Little Pink Starfish

The Prince Consort Collapses from Exhaustion

Emperor Xianzong had been standing in the chilly autumn wind for over half an hour when two shadow guards he had dispatched finally returned—with news. They had found Gu Xinglang unconscious on a cobblestone path amidst the palace gardens, barely a hundred meters away from where Xianzong and little Yu Ziyi were waiting.

When the emperor arrived at the scene, Gu Xinglang was slumped in the arms of a shadow guard, still unconscious despite the guard’s repeated shouts.

One look at his son-in-law’s pale, blood-drained face made Xianzong’s heart lurch. He barked, “What happened?! How did he end up here?!”

Everyone knew that the Prince Consort couldn’t walk. No one had any idea how Gu Xinglang had managed to get there.

“Where’s the imperial physician?! Damn it, where are the physicians?!” Xianzong shouted. He didn’t expect anyone to answer; he just needed someone to do something.

Xiao Wei, still holding Yu Ziyi, crouched down and touched Gu Xinglang’s face—it was ice cold.

The shadow guard holding Gu Xinglang subtly signaled Xiao Wei, then turned Gu Xinglang’s right hand palm-up for him to see.

Xiao Wei glanced at it—and froze. The hand was caked in dried blood, with thick, white, jelly-like chunks mixed in. The mixture had already hardened. Xiao Wei instinctively reached out, but his hand froze midway. He looked at his friend in shock.

The young shadow guard gave him a small, grim shake of the head.

Xiao Wei’s thoughts immediately turned to the two headless corpses in the Book Pavilion courtyard. Looking again at the white chunks on Gu Xinglang’s hand… it looked exactly like brain matter.

Just then, Jingzhong approached and asked, “Is the Prince Consort injured?”

Xiao Wei reacted instantly. He grabbed Gu Xinglang’s bloody hand and wiped it clean against his own clothes.

The shadow guard, catching on, spoke respectfully to Jingzhong. “Chief Steward, the Prince Consort isn’t wounded—he’s just unconscious.”

“No wounds? Then how did he faint?” Xianzong called anxiously from a few steps away.

Xiao Wei shielded the view with his body and swiftly grabbed Gu Xinglang’s other hand, wiping that one clean too.

Jingzhong knelt beside Gu Xinglang, examining him under the torchlight.

Xiao Wei and the shadow guard tensed, hovering protectively over Gu Xinglang and saying nothing.

Jingzhong studied the Prince Consort’s pale face, looked him over from head to toe, but saw nothing suspicious. He turned to Xiao Wei. “Check his legs—make sure they haven’t been injured again.”

“You fool!” Xianzong suddenly shouted, stepping forward. “Are you cursing my son-in-law to be crippled for life?!”

Scolded like that, Jingzhong dropped to his knees immediately. “Your Majesty, I would never dare!”

Xianzong glanced once more at Gu Xinglang, then took off his heavy cloak and told a nearby eunuch, “Put this on him.”

The young eunuch carefully draped the cloak over the Prince Consort.

Xiao Wei took the opportunity to finish wiping away the last traces of blood from Gu Xinglang’s hands.

Just then, two imperial physicians arrived at a run.

Before they could kneel, Xianzong waved them off. “No ceremony! Check him now!”

The two physicians rushed over to examine Gu Xinglang. Xiao Wei edged aside just enough to make room for them but stayed crouched at the Prince Consort’s side.

One look at Gu Xinglang’s bloodless face made the physicians pale. As the imperial physicians assigned to the Prince Consort’s care, they knew his condition well—apart from old injuries from torture, he’d mostly recovered. So how did he end up like this?

Xiao Wei, seeing them hesitate, urged softly, “Please, esteemed doctors—what’s wrong with our Prince Consort?”

Snapping out of their daze, the two physicians quickly began taking his pulse.

Xianzong, wringing his hands behind his back, paced anxiously. He was worried sick—not just for his son-in-law, but also about why disaster seemed to strike his palace every other day. Couldn’t he get even one day of peace?

Just then, a palace maid came running and knelt a distance away, calling out, “Your Majesty, Concubine Hua is worried about Your Majesty. She wishes to—”

“What does she want now?!” Xianzong snapped before the maid could finish. “Doesn’t she think things are chaotic enough already? Tell her to stay in her palace! There are assassins still at large—does she want to run out and get killed?”

The maid bowed hastily. “Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Leave!” Xianzong waved her off.

The maid retreated quickly, disheartened. Her lady had hoped that risking herself to accompany the emperor might win back some affection—but clearly, that wasn’t happening.

Xianzong glanced again at the physicians still feeling Gu Xinglang’s pulse. He knew better than to rush them but was barely holding back his temper as he continued pacing in circles.

Jingzhong, still kneeling, didn’t dare get up without permission. Time dragged on, and the hard cobblestones beneath his knees began to bite. Wincing, he realized he hadn’t knelt like this in a long time—his knees weren’t what they used to be. Stealing a glance at Xianzong, he grew uneasy. The emperor’s trust in him wasn’t what it once was. If this kept up… Could a eunuch without favor still stand at the pinnacle of court power? That voice in his head screamed—Dream on, fool.

“How is he?!” Xianzong finally barked as he saw one physician let go of Gu Xinglang’s wrist.

The two doctors exchanged a glance. Gu Xinglang had fainted from exhaustion? That made no sense. What on earth could the Prince Consort have done in the palace to exhaust himself into unconsciousness?

“Well?!” Xianzong shouted. “Can neither of you figure it out?!”

One physician cleared his throat. “Replying to Your Majesty… the Prince Consort has fainted due to extreme fatigue.”

Xianzong stared blankly for a moment. Fatigue? Extreme fatigue?!

This boy couldn’t even walk on his own. He was pampered day in and day out, waited on hand and foot. How the hell could he be overworked?

“You,” Xianzong turned to Xiao Wei. “What’s he been doing lately with the princess?”

Aside from that, Xianzong honestly couldn’t imagine what could wear the boy out.

Xiao Wei looked confused at first. Then realization dawned—and his face turned bright red. “N-nothing! They haven’t done… anything.”

He was fairly sure the princess and Prince Consort hadn’t even consummated their marriage yet. Xiao Wei figured maybe the constant talking had worn the Prince Consort out. But no one fainted from too much talking… right?

Then his eyes drifted to Gu Xinglang’s hands again. The blood. The brain matter. How was he supposed to explain that?