The Tianyou Emperor felt he couldn't wait another moment – he had to personally bring the child back.
He pushed the National Preceptor forward once more, who advised: "Though the prince has been praying on behalf of the Son of Heaven, Your Majesty should also observe several days of fasting and purification to demonstrate sincerity."
During the fasting period, morning court sessions were suspended, and no outsiders were to be received.
As the fasting began, the Tianyou Emperor had Bai Jiu impersonate him in the palace. Assuming Bai Jiu's identity and wearing a mask, he set out for Huaizhou.
The civil and military officials understood: having one's hidden ailment exposed to subordinates would naturally cause loss of face, and wanting to hide for a few days was understandable.
They only hoped His Majesty would soon emerge from this shadow.
Little did they know, the Tianyou Emperor wasn't emerging from any shadow – he was struggling to even leave the palace gates!
It took him three attempts to exit the palace gates, and four attempts before he finally left Yujing. Along the way, he advanced three steps only to retreat one, exhausting both mind and body over what should have been a single day's journey.
By the time he finally reached Huaizhou, his face had darkened to an unbearable degree. Had the mask not covered most of his features, he would have given the child a live demonstration of what "cold enough to freeze ice shards" looked like.
Yet Zhao Yan remained completely unaware. Seeing his arrival, the boy's eyes instantly brightened. Small hands clutching at his sleeve, he called out softly: "Jiu Jiu."
The child indeed looked unwell, lying sickly in bed.
Nearby, Li Meiren observed him with suspicion: "Are you the guard who brought Xiao Qi back last time?"
She scrutinized him from all angles, finding the guard's figure somewhat familiar yet unable to recall where she might have seen him before.
Her mention of "last time" immediately brought the word "disgusting" to the Tianyou Emperor's mind.
With a cold expression, he nodded and lowered his voice: "This humble officer has brought an Imperial Physician. By His Majesty's decree, if the Seventh Prince is well enough, we must depart immediately."
Li Meiren happily stepped aside.
The Imperial Physician, who had been jostled senseless during the overnight journey, was pulled to the Seventh Prince's bedside. Reaching out to take Zhao Yan's hand for pulse diagnosis, he was met with the boy swiftly retracting his hand under the covers.
Zhao Yan buried himself completely beneath the blankets, his muffled voice emerging: "Don't want bitter medicine…"
The unspoken reason was his reluctance to return.
His reasoning was simple: in this struggle for the throne, remaining in the palace with his mother's and his own level of intelligence would only lead to certain death.
While outside the palace, though his mother still pressured him to study, as years passed and the succession dispute settled, such ambitions might naturally fade.
There would be plenty of time to return then.
The Imperial Physician looked helplessly at the Tianyou Emperor, while Li Meiren grew anxious. She reached to pull back the covers, coaxing as she tugged: "Xiao Qi, be good. Remove the covers quickly. You can only return to the palace after you've recovered."
The bundled figure under the blankets trembled. Just as Li Meiren was about to succeed in pulling back the covers, time reversed to the previous second.
The Tianyou Emperor frowned, gesturing for both the Imperial Physician and Li Meiren to leave together.
Li Meiren frowned: This guard carries himself with such authority, one might mistake him for the emperor himself.
When she didn't move, the Tianyou Emperor directly dragged her out of the room.
Eyes wide with disbelief, Li Meiren was about to speak when the Tianyou Emperor lowered his voice: "If you want the Seventh Prince to return, keep quiet!"
Li Meiren immediately fell silent, though she inwardly grumbled: This Bai Jiu is indeed no good person. But since he was sent by His Majesty, she would endure it.
The door closed, and the room instantly fell silent. After a moment, the quilt shifted. A small hand emerged from beneath the covers, followed by a little head poking out. After a puzzled glance around the empty room, he withdrew back under the quilt and lay there in a daze.
Perhaps from exhaustion, he soon fell asleep.
The door to the room opened again, and the Tianyou Emperor, Li Meiren, and the Imperial Physician reentered.
The Imperial Physician sat by the bed and gently took his pulse.
A moment later, the physician released his hand and whispered, "The Seventh Prince is in no serious condition."
