The Virtuous Concubine

The young eunuch smelled it and felt a refreshing medicinal fragrance coming to his nose. He couldn't help but exclaimed: "This medicine is extraordinary. The fragrance makes people feel refreshed."

Nalan Rongruo smiled slightly, carefully put away the medicine bottle, and said to the young eunuch: "Thank you for accompanying me on this detour, eunuch. Let's go back. I can't stay in the palace for long."

The young eunuch nodded, and the two left Shanglin Garden together. Back at his residence, Nalan Rongruo immediately handed the medicine bottle to his confidant who was waiting there, explained in detail how to use the medicine, and asked him to deliver the medicine to his injured brother immediately. Looking at the confidant's hurriedly leaving back, Nalan Rongruo felt a little comforted. He knew that with this bottle of medicine, his brother's injuries would be relieved.

At that time, I was almost half dead, and I bled out while running away. In the end, I could only lie in the bushes to avoid the search of the White Lotus assassins. There were also people from the White Lotus and other anti-Qing and restoration forces in the harem. When I didn't know what to do, she appeared.

He thought he would die in this harem and cause her a lot of trouble. Unexpectedly, she was like Guanyin, and the elixir she gently sprinkled restored his strength. She secretly treated his wounds in her own way, giving him a glimmer of hope in despair.

When Nalan didn't know how to repay him, his brother Zhang Guangsi was in a critical condition, even more dangerous than himself. So he could only use various medicines to keep Zhang Guangsi alive, while looking for an opportunity to see if the most favored Concubine De in the harem had the same elixir as last time.

He was lucky, she was indeed kind.

As night fell, Nalan Rongruo sat alone in his study, writing in deep thought. He recalled his experiences today, and felt a lot of emotions in his heart. With his emotions stirred, he wrote a poem.

But this poem is really difficult to express his feelings at the moment. Nalan was not satisfied with what he wrote, and finally left only a few acceptable sentences. The night wind blew, bringing a deep chill. His concubine Lan Yu came over with wolfberry and white fungus soup to ask about his condition.

Nalan Rongruo didn't know why, as if he was a thief, he subconsciously turned the rice paper to cover most of the poem, and finished a few sentences. Lan Yu was always careful, and seeing that Nalan was not as gentle and patient as usual, she also found a reason to leave. Nalan didn't even look at her, just looked at the bright moon outside the window without saying a word.

Lan Yu took the opportunity to look at the manuscript on the table, but she only saw a vague outline. On her way back, she kept guessing what she had seen. According to the shape of the characters, it seemed to be the sentence "Why ask for the magic medicine? The Queen Mother's grace has been poured out." The latter part was covered, but she could see clearly that the last sentence was "This night, my love is long and I send it to the plain paper. The red medicine thanks silently."

She couldn't help but feel a little sad and worried. Lan Yu was favored because she was well-versed in poetry and often discussed poetry with Nalan. How could she not understand what these sentences meant? She could only pray silently that when this woman who was favored by the young master came into the house, she could still maintain her place in the Nalan Mansion.

The bright moon was still hanging high in the sky. She sighed softly and went into her bedroom, but she had already memorized those vague verses in her heart.

Malu had no idea that someone was thinking about her. She was hugging her eldest son and was very happy.

Since he was born, everyone in Yonghe Palace has had high hopes for the Fourth Prince. Malu knew that her son would become the emperor in the future. Although others did not dare to think in this direction, in their eyes, the Fourth Prince would be the pillar of Yonghe Palace and the foundation for the Palace to stand firm.

After all, the emperor's favor is like the clouds in the sky, which will be blown away by the wind. But the fourth prince was born from the belly of the empress of Yonghe Palace, so every change in his growth will make everyone in Yonghe Palace excited. The fourth prince is very healthy, but he doesn't like to move or talk.

After half a year, the nanny and others were very anxious. Every day, they taught the fourth prince to speak like a parrot, but the fourth prince might be a noble who was slow to speak. Except when he was hungry or urinated, he was very quiet. Malu was also a little anxious at the beginning, and was even squeezed by other concubines, saying that she should find a doctor to take a good look.

But the system checked many times, and finally concluded that the Fourth Prince just didn't want to talk, and was naturally taciturn. So Malu was not in a hurry, because she couldn't force the child to talk! Before this matter fermented for long, the fact that Dai Jia gave birth to a little prince with a disabled foot spread like the wind throughout the Qing Palace.

The attention of the people in the harem was immediately attracted, and only the people in Yonghe Palace were more anxious - could it be that they couldn't tell the Fourth Prince? Thinking of this, the servants in Yonghe Palace almost couldn't sleep all night.

On this day, the Fourth Prince was lying in a delicate cradle with his eyes closed, as if he was asleep, but in fact he was eavesdropping on what was going on around him. The nurse and the palace maids gathered around him, talking in low voices, mainly because they were worried about why the Fourth Prince didn't speak. If that happened, the Empress' life would be difficult, after all, she was pregnant with a child, and was being plotted against by the concubines every day, which was really worrying.

When the Fourth Prince heard this, he was also a little stunned. After the palace maids finished their discussion, they came over to check on him. He looked at Jingyi in front of him, hesitated for a while, and finally opened his tender little mouth and uttered a clear "go away".

Everyone in the room was stunned for a moment, as if they couldn't believe their ears. So, the poor Fourth Prince not only did not drive away the maid who disturbed his sleep, but everyone quickly approached the cradle and excitedly asked each other: "Did you say something? Did the Fourth Prince just tell us to leave?"

One of them was smart enough to run out to find Bai Xia and Bai Fu to inform them of this most important event - the Fourth Prince had spoken!

Malu naturally came when she heard the news. She happily picked up the Fourth Prince from the cradle, placed him in her arms, and patted him gently with a very skilled gesture: "My baby, what did you say just now? Say it again to me."

The Fourth Prince seemed to sense Malu's joy and anticipation. He spoke again, this time more clearly: "Mother."

A burst of surprised cries suddenly rang out in the side hall. The nurses and palace maids exchanged delighted glances with each other. They knew that this "mother" was the third word that the prince said! They wanted to see how those gossipers in the harem would be slapped in the face!

Moreover, the Fourth Prince was really smart. Other children of his age didn't know what they were saying and just learned mechanically, but the Fourth Prince obviously understood - the palace maids present at the time didn't understand, but the experienced wet nurses were more or less aware of this. They were moved by the Fourth Prince's filial piety and secretly glad that they were still loyal, so they didn't say anything excessive.

Ma Lu held the Fourth Prince in her arms, her heart filled with pride and gratitude. She whispered to the Fourth Prince, "Baby, you are my pride."

The fourth prince blinked his clear eyes, as if responding to Malu's words. He stretched out his little hand and gently touched Malu's cheek. At that moment, Malu felt unprecedented happiness and satisfaction.

The news that the Fourth Prince had spoken soon spread throughout the harem. Kangxi was overjoyed when he heard about it and immediately ordered rewards for all the wet nurses and palace maids who had participated in raising the Fourth Prince. He had been traumatized by the Sixth Prince, who had been disabled since birth. Now that the Fourth Prince had spoken in time, it could be considered as alleviating some of the urgent need for his reputation to be affected.