"What are you all making such a racket for? If you have something to say, go outside." The Fourth Prince said coldly, not even glancing at his wife and Lady Wu, and went straight to sit down on the edge of the First Prince's bed.
He took a handkerchief and gently wiped the eldest prince's face.
But the Fourth Prince leaned closer and seemed to hear the First Prince's murmurs.
The Fourth Prince paused, and at this moment, Lady Wu and the Princess Consort were also frightened by the Fourth Prince's cold shout.
The room quieted down, allowing the Fourth Prince to hear the First Prince's murmurs.
"Fireworks...fireworks..." The eldest prince's voice was not very clear, and he seemed to be delirious from the heat.
Fireworks? Fourth Master frowned.
The Fujin glared at Wu Shi, then turned to the Fourth Prince and resumed her dignified demeanor: "Your Majesty, I will go and ask the imperial physician."
She gracefully curtsied and quickly withdrew.
The Fourth Prince didn't speak, but handed the handkerchief to Wu Shi beside him. His expression was somber, which made Wu Shi feel even more uneasy.
Fourth Master hadn't even had dinner when he came out of the East Courtyard. He wasn't made of iron, so naturally he would still feel hungry.
However, these successive troubles gave Fourth Master no chance to catch his breath.
Fourth Master glanced at Madam Wu: "You keep an eye on it yourself."
Clearly, the Fourth Prince's words implied that he was at least somewhat dissatisfied with the servants and maids in Wu's household.
Wu agreed in a very low voice.
The Fourth Prince stood up, clearly also having questions for the imperial physician.
When the Fourth Prince went to the outer room, his wife had already asked the imperial physician a few questions. When she saw the Fourth Prince come out, she stood up and walked over to him, wanting to help him up.
However, the Fourth Master subtly waved his hand to excuse him.
The imperial physician bowed his head and greeted the Fourth Prince.
Fourth Master sat down with an imposing air, his voice calm: "How is it?"
The imperial physician's beard twitched, and his expression turned grave as he said to the Fourth Prince, "Your Highness, the First Prince's high fever... if it continues like this, I'm afraid..."
The imperial physician didn't say what he was afraid of, but everyone knew.
Ultimately, it was not uncommon for a child who was already three years old to die from an illness in the royal family.
The Fourth Prince frowned slightly upon hearing this: "I will have to trouble the imperial physicians again these next few days."
The imperial physician hurriedly said he dared not, then whispered a few more words about the eldest prince's condition before wiping the sweat from his forehead and jogging off to prepare the medicine.
With the imperial physician gone, the large group of people kneeling in the courtyard finally received a proper look from the Fourth Prince.
"Damn it!" the Fourth Prince cursed angrily. "With so many people serving him, how could the First Prince still get a high fever!"
No one dared to answer; the entire courtyard was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
The Fourth Master glanced around, and everyone lowered their heads in unison.
They all knew that the eldest prince was the eldest son of the family, and he had rarely been sick since birth. This time, his sudden high fever came on fiercely, so it was no wonder that the master was angry.
"A bunch of good-for-nothings!" Fourth Master roared again, startling everyone in the courtyard, who lowered their heads even further.
It was clear that the Fourth Master was furious at this moment.
Su Peisheng hurriedly stepped forward to offer a teacup, but the Fourth Master was naturally not in the mood for tea at the moment.
"Fourth Master, it's not their fault. It's my fault for not taking good care of the eldest prince. If you want to punish someone, punish me!" A weak voice rang out. It was Wu Shi who came out, her face streaked with tears as she spoke.
When the Fourth Prince heard her voice, his brows furrowed even more: "Someone, help Princess Wu inside."
Considering that Lady Wu had taken good care of the eldest prince without any major mistakes over the years, the Fourth Prince did not reprimand her at this moment.
The Fujin immediately raised her hand, and Yu Ru, who was beside her, stepped forward forcefully and pulled Wu Shi into the inner room.
The princess smiled, then subtly softened her expression when facing the fourth prince: "It was my oversight."
The Fourth Prince had no time to pay attention to his wife. He was facing outside, and the candlelight made his face appear even more unapproachable than gentle.
"Guards, take all the servants and maids who served the First Prince today out and give them thirty strokes of the cane!" After saying this, the Fourth Prince finally took a sip of the tea that had gone cold.
As soon as the Fourth Prince finished speaking, guards and eunuchs immediately stepped forward and dragged the servants outside the courtyard away.
The servants outside the courtyard initially cried and begged for mercy, but Su Peisheng glanced at his master's expression and then withdrew and waved his hand.
Soon the cries of the maids and servants outside ceased.
Seeing this, the Princess Consort frowned again, unable to contain her worry: "The Master punished them... Now the First Prince will be short of servants..."
The moment the Fourth Prince raised his hand, his wife fell silent.
He glanced at the Princess Consort indifferently: "Once the First Prince's high fever subsides, have him move to the front courtyard..."
The princess exclaimed "Ah!" clearly caught off guard.
The Fourth Prince, however, did not wish to say more: "In August, the Second Prince will be brought to the front courtyard as before. The Prince has made up his mind on this matter, so there is no need for you to say anything more, Madam. Please go back."
The Fujin (principal wife) couldn't be of much help in the South Courtyard at this moment.
The princess was at a loss for words.
She came here today to take advantage of the situation and plant spies around the First Prince.
But unexpectedly, she lost both her wife and her army; the Second Prince had only just returned to his main residence...
The princess bit her lip, her mind in turmoil.
What is the master thinking right now?
Is it because they value her second son and Wu's eldest son, or will all the children have to go to the front courtyard from now on...?
Or did the grandfather not want the children to be close to their birth mother?
The princess couldn't figure it out for the time being, so she could only let Yu Ru help her back to the main courtyard.
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