Ministers Begging Me to Ascend the Throne-Chapter 176 - 149 Crown Prince Falls Ill

After a few days, the Crown Prince completed his prayers at Hulong Temple and returned to the palace. However, as soon as he returned, he fell ill. The Imperial Physician diagnosed him as being overly fatigued.

During the forty-nine days, the Crown Prince spent several hours each day praying for the late Empress and Great Zhou, and even transcribed Buddhist scriptures with his own blood, which further weakened his already frail body.

Logically, he shouldn’t have been able to hold on, but during the prayers, he managed to endure it. Once the prayers were completed, he relaxed, and his whole body succumbed to illness.

The Eighth Prince initially suggested the Crown Prince feign illness, not expecting that he would truly become ill. Before the prayers were over, the Crown Prince got sick at Hulong Temple, although it was not serious at the time, just a cough. But upon returning to the palace, he developed a fever that night.

This time, the Crown Prince’s illness was quite severe, coming on with considerable force. He had a continuous fever for two days, but fortunately, on the third day, it finally subsided.

During the Crown Prince’s illness, the people of the capital were moved by his filial piety. Only then did they realize their Crown Prince was a person of utmost filial and benevolent character and discovered that he had done many good deeds for them over the years.

Duke Zhen did not boast about the things the Crown Prince had done for the court and the people like Marquis Xuanping had. Such publicizing would seem deliberate and make it look as though the Crown Prince was purposely flaunting his good deeds. Besides, the Crown Prince was doing these things as part of his duties, so it was unnecessary for everyone to know about them.

He merely let the news of the Crown Prince’s severe illness and his accomplishments over the years spread inadvertently. Crucially, he did not ask storytellers in the capital to promote them but allowed scholars and literati to raise the topic voluntarily.

Compared to Prince Dai, the Crown Prince is more respected by scholars and literati, especially the students at the Imperial College.

Many students at the Imperial College come from impoverished backgrounds, and thanks to the Crown Prince, they can study there in peace.

These impoverished students were filled with gratitude towards the Crown Prince. They were deeply moved upon learning of the Crown Prince’s illness from praying for the late Empress and Great Zhou, and they wrote poems and articles in praise of the Crown Prince’s filial devotion.

Due to his status as the Crown Prince, he held significant standing among the populace, but to the common people, he was often seen as too distant, a figure beyond their reach. Now, seeing that the Crown Prince, like them, is a filial child, they began to feel that the Crown Prince was not an unattainable figure.

Although the Crown Prince did not go to the battlefield like Prince Dai, he was always working for the people.

This event significantly raised the Crown Prince’s reputation among the people. Previously, Prince Dai’s plea for the Kong Taichang family was instantly forgotten by the populace.

Prince Dai was understandably upset by this, but his focus soon shifted to the upcoming spring plowing and hunting.

Spring plowing was approaching, yet the Crown Prince’s illness was still quite severe, making it impossible for him to recover in a few days.

It seemed unlikely that the Crown Prince would participate in this year’s spring plowing. By then, Prince Dai would temporarily take over some duties, which was a great opportunity for him.

Prince Dai and Marquis Xuanping were previously upset with Duke Zhen and the Crown Prince’s cunning nature, but soon they realized it was God helping them.

In the Eastern Palace, the Crown Prince sat leaning against the bed, his face pale without a hint of color, appearing extremely weak. However, there was a faint smile on his brows, amused by Zhao Yao.

After school at midday, Zhao Yao came to the Eastern Palace with the Fourth Prince to visit the Crown Prince.

The Fourth Prince discussed the matter of historical revisions with the Crown Prince, while Zhao Yao played with the little prince Tuantuan on the side, making faces that made Tuantuan laugh incessantly.

Hearing the crisp, joyful laughter of a child, the Crown Prince’s mood was unknowingly lifted, and the slight melancholy on his brows was replaced by a smile.

Seeing the Crown Prince’s somewhat fatigued expression, the Fourth Prince took Zhao Yao and left.

"Crown Prince brother doesn’t eat enough at meals on regular days, that’s why he got so sick this time." Zhao Yao said while gesturing with his hands forming a small circle, "Crown Prince brother usually eats just this much food, even less than a child like me. The Imperial Physician said that people need to eat more to grow strong and not easily fall ill."

The Fourth Prince glanced at Zhao Yao, joking, "No one can eat more than you." freēwēbnovel.com

"Fourth brother, eating well is a blessing." Zhao Yao did not think there was anything wrong with how much he could eat.

The Fourth Prince chuckled, "Yes, eating well is a blessing."

