Two consecutive happy events should have made the Prince Yong's Mansion joyful, but as the end of the 54th year of Kangxi's reign approached, Honghui fell ill again and could not recover, so a gloomy atmosphere spread throughout the mansion.

The imperial physician who came to see the Fourth Prince told him that the eldest prince in the mansion was probably not going to make a good living, and that he only had a few months left to live.

Even though the Fourth Prince was prepared and knew this day would come, he still couldn't accept it when it arrived.

He refused to believe it, even though he knew the chances were slim, he still hoped that the imperial physician had made a mistake.

Different imperial physicians were summoned to the mansion time and again to treat Honghui, but the results were always the same.

A tremendous weight of grief pressed down on Fourth Master, making it difficult for him to breathe for a moment.

But what was bound to happen, happened anyway.

With so many imperial physicians summoned and the Fourth Prince appearing so grief-stricken, the Princess Consort had long suspected something was amiss.

The matter could no longer be concealed, and there was no need to conceal it anymore.

When the news reached the ears of the Fujin, even the Fourth Prince, who was prepared, refused to believe it and was filled with grief and sorrow. The Fujin, on the other hand, was completely stunned and bewildered, and tears streamed down her face uncontrollably.

After a long while, she came to her senses and cried out, "No, it's impossible! Honghui couldn't be dead! Yes, someone must have poisoned him! It must be!"

"What nonsense are you talking about? No one laid a hand on Honghui." The Fourth Prince could forgive his wife for being too heartbroken to accept the truth, but he couldn't accept her making wild guesses and fabricating facts in front of outsiders.

The imperial physician did not take the Fourth Prince's wife's words seriously, after all, he was the imperial physician, not the Fourth Prince's wife.

How could he not know the health condition of the eldest prince of Prince Yong's mansion? Moreover, as Prince Yong invited numerous imperial physicians to treat his eldest prince Honghui, almost all of them were quite familiar with the prince's health.

There was really no sign that anyone would lay a hand on the eldest prince; it was all due to the natural decline of his health.

Originally, the imperial physician only wanted to quietly remain in the background, but unfortunately, Prince Yong, the fourth prince, wouldn't allow it.

"Does the imperial physician not know whether Honghui was poisoned or not? If you don't believe me, Madam, you can ask the imperial physician." The Fourth Prince did not want his Madam to blame someone for poisoning Honghui because of his early death, otherwise his harem would be in turmoil.

Perhaps, Hongxuan and the other princes are also in danger.

This situation should be avoided if possible.

The princess looked at the imperial physician through teary eyes. The physician nodded and echoed the fourth prince, saying, "There is indeed no sign that the eldest prince in the manor has been poisoned."

“But Honghui always recovered from his illnesses before. Why is he not getting better this time?” The Fujin still refused to believe it. Overwhelmed with grief, she was reminded of her past life and saw Honghui, who had also died young.

At that time, Honghui had indeed been sabotaged, so she hated whoever had harmed her.

In a daze, the Fujin couldn't distinguish between her past and present lives. Subconsciously, she felt that someone had harmed Honghui; otherwise, how could something have happened to her Honghui?

Seeing that his wife still seemed unconvinced, the Fourth Prince sighed and said with a sorrowful expression, "Honghui's health has always been poor. Several years ago, the imperial physician actually told you that he might not live much longer. You refused to accept this fate and consulted many doctors, even many folk healers, but none of them could help Honghui. My wife, so many doctors have treated Honghui. If someone had harmed him, it wouldn't have gone unnoticed."

The princess was stunned, and murmured, "His life was short, and no one really harmed Honghui. My Honghui is still gone." In the end, her voice only flowed between her own lips.

Her sadness and grief surged towards her in an instant.

In this life, Honghui died of natural causes, and she had no one left to hate, so she was completely stunned and bewildered.

Upon hearing the news, it wasn't just the Fourth Prince and his wife who refused to believe it; the brothers Hongxuan and Hongjing also rushed over.

Seeing their stepmother silently weeping and looking stunned, Hongxuan and Hongjing stopped in their tracks, a thought simultaneously forming in their minds—elder brother, something really bad has happened!

Suddenly, the two brothers felt a lump in their throats and their eyes reddened.

"Father, elder brother, elder brother he..."

Before he could finish speaking, Hongxuan stopped asking questions on his own initiative.

Because without even asking, just by looking at Ama's reddened eyes, one could tell that the news was true; his elder brother was really in bad shape.

For a moment, the two adults in the room, the Fourth Prince and his wife, and the two children, Hongxuan and Hongjing, were all silent and grieving.

The imperial physicians, who had not yet left, watched this scene and couldn't help but sigh.

It is said that there is little kinship and much intrigue in the royal family, especially among those who are not from the same mother. However, the Yong Prince's Mansion is an exception.

The tragedy was already inevitable, and Honghui had sensed it long ago. When he saw his parents and two beloved younger brothers, who looked very sad, he smiled and comforted them.

It was as if the person who was about to die wasn't him.

"Alright, stop looking so sad. Big brother only has a few months left. Can't you fulfill his wish to see your smiling faces more often?" Honghui spoke with great difficulty, but still smiled gently as he spoke.

Hongxuan's tears flowed silently. He wanted to agree to his older brother's request, but he couldn't utter a sound.

Hongjing, however, burst into tears without any restraint.

"Don't cry!" Honghui reached out and laboriously wiped away Hongjing's tears, then handed a handkerchief to Hongxuan so he could wipe his own tears.

After a long while, Hongxuan and Hongjing, having cried enough, finally came to their senses.

"Big brother, we can't bear to part with you!" Hongjing couldn't help but grasp Honghui's thin hand and sob as he spoke.

Although Hongxuan didn't say anything, his expression told everyone that he was also reluctant to part with it.

Honghui smiled and said, "I'm also reluctant to leave you, but I have to go first. I'll allow you to be sad for a while, but please don't stay sad forever!"

Hongxuan turned his head away and remained silent.

Hongjing sobbed and didn't say anything.

"Please promise me, brother, okay?" Honghui pleaded gently.

Hongxuan and Hongjing felt a lump in their throats, and their eyes became misty again.

"Big brother, don't worry about us. We'll take good care of ourselves. You should think more about yourself," Hongxuan said, holding back his tears.

Honghui chuckled, "Big brother has nothing to worry about. Big brother is very happy to have you two younger brothers thinking of him. Big brother is very at ease with everything. Father, with you two here, big brother is very at ease."

"As for your sister-in-law, with Mother taking care of her, I can rest assured. Father and Mother will arrange for someone to take good care of the baby in her belly. Besides, you will also help me look after him."

Hongxuan and Hongjing nodded quickly, indicating that they would definitely take good care of the child for their elder brother.

"As for Mother," Honghui's smile faltered, "If only Mother didn't value your eldest brother so much!"

After this conversation, Honghui had several more private talks with Hongxuan and Hongjing, and his health deteriorated further.

He often falls into a deep sleep, and when he wakes up, his speech gradually becomes slurred.