On the eighth day of the sixth lunar month, the children returned home. After twelve long days of suffering, the smallpox vaccination was finally over!
Yu Ying and Su Yushan arrived at the gate of the mansion early in the morning to wait for the palace carriage. When the carriage slowly came to a stop at the gate, the two of them couldn't wait to approach.
Hongli stepped down from the first carriage. His expression seemed very grave. Yuying and Su Yushan felt their hearts tighten involuntarily. If the child was safe and sound, he shouldn't look like this!
Surely nothing unexpected has happened?
The eunuchs in the carriages behind bowed to the First Princess and the Second Princess in turn, and then lifted the curtain. Immediately afterwards, a nanny poked her head out of the carriage, holding the little prince in her arms.
The moment Su Yushan saw her son, a weight was lifted from her heart, and she hurriedly went forward to greet him, "Yan Yan!"
At this moment, Yan Yan was a little weak and not as energetic as usual, but as soon as he saw his mother, he finally lifted his droopy eyelids and called out "Your Majesty" in a childish voice.
Su Yushan took the child from the nanny, held him in her arms, and stared at him intently.
Because cowpox was not yet available at that time, only human variolation was possible. The survival rate of human variolation was not very high, and if the variolation was not done well, it was easy to leave scars on the face. Fortunately, Yan Yan did not have variolation marks on her face, but on her body.
Su Yushan gently stroked his little face with her finger, coaxing him tenderly, "Yan Yan, you've suffered. It's alright now, everything is over."
Yan Yan lowered his head and buried his face in his mother's arms, only his mother's scent could bring him peace.
Yu Ying panicked and kept looking into the carriage, but when she lifted the curtain, she found it empty. She couldn't help but wonder, "Where's Bao'er? Why hasn't she come back? Is she still in the palace?"
When the princess asked the question, the eunuchs dared not utter a sound. Yu Ying became increasingly nervous and turned to look at Hongli, "Fourth Prince, where is our daughter? Why didn't she come back to the manor with you?"
As Yu Ying asked this question, she was trembling all over. "Has she not recovered yet? Is she still undergoing treatment?"
On the way back, Hongli kept thinking about how to face his wife and how to tell her about his daughter's condition.
He considered many ways, but when he saw her and met her expectant gaze, Hongli couldn't bring himself to speak.
"she……"
Seeing that Hongli remained silent, Yuying grew increasingly anxious, her voice already trembling with tears, "What's wrong with Bao'er? Fourth Master, please tell me quickly, what happened?"
No matter how much she tried to hide it, she eventually had to tell the truth. Hongli couldn't bear to torment her, so he steeled himself and revealed the truth.
"Bao'er...didn't make it. The smallpox vaccination failed, and she's already gone."
These words struck Yu Ying like a bolt from the blue, leaving her eyes wide open, her heart trembling, her legs weak, and even unable to stand steadily. Fortunately, Dong Ling supported her, preventing her from falling.
"How could this happen? It can't be! Yan Yan is fine, isn't he? He's safe and sound, so why didn't my daughter make it?"
“Every child’s constitution is different, and the outcome of smallpox vaccination is inherently unpredictable…”
Although Hongli usually showed as much care for his daughter as he did for Yan Yan, she was still his own flesh and blood. After spending two years together, he had developed some feelings for her. Now that Bao'er had an accident, he was also heartbroken.
The sudden turn of events has left Yu Ying in a daze, unable to believe it's real. "She was perfectly fine when she passed away, she was even calling me 'Mother'! How could she just disappear like that? Where is my child? I need to see her!"
Yu Ying wanted to enter the palace, but Hongli stopped her. "Bao'er's smallpox inoculation failed, and she still has smallpox in her body. Therefore, Father Emperor forbids Bao'er from returning to the mansion and sends her directly out of the palace for burial."
They're going to bury her right away? This cruel treatment is unacceptable to Yu Ying. "That's my daughter! She's had such an accident, and I'm not even allowed to see her one last time?"
Hongli patiently advised, "Smallpox is different from other diseases; it is highly contagious. Even if you are her mother, you cannot get close! If something goes wrong, who can bear the responsibility?"
Yu Ying, however, was not afraid. "I've been vaccinated against smallpox, so I won't get smallpox again. I'm not afraid!"
"Although those who have been vaccinated against smallpox will not contract it again, there are exceptions. They may get sick again, or you might be fine, but your clothes might be contaminated with smallpox, which could easily spread to others when you return home." With so many people in the household, Hongli couldn't afford to take the risk.
"In short, it's too dangerous; you can't enter the palace!"
"Let me see my daughter! Let me see her one last time, Fourth Prince, I'm begging you!" Yu Ying pleaded repeatedly, heartbroken, but Hongli remained unmoved.
"This is the Emperor's will, and imperial orders cannot be disobeyed. There is also a young prince in the household. Even if you don't care about others, you must consider your son's safety. I know you are sad, but as the Princess Consort, you should set an example and understand the Emperor's good intentions!"
Hongli used her son as an excuse, and Yuying stopped being stubborn. Heartbroken, she leaned on Hongli's shoulder and cried uncontrollably.
Hongli subconsciously turned to look at Su Yushan. His wife was in grief, and he seemed to have no reason to push her away, but he was also worried that Yushan would feel bad if she saw this scene.
Upon learning of the Fujin's grief over the loss of her daughter, Su Yushan, as a mother herself, felt deeply for her. If... if Yan Yan hadn't returned today, she would surely have collapsed, unable to accept it.
Regardless of any past conflicts with the Fujin, at this moment the Fujin was merely a pitiful mother who had lost her daughter. She needed comfort and Hongli's company. Therefore, Su Yushan wouldn't dwell on such a trivial matter. She first carried Yan Yan back to the mansion, while Hongli escorted Yu Ying back to Lanzhao Courtyard.
Yu Ying's emotions were very unstable, and she even fainted from crying at one point.
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