Emperor Hongli asked Physician He if there was a cure for this ear defect.

Physician He said that with current medical skills, it was impossible to cure the disease. Later, when Hongli mentioned this matter to Hongzhou, Hongzhou suddenly remembered that there was a folk maker who made human skin masks. He had a pair of skillful hands and it was rumored that he could make prosthetics. However, Hongzhou was not sure whether he could make ears or whether they would be realistic.

If such a skill truly exists, it's worth a try.

So Hongli and Hongzhou discussed it and decided that the fifth prince would arrange the matter.

Hongzhou was obliged to carry out the task entrusted to him by his elder brother as soon as possible. He sent someone to find the craftsman surnamed Song and took him to a separate courtyard to observe Yongshen's condition.

Upon closer inspection, Master Song found that the child was indeed handsome, with only one flaw: a missing half of his ear on the left side of his face.

Hongzhou immediately took out a hundred-tael silver note and slammed it on the table. "Silver is no problem. As long as you can make a prosthetic ear and restore this child's appearance, I will reward you!"

Master Song had only ever made prosthetic fingers, not ears. Although he had some experience, the shape of an ear was complex, and he couldn't guarantee he could make one. But for the sake of the money, he was willing to try.

So Master Song stayed there and devoted himself to the research for twenty days. After four attempts, he finally created an ear for the child!

Hongzhou rushed over upon hearing the news, and was taken aback when he saw Yongshen!

If he hadn't seen Yongshen's appearance before, he really wouldn't have been able to tell that Yongshen had a problem with his ears; they looked exactly the same as the real thing!

Hongzhou clicked his tongue in amazement, praising his excellent skills, "How did you do that?"

The process was too complicated, and since it was a unique skill of the Song family, Master Song did not describe it in detail, only giving a brief overview.

They said they would first make a fake left ear based on his right ear, put it on his missing ear, and then use contouring cream to modify the edges of his face to make it look more natural.

The effect was indeed very natural; you couldn't even tell unless you looked closely. Hongzhou was very satisfied with the result, but there was one thing Master Song had to make clear.

"The prosthetic ear is not a one-time fix. Because the human body sweats, the makeup cream cannot last long. It will take at least three days to five days before it needs to be removed, cleaned, and reattached."

Master Song couldn't stay here forever, so he needed to find someone to teach him how to attach prosthetic ears.

After giving the instructions, he also told the child to be careful when washing his face and not to press too hard, and to try not to press down on the ear when sleeping.

Hongzhou found it troublesome and asked Yongshen with lowered eyes, "Do you remember these taboos? Can you do them?"

These steps are indeed too troublesome for a normal person, but for Yongshen, they have a completely different meaning.

Because his ears were abnormal, although the servants dared not say it to his face, he occasionally overheard them talking about it in private. They said that because of his strange ears, he was treated as a monster from birth, which is why his father did not recognize him and he was not even included in the imperial genealogy.

He knew perfectly well that his father had ascended the throne as emperor, but it had been almost two months and his father still hadn't sent anyone to fetch him to the palace. Did his father really not want him anymore?

Just when he was feeling disappointed, his uncle Hongzhou suddenly arrived and found someone to repair his ear.

Yongshen had lost the courage to look in the mirror until today, when Master Song attached a fake ear to him, and he finally mustered the courage to look in the mirror.

He looks like a normal person in the mirror, with two complete ears. So, will Ama accept him from now on?

With such expectations, Yongshen secretly rejoiced. In his view, these taboos were not troublesome. As long as he could be a normal person in front of others, he would be content.

Sure enough, on the third day after his ear was repaired, someone from the palace came and brought him into the palace.

He was originally born half a month earlier than the eldest prince Yonghuang, and the third prince was six years younger than him. However, Hongli was unwilling to make major changes to the imperial genealogy, so he publicly declared Yongshen to be the fourth prince and changed his name to Yongcheng.

