Chapter 6 No one will plead. The Prince's mansion was brightly lit all night long...
The Prince's mansion was brightly lit all night. The old doctor came and took the young master's pulse for half an hour but could not find any symptoms. Zhao Linzhang could not wait any longer, so he invited Shen Huaichuan, the director of the Imperial Hospital.
The old imperial physician, Shen, was nearly sixty years old. When Zhao Linzhang summoned him in the middle of the night, he could barely open his eyes. But upon seeing the young master, his sleepy eyes snapped open.
"Quickly, go and get the medicine and brew it!" Imperial Physician Shen handed the prescription to the apprentice, then stroked his white beard and said to Zhao Linzhang, "Does Your Highness have any relatives who cannot eat broad beans?"
Zhao Linzhang was completely baffled by the question. What did broad beans have to do with children? He shook his head and said, "I have never heard of such a thing."
"This child's face is completely pale, and the symptoms are the same as those of someone I once saw who ate broad beans. However, this child should still be a baby. Could you ask the person who was feeding the child if they had eaten them?"
Zhao Linzhang glanced at the two trembling wet nurses and frowned as he asked, "You heard what the imperial physician said. Have you eaten broad beans?"
Shen Yunrong, who had only eaten a bowl of vegetable porridge after a long day, shook her head. Zheng Zhuer shook her head even more: "Your Highness, I eat at home and have not eaten broad beans today."
After glancing at them, Zhao Linzhang made up his mind. Zheng Zhuer trembled uncontrollably. Seeing that Lu Linzhang was no longer speaking, she whispered again, "This servant has been in the manor all day!"
Shen Yunrong was worried about the young master and felt sorry for him, wondering how much pain he had suffered. The little boy didn't even have the strength to cry. Fearing that the young master's treatment would be delayed, she quickly continued Zheng Zhuer's words, "This servant only ate a bowl of vegetable porridge at home today."
She ate only one bowl of vegetable porridge from dawn till dusk. Zhao Linzhang raised an eyebrow and glanced at her.
Zheng Zhuer was about to say something more when Granny Li rushed over from the doorway, carrying a small cloth bag in her hand. Zheng Zhuer's face immediately turned pale.
Before Li Mama and Zhao Linzhang could say anything, she knelt down with a thud: "Your Highness, this servant did not know that eating these broad beans would harm the young master. This servant was blinded by greed."
Granny Li opened the small cloth bag, and inside were broad beans boiled in salt water.
Zheng Zhu'er originally thought that the food in the Prince's mansion was too bland, so she brought some broad beans to satisfy her cravings. Little did she expect that it would cause such a big disaster.
Zhao Linzhang didn't need to say anything more; Granny Li immediately understood: "Guards, throw Zheng Zhuer out of the Prince's mansion!"
"Granny, Granny, please don't send me away! I was wrong, I'll never do it again!" Zheng Zhu'er cried so hard she almost fainted.
"It's a mercy from the prince to spare your life. Quickly take him away, don't disturb the young master." Granny Li waved her hand dismissively.
"Sister, Sister Shen, please plead with the Prince for me," Zheng Zhu'er said to Shen Yunrong, still unwilling to give up, even after being pulled away.
Shen Yunrong didn't know why Zheng Zhuer was hiding it. Even if the young master wasn't the prince's adopted son, he was still a living, breathing little person. They slept with him every day, just like their own child.
Please, Your Highness, Zheng Zhuer is really giving her too much credit. It's only by Heaven's mercy that she wasn't kicked out along with everyone else.
As Shen Yunrong watched Zheng Zhuer being dragged out, Zhao Linzhang's face darkened. He suddenly opened his eyes, which had been closed, and looked at Shen Yunrong.
Shen Yunrong, whose eyes were still fixed on his face, was startled and quickly lowered her head.
"You want to plead for her?" Zhao Linzhang's voice was unreadable.
Shen Yunrong shook her head: "This servant wouldn't dare and wouldn't!"
"Oh, you don't know how?" Zhao Linzhang took two steps closer to her. "Then tell me why you don't know how."
"Eating broad beans to satisfy a craving is already a violation of the rules of the Prince's mansion. Deliberately concealing it is an even greater crime. This time, the young master was fortunate to be unharmed by the heavens, but we cannot risk the young master's safety in the future."
Shen Yunrong is a mother herself. If someone harms her child, even if it's unintentional, she will keep her child away from that kind of person.
