In the Qianqing Palace
Since the Crown Prince ordered a nationwide search for renowned doctors, many officials have offered their services, and many barefoot doctors have volunteered themselves.
Of course, it was impossible for them to come up and take the emperor's pulse and treat him right away, let alone try their prescriptions easily.
Whenever a doctor prescribed medicine, it had to be registered with the Imperial Hospital first. Only after a unanimous discussion could the medicine be tested on palace servants and then on patients with the same fever and chills. If the cure rate was 100%, the medicine could be used on the emperor at the doctor's discretion.
However, after so long, only one herbal prescription for reducing fever had some effect. Kangxi's condition worsened day by day, and sometimes he couldn't even control his bowel movements, coughing and having diarrhea.
The tasks of attending to the emperor were done by the imperial physicians and eunuchs together, while the concubines in the harem took turns attending to the emperor. The princes would listen to imperial summons, oversee affairs, or handle other matters in the front hall.
The Crown Prince and Prince Zhi were receiving court officials and discussing political affairs with Suo'etu and Mingzhu.
The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were responsible for searching ancient books on treating chills and fever in the side hall.
The Third Prince was literate, which was his forte, but after more than a month of this, he was so engrossed in it that he was about to lose all his hair.
Seeing that the hall was empty, the Third Prince shook his head and smiled bitterly: "Fourth Prince, look at your Third Brother now, his white hair is getting shorter and shorter, and he can hardly hold a hairpin."
Yinzhen looked up and saw that the Third Prince had a large clump of hair in his hand, which he had just pulled out.
"Third Brother, when we get back, just have the kitchen make you some sesame snacks to help you recover."
The Third Prince shook his head, preoccupied with his thoughts, and deliberately whispered, "Did you see those two in the front hall? Summoning court officials and issuing decrees, humph, I think they're even more unrestrained than when Father Emperor was around. With no one holding them back, they're enjoying their freedom."
Then came some complaints: "They put the two of us here to look up some damn ancient books, while they went to make connections with court officials. They really have a good plan!"
Yinzhen frowned, somewhat disapproving, but since he was the older brother, he couldn't very well reprimand him. If it were the Fourteenth Prince, he would have already started scolding him.
“Third brother, we are researching ancient books to treat Father’s illness. How can we complain? With Prime Minister Suo and Prime Minister Ming assisting the Crown Prince and Prince Zhi, it is only natural for them to handle political affairs. Otherwise, if Father is seriously ill, it will be difficult to keep those villains in check.”
"Alright, fourth brother, stop trying to fool your brother. You know perfectly well what's going on. I'm not going to say anything more."
After the Third Prince finished speaking, he ignored him and turned around to drink tea and eat snacks.
Yinzhen held an ancient book in his hand, but hesitated to turn the page.
Second Brother Crown Prince, you're getting a little impatient.
Why should the elder brother go against him?
The most urgent task now is to save Father Emperor. Are they all so eager that they wish for Father Emperor to die?
Not to mention the Crown Prince and Prince Zhi, even the Eighth Prince is now clinging to the Imperial Household Department, and the Ninth and Tenth Princes follow him around all day, obeying his orders without complaint.
The fifth and seventh princes were quite obedient, making no move and simply sitting quietly on the sidelines in the front hall.
As for the rest, the thirteenth prince followed him in everything, but he only took some time today to visit his two younger sisters.
The fourteenth son was jumping around, running left and right, wanting to get involved in everything.
What about Mother?
Yinzhen couldn't help but think of Consort De. He looked towards the back hall. Today, it was his mother's turn to attend to him. What was she thinking?
Consort De was wiping Emperor Kangxi's body. The weather was a bit hot, and although Emperor Kangxi was shivering from the cold, he was sweating profusely. She had to wet a cloth with warm water and wipe him carefully, bit by bit.
Kangxi felt very dizzy and heavy-headed, as if he had been having a long, distant, and deep dream.
In his dream, the Eighteenth Prince accompanied him to Rehe.
Those who were with him at the time included the eldest prince, the crown prince, and others.
The crown prince already harbored resentment towards his father, the emperor, and Suo'etu had been instigating him to rebel.
He originally wanted to calm down and have a good talk with the Crown Prince. After all, the Crown Prince was someone he had raised with his own hands for so many years. Even if it was like raising a son like a venomous insect, the Crown Prince was still his favorite venomous insect.
However, when the team was preparing to cross the desert to hunt, an unexpected incident occurred.
When the group arrived at a camp called Yong'an Bai'ang'a, the Eighteenth Prince Yinxi suddenly fell ill.
The climate and temperature vary greatly in the border regions, with all four seasons occurring in a single day.
The eighteenth prince, Yinxi, was still young and usually pampered. This was his first time leaving the inner palace, and he suddenly developed a high fever on the way.
Emperor Kangxi lost too many children in his early years, but Xiao Shiba was his beloved son whom he had in his later years. He doted on him immensely, and when Xiao Shiba fell ill, he was extremely anxious and took care of him personally without taking off his clothes.
He also issued a special decree ordering the imperial physicians in the palace to come and treat him immediately. The Third Prince and the Fourth Prince, who were left in the palace, both sent people to come over at top speed.
However, even so, they could not save the life of the Eighteenth Prince.
He was only eight years old.
Even in his dreams, Emperor Kangxi could feel his heart tearing apart with pain as his beloved son's life slowly slipped away. All he could do was hold his child in his arms.
But at this moment, they heard that the Crown Prince was drinking and making merry in his tent.
Enraged, Emperor Kangxi rushed to investigate and, sure enough, found the usually gentle Crown Prince disheveled, embracing a young eunuch with a wine cup in his hand, completely drunk and flushed, not even recognizing his own father!
Emperor Kangxi was furious and didn't even have time to consider the Crown Prince's unusual behavior before he drew his long sword from the shelf and was about to strike at his rebellious son.
A flash of cold light startled Kangxi awake; he was covered in cold sweat, and his sleeping robes were soaked through.
"Your Majesty! Your Majesty, you're awake! How are you feeling?"
Consort De was wiping Kangxi's body when she noticed that his body was trembling even more violently, and he was sweating profusely, as if he were having a nightmare.
She dared not wake Kangxi, for he had remained unconscious ever since. Just as she was about to call the imperial physician, she saw Kangxi open his eyes.
Upon hearing the sound, Kangxi almost instinctively reached for his sword, but he felt weak and dizzy.
He then realized with a start that he had been dreaming.
Consort De promptly handed over a cup of warm water and served it to Emperor Kangxi. After being unconscious for several days, he was both cold and hot, and only after drinking some water did he feel some warmth in his mouth.
The imperial physicians were on duty for twelve hours a day. Now that the emperor had woken up, they quickly stepped forward to take his pulse.
Seeing this, Consort De gave up her seat and stood not far away, looking worried, with red eyes and dark circles under her eyes, which softened Kangxi's heart.
"Consort De..." Kangxi remained silent for a long time, and when he finally spoke, his voice was very hoarse, "Crown Prince, how is he?"
Consort De blinked and told the truth.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince and Prince Zhi are in the front hall."
What are you doing in the front hall?
Kangxi knew it without even thinking.
The rest is self-explanatory.
Liang Jiugong recounted the whole story to Emperor Kangxi.
Emperor Kangxi closed his eyes.
Bao Cheng, do you want to save Father Emperor, or do you want to seize power?
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