Chapter 192: Three-month confinement

Court Judge He happened to be on duty at the Imperial Hospital today. Upon learning that the Second Prince was unwell, he hurried over with a medicine box and the people from Fengyi Palace.

When he saw the chaotic scene in front of him, he was really shocked.

Xie Zhenrong spoke first.

"President He, please take my son's pulse first."

Judge He didn't even need to take the second prince's pulse. He just glanced at him and knew what was wrong.

"Empress, you feed the child too much..."

How much did he eat? He is less than three months old and has grown so fat.

Xie Zhenrong nodded and said, "The Second Prince has a big appetite and eats quite a lot. The wet nurse said that he eats twice as much as other children."

He Yuanpan almost lost his temper. Was this raising a child, or raising piglets? He had to feed the child right away? Were all the palace maids just for show?

But since she was the Empress after all, he didn't say much, only saying, "Empress, the Second Prince has a slippery pulse, a greasy white tongue coating, turbid yellow stools, sour and rancid breath, and a slightly bloated abdomen. This is a symptom of milk and food stagnation, harming the spleen and stomach. Children's intestines and stomachs are like young yeast, and overeating can cause obstruction in the middle burner."

Xie Zhenrong's face turned pale when he heard this.

"Is my stomach injured? Is it serious? How can I treat it?"

Court Judge He replied, "It's not caused by an external infection. Your Majesty, there's no need to worry."

He walked to the table, picked up a pen, wrote down the mildest prescription, and asked the palace maid to go to the Imperial Hospital to get the medicine.

"Boil the above medicine with well water (early morning well water) into a thick juice. After removing the residue, add a small amount of human milk. Feed three spoonfuls each time, three times a day. Rest for three days and you will be cured."

Xie Zhenrong breathed a sigh of relief, but also felt a little regretful.

She saw that the child was small, so she asked the wet nurse to feed more, but she didn't expect this to happen.

After Judge He left, Wen Li'er hurried to Fengyi Palace with a palace maid who served Xiaoxiao.

The palace maid recounted what had happened and added that Xiaoxiao was still crying in Fengyi Palace.

Wen Li'er's head was buzzing. Was it her fault that Xiaoxiao got scolded?

It seems...it's not a big deal.

But if the Queen Mother thinks it is a big deal, then it is a big deal.

After Wen Li'er arrived at Fengyi Palace, she stood obediently in the main hall and was scolded.

Xie Zhenrong sat at the head of the table, her eyes filled with anger as she stared coldly at Wen Li'er.

"The eldest prince's words and actions are so rude that he even dares to disdain the second prince in public. Is this the rule you taught him?"

Wen Li'er's face was full of black lines, and she said sincerely: "I know I am wrong."

Anyway, if you are wrong, you are wrong, and I will never talk back.

Seeing her like this, Xie Zhenrong's voice became even more stern.

"I think you are relying on the emperor's favor and are becoming more and more ignorant of your limits!"

Wen Li'er quickly responded, "I know I was wrong. It was my fault for not teaching my child well. Please punish me, Your Majesty."

"Punishment?" Xie Zhenrong sneered.

"The eldest prince is only one year old. I will not argue with a child. But as his biological mother, you are to blame for not discipline him strictly!"

Wen Li'er should be.

The atmosphere in the hall was solemn, and even the sound of breathing could be heard clearly.

Xie Zhenrong waved her hand and spoke slowly, "I hereby declare that Concubine Wen has failed to properly discipline the prince. She is to be confined to Bixi Palace for three months, to reflect on her mistakes."

Three months of house arrest?

Wen Li'er was confused. Is there such a good thing?

I don’t have to get up early to greet people for three months. Just thinking about it makes me happy.

I wonder if I can bargain and add half a year or a year...

The Queen really didn't understand her at all. Apart from paying her respects every morning, she would stay at home if possible.

The Tourmaline Palace is so big that it is enough for her to stroll around every day.

Wen Li'er suppressed the secret joy in her heart and responded with a face full of resentment.

Then, she rushed back to Bixi Palace with Xiaoxiao and put him under house arrest.

After she came back, she spent a lot of effort to finally cheer up the depressed Xiaoxiao, and she herself was very happy.

Nanny Qin and Qingmei Qingzhu, who didn't know their master too well, felt a little helpless.

Their masters like to take unconventional paths.

If other concubines were punished for their children saying "poop", they would have cursed the queen's ancestors long ago.

Their master was so good that he almost set off firecrackers to celebrate.

…

Imperial study.

Yongtai told the emperor that the Empress had punished Concubine Wen by confining her to her house for three months.

Yan Shixu frowned and asked the reason.

Yongtai said: "It is said that the Imperial Concubine's poor teaching caused the First Prince to offend the Second Prince."

Yan Shixu snorted coldly: "A child who is only one year old, what does he know about offense or not?"

Yongtai then told the whole story from beginning to end.

After hearing this, Yan Shixu couldn't help but twitch the corners of his mouth.

The queen was becoming even more outrageous by making such a fuss.

Yongtai carefully checked his expression.

"Your Majesty, would you like me to lift the confinement on Concubine Wen?"

Yan Shixu chuckled and said, "No need. If she's under house arrest... Noble Concubine Wen won't have to get up early to pay respects to the emperor for three months. She might be very happy about it right now. If I release her from house arrest, she'll be very angry with me."

The corners of Yongtai's mouth twitched, and he thought to himself, the emperor really understands Concubine Wen.

In the following days, Yan Shixu privately summoned many ministers, especially a group of royalists including the Grand Tutor.

These ministers learned that the emperor wanted to cancel the selection and allow women to serve as officials in the court.

When I first heard it, I was a little confused.

But the Taifu was particularly good at lobbying. After being bombarded by his eloquent speech, a group of royalist officials reported their daughter to the court in a daze, and clearly stated her talents and outstanding qualities.

However, after these two issues were raised in the court, they were strongly opposed by the remaining ministers and aristocratic families.

There was a lot of noise in the court, with people arguing endlessly about these two things.

When Wen Tingkuan and Wen Zhiyan, father and son, learned about this, they were also a little confused.

Of course, they wouldn't be so self-righteous as to think...that the emperor did this for their daughter/sister.

The two of them just thought that the emperor valued talents and was not greedy for women.

Great goodness!

Some women in the society who did not want to be confined to the inner chambers also responded, which set off a wave of women serving as officials.

Wen Li'er stays in the harem every day and is still under house arrest, so she has no access to any news.

Even if the palace servants heard some rumors, they were strictly forbidden by Nanny Qin to tell these things to the master.

Knowing this, I can't help but worry about the emperor. Worrying too much is not good for pregnant women.

The Queen's hair has turned white due to this matter for the past half month, and she has been blocking the Emperor every day.

Xie Zhenrong had no objection to women serving as officials in the court. She never thought that women were inferior to men.

But the draft must not be cancelled.

She was eager to allow more women to enter the palace to share Wen Li'er's favor. How could she possibly let her get what she wanted and gain all the emperor's favor?

However, the emperor refused to see her, and she did not even step into the imperial study or the Purple Palace.

She was so angry that she could only block him on the road he had to pass every day.

But I never got stuck once!

Xie Zhenrong could only go to the Empress Dowager.

But the Empress Dowager said that she was old and had no energy to take care of her children and grandchildren.

She sent someone to deliver a letter to Princess Taiping.

But he learned that the emperor sent Chen Fu Ma out of the capital on a business trip for one year.

Princess Taiping was worried that Prince Consort Chen would be seduced away by another woman, so she followed him.

Xie Zhenrong was isolated and helpless, and his temper became more and more anxious.

…