Chapter 187 - Pear Blossoms Bloom (Part Ten)

"Imperial Physician! Call the Imperial Physician now!!!"

When Eunuch Yue shouted these words, a feeling of déjà vu hit him, and he remembered... fifteen years ago, when the Empress gave birth to the Crown Prince, he had cried out in panic just like this.

The difference was that today, he was hollering for help for Chen Kaiming.

The scene quickly descended into chaos. The gold-armored guards, who were always capable and prepared for anything, were now at a loss, completely unsure of what to do. The eunuch who had been guiding Su Yi had disappeared, and maids and eunuchs were running in every direction in a frantic scramble to find help.

It seemed like the world had changed in an instant, leaving Su Yi bewildered.

Su Yi sank to the ground outside the room, staring at the seemingly unconscious old man slumped in the chair inside. The old man’s chest was covered in blood, and his eyes had closed at some point.

Chen Kaiming was carried away. Several imperial physicians hurried over, administered some golden-red pills to him, and then ordered him to be taken back to his chambers.

With no one left outside the imperial study, Su Yi propped himself up and stood, feeling as if his whole body had fallen apart. He had been thrown through the air when Eunuch Yue had charged past him earlier. Only now did Su Yi realize that the eunuch was incredibly skilled in martial arts.

Su Yi gingerly stood up. Looking around, he found that no one stayed behind. After a moment of thought, he limped into the imperial study.

The floor of the imperial study was a mess, mostly with memorials that Chen Kaiming hadn’t yet reviewed. Among them, one object stood out, looking out of place among the golden-edged silk memorials, it was a letter. One corner of the letter was stained with a shocking red, likely from Chen Kaiming’s coughing.

Su Yi walked over, picked up the letter carefully, and read it thoroughly.

Su Yi let out a long sigh, his expression giving no indication of joy or sorrow.

"Grand Tutor Su..."

A voice sounded from behind him. Su Yi turned around and saw that Eunuch Yue had returned without him noticing.

Eunuch Yue looked exhausted as he held onto the door frame for support. His gaze was fixed upon the letter in Su Yi’s hand.

"How is His Majesty?" Su Yi asked, placing the letter on a nearby cabinet.

Yue Dou’s expression darkened, and he shook his head.

"I don’t know, but... I’m well aware of His Majesty’s illness. I’ve watched him slowly decline to this point..."

Su Yi pressed his lips together, remaining silent for a moment before he finally said, "Then the Crown Prince... I won’t tell him for now."

"We certainly can’t hide it for long..." Eunuch Yue shook his head, his black hair swaying slightly. He then nodded and added, "But... let’s keep it from him as long as we can."

Su Yi suddenly noticed that strands of silver had appeared in Eunuch Yue’s black hair. He realized then that Eunuch Yue, only five years younger than the emperor, was already fifty-nine.

The two of them fell silent, having nothing more to say.

Feeling uncomfortable, Su Yi broke the silence, saying, "His Majesty is blessed with great fortune... he’ll surely recover..."

"Lord Su, there are many things you don’t know." Eunuch Yue let out a bitter laugh, gently shaking his head. "The imperial physicians say His Majesty fell ill from heartbreak... and they’re not entirely wrong.

"If not... if not for the Crown Prince." Eunuch Yue lowered his head, looking at the ground, a weary, sorrowful expression in his eyes. "He would have let go long ago."

***

Yue Dou sprinted to the Empress's chambers, nearly dragging the two physicians he had in tow. By the time they arrived, Chen Kaiming was nowhere to be seen in the waiting area. Yue Dou guessed the Emperor must have ignored all decorum and rushed inside.

The moment the physicians were released, they wasted no time and immediately rushed inside. Yue Dou waited outside anxiously and kept watch outside to avoid any impropriety.

Before long, Chen Kaiming came out, and Yue Dou looked up to see him. The Emperor's face was filled with restless anxiety. The man who had the entire nation under his control somehow seemed helpless.

Yue Dou felt a pang of guilt, knowing he couldn’t help ease Chen Kaiming’s burden.

Yue Dou remembered clearly... on that day, the Empress had been saved, but the seed of worry had also been planted within Chen Kaiming. No one could have foreseen it.

Although the Empress had been saved, she was left with a persistent illness, and grew thinner by the day. The physicians said it was due to a depletion of vital energy and blood, a condition that was difficult to cure.

Difficult to cure...

Chen Kaiming exploded with fury on multiple occasions, demanding the physicians heal the Empress. But Yue Dou knew the truth, when the physicians said the illness was difficult to cure, what they really meant, though they couldn’t say it outright... was that the illness was incurable.

Yue Dou sensed that Chen Kaiming also knew this deep down... but the Emperor wasn't willing to accept it.

During those days, Chen Kaiming was like a powder keg ready to explode. The officials lived on edge, fearing that slightest mistake could set him off. A small error could mean dismissal, and a grave one could mean death. Overnight, Chen Kaiming seemed to have truly become a tyrant. As the Empress’s condition worsened, his temper grew more and more volatile.

Yet, oddly enough, whenever Chen Kaiming finished a day of state affairs and returned to the Empress’s bedside, the tyrant would disappear, replaced by the man who allowed her to scold him to her heart’s content. Yue Dou knew, even without looking, that Chen Kaiming’s eyes were filled with tenderness.

Sometimes, the Empress would be aware of Chen Kaiming’s increasingly volatile temper and his tendency to threaten executions. Even from her sickbed, she would furrow her brow and scold him as being a tyrant. Chen Kaiming would listen, smiling, as if he took her reprimands as sweet affection.

