Chapter 183: Those Are Tears

In fact, the moment Feihong rushed in anxiously, Xiao Youlan already had a rough guess in his heart.

But he still asked, "What happened?"

Feihong's face was deathly pale, "It's the Emperor... the Emperor has fainted again..."

Nan Jiyun was taken aback.

Nan Xueyin was also slightly taken aback along with him.

Xiao Youlan, however, did not show much shock; this was within his expectations. He set the cup in his hand aside and said, "I understand."

He stood up, walked over to stand before Nan Xueyin, and his gentle gaze fell upon her, "I will go take a look and arrange some matters."

Nan Xueyin nodded and asked, "Will you come back to sleep?"

Xiao Youlan smiled, "I will definitely come back."

Nan Xueyin felt reassured, "If anything happens, just have Feihong come find me. I will go save you."

"Alright."

Xiao Youlan's voice was soft.

After saying this, he touched Nan Xueyin's face once more before setting off and walking out with long strides.

On the way, the warmth and smile in Xiao Youlan's eyes had already vanished completely.

Feihong spoke of more detailed circumstances: "This time, the symptoms of the Emperor's fainting are more severe than ever before. Today, the Emperor was having dinner alone when he flew into a rage halfway through and overturned the table. He then suddenly spat out a mouthful of blood, shouting, 'Bring the Crown Prince here, bring the Crown Prince here,' before fainting shortly after."

Xiao Youlan's expression was cold.

A few months ago, he finally realized that a heart full of passionate love was not enough to secure a long life together with Nan Xueyin; he had to strive for more power.

Therefore, he went to the Emperor to "admit his faults."

He acted convincingly enough that the Emperor believed him, forgave him, and trusted him once again.

While keeping the Emperor steady, Xiao Youlan simultaneously expanded his own influence at court.

By the time the Emperor realized something was wrong, Xiao Youlan had already firmly established his footing; he had successfully gained the approval of most of the veteran officials and fostered a group of emerging forces.

Thus, the father and son tore off the masks of civility once again.

That argument was completely different from the previous one.

Xiao Youlan appeared calm and composed, while in contrast, the Emperor was unusually agitated, his face flushed bright red.

"I gave birth to you! I raised you! Yet in your eyes, I am actually not worth as much as a woman! In this world, besides your parents, how could anyone love you and treat you well unconditionally? You are muddled! You are foolish!"

Xiao Youlan watched him quietly, waiting until he was tired of scolding and had no choice but to stop.

Only then did Xiao Youlan speak slowly: "Very well, Father Emperor, your son knows it all, and your son understands it all."

Yet his expression clearly said: But your son will not listen.

The Emperor was so angered by Xiao Youlan that he fell gravely ill.

Later, the Emperor's health went from bad to worse.

Xiao Youlan was not lying to Nan Xueyin; the Emperor was indeed getting on in years, though of course, the Emperor also had his own internal grievances.

He was always getting angry, and in such a state, his health would naturally decline.

At first, the Emperor wanted to intimidate Xiao Youlan, specifically by deposing him and appointing another Crown Prince.

The Emperor sent a secret letter to Tingzhou.

Who would have thought that Jing Prince Xiao Qingling would bluntly decline the Emperor? He wrote in the letter that he preferred Tingzhou and was better suited to be a prince; the position of Crown Prince in the Eastern Palace belonged to none other than Xiao Youlan.

The Emperor refused to give up and sent word to Lianzhou, asking Xiao Mingyu to come to Fengdu.

But those words sank like a stone in the ocean, receiving no reply at all.

These matters, instead, became known to Xiao Youlan.

He found the Emperor, not in anger, but patiently soothing him.

He spoke in a low, soft voice, "Father Emperor, your son is not angry. It is just that among all, your son is the most suitable. On this point, I ask that Father Emperor must understand."

The Emperor suddenly swept everything on the desk onto the floor in one go and said viciously, "Even if you are the Crown Prince, don't you ever think about marrying that female Assassin!"

Xiao Youlan raised his eyes, his gaze cold: "But Father Emperor, why are you so certain that she will always be an Assassin?"

After that, he did not see the Emperor for a long time.

The two engaged in a secret struggle, and in the end, it was the Emperor who chose to compromise. After all, he had reached a dead end, so he sent someone to the Eastern Palace to invite Xiao Youlan to dine together.

Xiao Youlan, of course, did not agree so easily. At first, he declined on the grounds of being busy with state affairs, and later he simply said he would not go. The Emperor kept sending people to invite him, and only after being urged several times did he go over.

"Pass down the order: keep this matter contained within the palace; it must not be leaked out," Xiao Youlan said in a deep voice.

"This subordinate understands."

"And Virtuous Consort..."

Feihong took up the thread: "Should today's events be hidden from Virtuous Consort, and not let her or the Prince of Duan know?"

"No," Xiao Youlan's eyes were dark and heavy, "Deliberately leave a flaw for her, let her find out the news that the Emperor has fainted and is unresponsive, and let her pass it on to Xiao Mingyu. Do this cleanly; don't let them discover anything unusual."

Although Feihong was puzzled, he still acknowledged the order.

The Eastern Palace.

Xiao Youlan had entered the palace suddenly and had not yet had time to arrange a place for Nan Jiyun to stay.

Nan Jiyun wanted to say he could go back to the inn, after all, he had already paid for the room there.

But Nan Xueyin said, "Many people have already seen the conversation between Uncle, me, and the Crown Prince. If Uncle goes back, it won't be safe. If someone with ulterior motives wants to know about the Crown Prince's affairs, they will come looking for Uncle."

Nan Jiyun realized it belatedly; that was indeed the case!

Nan Xueyin added, "The Eastern Palace is very large; there will be no lack of a place for you to stay."

She went to ask a servant and had a servant familiar with the Eastern Palace arrange a room for her uncle.

After settling Nan Jiyun in, Nan Xueyin entered Xiao Youlan's room.

She washed up simply and waited for Xiao Youlan under the lamp; having nothing to do, she began to walk around the room.

By chance, she saw on the wall that piece of "holding hands with you, growing old with you" that she had once written most satisfactorily; many things had happened that day, and the rice paper had been crumpled and had many damaged spots.

But Xiao Youlan had still mounted and hung it up.

The corner of her eye caught a glimpse of the bookshelf to the side.

She walked over and discovered a stack of paper neatly and carefully stored away, each sheet a practice of the words "holding hands with you, growing old with you" that she had written back then.

At the time, she was dissatisfied, throwing away every sheet she wrote.

She had assumed this trash would definitely have been thrown out; she had not expected Xiao Youlan to have retrieved it, and even smoothed out each sheet one by one, storing them here.

She carefully flipped through them page by page; there were occasional tiny, dotted marks on the rice paper that she had not left behind originally; she lowered her head to sniff them and was slightly stunned.

Those were tears.

Xiao Youlan would look at these later on, and as he looked, he would cry.

Nan Xueyin suddenly felt a bit sad in her heart.

"What are you looking at?"

From behind her came a gentle, calm voice; Xiao Youlan had finished his work and returned.