Mingxiu looked at everyone with a serious expression, and no one spoke for a long time.

"Very good. Since no one is leaving now, then guard Yonghe Palace well. Once His Highness the Crown Prince recovers, the Emperor and I will not treat you unfairly."

Mingxiu glanced around and said, "But if I find out who's doing any petty theft, don't blame me for being ruthless, do you hear me?"

"Yes." Seeing the responses from the crowd below, Scholar Ming turned to Physician Sun: "Physician Sun, I'll leave the rest to you. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything."

"Yes," Physician Sun replied, bowing.

The Emperor arrived shortly afterward.

Upon seeing the Emperor, Mingxiu quickly stopped him from entering: "Your Majesty, please don't come in."

Kangxi ignored Mingxiu's words and strode in, looking at Physician Sun and asking, "What exactly is going on?"

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince does indeed have smallpox."

Emperor Kangxi frowned as he looked at the person lying on the bed. This was his beloved eldest son, whom he had cared for since childhood. How could he not feel heartache now that he was sick?

When an emperor is enraged, blood flows like a river. When Emperor Kangxi went to Yonghe Palace to inform the Crown Prince that he had contracted smallpox, he immediately ordered his men to investigate. "Good, from today onwards you will stay here and take care of the Crown Prince at all times."

After a pause, he continued, "From today onwards, I will also stay here and guard the place until Bao Cheng recovers before I go out."

"Your Majesty, Your Majesty, you mustn't!" Physician Sun hurriedly dissuaded him.

Emperor Mingxiu was also taken aback. Although it was normal for a father to stay by his child's side when the child was sick, this was not an ordinary father.

Kangxi shook his head, stopping Mingxiu from speaking: "Mingxiu, you should move out to the Yikun Palace next door for now. Baocheng's condition is not suitable for moving. You can move back when he recovers."

"No, Your Majesty, I will not leave. I will stay here to protect the Crown Prince. Besides, the Crown Prince just ate with me, so even if he has smallpox, I could still catch it. Therefore, I will absolutely not leave," Mingxiu said firmly.

Upon hearing this, Emperor Kangxi was startled and immediately summoned the imperial physician to examine Mingxiu.

"Your Majesty, Her Majesty is in good health now, so it seems she has not contracted smallpox," said Imperial Physician Sun after examining Mingxiu's pulse.

"Mingxiu," Kangxi looked at Mingxiu and prepared to speak.

"Your Majesty, I told you I wouldn't leave. I've watched the Crown Prince grow up since he was a child. If you ask me to leave now, I won't be able to leave without worrying about him. So I beg you, Your Majesty," Mingxiu pleaded with Kangxi.

Seeing Mingxiu's resolute attitude, Kangxi opened his mouth but said nothing.

Before long, the news that His Highness the Crown Prince had contracted smallpox spread throughout the palace. In Yonghe Palace, some people were happy while others were worried. After all, smallpox is a deadly disease, and very few people can survive it. Moreover, the Crown Prince's presence in Yonghe Palace was inextricably linked to Mingxiu. Even if he hadn't contracted smallpox, he would definitely be affected. This way, two people favored by the Emperor could be eliminated in one fell swoop.

However, Consort Hui and Consort Rong, who had children, were not happy at all, because if something happened to His Highness the Crown Prince and the Emperor was angry, the two of them who had sons would be the most suspicious.

Yinti also looked in the direction of Yonghe Palace with a worried expression. He had heard the story before, and when he thought of his soft-hearted younger brother who called him "brother" every day, Yinti felt worried.

However, news soon spread that the Emperor would be spending time with the Crown Prince at Yonghe Palace. This threw everyone in the palace into a panic. Even Consort Tong couldn't sit still and rushed to Cining Palace to find the Empress Dowager, hoping she could persuade the Emperor to prioritize his health.

The Empress Dowager also heard the news and immediately sent people to find the Emperor, but the Emperor firmly refused each time.

There was nothing anyone could do about the Emperor; all they hoped for now was that the Crown Prince and the Emperor would be safe.

Yinreng woke up groggily in Yonghe Palace, with Mingxiu sitting beside him. Kangxi went outside to discuss Yinreng's condition with the imperial physician.

Seeing that Baocheng had woken up, Mingxiu immediately got up and asked, "Baocheng, you're awake. Are you still feeling unwell?"

Yinreng shook his head; he wasn't feeling too bad anymore. "Am I sick?"

Mingxiu nodded: "It's nothing, just a slight fever. I'll get better with proper rest. Baocheng, if you feel unwell, remember to tell your mother, don't hold it in, okay?"

Suddenly, the cat appeared and said something to Yinreng, who nodded.

Mingxiu was watching from the side. Although she didn't know what they were saying, judging from their expressions, it didn't seem to be anything serious.

At this moment, Emperor Kangxi, who was outside the door, also heard Yinreng's voice and hurriedly came in, followed by the imperial physician.

"Baocheng, how are you feeling? Are you still in pain?"

"Father, I'm not feeling unwell anymore, I'm just a little hungry. Can I eat something?"

Before Kangxi could react to Yinreng's cry of hunger, the imperial physician behind him became excited and quickly stepped forward: "Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince is currently in a weak state. Eating something now would be a good way to replenish his energy."

Emperor Kangxi nodded and ordered someone to prepare food, then summoned the imperial physician to examine his body.

"Your Majesty, His Highness the Crown Prince's pulse is quite strange. I have never seen it before. However, it is not very dangerous. I think we need to observe it further."

Emperor Kangxi was now deaf to everything else; the word "strange" had taken over the old father's mind, and he hurriedly ordered all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital to come and treat him.

Mingxiu is not too worried now. After all, she knows that she often gives Yinreng spiritual spring water, so his health is better than that of ordinary people. Moreover, judging from his and the system's expressions, there should be no danger.

However, this couldn't be said to outsiders, so the only thing to do was to have the people in the palace improve hygiene and fumigate the entire palace with mugwort.

After all the imperial physicians had examined him, they all came to the same conclusion: although His Highness the Crown Prince had smallpox, it was not the same as ordinary smallpox, and his condition was relatively mild.

All the imperial physicians gave the same result, which made Emperor Kangxi a little more relaxed. Although he didn't know why the Crown Prince's smallpox was different, he was relieved as long as he was alright.

Thinking of this, Kangxi and the imperial physician both looked at Yinreng, who was happily eating meat porridge, and breathed a sigh of relief.

The imperial physicians, in particular, knew very well that if anything happened to the Crown Prince, none of them would be able to leave Yonghe Palace alive.

Thank goodness.

Sure enough, Yinreng broke out in smallpox within two days. Only then did Kangxi feel completely relieved, knowing that as long as he had smallpox, the problem was not serious.

It was only after Yinreng was out of danger that Kangxi had the time to investigate how the Crown Prince had contracted smallpox. It turned out that a minor eunuch in the Qianqing Palace had put bean curd on the clothes that Yinreng often wore, which caused the Crown Prince to get smallpox.

When Kangxi learned the result, he was furious because he had chosen this eunuch himself, and he never expected that he would almost harm his Baocheng.