“Alas, there are always new people entering the harem, and I am very worried. Your Majesty should give birth to another royal heir.” Nan Zhi sighed.
Now that she has become Zhaoyi, she is called Empress.
"I'm not avoiding it on purpose. What can I do if I'm not pregnant? I'll just let nature take its course." Ye Jun smiled.
Besides, the fourth prince is still young, and she doesn't want to distract herself by getting pregnant with another one.
The most important thing right now is to raise this first one safely.
Ning Chen is still so young, and it’s possible that he will have many children. If there are too many princes, there will be fighting.
"Okay, it will be there when it's supposed to be." Ye Jun rolled up his sleeves and stood up. "Go, call the Fourth Prince back. He's been having fun for a long time. Call him back to have a drink of water. It's time for lunch."
Soon, the Fourth Prince and Nian Gao came back running one after the other.
The mourning period for the Grand Concubine did not allow them to run far, so they just played around nearby.
Bai Zhu served water to the Fourth Prince and asked someone to pour some rice cakes for him.
Both kids drank.
After drinking the water, the Fourth Prince couldn't wait to grab his mother's hand.
"Mom, I want to study!"
Ye Jun was puzzled. He usually made picture books to teach literacy, so why did he suddenly talk about this today
Bai Shu hurriedly explained, "Just now the Fourth Prince went out to play and ran into the Third Prince coming home from school. The two masters said a few words, and the Fourth Prince remembered them."
Ye Jun understood after hearing this.
He reached out and rubbed his son's head, then laughed, "You will be three years old this May, so it's time for you to find a teacher to teach you. But you are so pitiful, there is no one to accompany you."
The three princes in front were attending class together, and the fourth prince, being smaller in size, was left alone.
The Fourth Prince didn't understand all this. When he saw the pastries on the table, he ran away, leaving his mother Ye Jun to figure out which chef to find for him.
I have to talk to Ning Chen about this matter.
In fact, Ning Chen cared more about the child's academic problems than she did, and had been looking for candidates early on.
The candidate must be of similar level to the teacher who taught the first three princes, otherwise there will be too big a difference at such a young age, which will arouse suspicion among the court officials.
However, before this matter was settled, the fifth prince arrived in the palace.
Qin Wanrong gave birth to the fifth prince safely on March 12, and both mother and child are safe.
Because of her contribution to childbearing, Qin was promoted to the rank of beauty.
Those below the rank of concubine were not qualified to raise the royal heir. For a time, the whereabouts of the fifth prince caused a stir in the harem.
It was obvious that Ning Chen had not thought about this problem clearly, so he temporarily ordered Concubine Qin to take care of the child. Both mother and child were in Zhongcui Palace, and Concubine Jingde also provided some care.
Jiuchen Palace.
Ye Jun was called to serve writing materials. He had been reviewing memorials for more than an hour, and the two of them were sitting down to drink tea and take a rest.
Suddenly, Yuan Jiu came in hurriedly.
"Your Majesty, Wan Xiuyuan sent someone to report that the eldest prince suddenly fell ill."
"Why did you get sick for no reason?" Ning Chen couldn't help but frown.
Less than half a month had passed since the fifth prince was born, and before the joy had worn off, the eldest son fell ill.
Yuan Jiu replied, "He said he caught a cold two days ago and has been coughing a little. He actually had a fever this morning. He took some medicine and was told to lie down and rest. Just now, Wan Xiuyuan went to wake the eldest prince up to drink some porridge, but found that he couldn't be woken up."
"Maybe the child has fainted from the fever. Your Majesty, please go and check on him immediately." Ye Jun said.
She probably knows better than anyone the seriousness of having a fever for too long.
There is no measuring instrument nowadays, so we don’t know how high the child’s fever is. If the fever persists, it can be fatal, like meningitis or something like that. It is very dangerous in this era of underdeveloped medicine.
Maybe it was because she was a mother, she couldn't bear to hear her child get sick.
