The Fourth Prince entered the palace that very night and first spoke with Consort De about the Third Prince's situation at Yonghe Palace. Consort De was greatly alarmed and immediately ordered a palanquin to be carried to Qianqing Palace to report to Emperor Kangxi.

Because it was the day of the Golden Offering Festival, and there were still activities in the palace, the princes were all still staying in their respective mothers' palaces. The Fourth Prince's return did attract attention, but no one dared to ask any questions.

While staying at Yonghe Palace, the Fourth Prince suddenly thought of Lanqin. He hadn't had a chance to ask her if she had returned to the manor.

When the Fourteenth Prince arrived at Yonghe Palace, he suddenly saw the Fourth Prince inside. He had come to give Consort De a bracelet he had just acquired, but he couldn't find Consort De. Instead, he saw the Fourth Prince alone under the eaves, lost in thought.

"Didn't you go back to the manor? Why are you still here with your mother?" The Fourteenth Prince rarely called the Fourth Prince in private, and their relationship was always strange.

"There are some things I need to trouble you with, Mother." The Fourth Prince was worried about the Third Prince and said this without thinking too much.

"You only think of your mother when you're in trouble, but you don't even come to Yonghe Palace when you're not in trouble." The Fourteenth Prince always felt that the Fourth Prince was too cold to Consort De, and he couldn't help but complain.

The Fourth Prince was already in a bad mood, and when he heard the Fourteenth Prince say this, he simply ignored him.

This is Consort De's sedan chair returning. She walked in with the help of palace servants. Consort De looked somewhat tired. She saw that the two brothers were standing under the eaves at the entrance of the palace, talking to each other.

"Mother, you're back!" Upon seeing Consort De return, the Fourteenth Prince immediately left the Fourth Prince and rushed over.

"Fourteenth Prince, why aren't you back to rest? What brings you here to see your mother again?" Mother said gently to the Fourteenth Prince.

"Fourth Brother is here too, so why won't Mother allow me to come?" Fourteenth Brother said coquettishly to Consort De.

The Fourth Prince felt a slight chill in his heart and walked up to Consort De, asking, "Mother, please go into the palace and rest. I feel uneasy that you have to take care of my affairs in the middle of the night."

Consort De's eyes flickered slightly as she said, "You should go to the Imperial Hospital quickly. Your father has already issued an imperial decree ordering you to take two imperial physicians with you."

The Fourth Prince nodded in agreement, bowed to Consort De, and then hurriedly left.

Fourteenth Prince exclaimed in surprise, "What Imperial Hospital? Mother, is Fourth Brother going to invite the imperial physician to his residence?"

Consort De nodded, sighed, and walked towards her palace, saying as she went, "Didn't the Third Prince fall ill here today? After returning home, he was examined by the doctor at his residence, who said it was smallpox. Alas, your Fourth Brother's residence is also not peaceful. The First Prince just left, and now the Third Prince has fallen ill like this."

Fourteen was extremely surprised and said, "Smallpox? How could that be? Does that mean everyone in Fourth Brother's mansion could contract smallpox?"

Consort De glanced at him sideways and said wearily, "Ah, I'm tired. Help me to rest."

The Fourth Prince hurried to the Imperial Hospital, where, having already received Emperor Kangxi's decree, they were gathered to discuss treatments for smallpox.

"Greetings to the Fourth Prince!"

"Greetings to the Fourth Prince!"

When the imperial physicians saw that the Fourth Prince had arrived, they all paid their respects to him and waited for his selection.

"Physicians, there's no need for such formalities. Chief Physician Yang and Physician Zhuang, you two come with me, Your Highness. Thank you for your trouble." The Fourth Prince knew that these two physicians were the best in the Imperial Hospital; one was a veteran, and the other was a rising star.

The other imperial physicians breathed a sigh of relief when the Fourth Prince didn't call their names. Smallpox was an extremely difficult disease to treat. It usually relied on the patient's own immune system, and all the imperial physicians could do was try their best to control it with medication.

The Fourth Prince led two imperial physicians out of the palace overnight. By the time they returned to the Fourth Prince's residence, it was already dark.

The Third Prince was always being cared for by Granny Ma and several servants who had been vaccinated against smallpox. They kept using cold towels to cool him down. Suddenly, fine, dense red rashes began to appear on the Third Prince's neck and face, which looked quite frightening.

Yang Yuanzheng was the first to take the Third Prince's pulse. Everyone else stared nervously at Yang's expression, only to see that he kept his brows furrowed and his face was calm. It was impossible to tell what was wrong with the Third Prince.

"Imperial Physician Zhuang, come and take a look!" Imperial Physician Yang put down the Third Prince's hand and then reached out to touch his face.

When Physician Zhuang walked to the other side, he took the Third Prince's hand to feel his pulse. His expression changed slightly, as if he was unsure, so he switched to feeling the pulse with the other hand.

"Your Excellency, how is the Third Prince?" Fourth Prince asked, walking up to Yang, the Imperial Physician.

"Your Highness, I believe the Third Prince does not have smallpox!" Yang Yuanzheng whispered to the Fourth Prince, but the others could not hear him.

The Fourth Prince's face showed surprise. He glanced at Physician Zhuang and saw that he had already released the Third Prince's wrist and was giving Yang, the Imperial Physician, a knowing look.

"Imperial Physician Zhuang, how is the Third Prince?" the Fourth Prince asked Imperial Physician Zhuang, who was walking towards them.

"Reporting to the Fourth Prince, I just examined the Third Prince's pulse, and it does indeed resemble smallpox, but it should be a rash similar to smallpox. I just observed that some of the Third Prince's rashes have begun to subside; all I need to do is prescribe some detoxifying and blood-activating medicine." Physician Zhuang had already discerned from Dr. Yang's gaze that he shared the same assessment.

"Really? That's wonderful! Go and get the medicine quickly!" Fourth Master said happily.

When Granny Ma, who was standing beside Hongjun, heard the conversation between the Fourth Prince and Physician Zhuang, she immediately raised her palm and chanted "Amitabha." Then she urged the others to hurry up and prepare hot water for the Third Prince to wipe his body.

Because of his advanced age, the Fourth Prince ordered someone to take Yang Yuanzheng to rest, while Imperial Physician Zhuang and Imperial Physician Zhou stayed by the Third Prince's side to observe the development of his condition.

Sure enough, when the Third Prince drank the medicine prescribed by Physician Zhuang, the red rash on his body gradually subsided.

Upon hearing that the Third Prince did not have smallpox but rather a rash, Lady Li rushed over immediately and insisted that Granny Ma go and rest, as she wanted to personally stay by the Third Prince's side.

Since the Fourth Prince had to attend the Golden Festival ceremony at the palace the next day, he could only give Li a few instructions before returning to the front courtyard to rest. He wanted to ask Lanqin some more questions, but it was too late, so he gave up.

Little did they know, the South Courtyard was in a state of panic, like ants on a hot pan. Xi Cha and the others knew that the Third Prince had first contracted smallpox and then developed a rash, and the mansion was in chaos. They didn't know whether they should go and tell the Fourth Prince, or how to do so.

"No, we have to go find the master right away. The princess hasn't returned yet; something might have happened to her," Zi Ran suddenly said. Xi Cha, being timid, couldn't come up with a solution. The others were even more lost, unsure of what to do. This was because Lan Qin hadn't hidden anything from them, telling them that after visiting Dong Shi that day, she had gone for a short stroll at the temple fair.