Chapter 670: Illness Cause
Editor: Atlas Studios
Before Qi Haoran set off, the imperial edict from the capital to confer Little Bear as the heir arrived first. Along with the imperial edict came two imperial physicians who were here on the Emperor’s orders to take a look at Little Bear.
Since Qi Haoran wanted to confer Little Bear with the title of his heir, they naturally couldn’t keep calling the kid by his nickname. Thus, after discussing it with Mu Yangling, he wrote down the three shortlisted names and rolled them into balls for his son to draw lots. In the end, Little Bear picked the name “Qi Wenjin”.
Henceforth, Comrade Little Bear officially had a proper name. This time, when the Emperor conferred the title, his proper name was written in the imperial edict.
Although he now had a proper name, everyone was still used to calling him by his nickname. Hence, Little Bear’s sensitivity to the words “Qi Wenjin” was zero. When his parents carried him to listen to the decree, he was very confused. It was only when an imperial edict was stuffed into his arms that he looked up at his mother in confusion.
Beaming, Mu Yangling hugged him and said with a smile, “Our Little Bear is now officially the heir.”
The emissary who passed the decree flattered, “Otherwise, why would they say that the Little Prince is blessed? His Majesty even rewarded him with two carts of gifts.”
It was precisely because the Emperor valued the little prince that the emissary fawningly stuffed the imperial edict into his arms. Otherwise, how could a two-year-old child personally accept the imperial edict?
Qi Haoran was most anxious to let the imperial physician take a look at the child. Hence, after exchanging a few words, he got someone to invite the emissary away to rest. Then, he brought Mu Yangling and the child back to the backyard and immediately summoned the two imperial physicians who came with the emissary.
The two imperial physicians were both pediatricians. Although the Prince asked them to take the kid’s pulse the moment they met and didn’t let them rest, the two of them didn’t dare to be negligent at all. They took turns taking Little Bear’s pulse and carefully checked his throat. They then asked some detailed questions. After discussing it for a long time, the two of them finally gave a diagnosis. “Your Highnesses, we don’t think that the little prince’s inability to speak is due to his suffering a fright previously. He probably just needs more time.”
Qi Haoran widened his eyes. “He’s already past two years old. How can he still need more time?”
Imperial Physician Liu stroked his beard and said with a smile, “Your Highness, children develop at different rates. The little prince’s late enlightenment doesn’t mean that he’s inferior to others. On the contrary, he must have a talent that far exceeds others, such as his divine strength.”
Qi Haoran hesitated. Could it be that the two of them only said this because they feared that he would blame them?
Knowing what Qi Haoran was thinking, Imperial Physician Liu said, “Your Highness, I’ve been a doctor for more than 30 years and have seen similar cases. There are extremely smart people in this world who are far more talented than the average person in all aspects. However, it’s extremely rare. More often, we see people who are extremely talented in one aspect, so they will develop later in other aspects. For example, someone might excel at algebra, astronomy and geography, but they can’t grasp poetry, songs, scriptures, and history no matter how hard they work at it. Some people are well-versed in history and scriptures, but might not be able to master the basics of archery and equestrianism even if they spend their entire lives attempting to do so.”
“I’ve also met children who started speaking especially late in the past. They only know how to speak when they’re four or five years old, but once they start speaking, they speak intelligently. These people’s situations were similar to the little prince’s, and there’s no problem with their voices. Although they don’t know how to speak, their interactions with people are not less than their peers, and they sleep more than other children.” Imperial Physician Liu said, “Previously, Your Highnesses were worried that the little prince suffered a fright due to the military disaster, but Her Highness, as well as the servants who served the little prince, said that other than waking up from nightmares for the first two days, the little prince slowly recovered after that episode. After that, he was still as lively and cheerful as before. I’ve taken a closer look with Imperial Physician Zhou, and there’s nothing abnormal about the little prince’s pulse. Therefore, I think that the little prince must not have been frightened, but that he simply isn’t enlightened yet.”
Imperial Physician Zhou nodded and said, “Didn’t Her Highness say that the little prince is stronger than others? Perhaps it’s because of this.”
Imperial Physician Liu asked curiously, “I wonder how strong the little prince is. I want to take a closer look.”
Qi Haoran was not cut out for studying, and his son bore a 70% resemblance to him. From the look s of it, Little Bear’s talent unlikely lay in academics. Hence, Imperial Physician Liu wanted to confirm if it was really because of this divine strength that the child had a later enlightenment.
Based on past experience, the greater the divine strength, the later the child would be enlightened.
Qi Haoran silently handed a stool to his son and said, “Destroy it.”
Little Bear barely grabbed the two corners of the stool with his two small hands and easily snapped it with a plop.
Imperial Physician Liu and Imperial Physician Zhou could not help but take a step back, secretly speechless. Wasn’t this too strong?
Even an adult wouldn’t be able to snap this stool with his bare hands.
Qi Haoran turned around and asked Mu Yangling, “Did you speak late when you were young too?”
Mu Yangling said hesitantly, “I’ll write a letter to ask my father later.”
Qi Haoran nodded repeatedly. He did not have divine power, and was only strong because he practiced internal energy. His son’s divine power was inherited from the Mu family. If the Mu family had such a precedent, it was reasonable for his son to speak later.
Qi Haoran got someone to bring the imperial physician down to rest and quickly got Mu Yangling to write a letter to ask her parents.
Mu Yangling wrote to Mu Shi, but she did not ask how old she was when she first started speaking. Instead, she asked when her father and grandfather had started speaking.
As Mu Yangling had memories of her previous life, she was an exception, so her situation could not be used as an example. Although it had been a long time, she still remembered that she could speak before she was even one year old. However, anyone who’s voice worked fine and had an additional lifetime of memories could quickly learn to speak, right?
Though it was rare for Qi Haoran to use official means for personal use, this time he sent the letter out with a military pigeon.
Although Qiannan was far from the north, the messenger pigeon was speedy. After Mu Shi received the letter, he frowned and thought for a long time, but he still could not remember when he first started speaking. He could only ask Eldest Great-aunt. Eldest Great-aunt replied with a smile, “I know about this. You spoke late and only started speaking after you turned three. However, it’s your father and mother’s first time raising a child, so they had no idea that this was abnormal. It was your uncle who saw that you were already three years old but still didn’t know how to say ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’, so he brought you to the temple to pray to Bodhisattva and let you drink burnt exorcism talisman ashes dissolved in water. Only after that did you start speaking. At that time, your mother cried very hard and even blamed herself for your situation.” At this point, Eldest Great-aunt sighed and said, “At that time, your parents were really focused on making a living, and you were a child full of vigor. Besides, they had never raised a child before, so how would they know the seriousness of the matter?”
Mu Shi swallowed his saliva, surprised to hear this. He thought for a moment and said, “Did I start speaking because of the talisman paper ashes dissolved in water?”
“That’s right. Shortly after drinking it, you started calling out ‘Father’ and ‘Mother’.”
Mu Shi fell into deep thought, thinking about the possibility that it was fright that made him start calling out to his parents. Deep down, he did not believe in such superstitious talk.
However, in the end, he still went to pray at the temple where Liu Daqian prayed to the gods back then. Then, he went to buy talismans and sent them to Ah Ling along with the letter.
When Mu Yangling received her father’s letter, her heart relaxed. “My father, too, started speaking at a later age back then.”
Qi Haoran stared at the talisman and asked, “Are you going to let our son drink this?”
“No way.” Mu Yangling put away the talisman paper and said, “How can one eat this kind of thing casually? Furthermore, it was sent all the way from the north. I wonder how much dust has gotten onto it.”
Chapter end
