Chapter 150 The Eighteenth Prince
We ate, drank and had fun along the way, so we didn’t feel lonely. We reached our destination in half a month.

It was bitterly cold outside the Great Wall, so Yihuan and her companions put on cotton-padded clothes a few days ago. The Ninth Lady was not used to the weather here and caught typhoid fever. She had been staying in her tent all this time, fearing that she would infect others with the fever.

Thinking that she had brought a concubine with her, and wondering if she could rest and recuperate, Yihuan found a relatively warm time at noon, took Yuxue and the prepared medicinal herbs to visit the patient.

When Yihuan arrived, Ninth Lady was lying down, covered with a thick quilt, and covering her mouth and nose: "Why is Fourth Sister-in-law here? I'll be better in a few days, and then we can talk together."

"It's okay. I drank ginger soup before I came here. I'm not afraid." Yihua looked around and found that the brazier in front of her was a little short. "Go get some more coal for your master. The fire is almost out."

The maidservant beside the Ninth Lady was so anxious that her face turned red. She knelt down in front of Yihuan and said, "In reply to the Fourth Lady, please save our master. I don't know where the Ninth Master got the prescription from, but he insisted that our master would be fine after taking it. When the master saw that the medicine was strange, he refused to use it. Who knew that the Ninth Master would be angry? I secretly hid some of the medicine. Please ask the imperial physician to take a look. What kind of medicine is this?"

The Ninth Lady didn't expect her maid to be so rude. She wanted to scold her, but she started coughing as soon as she opened her mouth.

Yihuan patted her back to make her feel better: "Yuxue, get some of the best charcoal from us, and do it quietly so no one can see you."

"Just rest assured and take care of yourself. You must not take this medicine carelessly. I'll ask someone to take a look. If it's a good medicine, you have to apologize to Master Jiu and then take it obediently. If it's not a good medicine, you should also remind Master Jiu not to harm your body by taking it. Don't you think this makes sense?"

The Ninth Lady nodded repeatedly, saying that the Fourth Sister-in-law could do her job properly.

Holding the dark ointment in her arms, Yihuan smelled the fragrance. For some reason, she felt something was ominous. She didn't plan to go directly to the imperial physician, so it would be safer to talk to Yinzhen first.

But that night, she didn't wait for Yinzhen, and Honghui didn't come back either. Yihuan stayed up for half the night and finally fell asleep.

When she woke up, Yuxue came over and said, "Fujin, Eunuch Su just came and said that the eighteenth prince was seriously ill and the emperor was furious. The master and the eldest prince can't come back yet, so he took a few clothes and left."

Yihuan's heart suddenly skipped a beat when she heard that the Eighteenth Prince was seriously ill. Yes, it was the forty-seventh year of Emperor Kangxi's reign. She was so focused on the joy of being able to go out that she had completely forgotten that this tour would involve some earth-shaking events.

The trigger for everything was the Eighteenth Prince who suddenly developed a high fever.

Kangxi had more than 20 sons in his life, and he loved all of them very much. Especially when he got older, he doted on the younger ones even more.

Little Eighteen insisted on coming on this trip, and Kangxi agreed reluctantly.

However, the weather in the frontier and the capital changed greatly. Perhaps because he did not wear enough clothes, or perhaps because he was caught in the wind while sleeping at night, the Eighteenth Prince caught a cold and had a high fever that would not go away. The imperial physician and the local famous doctor took turns to feel his pulse and prescribe medicine, but it was of no avail.

Because he could no longer swallow.

Just when Kangxi was extremely anxious, he suddenly saw the prince who was calm and composed. Firstly, it was because he was standing closest to him, and secondly, his expression was too conspicuous among the crowd of worried, nervous and sad people.

The prince was actually daydreaming. He was thinking about Hongzhao. Yesterday he received a letter from the Crown Princess saying that Hongzhao had started learning to speak, which made him very excited.

The Eighteenth Prince was at least thirty years apart from him, and he had almost no interactions with his younger brothers, except for the sake of face.

Besides, it was just typhoid fever. With so many imperial doctors around, the prince felt that it would be fine, so he looked calm.

When Kangxi saw this scene, it deeply hurt his heart. Didn’t his Baocheng have the slightest love for his brothers?
The condition of the 18th prince deteriorated rapidly, and he died within two days. The accompanying imperial physician knelt before the emperor, not daring to move. Seeing that Kangxi was grief-stricken, the crown prince was more concerned about his health, so he advised: "Your Majesty, please accept my condolences. I have been unable to sleep or eat well because of this misfortune. Please do not be too sad, because my 18th brother would be sad too if he saw me."

Kangxi opened his red eyes, looked at the prince, and suddenly pointed at him and scolded: "Prince! When Xiao Shiba was sick, you didn't show any concern. Now he is gone, and you don't show any pain at all. You have learned nothing from the books of saints over the years, and you don't have the slightest brotherly love. Ask yourself, are you worthy of the position of prince?!"

"Father Emperor?!" The prince felt confused. It was not him who killed Little Eighteen, and he did not stand by and watch him die. How could it be his fault?

Seeing that the prince was still full of doubts, Kangxi was furious and vented all his grief during this period: "Go back to your tent and reflect on yourself!"

The Prince of Zhi followed orders and "escorted" the prince all the way back to the tent, leaving his personal soldiers to guard it.

The court officials looked at each other in bewilderment. No one had expected that the death of a prince with little presence due to illness would actually implicate the crown prince.

Is he worthy of being the crown prince?

This sentence carries too much weight. Everyone was pondering over and over in their hearts what the emperor meant by this sentence. Did he want to... depose the crown prince?

That night, the lights were on in the team that came to patrol outside the Great Wall, and no one slept.

Yihuan saw Yinzhen. She leaned over and didn't see Honghui, so she looked at him questioningly.

Yinzhen said hoarsely: "Honghui has been left in front of the emperor, Su Peisheng is following him, don't be afraid."

Yihuan's eyes widened. Kangxi was so angry that he even reprimanded the crown prince. Honghui was still young. What if he said something wrong and angered the emperor?
"Don't be afraid." Yinzhen added, "Trust him. Besides, I'm here. As long as I'm here, Honghui will be fine."

Yihuan nodded and changed Yinzhen's clothes: "Are you going out tonight?"

"Not today. The Emperor has reprimanded the Crown Prince. The Imperial Court is guarded by guards. No one is allowed to enter without being summoned. Just be alert tonight."

Yinzhen hadn't slept for several nights, and Yihuan didn't bother him about the Ninth Concubine's matter. They drank hot soup together to warm their stomachs, and then turned off the lights early to let Yinzhen catch up on his sleep.

At this time, Honghui was standing behind Kangxi, using his signature skill to massage his shoulders.

There were some noises outside the imperial tent, but they were not very real. Liang Jiugong opened the curtain and came in: "Your Majesty, Prince Hongxi and Prince Hongjin want to see you."

"No, let them go back and rest, and don't think too much." Kangxi closed his eyes, as if the kind and peaceful grandfather from a few days ago did not exist.

Honghui's intensity didn't change at all, as if he heard nothing.

Kangxi slowly calmed down his breathing. He felt angry whenever he thought of the prince. It was his brother who died, but he was not sad at all. What else was in his heart?
The position of the crown prince?!

When I die and the prince ascends the throne, will these sons have any chance of survival?