"Fourth brother, soon Father is going to take us to spring plowing, but Crown Prince brother is still sick, does that mean he can’t go?" Probably because Crown Prince brother was in a bad mood over this.

"He probably won’t be able to go." The Crown Prince’s illness was not yet healed, and Father wouldn’t allow him to go spring plowing.

"I wonder if I can go this year?" Last year, he wanted to go but didn’t because he was too young. This year, he had officially started learning and should be able to participate in spring plowing, right?

"Logically, you should be able to, but your health isn’t too good, and you recently recovered from an illness, so Father probably won’t let you go."

"I have already recovered."

"Although the weather has warmed up a bit, the water in the fields is still very cold," said the Fourth Prince, "if you go into the fields, it would be easy for you to catch a cold."

"I don’t have to go into the fields; I can cheer you on from the field ridge or let me go to soak up the atmosphere," Zhao Yao said. "Anyway, I want to go; I don’t want to stay in the palace alone."

The Fourth Prince knew Zhao Yao’s thoughts well. He laughed, "Tenth brother, saying this to me is useless; you need to tell Father. If Father agrees, then you can go."

Zhao Yao suddenly thought of a good idea, and a pleasing smile spread across his little face. He cozied up to the Fourth Prince, saying, "Fourth brother, if you speak on my behalf, Father will surely agree to take me."

The Fourth Prince teased Zhao Yao on purpose, "If I speak on your behalf, what do I get out of it?"

"Fourth brother, I’ll treat you to snacks."

"Just snacks?"

"Then Fourth brother, I’ll give you a back rub and a shoulder massage," Zhao Yao said, as he walked over to the Fourth Prince’s back and gently massaged his shoulders. "Fourth brother, please help me."

"Alright, I’ll help you."

The two brothers chatted as they returned to Lanyuan Pavilion.

The ministers working on historical revisions did not have lunch, waiting for Zhao Yao and the others to return to eat together.

The ministers brought some food from their homes, taking it out to share with everyone.

During lunch, Zhao Yao brought up the topic of spring plowing, which reminded the ministers of their childhood experiences helping their families with farm work.

Some of the ministers responsible for historical revisions did not come from affluent families and had helped with farm work since they were young.

Zhao Yao and the Fourth Prince listened attentively to the ministers as they talked about farming.

After lunch, Zhao Yao did not rush back to Kunde Hall but went to the martial arts arena to find Qin Su, asking if he had found any news about that uncle.

Of course, Zhao Yao did not directly tell Qin Su that the person he was investigating was the owner of that peculiar house at the East Market and West Market junction. He asked Qin Su to look into soldiers who had injured their legs in battle ten to twenty years ago, approximately in their twenties.

During this time, Qin Su had been helping Zhao Yao investigate the matter and found many people, but none were the ones Zhao Yao sought.

Ten to twenty years ago, Great Zhou had not yet been established, and that was the time when wars were most frequent. At that time, many soldiers died in battle daily, and even more soldiers were wounded. Many had lost or injured their legs.

Qin Su had someone transcribe a list of those injured in the legs. "Your Highness, this is the last batch of names. If you still don’t find the person you’re looking for, I’m afraid I cannot help you any further."

"Sir, thank you." Zhao Yao reached out to take the list and thanked Qin Su.

"Your Highness, there were indeed too many you wanted to find back then, and perhaps many have already passed away." Qin Su did not know exactly whom Zhao Yao was looking for, "You provided too little information, like looking for a needle in a haystack."

"If I still can’t find them, I’ll let it go." He’s just curious about the uncle’s identity. If it’s really impossible to find, then so be it. No matter what the uncle’s identity was, he is only his friend now.

"Back then, there were many camps; if you knew which camp he was in, it would be easier to find."

"I don’t know."

"After Great Zhou was established, the previous emperor and the current emperor reorganized the military camps, and many soldiers were transferred between camps, completely disrupting them, so finding the person you’re looking for is really difficult." Qin Su speculated, "If the person you’re looking for isn’t on this list, he might be in one of the frontier camps. I don’t have contacts in those camps and can’t help you search there."

"I understand; it’s been trouble for you, Sir."

"Your Highness, you’re too kind."

Zhao Yao took the list Qin Su gave him back to Kunde Hall. He examined the list carefully; the people on it were similar to the uncle’s situation, but his intuition told him that none of them were the uncle.

"Sigh, none of them are him."

"Your Highness, how can you be sure none of them are?"

"It’s a feeling." Zhao Yao trusted his feelings, "Forget it, I won’t search anymore. Maybe one day the uncle will tell me his identity himself."

This content is taken from fr(e)ewebn(o)vel.𝓬𝓸𝓶