Chapter 90 Chapter 90 Concubine Shu's Three Days

That afternoon, Ji Can took a nap in Shen Qing's carriage. When it was almost time for dinner, Shen Qing carried Ji Can to the queen.

"Empress, Can'er greedily ate a bite of the ice bowl from me, but I called the imperial physician, and the little prince is fine."

The Queen was stunned when she heard this, she didn't know whether to laugh or cry, she said: "Can'er just had a bite here at noon, and the little devil went to you to ask for more. Did his bite scare Concubine Shu?"

Shen Qing looked down at Ji Can who was sleeping soundly, and smiled helplessly: "Your Majesty is very good at predicting things. I thought about it and agreed without much hesitation, so I didn't send anyone to tell Your Majesty."

The queen signaled to the nanny to take Ji Can from Shen Qing's arms.

Ji Can will be four years old in three months. His hands are very heavy, and no one knows how Shen Qing holds him. He even smiles without changing his expression.

"I am very relieved that Can'er is with you. Concubine Shu can make the decision on this small matter herself."

Shen Qing said yes, and did not stay at the Queen's place for long. After leaving, he went to have dinner with Ji Chen.

Six days passed in a flash from the palace to the Mountain Resort. This time, her residence was Fengheju, where she could enjoy the lotus by the lake and it was exceptionally cool. Moreover, the lake in front of her residence was connected to Ji Chen's residence, so they were all planted with lotus flowers.

After the palace servants had cleaned up the residence, Shen Qing moved in.

The next morning, she had to accompany the Queen to pay her respects to the Queen Mother, so she did not wait for news from Ji Chen.

It’s always the first night at the Mountain Resort, so Ji Chen is always busy.

Sleeping in Fengheju is more comfortable than in the palace. Even though Shen Qing has no shortage of ice mirrors, covering himself with a quilt here is not only not hot, but also has just the right temperature.

A dreamless night.

At the beginning of the Mao hour, after Shen Qing stood up, palace maids came forward to help her dress, wash, and pack. When she was ready, she went out. There was still a sedan chair and the imperial ceremonial guards waiting for her.

Shen Qing went to the Queen first, and followed the Queen to the Empress Dowager's Songhezhai with several concubines.

When they arrived at Songhezhai, Concubine Xian, Concubine Lin, Concubine He and Concubine Jiang had already arrived. It was just that Concubine Jiang was a little further away from Concubine Xian and did not look as close to her as Concubine He. However, the Empress Dowager treated Concubine Jiang as usual.

Shen Qing and the Queen saluted the Queen Mother, and Concubine Xian and others also stood up and saluted them.

Concubine Xian looked at Shen Qing with complicated eyes. Not long ago, Shen Qing had to bow to her respectfully, but now, she had to give Shen Qing a half-bow.

But it is unclear whether Shen Qing did not remember that she had made things difficult for her during the ceremony or did not care. Shen Qing became a concubine, but the incident did not happen again.

Fortunately, Shen Qing did not do so, otherwise she would have made a scene in front of the Queen Mother and made things difficult for everyone around Shen Qing.

After the concubines sat down for a while, Concubine De came late with Concubine Li Gui and Concubine Chu.

Li Guipin seemed to be used to her cousin's behavior and did not make excuses for Defei. Chupin lagged behind and was a little more low-key.

From the fact that they were divided into three groups to pay their respects to the empress dowager, we can see the positions of the concubines in the harem. Of course, there were also ordinary concubines who did not depend on the queen and came with the queen.

The Queen is in charge of the harem, so when the Queen Mother asks questions, naturally the Queen answers most of the questions.

As she was asking, the Queen Mother's eyes fell on Shen Qing: "Shu Fei, the Emperor doesn't even have a princess in the harem. I am still waiting for your good news."

In the harem, having children is the top priority. The empress dowager only regrets that there are not enough grandchildren. But now she can't urge other concubines to do so, so she can only look at Shen Qing with a disappointed look.

