obscuring he yuâs vision.
after he yu walked a few steps, he saw a young eunuch walking towards him in a hurry.
âyour excellency.â the little eunuch whispered, âthe crown prince is here.â
his royal highness the crown prince, like concubine rong, has not set foot in qiankun palace for a long time. he yu thought to herself, âitâs good that prince xuan still comes over from time to time, so accompany his majesty.â
itâs just that the weather is so bad today and he didnât know why his royal highness was here.
he yu was thinking about the matter of inviting concubine rong but then he thought of the fact that the emperor had not mentioned his highness the several times he had been sober during this period, so he planned to send his highness away with a few words.
he restrained his thoughts and asked sternly, âwhere is he?â
the little eunuch looked back: âthere.â
he yu followed the little eunuch and he saw an extremely thin figure standing in the dense gray and black curtain of rain.
his royal highness was wearing a dark robe and his long black hair was tied casually.
he had turned his head to look at the rain, but when he heard footsteps, he slowly turned his head.
his highnessâs complexion was particularly pale, like a piece of uncut jade so white that no blemishes could be found, even his lips were white.
it had only been a while, but he had lost a great deal of weight, as if he would fall into the curtain of rain when the wind blew.
seeing this, he yu suddenly thought of the strange look on the young eunuchâs expression just now and suddenly understood â no wonder the little eunuchâs reaction was so strange, even he didnât expect his royal highness to lose weight like this, almost as if he had also been very ill, just like the emperor.
with these thoughts in mind, he yu walked over to him.
however, when he yu got a good look at his highnessâs face, he froze in his tracksâ¦
the face of his royal highnessâ¦
the burn marks on his royal highnessâs face were all gone!
he yu thought he was mistaken, so he blinked his eyes and rubbed them again, and when he looked again, the pale face was still as pure white as a flawless diamond.
he yu was both shocked and terrified and at the same time he tried to squeeze out a smile. âgreeting to your highness the crown prince!â he yu managed to adjust his emotions. he realized his gaffe and quickly lowered his head in fear, âyour faceâ¦â
shi ye didnât seem to want to mention this matter, he interrupted he yu in a cold voice: âwhereâs the emperor?â
âreplying back to your royal highness, the emperor is still resting.â he yu broke free from the complicated emotions and then remembered that he still had to invite concubine rong. the emperor will not be awake for long, he could not afford to delay, so he took out the words he had prepared, âtoday, the emperor is not well, it is not convenient to meet people. your highness should go back and when the emperor is better some other day, i will go and invite your highness over. â
after that, he yu lowered his head nervously.
even so, he yu could still feel his royal highnessâs cold gaze falling on his neck, and he instantly felt a chill on his neck and involuntarily shrank, as if there was a knife hanging around his neck
he broke out in a cold sweat on this cold rainy day.
and his royal highnessâs tone was colder than the rain: âis the emperor awake?â