The fact that no one had entered the hall for so long since he woke up was enough proof that the mastermind behind this had cleared everyone away.
All he could do now was pray that his mother would quickly notice something was wrong.
And come to his rescue soon.
After wriggling for what felt like ages, Yong Cheng’an finally managed to squirm his way under the covers.
He was drenched in sweat.
Yong Cheng’an sniffled, feeling it wasn’t safe enough—his head was still exposed.
So he tucked his head under the blanket as well.
Everything went dark before his eyes, and his head grew heavy and dizzy. Yong Cheng’an fought hard to stay awake.
But this body was simply too weak.
He didn’t last long before his eyelids uncontrollably drooped shut.
Chunmiao was about to check on Yong Cheng’an when she was held up by some urgent matters. By the time she finished and made her way to the side hall, she immediately sensed something was amiss.
It was too quiet.
At this hour, the Crown Prince would usually be awake.
Quickening her pace, she entered and saw the wide-open window and the small lump under the covers on the bed.
“Your Highness!”
Chunmiao rushed to the bedside in a few strides and pulled back the blanket, fearing Yong Cheng’an might suffocate.
Yong Cheng’an’s face was flushed red, his eyes tightly shut.
Like a ripe, crimson peach.
Chunmiao was the Empress’s chief palace maid and had witnessed many dark, underhanded schemes in the palace. One look was all it took for her to realize today’s incident was no accident—someone had deliberately plotted to harm the Crown Prince!
She picked up Yong Cheng’an and carried him back to the main hall, while also sending someone to summon the imperial physician and the Emperor.
“Your Majesty!”
Chunmiao recounted everything in detail to the Empress.
The Empress took the flushed “peach” from Chunmiao’s arms and, with trembling hands, touched Yong Cheng’an’s forehead.
A flash of ruthlessness crossed her eyes: “Investigate this for me. Seal off the entire Qiankun Gong!”
She was determined to find out whose hand had reached into Qiankun Gong.
Upon hearing that the Crown Prince had been harmed, Emperor Yong quickly arrived as well.
“Your Majesty!” Seeing the Emperor, the Empress seemed to find her anchor. Her nose stung, and tears began to roll down her cheeks.
“Do not fear, I am here.” Emperor Yong grasped the Empress’s hand, his gaze filled with concern as he looked at the small figure on the bed.
The imperial physician was already taking Yong Cheng’an’s pulse.
When he saw the Emperor arrive, he was about to bow in greeting but was urgently stopped.
“How is the Crown Prince?”
“Your Majesty, the Crown Prince has been invaded by wind-cold and will certainly develop a high fever tonight.”
“Then why are you still standing there? Hurry and prescribe medicine!” Emperor Yong couldn’t control his temper, pacing back and forth in the hall.
The imperial physician looked troubled. “Your Majesty, the Crown Prince is still too young. It would be unwise to administer medicine recklessly.”
“Then have the wet nurse continue taking the medicine!”
“That won’t work either,” the physician rejected this method as well.
“This won’t work, that won’t work—what use are you, you incompetent quack?!” Emperor Yong pointed at the physician’s nose and berated him harshly.
The Empress dug her nails into her palms but felt no pain at all.
Her gaze remained fixed intently on the child on the bed.
The imperial physician knelt on the ground, kowtowing in fear and trepidation. “Your Majesty, spare me! I have no solution, but I know of someone who can certainly save the Crown Prince!”
“Who?”
“Bai Quan, the physician of the Lin’an Marquis’s household!”
Chen Fu immediately left the palace for the Lin’an Marquis’s residence.
Emperor Yong did not place all his hopes on an unknown household physician.
He also summoned all the imperial physicians from the Imperial Medical Bureau.
The Imperial Medical Bureau was within the palace, so over a dozen physicians arrived before Bai Quan.
They surrounded Yong Cheng’an, taking his pulse for a long time, yet none dared to prescribe medicine.
The truth was, the Crown Prince was still too young. All medicine carried some toxicity. While heavy doses could be administered, if anything went wrong with the Crown Prince after taking the medicine…
Their nine clans would be in grave danger!
Emperor Yong glared at these quack doctors, so furious he threw the quilt aside, pointing at their noses and shouting, “A bunch of quacks, all of you! If anything happens to the Crown Prince, every one of you will be buried with him!”
Bai Quan arrived just as Emperor Yong was in the middle of his tirade.
Emperor Yong was a very young man, with strikingly handsome features, but Bai Quan had no mind to appreciate it—he was already trembling with fear from the emperor’s imposing aura.
Bai Quan swallowed hard. Truly befitting an emperor, this majesty was unmatched.
“Your Majesty, the physician from the Bai family has arrived,” Chen Fu stepped forward to remind him.
Emperor Yong’s gaze was still filled with rage. Bai Quan met it unexpectedly and quickly knelt on the ground. “This humble commoner, Bai Quan, pays respects—”
Before he could finish, Emperor Yong cut him off. “Get up and go examine the Crown Prince!”
“Yes,” Bai Quan swallowed again.
Walking to the bedside, his eyes filled with curiosity.
So this was the sickly, fake Crown Prince from the book?
Even as an infant, one could already glimpse the extraordinary beauty he would possess in the future.
The little baby’s cheeks were rosy, his eyelashes long, and his skin as smooth as fine jade.
Truly worthy of being called the number one beauty of Dayong in the book!
Suppressing the excitement in his eyes, Bai Quan took Yong Cheng’an’s pulse.
He quickly devised a plan.
“Your Majesty, this humble commoner needs some fermented glutinous rice wine, a basin of warm water, and a cloth.”
Emperor Yong motioned for Chen Fu to fetch them.
He felt slightly reassured. No matter what, this man was the first to propose a solution.
He was far better than the quack doctors in the palace.
Did they think he didn’t know? These quack doctors were simply afraid of taking responsibility, which was why they claimed there was no solution.
If he waited for them to come up with a plan, his perfectly healthy Crown Prince would be burned into a fool!
A cold glint flashed in Emperor Yong’s eyes. Once the Crown Prince recovered, he would settle the score with these quack doctors!
In modern times, Bai Quan had been a pediatrician, stabbed to death by a criminal during a medical dispute.
When he opened his eyes again, he had become Bai Quan of Dayong Chao.
He was well-versed in both Chinese and Western medicine, but the limited conditions of ancient times posed challenges.
To quickly reduce the fever, he could only resort to physical cooling methods.
The low-alcohol fermented glutinous rice wine was used to wipe Yong Cheng’an’s palms and soles.
Then, Bai Quan dipped the cloth in warm water and gently wiped Yong Cheng’an’s thighs and neck.
None of the imperial physicians present had ever seen such a treatment method. They all thought this man was probably too frightened and was recklessly toying with the Crown Prince.
They exchanged silent glances, waiting to see what would become of this man.