"What happened?"

How did things suddenly turn out that Duanjing had a fever? Consort Bu prayed that it was just a normal fever; she had never been exposed to smallpox. What could have gone wrong? Could it be the Imperial Noble Consort? It shouldn't be! But the seed of fear had still been planted in Consort Bu's heart.

"This servant does not know either. All I know is that the imperial physician was summoned to the main and side halls. All I know is that the Second Princess was ill. Her wet nurse discovered it after dinner and reported it to the Imperial Noble Consort before summoning the imperial physician."

Caixia was right. At first, the Second Princess had a slight fever, and the wet nurse reported it to the Imperial Noble Consort, but it was rejected. It wasn't until she developed a high fever that the Imperial Noble Consort sent someone to fetch the imperial physician.

"Didn't you notice when she had a low-grade fever?" Consort Bu had obviously thought of something too, after all, Princess Duanjing had also had a fever when she was a child.

"Your Highness, the princess isn't by your side after all. Those are just servants; how dare they disobey the Imperial Noble Consort!"

Caixia was also quite helpless. Originally, she was supposed to serve the princess, but in the end, she ended up serving Consort Bu.

"Come, follow me to take a look." In her heart, however, she was resentful that the Imperial Noble Consort had not kept a close eye on her, Duan Jing.

"What's wrong with Princess Duanjing?" The Imperial Noble Consort was about to take a bath, but she was summoned to the side hall instead. What bad luck!

Physician Jiang frowned as he examined the little girl on the bed. Duan Jing was still whimpering, probably because she was tired from crying and had fallen asleep. She was too upset to cry anymore.

"Your Highness, the Second Princess has contracted smallpox!" Imperial Physician Jiang was also shocked. Fortunately, they had planted beans, otherwise the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"What? How could this be!" Consort Bu exclaimed in disbelief as she entered. Could it be that her scheme against the Fourth Prince had been discovered, and that's why she was being punished like this? As she thought about it, tears involuntarily streamed down her face.

"Ningdong, go and stop the Emperor, seal off the side hall, but leave one opening for entry and exit. There are other princes and nobles in the palace who haven't planted beans yet; it would be troublesome if they got infected!"

The Imperial Noble Consort immediately realized what was going on and made arrangements. Since it was an imperial decree from Emperor Kangxi that they did not need to be sent out of the palace, the Imperial Noble Consort made the arrangements as quickly as possible.

"Your Highness, please allow me to stay and take care of the princess!"

Lady Bu is heartbroken. Duan Jing is still so young, how could she possibly withstand the onslaught of smallpox? Those smallpox scabs are peeled off from the bodies of the dead.

“You are Duanjing’s mother, so it is only right that you take care of her. I think Duanjing will recover faster knowing that you are by her side.”

Seeing so many servants and imperial physicians present, the Imperial Noble Consort naturally granted Consort Bu's wish to show her maternal love.

"However, Consort Bu, you must also take care of your health and not hurt yourself, lest you fall ill before the Second Princess has fully recovered."

The Imperial Noble Consort secretly cursed her, wishing she were dead. She had been tasked with plotting against the Fourth Prince, only to have her own princess fall victim to it. Wasn't this a slap in the face? She even suspected that Consort Bu had done it on purpose.

"Thank you, Your Highness. I will definitely take good care of Princess Duanjing. I will never forget Your Highness's great kindness." Consort Bu appeared grateful, but in her heart, she was wary of the Imperial Noble Consort.

When Emperor Kangxi was stopped outside Chengqian Palace and learned of this, he immediately arranged for people to spread lime and strong liquor to disinfect the area. He also ordered the imperial physicians to be stationed there, and two imperial physicians to guard each prince and princess.

"Thank you for your help tonight, Physician Lu." Wanyi was grateful to Emperor Kangxi for bringing Physician Lu and Physician He to Yongshou Palace.

"This is my duty." That's his young master! How could he dare not do his best?

Wanyi returned to the main hall, still feeling uneasy. She always felt empty inside when she wasn't by Yinzhen's side.

"Let's serve the meal! Yinzhen will bring it to the main hall tonight, but I'm still worried," Wanyi said to Furong, who was serving her tea.

“My lady, this is against the rules. If the other concubines find out, who knows what kind of trouble they will cause.”

Princesses and princes would be taken to the main hall or side hall from birth, while the concubines who lived in the side halls would live in the side rooms. The mother and child could not be in the same room.

"It's a special time, no problem!"

Even Emperor Kangxi wouldn't say much. Yinzhen was the son she had longed for for two lifetimes, so naturally she cared about him. Everyone around him had taken loyalty pills, even the eunuchs who sprinkled water had taken loyalty pills.

"Yes, I will tell Granny Kong in a moment." Although Furong did not approve, she still obeyed.

"Clean up that side room, make it nice and tidy it up, and then tell everyone that the Fourth Prince sleeps in the side room of the main hall. After all, it's only natural for a mother to dote on her son."

Anyway, outsiders can't really say anything, since she's not sharing a bed with him, is she?

"Yes, I understand!" She knew in her heart that her master was just putting on an act.

"Something happened to the princess in Chengqian Palace? Let's go to Qianqing Palace!" Suddenly, the Empress Dowager thought of a plan that would make Consort Chen feel distressed!

"Your Majesty, it's so late now. If there's anything you need to say, why don't you let me deliver it?" After all, the Empress Dowager is not young anymore; she's over forty and considered quite old.

"No, I must go, it concerns the imperial heir!" She needed the Emperor's personal approval. Besides the prince's permission, the best option would be to go to Shou Kang Palace, because once inside, it wouldn't be so easy to get out.

"Yes, this servant will go and prepare right away!" It's snowing heavily outside, so everything needs to be prepared.

"Go!" the Empress Dowager replied casually before falling into deep thought again.

Meanwhile, Zhongcui Palace was also extremely nervous. Last year, Princess Rongxian, the eldest princess, had already planted beans with the Crown Prince and the others, but Yinzhi hadn't! She only had this one son, so how could she not be nervous? As soon as the imperial physician entered Zhongcui Palace, she ordered the palace to be closed, and she suppressed all the objections from the other concubines in the palace.

Wanyi also had Granny Kong take the Fourth Prince to the side room of the main hall to play until he fell asleep, and then bring him to Wanyi's place.

Qianqing Palace

"Your Majesty, the Empress Dowager has arrived!" Wei Zhu announced as she entered. Kangxi was preparing to take a bath when the Empress Dowager arrived unexpectedly.

"Please come in!" Kangxi gestured for Liang Jiugong to put on his unbuttoned clothes, thinking he would take a bath after dealing with the current matters.

"Greetings, Your Majesty!" Before Kangxi could kneel, the Empress Dowager quickly walked up to him and gently helped him up.

"Your Majesty, there's no need for such formalities. I only came here because I heard that smallpox had appeared in the palace!" The Empress Dowager said directly without much pleasantries.

"Now only Princess Duanjing in Chengqian Palace has appeared, and she has been brought under control. As long as we are cautious, there shouldn't be any major problems." Kangxi thought the Empress Dowager had come because of something important.

"It seems so now, but children are weak and delicate, with low resistance, unlike adults who can say they feel unwell. I think it would be better to gather all the princes and princesses together, so that they can be managed more easily." The Empress Dowager thought this was a very good idea.