Li Meiren looked puzzled. "But Xiao Qi has been feeling nauseous and listless since yesterday."
The physician replied, "It may be due to the Seventh Prince not fully recovering from his previous fall into the water, combined with excessive worry, which has led to acclimatization issues."
After the physician finished speaking, the Tianyou Emperor fell into an odd silence: A five-year-old child suffering from excessive worry? Worrying about what? Thinking about what? Nonsense.
He turned to Li Meiren and asked, "Does the Beauty know what the Seventh Prince is thinking about?"
Li Meiren was equally bewildered: Though the child came from her womb, what could a five-year-old possibly be thinking about?
But she couldn't say that in front of His Majesty's guard.
With tears in her eyes and clutching her handkerchief, she sobbed, "Xiao Qi is constantly worried about Your Majesty's health. Last night, he even dreamed of Your Majesty in his sleep…"
She grew increasingly exaggerated and emotional as she spoke.
The Tianyou Emperor frowned and interrupted her, "The Beauty may go and rest now. This humble guard will stay here with the Seventh Prince."
Li Meiren nodded sorrowfully.
That night, the Tianyou Emperor kept watch by Zhao Yan's bedside.
The child slept deeply and did not wake until nearly Hai hour.
After personally giving him water, the Tianyou Emperor lowered his voice and asked, "Seventh Prince, do you not wish to return to the palace?"
Zhao Yan shook his head with a pained expression.
The Tianyou Emperor frowned disapprovingly. "Defying an imperial decree warrants the execution of one's nine clans."
Zhao Yan tilted his head and looked at him, feigning innocence. "What is defying an imperial decree? What are nine clans?"
The Tianyou Emperor was momentarily speechless: He had forgotten himself, speaking of defying decrees to a five-year-old child.
Moreover, the child's nine clans included him as well.
The Tianyou Emperor simplified his language as much as possible. "If His Majesty decrees that you must return, you must return. Otherwise, you will be spanked."
Zhao Yan rubbed his cheek against the quilt and mumbled, "Like when he decreed I should go pray for blessings? Would I be spanked if I didn't go?"
The Tianyou Emperor was silenced once again.
Zhao Yan said sadly, "But Father Emperor doesn't like me. Why does he want me back?"
The Tianyou Emperor replied, "His Majesty never said he dislikes you."
Zhao Yan insisted, "Everyone in the palace says Father Emperor dislikes me…"
The child sniffled, as if talking to himself, "It's okay if he dislikes me. I will still pray for Father Emperor's blessings…"
The Tianyou Emperor's heart softened slightly, and he said, "His Majesty has said the Seventh Prince need not go to pray for blessings."
Zhao Yan insisted, "I must pray…"
The Tianyou Emperor repeated, "You need not."
Zhao Yan persisted, "I must…"
Why is this child so stubborn!
The Tianyou Emperor felt weary and changed the subject. "Are you hungry?"
Only then did Zhao Yan nod.
The Tianyou Emperor stood and walked to the door to issue an order. The guard outside immediately went downstairs and returned shortly with a bowl of congee.
The guard kept his head lowered throughout. As he approached, the Tianyou Emperor reached out, signaling for him to hand over the congee, clearly intending to feed the child himself.
The guard hesitated. The Tianyou Emperor frowned, about to reprimand him, when the guard suddenly hurled the tray at him. A blade flashed from his sleeve, aimed directly at Zhao Yan's chest.
Zhao Yan's pupils contracted violently, too terrified to even Revert to a previous save.
Just as the guard's blade was about to pierce him, his collar was suddenly grabbed from behind. A powerful force dragged him backward before a kick sent him crashing against the door panel.
With a loud crash, the door burst open. The guard tumbled outside, blood snaking across the ground…
Shouts and killing cries erupted in the silent night. Several guards rushed in urgently, reporting to the Tianyou Emperor: "Commander Bai, it's an ambush! The guards previously stationed at the gate were found unconscious in the kitchen. This man is from the Jiayi Army—the Seventh Prince has been targeted since leaving Yujing!"
