Married Thrice to Salted Fish

Chapter 72

Xiao Li is the emperor’s youngest son and his only son by the Empress. Only fifteen years old this year, he was supposed to be the object of admiration in the palace, growing up loved and pampered. However, due to his lack of innate intelligence, he was regarded as a disgrace by the Emperor and left neglected in the provincial palace. No matter how much the Empress thought of her son, she was only able to see him twice a year — once during the Mid-Autumn Festival and once during the New Year.

“The Sixth Prince?” Hu Ji asked, “Why are you suddenly interested in the Sixth Prince?”

Lin Qingyu found the row where the prince’s medical records were stored. “I want to know how the Sixth Prince got sick.”

Although Xiao Cheng had great respect for the Empress, his dimu, he was, after all, someone who had a biological mother. Moreover, his biological mother was a noble concubine with a distinguished status. When Xiao Cheng ascends the throne in the future, both the Empress and Concubine Chen would be Empress Dowagers — one, a muhou Empress Dowager and the other a shengmu Empress Dowager. Having been in control of the harem for so long, naturally, the Empress wouldn’t want to share power with another woman.

Anyone who didn’t want Xiao Cheng to ascend to the throne could temporarily be his ally and to win over the Empress, Xiao Li was undoubtedly the best point of entry.

Xiao Li had been relegated to the provincial palace for more than ten years and the Emperor has kept his son’s autism a secret. He was spokenof very rarely in the palace. Lin Qingyu and Hu Ji have only entered the palace in recent years and the only thing they know about the sixth prince was that he was autistic; as to how severe the autism, they had no idea.

Hu Ji helped Lin Qingyu find the medical records. He said, “I heard that the Empress called for famous doctors to diagnose and treat the Sixth Prince. But no matter whether it was the imperial physicians in the capital or miracle working doctors of the Jianghu, they were all helpless in the face of the Sixth Prince’s illness. Given the circumstances, it would seem that his autism is innate. There is no cure.”

While Lin Qingyu agreed with Hu Ji’s statement, Xiao Li was still his biggest bargaining chip to control the Empress. Therefore, this matter was worth him expending a bit of time.

“I found it!” Hu Ji took out a thick and heavy case of medical records. “Take a look and see if this is it.”

Lin Qingyu took a look. “This is indeed the Sixth Prince’s medical records.”

The two immediately began reading it. Every doctor who examined Xiao Li said that his pulse was no different from that of any other person; they couldn’t even find the cause of his illness so how could they possibly treat him?

Xiao Li’s medical file was much thicker than others. At first, he was no different from the other princes. He was examined daily and before the age of two, he suffered nothing more serious than the occasional mild illness. But by two years of age, Xiao Li still could not speak. The Empress began to worry. More and more doctors were invited to the palace and more and more medical records were made. When Xiao Li was five years old, the Emperor gave up completely. Ignoring the Empress’ pleas, he insisted on sending his youngest son to the provincial palace.

On the day Xiao Li left the palace, another person came to examine him. This person was no imperial physician. As a matter of fact, he wasn’t any sort of doctor, rather it was the National Teacher of Dayu, Xu Junyuan. The last record in the prince’s file said: The National Teacher declares his illness to be a loss of soul and there is no cure for it.

“A loss of soul?” Hu Ji pondered, “I’ve heard my grandmother say that a newborn’s soul is unstable. Given a terrible fright, it may just scare the soul away…”