"I don't know what happened to my third brother, but when he saw Hongshan, his eyes turned red, and without saying a word, he picked up a stone and smashed it on Hongshan's head. I was so angry at the time that I fought with my third brother..." Hongli wiped his face and blinked away his tears, "But it turned out that my third brother seemed to be ill and was too weak to fight me..."
"How is Hongshan?" Yinzhen asked his youngest son first.
Qian Shengyan saw that the wound on Hongshan's forehead was quite deep, so she didn't dare to touch it rashly. She just comforted Hongshan and said when she heard Yinzhen ask, "The bleeding seems to have stopped... but the wound still needs to be cleaned properly."
She didn't know what was used to treat external injuries in this dynasty; hydrogen peroxide and alcohol were unavailable, so she couldn't help but feel anxious.
Yinzhen also grew anxious and turned to Su Peisheng, shouting, "Why hasn't the imperial physician arrived yet!"
Su Peisheng could only send another eunuch to deliver the message, but this round trip couldn't possibly be completed in just a few words.
Qian Shengyan's eyes were slightly red. She couldn't wait any longer and gritted her teeth, saying, "Qingxue, go boil a pot of water and soak the clean cotton cloth in it for a while. Also, find a pot of the strongest liquor, the kind that can be lit!"
"Su Peisheng, go and fetch the wine!" Yinzhen didn't even ask Qian Shengyan what she wanted to do, and directly gave the order.
Hongshan was still nestled in Qian Shengyan's arms, sobbing softly, while Hongli knelt on the ground with his head down, waiting for Yinzhen's punishment.
Zhang Tingyu, who had been forgotten by everyone, coughed lightly: "Your Majesty..."
"Oh, you're still here." Yinzhen only then remembered. He frowned and said, "You should go back first. We can discuss it another day."
"Yes." Zhang Tingyu glanced again at the Consort whose clothes were stained with blood, and knew in his heart that the Third Prince's punishment would probably be even more severe.
He respectfully bowed to the Emperor, the Imperial Concubine, and the princes before leaving. At this moment, Yinzhen suddenly spoke up: "Hongli, do you regret hitting Hongshi?"
"I know I was wrong, but... I don't regret it. If it happened again, I'm afraid I would fight with my third brother too." Hongli gritted his teeth, unable to contain his anger. "What did Hongshan do wrong? My third brother smashed him like this without even asking what happened! I failed to protect my younger brother and was disrespectful to my older brother. I beg Father Emperor to punish me, but... I don't regret it."
"Good." Yinzhen only said this, without mentioning how to punish Hongli. Instead, he took a deep breath and said, "You dare to do it and take responsibility, very good."
Qian Shengyan: ...
The chief physician and Imperial Physician Zhou were herded into the Hall of Mental Cultivation by the eunuchs. Upon seeing the injury on Hongxu's forehead, they both gasped in surprise.
Qian Shengyan closed her eyes briefly. She knew that in this dynasty, there was absolutely no way to treat external injuries. If an infection occurred, one could only endure it; there was nothing that could be done.
When she spoke again, Qian Shengyan's voice was a little hoarse: "Let's clean the wound first."
"Yes." The physician examined it for a moment, still finding it troublesome. "This... cleaning with baijiu (Chinese liquor) might be a bit painful..."
"It's okay, Hongshan is a big boy now, a brave little boy. He can bear with it, right?" Qian Shengyan coaxed Hongshan softly.
Hong-sun nodded with tears in his eyes, "I... I'm not afraid of pain! I'm the bravest, waaaaah..."
Just then, Qingxue brought over the boiled cotton cloth and found the strong liquor. Qian Shengyan hugged Hongshan tightly and let the imperial physician clean his wounds.
Hongshan's small body trembled with pain, but he bit his lip and remained silent. Yinzhen watched him for a moment, then suddenly said to Su Peisheng, "Drag the Third Prince to the Fengxian Hall and have two guards watch over him. If he wakes up, make him kneel properly before our ancestors." He paused, then added, "Unless he is about to die, he is not allowed to receive any medical treatment, and his meals are forbidden from containing meat. Three bowls of plain porridge a day will suffice."
"Yes, sir!" Su Peisheng replied, not daring to look up at all.
"Hongli, you failed to protect your younger brother. You are hereby confined to your quarters for one month," Yinzhen continued.
Just then, Hongshan, who was in excruciating pain from the strong liquor, heard this and immediately shouted, "Father! This isn't Fourth Brother's fault! Hongshan ran too fast! Before Fourth Brother could catch up with me, Third Brother hit me!"
"Hongshan!" Hongli said in a low voice, but Hongshan, enduring the pain, continued, "It was Hongshan's fault for offending Third Brother. Father, punish me if you wish!"
"Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince has arrived," Su Peisheng said as he walked over after hearing the announcement from the eunuch outside.
"What is he doing here?" Yinzhen frowned, but still let Hongzhou in.
As soon as Hongzhou entered, he knelt on the ground: "Father, this is not Fourth Brother's fault. Once, Seventh Brother asked me to take him to the Prince's Palace to play, but I refused, which is why he was so curious about the Prince's Palace..."
"Hongzhou!" Hongli called out in a low voice.
Hongzhou paused for a moment, then continued, "If I had taken my seventh brother with me that day..."
"Alright, that's enough." Yinzhen was truly amused by their antics. "Fine, you brothers are of one mind and have come to accept your punishment. Then let's all be confined to our quarters for a month!"
"Waaah..." Hongshan started crying again. Qian Shengyan patted his back but didn't say anything.
Since Hongxuan can't go out until his head injury heals, let him stay home.
The wound was clean and clear, and bandaged with wound medicine. Hongshan's eyes were swollen from crying, while Hongli and Hongzhou were still "kneeling as punishment." Yinzhen seemed to be looking at memorials, but after a long while, he did not write anything or turn the page.
Qian Shengyan didn't want to see him at this moment, so she picked up Hongshan and said, "Your Majesty, shall I take Hongshan back to his quarters for confinement?"
"Hmm?" Yinzhen was startled awake. As if he had just remembered something, he hesitated for a moment. He had originally asked Qian Shengyan to come over to talk about Hongshi, but this incident had happened, her son was injured, and her son had been punished. At this moment, he didn't know what to say.
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