Peach Blossom Village.
In front of them were two jackets, one large and one small, but with basically the same color and embroidery. The jackets were torn open, revealing the mottled cotton wadding mixed with brown and yellow inside.
There was also a tray next to it, which was the cotton vest that Yinzhen had ordered people to bring back from Yue Di Yun Ju, belonging to Hong Zhou.
Yinzhen sat in the main seat, his eyes closed, turning the Buddhist prayer beads in his hand, lost in thought.
The inner hall, separated by just one door, was filled with the bustling sounds of people coming and going, accompanied by Qian Shengyan's occasional cries of pain, Hongli's concerned inquiries, and Foerguochun's "ah ah" cries.
Yinzhen let out a soft sigh. It wasn't that he didn't want to go in and take a look, it's just...
“Your Highness, the wound on Master Qian’s hand seems to be quite serious. Doctor Zhou said that the dressing needs to be changed on time and that it should not be exposed to water. It should take about half a month to heal. The Fourth Prince and the Little Princess are both in good health and there is nothing wrong with them.”
Su Peisheng stood at the lower end, bowing respectfully as he spoke.
Yinzhen nodded and then asked, "Have you found the source?"
"We've found the eunuch in the garden who handled this matter, and Li Bao has already led men to pursue the source outside," Su Peisheng nodded. After a moment's hesitation, he asked, "Consort Li... has been kneeling outside the courtyard. Does Your Highness wish to see her?"
"I won't see him yet." Yinzhen's eyes remained closed, but after a moment he asked again, "Your master Qian's hand..."
"Your Highness, Master Qian is injured in his right hand. There's a large, deep gash across his palm..." Su Peisheng said softly.
Yinzhen opened his eyes, pursed his lips, and finally got up and went to the inner palace: "Were the Fourth Prince and the Little Princess frightened?"
"Master Qian has been trying to reassure them, but the Fourth Prince is a little worried..."
Yinzhen lifted the curtain and went in, his eyes immediately falling on Qian Shengyan's wound on her palm and her furrowed brows. But she was still talking to Hongli: "Actually, it doesn't hurt much. Do you remember when you were little and fell? You just bumped into something and that feeling... Injuries will hurt, but they'll heal quickly..."
"Father!" It was Hongli who first noticed that Yinzhen had arrived. The chaotic roommates then came to their senses and hurriedly bowed.
"Hmm." Yinzhen waved his hand, signaling everyone to stand up.
He was actually a little at a loss. He had pushed Qian Shengyan in the heat of the moment, but he hadn't expected it to cause such serious consequences. He didn't know where to sit, but unexpectedly, Qian Shengyan grabbed his uninjured left hand and pulled him to sit on the edge of the bed.
"Doctor Zhou, please take another look at the Prince. It seems he has an injury on his hand as well," Qian Shengyan said in a low voice. After speaking, she looked at Yinzhen again, still with a bright smile. "I was just thinking of sending someone to invite the Prince over, and he just happened to arrive."
While Doctor Zhou turned to get something, she winked at Yinzhen and said with a smile, "Your Highness and I are truly of one mind."
Yinzhen stared at her blankly for a moment, then took her hand in his and shook it gently. After a long while, he finally uttered a single word from his nose: "Hmm."
Yinzhen's injury was on his left hand, where a piece of porcelain had cut his thumb. The wound wasn't large, but it was quite deep. According to Doctor Zhou, it would take about the same amount of time to heal as Qian Shengyan's wound.
"What a coincidence! Your Highness injured your left hand, and I injured my right hand. We've got a perfect pair of hands," Qian Shengyan said with a smile.
Hongli stood before his troublesome parents, looking them over from left to right. He sighed like a little adult, placing one hand on each of their knees: "Father and Mother, please take care of yourselves!"
"Father!" This was Ferguchun, who had just learned to call her father. Like her brother, she was quick and fluent in calling her father.
The little girl, who had just learned to crawl, crawled over from behind and pounced on Yinzhen's back. She pouted when she saw the wounds on both of them. Yinzhen reached out and pulled her into his arms from behind, stroking the fur on her head. He opened his mouth to talk to Qian Shengyan, but he didn't know what to say.
After all that fuss, it was already dark. Su Peisheng went out silently and returned to wait by the door.
When Yinzhen saw him, he hesitated for a moment, then ordered the children to be taken away and the others to wait outside. He then asked, "How is it?"
"Your Highness, Your Highness, it was Hu Ma, the cousin of Consort Li's sister-in-law, who found the cotton wadding," Su Peisheng said respectfully. "Li Bao led people to investigate and found that it was from a family in the village that had just had a smallpox outbreak. Hu Ma bought the cotton wadding for ten coins, stuffed it into the quilt, and then Consort Li's sister-in-law delivered it to the garden."
"Master..." Qian Shengyan did not expect Su Peisheng to be so efficient. He had found out the whole story in less than two hours.
This also shows how simple and crude Li's scheme was, yet how effective it was. After all, no one could have imagined that Geng would conspire with her to harm her own son.
If it weren't for Li's success in one attempt and her insatiable greed in trying to harm Hongli, then perhaps Hongzhou's affair could have been kept secret from everyone.
Qian Shengyan sighed softly and said in a low voice, "My lord, I'm a little angry about this."
"Don't worry," Yinzhen said in a low voice, "I'm also very angry."
Yinzhen always turned a blind eye to the infighting among the women in his harem. As long as they didn't harm the children, he didn't care about their verbal disputes.
Qian Shengyan knew this well. She still remembered that when she first arrived, even though Lady Geng had deliberately made Hongli sick during her pregnancy, Yinzhen did not spare her.
What's more, this time, Li was truly greedy. There were only a few children in the backyard, yet she actually wanted to wipe out everyone except her own children...
"What did Lady Geng say?" Yinzhen asked, rubbing his forehead.
“Geng Gege confessed that it was Consort Li who gave her the idea, saying that as long as the Fifth Prince contracted smallpox, she could blame the Fujin for not taking good care of the prince, and then find a way to get the Fifth Prince back to Geng Gege to raise herself.” Su Peisheng continued, bowing his head. “But Consort Li told Geng Gege that the cotton wadding… was left by cattle and horses that had contracted smallpox, saying that this was similar to vaccination and not very dangerous, so Geng Gege agreed.”
“…Utterly foolish,” Yinzhen sighed.
Qian Shengyan pursed her lips, somewhat understanding Geng's thoughts, but—it was truly foolish, that was her child! Even with smallpox vaccination, they only dared to vaccinate older children these days, Hongzhou was only two years old, what was she thinking!
Su Peisheng lowered his head and did not answer.
The room fell silent for a moment. After a while, Yinzhen turned his head slightly and asked Qian Shengyan, "Are Hongli and Foerguochun alright?"
"This concubine..." Qian Shengyan bit her lip, suddenly stood up and knelt on the ground, bowed respectfully, and then said with her head down, "Please forgive this concubine for deceiving me, my lord."
Yinzhen was taken aback and glanced at Su Peisheng.
Su Peisheng immediately understood, bowed to Yinzhen, and then retreated away. Yinzhen sighed, stood up, and helped Qian Shengyan up: "Tell me, I will not blame you."
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