In the blink of an eye, ten days had passed and it was already April.
After the Qingming Festival, Ning Chen finally made the announcement regarding the newcomer entering the palace, scheduling her entry into the palace at the end of June and conferring her a title.
Zhang Sunshi of Suzhou was granted the title of Talented Lady and given the name Ying.
The girl from the Xu family in Jiangning was also named a talented person, but she was not given a title.
If you look at it this way, you will naturally see the difference.
The emperor still values Changsun more.
Most people still felt uncomfortable thinking that the two new people were about to enter the palace.
However, he didn't have time to feel upset for long, as something happened again in Qixiang Palace.
After a light rain on Qingming Festival, the eldest prince's condition worsened again. This time it was even more serious. He started coughing and coughed up bloody phlegm half an hour after taking the medicine in the morning.
Ning Chen's face darkened again, and he immediately called Zhang Yuanpan and Shen Pingzhi, who were responsible for treating the eldest prince.
"What on earth is going on? Wasn't his condition stabilized some time ago? How come he suddenly became so seriously ill again?"
Judge Zhang was also puzzled, and frowned, "Logically, this shouldn't happen. There is absolutely nothing wrong with my prescription."
"Your Majesty, I deliver medicine to the eldest prince every day and examine him carefully. I also take his pulse every day. His condition is under control. Court Judge Zhang went there every two days and gave the same diagnosis. He suddenly relapsed, and I really don't know why." Shen Pingzhi immediately stepped forward and bowed.
Ning Chen narrowed his eyes slightly and glanced at Shen Pingzhi.
"You mean the medicine in the Imperial Hospital is fine, but the eldest prince's condition keeps recurring, so maybe there's something wrong somewhere else?"
"I dare not, but since it concerns the eldest prince's condition, I have to think more about it." Shen Pingzhi said in a low voice.
There are a lot of secretive things going on in the harem, and now that that's been said, Ning Chen couldn't help but think about it.
At this moment, Wan Xiuyuan had just coaxed the eldest prince to sleep in the inner room. Hearing the noise outside, she came out wiping her tears.
She sobbed softly and knelt in front of Ning Chen.
"Your Majesty, I had a miscarriage that damaged my body and I can no longer have children. Being able to raise the eldest prince is a fate that can only be achieved through several lifetimes. I beg Your Majesty to save the eldest prince. I have already lost one child and I absolutely cannot lose another!"
After all, the eldest prince and Wan Xiuyuan have no blood relationship. Seeing her crying like this at this moment makes Ning Chen, as a father, feel even more uncomfortable.
He signaled with his eyes to Yuan Jiu to help the man up.
"Don't panic. I'm here, as is the imperial physician. Nothing will happen to Rong'er."
After he finished speaking, he called over the wet nurse and servants who took care of the eldest prince's daily life.
Let the imperial physician ask them in detail what the eldest prince has eaten and touched in the past two days.
Wan Xiuyuan sat aside with her eyes lowered and sobbed, wiping her tears and covering the dark light in her eyes with a handkerchief.
Zhang Yuanpan understood the situation one by one, and Shen Pingzhi stood aside and listened carefully.
There was nothing wrong with the eldest prince's daily routine and diet, but there must be something wrong with his worsening condition. If it wasn't something from Qixiang Palace, could it be...
In an instant, Shen Pingzhi's eyes turned stern, and a bold guess flashed through his mind.
But he couldn't move away at the moment, so he could only find a way to wink at the little palace maid waiting outside the door.
This little girl had just entered the palace. She fell seriously ill during the Chinese New Year last year and almost died. Fortunately, Shen Pingzhi was kind-hearted and saved her life. He kept her by his side as an errand boy and named her Chenxiang.
Chenxiang looked at Doctor Shen and was stunned for a moment, then suddenly reacted and left in a hurry.
Soon, people appeared in Zhaochunxuan.
