Chapter 72: Your grandmother could be ninety! And (2 / 2)
Day… This is Xian’er’s third son… This is Xian’er’s fourth son… and here’s the fifth son! This child is only seven years old, but don’t underestimate him because of his age. A few days ago, while traveling with the guards, they encountered mountain bandits from Yi tribes. This child grabbed his bamboo sword, stepped out of the carriage, and scolded them: ‘The might of China is here—how dare you barbarians not flee!’
The old emperor had given up on the current heir apparent—after all, his crown prince was adamant about not letting the crown princess give birth to a fifth child due to her complications during childbirth. Since he couldn’t hope for a legitimate grandson, any other son would do for succession.
Thinking of this, the emperor felt distressed. “You tell me, how could Xian’er say something like ‘I don’t want to be crown prince’ so casually? And now he says it doesn’t matter if his wife has more children or not. He’s the firstborn—who am I supposed to pass this empire I worked so hard to build to, if not him?”
The Empress Dowager Dou sighed, “Back in the day, poverty forced me to have a child at the age of fourteen. It damaged my body, but worse, it made Xian’er frail and sickly from birth. Although martial arts have strengthened him enough to run and jump, he’s still fundamentally weak. Xian’er fears that if he ascends the throne and dies unexpectedly, it will bring disaster upon Da Xia.”
The old emperor’s hands rested on his knees, trembling uncontrollably.
The Crown Prince was known to fall ill easily in winter, and he was often exempted from attending court during the season. Two years ago, he caught a winter sickness that lasted two months, only recovering in the spring.
He often suffered from a lack of appetite, throat pain, or stomachaches. When the pain flared up, his stomach would feel cold. These ailments had become routine for the Crown Prince. The most alarming incident occurred in the seventeenth year of Emperor Tian Tong’s reign when the Crown Prince was inspecting the population registry in Linying County. Midway through the inspection, he suddenly vomited blood and collapsed. Guards rushed him back to the capital.
The hall was silent, with only the sound of heavy breathing.
After a long pause, Empress Dou spoke softly, “Xian’er has long said that his health is not suited for the role of Crown Prince. It has always been us who forced him to stay in the position, raising the Crown Grandson to stabilize his status.”