Jie teaches the Immortal Sweeping Heaven’s Cultivation of All Heavens

The fourth prince is Liu Tong.

His mother came from a respectable background; her family was headed by a high-ranking official.

Unfortunately, Minister Song was involved in an incident and lost his official position.

The family had no choice but to leave the capital and return to their hometown in Jiangnan.

Liu Dong's biological mother suffered a difficult childbirth on the day her family left the capital, and she also passed away after giving birth.

Without the Empress's protection, Liu Dong grew up alone in the palace.

The emperor had never been particularly fond of Liu Tong's mother, nor of Liu Tong himself, and had often neglected his son.

In the palace, where people fawn over each other, Prince Liu Dong's life wasn't necessarily that easy.

This time, many people fell into the water, but he only had one apprentice to come for treatment, which shows how bad Liu Dong's life was.

This time, Liu Dong was just unlucky to be implicated in the drowning incident.

This time it was a conspiracy against the emperor; several princes and women in the harem became scapegoats for Emperor Qianming.

On the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, Qianhai Lake in Beijing froze over.

Although Qianhai is called a sea, it is actually a very large lake.

Every year on the eighth day of the twelfth lunar month, the emperor would lead his officials to participate in ice skating activities on Qianhai Lake.

This year is no exception.

However, on this day, Emperor Qianming suddenly said that he was feeling unwell and therefore did not participate in ice sports.

The Crown Prince, a dutiful son, offered to share his father's burdens by performing the opening ice skating routine in his place.

The eldest and third princes, not to be outdone, expressed their filial piety, and the fourth and fifth princes, caught up in the situation, could only express their filial piety as well.

The five princes went onto the ice rink together.

Unexpectedly, the ice collapsed, and all five princes fell into the water.

Although he was rescued quickly, who could withstand falling into an icy lake in the dead of December?

All five princes developed high fevers.

The Empress and the Imperial Concubine practically moved the entire Imperial Medical Academy to their son's residence. Neither of them would give in, and in the end, they each took half of the Imperial Physicians.

Although the eldest prince's birth mother was not of high rank, she was still alive and had been in the palace for many years, so she had some connections. Moreover, the eldest prince was the emperor's first son and received a lot of attention. Therefore, a royal physician was summoned to the eldest prince's residence.

The fifth prince lived next to the crown prince and benefited from the crown prince's favor, also receiving medical treatment from the imperial physicians.

Only Liu Dong, the fourth prince who had no mother and was neglected by the emperor, received no attention and was only treated by an apprentice from the Imperial Medical Academy.

After taking the medicine, Liu Dong found that the medicine prescribed by the young apprentice was quite effective for her symptoms.

It seems that although he is of low status, his medical skills are quite good, better than many cunning old imperial physicians.

The medicine had a calming effect, and since Liu Tong was still young, she fell asleep before she could practice her internal energy again.

The next day, the young apprentice came again, examined Liu Dong's pulse, and changed the prescription.

Xiao Luzi followed the young apprentice to the Imperial Hospital to get medicine.

When he returned, he shared the news he had heard with Liu Dong.

Xiao Luzi is five years older than Liu Dong, but has been in the palace for ten years.

Therefore, he had quite a few connections in the palace and was relatively well-informed.

Xiao Luzi: "The eldest prince, the crown prince, and the fifth prince have recovered from their fevers, but the third prince still has a persistent high fever. The Imperial Concubine wants the renowned pediatrician, Physician Qian, to go to Chengqian Palace to treat the third prince. However, the Empress, because the crown prince's condition has not improved, has detained Physician Qian in Kunning Palace. The Imperial Concubine has now personally gone to Kunning Palace to demand his release. It's uncertain whether she will be able to get him."

Liu Tong: We definitely won't get it.

The Empress wished the Third Prince would just die from a high fever.

Xiao Luzi served Liu Qiu her medicine and, seeing that Liu Qiu was alright, slipped out to gather information. The Imperial Concubine, having failed to obtain the person, caused a great disturbance at Kunning Palace.

This eventually alarmed Emperor Qianming.

When Emperor Qianming saw that the Crown Prince's fever had subsided, he ordered Imperial Physician Qian to accompany the Consort to examine the Third Prince.

Even though the Empress felt uncomfortable, she could not complain and could only curse the Third Prince in her heart.

Perhaps her curse worked; although Imperial Physician Qian went to Chengqian Palace, it was too late.

The third prince ultimately did not survive this ordeal and passed away.

Upon hearing this news from Xiao Luzi, Liu Dong was stunned for a moment, then sighed.

He did not have a good relationship with the Third Prince. The Third Prince, relying on being the favorite prince of the Imperial Concubine and the Emperor, had bullied Liu Tong before.

But he was still a child, and he died before he could grow up...

Liu Dong recited a life-saving mantra for the Third Prince.

Little did he know that his Rebirth Mantra drifted into Chengqian Palace, where it helped the Third Prince pass on to the afterlife, allowing him to be reborn smoothly in the underworld without much suffering.

The imperial concubine lost her son and fell seriously ill, barely able to get out of bed.

The emperor was also unhappy.

He originally intended to use the Third Prince as a whetstone for the Crown Prince, hoping to profit from the infighting between the two factions.

But now that the whetstone is broken, what is he going to do?
Should we find another whetstone?
But among his remaining sons, who has such a strong advantage as the crown prince?
As the brother of the Third Prince, Liu Dong ate vegetarian food for a month after his death.

Fortunately, he spent the past month recuperating and needed to eat a lighter diet, so he didn't care whether he ate vegetarian or meat.

The vegetarian dishes in the palace were also made with broth and various seasonings, and they tasted much better than the vegetarian dishes made by ordinary people.

They say they don't eat meat, but the broth is made by simmering chicken, duck, and bones.

Only Liu Dong honestly ate vegetarian food; the other princes were not so obedient.

The Crown Prince and the First Prince never liked the Third Prince, and it was impossible for them to become vegetarians because of him.

On the surface, the imperial kitchen served vegetarian dishes for every meal, but the empress had a small kitchen where she would cook meat dishes for the crown prince, and the fifth prince benefited from this.

The eldest prince's mother didn't have a small kitchen, so she had to pay someone from the imperial kitchen to make roast chicken and secretly send it to her son.

During her vegetarian diet, Liu Dong lived a peaceful life.

No need to go to the study to read, no need to see those cheap brothers, life is good.

He has recovered from his illness, but he still appears weak to outsiders.

The young apprentice was clever and knew Liu Tong's feelings. He prescribed some traditional Chinese medicine remedies to regulate his body, making people think that Liu Tong still needed to rest.

Oh, by this time he was no longer a junior apprentice.

Because he successfully brought down a prince's fever, he earned merit and was promoted from a junior apprentice to a formal imperial physician, though his official rank was the lowest.

But the young apprentice was already satisfied.

The young apprentice was named Bian Xiuwen. He did not come from a family of doctors or officials, and had no powerful connections.

His only support was his master, Physician Zhang, but Physician Zhang had been involved in an incident in the inner palace last year. Although he survived, he lost his official position and had already left the capital with his family.

Bian Xiuwen had no one to mentor him. If he hadn't been able to treat Liu Tong, he would probably have remained an apprentice for life and never been able to become an imperial physician.

While pretending to be ill, Liu Dong practiced cultivation.

He has already mastered the basics of Changzhen Kung Fu.

Every night, Liu Dong would sneak off to the most secluded spot in the palace to practice his moves and light-body skills.

After a month, Liu Dong had gained some ability to protect herself. (End of Chapter)