Kangxi looked at the kneeling imperial physicians below and asked, "Which of you took the pulse for the Imperial Concubine yesterday?"
A young imperial physician knelt forward and said, "Your Majesty, it is I, your subject!"
"I ask you, was there anything unusual about the Imperial Concubine's pulse yesterday?" Kangxi asked, suppressing his anger.
"Your Majesty, I..." The young imperial physician trembled uncontrollably.
"Answer me!" Kangxi slammed his hand on the table, his brows furrowed and eyes wide.
Upon seeing this, the young imperial physician immediately begged for forgiveness, "Your Majesty, please forgive me. When I came to check on the Imperial Concubine's pulse yesterday, she did not allow me to take her pulse. She only asked me to prescribe some calming her mind tea!"
"Your Majesty, so do we. The Imperial Concubine is very busy with palace affairs, so in order not to waste time, she asked us to serve some morning tea as well!" the other imperial physicians said.
When Kangxi heard this, he understood what had happened. His cousin's health was probably ruined by overwork, and it was all his fault for not paying attention to her health.
Looking at the somewhat chaotic Chengqian Palace, the Crown Prince said to He Zhu, "Go to Yanxi Palace and Zhongcui Palace and wake up Consort Hui and Consort Rong!"
Remember, do not let anyone alert Consort Yi!
The Crown Prince felt that since Consort Yi was currently pregnant, it was best not to disturb her.
The Emperor is in a bit of a mess right now, and he's not in a good position to handle things at Chengqian Palace, so it's more appropriate to let Consort Hui and Consort Rong handle it.
“This servant understands!” He Zhu replied.
Consort Rong was making clothes for the Third Prince in Zhongcui Palace when she heard the report from a palace maid. She pricked her finger with a needle, but she didn't care and rushed to Chengqian Palace.
When Consort Hui heard the news, her first thought was whether the eldest prince's marriage would have to be postponed if Consort Tongjia passed away.
Consort Hui was quite satisfied with the marriage arranged by the Emperor for the eldest prince; she couldn't imagine any unexpected events.
However, this only happened in an instant. She immediately ordered someone to help her get ready and went to Chengqian Palace without delay.
Consort Rong and Consort Hui arrived at Chengqian Palace at almost the same time.
"Did Consort Yi send anyone to inform her?" Consort Hui asked Consort Rong as they walked.
"No, the Crown Prince specifically instructed me not to tell Consort Yi!" Consort Rong said.
Consort Hui thought that the Crown Prince was indeed worthy of being personally raised by the Emperor; he was meticulous and thoughtful! If the First Prince had handled this matter, he probably wouldn't have thought of it so comprehensively.
"Hurry up! What are you standing there for?" Consort Rong turned around and saw Consort Hui standing behind her, and hurriedly urged her on.
"Oh, here it comes!" Consort Hui immediately followed.
When Consort Hui and Consort Rong entered, they saw the Fourth Prince kneeling in front of Consort Tongjia's bed, with Emperor Kangxi also standing guard beside him.
When the Crown Prince saw Consort Hui and Consort Rong arrive, he exclaimed, "Consort Hui, Consort Rong!"
"Your Highness, what's wrong with the Imperial Concubine? She was perfectly fine before," Consort Hui asked.
"Empress Tong's health was already poor when she was pregnant with Xiao Ba, and it deteriorated even more afterward. She didn't recover properly, and recently, due to the stress of the imperial concubine selection, her health collapsed all at once!" The Crown Prince could only tell Consort Hui and Consort Rong what he had heard from the imperial physician.
"Thank you for your trouble, Your Highness!" Consort Hui said to the Crown Prince.
Consort Hui and Consort Rong approached Emperor Kangxi and greeted him, "Your Majesty!"
Kangxi raised his head. "Get up! What brings you two here?"
"Your Majesty, it was I who sent someone to inform Consort Hui and Consort Rong! Chengqian Palace still needs someone to preside over it!" the Crown Prince said.
"Yes, you're right!" Kangxi looked at Consort Hui and Consort Rong, "I'm entrusting Chengqian Palace to you!"
"Yes!" Consort Hui and Consort Rong replied immediately without hesitation.
"Your Majesty, the Imperial Concubine's medicine is ready!" Imperial Physician Liu personally carried the medicine in.
"Bring it here!" Kangxi said, gently helping Consort Tongjia up so she could lean against him.
Emperor Kangxi took the medicine from Physician Liu and fed it to Consort Tongjia spoonful by spoonful. Unfortunately, only a little bit went in, and the rest spilled onto the bed or onto Emperor Kangxi.
The bowl of medicine was quickly emptied. "Bring another bowl!" Kangxi ordered.
After feeding the emperor three bowls of medicine, Physician Liu said, "Your Majesty is ready!"
Emperor Kangxi picked up Consort Tongjia, had clean bedding changed, and then placed her on the bed.
"Father, why don't you go and change your clothes too?" The Crown Prince noticed that Kangxi's clothes were covered in medicine stains.
"Liang Jiugong, go and move all my clothes to Chengqian Palace!" Kangxi still felt at ease only when he personally guarded Consort Tongjia.
"Yes!" Liang Jiugong immediately went to pack Kangxi's clothes.
When the Crown Prince saw that Physician Liu had left, he followed him out.
"Imperial Physician Liu, tell me the truth, how is Mother Tong?" the Crown Prince asked.
Physician Liu wiped the sweat from his brow. "Your Highness, unless there is a specific medicine available, we are truly helpless!"
"Is it really just because of a physical deficiency that Tong E Niang is suffering from this?" The Crown Prince had always been skeptical of the imperial physician's explanation.
The best doctors in the Qing Dynasty were all in the Imperial Hospital. With so many imperial physicians, how could they not cure a simple case of physical weakness? Moreover, there were the best and most precious medicinal herbs here. Even if they couldn't completely cure Consort Tongjia's body, they shouldn't make her body even weaker.
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