Chapter 4

Chapter 4 On the third day, when Prince Jing left, he specifically assigned Xie Run some homework, saying he would return tomorrow and would test her on it then. He seemed to be in exceptionally high spirits. However, on the fourth day, Prince Jing did not arrive as promised, because the Second Young Master of the residence had fallen ill. Prince Jing did not have many children—so far, he had only two sons and one daughter. Both young masters were born to Consort Ning, the elder being four years old and the younger two. The daughter was born to Concubine Yun, whom the Prince favored. She was three years old this year and had been granted the title of Commandery Princess at birth, with the Emperor bestowing upon her the title name Ruyi. Xie Run had once suspected that Prince Jing had a tendency to enjoy playing the role of teacher, purely because he had few children, and they were still too young—he had never had the chance to enjoy the pleasure of instructing his offspring. With only these three precious sprouts in the entire residence, one of the little ones falling ill was certainly a major matter, was it not? Xie Run expressed full understanding and promptly turned around to lead her maidservants in preparing to cultivate the empty plot in the courtyard. The flowers delivered by the greenhouse were of excellent quality, so she needed to plant them quickly to add some vitality to the courtyard. When she heard that Prince Jing would not be coming today, Dantao worried that Xie Run might be upset and hurriedly tried to comfort her: "Mistress, please don't be sad. It's only because the Second Young Master is unwell today that the Prince didn't come. The Prince surely has you in his heart." "I'm not one to be overly sentimental," Xie Run said with a smile. "Just because the Prince doesn't come, should I stop living my life? There will be many more days like this in the future. You all should get used to it." Seeing that she truly didn't mind, Dantao wasn't as worried, though she couldn't quite bring herself to be happy either. That her mistress didn't care about the Prince's favor was a good thing, but not entirely good either. Xie Run wore a smile on her face, showing not a trace of sorrow. Instead, she cheerfully directed Yuli and Xiaoshu as they worked the ground. Watching the weed-covered plot gradually turn over, Xie Run felt a great sense of accomplishment. At that moment, she suddenly understood the feeling Prince Jing had when teaching her to play chess. If nothing unexpected happened, the Prince would certainly visit her again this month. After all, she, his disciple, was like a barren plot of land that had just been cleared of weeds—after the tilling, fertilizing, and sowing... he wouldn't lose his desire to explore until it blossomed and bore fruit. By then, she should have some confidence of her own. If Xie Run wanted to live safely and healthily within the Prince's residence, she would always need Prince Jing's favor—even just a trace of it could make her life several times easier. When Prince Jing arrived at Consort Ning's Orchid Fragrance Garden and learned the reason for the child's illness, he flew into a great rage. "Ying'er is only two years old! As his mother, if you don't take care of him properly, can you expect the servants to be thorough?!" It turned out that the Second Young Master loved playing in water and never wanted to come out during his bath. Whenever the wet nurse said it was time to dry him off, he would start crying and throwing a tantrum. Consort Ning had recently been troubled by matters concerning her eldest son's early education. Finding her younger son's noise annoying, she had indulged him in playing with water just to buy herself a moment of peace. Who would have thought that with a moment's inattention, the child would catch a chill. A child of only two years, once catching a chill, would start vomiting and having diarrhea. This threw Consort Ning into a panic, and she hastily sent someone to summon Prince Jing. Upon learning what had happened, how could the Prince not be furious? Consort Ning was also regretful. Wiping her tears, she said, "This concubine knows she was wrong. Your Highness, please don't pierce this concubine's heart. Both children are this concubine's very life. Whichever one falls ill, this concubine's heart aches as if cut with a knife." Seeing her crying so pitifully, he furrowed his brow. "Shi'an, go summon Imperial Physician Zhang and Imperial Physician Liu." Eunuch Shian quickly nodded. "This servant will go at once." Consort Ning wiped her tears and beckoned to her eldest son beside her. "Jue'er, come quickly and pay your respects to your father. In a few days, you'll be moving to the front courtyard, so you must obediently listen to your father." The four-year-old Eldest Young Master seemed somewhat bewildered, but still obediently nodded. "Your son will certainly obey Father. I will study diligently, become a person of vast knowledge who understands propriety and righteousness, and in the future, relieve Father of his worries." Prince Jing was initially quite satisfied upon hearing his son's words. But that last sentence was clearly not something a four-year-old child could come up with on his own—Lady Ning had likely been drilling it into him. Consort Ning beamed as she embraced the Eldest Young Master. "Your Highness, Jue'er has recently learned a few more poems. Why not test him?" Prince Jing glanced at his second son, who was still lying in bed with flushed cheeks, and couldn't help but furrow his brow. This was not the first time he had noticed that Lady Ning was not attentive enough toward her second son. Such blatant favoritism today truly disgusted Prince Jing. Prince Jing said, "No need. Let's wait until the imperial physicians have examined Ying'er first." Realizing that Prince Jing was displeased, Consort Ning merely assumed he was still angry about her failure to properly care for the child, so she awkwardly fell silent. After the imperial physicians finished their diagnosis and treatment, Consort Ning breathed a sigh of relief. "Your Highness, it's getting late. Would you care to have dinner at the Orchid Fragrance Garden tonight?" In the Prince's residence, aside from the Princess Consort, Consort Ning held the most prestige. On such occasions in the past, Prince Jing would always stay the night at Consort Ning's quarters. This was also the reason the women in the inner courtyard all wanted to bear children. Even if the Prince didn't favor them, for the sake of the children, he would still stay one or two nights to grant them some dignity. Unexpectedly, today Prince Jing broke his usual pattern, speaking coldly, "No need. I'll go to the Princess Consort's quarters tonight. Since you can't properly care for two children on your own, let the Princess Consort help find a nanny experienced in childcare to share the burden." Consort Ning's heart instantly leaped to her throat. After seeing off Prince Jing, she collapsed into Nanny Zhang's arms, both vexed and fearful: "Nanny Zhang, what do you think the Prince means by that? Is he dissatisfied with how I care for the children?" Nanny Zhang quickly comforted Consort Ning: "Side Consort, please don't overthink. The Prince is merely concerned for the Second Young Master and wants a nanny skilled in childcare to look after him. This is a good thing." "Good thing?!" Consort Ning refused to believe it: "That venomous woman, the Princess Consort—she's the one who prevented Jue'er from becoming the Heir Apparent! If the Prince asks her to find a nanny for Ying'er, isn't that sending a lamb into the tiger's den?!" Nanny Zhang: "Precisely because the person would be recommended by the Princess Consort, she wouldn't dare pull any tricks. If anything happens to our Second Young Master, the blame would fall entirely on the Princess Consort." Hearing this, Consort Ning finally calmed down a bit. "Are you telling the truth?" Nanny Zhang lowered her voice to reassure her: "Of course it's true. How would this servant dare deceive you, Side Consort? The Princess Consort has always been cautious in her actions; she might not even agree to take on this task." "If that's the case, then all the better. If not..." A hint of ruthlessness appeared on Consort Ning's face. "Then don't blame me for being merciless."