Chapter 195 A Sudden Incident...
"Thank you, Second Brother!" The Seventh Prince happily replied, following behind them like a little tail, and those who knew better kept quiet.
The eldest prince, who prided himself on being a good elder brother, couldn't help but ask questions. He forced a smile and asked, "Seventh brother, where is the little eunuch who follows you? He's so useless! He should be punished properly!"
"Brother, please don't blame them. I was feeling a bit hot and wanted to stand in the wind to clear my head, which is why I didn't ask them to come along," the Seventh Prince quickly pleaded, turning his head to call out twice into the distance.
Two eunuchs came running, panting, and followed like quails to pay their respects, a far cry from the grand and imposing figures they displayed later in the original story.
Qi Chengming watched coldly, still trying to figure out what the Seventh Prince's affected manner was all about. The Sixth Prince, who had been suppressing his dissatisfaction for a while, finally snapped, "If Seventh Brother is sick, why not send a royal physician to examine him properly? Don't let people think you're being mistreated in terms of allowances!"
Normally, it was his mother who held the power in the inner palace! Last time, his second brother's affair implicated a large number of concubines in the harem who were punished, and his mother was also stripped of her power for dereliction of duty... So the responsibilities of the harem were transferred to the Empress Dowager.
How could the Sixth Prince bear to see his beloved grandmother being implied as negligent in this way?
The seventh prince's face was full of anxiety. He waved his hands repeatedly and sincerely denied it: "No, no, my allowance is full. It's just that I don't like those styles and prefer these old clothes. Please don't misunderstand, brothers."
The Sixth Prince snorted, no longer wanting to look at the clumsy, tongue-tied Seventh Prince. Even a prince born to a palace maid wouldn't dare to criticize his grandmother, no matter how bold he might be!
As the princes walked away, before they even left the outer palace gates, Qi Chengming had a sudden thought and quietly opened the system's monitoring page.
In the side hall where the emperor worked, Wu Qingdao, the eunuch in charge of the princes' affairs, knelt on the ground and honestly recounted the entire conversation.
Emperor Hongren was reviewing memorials when he heard this. He paused for a moment, then sighed indifferently, saying, "He's reminding me."
Wu Qingdao waited silently with his head down.
"...The prince still needs to find a suitable foster mother." Emperor Hongren put down his pen and pondered for a long time, but in the end, he softened his heart.
Qi Chengming felt a tightness in his chest as he watched, quickly reviewing the current layout of the harem.
Is Emperor Hongren planning to find another foster mother for the Seventh Prince? Or perhaps return him to Consort Liu (formerly Consort Shun)?
When the Empress was stripped of her power in the inner palace, two of the three high-ranking concubines were stripped of their dignity, leaving only the mother of a prince. If it hadn't been returned to Consort Liu, then only Consort Xue would have remained. There were only a handful of concubines, and Qi Chengming, after thinking for a long time, only had a superficial impression of them, so he figured he couldn't choose from among the concubines.
Qi Chengming sensed something was wrong.
If Emperor Hongren returns the Seventh Prince to Consort Liu for upbringing, that would be fine. However, if Emperor Hongren is unreasonable and dislikes the previous events, claiming that Consort Liu corrupted the child, and gives the Seventh Prince to Consort Xue—then whether he can still wholeheartedly utilize the entire Xue clan will be a matter for consideration.
Qi Chengming kept a close eye on this side. Fortunately, Emperor Hongren still had his senses and knew that the Seventh Prince had caused great suffering to the Xue and Liu families. Letting them raise him again would not be raising a child but harming him. In the end, he promoted a concubine to the rank of "Zhen" and appointed her as a consort to raise the Seventh Prince.
This is Consort Zhen.
"Second brother, we've arrived at Chun Ya Pavilion." The eldest prince noticed that Qi Chengming had been somewhat absent-minded along the way, and he understood. He then glanced at the seventh prince.