Zhao Yan's heart sank: Seriously? Even leaving the palace isn't safe?
In the script for Seizing the throne, princes were expendable.
Those reactionary remnants from the previous dynasty couldn't catch his cheap Father Emperor, so were they trying to kill princes to vent their anger?
If he could survive, he'd rather play it safe.
Snapping back to reality, Zhao Yan immediately Reverted to a previous save.
One moment, the Tianyou Emperor was stepping out after hearing the guard's report; the next, he found himself sitting back on the bedside, asking: "Does the Seventh Prince not wish to return to the palace?"
The Tianyou Emperor massaged his forehead: What's the reason for this reversal now?
As he stood to summon shadow guards to investigate the fake guard, a small, soft hand grasped his.
The child looked up with urgent eyes: "Jiu Jiu wants to return to the palace! Wants to see Father Emperor! Let's go now!" Already putting on shoes and getting out of bed, he reached up for a hug.
The Tianyou Emperor was speechless: All that persuasion earlier was less effective than one assassination attempt.
This child—not only timid and tearful but also afraid of death.
What a coward!
Since he was willing to return, the Tianyou Emperor didn't overthink it. He immediately ordered the guards to depart. When Li Meiren and two palace maids were ushered into the carriage, they were still dazed.
Li Meiren anxiously asked: "Xiao Qi, you're not fully recovered yet. Can your body handle this?"
Zhao Yan grabbed her probing hand, nervously insisting: "I'm fine, I'm fine, Mother Consort! Let's hurry back to the palace!" Any later and those assassins would catch up.
The carriage shot into the night like an arrow from a bow.
Simultaneously, the assassins hiding in the inn were baffled when the remaining shadow guards tied them up: Wait, they hadn't even made their move yet—how were they discovered?
Could it be that the damned emperor was using the Seventh Prince as 'bait' to eliminate them all in one sweep?
It must be!
How cunning and ruthless that damned emperor is!
Escorting the carriage, the Tianyou Emperor sneezed violently but continued pressing forward toward Yujing.
After two days and one night of travel, they finally reached the palace gates by the afternoon of the third day.
The palace gates swung open, and the Seventh Prince's carriage drove directly inside.
Upon reaching the inner court, they switched to Sedan chairs, drawing curious stares along the way. As the Sedan chair passed through the Imperial Garden, it coincidentally met the Fifth Prince's Sedan chair just as he was returning from lessons.
The Fifth Prince thought he was seeing things. Rubbing his eyes repeatedly, he still saw Zhao Yan's detestable face. Shocked, he stood up directly from his Sedan chair, stammering: "You… how are you back?"
Zhao Yan smiled at him: "Fifth Brother, I missed you."
The Fifth Prince's face fell. With an earth-shattering wail, he burst into tears, his cries echoing throughout the entire Imperial Garden.
Soon, the entire court learned that the Seventh Prince, who had left the palace less than ten days ago, had returned in glorious fashion—personally welcomed by the Commander of the Imperial Guard serving directly under His Majesty.
After three days of purification rituals for blessings, the Tianyou Emperor suddenly issued another imperial decree announced throughout the land. The decree was filled with literary elegance that common folk struggled to understand.
In simple terms, the Seventh Prince's filial piety moved the heavens, and Your Majesty's health has greatly improved. Considering their father-son bond, His Majesty could not bear to let the Seventh Prince travel far. A Buddhist hall was specially established within the palace, permitting the Seventh Prince to continue praying for blessings there, while simultaneously promoting Li Meiren to Li Jieyu.
Once the imperial decree was announced, the entire rear palace was in an uproar.
Everyone had assumed that praying for blessings was a thankless task with no return, yet Li Meiren merely took a leisurely trip outside the palace and returned—not only was her rank elevated, but the Seventh Prince also gained a reputation for filial piety and caught Your Majesty's attention.
It was truly infuriating.
Especially for the Fifth Prince, who was so enraged he puffed up like a blowfish.
His little bottom still ached from the spanking his mother gave him after he threw a tantrum demanding to go pray for blessings.
How did Xiao Qi manage to return in such glorious fashion?