The Tianyou Emperor worked until dawn before finally finishing those thirty atrociously ugly calligraphy copies.
The child nearby had long since fallen asleep at the table, curled up into a small ball, his tiny body hunched over, looking cold.
Just as the Tianyou Emperor was feeling frustrated and about to leave, the child suddenly sneezed, trying to curl himself into an even smaller ball.
If left unattended like this, he would likely fall ill.
The Tianyou Emperor sighed deeply and ultimately carried the child to bed, tucking him in properly. When he returned and saw the completed calligraphy copies on the table, he folded them neatly and slipped them under the child's pillow before leaving.
Upon returning to Sweet Spring Palace, he immediately summoned the Imperial Physician.
The physician on night duty had been dozing off, but upon hearing the Emperor's summons, he didn't even have time to put on his boots, grabbing his medical kit and rushing over.
When he saw the Emperor's constantly cramping hands, he thought to himself: His Majesty is truly diligent, actually cramping his hands from reviewing memorials.
Ah, and he had been dozing off just moments ago.
How shameful!
After applying acupuncture to the Emperor's hands and massaging them with medicinal wine, the physician said, "Your Majesty brings blessings to all your subjects, but although memorials are important, you must take care of your health!"
The Tianyou Emperor's mouth twitched, feeling pain in every finger bone.
If it were just normal memorial reviewing, he wouldn't be in such a miserable state.
He flexed his wrists and asked impatiently, "When will the injury on my face heal?"
The physician dared only a quick glance at his face before kneeling and saying, "This humble servant is incompetent. Your Majesty's fall was severe, and there was bleeding. From scabbing to the complete fading of bruises, it will take at least ten days."
The Tianyou Emperor frowned: He had already missed court sessions and ministerial audiences for two days, which was almost pushing his limits.
The thought of future disruptions to his original plans due to various accidents caused by his seventh son made him restless.
He waved the physician away, then beckoned to Feng Zongguan: "Summon the National Preceptor."
Feng Zongguan hesitated, looking at the dark sky outside: "Now?"
The Tianyou Emperor nodded firmly: "Right now. Take my jade token, open Xuande Gate, and request the National Preceptor's immediate audience."
He needed the National Preceptor to check if the child's fate had changed – how could he be so detrimental to him?
Seeing the Emperor's grave tone, Feng Zongguan didn't dare delay, taking the jade token and hurrying off.
Half an hour later, a sleepy-eyed Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, was brought to Sweet Spring Palace.
He bowed to the Tianyou Emperor: "Your Majesty urgently summoned this humble servant…" Before he could finish, he looked up and saw the Emperor's bruised face.
"Your Majesty, this is…?" Yuzhen's drowsiness instantly vanished.
Seeing the Tianyou Emperor frown, Yuzhen immediately fell silent, then continued: "Does Your Majesty have urgent business summoning this humble servant?"
The Tianyou Emperor nodded, then asked calmly: "Does the National Preceptor remember my seventh son?"
Yuzhen thought carefully: "Is Your Majesty referring to the Seventh Prince Zhao Yan?"
The Tianyou Emperor: "Exactly. When that child was born, the National Preceptor mentioned his incomplete soul conflicted with the imperial fortune. Recently, my luck has been particularly bad, with constant misfortunes. I want the National Preceptor to examine the child's current fate."
Yuzhen understood: The injuries on His Majesty's face must be related to that child.
"Now?"
The Tianyou Emperor pondered: "Tomorrow. Come to the palace tomorrow and wait for the child to pass by on his way to the Imperial Study."
However, the next morning, Zhao Yan fell ill.
The high fever persisted, and he kept crying out deliriously.
Chen Xiang was frantic with worry, her eyes red as she apologized to Li Meiren: "My lady, it's all my fault. Last night, I somehow fell asleep and failed to properly care for the Seventh Prince." She had intended to check on the Seventh Prince's calligraphy practice, but somehow ended up sleeping in the adjacent chamber.
"What's the use of saying this now?" Though furious, Li Meiren knew this wasn't the time for anger. She urged, "Hurry and summon the Imperial Physician!"
After falling into the water recently, Xiao Qi had already suffered a fever. Now with another bout, she feared it might cause serious harm.
Fortunately, the Imperial Physician arrived promptly, prescribed medicine, and after drinking it and sleeping for several hours bundled under thick quilts, the fever gradually subsided as he sweated it out.
Upon waking, Zhao Yan's first thought was hunger.
Li Meiren immediately had Chen Xiang bring the porridge that had been kept warm, blowing on it before feeding the child.
Zhao Yan swallowed it in one gulp.
Li Meiren offered another spoonful, worrying, "Xiao Qi kept talking nonsense earlier, you scared your mother to death."
Zhao Yan's chewing slowed slightly as he tried to recall if he'd said anything he shouldn't have. The next moment, Li Meiren continued, "You kept hugging me and crying, saying you wanted to go back. Where did you want to go back to, Xiao Qi?"
Zhao Yan choked on the mouthful of food, coughing violently until his face turned red.
Li Meiren set aside her questions, quickly putting down the porridge to give him water.
Zhao Yan clutched the quilt and gulped the water down noisily. Just as the water reached his throat, Ban Xia rushed in, exclaiming, "My lady, my lady, Yu Zhen Fashi is here."
Pfft!
Zhao Yan spat out the water in a spray, startling Li Meiren.
Li Meiren vigorously brushed at her dampened clothes, took the cup from his hand, and then turned to ask Ban Xia, "Who did you say is here?"
Ban Xia: "Yu Zhen Fashi! It's Yu Zhen Fashi! His Majesty heard the Seventh Prince was feverish and delirious, and specifically sent Yu Zhen Fashi to check on him. He's on his way here now."
