That day, Mingxiu was playing mahjong in the palace when she heard Yinreng's voice. She quickly put down the mahjong and got up to go out and greet him.
When she reached the door and saw Yinreng covered in sweat, Mingxiu quickly stepped forward and took out a handkerchief to wipe his sweat: "Tell me, why did you run so fast when you came?"
Yinreng smiled and let Mingxiu wipe his sweat. He liked this intimate gesture, but only his father and mother, Mingxiu, would treat him so gently in the palace.
In fact, Ukuma would gently wipe his sweat, but for some reason, the Emperor didn't like him going to Ukuma's place. Although Yinreng's little head couldn't understand why, he still listened to the Emperor.
"What would you like to eat today?" Mingxiu led Yinreng in and had someone bring him a cup of fruit tea.
Yinreng picked up the cup and gulped down a few mouthfuls, letting out a long sigh. Mingxiu found it amusing. Although he was only four years old, he was still a royal child and had been influenced by his surroundings all along. At such a young age, he already had a lot of manners and etiquette. So, although he drank quickly, he was not rude. On the contrary, he gave people the impression of being unconcerned with formalities.
"That doesn't seem to be the correct way to describe it," Mingxiu tilted her head, a little puzzled.
However, Yinreng did not give her a chance to hesitate and excitedly said, "Mother Consort, my little belly said today that he wants to eat some fried chicken legs. Can Mother Consort satisfy him?"
With a chuckle, Mingxiu burst out laughing, "Hahaha, oh my, your little tummy wants to eat, but doesn't your little mouth want to eat too?"
Mingxiu immediately started laughing loudly. The palace servants serving nearby also grinned when they heard Mingxiu's voice. Although they didn't laugh out loud, it was obvious.
Upon hearing Mingxiu's words, Yinreng's face flushed slightly, feeling somewhat embarrassed. Recently, Maomao had shown him cartoons, and he had seen this expression on one of them. He was about to speak when he accidentally blurted it out.
After Mingxiu finished laughing, she looked at Yinreng, whose ears were flushed red, and shook her head: "Yes, of course we can have fried chicken legs today. Do you want fried chicken wings and French fries?"
Yinreng's ears turned red. Although he felt a little embarrassed, he really wanted to eat. His mother, Consort Ming, said that it wasn't good for children to eat too many fried chicken legs, so she never let him eat much. The servants, hearing that it was bad for his health, also dared not cook it for him, so he rarely ate any. "I want to eat!"
Mingxiu smiled and told someone to go and prepare his meal, and also to make everything that Yinreng had asked for.
It was almost lunchtime anyway, so everything was prepared and served quickly. There was no rule of not speaking while eating or sleeping in Mingxiu's place, and no one was needed to serve the food.
Mingxiu dismissed the servants and began to eat with Yinreng, listening to Yinreng recount the events that had occurred in the Imperial Study.
"Brother looked so dashing riding today! It's a pity I could only watch from below. I'm still too young. Our instructor said I'll have to wait a long time before I can ride a horse," Yinreng said with some disappointment.
"It's alright, let's wait. I'll find a good horse for Baocheng when I have time. When Baocheng can ride a horse, I'll give it to you, okay?" Mingxiu reassured Yinreng.
"Yes, thank you, Mother Consort Ming." Yinreng was initially a little disappointed, but now he was not disappointed at all.
"Also, the day before yesterday, I was chatting with Father Emperor and heard someone say that paving roads with cement is very expensive, so I gave Father Emperor an idea," Yinreng said proudly.
Mingxiu was a little surprised: "Oh, I wonder what idea Baocheng came up with? Could you tell Mother Ming? Mother Ming also wants to know how our Baocheng is so clever."
Yinreng chuckled, a chicken leg dangling from his mouth. He was delighted that his mother, Consort Ming, had praised him for being clever.
The two chatted back and forth without interrupting their meal. Mingxiu would occasionally put food on Yinreng's plate that he couldn't reach, while he continued to talk eloquently about his ideas. Looking at Yinreng's proud little face, Mingxiu felt a pang of tenderness. Yinreng should be like this: sunny and cheerful, but not spoiled, arrogant, or domineering.
Looking at the child, Mingxiu felt very content. She didn't want to have children herself and didn't particularly like them, but she was always very patient with Yinreng. In the past, it might have been because she pitied Yinreng's past experiences, but now it was more out of affection for this well-behaved child.
After dinner, Mingxiu and Yinreng played with a puzzle in the toy room for a while. This puzzle had been upgraded by Mingxiu countless times and now had more than three thousand pieces. It was impossible to finish it in one go, so Yinreng always had to work on it for a while whenever he came.
After he finished eating and digested his food for a while, I let him go to the next room for a nap.
Mingxiu happily went to take a nap. She has now developed the habit of taking a nap. If she doesn't nap at noon, she will always feel sleepy in the late afternoon.
The afternoon sun wasn't strong, so Mingxiu drew a sheer curtain, letting in a little light. Sleeping with the glass window open was very cool.
Mingxiu was sleeping soundly when she was suddenly woken up. Still half asleep, she sat up and looked at Lüzhu, wondering why she had been woken up.
His Highness the Crown Prince has a fever.
oh
What!
Mingxiu's eyes widened as she looked at Lüzhu. Seeing the certainty in Lüzhu's eyes, she realized what had happened.
Without even putting on his shoes, he rushed to the side hall and saw the little man lying on the bed, his face flushed red and his brows furrowed, looking very uncomfortable.
Mingxiu felt as if her heart was breaking.
"Has the imperial physician been summoned?" Mingxiu asked hurriedly, looking at the servants beside her.
"Your Majesty, please rest assured, the imperial physician has already been summoned and will be here shortly," Xiao Xizi quickly replied.
Mingxiu nodded, put on the shoes that Luzhu had brought, and walked to Yinreng's bedside. She frowned as she looked at Yinreng. She was a little worried that it was smallpox, but logically it shouldn't be. It was past the time in history when Yinreng contracted smallpox, and Mingxiu often gave him spiritual spring water to drink. In addition, he had a system by his side that should be monitoring his physical condition and treating him.
The imperial physicians arrived quickly, and Mingxiu hurriedly got up and went to the side to be examined by one of them. The physician was Sun Zhiding, the head of the Imperial Medical Academy, who had always been in charge of the emperor's health. After the crown prince's accident, he was also in charge of the crown prince's health.
At this moment, Physician Sun looked at Yinreng with a serious expression, and after a long while, he stood up.
"Your Highness, His Highness the Crown Prince has smallpox."
As expected, Mingxiu's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, was completely dead.
After a moment of contemplation, she said, "Xiao Xizi, inform the Emperor that His Highness the Crown Prince has smallpox and ask the Emperor to be careful. Also, Yonghe Palace will be closed from today until His Highness the Crown Prince recovers. If anyone is afraid, they can leave now. I will not force you to stay."
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