"Xiahe, the Princess Consort, please let Xicha in!" Suddenly, Chunliu, who came out from behind Xiahe, interrupted Xiahe, who was about to lash out. As she passed by Xiahe, she accidentally bumped her arm with her elbow. The latter seemed to understand and swallowed back the words she was about to say.
"Xicha, come in! As for you, you can wait here. The Princess Consort only said to let Xicha in." Xia He was clearly furious with Zi Ran for what she had just said and had nowhere to retaliate, so she took this opportunity to deliberately make things difficult for Zi Ran.
When Xi Cha heard Xia He say this, her eyes widened in fear. She was timid and had originally wanted to have Zi Ran go in and report back, but seeing Xia He's words, she didn't know what to do.
Seeing Xicha's condition, Ziran grasped her arm and said, "Go and tell the Princess Consort, 'The Princess has been running a fever for over an hour and is already delirious. Last night, the Master told the Princess that he would return early today. Now that the Princess is ill, it may be inconvenient for her to serve the Master. Please inform the Master of this.'"
Upon hearing this, Xi Cha thought to herself: "Master clearly had dinner with the princess yesterday and then hurriedly returned to the front courtyard. When did he say such a thing?" Seeing that Zi Ran's grip on her arm tightened, Xi Cha understood a little. So she nodded and followed Xia He and Chun Liu into the main courtyard.
When Xicha went in, she found a girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old sitting next to the Fujin. She was beautiful and charming, and her eyebrows and eyes resembled those of the Fujin. At that moment, she was talking intimately with the Fujin.
"Reporting to Your Highness, the tea has been delivered!" Chunliu curtsied and then stepped aside with Xiahe.
The Fujin glanced at Xicha and saw that she kept her head down and didn't dare to look at her. A smile appeared on her lips, and she said slowly, "Is something wrong with your princess? What happened? I heard from Chunliu that Princess Niu is sick. Is it serious?"
Xi Cha hurriedly and properly bowed to the Princess Consort before raising her head slightly to reply, "Your Highness, the Princess suddenly developed a high fever this morning and is now unconscious. Yesterday, the Master told the Princess that he would return early today. Now that the Princess is so ill, I'm afraid she won't be able to serve the Master. Please ask Your Highness to assign Doctor Zhou to take a look at the Princess, and please also inform the Master."
Upon hearing this, the Fujin's expression changed slightly, and the woman sitting next to her couldn't help but say, "Sister, since Princess Niu is ill, we should quickly send a doctor over to take a look."
The Fujin's expression darkened, and she said, "Chunliu, go and see if Doctor Zhou is alright with Honghui. If he is, go directly to the South Courtyard to see Princess Niu. Xicha, you go back first, and report to me immediately if anything happens."
Xi Cha quickly bowed again and said, "Thank you, Madam! This servant will go back now."
Meanwhile, Huanbi's trip to Consort Li's place was a complete waste. She was held back and questioned by Consort Li for quite some time before finally emerging from the east courtyard. By the time Doctor Zhou arrived at the south courtyard, Lanqin had been burning with fever for nearly two hours. As soon as Nianxue saw Doctor Zhou finally arrive, she practically rushed over and pulled him over to immediately take Lanqin's pulse.
"Dr. Zhou, how is the princess?" The maids watched as Dr. Zhou kept his two fingers on Lanqin's pulse, frowning and remaining silent. They all looked anxious, for Lanqin's condition was indeed worrying.
"How is Niu-meimei?" When Li's voice came, Nianxue and the other maids were startled. They turned around and saw that it was Li supporting Xiangqiao as they walked to the door.
"Replying to Consort Li, Doctor Zhou is treating the Princess. Why are you here, Consort Li?" Nianxue quickly stepped forward and bowed.
“I heard from Huanbi that my sister suddenly developed a high fever this morning, but the Fujin (madam) hasn’t sent a doctor yet. I was worried, so I came to check on her. I’m glad that Doctor Zhou has arrived!” Li said with a worried expression.
Nianxue placed an embroidered stool at the head of Lanqin's bed for Li Shi, and she watched as Doctor Zhou took Lanqin's pulse.
"Dr. Zhou, how is my sister? I see she has a very high fever, and if this continues, she might damage her brain," Li asked anxiously.
"Your Highness, Consort Niu's pulse is a bit unusual. I must examine it carefully to avoid any misdiagnosis," Doctor Zhou said respectfully, bowing his head.
The maids were deeply moved when they saw that Madam Li had come to see the princess. Now that they saw her asking the doctor, they immediately looked at Madam Li with expectant eyes.
"Then quickly prescribe some fever-reducing medicine for your sister! What will happen if her fever continues like this!" Madam Li demanded, her brows furrowing into a deep frown.
"Yes, Dr. Zhou, if you keep delaying like this, what if my princess gets burned?" Nianxue asked, disregarding Li Shi's presence.
"Your Majesty, I am fairly certain of Princess Niu's illness, but I cannot prescribe any medicine at the moment. I would like to ask Miss Nianxue to invite the Princess Consort over, or perhaps we should wait for the Fourth Prince to arrive." Doctor Zhou removed the fingers from Lanqin's wrist and took the medical towel from her.
"Doctor Zhou, what are you saying? You must see the Fujin (Prince's wife) and even the Fourth Prince to know what's wrong with Sister Niu. Am I not qualified enough to hear about Sister Niu's condition?" Li's phoenix eyes flashed, but she was furious: How dare Doctor Zhou disregard her?
Nianxue was also anxious, and even her voice became a few decibels as she hurriedly said, "Consort Li is here, Doctor Zhou, please speak frankly. It's already a delay in inviting you here today, and now that the diagnosis has been made, you're still refusing to prescribe medicine for the Princess. May I ask what you mean by this?"
Doctor Zhou raised his hand in a gesture of respect to Madam Li and said, “Your Highness, Princess Niu’s illness requires the approval of either Your Highness or the Fourth Prince before any medicine can be prescribed. If it is not so, I cannot bear the responsibility, and neither can Your Highness!”
Madam Li was already displeased with Doctor Zhou's words, and now, hearing him speak like this again, she immediately flew into a rage and said, "Heh heh, it seems someone thinks we are not worthy to know about Sister Niu's illness." As she said this, Madam Li's fingers, which were gripping the handkerchief, tightened their grip on it.
Nianxue was about to ask another question when she suddenly felt a small hand gently touch her back. She turned around slightly and saw that it was Ziran winking at her. Nianxue understood and followed Ziran out.
"Ziran, what's wrong? Gege still has a fever, tell me quickly!" Nianxue didn't understand what Ziran wanted to talk to her about at this time.
“Nianxue, you should go and invite the Fujin (principal wife). Arguing with him like this won’t do the princess any good. Consort Li’s anxious stand by won’t help either,” Zi Ran said.
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