Empress Ye Fan, being deeply favored by Emperor Mingde, was granted the imperial surname and the name Fan, and resided in Fengning Palace.
However, Ye Fan has always been unwell and weak, and has been bedridden for many years. Although the imperial physicians have been taking care of him all these years, his health has not improved and he is showing signs of getting weaker day by day.
Previously, Ye Xiaowei thought it was due to the Emperor and Empress's own health. Although she wanted to help her father and Empress, she was powerless to do so.
Now that Ye Xiaowei knows the truth, she will naturally not allow the bloody events of the past to happen again, and she will certainly not stand by and watch her father be framed and killed while she herself acknowledges the enemy as her father!
Because Ye Fan was a person who loved tranquility and had a special fondness for flowers and plants, Emperor Mingde, catering to his tastes, ordered that the Fengning Palace be filled with flowers and plants for Ye Fan to enjoy.
Despite his physical discomfort, Ye Fan still insisted on watering the flowers and plants every day and taking meticulous care of them in the yard.
"Master, Her Highness the Crown Princess requests an audience!" The weather was unusually sunny today, and Ye Fan felt quite energetic, so he was personally pruning bonsai in the courtyard. Upon hearing what the attendant said, he quickly stopped what he was doing.
"Send it quickly!"
"Yes, sir!" The eunuch quickly withdrew, and in no time, Ye Xiaowei, surrounded by a group of palace maids, walked up to Ye Fan.
"Your subject greets Your Majesty, may you be blessed with ten thousand years of happiness and peace!" Ye Fan hurriedly handed the scissors in his hand to the eunuch beside him and reached out to help Ye Xiaowei up.
"Please rise quickly! How has Your Majesty been feeling lately?" Ye Fan asked, unable to hide his concern.
Ye Xiaowei looked up and gave Ye Fan a sly smile.
"When Father sees me, do you feel that I am better than before?"
Ye Fan was slightly taken aback. Although Ye Xiaowei used to be extremely respectful to him and would often come to pay her respects, she would never joke with him like this today.
The respect and politeness were tinged with a sense of distance and unfamiliarity, which was not the kind of feeling one would expect between a father and daughter.
But today's Ye Xiaowei is completely different from the one before, which really surprised him. However, he felt a sense of warmth towards this Ye Xiaowei.
Ye Fan smiled broadly, his eyes narrowing into slits. It was a genuine smile from the bottom of his heart, a smile of true joy.
"Everyone says that the Crown Princess has become somewhat different from before, and it seems that's true today. She's become more and more cunning!" As he spoke, he affectionately poked her forehead with his finger.
Ye Xiaowei smiled without saying a word, and naturally took Ye Fan's arm. This made Ye Fan both touched and flattered. This was more like a real father and daughter!
"I had planned to see you before, but as you know, I have always been in poor health, and you have been weak since birth, and have been constantly suffering from minor illnesses over the years." Ye Fan said this with a face full of guilt and his eyes flickered.
"It's all my fault, otherwise you wouldn't be so weak..."
Ye Fan didn't continue speaking at this point, but the meaning was clear: Ye Fan was blaming himself for Ye Xiaowei's poor health since childhood, which he attributed to her inherited from him.
Ye Fan did not want to be close to Ye Xiaowei, but firstly, he was in poor health and was afraid of infecting the frail Ye Xiaowei. Secondly, although Emperor Mingde meant well and was concerned about Ye Fan's health by having Li Changxi take care of Ye Xiaowei and become her adoptive father, it also made Ye Fan more hesitant to visit Ye Xiaowei often, which made the two of them increasingly estranged.
Guilt and some reservations prevented Ye Fan from visiting Ye Xiaowei as often as a normal father, which in turn gave Li Changxi an unwanted daughter.
However, like any parent in the world, Ye Fan cared deeply for his children. During the days and nights when Ye Xiaowei was ill, he truly practiced vegetarianism and chanted Buddhist prayers, praying to the heavens to let all the pain befall him instead of his daughter.
In her past life, Ye Xiaowei listened to slander and misunderstood her father, believing that he was deliberately distancing himself from her and was selfish for the sake of his own position.
Now that she knows the truth, Ye Xiaowei will not repeat the mistakes of her past life. In this life, she will not only be filial to Ye Fan, but also send those who framed them to hell. Moreover, she will never let the tragedy of her past life happen again.
She quickly comforted her, saying, "Father, please don't blame yourself. It's windy outside. Let me help you inside to rest!"
Ye Fan nodded. Ye Xiaowei pretended to casually admire the flowers and plants in the courtyard, but in reality, she was observing the servants serving beside her.