Defei and Xianfei were also observing Shen Qing out of the corner of their eyes. They were the ones who least wanted Shufei to have good news.

Shen Qing looked dejected when she heard this: "I understand."

Even if she doesn't care, she still has to show an appropriate attitude, otherwise wouldn't she be adding fuel to the fire?

Besides, the only person who would say such things to her was the Queen Mother, and she only came to pay her respects to the Queen Mother once every two weeks, so there was really no need to go against her.

Upon seeing this, the Queen Mother looked at Concubine De and Concubine Xian and asked about the Second and Third Princes.

When asked about this, Concubine Xian was no longer sleepy. Concubine De only talked about unimportant things about the Third Prince. Shen Qing lowered his head and listened. The Queen glanced at Concubine De.

The Queen Mother said, "Bring the three princes to me tomorrow."

After the Empress Dowager finished speaking, before the Empress, Concubine De and Concubine Xian could say anything, they heard the announcement that the Emperor had arrived.

Ji Chen walked in, looked at Shen Qing, and asked what they were talking about.

The Queen brought up what the Queen Mother had just said.

[If the Queen Mother wants to see the Prince, there is no need to ask the concubines for their opinions. Just summon him. ]

Ji Chen said: "My mother misses the three grandchildren, so she will bring them to Songhezhai tomorrow."

Concubine De and Concubine Xian were accustomed to the emperor's attitude. The little prince, who was a treasure to them, was more important to the emperor than pleasing the empress dowager.

After the emperor arrived, the atmosphere in Songhezhai became slightly cold, but soon became harmonious.

After paying their respects, Shen Qing left with Ji Chen.

I stayed at Ji Chen's place at night.

The next day, while Ji Chen went fishing, Shen Qing rode his horse all over the Summer Resort, caught a pheasant to grill with Ji Chen's fish, and then sprinkled it with secret spices.

Shen Qing sighed with satisfaction: "What a nice smell!"

"If Can'er knew that Madam Shu had eaten such delicious food here without telling him, he would definitely come to me and make trouble."

Ji Chen laughed at her: "It's just a pheasant and a few fish, not any delicacies from the mountains or the sea, why do you treasure them so much?"

Shen Qing said seriously: "Food hunted by yourself is more precious when eaten, so it tastes delicious. I am very happy to see that Your Majesty is eating it."

"That's because my beloved concubine was with me, and she hunted the fish herself." Ji Chen pondered, "It just so happens that I caught a lot of fish, so I had someone cook them and send them to Ji Can to taste."

The last two sentences were instructed by Ji Chen to Qian Ji.

However, perhaps because the two of them were too concerned about Ji Can in their conversation, before the fish was sent out, someone came to report that the eldest prince was vomiting and having diarrhea for some unknown reason and was in great pain.

Upon hearing this, Shen Qing and Ji Chen immediately walked towards the Queen's Shuifang Yanxiu.

Along the way, Shen Qing thought that the last time she had contact with Ji Can was on the way to the Summer Resort on the first day. This time it should have nothing to do with her, so she relaxed a little, but she was still worried about the eldest prince's health.

Many concubines were already standing in the beautiful water, and Concubine De and Concubine Xian had also arrived.

Seeing the Emperor and Shen Qing, Concubine De said, "Your Majesty, Your Majesty, Concubine Shu, the Empress is in the room with the eldest prince, the imperial physician has arrived and is treating him, maybe there will be news soon."

Ji Chen had a gloomy face, and Shen Qing also frowned slightly, looking towards the room worriedly.

At this time, the imperial physician came out and reported: "Your Majesty, I see that the eldest prince's illness came on strangely. At first he had vomiting and diarrhea, and after a while he developed a high fever. All kinds of treatments could not relieve it. His symptoms were neither like ordinary colds nor epidemics. I dare to guess that it might be related to the witchcraft curse."

Concubine De concentrated her mind and took a closer look at the imperial physician. She said, "Your Majesty, this imperial physician Wu is from Miaojiang. I think he has some knowledge of witchcraft, which is why he said that."

