Chapter 17 Consort Hui and the Crown Prince

Yun Jun's gaze fell on the bed.

The Ninth Prince is only two years old now, and he is already thinner and smaller than other children his age. His face is not very fleshy, and his skin is pale. It is obvious that he is not very healthy.

Now, with a high fever, her cheeks are flushed, her lips are dry, and she occasionally utters weak murmurs, which makes one's heart clench with worry.

The Empress also noticed that the Ninth Prince was clearly not doing well. Her brows furrowed, and she asked in a low voice, "Imperial Physician Li, what is the condition of the Ninth Prince?"

Physician Li withdrew his hand, stroked his beard, and said solemnly, "The Ninth Prince's illness has come on very dangerously. The most urgent task is to bring his temperature down, but the Ninth Prince is already somewhat weak, and this medicine..."

Imperial physicians were extremely cautious when prescribing medicine, especially for princesses and princes.

After all, if anything were to happen to the princess or the prince, they wouldn't have enough lives to compensate for it.

Several princes had died young in the palace before, and the imperial physicians who were responsible for taking care of them, if not killed, at least had no hope of being promoted.

Physician Li valued his future quite a bit.

"As long as we can bring down the Ninth Prince's fever, we will take any precious medicinal herbs we need from the Imperial Hospital."

Kangxi arrived in a hurry, and half of Liang Jiugong's shoulder was soaked.

Having clearly heard what Physician Li said, Kangxi ignored everyone's bows, walked past the Empress and Consort Nara, and strode to the bedside. Looking at the Ninth Prince's pitiful appearance, his brows furrowed.

"The Ninth Prince's life is more important than anything else!"

With Emperor Kangxi's words, Physician Li felt somewhat relieved. He instructed the young apprentice beside him to prepare the medicine, while he himself carefully placed small pieces of ice wrapped in silk under the Ninth Prince's armpits to help lower his fever.

Fortunately, the Ninth Prince's high fever eventually subsided.

The other half of Physician Li's heart was also relieved.

My future is temporarily saved.

Emperor Kangxi had an early morning court session, and although he came to Zhaoxiang Palace, he did not stay for long. After Physician Li said that he could be cured, he returned to Qianqing Palace.

After nearly a night of turmoil, the Empress was pale, but she forced herself to continue and gave the order, "Tell all the palaces that the morning greetings are waived today."

Seeing that Consort Nara's face was still full of worry, the Empress rubbed her temples. "You should all go back. There are imperial physicians and nannies guarding here. If there is any news about the Ninth Prince, I will send someone to inform Yanxi Palace in time."

Even if she was her birth mother, Lady Nara could not stay at Zhaoxiang's residence for long.

Although she was very reluctant, she could only agree with tears in her eyes.

The Empress added one last instruction: "Consort Hui, please take good care of the Fifth Prince. It rained last night, so don't let him catch a cold."

Yunyun nodded earnestly, "When I get back, I will have the Fifth Prince drink ginger soup."

The incident involving the Ninth Prince also served as a wake-up call for her.

In ancient times, medical care was underdeveloped, and even a common cold could be fatal. Although Bao Qing was healthy, it was still best to avoid getting sick as much as possible.

When we get back, we'll make sure he's running and jumping around to boost his immunity.

So before breakfast, Baoqing was served a bowl of sweet and spicy ginger soup.

"Mother, why do we have to drink ginger soup so early in the morning?"

He was very confused.

While outside the palace, Baoqing also drank ginger soup. The nanny said it was to dispel cold and that drinking it would prevent illness.

But he slept very well last night and didn't kick off the covers and catch a cold.

He felt he didn't need to warm himself up and didn't really want to drink it.

Yunyun stroked his head and coaxed him gently, "It rained last night, and Mother caught a chill. Baoqing, would you like to drink with Mother?"

She didn't mention the Ninth Prince, afraid of frightening the young child, and instead took the blame upon herself.

After hearing that, Baoqing immediately agreed to drink it.