Qi Chengming withdrew his gaze, regained his composure, and did not engage in any further verbal sparring with the eldest prince.
So what if the original male lead has a new mother? Although he doesn't appear to have a mother to raise him in the harem, Consort Xue's entire clan has secretly pledged allegiance to him. If anything happens, Consort Xue won't really ignore it.
The sixth prince entered the room and immediately began to shout, making sure to set the stage for entertaining guests: "Bring two quiet private rooms, and quickly serve the most popular new and delicious dishes! Also, heat up a pot of wine."
"Ah!" Upon seeing the distinguished guests entering, dressed in luxurious attire and followed by clean-shaven servants, the waiter immediately bowed and served them with utmost attentiveness. Even the diners in the main hall lowered their voices, not daring to offend them.
"I have errands to run this afternoon, so I won't drink," Qi Chengming said, refusing the offer.
That's an excuse.
Once the formula for the honeycomb briquette factory was developed, he no longer needed to worry about it, and things were on the right track. He simply didn't want to get drunk in front of these princes who were untrustworthy, and he also didn't like drinking scalding hot wine.
The taste just felt a bit strange.
"Then serve tea to Second Brother, and a bowl of milk to Seventh Brother. This milk is a rare delicacy." The Sixth Prince changed his address smoothly and politely, showing that he could be very considerate when he wanted to be.
The Seventh Prince wanted to say that he was old enough to drink, but his grandmother was rarely seen in the palace, and given Consort Liu's wealth and status, he hadn't drunk much before. After thinking it over, the Seventh Prince accepted the offer without saying anything more.
The waiter led them to a private room by the window on the second floor. They had only been sitting for a short while when the dishes started coming out in a continuous stream.
Qi Chengming took a look.
Braised pork belly, sweet and sour pork ribs, osmanthus-scented lotus root, spicy water bamboo shoots, and water chestnut stuffed with meat.
Of the five dishes, apart from two innovative ones, the rest were recipes that had been passed down from him. Qi Chengming remained calm, and when the Sixth Prince invited them to try the new dishes, he also curiously picked up a spicy water bamboo shoot and tasted it—the familiar flavor of Sichuan peppercorns, peppercorns, and chili peppers.
Compared to modern hot pot seasonings, the flavor is much less intense, but considering the available ingredients, it can be considered a rudimentary version of hot pot base.
Qi Chengming recalled the letter from the caravan last time.
Liuzhou now sells its peppercorns and chili peppers as a whole blend, but it's met with a lukewarm reception in the Jiangnan region, with only large restaurants that regularly stock up purchasing some. Conversely, it sells very well in the Sichuan and Chongqing hinterland, reaping the lion's share of the profits.
Qi Chengming couldn't help but write a letter urging the caravan's soldiers to use their brains and recruit some clever helpers.
People in the Jiangnan region have a sweet tooth! People in Guangxi also prefer the original, fresh flavors, so it's no wonder that this kind of spicy and numbing flavor should be sold in Sichuan and Chongqing.
"Give me a bowl of milk too," Qi Chengming couldn't help but say.
Having not eaten spicy food for too long, his ancient body wasn't as resilient as his modern one, and the spiciness was making him a little breathless. Milk can relieve the spiciness, so there's no need to force yourself to save face at times like this.
"Crack!"
The Seventh Prince suddenly vomited, knocking the bowl of milk in front of him to the ground and shattering it, the milky white liquid soaking the carpet. The Sixth Prince watched with heartache, gasping, "...What a tragedy."
His temper flared up instantly: "Hey! Seventh Brother, what do you mean? Second Brother just said he wanted some milk, and you—"
Before the Sixth Prince could finish speaking, Qi Chengming swiftly pulled him aside: "Wait, look."
The Seventh Prince gagged, realizing he had caused trouble. He frowned uncomfortably, looking up to explain, but then noticed the unusual expressions on the faces of the other princes. Qi Chengming asked gravely, "Seventh Brother, are you feeling unwell?"
