“Folguochun can take care of his younger brother now.” Yinzhen sighed, but Qian Shengyan couldn’t hold back any longer and took the lead into the west side hall.
Hongshan, a tiny bundle, lay in Foerguochun's arms, his nose still running, but thankfully he looked quite energetic. Qian Shengyan touched him and found he didn't have a fever.
"Did you catch a cold?" Qian Shengyan asked.
After taking her pulse, Physician Zhou nodded and said, "Your Highness, it's just a cold, not serious." He paused for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "Your Highness, it's not that this old minister is declining, but... Physician Li in the Imperial Hospital is more skilled in pediatrics, especially in treating colds."
Upon hearing this, Qian Shengyan also remembered and subconsciously looked at Yinzhen: "It's the imperial physician who treated Hongli back then..."
"Yes, summon Imperial Physician Li!" Yinzhen quickly said.
He sat on the bed and touched Xiao Hongxuan's hands and feet. His temperature was normal, but his nose was running non-stop: "Who was on night duty here last night, brother?"
"Yes...yes...this servant..."
A wet nurse stepped forward tremblingly, then immediately knelt on the ground, crying out, "Your Majesty, spare me! Your Majesty, spare me! I was just momentarily negligent and didn't see that the prince had kicked off the covers, but I quickly covered him up again..."
"Guards, take him out and give him twenty strokes of the cane," Yinzhen said impatiently. "You can't even serve the prince properly, what use are you to me?"
"Wait a minute!" Folgochun called out. Qian Shengyan thought she was going to plead for the wet nurse and was about to stop her, but then she heard Folgochun say in a clear voice, "I take a nap with my little brother, and he never kicks off the covers. He's a very well-behaved sleeper! Tell me, why does he kick off the covers at night?"
"This servant...this servant didn't know! Your Majesty, spare me! Princess, spare me!" The wet nurse was terrified and completely flustered. "Consort Xi, spare me! This servant only served the prince wholeheartedly, I dared not, I would never have had any other thoughts!"
"What kind of quilt did Hongshan use last night?" Qian Shengyan also sensed something was wrong and asked the wet nurse. The wet nurse hurriedly brought out the quilt, but Qian Shengyan felt something was off as soon as she touched it: "This is not Hongshi's quilt, and it's a winter quilt! Why is the prince covered with such a thick quilt? Didn't I arrange everything? The prince should be using the blue silk quilt now, why was this changed?"
The wet nurse became even more frightened upon hearing this: "This servant, this servant doesn't know!!! This servant was on night duty last night, and the prince was covered with this when I came here!!"
She paused for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Someone is trying to frame me! The prince is usually a good sleeper and never kicks off his blankets, but he did last night! It's not my fault, it's not my fault!"
"You don't even know what kind of blanket a prince should use, and you don't even care about your night watch. You're still here trying to argue your way out of things, Su Peisheng! Send him to the Censorate for a thorough interrogation!" Yinzhen roared.
Upon hearing the name of the Department of Cautious Punishment, the wet nurse collapsed to the ground without uttering a word. Su Peisheng responded and led two strong eunuchs to drag her away.
On the other side, Qian Shengyan also found the palace maid who made the bed for the prince last night. The palace maid also cried out that she was innocent, saying that the quilt she made for the prince last night was a blue silk quilt. When everyone checked again, they found that the quilt that Qian Shengyan mentioned was haphazardly crumpled up and stuffed into a cabinet next to it, obviously it had been hidden by someone.
Qian Shengyan never expected that such a thing could happen in Yongshou Palace. Looking at the somewhat uneasy Hongshan and the furious Fuerguochun, she simply sent the two children to Fuerguochun in the East Hall. Just then, Physician Li also arrived, so they went together.
She stayed in the west wing hall with Yinzhen and summoned the palace servants who served Hongxiu for questioning one by one.
Somewhat unexpectedly, the person who was eventually identified turned out to be a palace maid who served Folgochun.
“This servant saw Qiu Ting coming out of the prince’s room last night. I thought she was delivering something to the prince on behalf of the princess…” a wet nurse said with suspicion. “At the time, this servant was a little confused. In the past, it was always Aunt Cui Yao who delivered things to the prince. Why was it someone else today…”
Yinzhen and Qian Shengyan exchanged a glance, and without alerting Fuerguochun, they directly brought over the palace maid named Qiuting from the east side hall.
Upon further inquiry, it was discovered that the palace maid's family had specifically sent her a note yesterday afternoon, instructing her to change the quilt to a thicker one and making sure she completed the task.
"There was a child's bloody handprint on that note..." Qiu Ting cried uncontrollably, "My younger brother is only three years old this year, I can't help but think of him..."
"Your brother is not even two years old yet, and you're worried about your own little brother, but you don't know how to serve your master!" Qian Shengyan said angrily!
How malicious is the person who came up with this idea! Babies are very fussy when they sleep. If it's neither too hot nor too cold, they can sleep soundly all night, but if they feel hot, they'll kick and thrash around until they kick off the blankets and feel cool. But with all this alternating heat and cold, how can a child under two years old not get sick!
It was also thanks to Hongshan's good constitution that he only caught a chill and had a runny nose, but no fever or anything. You have to understand that in this era, even a cold can take the life of an adult, let alone a child!
What was initially thought to be an accident turned out to be a complex conspiracy after a thorough investigation. Qian Shengyan was furious, but Yinzhen was even angrier and immediately ordered an investigation into Qiu Ting's family.
When the investigation revealed that all the clues pointed to General Nian's mansion, Emperor Yinzhen was so angry that he smashed several vases that very night and almost issued an imperial edict to reprimand him.
Qian Shengyan stopped him. She knew that Nian Gengyao was not easy to get along with, and thought that it would be fine to give way a little while he was in the capital. But who knew that he would be so aggressive and would not even spare a child!
She pursed her lips, but said, "Your Majesty, please don't let Hongxi ruin the plans we've made these past few days."
In his heart, however, he was already thinking about what kind of small whip Nian Gengyao could use to scare him.
Qian Shengyan originally thought that even if she did nothing, Nian Gengyao would bring about his own demise next year. Since his death was already certain, why was she in such a hurry?
But that person shouldn't have touched her child's head!
With her long eyelashes lowered, concealing the myriad thoughts in her eyes, Qian Shengyan raised her eyes and smiled after a moment: "Fortunately, Hongshan usually runs and jumps a lot and is in good health, so I think he will be fine this time."
"Hmph." Yinzhen was still angry, but he still gave her face and said a few words, "I remember when Hongli was a child, he was the same way. He would get better in a day or two if he was sick." After a moment, he added, "The children you give birth to are always good."
Qian Shengyan pretended not to understand the deeper meaning of those words and simply smiled and made a couple of jokes.
After Yinzhen returned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Qian Shengyan summoned Qingxue: "I heard that the Third Prince has been quite impatient with being confined to his quarters lately?"
"Yes, a patrolling guard spotted that the Third Prince seems to be trying to climb over the wall," Qingxue replied, somewhat amused and exasperated.
Qian Shengyan smiled slightly: "After being confined for so long, it's time to come out and have a stroll."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
