Chapter 65 Winter Turns to Spring

"Indeed!" Yinzhen looked up from the memorial, rubbed his sore eyes, sighed, and leaned back—"Good! All the palace servants who took care of the Fifth Prince should be rewarded, especially this Zhou Qi, he deserves a reward!"

After saying this, Yinzhen couldn't help but laugh out loud. A heavy weight that had been weighing on his heart for many days was finally lifted, and for a moment, even the sunlight shining into the Hall of Mental Cultivation felt exceptionally warm.

"Summon Zhou Qi to see me. I want to question him myself."

Seeing the Emperor's barely suppressed joy, Su Peisheng grinned and said "Yes."

The last time Zhou Qi had the opportunity to meet the Emperor was when he was at the Prince's Palace. At that time, he was taking care of Consort Lü's pregnancy. The birth of a pair of auspicious dragons and phoenixes brought him many rewards. Three years later, when he saw the Emperor again, he felt that the Emperor's majesty was indeed different and could not be compared with that of three years ago.

Yinzhen could see the unease of the person kneeling before him and said, "Zhou Qi, very good. You cured my Fifth Prince and developed a prescription for the epidemic. I will reward you handsomely."

Zhou Qi kowtowed in fear and trepidation, saying, "This servant dares not. The success of this prescription is not due to my efforts, but rather to the Fifth Prince's good fortune that enabled him to recover. This servant dares not take credit."

Yinzhen frowned and looked at him with a puzzled expression—"What do you mean by that?"

Zhou Qi had already prepared his explanation, and spoke slowly and deliberately: "Your Majesty, this incomplete prescription was something I came across by chance. It is ineffective because it is missing a few ingredients. I am not very knowledgeable, and after racking my brains for many days, I still cannot find the most important ingredient. If someone else had used it, it would not have had such a good effect as the Fifth Prince."

He continued after the Emperor's silent signal, "It was the addition of roasted licorice to the medicinal diet that made this medicine so special. If it weren't for the Fifth Prince, I don't know when we would have been able to gather this prescription."

His words were humble and sincere, and they were all things that could be clearly verified; he had no need to fabricate anything.

As Yinzhen listened to his words, a thoughtful look appeared in his lowered eyes.

After a long pause, he shook his head slightly, as if shaking off some miscellaneous thoughts, and said in a deep voice, "My son is naturally blessed by Heaven. You don't need to shirk your responsibility for this. Many imperial physicians in the palace are helpless, but you also have your own abilities."

He flicked the newly acquired white jade bead in his hand—"I hereby grant you special permission to skip the examination and directly enter the Imperial Hospital. From today onwards, you will not need to return to the Yuanmingyuan. Until Hongzhao is fully recovered, you will stay in the Prince's Residence to take care of him."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I thank you for your grace." Zhou Qi's voice was filled with excitement as he bowed in greeting.

From the very first day he heard the Fifth Prince speak, he felt a strange familiarity with the voice, almost identical to the otherworldly voice filled with blood and mud. In that dream, he had obtained the prescription. Now, the Fifth Prince had completed the final ingredient; this Fifth Prince was destined for great things.

To be a royal physician in the palace, it's not enough to just have excellent medical skills; you also need to be good at interpersonal relationships and communication. Otherwise, like the previous Imperial Physician Wen, you'll ruin everything at a young age by following the wrong person.

The happiest person about Hongzhao's improvement was Lü Yingfeng, who couldn't sleep a wink all day. Now that Hongzhao's fever had subsided, she was so happy that she paced around the room, with Hong Xihai and Xuexin following her around with smiles.

It is said that illness comes like a landslide and goes like a slow, drawn-out process. Hongzhao stayed in the prince's quarters for more than ten days. After several imperial physicians consulted and confirmed that there was nothing wrong with him, he was slowly helped out of the room by Xiao Dezi.

This was the first time he had stepped out of that room in more than twenty days.

The Emperor did not wait for him at the gate when he went to court, but sent someone to tell him to have lunch at Yongshou Palace. Lü Yingfeng held her handkerchief tightly in her hand. As soon as Hongzhao stepped out, he was embraced by his mother.

This time, my mother was truly frightened.

"Mother, don't be afraid, your son is alright now, really." He reached out and held his mother's lowered shoulder, feeling the slight dampness on his shoulder, and his heart ached beyond measure.

For days, Lü Yingfeng felt as if she were being roasted over a raging fire, the burning sensation making her restless and almost causing her to shed all her tears. Today, upon seeing Hongzhao, she couldn't control her emotions.

The little one in her arms had become much thinner, and it was a little rough to hold. She stroked the back of Hongzhao's head with heartache, "My child, you have suffered, you have truly suffered."

Hongzhao stretched out his little hand and patted his mother's back in a serious manner, deliberately saying, "Mother, I'm hungry."

Lu Yingfeng only realized what was happening when she heard this. She straightened up, wiped away her tears, and held Hongzhao's small hand tightly. She said gently with a pained tone, "Mother has prepared You'er's favorite food in Yongshou Palace. Shu'er and Hongzhou are also waiting for you. Let's go back."

Hongzhao's thin cheeks made his bright eyes stand out even more, and he nodded with a squinting smile.

On the palace road, a long procession of imperial concubines followed a palanquin carried by more than a dozen people. Seated on the palanquin was the imperial concubine with the highest rank besides the empress, and the youngest prince since the Qing Dynasty entered the Central Plains.

Now everyone in the palace knows that the Fifth Prince contributed to the treatment of the epidemic, and even the lowest-ranking servants remember his kindness.

If it weren't for him, not only would countless people have died or been injured in the Forbidden City, but also in and around the capital.

Hongzhao naturally knew the principle that too much of a good thing is bad, and he and the emperor had another intimate father-son meal together.

He handled the situation very well. However, after experiencing many ups and downs, his young son's admiration and longing for his father transcended the distinction between merit and subject. In Yongshou Palace, he only regarded his father as his father.

While things were harmonious and peaceful here, it's unknown whether the situation was the same in the Buddhist hall of Jingren Palace.

All that is known is that several extra plates of silk paper, which were supplied to the Empress for copying scriptures, were delivered that day.

——

Now that the Empress is praying for the country and is not seen, the Consort Xian assists in managing the six palaces. No one in the harem needs to pay their respects to the Empress. The Consort Xian is not one to cause trouble; she only needs to visit Yongshou Palace twice a month for a short visit.

The palace was unusually peaceful, and before everyone could gather together many times, spring arrived.

This day marked the bi-weekly meeting and greetings ceremony, and everyone was present, including the pregnant Consort Fucha, who arrived earliest despite her swollen belly.

Logically, Lü Yingfeng should have sent someone to say that Consort Fucha was pregnant and didn't need to come, but she was impatient. Now that her belly was visibly growing bigger, she was even more pleased with herself, wanting nothing more than to blend into the crowd and make everyone envious.

Today is no exception.

Seeing the room full of people with different thoughts, Lü Yingfeng didn't feel like saying much. Hongzhou had been coughing for the past two days and couldn't sleep well at night, which made her, as his mother, feel sorry for him. After listening to Consort Fucha recite the Prince's Sutra for a while, she couldn't wait to end the gathering and properly saw everyone off.

But Consort Fucha felt it wasn't enough. She waved the fragrant powder that the Emperor had specially made for her, patting it onto her face as she walked. "I see the sun is shining brightly today, why don't we go to the Imperial Garden to admire the flowers?"