She had been too busy and anxious to take care of this matter before, but later when she heard that Old Madam Wei was about to leave for Fujian, she did order a summons for Old Madam Wei.
Moreover, this summons went very smoothly - it was Emperor Longqing who asked her to meet Old Lady Wei and granted her the ceremonial procedures.
This also shows that Empress Fang is becoming less and less trusted by Emperor Longqing.
De Fei felt relieved. Seeing Nanny Peng's reminder, she nodded and said, "It is indeed time to summon them. It will be the 20th day soon. They should also set off. Is the 20th day scheduled?"
This was the day for the trip that was calculated by the Imperial Observatory after the Wei family entrusted it to the Imperial Observatory, who said it was an auspicious day.
Nanny Peng nodded her head and responded.
Concubine De lowered her head and continued to coax the Fifth Prince to play, and had no intention of sending anyone to ask how the Fourth Prince was doing.
Actually, there is no need to ask.
Since the Fourth Prince had suffered many misfortunes, it was natural for Queen Fang not to love her own child. However, some people's love is always utilitarian.
Even if she didn't have it before, gradually, because of the unhappiness in life, the collapse of her mother's family, and Emperor Longqing, her love for the Fourth Prince gradually became purposeful.
She knew very well that Emperor Longqing treated her differently than before, and that whatever she had done before was right.
But now, in his eyes, whatever she did was wrong.
But even so, she thought that Emperor Longqing still had feelings for her. She never expected that the first thing Emperor Longqing asked her if she had made enough of the trouble.
In his opinion, the Fourth Prince's illness was all due to her.
She was holding the Fourth Prince and was stunned on the spot. She didn't know how to express all the grievances she had prepared. She asked him in disbelief, "Do you think I deliberately made A-Man sick?!"
Emperor Longqing had a gloomy expression. His eyes were fixed on the Fourth Prince, who had cried so much that he was exhausted and was drowsy. He stretched out his hand and said to her coldly, "Give A-man to me." He no longer trusted her.
This was simply unbearable for Empress Fang. She didn't know how to react for a moment. She subconsciously tightened her grip, holding the Fourth Prince tightly in her arms, and shouted at Emperor Longqing at the top of her lungs: "This is my child!"
She was a little overwhelmed as she held the Fourth Prince. Besides being overwhelmed, she was also extremely sad. She didn't understand why Emperor Longqing looked at her with such disgust.
Emperor Longqing didn't have the patience to talk useless nonsense with Queen Fang.
Just now in Lanyue Palace, Concubine De was gentle, obedient and not fussy, and the Fifth Prince was mild-mannered, honest and cute, forming a sharp contrast with the current Queen Fang.
He didn't know why, but the other queen's anger suddenly surged up.
In fact, he had been extremely disappointed with Queen Fang because of the fire in the Taimiao before, and now the child fell ill again after Queen Fang came to see him, which made it impossible for him to think of anything good.
He looked coldly at the woman in front of him, whose makeup was still delicate and who still looked rich and gorgeous. He felt that through her gorgeous appearance, he could see the insatiable desire and greed in her heart.
After a while, he repeated to the queen calmly: "Return A-Man to me."
The tone is flat and the speech is straightforward without any emotion.
Queen Fang suddenly became quiet. She was too familiar with Emperor Longqing and knew what his tone meant. She immediately realized that he was extremely angry.
Finally, she didn't dare to cry anymore. She just held the child in her arms pitifully, shook her head hesitantly, and explained to Emperor Longqing while holding back her sobs: "I heard that he was sick... so I came to see him... But when I came over, he had already fainted, and I couldn't wake him up no matter how hard I tried..."
Queen Fang couldn't hold back her tears, pursed her lips and looked pale: "I won't harm my child. I know he is in poor health after the illness. If he gets sick again and has a high fever, he will be in trouble..."
She finally seemed to understand what Emperor Longqing was so afraid of.
Emperor Longqing looked at her hand, the veins on the back of her hand protruding as she held the child. He then retracted his gaze and walked up to her. He brushed aside the Fourth Prince's sweat-soaked hair and looked at his flushed face. He asked her, "What did the imperial physician say?"
Empress Fang was as if she had been granted amnesty. She raised her head and told him: "The imperial physician said that he had caught a cold. It was probably when he woke up early this morning and insisted on going to see the goldfish that he got blown by the wind..."
The Fourth Prince has always been plagued by disasters and is often ill.
Emperor Longqing took the child and held him on the bed. His eyelashes were curled, his little face was flushed, and he groaned from time to time and let out a long sigh.
Empress Fang took the opportunity to plead with him in a tearful voice: "Your Majesty, A-Man is still young after all. You cannot look after him all the time, and the palace maids dare not discipline him... ... I am really worried..."
She wanted to take care of her son herself.
Especially after seeing his son sick, this desire became more urgent.
As she spoke, she almost burst into tears: "I heard from my nurse that Ah Man sometimes called for his mother at night..."
This is true. During the first few days after the Fourth Prince arrived, he kept crying for his mother every night. No matter how the wet nurse and the palace maids tried to coax him, it was impossible. Emperor Longqing also couldn't sleep well for several nights because of him.
But return the child to Queen Fang
Emperor Longqing tilted his head to glance at her. Seeing that her face was filled with sorrow, she seemed like a completely different person from a few days ago. He was a little shaken, but soon hardened his heart again: "He should stay in Taiji Hall. You can come to visit him from time to time."
This is a relief.
Queen Fang's eyes were blurred with tears. She knew she couldn't ask for more, so she choked up and said "yes". She sat on the edge of the bed and personally changed the wet towel for the Fourth Prince to cool him down.
It was late at night, and after asking the imperial doctors about the situation, Emperor Longqing went back to rest. Only Empress Fang and her son were left in the bedroom.
Queen Fang wiped away her tears, glanced at the nurse, and nodded to her calmly: "Thank you for your hard work this time. You did a good job."
The wet nurse was obviously frightened. She fell to her knees with a thud, and kept begging Queen Fang for mercy with her head touching the ground.
Queen Fang glanced at Xiao Gu.
Aunt Xiao understood and squatted down to help the nurse up: "You did a good job. The queen did not blame you, but wanted to reward you."
The Fourth Prince was in poor health to begin with, and would be prone to illness during the transition from winter to spring. As the wet nurse who served him closely, all she had to do was open the window for him at night, remove some of the quilts, and help him put on clothes late in the morning, and he would easily catch a cold and become ill.
This was instructed by Queen Fang, and the wet nurse was just following orders.
But at this time, she still knew that she should make a routine confession.