Consort Tong eventually overheard the rumors about the Fifteenth Prince.
She learned that her child, like the previous one, was born with a heart condition.
Consort Tong looked at the wet nurse with disbelief and anticipation, hoping that the wet nurse would object and that it was all a lie told by those vile women in the harem out of jealousy.
All she saw was her wet nurse, looking at her with a pained expression and full of heartache, without saying a word.
Consort Tong finally gave up and slumped to the ground in despair.
The wet nurse quickly stepped forward to help him and moved him to a chair to the side.
"Your Majesty, you must take care of yourself first."
Consort Tong asked in a trembling voice.
"Granny, my little prince will be alright, won't he?"
The wet nurse nodded firmly.
"The imperial physician said that although the young prince suffers from a heart ailment, as long as he is well cared for, he will grow up healthy and will be no different from ordinary children."
Consort Tong knew, of course, that what followed were words of comfort from her wet nurse.
How can they be just like any other child?
Having a heart condition means that you can't get emotionally agitated, you can't do strenuous exercise, you can't do this, you can't do that.
Consort Tong has fallen ill.
This time she was truly ill; the illness struck so fiercely that Consort Tong was unable to get out of bed.
It seemed to be doing well on the surface, but then it relapsed.
This caused the last breath in my body to escape, and my health, as Consort Tong, is rapidly deteriorating.
Just like the white peony that blooms in spring with dew, in an instant, the flowers turn yellow and wither in autumn, about to fall.
From vibrant beauty to utter decay, it only took one night.
Life is truly amazing.
Consort Tong's face was extremely pale, almost deathly pale. If she hadn't been clinging to life, she might have already passed away.
The old wet nurse's eyes were full of tears, and her voice was sorrowful.
"Your Majesty, you must think of the young prince. He is still so young. How can he lose his mother?"
Upon hearing the name of the young prince, Consort Tong struggled to open her eyes and asked, her mind still hazy.
"Granny, what's wrong with me? Why do I suddenly feel so tired?"
The Chengqian Palace was brightly lit all night as the imperial physicians tirelessly diagnosed and treated Consort Tong, finally managing to save her life.
Last night, Consort Tong fell ill late at night. At that time, it was not easy to find the imperial physician on duty at the Imperial Hospital, and people were also ordered to quickly find an imperial physician to come to the palace for treatment.
Kangxi had already fallen asleep. When he woke up again, although he knew his cousin was sick, he didn't take it to heart.
My cousin has been calling the imperial physician frequently these past few years, and he can't go all the time. He only went to Chengqian Palace after finishing the morning court session.
After finishing the morning court session, Emperor Kangxi went directly to Chengqian Palace. Looking at his cousin, who had been so beautiful and radiant just yesterday, he wondered what had happened to make her so pale and colorless.
I was shocked and furious.
Kangxi's deep gaze swept over everyone in Chengqian Palace, his eyes filled with displeasure.
"A bunch of useless trash. You can't even take care of your own noble master. What am I keeping you around for?"
Consort Tong gave a wry smile and shook her head.
"Your Majesty, it's not their fault. It's all my fault for being so weak. I've become so haggard after just one illness."
Consort Tong looked at Emperor Kangxi with complicated emotions. She opened her mouth, as if she wanted to say something, but then lowered her eyes and struggled with her thoughts.
In this strange atmosphere, one of the wet nurses who was taking care of the Fifteenth Prince rushed in in a panic, kneeling on the ground and stammering.
"Your Highness, the prince has vomited milk. The imperial physician just examined him and found that he caught a chill, which caused him to vomit milk this morning."
Consort Tong's vision went black, she felt a pain in her chest, a metallic taste of blood in her throat, and coughed, spitting out a clump of blood.
This terrified the servants around him, including Emperor Kangxi.
Ignoring the bloodstains on his clothes, Kangxi looked anxious and stepped forward to support Consort Tong.
He shouted loudly.
"Summon Imperial Physician Li. Bring him here to me."
In her hazy state, Consort Tong heard her cousin, the Emperor, speaking with a hurried and anxious voice, and felt a pang of sadness in her heart.
The current emperor must be in a sorry state, I wonder if he was even more disheveled than when Empress Xiaochengren (née Hesheli) died.
Before she entered the palace, she heard from her father and brothers that when Empress Hesheli died, her cousin, the emperor, did not attend court for several days and was heartbroken in the harem.
She had thought back then that once she entered the palace, she would make sure her cousin only had eyes for her. Now, thinking back, she realized how naive she had been.
If she hadn't gone to the palace, it might have been the best choice for both herself and her cousin.
...
The last thought of Consort Tong as she fainted was that her cousin, the Emperor, would be heartbroken after her death.
Kangxi held his unconscious cousin tightly, feeling a wave of unease, as if he had returned to the night when Empress Xiaochengren, of the Hesheli clan, died.
He was so helpless and indignant, feeling as if he owned the whole world, yet he couldn't save his wife.
Not to mention the chaos inside Chengqian Palace, the fifteenth prince's palace was also in chaos, with the imperial physicians scrambling to keep up.
The fifteenth prince caught a cold and vomited milk. He was already in poor health and suffered from heart disease. He was only a few months old and could not take any medicine at all.
The imperial physicians simply tried acupuncture to see if it would be effective.
The Fifteenth Prince was vomiting milk and felt very uncomfortable. His heart was not able to take it. The imperial physicians were all sweating profusely and took turns trying to puncture him.
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