“We’ll talk about this later. When did the Third Prince start acting badly?” Lanqin asked.
“Actually, things started to go wrong yesterday. I saw the Third Prince yesterday and he didn’t go to class,” Wu said.
At this moment, the Fujin (wife of the emperor) and Song Shi (née Song) also arrived. After exchanging greetings, everyone anxiously awaited Doctor Wu's words.
"Your Majesty, the Third Prince caught a chill, and his fever hadn't subsided, resulting in a combination of external cold and internal heat," Wu Youcai reported.
Upon hearing this, Madam Yin said anxiously, "But the Third Prince has such a high fever, how can we bring it down? I'm afraid that if the fever continues like this, it will damage his brain."
Lanqin walked to the Fourth Prince's side, tugged at his sleeve and said, "Your Highness, why don't we have Doctor Wu prepare the medicine right away? We should help the Third Prince get his fever down as soon as possible."
The princess walked to the bedside, touched the Third Prince's face, and said worriedly, "The Third Prince is such a pitiful child, he has had a fever again and again. Your Highness, I want to go to Huangjue Temple to light an everlasting lamp for the Third Prince, and also for the Fourth Prince." After saying that, she murmured "Amitabha".
"Perfect timing. I'm going to invite a high-ranking monk from Huangjue Temple to the manor to perform a Buddhist ceremony for the late Madam Li. Let them also light some prayers for the children," said the Fourth Master.
"My lord, given the crimes committed by Lady Li, why do you insist on performing rituals for her?" the Fujin asked.
Lanqin quickly shifted her gaze to the Third Prince's face, avoiding looking at the Fourth Prince or the Princess Consort. It wouldn't be appropriate for her to say at this moment that she had dreamt of Li's vengeful spirit, which refused to leave.
"The Third Prince's health has never been good. I think perhaps Lady Li is using this method to tell me that although she deserves to die, the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Second Princess are all my children. For their sake, I want to have a Taoist priest perform a ritual to help them pass on. Then, I will completely renovate the East Courtyard," the Fourth Prince said.
Lanqin hadn't expected that Fourth Master wanted to renovate the East Courtyard, and couldn't help but look away from him.
Everyone was shocked to hear this, but no one dared to say anything more about it. They had all said it was for the sake of the child, and even the Fujin (wife of the emperor) couldn't say anything about it.
A few days later, the monk was invited and performed rituals in the east courtyard for three days. Lanqin was afraid that Li's ghost would come again and frighten the children, so she moved out the golden Guanyin statue that the Fourth Master had given her and placed it in the main room.
However, the Third Prince's illness kept fluctuating, causing the Fourth Prince great worry. In order to help Lanqin and the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince went to ask Physician Yang for help again. Since the last time, he and Physician Yang had developed a private relationship.
After examining Lanqin's pulse, Imperial Physician Yang said, "The concubine is in good health, except for a miscarriage, which she has recovered from. After giving birth to the princess, her health is even better than before. As for the situation the Fourth Prince mentioned, I believe it's due to a knot in her heart. Perhaps the concubine has some unresolved issue in her heart that is causing her to remain in a deep sleep."
Lanqin knew what was going on, but the Fourth Prince didn't believe her. Although she told him she had dreamt of Li Shi, the Fourth Prince still couldn't believe that it was really Li Shi who was keeping him awake. Although the Fourth Prince had invited a Taoist priest to perform a ritual, that was only to put Lanqin at ease, and what he said to the Princess Consort was only to protect Lanqin.
"As for the Third Prince, it's due to his constitution. He has a constitution that is internally hot and externally cold. In the late autumn and early winter season, the dryness combined with the external dampness has aggravated his condition. Take good care of him, and remember not to eat foods that are too hot in nature. Keep his body dry." Imperial Physician Yang said to the Fourth Prince, who was sitting behind his desk.
After seeing off Judge Yang, Fourth Master put down the book in his hand and immediately took Su Peisheng to the South Courtyard.
At that time, Lanqin was playing with her two children. When they got tired, she handed them over to the wet nurse to take away and breastfeed. She herself sat in her study, lost in thought.
"Consort, I believe what you said." Cui Niang placed a set of enamel-inlaid gemstone water pots on the desk, then picked up the pots and poured a cup of tea for Lanqin.
"Cui Niang, do ghosts and gods really exist in this world? Are there heaven and the underworld?" Lanqin had been thinking about Li Shi, whom she had seen in her dream the other day. Li Shi said that her three children were in trouble and asked Lanqin to protect them.
“This servant believes it is true.” Cui Niang nodded earnestly.
Looking at her, Lanqin thought to herself: "Sigh, women of this era like Cui Niang naturally believe in ghosts and gods, otherwise why would the incense at Huangjue Temple be so popular?"
However, Lanqin, who had received more than 20 years of materialistic education, really couldn't accept it. Yet she had actually seen it and even traveled to the Qing Dynasty three hundred years ago, becoming Princess Niohuru of the Fourth Prince.
But if ghosts and gods really exist, why haven't those who commit many evil deeds been punished, while those who do good deeds all their lives suffer such misfortune?
"Cui Niang, think of something. Do you think we have a traitor in our courtyard? Why did the words I just spoke to the master get out so quickly?" Lanqin had been thinking about these things the whole time, except for Li Shi.
"Does Consort suspect that there is a spy in our courtyard?" Cui Niang obviously did not understand the meaning of the word "traitor," but based on what Lan Qin said before and after, she guessed it.
"Yes, although I really don't want to believe it, you saw it yesterday. As soon as Master decided to invite the priest to perform the ritual, Sister Wu and the others found out," Lanqin said.
Cui Niang nodded, agreed, and left.
When Fourth Master arrived, he didn't see Lanqin in the main room, so he went to the study.
"Why are you hiding here?" Fourth Master couldn't help but ask when he saw Lanqin crouching in the back of the chair. He was already used to Lanqin's strange posture.
"Your Majesty, how is the Third Prince?" Lanqin was happy to see the Fourth Prince, but the Fourth Prince had been visiting the Third Prince frequently these past few days, and she was also thinking about him.
"He's a little better. Madam Yin has taken very good care of him. It seems that Your Majesty did not entrust the Third Prince to her in vain." The Fourth Prince saw with his own eyes that Madam Yin stayed by the Third Prince's bedside without taking off her clothes, personally tasting the medicine and then feeding it to the Third Prince.
“That’s good. The Third Prince is so pitiful, having witnessed it firsthand. The Fourth Prince is still young, so naturally he doesn’t have as deep an impression of his birth mother as the Third Prince,” Lanqin said.
“If it weren’t for her harming Honghui, I wouldn’t have done it. I didn’t say I had to kill her, but unfortunately, Heaven wouldn’t allow it. Granny Li has already dealt with her. Hongjun will understand when he grows up.” The Fourth Prince sighed, worried about the Third Prince, and also a little afraid that the Third Prince might blame him, his father.
"Master, Lanqin wants to bring the Third Prince to the South Courtyard to recuperate." Lanqin suddenly felt that the Third Prince's illness had occurred at a strange time. Li Shi did not seem to love the Third Prince much when she was alive, but her spirit dared to come to Lanqin and tell her to save her child.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