He even demonstrated for Yunyun, "Mother, don't drink it sip by sip, you should do it like this—"

Bao Qing held the small bowl, which was only half the size of his palm, and gulped it down in one go.

After finishing his drink, he showed it to Yunyun, saying, "Mother, I've finished drinking."

Then he stared at her longingly.

Yun Jun chuckled, mimicking Bao Qing's manner by drinking it all in one gulp, and praised him, "Bao Qing is great."

A simple sentence set the tone for a good mood throughout the day.

His life after returning to the palace was fairly regular.

He gets up at dawn, then has breakfast with his mother. His mother goes to Kunning Palace to pay her respects, while he studies in his room.

Then his mother came back and practiced calligraphy and painting with him. He would also read to his mother.

After that, we had lunch together and took a nap.

In the afternoon, young eunuchs from Yanxi Palace would accompany him to do some imitations of archery and wrestling, which was a way of playing with him, and his mother would also watch from the side.

Sometimes the Emperor would also come to have dinner with them.

In short, Baoqing really enjoys this kind of life.

-

Before we knew it, it was the Double Ninth Festival.

Before dawn, the candles in Yanxi Palace were lit.

Granny Sun helped Baoqing change into a prince's court robe. The dark blue lined robe was trimmed with light gray satin, and the collar was embroidered with small dogwood patterns, which made the already fair-skinned Baoqing look even more spirited.

Today, Baoqing is not with Yunyun; he is going to Cining Palace to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager.

Yun Jun knelt down, straightened his collar, and gently instructed, "Be good when you get to Cining Palace. Listen to Grandma Huang and don't run around, okay?"

She felt relatively at ease sending Baoqing to Cining Palace, since the Empress Dowager was there.

"I understand!" Bao Qing nodded vigorously.

When we arrived at Cining Palace, a faint aroma of rice porridge wafted through the hall.

The Empress Dowager had just sat down at the dining table when she saw him enter. Her slightly weary expression instantly relaxed, and she quickly beckoned him over: "Baoqing is here. Come sit next to Granny Ma."

Baoqing took small, quick steps to the table and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings to Grandmother."

Facing her five-year-old great-grandson, the Empress Dowager was filled with affection. "Has Baoqing had breakfast yet? Here, Grandma has some freshly steamed jujube cake. Would you like to try some?"

As an elderly woman, the Empress Dowager's table was filled with soft and delicate foods.

A palace maid took a small piece of jujube paste cake and handed it to Baoqing.

Although she had already eaten breakfast, Baoqing felt that she could still have one more bite of dessert.

The jujube paste cake has a light jujube aroma and a soft, sweet taste.

Baoqing ate in small bites.

Seeing him eating so heartily, the Empress Dowager was also delighted. Being able to eat is a blessing; Baoqing is growing up so well.

After eating the jujube paste cake, Baoqing was taken to the warm pavilion by the nanny from Cining Palace.

He was waiting here for his father, the Emperor, to take him to the garden to climb the hill.

A figure in bright yellow stepped into the warm pavilion.

It was a small court robe embroidered with a five-clawed golden dragon, the bright yellow satin gleaming with a dazzling luster; only the crown prince could wear such a garment.

Granny Sun led Baoqing to bow, saying, "Greetings to His Highness the Crown Prince."

The crown prince, who was only three years old, was being led by his wet nurse. His small body was wrapped in a bright yellow court robe, and his round cheeks looked like a freshly steamed glutinous rice ball. He blinked his round eyes and said in a childish voice, "No need for formalities."

Then he looked at Baoqing with curiosity.

The wet nurse who served the crown prince quickly whispered in his ear, "Your Highness, this is the Fifth Prince, your elder brother. You can call him Fifth Brother."

This was the first time the Crown Prince had the concept of an elder brother.

He usually saw his father, his maternal grandmother, and his nanny the most.

As for Fifth Brother, this is the first time.

The prince seemed to understand but not quite. He tilted his head and thought for a moment, then imitated the wet nurse's address and called out, "Fifth Brother."

