Inside Xianfu Palace, Lady Li was angrily berating the imperial physician: "What do you mean it's nothing serious? If it's nothing serious, why hasn't the person woken up yet?"
"What's going on?" Yinzhen strode in without waiting for an announcement. Consort Qi was startled and was about to bow when Yinzhen waved his hand and asked, "Where is the imperial physician?"
"Your Majesty, I am here." The imperial physician wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, regretting why he had switched shifts with someone today. He looked at Hongshi lying on the bed and tried to speak clearly and subtly, "The Third Prince was knocked unconscious by a blow to the side of his head, but in my opinion, the wound on the Third Prince's head is not deep, it's just that the bleeding is quite frightening."
"You're talking nonsense!" Li screamed.
The imperial physician closed his eyes and said, "The Third Prince remains unconscious, not because of the wound on his head, but because..."
"What is it? Why are you stammering like that!" Yinzhen said angrily.
The imperial physician stammered, "Your Majesty, I dare not speak presumptuously, but... but the Third Prince has a feverish sensation in his palms, soles, and chest, his cheeks are flushed and hot, and he has excessive night sweats. Your Majesty suspects that... perhaps..."
He was reluctant to speak, but Yinzhen had some medical knowledge and, upon hearing these symptoms, he had a basic guess in his mind—kidney yin deficiency, caused by...excessive sexual activity.
A surge of anger rose from the bottom of his heart. Yinzhen strode over, intending to rebuke Hongshi, but seeing his pale and emaciated face, protruding cheekbones, and bloodstains on his collar, he couldn't utter a word.
Hongshi is still just a child...
It's Yinzhi, it must be him!
It was his son who corrupted my prince!
Hongshi used to be just lazy and didn't like studying, but ever since he was targeted by Yinzhi and started hanging out with Yinzhi's son, he has started to frequent those kinds of places. Now he has even been corrupted by them. It's simply despicable!
He calmed himself down and asked the imperial physician, "Then why is the Third Prince unconscious?"
"He is weak and has not had a proper rest in a long time..." The imperial physician dared not say more, only saying, "The Third Prince has lost a lot of blood this time, so he fell asleep for a while."
Yinzhen looked at Hongshi for a long time without saying anything, and finally said, "Prepare some medicinal food for the Third Prince to help him recover."
Turning his head and seeing Li Shi weeping, Yinzhen's anger flared up again: "And you! I told you to advise him more often, what have you done?"
"Your Majesty, Your Majesty..." Lady Li still didn't understand what was going on, and stood there somewhat helplessly, "The Third Prince is studying hard..."
"What a load of rubbish!" Yinzhen couldn't help but swear. He walked to the door, then turned back and cursed, "If you don't know how to teach children, then let the Empress teach them. If I find out again that you've been spoiling Hongshi, I'll just put Hongshi under the Empress's name!"
"Your Majesty!" Lady Li swayed in disbelief. "I have given birth to three sons, but now only Hongshi remains. Hongshi is my lifeblood, Your Majesty... Waaah..."
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen pursed his lips, said nothing more, and simply turned and left.
Qian Shengyan and Ulanara waited together in the outer room. They had overheard most of what was being said inside. When Yinzhen mentioned the Empress, Qian Shengyan glanced at her subconsciously and saw the undisguised joy in Ulanara's eyes.
She lowered her eyes and smiled silently, not believing that Yinzhen would register Hongshi under the name of Ulanara.
That's a matter for the future. Right now, Qian Shengyan really didn't know that Hongshi was playing such a ruthless game...
It's like someone who's been cooped up for twenty years suddenly being exposed to a new and exciting world, and then completely losing control. Even if they know they shouldn't do it, they just can't control themselves.
Moreover, after hearing that Hongshi's head injury was not serious, Qian Shengyan was still worried—Hongli had just said in the morning that he would retaliate, and then Hongshi had an accident that evening.
If he was really beaten half to death, it certainly wasn't Hongli who did it. That child is very sensible. But he only injured his head a little and bled a little, mostly to scare people. Qian Shengyan was not sure.
Fortunately, she followed out of curiosity; otherwise, if she had been waiting in the Ning Shou Palace without knowing anything, she would have been completely clueless when the time came.
It seems that one should cultivate more curiosity while in the palace.
Yinzhen walked out, and the two women surrounded him: "Your Majesty..."
"It's nothing, go back now." Yinzhen grasped Qian Shengyan's hand, then glanced at Ulanara. "I remember there was a time when the Empress Dowager ordered you to tutor Hongshi, and you did very well. In the future, you should pay more attention to Hongshi's education and be even stricter with him."
"Yes," Ulanara replied respectfully.
Yinzhen nodded, then took Qian Shengyan out and went straight back to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
He went to the front hall to handle matters, while Qian Shengyan sat behind him, feeling somewhat uneasy.
The matter of injuring a prince, no matter how minor, must be thoroughly investigated. We don't know if this matter is related to Hongli, nor do we know how well Hongli handled the aftermath.
Qian Shengyan was truly regretting for the first time that she had been too laissez-faire in raising her child. Her previous principle was not to interfere unless the child asked for help, which made Hongli very independent. But Hongli was still young after all...
"Are you getting impatient?" Qian Shengyan was lost in thought when Yinzhen lifted the curtain and came in, his expression much calmer. "Don't go back today, rest here."
"Your Majesty..." Qian Shengyan hesitated, "Third Prince..."
"Hmph." Yinzhen snorted coldly, unbuttoning his clothes as if nothing was wrong. After a moment, he snorted, "So you went to get involved in that jealous and petty squabble, really..."
Qian Shengyan's heart skipped a beat, and she quickly understood. She covered her mouth with one hand, genuinely surprised: "The Third Prince's head..."
"Hmph." Yinzhen felt extremely embarrassed.
After investigating, it turned out that he had fought over a prostitute and was beaten up before he could win. Hongshi was doubly humiliated, utterly humiliated! He didn't even want to know who had hit him. Being beaten was being beaten; he felt it was disgusting to ask any more questions about such a thing!
Yinzhen had already decided to keep Hongshi in the palace for a year or two before making any further decisions. The reason he didn't give Hongshi a separate household at the beginning of the year was because he noticed that the Eighth and Ninth Princes were eager to make contact with Hongshi. He thought that keeping Hongshi under his watchful eye would make him feel more at ease, but now look what's happened, they're becoming more and more unambitious.
That night, Yinzhen tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Qian Shengyan, also exhausted from his tossing and turning, didn't sleep well either. In the middle of the night, she couldn't bear it any longer and sat up abruptly, looking helplessly at Yinzhen: "Your Majesty..."
"Sigh..." Yinzhen sat up and pulled her into his arms. "I'm just upset... You know, Hongshi, how could he..."
Qian Shengyan thought about the child she had seen when she was young, and she didn't really think that the child had gone astray—that child had never been upright since childhood.
Before Hongli, the two older princes in the Prince's Mansion died one after another. At that time, Hongshi was practically the only heir. Lady Li doted on him, and Yinzhen didn't have much time to take care of him, so he was spoiled and raised in a doting manner.
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