The Fourth Prince had seen smallpox before, so when he saw the red rash on the Fifth Prince's face, he immediately recognized it as smallpox, the disease that everyone feared. This disease, which was the most dreaded in the Qing Dynasty, was synonymous with death.
The Fourth Prince felt a wave of dizziness. Why were his offspring always dying young? What was the reason?
"How did you all manage to serve the Fifth Prince? How did he get smallpox?" the Fourth Prince asked angrily. The maids serving the Fifth Prince were newly acquired by Lady Nian. They were already afraid when Lady Nian sent them to serve the Fifth Prince, and now, after being yelled at by the Fourth Prince, they were all terrified.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, we servants were just sent here by the Consort. The ones who served us before have all been locked up by the Consort." One of the slightly bolder servants quickly lowered her head and answered.
"Su Peisheng, go and invite Old Master Yang!" Fourth Master immediately said to him.
"My lord, the Fifth Prince is my life! If anything happens to him, I know I won't be able to live!" Madam Nian held a handkerchief in her hand, already sobbing uncontrollably. Losing a child at a year old, when they've just learned to call out to others, is the most painful thing imaginable.
"Shilan, isn't Your Majesty doing your best to save the Fifth Prince? He hasn't even been diagnosed yet, and you're crying like this; it's bad luck!" The Fourth Prince really wasn't in the mood to comfort Lady Nian. After his heart-to-heart talk with Consort De, his heart felt much heavier. Although he didn't have evidence yet regarding the Fujin's actions, he felt that only the Fujin and Lady Nian could have done so much; no one else simply had that kind of ability!
When Nian saw the Fourth Prince's stern face, she dared not cry anymore. She quickly wiped away her tears and said, "Your Highness, I was just flustered."
After Physician Yang arrived, he and Doctor Lin examined the Fifth Prince's pulse and face. The Fourth Prince sat quietly to the side, his face grim, waiting. Seeing the Fourth Prince's displeasure, Lady Nian dared not approach him further and quietly watched the two doctors examine the Fifth Prince.
Meanwhile, news of Lady Nian's son, the Fifth Prince, contracting smallpox had spread far and wide. People everywhere were dissatisfied with Lady Nian's temper and secretly mocked her for being immoral, which led to her son suffering from this natural disaster.
“Cui Niang, the master won’t be coming today, so you don’t need to keep watch like this. Fifth Prince is so young, I hope he can pull through this,” Lan Qin said. Although she knew that there was a preventative vaccine in later generations that could prevent smallpox with just one shot, she was unfortunately not a medical professional and couldn’t possibly develop a medicine that could protect against smallpox.
"Consort Nian has been quite well-behaved this past year, staying by her Fifth Prince's side every day. I never imagined he would still contract such an illness!" Cui Niang sighed. "How could he suddenly catch that? Was it caused by someone?"
"I don't know. With so many things happening in the manor lately, who else could be so ruthless as to stir things up like this?" Lanqin said. She felt that the Fifth Prince contracting smallpox was perhaps his fate, as it seemed that none of Lady Nian's children lived more than a few years.
“Yes, quite a lot has happened lately. The drought outside is so severe, and the imperial court is actively resettling the disaster victims. With so many things happening in the manor, the master must be feeling quite distressed,” said Cui Niang.
Lanqin nodded and gently touched the baby in her belly. Fortunately, nothing had gone wrong yet.
Meanwhile, Physician Yang had confirmed that the Fifth Prince had smallpox. Lady Nian, unable to bear it any longer, was helped away to rest by Cui Ling and several of her maids. The Fourth Prince immediately ordered Doctor Lin to give medicine to all the servants who had been in contact with the Fifth Prince as a preventative measure, including Lady Nian herself. Because smallpox is highly contagious, he then instructed the head nanny to ask everyone in the mansion who had previously had the disease, and temporarily reassigned those who had been to serve the Fifth Prince. This was because those who had previously had smallpox were not susceptible to reinfection.
Immediately, instructions came from the head maid everywhere: all servants who had survived smallpox had to report and await reassignment.
In the west courtyard, in Wuya's room, she was talking to Cuiyun about the Nian family's affairs.
"I never imagined that Consort Nian's son would contract such a terrible disease!" Cuiyun's face showed a gloating expression.
“Cuiyun, what do you think about me taking the initiative to speak to the Fourth Prince and offering to take care of the Fifth Prince?” Uya suddenly asked.
Cuiyun looked at Wuya in disbelief and said, "Madam, what are you doing? That's smallpox. If you get infected, you could easily lose your life."
A glint of shrewdness flashed in Wuya's eyes as she said, "I've been in the manor for half a year now, and who would have thought that Fourth Master hasn't even spent a night with me yet? This can't go on. If you want something, you have to give something in return. I've had smallpox before, it doesn't matter!"
Cuiyun asked in surprise, "Madam, did you have smallpox before?"
Uya nodded and said, "That's right, it was when I was very young. Since such a terrible thing didn't take my life, it means that I was born lucky. This time, I must make a place in your heart."
Cuiyun hesitated and said, "Madam, what about me? You've gone to take care of the Fifth Prince, so it's not right for me to stay in the room."
Knowing her concerns, Lady Wuya said, "You've never had smallpox, so you naturally don't need to go. I can go alone. Doesn't that better demonstrate my affection for the Fifth Prince?"
After making up her mind, Wuya took Cuiyun's hand and headed towards the east courtyard.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, Lady Uya is outside requesting an audience!" A second-class maidservant entered to report.
Lady Nian had rested for a while, but she was still worried, so she came over to keep an eye on things and sat with Fourth Master in the outer room.
"What brings Lady Wuya here?" Madam Nian glared at the maid with displeasure. What a clueless girl! She actually ran in to report. Why not just give her a brief reply and send her away?
"Lady Wuya said that she had contracted smallpox as a child and wanted to take care of the Fifth Prince." The maid knew she had offended Lady Nian, but it was too late, so she could only say this.
The Fourth Prince was taken aback, remembering Lady Wuya. He realized he hadn't had a chance to visit her yet, and it had been almost half a year since he last saw her.
"Let her in!" The Fourth Prince felt a warmth in his heart when he heard that Lady Uya had taken the initiative to come and take care of the Fifth Prince.
Lady Nian felt a little uneasy. She thought that this Lady Wuya was like a weasel offering New Year's greetings to a chicken, with no good intentions. But since the Fourth Master wanted to see her, she couldn't stop him.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
