That very night after returning from Huangjue Temple, the Fourth Prince went straight to the front courtyard, changed his clothes, and went directly to the eldest prince's room to visit his eldest son, whom he had carefully nurtured for eight years.
In the past few days, the eldest prince, Honghui, caught a cold and is coughing now. His coughing makes the fourth prince very worried.
"Su Peisheng, drag that servant who didn't serve the eldest prince well away and give him twenty strokes of the cane." His anger flared up, and he shouted at the servants who were already kneeling on the ground, not daring to make a sound.
At this moment, a eunuch named Xiao Luzi hurriedly banged his head heavily on the wooden floor, saying, "Your Majesty, please have mercy! This servant has failed to serve the eldest prince well and is willing to accept punishment."
At this moment, Su Peisheng had already walked up to him and said coldly, "Let's go!"
Xiao Luzi was taken to the front yard by Su Peisheng to be beaten with a board, so as not to be beaten here, as his screams would disturb the eldest prince.
The remaining two nannies and several eunuchs began to feel uneasy, fearing that the Fourth Prince would continue to vent his desire.
However, no matter whether the master's words are right or wrong, if the master is unhappy, it is the servant's fault and he must be punished!
"Has Doctor Bai come by? How many times a day should the prince take the medicine he prescribed?" Fourth Master asked with a dark face.
An elderly nanny calmed her trembling body, immediately bowed down, kowtowed, and then slightly raised her head to reply, "Reporting to Your Highness, Doctor Bai arrived early this morning and prescribed three days' worth of medicine for the eldest prince. He said that if there is no improvement after three days, we should call him again. This medicine is to be decocted and taken three times a day, and the prince has already drunk the third dose."
"Has the prince been wiped clean? Has he had dinner?" The Fourth Prince didn't tell the old woman to get up, and then asked.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, the prince's body was wiped down at noon. In the evening, when it was cool, this servant wiped his face, hands, and feet. For dinner, he only had some plain porridge and vegetable leaves. Doctor Bai instructed that the prince cannot eat meat." A eunuch standing next to the nanny immediately bowed and kowtowed in response.
The Fourth Prince was relieved. Seeing that the First Prince was asleep, he didn't want to disturb him, so he stood up and instructed the head nanny, "Take good care of the First Prince. Don't let anything go wrong, or you'll all be in for a world of hurt!"
All the servants in the room prostrated themselves on the ground, only daring to raise their heads and stand up after the Fourth Master and his entourage had walked far away.
When Fourth Master returned to the front yard, Xiao Luzi had already been beaten unconscious and carried away.
Seeing that the Fourth Master's expression had not yet relaxed, Su Peisheng carefully walked up to him, bowed, and said, "Master, you haven't had your dinner yet. This servant will bring you your meal right away."
The Fourth Prince's mood shifted several times throughout the day. He had only eaten some vegetarian food at Huangjue Temple and was not very hungry. He walked behind his desk and said, "Go to the gatekeeper's office and bring over all the records and invitations from the manor today. Then, have someone go to the kitchen and get some light vegetarian food and cakes. We don't need anything else."
Su Peisheng promptly swiped his sword and left with his apprentice Zhao Quan and several eunuchs who were standing at the door.
"Don't say your master doesn't care about you. Go to the kitchen and get some food for Fourth Master. Remember, no meat, just a few appetizing vegetarian dishes and some pancakes will be enough."
Once outside, Su Peisheng said to Zhao Quan.
"Thank you for thinking of your disciple, Master. You haven't eaten all day, have you? I'll just bring you your dinner as well." Zhao Quan immediately surrounded Su Peisheng, busying himself with flattery.
Su Peisheng had one of the eunuchs accompany Zhao Quan to the kitchen, while he himself took another eunuch to the gatehouse to retrieve the invitation and records that the Fourth Prince wanted.
In the main house in the backyard.
There stood a woman with her hair styled in a bun, adorned with a pearl on the back of her head. She was none other than the Fourth Prince's primary consort, Ulanara, the daughter of Grand Minister Fei Yanggu.
She was wearing a light brown cheongsam with a pale yellow cotton-padded jacket over it, the collar and cuffs trimmed with snow-white rabbit fur. She was reclining on the warm couch, listening to Li Mama speak.
"Madam, after the master returned, he severely beat Xiao Lu, the one who serves the eldest prince, and then gave instructions to the others before returning to his study in the front courtyard," said Granny Li in a low voice, standing beside Madam.
"I understand. What did Fourth Master eat tonight?" the Fujin asked again.
"It was Su Peisheng's apprentice who brought the meal. It consisted of three dishes and a soup: dried shrimp and winter melon, stir-fried lotus root slices with bell peppers, and preserved egg with garlic cloves, plus a bowl of cabbage, vermicelli, and egg drop soup," Granny Li replied softly.
The Fujin waved her hand, signaling Chunliu, the maid who was massaging her legs, to stop. She then instructed, "Go to the kitchen and prepare some late-night snacks for the master."
Chunliu slowly stood up, curtsied, and left the room.
"Madam, the master has just finished his dinner. What are you doing here?" Granny Li was the madam's wet nurse, someone she had watched grow up. She had followed the madam since she was 13, when the madam married the fourth prince, who was then in the princes' quarters. Granny Li could almost always guess the madam's thoughts from her every smile and gesture. However, the fact that the madam was preparing a late-night snack for the fourth prince so late at night puzzled her.
“He will come tonight.” The princess raised her hand, adjusted the silk flowers in her hair, glanced at her wet nurse, and said, “Nanny, could you help me remove these ornaments from my head and then pick out some plain ones to wear?”
After speaking, the Fujin stretched out her slender, fair hand covered with two nail guards, and Li Mama immediately reached out her arm to help her up and walk to the dressing table.
Although Granny Li couldn't understand why the Princess Consort suddenly wanted to remove the slightly bright jewelry from her head, she still did as she was told.
After she finished tidying up the jewelry on the Fujin's head, the Fujin looked around in the bronze mirror, nodded in satisfaction, and then got up and walked to the side room.
Since the princess consort wasn't resting, those of them who were servants naturally had to stay by her side.
After glancing at the Atlantic clock in the room, Granny Li went to the side room and advised the Princess Consort, "Princess Consort, you've written three pages already, it's time to rest."
Before the princess could speak, a eunuch outside called out: "Greetings, Your Majesty!"
Granny Li was startled, but the Fujin seemed to have expected it. She immediately put down her pen and walked to the door of the side room, only to find that the Fourth Prince had already entered the room.
After giving a curtsy, Granny Li stood at the door waiting for instructions.
The Fourth Prince glanced at the elegant ornaments on his wife's head, and his previously gloomy expression softened.
"Is the Princess Consort still awake?" After reviewing the day's door stickers and records in his study, the Fourth Prince thought for a moment and then came to the backyard.
“Honghui has a bit of a cough, and there’s nothing I can do but copy more scriptures for him and pray to the Bodhisattva for protection,” the Fujin said with a worried expression.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
