After returning from Jingren Palace, Lanqin remained sullen. The Fourth Prince always assumed that Lanqin was unhappy because of the imperial concubine selection. No matter how many times Lanqin explained, she remained stubborn, which gave him another excuse to often linger in Changchun Palace.
That day, after court, the Fourth Prince arrived at Changchun Palace in high spirits. Lanqin asked in surprise, "Your Highness, did something happy happen today?"
As the Fourth Prince loosened his court robes, he handed one to Lanqin, a smile on his face. Just as he was about to speak, a eunuch rushed in from outside. Lanqin was startled; the man looked familiar…
"Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Imperial Concubine has vomited blood..." the eunuch said urgently, kneeling on the ground.
Lanqin and the Fourth Prince were shocked and stopped what they were doing. Lanqin stepped forward, pointed at the eunuch, and asked, "Explain in detail, what did you mean by vomiting blood?"
The eunuch wiped his forehead and gasped, "Consort Nian, for some reason, suddenly vomited blood and has fainted..."
Lanqin glanced at the Fourth Prince, who composed himself and murmured, "Where is the imperial physician?"
The eunuch shrank back timidly and replied, "The imperial physician is already on his way to Yikun Palace, but before the Consort fainted, she kept calling out His Majesty's name, so this servant risked his life to come and beg for an audience... Your Majesty, please go and take a look..."
Lanqin turned around, quickly helped the Fourth Prince put on his outer robe, and calmly said, "Your Majesty, Consort Nian's health is of utmost importance. Let's go see her first..."
The Fourth Prince looked at Lanqin with a troubled expression. Lanqin smiled and nodded, and only then did the Fourth Prince feel relieved and leave with the eunuch.
It turned out that in the past few days, there had been impeachments against Nian Gengyao by people in the previous court. Nian had initially thought it was nothing serious, since his elder brother was used to acting freely and many people had his own grudges against him. He figured as long as the Fourth Prince didn't take it to heart, it would just pass like before. Unexpectedly, this time the impeachments came on fiercely, with more and more content and solid evidence. The Fourth Prince's attitude remained ambiguous.
But today, unexpectedly, the number of people impeached exceeded half. Upon learning this, Lady Nian was so angry that she suddenly vomited blood. Looking at the red stain on her handkerchief, Lady Nian was so frightened that she couldn't speak for a long time. Her eyes widened and she trembled as she cried out, "Your Majesty, you must believe in my elder brother..." before fainting.
When the Fourth Prince arrived at Yikun Palace, the imperial physician had already given Lady Nian some medicine, and her complexion had improved considerably. She was half-lying on the bed, her face clouded with worry. Upon seeing the Fourth Prince enter, she struggled to get up, her eyes red-rimmed, and almost fell off the bed.
The Fourth Prince reached out and hugged Madam Nian, comforting her on the bed, and said with concern, "You're not feeling well, you don't need to receive the Emperor..."
Lady Nian grasped the Fourth Prince's hand, looked up at him, and cried, "Your Majesty, I've heard people talking about my elder brother. I swear on my life, he is utterly loyal to Your Majesty and has never harbored any rebellious intentions..."
The Fourth Prince listened intently for a while, then said calmly, "You should focus on recovering first. I have my own plans..."
Lady Nian's heart sank. The Fourth Prince had never hesitated. No matter how outrageous Nian Gengyao's actions were, the Fourth Prince would just laugh it off. Lady Nian hurriedly gripped his hand tightly, her voice trembling as she almost pleaded, "Your Majesty, I know that you are reckless and impulsive, but you have absolutely no disloyalty to His Majesty..."
The Fourth Prince frowned and remained silent. Madam Nian became even more anxious, trembling violently and coughing a few times, struggling to breathe. The imperial physicians immediately surrounded her, and the Fourth Prince stepped aside.
It took a while for Lady Nian to calm down. The Fourth Prince privately asked the imperial physician how Lady Nian was. The physician said that Lady Nian's illness was caused by accumulated heart problems, which led to qi stagnation and insufficient blood in her heart. He advised that Lady Nian should not be angered again. The Fourth Prince turned his head and looked at Lady Nian lying on the bed, her face pale, and felt a pang of pity.
"You can focus on recovering. I promise you I won't easily believe your elder brother's words..." the Fourth Prince said calmly to Lady Nian. Lady Nian was grateful and tearful, nodding with relief.
That night, the Fourth Prince stayed in Yikun Palace...
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