As the days passed, the Empress’s reprimands grew weaker. She went from sitting up in bed and poking his nose, to almost whispering her complaints.

Yue Dou watched Chen Kaiming sit beside Wang Lihua with a strained smile. His eyes narrowed, and he forced his lips upward as he gently shared some recent stories he found amusing with her.

Wang Lihua’s hand, now so thin it was nearly skin and bone, lay in Chen Kaiming’s hand. She opened her eyes slightly, looked at him, and whispered, "Stop smiling... it looks awful."

Chen Kaiming nodded vigorously, and Yue Dou noticed his shoulders trembling slightly. Suddenly, Yue Dou thought to himself,

After all these years together, with so much time spent scolding this man, did the Empress ever truly care for him?

Then Yue Dou saw the Empress lift her hand slightly, gently brushing the stark white strands at Chen Kaiming’s temple. She whispered softly, "Tyrant... you’ve grown old."

Chen Kaiming nodded desperately, his eyes red as he struggled to keep them open, trying to swallow his tears. He laughed wholeheartedly and admitted, "Of course I’ve grown old. I’m decades older than you... of course I’ve grown old..."

"Only twenty-two years older..." The Empress tugged at his earlobe. "You’ve still got life left... don’t rush off to follow me so quickly."

Ugh—

Yue Dou saw Chen Kaiming bend over suddenly, hearing a sound that suggested he was close to breaking down into sobs.

......"

"How could I?" Chen Kaiming buried his face in the Empress’s lap, his muffled voice emerging softly, "I... I am the Emperor, after all...I will live for ten thousand years..."

"Ah... you are my tyrant..."

The weak voice seemed to drift from a distant land, and slowly entered Chen Kaiming’s ears.

Chen Kaiming lay over Wang Lihua, unwilling to lift his head for a long time.

Yue Dou stood behind him for a long, long time. He watched as the man’s shoulders went from a slight tremble to violent shaking. He kept watching as the man's initial calmness finally broke into uncontrollable sobs.

Chen Kaiming still didn’t lift his head.

Yue Dou didn’t know how long he had been standing there, only that it had been dark for a long time. He swallowed, walked softly behind the man, gathered his courage, and patted his shoulder.

"Your Majesty... the Empress has passed."

Chen Kaiming remained motionless, lying over Wang Lihua as if this place was his entire world.

"Ah Dou..." Chen Kaiming said softly, "Actually, Lihua wasn’t wrong, was she?"

Yue Dou didn’t respond, just listened quietly. Yue Dou knew that Chen Kaiming’s words were actually meant for himself.

Chen Kaiming took a trembling breath.

"She wasn’t wrong to scold me... For the country, I couldn’t be a good emperor... And for her... I couldn’t even be a good husband..."

Yue Dou looked down at everything before him, he saw that the Empress’s hand was still beside Chen Kaiming’s ear, and he suddenly realized, although the Empress always scolded His Majesty... in her lifetime, she had only ever scolded the Emperor alone.

Wang Lihua passed away at the end of March, just when the withering pear blossoms drifted from their trees.

That year, the lovely pear blossoms by the Leaping Carp Lake were unforgettable.

***

"His Majesty..." Su Yi hesitated. "Is his condition because of the Crown Prince’s mother?"

Eunuch Yue snapped out of his memories, turned to look at Su Yi, stared at his face for a long time, then slowly walked into the room to prop up the furniture that had fallen on the floor.

Su Yi realized he had asked something he shouldn’t have, and stood aside without saying another word.

Eunuch Yue picked up a memorial, lightly dusting it off.

"The Crown Prince hasn’t seen his mother since he was five..."

Su Yi remained silent.

Eunuch Yue seemed to be speaking to Su Yi, but he was actually confirming the truth in his heart to himself. "The Crown Prince... he’s actually quite a poor soul... He seems lively but is lonely at heart... The only people he truly cares about are His Majesty and the Empress... Oh, now it seems, he’s quite fond of you..."

Su Yi was momentarily stunned, then felt somewhat apprehensive.

"Go see the Crown Prince," Eunuch Yue ordered Su Yi. Without turning around, the lone eunuch continued tidying up the room

Su Yi nodded blankly and left.

At the Imperial Academy, Chen Xun asked Su Yi why he was so late. Su Yi looked at the fourteen-year-old Crown Prince with a complex expression and said he was delayed along the way.

Su Yi was distracted throughout the class, barely able to make it through the lesson. He left the academy somewhat flustered.

He didn’t even know why he felt so anxious; he only knew he was a bit afraid to see Chen Xun... Maybe because of the lie he had told, or maybe it was for some other reason.

Upon leaving the Imperial Academy, Su Yi realized that night was already falling.

Just as he was about to exit the imperial city gates, he heard a powerful voice from the distant hall behind him. The resounding voice trembled but it pierced through the entire palace.

"The Dragon has ascended to heaven, His Majesty has passed..."

It was Eunuch Yue’s voice.

Su Yi’s body swayed, and he saw all around him, along the walls, by the pathways, all the guards, palace maids, and eunuchs knelt down in unison.

Su Yi stumbled a bit and noticed a faint fragrance drifting by. He slowly turned to look at the capital city of Tianjing beyond the walls of the inner city.

In the night, the pear blossoms across the city were in full bloom, covering Tianjing City in a white blanket, as if the entire city was draped in mourning.