"My lady, it was Doctor Shen who sent me here. I'm afraid something might happen!"
Ye Jun had seen this little girl many times and was familiar with her, so he pulled her up and asked her in detail.
"Tell me what's going on slowly, don't be anxious."
"I was standing outside the door and didn't know much about what was going on inside. But when I came here, the Emperor called in all the servants who served the eldest prince to question them. I vaguely heard them asking what they had eaten and worn in the past two days. Later, Imperial Doctor Shen winked at me, and I came to look for the Empress."
Chenxiang was very anxious, and her tone was already tearful. She was young, only thirteen years old, so naturally she was afraid.
Fortunately, even in the panic, I remembered the instructions of Doctor Shen, that if anything happened and could not be resolved, I should go find Ming Zhaoyuan immediately.
After hearing these words, Ye Jun didn't get much information and was a little confused for a moment.
He first asked Huiyue to calm Chenxiang down, then he stood up and paced around the room to think carefully.
She was well aware of the medical skills of Shen Pingzhi and Zhang Yuanpan, and there would definitely be no problem with them. Therefore, there must be something wrong with the eldest prince's sudden relapse of illness. The emperor wanted to check his food and clothing, which meant that he suspected the problem was somewhere else.
But why did Shen Pingzhi ask someone to find her
"Nanzhi, have we sent anything to Qixiang Palace during this period?" Ye Jun turned around and asked.
"No, Her Majesty has instructed us to be cautious. I have kept a close eye on it and there won't be any mistakes." Nan Zhi said firmly.
Since there was nothing wrong with her things, what else could Shen Pingzhi worry about
Imperial Medical Service!
A thought suddenly flashed through his mind, and Ye Jun immediately went out.
"Let's go to the Imperial Hospital and look for the dregs of the medicine used by the eldest prince!"
Kong Qing ran fast and left immediately.
Chenxiang also hurried to catch up. She usually followed Shen Pingzhi to do odd jobs. She was the one who boiled the medicine and poured out the dregs, so she knew where the things were.
At that time, in Qixiang Palace.
Doctor Zhang led Shen Pingzhi to carefully examine everything the eldest prince could touch, but found nothing abnormal.
I was in trouble for a while.
Only then did Wan Xiuyuan speak in a low voice, "Your Majesty, there is still one thing that has not been checked."
"What is that?" Ning Chen turned his head.
"This is the medicine that the eldest prince drank." Wan Xiuyuan whispered, then stood up and knelt down again. "Your Majesty, it's not that I doubt the imperial physician's medical skills, but I haven't seen any improvement after taking this medicine for so many days, and now my condition has relapsed. I dare to ask Your Majesty to check it carefully."
After hearing this, Doctor Zhang's expression suddenly turned grim.
As a doctor, what he hates most is others questioning his medical skills, especially in front of the emperor. Wouldn't that be a slap in his face and would also cause the emperor to doubt his incompetence
However, since it was related to the eldest prince's illness, no matter how uncomfortable Zhang Yuanpan felt, he had to endure it.
Considering the child, Ning Chen sent someone to the Imperial Hospital to get the residue from the decoction.
Doctor Zhang was horrified when he heard it.
"Hey, what's going on, Your Majesty? There's an extra herb called Zhishi in this medicine residue. Zhishi is a herb that breaks Qi. The eldest prince is already physically weak. If he eats this, it's going to kill him!"
For a moment, fear and panic appeared on Wan Xiuyuan's face. She was so scared that she knelt on the ground with her eyes wide open, feeling very at a loss as to what to do.
Suddenly, as if he remembered something, he turned around and grabbed Ning Chen's robe.
"Your Majesty, someone is trying to harm the eldest prince. This medicine was prepared by Imperial Physician Shen himself, and he personally brought it to the eldest prince and watched him take it. Imperial Physician Shen, what are your intentions? Why do you want to harm the eldest prince? Who ordered you to do that?"