Ulanara and Qian Shengyan were both stunned, while the nanny kneeling on the ground, trembling like a leaf, seemed to be stimulated as well. After a shrill scream, she was finally able to speak coherently: "Fujin! The Fifth Prince has... has smallpox!"
smallpox?
Ulanara felt a sudden darkness before her eyes, and she stumbled. If Qian Shengyan and Granny Wu hadn't caught her, she would have fallen to the ground.
She couldn't believe it at all: "Smallpox, Hongzhou is only two years old, how could he have smallpox...where did this smallpox come from..."
"Madam! We'd better hurry back and check!" Granny Wu said anxiously. "The Prince, Consort Li, and Lady Geng have all gone, Madam!"
"Go back! Go back to Yue Di Yun Ju!" Ulanara could barely speak and didn't care about arranging anything for Qian Shengyan. She stumbled out, and Wu Mama was also extremely anxious. She half-carried and half-supported her as she ran towards Yue Di Yun Ju.
Qian Shengyan hesitated for a moment, thinking that she wouldn't be of much help anyway, so she stopped. But then no more sounds came from the inner hall. A moment later, she saw an unfamiliar doctor carrying a medicine box come out.
Qian Shengyan gave Qingxue a look, and Qingxue nodded knowingly. She stepped forward and stopped the man with a smile, saying, "Is this Doctor Hu? Our Prince and Princess are still waiting to ask you about Consort Nian."
Doctor Hu had never seen any other women besides Lady Nian. Suddenly, he saw a beautiful woman adorned with gold and silver standing there smiling at him. He couldn't recognize her at all, assuming she was the Prince's wife. He immediately bowed and sighed, "Lady Nian has suffered too much stimulation and is too weak. She has fainted and will need proper care..."
"Of course, just tell me what medicinal herbs you need and we'll get them," Qian Shengyan said gently. "But what exactly happened to Consort Nian this time?"
"To be honest, Consort Nian is really..." Doctor Hu shook his head, feeling distressed. The Nian family sent him into the manor to protect Consort Nian, and now look what's happened. He sighed, "That medicine was extremely potent. Even a woman of average health, especially one with a weaker constitution, would suffer lasting effects. How much more so for Consort Nian, who was pregnant? Now that the fetus is lost, I'm afraid... she'll have difficulty conceiving again..."
"So that's how it is!" Qian Shengyan covered her mouth in surprise, then frowned. "This method is truly vicious..."
"Who says otherwise!" Doctor Hu sighed again, then looked at Qian Shengyan with hope, "Has Your Highness found out the source of that medicine?"
"Your Highness is discerning and will surely find out," Qian Shengyan replied.
Doctor Hu nodded, then bowed and said he was going to prepare the medicine. Qian Shengyan quickly made way for him, adding that he could report any needs to the Prince and his wife, and that he would not wrong Consort Nian in the slightest.
Doctor Hu left with profuse thanks. Qian Shengyan sighed, glanced once more at the inner palace where only soft sobs could be heard, and prepared to leave without disturbing Nian Shi.
Upon seeing Su Peisheng outside, Qian Shengyan stopped and repeated what Doctor Hu had said to him.
Su Peisheng gasped, clearly not expecting such an outcome. He bowed with a wry smile, "Master Qian, you see, my work here is not yet finished. Could you please inform the Prince about this matter?"
"Okay," Qian Shengyan agreed, then sighed.
These are truly turbulent times.
When Qian Shengyan arrived at the entrance of Yue Di Yun Ju, she heard bursts of wailing coming from the courtyard. She rubbed her forehead, feeling a headache coming on, and went inside to find Geng Shi crying as if the Fifth Prince had already died.
She bypassed Geng, who was lying on the ground crying, and entered the main hall, only to see Ulanara kneeling beside Yinzhen, while Li sat on the other side, looking at Ulanara triumphantly.
Yinzhen was looking down at the ground, not saying a word. He only looked up when he heard someone come in. When he saw it was her, he beckoned her to come closer: "How is Lady Nian?"
"Your Highness, Consort Nian... is not well." Qian Shengyan looked around with some difficulty, unsure whether she should say it in front of everyone.
Yinzhen grabbed her hand: "Tell me, what's wrong with it?"
"Doctor Hu said that the medicine was too strong, and I'm afraid it might... harm Consort Nian's health, making it difficult for her to conceive in the future..." Qian Shengyan said softly, then lowered her head deeply, not daring to look at Yinzhen's reaction.
She didn't see Yinzhen's expression, but she did see a fleeting look of panic and deep despair on Ulanara's face.
...This was the first time Qian Shengyan couldn't help but feel some sympathy for Ulanara...
Perhaps when Ulanara made her move, she only hoped that Nian would lose her pregnancy and suppress her arrogance; she never expected such serious consequences...
Even Yinzhen seemed startled, then frowned deeply, glared angrily at Ulanara after a moment, and closed his eyes again.
The happiest person in the whole room was probably Mrs. Li.
Qian Shengyan caught a glimpse of her stubbornly drooping lips and suspected that if they weren't still at Yue Di Yun Ju, Li Shi would have jumped for joy.
Outside, Geng's wailing continued, rising and falling in waves, irritating everyone. Frustrated, Yinzhen smashed a teacup and glared at Li: "Is Geng wailing at a funeral? How shameful! Take her back immediately!"
“Your Highness, Sister Geng is also heartbroken,” Madam Li sighed. “The Fifth Prince is, after all, a piece of her own flesh and blood. Now that he is seriously ill, how can she not cry?”
Ulanara knelt on the ground and swayed twice. She looked up at Yinzhen as if she wanted to say something, but she didn't.
The entire hall was filled with the atmosphere of an impending storm. Yinzhen simply turned his prayer beads without saying a word, but even Li Shi dared not make any more frivolous movements, standing obediently in place without daring to move.
After waiting for a moment, Yinzhen suddenly stood up and said, "Once the Fifth Prince recovers, let's return him to Lady Geng to be cared for."
"Your Highness!" Ulanara screamed in disbelief, but Yinzhen merely glanced at her and said slowly, "Ulanara, for lax governance and unkind parenting, you are hereby confined to your quarters for six months and your monthly salary is halved." As he spoke, he glanced at Qian Shengyan and nodded to her as if to reassure her, saying, "All matters concerning the inner court shall be managed by Consort Qian."
Qian Shengyan: ...?
Wait a minute! What is this?! She doesn't want it!
Entrusting such a chaotic backyard to her—doesn't Yinzhen have a blood feud with her? Does he even have the nerve? Huh?
Perhaps because Qian Shengyan's eyes were too wide and her expression too shocked, Yinzhen unconsciously curled his lips, glanced at the dazed Ulanara and the angry Li, and said, "It's decided then. Li."
Li quickly replied, "Yes."
"I entrust the matter of the Nian family to you to investigate thoroughly," Yinzhen said in a deep voice. "Don't disappoint me."
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