With the wound in her heart, it was indeed inconvenient for a male doctor to examine her. Hongli couldn't help but wonder, "How was she treated when she was injured back then?"
Qiu Cha answered truthfully: "At that time, the master invited a female doctor to treat the master. After the master recovered, the female doctor gave him a bottle of pills, saying that they could be taken when he had a heart attack. After that, she would come back for a follow-up visit every year."
The follow-up appointment was scheduled for May, but the female doctor didn't come. The mistress, thinking she was in good health recently, didn't think much of it. However, today, while strolling in the garden, she was harassed by the servants. Overwhelmed with anger, the mistress fainted.
Although Hongli didn't care much about Lan Rong, she was, after all, a concubine in the household. According to the rules, the servants shouldn't neglect her. So Hongli casually asked, "Which servant dares to make things difficult for the concubine?"
Qiu Cha replied, "When the mistress was strolling in the back garden, she noticed that there were still many tomatoes in the garden, so she asked me to pick a few. But the servant said that only the Huatang Pavilion could pick those tomatoes, and no one else could touch them. Even if the concubine came, the wife could not touch them."
It was just picking a tomato, yet that servant dared to obstruct me like that. My master, being meticulous, was furious and fainted after only a few steps.
Initially, there were only two tomato plants in the mansion, used for ornamental purposes. After Yu Shan entered the mansion, she said that tomatoes were edible. Later, Hongli had many tomatoes collected. Now there are a total of eighteen tomatoes in the mansion. Nine of them are used for the consumption of other people in the mansion, while the other nine are only used for the private kitchen in Huatang Pavilion.
Hongli knew this all too well, and raised an eyebrow, teasingly saying, "The servant is right. Only those tomato plants can be touched by the Huatang Pavilion. No one else is qualified to enjoy them. Did no one tell you that this rule was set by me?"
"Huh? Nobody told us!" Qiu Cha exclaimed in surprise.
"When Master mentioned the delicious tomatoes to Princess Fucha earlier, Princess Fucha only said that there were still some in the garden and told us to go and pick them. But all the red tomatoes here have been picked, and only the green ones are left, which are not ripe yet. There are still many red ones over there, so Master wanted to pick a few. If Master had known about this rule earlier, he wouldn't have made a fool of himself."
After a moment's thought, Hongli understood: "Fucha has been in the manor for many years. She knew about this rule a long time ago, but she didn't say it outright. I guess she just wanted to see you two have a conflict."
Lan Rong is currently unconscious, and Hongli is not interested in investigating the cause. He simply instructs Demin to take Qiucha to invite the female doctor over.
He went to Yiyun Pavilion first, but halfway there he remembered that Yushan might still be waiting for him, so he instructed Li Yu to go to Huatang Pavilion and tell her that he was delayed by something and would not be able to have a meal there, and not to wait for him.
When Li Yu left, he only said that his master had something to do, and Su Yushan didn't ask any further questions before letting him go.
Curious, Yunfang followed him out and casually asked Li Yu, "What's wrong, Fourth Master? He didn't come home for dinner last night, and he's not coming tonight either. Does he have some social engagements?"
Li Yu never wanted to hide anything from Yun Fang. Since she asked, he would answer, "It's not a social engagement. It's just that the concubine suddenly fainted. It seems to be a relapse of her heart condition. She is still unconscious. Qiu Cha went to fetch the female doctor. Fourth Master, go and take a look first."
After saying this, he reminded Yunfang, "Don't tell Su Gege this yet. If Fourth Master is willing to say it, then let Fourth Master say it. We can't mention it before Fourth Master does, lest Su Gege be unhappy."
Li Yu had already explained the pros and cons to her, so Yunfang stopped insisting on her own opinion and nodded, "I understand."
Su Yushan didn't think much of it, assuming that Hongli had another social engagement and would return after dinner. However, she still hadn't seen him by 9 PM, and she couldn't stay awake any longer, so she stopped waiting for him and went to sleep.
After Hongli went to Yiyun Pavilion, Lan Rong remained unconscious. Her old illness was caused by him, and Hongli could not sit idly by, so he stayed with her.
She waited for almost half an hour before the female doctor came over and took her pulse.
After confirming the concubine's pulse, she first took a bottle of pungent medicine and placed it in front of the concubine's nose. The concubine did not react much and kept her eyes closed. Then the female doctor took out the acupuncture instruments and had the maid undress the concubine before administering acupuncture.
Hongli consciously went to the other side of the screen and turned around.
Seeing this, Qiu Cha thought to herself, "Isn't Fourth Master being too distant? If outsiders see this, they'll definitely think he's the husband of a concubine. Why is he trying to avoid suspicion?"
In reality, the female doctor was focused on acupuncture and didn't think much of it. Her only concern was the safety of her patients; she never interfered in their family affairs.
About fifteen minutes after the acupuncture was administered, Lan Rong slowly woke up.
The light was a little blinding, and in a daze, Lan Rong saw a familiar figure. She was slightly startled. "I think I saw Fourth Master. Am I seeing things? How could Fourth Master be in my room?"
Qiu Cha hurriedly explained, "Master, you're not seeing things, that's Fourth Master. He heard you fainted, so he came to visit you!"
Did she think that her absent-mindedness would move Hongli or make him feel guilty? No! Hongli would only think that she was subtly complaining about his infrequent visits.
However, with the female physician present, Hongli did not want to be ridiculed by outsiders, so he calmly replied, "It's me. How are you feeling? If there's anything uncomfortable, you can tell the female physician directly."
Lan Rong rubbed her forehead, her brows furrowed, and her voice was very weak, "I feel extremely dizzy, my heart is beating very fast, but I don't feel anything else."
"Your illness, Consort, is difficult to cure completely. You can only try to maintain a good attitude and avoid sadness and anger, otherwise it is very easy to relapse." The female doctor then added, "One acupuncture session has little effect, and you will need to have several more acupuncture sessions. If you have access to hot springs to accompany the acupuncture, it will be more beneficial for your recovery."
When the female doctor mentioned the hot spring, Hongli responded that there was a hot spring in the villa.
The female doctor said that it was too hot in summer to soak in hot springs during the day, and the best time was in the evening.
Since it was for recuperation, Hongli would naturally cooperate and decided to send Lan Rong to another residence tomorrow.
This matter was neither a big deal nor a small one. Hongli originally planned to go back and tell Yushan, but when he returned to Huatang Pavilion, Yushan was already asleep, so he didn't disturb her.
The next morning, Hongli went to the palace for court and instructed Li Yu to arrange for someone to escort Lan Rong to another residence.
Li Yu asked, "If the Princess Consort asks, how should this servant answer?"
"Just say that the concubine is weak and needs to recuperate in another courtyard for a while."
Li Yu, upon receiving the order, responded crisply, "Yes, sir! This servant understands!"
Hongli had already made the arrangements, and he thought the matter was over. However, that evening, while he was having dinner with Su Yushan, Qiu Cha suddenly came to see him.
Hongli wondered, "Didn't Qiu Cha accompany Lan Rong to the other courtyard? Why is she back at the manor now? Could something have happened to Lan Rong?"
Surprised, Hongli allowed her to enter, but Qiu Cha looked troubled and said:
"Fourth Master, the female physician has asked Consort to come to the hot spring to administer acupuncture, but Consort is afraid to go down, saying that she is scared to soak in the hot spring at night and would like to ask Your Majesty to come and accompany her."
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