She noticed with her sharp eyes that several servants had shifty expressions. When Ye Xiaowei looked at them, they hurriedly and fearfully lowered their heads, clearly something was amiss!
It turns out that not only her Eastern Palace, but also Fengning Palace had Li Changxi's spies. This Li Changxi is indeed like an ancient tree, with his roots spread everywhere.
However, since that was the case, she wielded her knife to cut off the tree roots one by one, leaving Li Changxi with nowhere to stand, until finally the tree collapsed due to exhaustion...
Ye Xiaowei helped Ye Fan into the house, with only the maidservants following behind, while everyone else waited outside.
After helping Ye Fan to a seat, Ye Xiaowei sat down next to him and said:
“Father, in three days, your son will travel to Mount Wutai to pray for the people of the world on behalf of the Empress. This trip will last for three years, and I am afraid I will not be able to fulfill my filial duties to you during this time.”
Although he had already heard about it and knew that things had come to this point, Ye Fan still couldn't help but say:
"Wei'er, the journey is long and tiring. Your health is only slightly better than before, and I am truly worried about you. How about we wait until you are feeling better before you go?"
Ye Fan's concern was evident and heartfelt, unlike Li Changxi's feigned concern.
Despite being moved by his biological father, Ye Xiaowei stubbornly shook her head.
"Father, don't worry, I will be fine."
She wasn't sure before, but now that she knows some things, she can be sure that she will recover after a few days of recuperation. She is not a weak person, and given her young age, she will recover even more easily.
The poison that Li Changxi administered to her was not, strictly speaking, a deadly poison. It was the kind of medicine that accumulated over time, gradually weakening her body and eventually causing her death.
Moreover, the poison was so potent that ordinary people couldn't detect it, and even the imperial physicians had difficulty detecting it, mistaking it for physical weakness and other symptoms of general illness.
She had only been taking the medication for a short time and the poisoning was not severe, so she could recover quickly with further treatment after stopping the medication.
After she finished speaking, she glanced at Qiu Mei, who quickly understood and walked to the door. She quietly observed the doorway for a while, and only returned after finding no one there.
Ye Xiaowei first helped him into the inner room, and then asked the other servants to wait outside, leaving only the maid and Wen Yuhua. He was already suspicious, and seeing her being so careful, he couldn't help but be even more puzzled.
"Wei'er, what's wrong?"
☆、030 The disease has reached its terminal stage
"Father, have you ever considered that your body itself is actually not abnormal?"
Ye Xiaowei's sudden question deepened Ye Fan's doubts: "My son, why do you suddenly say such a thing?"
"Father, may I have Physician Wen take your pulse?"
Ye Fan was full of doubts, but he still nodded. Ye Xiaowei was his own daughter, and he believed that she would not frame him.
Ye Xiaowei glanced at Wen Yuhua, who understood and quickly walked to Ye Fan's side. Ye Fan stretched out his hand, and Wen Yuhua took out a jade pillow and placed it under his wrist, her slender fingertips resting on his wrist as she focused her senses.
A moment later, he withdrew his hand and stood up.
"Your Majesty, Empress, and Crown Princess, it is indeed as Your Highness said. The Empress is not truly unwell, but rather has been poisoned with a slow-acting poison. And this poison is exactly the same as the one Your Highness was poisoned with earlier, but..."
"But how?"
Just as she expected, Wen Yuhua only told half of what she wanted to say and left the other half unsaid, and her expression was so solemn. With her memories from her previous life, Ye Xiaowei naturally guessed about 70-80% of what was going on.
"However, the Emperor and Empress have been taking this poison for a long time, over the years, and it has already seeped into their bones, so it may be difficult to remove the poison!"
As expected! According to her memories from her previous life, Emperor Ye Fan passed away in the twenty-first year of the Mingde era. Now it is the twentieth year of the Mingde era, which means he can only live until next year!
Even if she went back to the past, back to five years ago, and learned the whole truth, what then? She could only watch helplessly as misfortune approached her step by step, and she could only watch her father walk towards death step by step, while she was powerless to do anything about it.
She felt a deep resentment. Since she was given another chance to be reborn, why didn't she go back to an earlier time, before Li Changxi made his move against her father? Back then, she would have had ways to prevent it.
But now, she has suddenly appeared out of nowhere, learned the truth, but has no real solution. What's even more cruel is that she has to watch helplessly as her father grows weaker day by day until he dies.
It didn't matter before that she didn't know, and she didn't feel any guilt. But now that she knows everything, and has returned here with the guilt she felt towards Ye Fan in her past life, how can she remain indifferent?