Ning Chen nodded, and immediately asked Huai'an to invite Zhang Yuanpan from the Imperial Hospital, and took Ye Jun to Qixiang Palace.
When she arrived, Wan Xiuyuan was using a cold towel to cool down the eldest prince, with a look of anxiety on her face.
Just as he was about to salute, he was stopped.
Ning Chen walked to the bed and touched the child's forehead, which was very hot.
"When did it catch fire?"
"In the morning, the eldest prince was a little listless during breakfast. I felt his forehead and felt it was a little hot, so I called the imperial physician to see him. He said it was just a slight fever and that he would be fine after taking medicine and taking a nap. Who would have thought that he would be like this before noon."
Wan Xiuyuan started crying as she spoke, and her eyes were filled with worry as she looked at the child on the couch.
Soon, Zhang Yuanpan arrived, and Shen Pingzhi followed him, carrying the medicine box along the way.
Now Ye Jun is in favor, and Shen Pingzhi has her trust. Originally, he has good medical skills, so he is taken in as an apprentice by Zhang Yuanpan's side, and he follows her whenever he can.
Court Judge Zhang examined the eldest prince's pulse and reported back that it was indeed caused by a cold entering the body.
"The eldest prince is already weak. Although it is spring in March, it is still chilly. It rained all day yesterday. The eldest prince may have caught a cold from getting up early to study. There is nothing wrong with the prescription this morning, but the eldest prince is weak, so we need to add two more medicines. I will first reduce the eldest prince's high fever, and then carefully formulate a prescription for recuperation."
According to ancestral rules, when a prince turns six years old, he must go to the upper study room to study.
At the end of last year, the eldest prince turned six years old, so he officially started school after the new year. He got up early every day, only half an hour later than Ning Chen's court time.
I had to carry a lantern when I went to the study in the morning, so it was naturally cold.
"In that case, let's stop the lessons for now. Let's wait until the eldest prince recovers from his illness before going back to study." Ning Chen said in a low voice.
Finally, I sat down and prepared to wait until the child's fever subsided before leaving.
Since Ye Jun was not asked to leave, he would naturally stay as well.
After just sitting for a while, Ye Jun felt a chill from time to time.
Looking up, I saw that the window near the inner room was half open and wind was blowing in.
"Nanzhi, go and close the window tightly. The eldest prince has caught a cold and he definitely can't stand the cold. I'm wearing thick clothes, but I still feel the wind."
After receiving the order, Nan Zhi went there immediately.
Wan Xiuyuan's face changed and she quickly stood up and said in panic.
"It was all because of my carelessness. When I first came, the charcoal fire in the house was burning vigorously, and the smell of coal mixed with the smell of medicine was very unpleasant, so I asked someone to open the ventilation, but I forgot to close it."
Ning Chen waved his hand, motioning for her to sit down.
"Never mind, it's not a big deal. The smell of coal is harmful to the human body if it doesn't dissipate. But the servants who serve the eldest prince must be more careful in the future. Fortunately, it was Concubine Ming who saw it today, otherwise the eldest prince would have caught a cold again."
"Yes, I will definitely do a better job of disciplining the servants." Wan Xiuyuan bowed.
Doctor Zhang prepared the medicine, and the eldest prince drank it, and his fever subsided.
After watching the child wake up, drink half a bowl of sweet porridge and lie down again, the two of them left Kaixiang Palace.
After they left, Wan Xiuyuan gave the palace maids who had taken care of the eldest prince a good scolding.
Remind them to be more careful and cautious and not to make mistakes like today again.
Ning Chen still had to review memorials in the afternoon, and felt sorry for Ye Jun who had been working on ink for the whole morning and had been sitting with Wan Xiuyuan for a long time, so he told her to go back and rest.
As soon as she returned to Zhaochunxuan, Nanzhi told her about a strange thing she had just discovered in Qixiang Palace.