"Where did the musk on the lady come from?" Fourth Master asked with disgust.
Cuiling and Baizhi thought for a while, but still couldn't think of anything special. All of Nian's jewelry and clothes were either gifts from the Fourth Prince or the Fujin (principal wife). If anything wasn't Nian's own, it would be those items. But how could the two maids say such a thing? That would be to doubt their master and the Fujin!
Seeing that the two maids couldn't say anything, the Fourth Master had no choice but to ask the doctor, "You really checked everything, did you miss anything?"
After a moment's thought, the doctor said, "Except for the clothes and jewelry on the lady's body, everything else has been checked, and we have indeed found no trace of musk."
Cui Ling and Bai Zhi exchanged a glance. They knew that the clothes and jewelry that Nian Shi was wearing today were nothing special; they were all part of her dowry. The only exception was the gold and jade bracelet on her wrist, which was a gift from the Fujin (wife of the Fujin).
"Is there anything wrong with those items?" the Fourth Master asked the two maids.
Bai Zhi, not being in charge of Nian Shi's attire, didn't notice anything amiss; and Cui Ling had no idea there was anything wrong with the Fujin's bracelet, nor did she bring it up.
The doctor left some medicine for Lady Nian and then departed. The Fourth Prince, naturally, couldn't stand idly by while Lady Nian's pregnancy progressed poorly, so he decided to set off immediately to take her back to the capital, hoping the imperial physicians might have a solution. However, just one day later, Lady Nian's condition worsened; she began to bleed, even more severely than the doctor had predicted.
The Fourth Prince immediately sent someone to find Alhatu and ask him to help invite the best doctor in Yangzhou. The Fourth Prince remembered the renowned physician, who had also been invited to serve Emperor Kangxi from Yangzhou.
Meanwhile, because the location of the musk had never been found, Geng's suspicion remained unresolved. These past few days, Nian lay in bed, praying with each passing day feeling like an eternity.
Alhatu invited the best doctor in Yangzhou to treat Nian Shi. The Fourth Master and several maids stood by, and an old man with white hair and beard repeatedly took Nian Shi's pulse.
Ms. Nian knew her pregnancy was not going well, and she spent the day in fear. She looked at the old doctor with great anticipation, hoping he could find a way to save the child in her womb.
"Doctor, how is he?" Nian asked, seeing that the old man remained silent.
The old man stroked his white, goatee-like beard, shook his head, and said, "Madam, if you insist on keeping this pregnancy, it's not entirely impossible. I can prescribe medicine for you, but it's very harmful to your health. If you take it continuously, it might save the child in your womb. However, it's very likely that you will never be able to conceive again. And even if this child is saved, he will probably be weak and sickly. Madam, are you willing?"
Those standing nearby were all taken aback by these words. Seeing that Madam Nian was speechless, Fourth Master said to the old man, "No need. Preserving the pregnancy like this is like killing three hundred enemies while losing eight hundred of your own. Shilan, let's not have this pregnancy. You can have children later. Even if this child is born, it will probably be very difficult to raise."
Lady Nian burst into tears. It wasn't that she had deep feelings for the child, but rather that this pregnancy had come so suddenly and unexpectedly, and she was just about to go back and compete with Lanqin for favor. But now it had all turned out like this.
However, Lady Nian has always been a decisive person. Since the Fourth Prince has already decided that she should give up the child, she naturally will not harm her own body for the sake of the child. However, she cannot say this herself; the Fourth Prince must propose to abandon the child and save the mother.
Alas, this is the pitiful state of women in feudal society. Even someone as strong-willed as Lady Nian was still ultimately ruled by men in this matter. If the Fourth Prince didn't speak up, and she initiated the abortion, it wouldn't be acceptable.
Lady Nian cried and said to the Fourth Prince, "My lord, I feel so sorry for this child. He was plotted against even before he was born. Please, my lord, you must seek justice for him."
Fourth Master nodded, offered a few words of comfort, and then sent the old man to prepare the abortion medicine.
After taking the abortifacient, Lady Nian had to stay in bed for half a month to recover. The Fourth Prince felt great pity for her after losing her child. He had originally planned to return to the capital immediately, but he did not set off, fearing that the bumpy journey would be detrimental to Lady Nian's recovery.
Meanwhile, although Madam Geng did not receive any punishment from the master, the fourth master hardly ever visited her anymore, and she had basically returned to a state of neglect.
After learning about Geng's situation, Nian felt a little better, but the thought that someone had secretly put musk on her sent chills down her spine. However, no matter how hard she racked her brains, she couldn't figure out what was suspicious. The old doctor who had caused her miscarriage had also examined her belongings but still couldn't find the musk's hiding place.
The Fourth Prince no longer paid attention to the affairs of the women in the inner quarters, and the matter of Lady Nian being poisoned by musk was temporarily set aside because it could not be found out. The memorial that the Fourth Prince wrote to Emperor Kangxi, along with the memorial of Alhatu, was sent to the front line, but after waiting for five or six days, the Fourth Prince still did not receive a reply from Emperor Kangxi.
Five or six days later, Lady Nian's injuries gradually healed, and she was able to get up. The recovery that the Fourth Prince had been waiting for finally arrived. When he opened Kangxi's letter, he only read a few words, the gist of which was that he should immediately return to the capital to continue assisting the Crown Prince in overseeing the country. There was no mention of the cave in the mountains where weapons were forged, nor was any opinion expressed.
The Fourth Prince read it four or five times in a row, but still couldn't find the slightest hint of his attitude in Kangxi's reply.
"Take a look." Fourth Master calmly handed the letter to Thirteenth Master, who was looking at him from the side.
Thirteen took the paper and looked at it once. He glanced at Fourth Master in surprise, then looked at it two or three more times, but still couldn't understand its meaning.
"That's it?" Thirteen said in disbelief.
"Fortunately, I didn't say anything detrimental to the Crown Prince, otherwise I might have lost my right to assist him in overseeing the country," the Fourth Prince said. He had considered several possible attitudes from Kangxi regarding this matter, but he never expected it to be like this. Judging from the letter, Kangxi not only did not blame the Crown Prince, but also ordered the Fourth Prince to return to the capital to continue assisting the Crown Prince in overseeing the country. In other words, Kangxi may not have even made the matter public, otherwise the ministers who opposed the Crown Prince would have used this incident to impeach him.
"Fourth Brother, I really don't understand Father's attitude. We went through so much trouble, and he just dismissed us with a few words," Thirteen said dejectedly.
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