A hint of joy finally appeared in Zhao Linzhang's eyes. Fortunately, she wasn't a fool, otherwise the child would have to find a wet nurse again.
The medicine is ready. Just now, Granny Li held the young master and fed him a few mouthfuls, but the child vomited them all up. Physician Shen clapped his hands and said that since the medicine was prepared by himself, there was a ready-made medicine jar. It's the same for the wet nurse to drink the medicine and for the baby to drink the milk.
Seeing that the child's complexion had improved considerably, and that the remaining medicine was still effective for the child's condition even though he had just vomited it up, Zhao Linzhang told Shen Yunrong to get up and "Go drink your medicine."
Shen Yunrong couldn't wait for the young master to get better. She drank the bowl of medicine, which was still a little hot, in two or three sips. The young master had reached the age where he could recognize people. He had just woken up and saw Shen Yunrong. He cried and wanted her to hold him.
The little boy, who was so lively and energetic when she left this morning, was now crying weakly. Shen Yunrong hugged him with heartache.
"Please stay at my residence tonight, Lord Shen, in case my son is unwell."
“Even if Your Highness doesn’t say so, I will stay.” Imperial Physician Shen looked at the baby. Such an illness was extremely rare. If his medicine was effective, he could use this prescription to treat these patients in the future.
"You've worked so hard tonight. If the child is unwell, please inform Lord Shen immediately," Zhao Linzhang said, turning to Shen Yunrong, who was gently coaxing the child.
"This servant will certainly take good care of the young master." Shen Yunrong comforted the child who wanted to drink milk, but Imperial Physician Shen told her to wait half an hour before feeding him, so that the medicine would be most effective.
Once Zhao Linzhang learned that the child was safe, he left with Liu Hu, leaving Li Mama and two maids to guard the child. Imperial Physician Shen was invited to rest in the guest room next door.
A moment later, a maid brought over a bowl of steaming noodles: "Granny Li, this is what the Prince ordered, for Nurse Shen to eat."
A look of surprise flashed across Li Mama's face. She turned to look at Shen Yunrong. Ever since Prince Zhuang established his mansion, she had been serving in this mansion and had never seen him care so much for any woman. Her gaze towards Shen Yunrong changed slightly.
"Let me carry the young master. This is a gift from the prince. Go and eat."
Shen Yunrong was flattered. She had just said that she had only eaten a bowl of vegetable porridge today in order to prove that she had not eaten anything else, but the prince actually rewarded her with noodles.
The aroma of the noodle soup wafted in front of her. The shock and fright she had experienced today had already made her very hungry, but she dared not eat in front of so many people.
"Granny Li, you've worked hard today. Why don't you have this noodle first?"
"It's just a bowl of noodles, a gift from the Prince. Eat it without worry. We'll take the young master for a walk outside. If you eat well, the young master will be able to eat better too." Knowing her predicament, Granny Li left with the child and maid.
Only Shen Yunrong and the bowl of fragrant noodles remained in the room.
Even though she wasn't hungry, she hadn't eaten much today, and the young master had no milk to drink, so she sat down and buried her head in her food, sipping the noodle soup until not a drop was left.
When Granny Li returned, the young master was already asleep. She gestured for Shen Yunrong to go wash up first. She was too old to stay up all night, and the prince had not given any instructions to find another wet nurse. For the next few days, Shen Yunrong would have to take care of the young master alone. There were many miscellaneous matters in the prince's mansion, and she could only help take care of the young master occasionally.
Such a large royal residence certainly needs a mistress, or at least a woman who can assist her, so that she can retire and return to her hometown in peace.
Shen Yunrong hurriedly went to wash up. After a long day of running around, she was covered in sweat. When she returned to her small house in the Prince's Mansion, both her and Zheng Zhuer's bundles had been opened and things were scattered everywhere. Zheng Zhuer had left in a hurry, and some of her things were still on the ground that she hadn't taken away.
She picked them up one by one and placed them on the bed where she used to sleep. She turned around and haphazardly tidied her clothes. The sachets she had brought had been cut open, and the insect-repelling spices inside were scattered all over the floor.
She hurriedly kicked the spices on the ground aside, washed up, and changed into clean clothes. She could vaguely smell the fragrance on her clothes. When she entered the mansion, Granny Li forbade the wet nurses from using incense. She had brought this sachet to scent her clothes and prevent insects. She had originally planned to take it back with her when she went home, but she forgot about it when she left in the morning.
Fortunately, the fragrance dissipated almost completely with the night breeze.
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