Yongcheng didn't care about the order of birth, as long as he could be closer to his father and no longer be an orphan.

Once Yongcheng entered the palace, he was placed in Shou Kang Palace. Previously, the Empress Dowager had planned to give the Third Prince and the Second Princess to Consort Rong and Consort Xian to raise, one for each of them, to avoid disputes. However, that plan did not work out, and now only Yongcheng was left as a child.

Both Consort Rong and Consort Xian wanted to raise Yongcheng, but the Empress Dowager hesitated to make a decision. Everyone was speculating about who would ultimately have custody of Yongcheng.

Xi Lan guessed that the Empress Dowager would likely have Consort Xian raise the child, but Chen Lanxu shook her head.

"Perhaps to avoid conflict, the Empress Dowager will directly hand over custody to the concubines, so that the two of them won't have any unpleasantness."

At that time, Yunfang and several eunuchs were playing with Princess Rongyu and the Third Prince by the flower bed, while Su Yushan and the others were sitting in the pavilion enjoying tea and chrysanthemums.

When Xi Lan asked Yu Shan for her opinion, Yu Shan wasn't sure and guessed to herself:

"I guess it will be given to Consort Rong?"

If it weren't for Hongli's intervention, the Empress Dowager would likely have bestowed the title of Noble Consort upon Gao Jia, demonstrating that the Empress Dowager's judgment was biased towards Consort Rong.

Su Yushan still cannot be sure whether it was Consort Rong or Consort Xian who used the "reversal pill" to harm her child back then. In her opinion, it doesn't matter who raises Yongcheng; she only needs to take care of her own three children.

Lost in thought, Rong Yu ran to the pavilion, panting, and called out, "Mother!" Su Yushan smiled and took a handkerchief to wipe the sweat from her forehead.

"Walk slowly, don't run so fast, be careful not to fall."

Rong Yu leaned softly against her mother's chest, rested for a while, drank some tea, then looked at the sun on the horizon and murmured to herself,

"The sun has already set halfway down the sky, why hasn't my brother come back yet?"

With the time approaching Shenshi (3-5 PM), Su Yushan guessed, "I reckon Yonghuang should be back soon."

Xi Lan jokingly said, "The Third Prince is at home, why aren't you playing with your younger brother?"

Rong Yu glanced at her younger brother, who was still playing in the mud by the flower bed in the distance, and shook her head in disdain.

"My younger brother is too small, walks slowly, and doesn't talk much. It's tiring to talk to him, so I don't like playing with him. I prefer playing with my older brother."

Sure enough, the younger one is always the one who gets disliked. Su Yushan sighed with a smile, "It was the same when you were a little over one year old. Your older brother never disliked you, but you, on the contrary, dislike your younger brother."

Rong Yu pouted and blinked, "Anyway, I just like my brother!"

She couldn't wait any longer and wanted to pick up her brother. Su Yushan couldn't do anything about it, so she asked Yunfang and Xiao Luzi to accompany her to pick up Yonghuang from school.

Not only were they speculating, but even those in Changchun Palace were wondering what the Empress Dowager was planning.

Dongling asked her mistress for her opinion, but Yuying didn't take it seriously.

“They all want to raise a child, but Yongcheng is, after all, born out of wedlock. Besides, the child has a defect, which is not a good omen. Raising Yongcheng may not be a good thing.”

Dong Ling smiled smugly and said, "That's right. No matter it's the Fourth Prince or Consort Chun's children born out of wedlock, they can't compare to our legitimate Second Prince. The Empress Dowager still loves the Second Prince the most."

Five days have passed since Yongcheng entered the palace, and the Empress Dowager has still not spoken. Lan Rong is getting anxious. When she went to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager that day, she took the initiative to ask for permission, saying that Yongcheng was pitiful because he had lost his mother, and she wanted to raise Yongcheng. She asked the Empress Dowager to grant her request.