After seeing off the head nanny, the Fourth Prince thought of his fourth son, Hongshi, and instructed Su Peisheng: "Go and see how the Fourth Prince is settling in. Don't change the wet nurse. He might not be able to adapt to being away from his wife all of a sudden."
Seeing that the Fourth Prince had been busy with court affairs during the day and settling the princes and princesses at night, with dark circles under his eyes, Su Peisheng said with concern, "Your Highness has a day off today. How about I help you to rest?"
As for the Yehe clan, Su Peisheng saw that they had left, so there was no need to report them again.
"Hmm, send someone to the south courtyard and secretly invite Doctor Liang over. I want him to take my pulse!" the Fourth Prince suddenly said. Since the Princess Consort was imprisoned, and Doctor Wu was also dismissed by the Fourth Prince, there is no doctor in the mansion now.
"Is something wrong, Master?" Su Peisheng asked hurriedly.
"Hurry up and get on with your business. Don't ramble on. Remember not to let the concubine know. Have Doctor Liang come over quietly." The Fourth Prince sat in his armchair with his eyes closed, waving his hand as if unwilling to say more.
Su Peisheng looked at Fourth Master's slightly pointed chin and felt that Fourth Master seemed to have lost weight recently, but he seemed to be in good spirits.
After watching for a while, Su Peisheng turned around and left quietly, closing the study door behind him.
Zhao Quan, who was guarding the side rooms in front of the study, kept a close eye on the door of the Fourth Master's study. As soon as Su Peisheng went out, he immediately picked up the small basket left by Yehe and quietly went towards the study.
Fourth Master was sitting in a chair with his eyes closed, resting. He had been reluctant to tell Su Peisheng about his health problems because he couldn't bring himself to say it. Although he and Su Peisheng were practically inseparable, and Su Peisheng would even change his clothes and clean him up when he was drunk.
"Who is it!" Fourth Master frowned slightly and called out when he heard a noise by the door.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, it is your servant Zhao Quan." Upon hearing the Fourth Master's voice, Zhao Quan immediately bowed, pulled in his stomach, and held his breath.
"What are you doing there so furtively? Didn't your master teach you how to do things properly?" Fourth Master held back his anger.
"Your Majesty, I've come to report that Princess Yehe came by just now to bring you some lily and pear soup."
The Fourth Prince suddenly opened his eyes, as if someone had just spared him a pang in his heart. These past few days, he had deliberately forced himself not to think about her, and had forcibly kept himself away from the Yehe Clan. Besides the South Courtyard, he frequented the Nian Clan's place most often, followed by the Wu and Geng Clans. However, even intimacy with them couldn't alleviate the burning desire within him. Several times, he had reached the North Courtyard's gate, but he stubbornly refrained from going in.
At this moment, Zhao Quan's single sentence effortlessly shattered the psychological defenses that Fourth Master had built up.
"Come in," Fourth Master said with difficulty, feeling a dry cough in his throat.
Zhao Quan deftly pushed open the red-lacquered bamboo door, carrying a small basket, and walked quietly to Fourth Master's desk with his head down.
“My lord, Princess Yehe said that she saw you were busy lately and that the autumn and winter weather is dry, making it easy to get internal heat, so she specially stewed lily and pear soup for you,” Zhao Quan said, organizing his thoughts.
Fourth Master gestured for Zhao Quan to pour some of the pear soup from the basket for him to taste. Upon opening the basket, he saw an envelope on top of a small stew pot. Zhao Quan dared not touch it, and quickly picked up the letter, handing it to Fourth Master, saying, "Reporting to Master, there is another letter inside."
Fourth Master slowly opened his eyes, looked at the envelope Zhao Quan extended, hesitated for a moment, and then took the letter.
"You can go out now." Fourth Master held the letter as if it were a hot potato, but he didn't want anyone to know.
After Zhao Quan left, Fourth Master opened the letter. Inside was a painting and a short poem. The painting depicted a pomegranate tree, accompanied by a poem about love between a man and a woman. The pomegranate was brightly colored and alluring; in ancient times, because it contained many seeds, it symbolized fertility and longevity.
It must be said that Yehe was indeed very talented. This painting and this poem are constant reminders of the joy and passion between the Fourth Prince and her. Any man who received such a letter would likely be moved; the woman who could paint such fragrant pomegranates and write such tender, brown-hued verses was truly exquisite.
Just then, Su Peisheng's voice came from outside the house: "Master, Doctor Liang has arrived."
Fourth Master glanced at the door in surprise, then quickly covered the envelope with the paper in his hand before saying, "Let him in!"
Su Peisheng led Doctor Liang into the Fourth Master's study, where he saw the Fourth Master standing behind his desk, on which lay a letter.
"Su Peisheng, you can go now. Stay at the door and I won't see anyone." Fourth Master suppressed the strange feeling in his heart, picked up the basket and handed it to Su Peisheng.
Su Peisheng immediately recognized that the basket clearly belonged to the Yehe clan, so why was it placed in front of the Fourth Master? But he didn't have time to think about it. He immediately took the basket, stepped back a few steps, and then turned and left.
Fourth Master had never met Doctor Liang alone. He felt that the man was too arrogant and unruly, yet he was willing to stay in Lanqin's courtyard, which made Fourth Master a little suspicious of his intentions towards Lanqin. If Lanqin hadn't repeatedly praised his medical skills, he would have kicked him out long ago.
"What's wrong with you, sir?" Doctor Liang asked, neither humble nor arrogant.
"Please sit down, Dr. Liang. Please take my pulse first." The Fourth Master found it difficult to speak, so he gestured for Dr. Liang to sit in the guest seat over there. He himself came out from behind the desk, without any air of superiority.
After the two sat down at the tea table in the guest area, Fourth Master extended his hand, but Doctor Liang did not use the usual medical towel. Instead, he took Fourth Master's hand and examined it.
After an awkward silence, Doctor Liang coughed and said to the Fourth Master, "Your Highness, may I examine your eyes and tongue?"
Fourth Master had never seen a doctor dare to speak to him so directly; even when asking for an examination, they always used very elegant language.
"Alright, have you figured anything out?" Fourth Master asked, suppressing his displeasure.
"I'll talk after I examine the tongue and eyes. Please don't move, sir, I'll come and take a look right away." Doctor Liang then opened his medicine box, took out a few things, and walked to the Fourth Master's side, asking him to open his mouth.
Fourth Master was a little nervous. He saw Doctor Liang staring at his tongue for a long time, then flipping Fourth Master's eyelids over and looking at it for a while before he was done.
"Has Your Highness been experiencing excessive internal heat lately?" Doctor Liang asked.
"That's right, I've been feeling tired lately, but I'm very horny in that area. And I'm always thinking about the same person," Fourth Master said, slightly embarrassed.
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