"Princess Niu, His Majesty has a slight fever. He sent me to tell you not to wait for him for dinner," Su Peisheng said, secretly thinking to himself: This Princess Niu, the favor she receives is probably even greater than that of Lady Li from a few years ago. Even when His Majesty is ill, he doesn't forget to come and inform her, so she won't worry.
Upon hearing this, Lanqin immediately stood up, not even bothering to comb her hair properly, and walked a few steps to the door, asking, "Master has a fever! Have you called a doctor?"
Su Peisheng bowed slightly and replied respectfully, "I've seen him. He said it's a cold. The doctor has already prescribed medicine to reduce the fever. Princess Niu, this servant will take his leave now. I'm worried about Master, so I need to go back and check on him myself."
When Lanqin heard that he had "caught a cold," she felt a little sad. She thought about how she had slept soundly in his arms all night while he had been sitting there, and how he had probably caught a cold from that.
“Father-in-law, let me go with you to see the master,” Lanqin said hurriedly.
"Well, His Highness instructed you to rest well and not to come visit," Su Peisheng said softly. In the past, whenever the Fourth Prince wasn't feeling well, he would rest in the front courtyard, and some people wouldn't even know he was better. Therefore, sometimes the Fourth Prince wouldn't go to the back courtyard for almost half a month at a time, and the women there would assume he had gone to the palace on official business or was busy with other matters. That was just his nature; he didn't like to confide in anyone when he was sick or troubled, preferring to keep it to himself and deal with it on his own. That Su Peisheng could tell he had a fever this time was already surprising to him.
Lanqin, unaware of the situation, paused for a moment and tentatively asked, "When can I go and take a look?"
Su Peisheng smiled slightly and replied, "Princess, please wait for the master's summons. This servant will take his leave." After saying that, he bowed, took a few steps back, and turned to leave.
Lanqin watched his figure disappear around the corner of the moon gate, and felt a pang of disappointment.
Why won't he let me see him? But he should expect a response from me!
Lanqin stood blankly at the door, while Xicha carefully walked up and said, "Princess, let me comb your hair first."
"Forget it, why bother combing my hair!" Lanqin turned around, walked past Xicha, and went into the bedroom after saying this.
This was the first time she had ever vented her anger on a maid since she transmigrated, leaving Xicha stunned and standing there at a loss for words. Huanbi frowned at her, and Nianxue was still resting, so for a moment the whole room was quiet except for the ticking of the clock on the long table in the main hall.
Meanwhile, when Su Peisheng returned to Fourth Master's room, he had already taken the fever-reducing medicine and was now lying on the bed, leaning against the quilt reading Dai Zhuzhe's letter.
Seeing Su Peisheng return, he looked up and asked, "How is she?"
"Replying to Your Highness, Princess Niu wished to visit you, so I did as you asked. This servant finds that the Princess is in good spirits and shows no signs of discomfort." Su Peisheng bowed slightly, carefully answering the Fourth Master's question. A closer look at the question "How is she?" reveals several hidden meanings. Su Peisheng had served the Fourth Master for over a decade and had long since grasped his personality and intentions; therefore, he first answered that Lanqin wanted to visit, and only then said that she was unharmed.
"Is the Fourteenth Prince settled in?" the Fourth Prince asked again.
“This servant has made all the arrangements. The rooms are next to the two young princes’ residences. Right now, the fourteenth prince is still in the eldest prince’s room,” Su Peisheng said with a smile.
Fourth Master calmly continued reading the letter with his head down, saying nothing more. Su Peisheng stood bowed to the side, as still as a wooden stake.
"Go to the kitchen and tell her to prepare some warming soup to dispel the cold, and also send over a few simple dishes," Fourth Master suddenly said, his eyes still darting around.
"Yes." Su Peisheng bowed and quickly left. After all, his master had that princess in his heart, so even if his legs were worn thin from running, he still had to do his best.
After Su Peisheng left, the Fourth Prince had a young eunuch help him undress and remove the letters before lying down. Although he had taken the doctor's medicine, his forehead was still a little hot, his spirits were low, and he was hungry. This was a rule the Fourth Prince had followed since he could remember: when he was sick, he would first fast for a day to cleanse his stomach, a principle of traditional Chinese medicine. However, his body, already weakened by illness, became even more frail due to hunger.
After a while, the Fourth Prince was still asleep when he heard Su Peisheng talking to the eunuch outside the door.
"Is the master asleep?" Su Peisheng noticed that the door to the Fourth Master's bedroom was closed, and a young eunuch was guarding outside the door.
"Yes. I just fell asleep," the little eunuch replied.
"Oh. What about these things?" It turned out that when Su Peisheng went to the kitchen to order food for Lanqin, he happened to run into the master and servant who were directing the cooks to cook porridge.
Su Peisheng explained the Fourth Master's arrangements, and Lanqin's face lit up with joy, while Nianxue beside her also beamed with delight.
Even though the master is ill, he still remembers to send his personal eunuch to deliver a message, and now he hasn't forgotten to instruct the kitchen to order food for the princess.
Lanqin was initially suspicious that Fourth Master wouldn't let her visit him, but Nianxue's timely reminder made her think of cooking porridge for him. She remembered how, when she had a cold or fever before, the doctor had also told her not to eat anything, only to drink some light porridge. Therefore, Lanqin took Nianxue with her to the kitchen to cook some porridge for Fourth Master and bring it over. This way, she wouldn't be going against his wishes, and she could also subtly express her feelings.
"The doctor has ordered that the master is not allowed to eat," the young eunuch said, seeing the food box in Su Peisheng's hand.
Su Peisheng rolled his eyes at him and said, "Of course I know this, do I need you to remind me! This is porridge cooked by Princess Niu. Although Master cannot eat a full meal, he can still have some porridge to fill his stomach."
The young eunuch quickly apologized.
"Su Peisheng, bring him in," Fourth Master couldn't help but call out.
After the young eunuch helped the Fourth Master put on his clothes and set up a small table, Su Peisheng then placed the porridge that Lanqin had cooked on the table.
To be honest, this Lady Niu was quite thoughtful. The patient already had no appetite, and if he ate plain porridge, he would find it even harder to swallow. He was also forbidden from eating meat dishes or other hard-to-digest foods, which was why Fourth Master hadn't asked Su Peisheng to prepare porridge. This porridge was called "Century Egg and Lean Pork Porridge," and it looked soft and sticky, with a fragrant aroma that was quite appetizing.
Fourth Master picked up a spoon, took a sip, then a second spoonful, then a third spoonful, until he had eaten more than half of the large bowl of porridge before Su Peisheng stopped him.
"Master, please save some room in your stomach. Eat only six or seven tenths full," Su Peisheng advised, inwardly giving Lan Qin a thumbs up.
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