"Your Majesty, the young prince has a cough. Should we send the imperial physician to take a look?" Liang Jiugong reported to Emperor Kangxi, who was sitting in the West Warm Pavilion reading a book.
"Hmm, go and call the imperial physician to take a look. Winter is coming, and the weather is getting colder every day. Has a charcoal brazier been placed in Hongli's room?" Kangxi asked.
"Your Majesty, it has already been set out. It's possible that the palace maids who were serving him took the little prince out to play for a while, and the change in temperature caused him to catch a chill," Liang Jiugong said.
"Go and have the imperial physician examine them first. Keep a close eye on those palace maids. If any of them are lazy or try to shirk their duties, drag them out and have them flogged," Kangxi said.
"Yes, this servant will send someone to invite the imperial physician immediately." Liang Jiugong knew that Kangxi cared a lot about this young prince.
Liang Jiugong instructed a eunuch who performed menial tasks to fetch an imperial physician from the Imperial Hospital to examine Hongli. It was indeed a common cold, caused by alternating between hot and cold. Children's body temperatures are higher than adults'. Hongli was already experiencing internal heat and dryness, and then suddenly caught a chill, leading to a cold, fever, and cough.
The imperial physician prescribed medicine to dispel heat and cold for Hongli, and immediately ordered Xianhui, the palace maid serving him, to fetch the medicine from the imperial pharmacy. As Hongli's personal maid, she felt a greater responsibility and anxiety than anyone else for his illness. If Emperor Kangxi were to lose his temper, they would all be the direct targets of punishment.
Xianhui, clutching the prescription from the imperial physician, ran towards the Imperial Pharmacy. She was anxious, for she was the one who had carried Hongli out. If Kangxi investigated, she would be the first to suffer.
Xianhui grew anxious thinking about all this, so she moved even faster. She needed to get the medicine quickly so she could brew it for Hongli. The sooner Hongli recovered, the less her punishment would be.
"Ouch!"
As Xianhui turned a corner, a palace maid suddenly appeared and bumped into her.
Both of them took a few steps back, stumbled, and fell to the ground.
"How do you walk?" Xianhui exclaimed, rubbing her chest.
"Didn't I get bumped too?" The palace maid got up from the ground and rubbed her chest.
The palace maid hurriedly left Xianhui's side. Xianhui quickly picked up the prescription that had just fallen on the ground, dusted herself off, and then rushed to the Imperial Pharmacy.
Meanwhile, Emperor Kangxi was reading in the West Warm Pavilion when he summoned the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince to inquire about the disaster relief funds.
"Your Majesty, I have already appointed ministers to oversee disaster relief. They will immediately take the court's disaster relief funds to the affected areas and distribute the funds to each household," the Crown Prince said.
"I have already read the memorial you submitted. Baocheng, I hope this will proceed smoothly. Also, those spring planting seeds must be sent over; otherwise, the farmers will not have seeds for spring planting, and there will be another famine next year!" Kangxi said.
"Yes, Your Majesty, I have remembered. I will prepare the seeds for spring sowing as soon as I return," the Crown Prince said.
"No need," Kangxi said. "Prince Yong has already mentioned it to me. He has been preparing the seeds for spring planting for some time now. Let your fourth brother take charge of the spring planting."
"Yes, Fourth Brother was already preparing for spring plowing." The Crown Prince turned to Fourth Master and said.
"Yes, I saw that the Crown Prince was busy with the disaster relief funds, so I didn't tell him about it in time," the Fourth Prince explained.
"Fourth Prince, you will be in charge of this matter. As long as the seeds of Chungeng can be distributed immediately and the disaster relief funds arrive, they will have money to get through the winter and then they will immediately prepare for spring planting. That's how farmers are. As long as you give them a way to make a living, they will not cause trouble." Kangxi said, "The country is based on agriculture, and the affairs of farmers must always be put first."
"Yes, Your Majesty, we will remember your teachings," the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince replied together.
After the two left the Qianqing Palace, the Crown Prince said to the Fourth Prince, "I still have some things to take care of when I go back, and Fourth Brother also has to go back to take care of the spring plowing." After saying that, he turned and left.
As the Crown Prince walked away, the Fourth Prince knew in his heart that he had offended him this time.
"Prince Yong, Prince Yong!" Liang Jiugong called out from behind the Fourth Prince.
"Father-in-law, is there something wrong with Father Emperor?" Fourth Prince turned around and saw Liang Jiugong walking towards him.
“No, it’s about the young prince,” Liang Jiugong said as he approached the Fourth Prince.
"Hongli, what's wrong with Hongli?" the Fourth Prince asked anxiously.
“Alas, the weather is getting cold, and the young prince has caught a cold. Alas, we’ve already given him enough medicine for a day or two. He doesn’t look well at all. Would you like to go and take a look?” Liang Jiugong said.
"Alright, take me to see him quickly. How did Hongli fall ill?" The Fourth Prince immediately followed Liang Jiugong back into the Qianqing Palace.
When the Fourth Prince entered Hongli's room, he found him fast asleep. The little boy's face was flushed.
"What's wrong with Hongli? Why is your face so red? Do you have a fever?" The Fourth Prince raised his hand and placed it on Hongli's forehead.
"I don't know what's wrong, but the young prince seems to be getting more and more confused these past two days. He's been taking the imperial physician's medicine for two days, but instead of getting better, he seems to be getting worse," Xianhui said with a bitter face.
"What prescription? Let me see it!" Fourth Prince was shocked. Seeing Hongli like this, he was also very worried.
Xianhui immediately went to find the prescription and handed it to the Fourth Prince. The Fourth Prince glanced at the prescription, then looked at Hongli.
"Which imperial physician prescribed this?" the Fourth Prince asked.
“It’s Physician Huang from the Imperial Medical Academy,” Liang Jiugong said.
“There’s something wrong with this prescription. Hongli is actually suffering from internal heat and external cold, so the prescription should be for dispelling heat and warding off the cold. Why is this prescription for tonics? Won’t he get hotter and hotter the more he drinks it? No wonder Hongli’s face is so red!” Fourth Prince said.
"What? There's something wrong with this prescription?" Liang Jiugong exclaimed in surprise.
“Indeed, although I am not a royal physician, you can see from these herbs that they are clearly meant to replenish blood and qi. This herb is indeed a very good tonic, but it does not benefit Hongli’s illness at all; on the contrary, it is harmful,” said the Fourth Prince.
"We should report this to the Emperor immediately. This Imperial Physician Huang is incredibly audacious; he actually prescribed the wrong medicine for the young prince." Liang Jiugong dared not fail to report this to Emperor Kangxi.
The Fourth Prince nodded; he knew he couldn't hide it from Emperor Kangxi.
After hearing Liang Jiugong's report, Emperor Kangxi immediately sent someone to summon Imperial Physician Huang from the Imperial Hospital.
"Your humble servant greets Your Majesty, long live the Emperor!" Imperial Physician Huang arrived at the Qianqing Palace carrying his medicine chest. He had thought that the young prince should be almost fully recovered after drinking the medicine he had prescribed for two days, but unexpectedly, he was summoned again.
"Imperial Physician Huang, do you know your crime!" Kangxi stared coldly at Imperial Physician Huang.
Physician Huang felt a cold sweat break out on his back. He didn't seek to make a name for himself, but he hadn't done anything wrong either, so why would the Emperor say such a thing?
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