After she finished doing all that, she stood up, looked back at Hongqiao one last time, and then went out.
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince finally managed to bring Imperial Physician Yang from their bedside. He was indeed carried there in a palanquin. The old imperial physician was over seventy years old, but his medical skills were unmatched. Therefore, Emperor Kangxi had never approved his request to return to his hometown.
Physician Yang carefully examined Nian's pulse, then her eyes, tongue coating, and nasal breathing. After this examination, Physician Yang couldn't help but frown. Nian's condition did indeed seem strange.
Seeing Physician Yang sitting there stroking his beard in deep thought, Nian Gengyao couldn't help but ask anxiously, "Physician Yang, what is the condition of my sister?"
Fourth Master made a shushing gesture to Nian Gengyao and then pulled him out.
"Your Highness, is that old man any good? He doesn't seem capable at all!" Nian Gengyao muttered to the Fourth Prince as soon as he stepped out of the inner room.
"Imperial Physician Yang has served in the palace for fifty years. You can't talk nonsense." Fourth Prince finally couldn't bear Nian Gengyao's rudeness any longer and wondered to himself if he had been too lenient with him.
Physician Yang emerged, trembling, supported by his servants. He had likely overheard Nian Gengyao's words. The Fourth Prince, looking embarrassed, quickly went to greet him.
"Doctor, how is the concubine?" the Fourth Prince asked gently.
After glancing at Nian Gengyao, Physician Yang said to the Fourth Prince, "Your Highness, the poison in the concubine's body is probably an extremely rare one. This poison comes from the southern barbarian lands. I am only suspicious at the moment. I will have to go home and check the ancient texts to confirm whether it is true or not."
"Alright, thank you for your trouble, Physician Yang," Fourth Master said hurriedly.
"Su Peisheng, quickly escort Physician Yang back to the manor. Be careful and make sure nothing goes wrong on the way," the Fourth Prince instructed Su Peisheng.
After Physician Yang was helped away by his personal servant, Nian Gengyao said awkwardly, "This old physician, hasn't he been practicing medicine for fifty years? Why does he still have to go back to his books when he encounters a problem?"
The Fourth Prince immediately turned cold and said, "There are all sorts of strange things in this world. The old imperial physician is just a mortal and can't remember everything so clearly. General, you should go back to your room and rest. Now that Physician Yang has said that the cause has been found, Shilan's illness can be cured."
Having said that, the Fourth Prince turned and left, ignoring Nian Gengyao's expression.
These past two days, Fourth Master hadn't had a proper rest in the East Courtyard because of Nian Shi's matter, and now he felt utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. Physician Yang's words had somewhat reassured Fourth Master; as long as he said the cause of the poison could be found, then a method to detoxify should be available.
As soon as Fourth Master emerged from the East Courtyard, his steps involuntarily led him toward the South Courtyard. When Fourth Master entered the South Courtyard, the maid inside was slightly surprised to see him, but immediately smiled and went to inform Lanqin.
After returning from Lady Fucha's place, Lanqin never went out again. After her afternoon nap, she would hide in the study and not let anyone in to serve her.
"My lady, the prince has arrived," Si Hua said to Lan Qin inside through the door.
"Go tell the kitchen to prepare a few of the Prince's favorite dishes," Lanqin replied immediately, but made no move to get up. Sihua was suspicious, but before she could ask again, the Fourth Prince was already approaching. Sihua had no choice but to bow and then step aside to tell the kitchen staff what Lanqin had said.
Fourth Master gently pushed open the door, then stepped over the high threshold and went inside. Lanqin heard the footsteps and knew that Fourth Master had arrived.
"Why are you looking at these things?" Fourth Master asked, noticing the book in Lanqin's hand.
"Why has Your Highness come? How is Consort Nian doing?" Lanqin asked, pushing the book in her hand aside without answering the Fourth Prince's question.
"Imperial Physician Yang has already come. He said he needs to go back and look through some ancient books." The Fourth Master's expression was somewhat indifferent.
"Is something bothering you, Master?" Lanqin noticed the discomfort on the Fourth Master's face. Having been his wife for ten years, Lanqin was naturally able to read the expression on his face.
"Nian Gengyao is really too unruly. It makes me feel really..." The Fourth Prince couldn't continue.
Lanqin quickly said, "Your Highness, the General is often in the army, so he may be a bit rough around the edges. Your Highness need not take it to heart."
As soon as Fourth Master spoke, he already regretted complaining about the Nian family to Lanqin, because he had indeed spoiled them so much, and he had naturally witnessed Nian's arrogance. But the little woman not only didn't blame him, but also comforted him like this, making Fourth Master feel as sweet as if he had drunk honey.
"You still haven't told me what you were looking at just now. I don't remember you liking burning incense!" Fourth Master asked, putting his arm around Lanqin.
"Your Highness, I've only noticed a few strange things, so I wanted to consult some books to see if they could resolve my doubts," Lanqin pondered. She knew she couldn't rashly tell the Fourth Prince about Lady Fucha's reincarnation; he might suspect she was crazy. Besides, she herself was a time traveler—would the Fourth Prince accept that?
"What strange thing?" Fourth Master asked.
"I went to Lady Fucha's place today to see if she was truly unaware of the situation. I have a feeling this matter wasn't the work of her maid and Lady Liu," Lanqin said. The Fourth Prince doesn't seem to care as much about Lady Liu, nor does he seem to care as much about Lady Fucha as he does about the Nian family.
"I also find it suspicious. Fucha's family background is far superior to Liu's. Her maidservant accompanied Fucha's eldest daughter as part of her dowry. How could she be such a money-grubbing person? Does Fucha really think she would be short of money?" Fourth Master said.
Lanqin was startled: it turned out that the Fourth Prince did not believe Hongqiao's words at all, but his attitude was still biased towards Fucha!
Lanqin felt a chill in her heart. The Fourth Prince's attitude clearly showed that he was unwilling to give up Lady Fucha, so he was giving up Lady Liu, especially since Lady Liu was an impure person!
"Qin'er, you know my current situation. Of course, we must try to gain the support of the eight major Manchu clans. Therefore, I intend to end this matter concerning the Fucha clan here. As long as Physician Yang can cure Lady Nian's illness, we'll shift the blame onto Lady Liu and that Hongqiao," the Fourth Prince said. Lanqin was someone he no longer needed to hide anything from, so he spoke these words.
Lanqin nodded and said, "I understand your concerns, Master. But..."
"But what?" Fourth Master pressed.
Lanqin looked at the Fourth Master with a complicated expression. How could she possibly say that Lady Fucha had lived two lives? How could she possibly understand that this woman's thoughts were not so simple?
"It's just that Princess Fucha seems a bit obsessed with incense. I noticed some strange fragrances in her room," Lanqin said. "So when I came back, I looked through some ancient books and found that burning too much of this incense is harmful to the human body."
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