Several faint red rashes had appeared on the Seventh Prince's fair face.
Others might have assumed he was feeling unwell due to some food he ate, but Qi Chengming had a terrifying thought in mind:
...The original male lead, the seventh prince, had contracted smallpox once in the story!
It was on that occasion that he met Wen Zhongnan.
The Seventh Prince tried to maintain his composure, forcing a smile as he explained, "I haven't been feeling well these past two days, perhaps from the cold. I don't know why I lost my composure just now."
Qi Chengming dared not let his guard down for a moment, and stopped the eunuch outside who had heard the commotion and wanted to come in to check: "Send a servant to the palace to tell them! Call a royal physician and say that... the Seventh Prince may have smallpox! None of you are allowed to leave, and don't come into contact with anyone."
He went through all of the Seventh Prince's previous words and actions in his mind:
Standing in the wind, I wanted to feel the cool breeze... but I felt restless... I insisted on wearing light clothing, and... milk can make me more susceptible to rashes!
Although Qi Chengming didn't know whether smallpox counted, he preferred to kill the innocent than let the guilty go free. After all, they had gone to a restaurant in the bustling city center for a meal.
The sixth prince's face also turned pale.
He initially thought the seventh prince was feigning helplessness, but now that he heard... it would have been better if he had just pretended to be pitiful! If smallpox was real, all of their princes would have been wiped out!
The eldest prince's face also turned extremely ugly. He scolded the shop assistant who was standing dumbfounded at the door, as if struck by lightning: "You stupid beast, what are you standing there for? Get up and go!!"
The man's face looked worse than if he were crying. He gave a nod and scrambled away.
This is no longer just a matter of their restaurant being unlucky or whether it can continue to operate. If the precious princes were to get into trouble here, they wouldn't have enough heads to lose!
"Seventh Brother, think quickly, have you come into contact with anything unusual recently? Or have you been in contact with anyone? Has anything unusual happened?" Qi Chengming asked, trying to appear calm.
He had the system as a cheat code. Although he could see a debuff (smallpox incubation period) following his status when he opened his personal page, the pills and the shop were still there, so Qi Chengming was not too panicked.
However, the original plot did not explain in detail how he contracted smallpox. Qi Chengming worried about the butterfly effect, and this incident caused more people inside and outside the palace to contract the disease.
The seventh prince slumped into a chair, his face ashen, but he forced himself to start counting: "The tutors in the Imperial Study, the eunuchs in the Prince's quarters..."
He paused for a moment, his expression suddenly becoming strained: "I remember now, Xiao Dongzi, who sweeps the alleyway in the inner palace, said that his parents, who worked on the farm, disappeared without a trace, and there was no justice for them. Only his older sister escaped back and cried to him about it."
The Seventh Prince, who came from a humble background, was a compassionate person who cherished the poor and weak. After he saw Xiao Dongzi secretly crying behind someone's back, he comforted Xiao Dongzi.
"You suspect...?" Qi Chengming thought that the Seventh Prince suspected Xiao Dongzi's parents.
"Let's not talk about that now. We need to find another room for Seventh Brother to rest!" The First Prince interrupted their conversation, his mind in turmoil, and went to the door to give the order.
If Seventh Brother really had smallpox, why were the princes so foolish as to share a room with him? Even sitting down made the First Prince feel extremely uncomfortable!
Qi Chengming shook his head, somewhat worried.
To share the joy with the common people, none of them bothered with any pretense about separate meals; instead, they ate together like ordinary citizens. He's already caught it, and the First Prince and Sixth Prince, sitting on either side of the Seventh Prince, probably haven't escaped it either…
Besides that, Qi Chengming was even more worried about Xiao Chengzi, who had come with him.
Emperor Hongren in the palace heard the news.
That was a complete shock, startling the old emperor so much that he dropped his teacup: "—What?!"
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