Overjoyed, Li Meiren quickly tidied Zhao Yan, tucked him back under the quilt, and hurried out to greet the visitor.
By the time she reached the door, Yu Zhen Fashi was already being led over by Chen Xiang.
They exchanged greetings, while Zhao Yan, peeking from under the covers, caught sight of a black robe hem at the doorway.
The person at the door seemed to notice his gaze and slightly turned his head to look in his direction.
The visitor had similarly high eyebrows and thin lips, with a deep and piercing gaze.
Zhao Yan shivered and immediately Reverted to a previous save.
It was pure ostrich mentality.
Yet, this person persistently and resolutely appeared at Jingfu Pavilion again and again.
Zhao Yan remained undaunted, steadfastly continuing to Revert to a previous save.
When Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, returned to the Tianyou Emperor for the eleventh time, the Emperor sighed deeply and said, "Forget it. Wait until the child is asleep tonight, then go check on him, National Preceptor."
Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, was baffled: "Why go in the middle of the night?"
He had just been ordered to check on the Seventh Prince immediately.
The Tianyou Emperor gave the National Preceptor an ambiguous once-over and murmured, "National Preceptor, you should pay attention to your appearance usually. There are many princes in the palace; don't frighten the children." The National Preceptor must have such a dreadful appearance that he kept scaring Xiao Qi into reverting.
Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, felt his thick beard and slender braid, thinking he looked just fine.
He then glanced at the bone ornaments hanging on his chest, full of confusion: Could His Majesty be referring to these?
But this is something their mages must wear for generations, absolutely cannot be removed.
Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, left feeling quite frustrated.
Approaching midnight, the palace was completely silent.
Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, accurately appeared near Jingfu Pavilion, then quickly found the Seventh Prince's room, climbing in through the window.
A cold breeze followed into the bed curtains. The child on the bed was sleeping very restlessly, turned over, and only presented the back of his head to Yuzhen, the National Preceptor.
Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, stood silently for a while, but the child didn't turn around. He had no choice but to reach out and tug at the child's blanket.
The child finally moved, slowly turning his face.
Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, slowly revealed a smile at the corner of his mouth, bending down to wait…
The moment he clearly saw the child's face, the boy opened his eyes, meeting his gaze directly.
The bone ornament on his chest swung slightly, appearing somewhat eerie in the dim light.
The child panicked, almost instinctively grabbing the spinning top beside him and throwing it.
Thump.
The lights went out, and the room plunged into darkness.
Zhao Yan was alarmed, shouting twice.
Chen Xiang, sleeping on the small couch outside the screen, hurriedly got up, first lit the candle in the dark, then sat by the bed to comfort him: "Seventh Prince, what's wrong?"
Zhao Yan hugged the blanket, cautiously looking around. The door was closed, the windows were shut, and the room was quiet. Besides him and Chen Xiang, there was nothing else.
Could it be that he was overthinking during the day and dreaming at night, causing him to hallucinate and see Yuzhen, the National Preceptor again?
That must be it.
Zhao Yan shook his head: "It's nothing, just a nightmare."
Speaking of which, this National Preceptor seemed to be like the cheap Father Emperor—after encountering him a few times, he actually stopped coming.
Could it be that Revert to a previous save also causes subtle changes in others' behavior? Just with an extremely low probability?
Chen Xiang felt his forehead to make sure he wasn't feverish, then coaxed him: "Then Seventh Prince, sleep quickly. This servant will watch over you."
Zhao Yan obediently nodded, closed his eyes, and continued sleeping.
Chen Xiang tucked him in, and only after he was completely asleep did she get up to return to her resting place. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a crack in the window, so she turned and walked over, firmly closing it.
At the same time, outside the window in the grass lay a figure. A shadow guard silently approached, then lifted the person and carried them out of Jingfu Pavilion.
In no time, the person was brought before the Tianyou Emperor.
The Tianyou Emperor, who was reviewing memorials, looked up at the noise and saw a face close to his, with one eye swollen like a panda's.
It was a match for the injury on his chin.
The Tianyou Emperor leaned back slightly, asking in confusion: "National Preceptor, what is this?"
Yuzhen, the National Preceptor: "Your subject is fine."
The Tianyou Emperor raised an eyebrow slightly as he looked at the National Preceptor, who couldn't even open one eye: "Did the National Preceptor see that child?"
Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, nodded. The Tianyou Emperor immediately pressed: "How was it?"
Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, told the truth: "Your subject observed the Seventh Prince's physiognomy. His soul has not been fully restored, but his fate has changed. The Seventh Prince's current fate does not conflict with the imperial fate."
"No conflict?" The Tianyou Emperor frowned. "Then why does my luck become extremely bad whenever I come into contact with him recently?"
Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, glanced at the injury on the lower half of the Tianyou Emperor's face and suddenly understood: This couldn't also have been caused by that child, could it?
His eye throbbed with pain. After thinking for a moment, he said: "If Your Majesty is truly uneasy, you could send him farther away to observe. Distance might eliminate the influence?"
"Send him further away?" The Tianyou Emperor looked at Yuzhen, the National Preceptor. "In the National Preceptor's opinion, where would be most suitable to send him?"
After a moment's thought, Yuzhen, the National Preceptor, suggested a location: "Tianquan Temple."
Tianquan Temple was located in the southwest of Great Chu, adjacent to the Tianquan Temporary Palace. Back when the Tianyou Emperor had marched into Yujing, all the consorts of the previous dynasty's emperor had been relocated from the imperial palace to the Tianquan Temporary Palace.
Sending that child there would indeed be most appropriate.
However, directly issuing an edict specifying that child to go would certainly be improper—not only would it harm his reputation, but it would also make the child's future life difficult.
They needed to find a pretext…