The laws of this dynasty clearly prohibit the practice of witchcraft. Those who raise poisonous insects that have not yet formed will be exiled, and those who raise poisonous insects that have formed will be beheaded.

Therefore, everyone is both familiar and unfamiliar with the art of witchcraft.

Familiarity lies in knowing what this thing is, but unfamiliarity lies in the fact that no one has mentioned witchcraft for a long time.

Shen Qing believed that the more he spoke, the more mistakes he made, so he didn't say much.

When Concubine Xian heard that Imperial Physician Wu was from Miaojiang, she immediately looked at him with some disgust, and secretly decided not to let Imperial Physician Wu treat the Second Prince again.

Concubine Yan, who had been silent since the emperor and Shen Qing appeared, suddenly asked, "If it is really a witchcraft curse, how can the eldest prince be cured?"

Doctor Wu bowed his head and replied, "Find out the cursed objects hidden in secret and destroy them, and then His Royal Highness will get better."

The virtuous concubine hissed, "This kind of thing must have been well hidden. Do we need to search the palace?"

Shen Qing looked at Ji Chen. She didn't believe in witchcraft curses at all. If a poisonous insect could be raised, it might hurt people, but a curse was too far-fetched.

Concubine De said: "Searching the palace is also a good idea. If you have nothing to hide, you won't be afraid of being searched."

"Madam Shufei, what do you think?"

Suddenly mentioned by Concubine De, Shen Qing said, "The eldest prince is not getting better, and I am also worried. If it is true as Imperial Doctor Wu said, if the cursed object is found, the eldest prince will be out of danger, then the palace should be searched sooner rather than later. But if Imperial Doctor Wu is incompetent and fabricated this matter, then he is guilty of deceiving the emperor."

Doctor Wu: "I dare not joke with my life and property. I am 90% sure that the eldest prince was harmed by witchcraft."

Shen Qing said no more and looked at Ji Chen.

She was already feeling uneasy at this moment. Why was Doctor Wu so confident in his reaction? Concubine Yan had just jumped out, and even Concubine De was leading the charge towards her.

But she was innocent. If they were to frame her, they would always find a loophole to fight back. Besides, she had been with Ji Chen for the past two days, so they would not dare to implicate the emperor in the witchcraft curse. So she felt a little relieved.

Ji Chen said, "Then search the palace. Qian Ji, you and Wang Jigui take people to search. Wang Ding, you check who and what the eldest prince came into contact with today."

Qian Ji and Wang Ding agreed. Wang Jigui was not here, but he had also received the news that something had happened to the eldest prince. When Qian Ji came out of Shuifang Yanxiu, he ran into Wang Jigui. Without saying much, they started to do their work.

"I'll go in and see the eldest prince."

When Shen Qing heard this, he followed Ji Chen in.

Inside the room, there were two other imperial doctors who were treating the patient carefully. Their brows were furrowed and their faces were filled with worry. Just by looking at them, one could tell that the eldest prince's condition was not getting better.

Ji Chen asked: "How?"

The two doctors replied anxiously, "The eldest prince's pulse is strange. We can't diagnose anything. Only Doctor Wu has some ideas."

Shen Qing looked at the eldest prince and found that he was burning hot and unconscious. The queen beside him was about to faint from crying, and he couldn't help but feel distressed.

Shen Qing walked to the queen and supported her together with Qinggu. She and Qinggu looked at each other, and Qinggu shook his head at her.

Qinggu is well versed in pharmacology, but even she can't do it, which shows how difficult it is.

She asked, "Are these the only three imperial doctors accompanying you?"

One of the doctors heard this and said quickly, "To answer Madam Shufei's question, there are two more doctors, but they are old and not feeling well after the long journey, so they cannot come to the eldest prince."

Shen Qing's words gave Ji Chen an idea. He called a young eunuch and asked him to summon the doctors brought by the court officials.

Ji Chen didn't believe in the theory of witchcraft and curse. If there was such a thing, he would have been cursed long ago after killing a group of officials.

Obviously, this is a man-made disaster.