Emperor Kangxi ate with his sons, and the meal was quite lively. After the meal, Kangxi felt a little tired, so he decided to take a nap.
His emperor could do whatever he wanted.
Emperor Kangxi went to sleep, and his entourage no longer needed to put on any show; they naturally went about their own business.
As for the Crown Prince, he was somewhat troubled. He had drunk a few too many cups of wine at lunch and felt a little dizzy. The imperial estate was very large, and since the Crown Prince said he wanted to rest, there was naturally a place available, although it was somewhat remote.
The crown prince didn't care. Ever since he fell ill, he had grown increasingly disgusted with being looked at with pity. He didn't particularly enjoy crowds.
So it's a bit remote, that's fine.
He was taken to a rather secluded room. The prince didn't think much of it; his head was throbbing, so he lay down and went to sleep.
The prince closed his eyes, and wisps of smoke rose from the incense burner in the room. The scent was faint and easily unnoticed.
The eunuch guarding the door suddenly felt a darkness before his eyes and lost consciousness. Then, the door was pushed open, and a veiled person carried a young woman into the room.
The masked man placed the person on the bed, then fed the prince and the woman. After doing this, he took the incense burner and left the room.
The masked man didn't go far; he only left satisfied after hearing the continuous panting sounds of a man and a woman coming from the room.
About 15 minutes later, the Fifteenth Prince was playing hide-and-seek with the palace maids and nannies when he entered the courtyard. The eunuch who had fainted at the door was gone, and there was no sound from inside the room. The Fifteenth Prince went into the room.
He hid in the corner behind the large vase behind Qingfeng; it was a good spot for him to hide since he was small.
Not long after he hid, the palace maids and nannies entered the courtyard and began searching.
The palace maids and nannies noticed that the door to the room facing the courtyard was ajar, so they went inside.
Once inside, things went terribly wrong. The Fifteenth Prince was nowhere to be found. A young palace maid lifted the window curtain and let out a loud "Ah!" that echoed through the sky.
An old woman frowned and asked, "What's going on?"
Such loud shouting and yelling is unbecoming.
The palace maid stammered, "Granny...Granny...There are people inside."
As soon as she spoke, everyone rushed over.
The prince lay sprawled on the bed, face up, completely naked, with a woman in his arms, her face buried in his chest, so her features were not visible.
Everyone was stunned by what they saw; this was not something they should have witnessed.
The old woman was quite knowledgeable, and seeing that the prince hadn't woken up despite their commotion, she felt something was amiss.
She said, "Let's find the young master quickly and then leave this place."
The implication is that they should pretend they didn't see anything.
The Crown Prince's affairs are not something they can meddle in.
The Fifteenth Prince also heard the commotion. Although he was young, he was from the palace after all, and he heard the sound as he emerged from the gap between the vases.
"What happened?"
When the nanny saw that it was the young master, she immediately said with relief, "It's nothing, I just remembered that Her Majesty instructed me to take you back early."
So the nanny picked up the fifteenth prince and prepared to leave.
Just as the nanny picked up the fifteenth prince, someone pushed the door open and came in; and it seemed there were quite a few people there.
When the old women and others saw the guards with swords, their faces turned deathly pale.
The lead guard entered with a cold face, frowning as he asked, "What happened just now? Why were you shouting so loudly?"
The old woman stammered, "It's nothing, just a little palace maid saw a mouse and got scared, so she raised her voice a bit."
A mouse?
The guards looked at their pale faces and couldn't believe it.
At this moment, another guard spoke up: "Sir, there seems to be someone in the bed."
Is anyone there?
"Let's go take a look."
Then two guards began to walk towards the bedside, making the nanny and maids' faces grow increasingly pale and ashen.
The two young guards approached, lifted the curtain, and were immediately startled.
"The Crown Prince?"
As soon as those three words were spoken, the leading guard rushed forward and saw the scene on the bed.
Seeing that the person on the bed was still not moving despite the commotion, the guard feared something was wrong and checked the prince's pulse.
Thankfully, there's still a pulse, so it's good that he's alright.
Although being imperial bodyguards was a respectable job, it was also easy for them to get into trouble. If something really happened to the crown prince, they would inevitably be in trouble.
As for the woman in the Crown Prince's arms, the guards didn't dare to look closely. However, the Crown Prince's situation seemed a bit off, so the guards were uneasy. They first lowered the curtains and then sent someone to report to Emperor Kangxi.
At the same time, the guards also sent someone to invite the imperial physician.
Seeing the guards making these arrangements, the old nanny beside them couldn't help but speak up, "Her Majesty instructed us to take the Fifteenth Prince back as soon as possible. I'm afraid Her Majesty will blame us if we're late. What do you think of this..."
The guard was in a dilemma. The Crown Prince's condition was unknown, so how could the guard dare to let them go back? But the Fifteenth Prince was the son of the Emperor's favorite concubine, which put him in a difficult position.
But if something were to happen to the Crown Prince, they didn't want to take the blame. After weighing the options between the Crown Prince and the Fifteenth Prince, the guard finally said, "His Highness the Crown Prince's condition is unclear, so we'll have to trouble you to wait a little longer. As for the Princess Consort, I will send someone to explain."
The young guard went to the courtyard where Kangxi was resting. When Liang Jiugong saw him rushing over in a panic, he whispered, "What's going on? His Majesty is still resting. Can't you be a little gentler?"
The guard looked anxious: "Steward Liang, something has happened to the Crown Prince."
When Liang Jiugong heard that the Crown Prince was in trouble, his expression changed immediately. Others might not know, but he knew perfectly well that, regardless of whether the throne would belong to the Crown Prince in the future, His Majesty truly had a deep father-son bond with the Crown Prince.
If something happens to the Crown Prince, what about His Majesty...?
Thinking of this, Liang Jiugong couldn't help but shudder.
"Tell me what it is, and I will go and report to His Majesty."
The guard briefly explained the Crown Prince's situation. After listening, Liang Jiugong thought for a moment and decided to report it.
Liang Jiugong entered the room and woke up Kangxi.
"What's going on?" Kangxi asked impatiently after waking up.
He was exhausted after a long day of work and had been sleeping soundly, but he was still grumpy when woken up.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Guards have reported that something seems to have happened to the Crown Prince."
Kangxi frowned: "What is it?"
His tone was somewhat worried.
Liang Jiugong said, "...That's all the guard said. He has already summoned the imperial physician."
Kangxi said, "Change your clothes."
The Crown Prince was sickly and weak. If something were to happen to him, it would be a pain that Kangxi could not bear!
After changing his clothes, Kangxi immediately led his men to the courtyard where the Crown Prince was. On the way, Kangxi looked at the increasingly remote place and wondered why the Crown Prince had chosen such a remote location.
As they approached the courtyard, they encountered a group of ministers and imperial physicians rushing towards them. Upon seeing this, Kangxi's expression immediately turned somewhat unpleasant.
What's going on? Why did everyone come here?
The imperial physician has arrived, so why are all these ministers here? Emperor Kangxi doesn't want too many people to know about the Crown Prince's condition.
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