Bao Qing was initially a little awkward.

He bowed to his father and mother because they were his elders, but why did he also bow to someone who looked obviously younger than him?

However, this awkwardness disappeared after hearing the childish voice of Fifth Brother.

The prince was cute and delicate-looking, and when he obediently called him Fifth Brother, it instantly aroused Baoqing's sense of responsibility as the older brother.

Although he himself has no experience as an older brother.

However, he had seen Yunrui taking care of his younger brother when he was outside the palace.

Yunrui just kept feeding her younger brother her favorite snacks.

Baoqing tried his best to adopt the air of an older brother, "Younger brother, would you like some jujube paste cake?"

Tea and snacks were prepared in the warm room, and it was known that they were prepared for the prince. The snacks were all made to be extremely small, small enough that a three-year-old child could eat them in one bite.

Unfortunately, the crown prince had also finished eating before leaving.

He was very polite, saying, "Thank you, Fifth Brother, but I won't eat."

Baoqing still wanted to project the image of the older brother, so he asked, "Do you want to play with the toys?"

Toys are provided in the warm pavilion. The Crown Prince often comes to Cining Palace to pay his respects, and his wet nurse is very familiar with everything here.

However, the wet nurse had some concerns.

The Fifth Prince is two years older than the Crown Prince. What if the two have a conflict?

Children are unpredictable and don't care about social status or wealth.

However, the Crown Prince was clearly very curious about Bao Qing. Perhaps children just like to play with older children. The Crown Prince nodded, "Okay, let's play with a ball."

The prince nodded, and the wet nurse had no choice but to comply.

She took out a small leather ball from a brocade box in the corner of the warm pavilion. It was a small leather ball made of soft leather, filled with fluffy cotton, and embroidered with light blue lotus patterns. It wouldn't hurt anyone if it hit someone, and it was the right size for a three-year-old child's palm.

As soon as the wet nurse handed the ball to the prince, the prince grabbed the ball and strode towards Baoqing with his short legs.

He shoved the ball into Bao Qing's arms: "Fifth Brother, you throw it, I'll catch it."

Clearly, the Crown Prince often plays these kinds of games.

Baoqing and Yunrui had played like this when they were outside the palace.

He squatted down and gently rolled the ball towards the prince, finally stopping right at the prince's feet.

Then the prince squatted down and rolled the ball back with his chubby little hands.

It was obvious that the Crown Prince's control of force was not as good as Bao Qing's; he pushed too far and the ball rolled behind the screen.

Bao Qing ran over, picked up the ball, and handed it back to the prince. He squatted down next to the prince and taught him, "You have to push it gently so you don't push it too far."

The wet nurse stood by and watched. Seeing the two brothers getting along well, her anxiety gradually subsided.

The prince was a clever child. He learned to push Baoqing a few times and mastered the strength. His smile was as sweet as a little angel's.

"Fifth Brother, you're amazing."

"Fifth Brother, you run so fast."

"Fifth Brother..."

Baoqing gradually lost himself amidst the repeated calls of "Fifth Brother," and became increasingly enthusiastic about playing with the ball.

He was extremely pleased with his younger brother, the Crown Prince.

After playing for a while, Baoqing's little face was flushed—he was the one who ran to retrieve all the balls that the Crown Prince had pushed, and he wouldn't let Granny Sun help him.

Seeing that the Fifth Prince was sweating, Granny Sun quickly stepped forward and advised, "Prince, rest for a while, or you'll run out of breath."

But who is Baoqing?

This amount of indoor exercise is nothing to him; he hasn't had enough fun yet.

Baoqing waved her little hand as she handed the retrieved ball back to the prince, saying, "Don't rest, I want to keep playing with my little prince brother."

Baoqing is no longer the most obedient to Granny Sun.

When he was outside the palace, his closest and highest-ranking relative was Granny Sun.

However, upon returning to the palace, he keenly realized...

Granny Sun must listen to her mother.

Therefore, Baoqing's mother is now her number one priority, and she can occasionally ignore what Granny Sun says.