When Doctor Bai emerged from the east courtyard, his heart was filled with dread. From the moment the Fujin (Prince's wife) asked him to prescribe that "pregnancy-stabilizing medicine" for Lady Yin, he knew he would inevitably be drawn into the power struggles within the inner quarters. But the Fujin was the mistress of the Fourth Prince's household, and he dared not disobey. From the moment he heard of Lady Yin's incident at the Third Fujin's residence and Lanqin's being suspected, Doctor Bai understood the Fujin's intentions. He had even struggled with whether to truthfully report to the Fourth Prince. Now, Lady Li had approached him first, and he truly didn't know how to protect himself in this power struggle among the women of the inner quarters.
But before he could even step into his room, Chunliu from the Fujin's quarters was already waiting at the door. Doctor Bai's heart tightened, but he showed no sign of it on his face. Before Chunliu could speak, he spoke first: "Sister Chunliu, is something wrong with the Fujin?"
Chunliu smiled, but didn't directly say that the Fujin had sent her to invite Doctor Bai over. Instead, she looked curiously in the direction Doctor Bai had come from and asked with an inquiring tone, "Where did Doctor Bai go? It seems no one wants to invite a doctor today!"
Chunliu said this because no one had informed the Fujin that she wanted to invite a doctor to take a look, so Chunliu had begun to wonder where Doctor Bai had come from.
Doctor Bai was already somewhat annoyed that the Fujin had dragged him into this women's struggle without his knowledge or any other choice. Now, seeing the suspicion and questioning in Chunliu's words, he felt even more uncomfortable. However, Chunliu was a first-class maid in the Fujin's household, so no matter how uncomfortable he felt, he had to put on a smiling face and speak politely, though he harbored considerable resentment towards the Fujin.
"Sister Chunliu, I just went to the garden to see if there were any wild mother-child grasses. Look, I actually found some!" Doctor Bai said, taking out a few grasses he had just pulled from the soil from his medicine box. Fortunately, these few grasses were just a few he had randomly picked from the grass in the east courtyard and put there. It must be said that Doctor Bai was quite shrewd. He had only originally intended to use the east courtyard as cover, but he had actually anticipated that these randomly picked grasses would indeed play a role.
When Chunliu saw that he had actually taken out several plants that she couldn't recognize at all, she immediately dispelled her earlier doubts. Because the direction Doctor Bai had returned from seemed to be towards the east courtyard.
However, the courtyard he mentioned earlier is also in that direction.
"Oh, Dr. Bai, you've worked so hard. If you need any medicine, just tell the head maid. There's no need for you to do it yourself," Chunliu said politely. She was just saying this on the tip of her tongue, so she immediately and naturally changed the subject: "The Princess Consort ordered me to invite Dr. Bai over to take your pulse."
"Thank you for your trouble, Sister Chunliu. Please allow me to put down these few wild mother-and-child herbs, and then I will accompany you to check on the Fujin's pulse." Doctor Bai bowed slightly. Chunliu naturally agreed.
Meanwhile, in the East Courtyard, Madam Li ordered Que'er to deliver a letter to one of her cousins. He was a staff member in the Shuntian Prefecture in the capital. In this letter, Madam Li instructed her cousin to find out all the information about Doctor Bai; in other words, she wanted him to find Doctor Bai's weaknesses.
Lady Li gained favor with the Fourth Prince, which gradually increased the power of the entire Li family. This cousin, seeing Lady Li's status, specifically traveled from his hometown to the capital to seek refuge with her. Lady Li's father, Li Wenchang, was a local prefect. This cousin could have easily obtained a minor official position by seeking his help, but Li Wenchang specifically sent him to his daughter, hoping to secure a position for her in the capital. Although he was only a prefect, he couldn't directly influence Lady Li, so he placed this cousin by her side to handle any unforeseen needs.
Li's cousin, Feng Fuchen, became a staff member of the Prefect of Shuntian Prefecture through Li Wenchang's connections in the capital. Although he didn't hold a formal official position, he was quick-witted and capable, and thus performed admirably under the Prefect. Investigating someone was a trivial matter; Feng Fuchen didn't need to put in much effort. He simply gave instructions, made up a reason, and someone else would investigate for him.
Here, Doctor Bai followed Chunliu to the main courtyard of the Fujin (Prince's wife), where the Fujin was braiding the tassels of the eldest prince's hair. Since Lanqin had been confined to the Fujin's quarters, she naturally hadn't gone to the front courtyard, and the eldest prince, Honghui, had also heard the rumors circulating among the servants. So, he had come to pay his respects to the Fujin. Although they lived in the same household, since the Fourth Prince moved the eldest and third princes to the front courtyard, the eldest prince had never stayed overnight in the main courtyard. Even when the Fourth Prince wasn't in the household, the eldest prince had never overstepped the rules; this was something his mother had taught him. Therefore, facing her son's "rules," the Fujin sometimes found it difficult to even speak to him about letting go of some of them.
Unexpectedly, the eldest prince took the initiative to pay his respects to her today and even rested here for a while.
"This servant greets the Princess Consort and the First Prince!" Doctor Bai performed two respectful bows.
"Doctor Bai, you may rise. Chunliu, please let Doctor Bai rest in the side room for a while. I will come to take your pulse after I finish braiding the tassels on the eldest prince's hair," the Fujin said kindly.
"Is Mother feeling unwell?" Honghui asked. Doctor Bai had already gone with Chunliu to rest in the side room of the main house.
"It's nothing, just that I haven't had much of an appetite. I'll have Doctor Bai come over to take my pulse," the Fujin said.
"Mother, I heard that Lady Yin miscarried. I feel uneasy. Is it because we bumped into her that day that she miscarried?" Honghui was only eight or nine years old. After hearing those rumors, especially since Fu Weiting and Zhang Rongyuan both thought that Lanqin would not do such a thing, he felt that Lady Yin's miscarriage was most likely caused by bumping into her in the garden that day.
The Fujin frowned, immediately put her arm around Honghui's shoulder, and said, word by word, "Honghui, although you bumped into Consort Yin that day, Doctor Bai prescribed medicine to prevent miscarriage, and there were no signs of a miscarriage. She was pushed and miscarried in the garden of the Third Fujin's residence. Do you understand?"
Honghui hadn't expected his wife's reaction to be so strong. He wanted to say something in defense of Lanqin, but he swallowed his words, because he saw the disgust for Lanqin on his mother's face. Although his mother hadn't said anything, Honghui knew that she loathed all the women in the household who had taken his father away.
"Alright, you're still children. These things have nothing to do with you. Go back to the front yard. Your father has already sent a letter and will be returning to the manor soon." The Fujin didn't want to send Honghui away, but she had more important things to do at the moment.
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