The wet nurse and maid took turns coaxing the little prince, while Lady Nian sat anxiously watching from the side. The imperial physician would occasionally take Hongfu's pulse and check his temperature.
Suddenly, a palace maid rushed in, looking flustered. She whispered a few words in Lady Nian's ear, and Lady Nian's expression changed drastically. She took Hongfu from the wet nurse, hugged him in her arms, and patted him gently.
The Fourth Prince then rushed in. Lady Nian turned around, ran to him in tears, and sobbed, "Your Majesty, you've finally come! Hongfu has had a persistent high fever and cried all night. I didn't want to disturb you, Your Majesty, but the imperial physician said… the imperial physician said the young prince's illness is very strange, and I had no other choice but to send someone to fetch Your Majesty…"
As she spoke, tears streamed down her face; she looked utterly aggrieved…
The Fourth Prince glanced at the imperial physician, who and his wet nurse were so frightened that they knelt on the ground, trembling and not daring to utter a sound.
The Fourth Prince reached out and touched Hongfu's forehead; it was indeed burning hot. His expression showed a hint of anxiety: "Imperial Physician, what's wrong with the young prince?"
"Your Majesty!" the imperial physician said, "Since returning from the Yuanmingyuan, the young prince has fallen ill three times. The first two times he recovered quickly, but this time the high fever won't go down. I've tried various methods, but to no avail. I think..."
The imperial physician glanced at Lady Nian, then quickly looked away, stammering, "This humble servant thinks the young prince may have suffered some kind of fright, and perhaps caught a chill, which is why he has a high fever..."
Holding Hongfu, Nian Shi's heart tightened, and she lost her footing. The maid supported her. Nian Shi thought to herself, "Could it really be that the vengeful spirit of that wet nurse has come and frightened Hongfu, causing him to have a persistent high fever?"
Lady Nian hurriedly handed Hongfu, the baby in her arms, to a maid, then knelt at the Fourth Prince's feet in terror, saying in a panic, "Your Majesty, there is something unclean in my harem, that's why the little prince was frightened. Your Majesty, please quickly summon a Taoist priest to perform a ritual to dispel the evil spirits from the little prince..."
After hearing this, the Fourth Prince glanced coldly at Madam Nian on the ground and asked, "What unclean thing? What happened to Hongfu?"
Hongfu's cries rang out again, sounding even more distressed and painful than before. Madam Nian scrambled to her feet and rushed to Hongfu, tears streaming down her face, comforting her, "It's alright, Mother's here. Mother will definitely drive away those wandering ghosts. You'll get better, don't be afraid..."
However, Hongfu showed no sign of stopping, waving his little hands and crying loudly.
The Fourth Prince asked irritably, "What ghosts and spirits? The harem is most averse to concubines spreading rumors about ghosts and spirits. As the head of the palace, you should set an example. How can you believe these rumors?"
Lady Nian knew she could no longer hide the truth. If she didn't tell the Fourth Prince that she had beaten Hongfu's wet nurse to death, he would never hire a Taoist priest to perform a ritual for Hongfu.
Lady Nian glanced at Hongfu with heartache, gritted her teeth, and turned to the Fourth Prince, saying, "Your Majesty, there are indeed ghosts in my palace... It was witnessed by the people in my palace. I didn't believe it at first, but seeing Hongfu like this, I have no choice but to believe it..."
Fourth Master sat down, his face grim as he angrily demanded, "What ghost? Who saw it?"
Upon hearing this, the young palace maid who had been on night watch trembled with fear and knelt before the Fourth Prince, kowtowing repeatedly: "Your Majesty, it was this servant who saw the ghost of the wet nurse who was beaten to death yesterday return last night, and afterwards the young prince started to have a fever..."
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