"Yes!" Xiao Hezi replied and then told Jiaming the news he had just received—the imperial physician had arrived, the eldest prince's condition had been brought under control, and the princess was just too tired...

After hearing the news, Jiaming fell asleep peacefully.

The next morning, she got up early, preparing to go to the main courtyard to pay her respects and watch the performance of Hesheli paying her respects.

After washing up, she woke up Hongxuan, who was still fast asleep, fed him milk, and then combed his hair into a bun. After getting dressed and ready, Jiaming said to Hongtao, who was dressing her, "Let's go to the main courtyard."

"Master! There's no need to go to the main courtyard to pay your respects today."

Jiaming paused upon hearing this and asked, "Wasn't Consort Hesheli supposed to go to the main courtyard to serve tea this morning? Wasn't your master also supposed to go and greet her? How could he not go?"

Hongtao: "My lady, when I was breastfeeding the Fourth Prince just now, Xiao Hezi told me that someone from the main courtyard said that Consort Hesheli has not yet consummated her marriage. She will go to the main courtyard to offer tea after the marriage is completed. Therefore, the ceremony today will be cancelled."

"What?" Jiaming, who was standing gracefully, was surprised.

Hearts repeated what they had just said.

Jiaming glanced at Hongtao speechlessly, her whole body limp, as if the dignified and graceful figure she had just displayed was an illusion. She said dejectedly, "Why didn't you tell your master sooner? If you had told me earlier, I wouldn't have had to go through all this trouble. I could still be lying in bed, holding my soft and fragrant son, feeling lazy and relaxed!"

Hongtao was speechless. "Master, why do you care about this?"

Jiaming disagreed: "Staying in bed is exactly what your master cares about. It's very comfortable, so why can't I?"

"No, what I mean is, shouldn't you be thinking about the meaning behind the way the Fujin slapped the Consort in the face? You used to be like this, able to dissect a lot of meaning from a single sentence or event. Why are you so simplistic now?"

Upon hearing this, Jiaming shook her head helplessly and smiled, "Isn't it obvious? There's no need to think about it. The First Prince's condition worsened just because the Princess Consort cares too much about him. Yesterday, she left for a while, and his illness became more serious."

Given the Fujin's almost pathological attachment to the First Prince, she certainly wouldn't want him out of her sight during today's tea ceremony. Therefore, the Fujin's tea ceremony upon entering the room will have to be cancelled.

It's that simple, didn't you think of that? I imagine you're not that clueless, are you?

"Of course not, I thought of that too," Hongtao quickly denied, resolutely refusing to admit that she was brainless, but she did admit that she was not as smart as her mistress.

Just as Jiaming and Hongtao were talking, the people sent by the main courtyard informed all the courtyards of the news.

So, following the farce of the Fourth Prince disregarding Consort Hesheli's wedding night and leaving with Yao Huang, who was sent by the main courtyard to invite people, this morning's greeting and tea ceremony was postponed. Consort Hesheli was once again humiliated by the main wife and continued to be the center of gossip in the inner courtyard, becoming their laughingstock.

Pear Garden, the courtyard of the Li family.

"Heh, Hesheli, I wonder how it feels to be repeatedly slapped in the face?" Li slammed the lid of her porcelain cup down, her face full of mockery. "Hmph, so what if you occupy the position of my first concubine? You're nothing but a joke!"

However, she still managed to take the position of concubine. Li's beautiful face instantly darkened, and she muttered coldly, "I should teach her a lesson. Otherwise, how can I live up to the position of concubine that you have taken, which should have belonged to me, Li Shuli?"

In the main courtyard, the Fourth Prince, who had just returned from the Ministry of Revenue, asked Su Peisheng, who was on duty at the mansion today and hadn't gone out with him, "How is the First Prince doing now?"

While asking questions, she changed her sweat-soaked clothes with the help of a young eunuch.

"There's no more vomiting or diarrhea. The imperial physician said that after finishing the last dose of medicine today, tomorrow we'll switch to a health-preserving prescription, and you should be fine after two days of taking it."

As Su Peisheng answered, he wrung out a wet cloth to wipe the Fourth Master's face, then changed the cloth, soaked it, wrung it out, and used it to wipe the Master's hands.

"That's good." Fourth Master's tense face relaxed a lot, although he was still expressionless.

"Master!" Su Peisheng put down the damp handkerchief in his hand and continued to report, "This servant has something else to report."

Fourth Master's face tightened instantly. He looked at Su Peisheng and asked, "What is it?"

"This morning, the primary wife canceled the tea ceremony for the concubine, saying that since the concubine hadn't consummated the marriage, she wasn't considered the master's official woman yet..."

Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince frowned. "The Princess Consort has been waiting for Honghui in his room all day!" Although it was a question, the Fourth Prince's tone was certain.

After seeing Su Peisheng nod, the Fourth Prince thought to himself: The Princess Consort's concern for Honghui is a bit too morbid!

In the future, we need to get the Fujin to change her ways... well, never mind, let's deal with the Hesheli clan's matter first.

Last night, he left Empress Hesheli without giving her a single instruction. This morning, he had just returned from the main courtyard when he went to the morning court session and forgot about her.

He felt somewhat sorry for her. "Su Peisheng," the Fourth Prince's thin lips trembled, and after rubbing and turning the thumb ring a couple of times, he instructed, "Gather some things and give them to the concubine. Tonight, I will stay at the Lotus Courtyard."

"Yes, sir!"

In Heyuan, Hesheli's courtyard, her face, which had been slightly drooping due to the repeated humiliations she had suffered since entering the manor, finally curved into a beautiful smile after seeing the precious gifts from the Fourth Prince and the words brought by Su Peisheng.

"My lord, I'm going to the small kitchen to tell them to prepare the fragrant soup quickly."

"master……"

He Yuan was happy, but apart from Jia Ming's Tao Yuan, none of the masters in any of the courtyards were happy.

In the Pear Courtyard, Madam Li clenched her fist, a glint of light flashing in her eyes, and thought to herself: Madam Hesheli, tonight I have a great gift to offer, I hope you will like it.

Then, with a smile, she stood up and said to the maidservant beside her, "Let's go see the Third Prince."

That evening, just as Su Peisheng had predicted, Fourth Master entered the Lotus Courtyard.

As soon as Lady Hesheli welcomed the Fourth Prince into the house and the door closed, she lowered her head, pretending to be shy and waiting for the Fourth Prince to favor her.

As the Fourth Prince approached Lady Hesheli, a maidservant quickly came to the front of the house.

Su Peisheng calmly watched the maid from the Pear Courtyard. As for Lichun and Liqiu, who were guarding the gate, their faces immediately turned ugly the moment they saw the maid arrive, remembering last night.

The maid ignored Lichun and Liqiu's pale faces and went straight to Su Peisheng, flattering him, "Eunuch Su, please tell him that Prince Hongshi is in trouble. He is vomiting and having diarrhea very badly, just like Prince Honghui last night."

Upon hearing this, Su Peisheng's lips twitched slightly. He thought to himself, "This Consort Hesheli is really unlucky. It's just a matter of consummating the marriage, yet it's been so tumultuous. Or perhaps her birth chart is unlucky, and she's just bringing misfortune to the two princes."

"Wait a moment, I'll inform the master right away." He didn't doubt that Consort Li was using Prince Hongshi as a means to gain favor; after all, she had never done anything like this before. Fearing that something might really happen to the young prince, he quickly agreed. (To be continued.)