No, there's still a year left. It's not time to die yet. As long as there's a glimmer of hope, she can't give up. She absolutely cannot watch her father leave her again. One such pain is enough.
Out of worry, she lost her composure and grabbed Wen Yuhua's sleeve, her tone quite earnest.
"Imperial Physician Wen, is there really no way?"
Wen Yuhua simply lowered his head and did not answer. His tacit agreement only made people more conflicted.
"Cough cough..." Ye Fan bent over and covered his mouth, coughing uncontrollably.
Ye Xiaowei hurriedly went over and patted Ye Fan's back: "Father, are you alright?"
He immediately turned to Wen Yuhua and said, "Imperial Physician Wen, quickly examine my father!"
Wen Yuhua accepted the order and hurriedly stepped forward to examine Ye Fan, but Ye Fan waved her hand to stop her.
"No...it's nothing...no need for that, cough cough...I'll be fine after a short rest..."
Qiu Mei hurriedly brought over the tea. Ye Xiaowei took the teacup, handed it to Ye Fan, and after he took a sip, he indeed stopped coughing.
Ye Xiaowei looked worried and reached out to pat his chest to help him catch his breath. After Ye Fan calmed down a bit, he smiled slightly at Ye Xiaowei.
"I know you are a filial child, but everyone must die eventually. If I am gone one day, you must take good care of yourself and not let yourself get hurt! Over the years, my health has been poor, and I have not been able to take good care of you or fulfill my responsibilities as a father. It is rare that you do not blame me, and I am very gratified. I know my health, so you do not need to worry about me anymore."
These words touched Ye Xiaowei's heartstrings, and tears instantly filled her eyes. Fortunately, she managed to hold them back and prevent them from falling.
She resolutely refused: "No! As long as I am alive, I will not stand by and watch you die. No matter what, even if I have to search all over the country and consult every famous doctor, I will definitely find the doctor who can save you and cure you of the poison!"
She didn't say that there was still plenty of time, at least a year, to find a skilled doctor, which should be enough!
Ye Fan was deeply moved by Ye Xiaowei's persistence, his eyes filled with tears.
This scene of father and daughter's deep affection moved Wen Yuhua deeply. After a moment of reflection, he realized that people are ultimately made of flesh and blood, and he didn't want such a vibrant life to perish.
"Your Majesty, Your Highness, there is something I am unsure whether I should speak of!"
Ye Xiaowei said, "Please speak, Physician Wen!"
“I once heard my grandfather mention that he had the good fortune to meet a divine physician with an air of otherworldly wisdom. This physician not only had white hair and a youthful face, but also possessed an air of otherworldly wisdom and extraordinary medical skills. My grandfather personally witnessed him bring a person who had already breathed his last back to life.”
"Is this really true?" Wen Yuhua's words undoubtedly gave Ye Xiaowei hope, and she was naturally overjoyed.
"Your humble servant would never dare to fabricate anything before the Emperor, Empress, and Your Highness. Every word I have said is true!"
"If what Physician Wen said is true, and there is such a powerful doctor in the world who can bring people back from the dead, then the Empress Dowager's poison would naturally be a piece of cake for him."
Ye Xiaowei looked at Ye Fan and gave him an encouraging smile.
"Father, as long as there is a glimmer of hope, we must not give up easily. Your son has not yet fulfilled his filial duty, so you must not be harmed."
Ye Fan was completely unconcerned about his impending death, showing no fear whatsoever on his face; on the contrary, he smiled with great relief.
"I am not afraid of death. In fact, I have thought about it. The imperial physician examines me every day, and I take medicine every day, but my health has never improved. Is there something wrong? Then I thought, I am the head of the harem, and you are the Crown Princess of the Eastern Palace and the heir apparent. Naturally, many people will be jealous. It is not surprising that some people want to get rid of me. If I can exchange my life for your safety, what does it matter if I live long or short? Ensuring your safety is the thing I want to do most in this life."
These words struck Ye Xiaowei like a thunderbolt, leaving her shocked, angry, and deeply annoyed.
She was shocked to learn that her father had been aware of the situation all along, but had kept it hidden until now because he didn't want her to be hurt. Even though he knew he was about to die, he pretended not to know and didn't care about his own life or death, all to protect her safety.
She was furious, furious that in her past life she hadn't understood him, that he didn't comprehend her, and even blamed him for being too selfish and indifferent to her. Until the very end, when he passed away in sorrow, she never felt truly sad or upset; she just shed a single tear as if to appease him.