Chapter 145: Testing the Waters (Third Update)

Once Chen Dayan agreed to Yan Yan’s request, an atmosphere of espionage and counterespionage immediately filled the Ninth Prince’s study. Beginning the very next day, Chen Dayan took over the task of preparing the Ninth Prince’s medicine and personally handed each prepared dose to Madam He. Even when he was not on night duty, he would prepare the medicine in advance and deliver it to her.

Madam He was extremely meticulous about brewing the medicine herself. She even placed the dregs in a jar and buried them in the ground. What she did not know was that the dregs had long since been obtained by Kangxi’s hidden guards.

Yan Yan also noticed that although Madam He and Wang Quan’er appeared calm on the surface, whenever they had a moment to spare, they would stare suspiciously at the maids serving them.

Fortunately, Chen Dayan had not announced that the danger of the epidemic had passed. Apart from a few imperial physicians, everyone else was forbidden to enter. Even Consort Dongo could only offer her greetings from outside the courtyard. Thus, no one noticed the strange behavior of Madam He and Wang Quan’er.

Besides these people, Eunuch Wang and He Guier had also been informed. After all, Eunuch Wang was now the only person allowed to carry supplies in from outside. His hands had trembled slightly when he first heard the news, but afterward he behaved as though nothing had happened. Clearly, he was far more seasoned than Madam He and Wang Quan’er.

Thus, although the Ninth Prince’s fever had now broken, no one outside Yan Yan and the others knew it. Imperial Physician Hu and the rest found it somewhat odd that Chen Dayan alone examined the Ninth Prince’s pulse records, but none of them thought much of it. In their eyes, the Ninth Prince probably did not have long to live.

Yet on this particular day, a sudden commotion broke out in the Ninth Prince’s usually quiet study. Yan Yan had been taking a brief nap when the noise reached her ears. She frowned and asked the little maid beside her, “Who is outside?”

The maid answered cautiously, “To answer Your Highness, it is the Eighth Princess. She says she wants to see His Highness.”

Yan Yan was startled. She stared at the maid in disbelief and asked, “The Eighth Princess? Knowing that His Highness has a contagious epidemic, she still insists on coming in?”

The maid nodded, but before she could say anything else, Madam He entered and explained, “The Eighth Princess and our master grew up together. Perhaps she is so grief-stricken that she no longer fears infection and insists on coming in. Her Highness the Princess has already tried to stop her and has sent someone to summon the Eighth Prince.”

Yan Yan could not help curling her lip. Why did everything become so strange whenever the Eighth Princess involved herself?

Madam He sighed. “It truly is touching how devoted the Eighth Princess is. His Majesty forbade everyone from visiting him, and even the Tenth Prince has not come here to make a scene. It seems the bond between childhood companions really is the stronger one.”

Yan Yan did not agree with her at all. Had the Tenth Prince not also grown up with the Ninth Prince? Had the Ninth Prince not said that the Tenth Prince had taken part in every mischievous thing he had done as a child? By Madam He’s reasoning, the Tenth Prince ought to be throwing himself into a tantrum at the study door by now—crying, making a scene, and threatening to hang himself.

At that thought, Yan Yan suddenly felt that she had overlooked something. If the Tenth Prince were afraid of catching the epidemic, she would not believe it even if someone twisted her head off. Kangxi probably did not believe it either, which was why he had expressly forbidden anyone else from visiting the Ninth Prince. It was precisely because of that imperial decree that the Ninth Prince’s study seemed almost cut off from the rest of the world.

But there was no reason for the Eighth Princess not to know about Kangxi’s decree. Why, then, had she come here to cause such a disturbance?

With that thought, Yan Yan immediately said, “Madam, since the Eighth Princess is not afraid of infection, why not invite her in?”

Madam He stared at her in astonishment and cried out in disbelief, “Your Highness, the master has recovered. If the Eighth Princess comes in, she will naturally see that at once!”

Yan Yan found Madam He’s near-panic rather adorable and smiled. “Do not worry. I will not let her enter the inner room. Listen to me: draw every curtain in this room, and have all the maids going in and out cover their faces with square cloths. Then invite the Eighth Princess into the outer room.”

Madam He watched Yan Yan for a moment before going out to receive the visitors. Chen Dayan and the other imperial physicians had already withdrawn to a side room so that they would not offend either princess. Before long, Madam He brought the Eighth Princess and Consort Dongo to the outer room where the Ninth Prince was recuperating.

“Is Cousin inside? I am going in to see him!” the Eighth Princess declared as soon as she entered.

Madam He was slightly embarrassed. They had allowed the woman to come this far, yet now intended to prevent her from seeing him. It was indeed rather difficult to justify.

But Madam He did not have to remain embarrassed for long. Yan Yan slowly walked out. A handkerchief covered the lower half of her face, leaving visible only a pair of lively, expressive eyes.

The Eighth Princess’s brows shifted slightly, while Consort Dongo was plainly in no good temper.

Yan Yan paid no attention to their attitudes. She smiled and bowed. “I pay my respects to Your Highness and to the Eighth Princess. May both Your Highnesses enjoy peace and good fortune.”

Consort Dongo glanced at Yan Yan and thought to herself that a person unfit for the grand stage truly remained unfit for it. Who had ever heard of someone greeting her own family before paying respects to an honored guest?

The Eighth Princess was also openly mocking. She returned to the subject at once. “Is Cousin inside? I want to go in and see him.”

Yan Yan gave a soft laugh. Though she did not explicitly refuse, she looked the Eighth Princess up and down.

Only when the woman’s expression grew increasingly unpleasant did Yan Yan speak. “His Highness’s fever was caused by a chill entering his body. Perhaps the Eighth Princess has not noticed, but no fragrance or outside contamination is permitted in this study. If you wish to enter and see His Highness, you must first bathe, change clothes, and put on the garments we have prepared. You must also cover your mouth and nose, lest you become infected with the epidemic.”

The Eighth Princess snorted. “I need none of that. If you are not afraid, what have I to fear?”

Yan Yan smiled again. “That is not how one should speak. With my humble status, I naturally cannot compare with an honored princess. This epidemic is no ordinary minor ailment. Infection would be disastrous.”

The Eighth Princess snorted once more. This time she did not bother replying. She simply charged toward the inner room.

Yan Yan did not stop her. Instead, she looked at Consort Dongo in surprise and smiled. “Will Your Highness be going in as well?”

The Eighth Princess seemed only then to notice that Consort Dongo had not followed her. She turned back, seized her hand, and said, “Do not worry. Cousin will not infect us.”

That was precisely the answer Yan Yan had been waiting for. She smiled at once.

“The Eighth Princess truly is like an immortal. Even the imperial physicians dare not claim that His Highness cannot infect others, yet you sound so certain. Could it be that you know His Highness is not suffering from an epidemic at all?”