"This servant dares not, but the princess is currently unconscious. Please, Madam, make the decision!" Nianxue could already hear the anger in Madam's words. She said she wanted the Fourth Prince to come back and make the decision, but it was hard to say when the Fourth Prince would return, or even if he would return at all. Especially since she had just heard him tell the princess yesterday that he had taken on the task of preparing the dowry for Princess Gulun. If the Fourth Prince's workaholic nature came out again, the princess would definitely not be able to get away with it. If this continued to drag on, she might even die from the fever.
“Nianxue, you are the personal maid who came to the manor with Consort Niu, right? I understand your concerns. But as you can see, Consort Niu is currently unconscious. If the fever continues like this, her brain will probably be damaged. Don’t you think so, Doctor Zhou?” The consort’s gaze shifted to Doctor Zhou, who felt a series of cold gazes falling on him.
"Reporting to the Lady, Princess Niu's condition is indeed not something that can be delayed any longer," Doctor Zhou said.
"Then, then please prescribe the medicine quickly! Please, Madam, save my princess!" Nianxue hurriedly knelt down and kowtowed repeatedly to the Madam. She was terrified that her words had offended the Madam.
"Doctor Zhou, you may go and open the pharmacy. Chunliu, you go with Doctor Zhou to get the medicine. Once the medicine is ready, Miss Nianxue, I'll trouble you to prepare the medicine for Princess Niu." The Fujin instructed.
Everyone went about their business as instructed by the Princess Consort.
Meanwhile, Zi Ran, taking advantage of the moment when the Fujin was not paying attention to her, secretly left the South Courtyard and ran towards the front courtyard. When she reached the front courtyard, the eunuch guarding the gate stopped her.
"Where are you from, daring to trespass into the front yard?" The gatekeeper had never seen Zi Ran before, because Lan Qin had only brought Nian Xue and others with her on ordinary days, so Zi Ran was definitely a stranger here.
"Brother, I am the maid of Princess Niu from the South Courtyard. She is currently ill, and I would like to request an audience with the Head Madam!" Zi Ran said hurriedly.
"If you're sick, you should naturally go to the doctor. Why would you want to see the head maid?" The servant still looked at Zi Ran with a very wary gaze.
"Please, sir, take me to see the head nanny. Please accept this as a token of my respect." Zi Ran quickly took out some loose silver from her sleeve and stuffed it into the servant's hand.
"This..." the servant thought to himself: Princess Niu is the apple of the master's eye. If she is truly one of her people, then of course he cannot stop her; if she is not one of her people, then it is fine for her to see the head nanny. With that in mind, he pretended to delay for a while and then accepted the silver.
"Alright, I'll take you in since you seem kind. But when you see the head nanny, you'd better make sure you explain yourself clearly." The servant quickly stuffed the loose silver into his sleeve.
"Of course, Brother, you don't need to worry," Zi Ran quickly assured him, promising not to say anything detrimental to him.
The servant led Zi Ran to the west side of the front courtyard, where the head nanny lived. She managed everything in the front courtyard, including the personnel changes in the mansion. When the Fourth Prince was in the palace, she was one of his wet nurses, always serving him diligently and being a strict person, which earned her the Fourth Prince's trust.
Meanwhile, the head nanny was reviewing the day's accounts in her room when she noticed Xiao Zhuzi bringing Zi Ran from the South Courtyard in. She was taken aback, and before she could ask anything, Xiao Zhuzi said, "Head nanny, the maid from Consort Niu's quarters says she has something to ask of you."
"Ziran, what brings you here?" The head nanny had some recollection of this maid, naturally because of the one in the South Courtyard; she herself had personally led this maid there back then.
When Xiao Zhuzi saw that the head nanny really recognized her, he became uneasy. He wondered if she would complain to Princess Niu about the money he had just accepted. Seeing the head nanny wave at him, Xiao Zhuzi glanced at Zi Ran beside him and then left.
"Granny, I have a favor to ask. Please help my princess." Zi Ran suddenly knelt down and said.
"Stand up and tell me, what happened to Princess Niu?" Her action startled the head nanny.
"Reporting to Granny, my princess suddenly developed a high fever this morning that wouldn't go down. After calling the doctor, he diagnosed it as a cold. Normally, a few doses of fever-reducing medicine would be enough to bring it down, but the doctor also discovered that my princess is more than a month pregnant. Under these circumstances, administering medicine might harm the fetus. But if we don't give her medicine, she's getting so feverish that she's unconscious." Zi Ran briefly recounted the whole story in one breath.
Upon hearing this, the head nanny, knowing it concerned the Fourth Prince's offspring and involved the favored South Courtyard, immediately asked, "Has the Princess Consort been asked to go and see about this? What did the Princess Consort say?" She was only asking subconsciously; the Princess Consort couldn't possibly be unaware of such a significant matter.
Zi Ran hurriedly said, "The Fujin is already with my mistress, and she has ordered Doctor Zhou to administer the medicine. But I think it would be better to inform the master about this matter, as there might be a better solution. That's why I came to find the nanny!"
"You want me to inform the Fourth Master!" The head nanny understood the meaning behind Zi Ran's words. Although she didn't say anything on the surface, they both understood each other's meaning.
"This concerns the master's offspring, so I privately think it's best to be cautious," Zi Ran said softly, glancing up at the head nanny.
After a moment's thought, the head nanny asked again, "Has the medicine been fetched yet?"
Zi Ran shook her head and said, "When I came out, they hadn't caught them yet, but I don't know now. Nian Xue knows I came to see Granny, so she'll probably try to stall for time."
The head nanny stood up and called to the maid outside, "Ah Xiu, go and fetch Zhao Quan!"
After Zhao Quan arrived, the head nanny gave him a few instructions and then personally wrote a note and handed it to him. Zi Ran then saw Zhao Quan rush out like a whirlwind.
Zhao Quan immediately went to the stables, showed the note from the head stablekeeper to him, and then went in without hindrance to choose a fine horse. After the stablekeeper personally saddled and harnessed the horse, Zhao Quan immediately led it out of the mansion from one side of the stables, as the stables were located on the westernmost edge of the Fourth Prince's residence, separated from the street by only a wall.
Zhao Quan rode his fine horse at breakneck speed through the streets, drawing the attention of passersby and merchants alike. Those who noticed the pattern on the saddle quickly moved away. Soon, Zhao Quan reached the Meridian Gate of the Forbidden City, where he saw the Fourth Prince's carriage parked. He immediately galloped towards it.
"Master!" Zhao Quan shouted as he saw Su Peisheng sitting on the edge of the carriage smoking a pipe, and immediately rode his horse to the side of the carriage.
"Zhao Quan, what are you doing here?" Su Peisheng was about to start cursing. No one dared to ride a horse directly to the Fourth Master's carriage, but he was surprised to find that the person on horseback was actually Zhao Quan.
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