Because of Prince Hongqing's sudden death, His Majesty was angry, but he did not punish the Third Prince. Instead, he sharply reprimanded the Third Prince's wife, Lady Dong'e.
Lady Dong'e was already grieving the passing of Prince Hongqing, and this severe scolding made her fall ill that very day. However, she dared not call for the imperial physician.
Firstly, because nowadays every household needs a royal physician. Apart from the princes and grandsons in the princes' residences who are plagued by various illnesses, the seventeenth and eighteenth princes in the palace are also not in good health.
Secondly, His Majesty had just sent someone to give a lecture, so if Lady Dong'e were to summon the imperial physician, it would be disrespectful to His Majesty, which she naturally wouldn't dare to do.
Naturally, Li Chenjiao learned all this from a letter written by Zhao Jia, whose tone was filled with sighs.
Lady Dong'e wasn't a royal physician; could she really be expected to save someone's life just because she was a mother? Yet, she dared not complain about the Emperor.
However, after reading the letter, Li Chenjiao couldn't help but say, "Isn't His Majesty being a little too... protective of his own..."
She eventually changed to a more tactful way of saying it.
To put it nicely, it's called protecting one's own; to put it bluntly, it's akin to being biased and prejudiced.
There was nothing wrong with Third Master. Just like the matter of the Crown Prince's Thousand-Year Pavilion, it was said that it was eventually dropped. However, Li Chenjiao heard that since the Emperor returned to the capital in early March, up to now in April, quite a few members of the Hesheli clan have been stripped of their official positions under various pretexts.
These things could not be kept secret, even though many were just sinecure positions. But nowadays, probably only Prime Minister Suo was still of any real use in the court.
Li Chenjiao was unaware of these things. All she knew was that after many members of the Hesheli clan were stripped of their official positions, they were now frequently seen drinking and revelry in the restaurants outside.
The matter at Qian Sui Pavilion was indeed unrelated to the Crown Prince, so His Majesty did not punish him. However, he dealt with the people of the Hesheli clan in various ways. For example, when Hongqing died, His Majesty felt that it had nothing to do with the Third Prince, who was his father, and only reprimanded Dong E.
Later, it was Consort Rong who intervened on her behalf. Considering that Consort Dong'e had raised the Second Prince properly, although the Emperor did not show both kindness and severity, Consort Rong still rewarded Consort Dong'e with many things to appease her.
Although the mother-in-law and daughter-in-law didn't get along very well in their daily lives, when it came to the loss of a son, it was probably only the woman who could truly understand the other woman.
April of the 41st year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign passed in continuous spring rain. The health of the Second Prince in the mansion was still fluctuating. Not long after the three princes were exempted from their studies, two princesses were also exempted a few days later.
The front yard quieted down again, and the back yard remained peaceful.
The spring rain also restrained the little girl who wanted to run outside. Occasionally, Li Chenjiao would allow the little girl to hold a small umbrella and splash in the puddles in the yard.
Rainy days also restrict frozen pears, but persimmons are fine; they can find a quiet spot under the eaves to sleep comfortably, accompanied by the sound of rain.
Fortunately, Li Chenjiao had some free time, so she and a few maids gave the frozen pears a thorough bath.
The rain continued intermittently until the Second Prince's birthday. Li Chenjiao had originally planned to give away the little horse that had been kept in her room for a long time, but the Second Prince was not feeling well that day.
Originally, the princess hadn't planned to hold a ceremony, but in the end, everyone listened to the sound of rain under the eaves of the main courtyard.
The princes in the Third Prince's mansion have mostly recovered, but Prince Hongyu in the Zhijun Prince's mansion remains the same. As a result, his second wife, Zhang Jia, has been reprimanded by Consort Hui several times.
The children in the Fifth Prince's mansion had mostly recovered, leaving only Prince Honghui from the Fourth Prince's mansion.
The corridor was a bit crowded with everyone waiting. Li Chenjiao was able to sit down, but the other princesses were all standing.
It was rare for Madam Song to conceal her expression so well, but her slightly furrowed brows suggested she was deep in thought.
Standing beside her, Madam Wu's expression was equally indifferent, showing little concern. After all, it wasn't her own child, and she seemed to be in a trance, not particularly interested.
She does have some of Li Chenjiao's usual temperament.
Li Chenjiao also sat down, but she was even more sleepy than Wu Shi, and had to force herself to stay awake.
Originally, everyone was quietly listening to the rain, occasionally hearing hurried footsteps, when Liu was the first to speak from the crowd behind them.
"These days, all the princes seem to be sick, but the Third Prince is the healthiest."
Li Chenjiao's slightly closed eyes flickered slightly upon hearing these words, but she remained silent and did not even glance at Liu Shi.
Upon hearing this, Madam Xu knelt down without hesitation, trembling with fear: "Thanks to Your Majesty's kindness and the concern of the Fujin, this servant is fortunate enough to take care of the Third Prince, and naturally dares not slack off."
Xu never showed any disrespect or complaint at any time. She was always respectful to everyone, leaving no room for criticism.
Seeing that Xu was kneeling down, Liu felt a little embarrassed and stepped forward to help her up: "Look at you, I was just thinking that you took good care of the Third Prince and I admire you very much. You too, why are you being so careful? Get up quickly."
Suddenly, Liu brought up the Third Prince out of the blue. She had always been close to the Fujin (the wife of the Third Prince), and now the Second Prince's health was not good. There was also the past incident of the Third Prince's son, Hongqing, in the Third Prince's residence. Naturally, it was hard not to make people think...
Did the Princess Consort have the idea of adopting the Third Prince because the Second Prince was in poor health?
Wu, who had been standing firmly, now turned her gaze to Liu.
Liu simply lowered her head guiltily.
Song glanced at Liu, but quickly withdrew her mocking gaze.
Niohuru stood beside Baijia, and further ahead was Li Chenjiao, who was sitting upright. She hadn't even glanced at Liu and Xu when they were talking; her gaze had been fixed straight ahead.
Seeing that it was getting late, Madam Song became somewhat impatient and stopped Yu Ru, who was hurrying out from inside: "If the Second Prince is not feeling well, does Madam wish for us servants to visit him, or would you prefer not to disturb his peace and quiet while he recuperates? You must give me a definite answer..."
Yu Ru was pulled back, and after a moment of hesitation, she quickly said, "Why are you still here, ladies? The First Lady is busy taking care of the Second Prince, so please go back first, Consort..."
People were coming and going in the main courtyard. Li Chenjiao, Song Shi, and the others had been standing there for who knows how long, but Yu Ru told them they could leave now.
Isn't this just making a fool of them?
Is the Princess Consort making trouble for them because she's unhappy?
Song was so angry that her lungs ached. She rudely shook off Yu Ru's wrist, tossed her handkerchief aside, and stormed off.
Li Chenjiao stood up slowly, ignoring Song's disrespect, but she didn't give her a friendly look. She had Qiu Hu open the umbrella first before walking outside.
I came to the main courtyard early in the morning and waited for almost an hour, only to be left to dry like this. Who could be happy about that?
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