Fourth Master looked at the dim moonlight, seemingly oblivious to whether he had heard, and simply turned to glance at Li Chenjiao.

"The autumn nights are getting chilly, sir, why don't you go inside and rest?" Li Chenjiao said with a sigh.

Fourth Master nodded.

After bathing, the two went into the inner room, and the maids serving outside turned off the lights.

I slept well all night.

...

The next day, the Fourth Master had finished his work and could finally rest for a few days. But as always, he got up early, and Li Chenjiao was still asleep when he got up.

After getting dressed, he went back to the front yard for breakfast. After breakfast, Su Peisheng came in and said that the Fujin (wife of the Fujin) had arrived.

Fourth Master frowned and called him in.

She wore her usual dark-colored cheongsam, smiling demurely and modestly. The Fourth Prince watched her, remaining silent.

"Greetings, Your Majesty. Have I disturbed you?" the Fujin said with a gentle smile.

Fourth Master looked up: "What is it?"

Upon hearing this, the Princess Consort unconsciously tightened her grip, forcing a smile: "Your birthday is in a few days. I was thinking, shall we hold a celebration?"

Fourth Master's birthday is October 30th.

"No need for a grand celebration, just a small table in the mansion will suffice," Fourth Master said.

The princess consort replied, "I was thinking of hiring another opera troupe. The mansion has been quite deserted these days since the Fourth Prince left. This would be a good way to liven things up and also bring good luck to the eldest princess."

The Fourth Prince looked at his wife and said, "You are the wife, so you can make the arrangements. As for Consort Song, the eldest princess is still young, so don't send anyone to disturb her."

The princess consort smiled and agreed.

The Fourth Prince grunted in agreement and looked down at the Ministry of Revenue's account books.

Seeing that the Fourth Prince remained silent, the Princess Consort lowered her eyes and slowly withdrew.

When Su Peisheng saw the Fujin (principal wife) come out and saw her expression, he quickly fell silent, took the tea inside, and said in a low voice, "Please have some tea, Your Highness."

Fourth Master remained silent.

Su Peisheng thought for a moment and then tentatively asked, "The vase that Your Majesty asked me to find has been found. Should it be sent to Consort Li right away?"

The Fourth Master was displeased, but upon hearing this, his expression softened slightly: "Leave it for now, I'll take it with me at lunchtime."

This means we're going over for lunch.

Su Peisheng agreed and turned to leave.

"Wait, come here." Fourth Master suddenly spoke up.

Su Peisheng quickly turned around, forcing a smile: "Is there anything else you need, Master?"

"What's wrong with a girl who likes sweet and sour things all the time?" Fourth Master asked without looking up, his hand unconsciously tapping the table again and again.

Su Peisheng was stunned for a moment, his mind went blank. After a while, sensing his master's impatience, he quickly spoke up: "But you used to like sweet food, and suddenly you've developed a liking for sour food?"

This...this isn't...

Fourth Master lowered his head, thought for a moment, and nodded slightly.

Su Peisheng's eyelids twitched, and he tentatively asked, "Could it be that you're pregnant?"

Got it? What is it?

At first glance, Fourth Master didn't think of it, but when he looked up and glared at Su Peisheng, his heart skipped a beat. He was pregnant?!

Su Peisheng had a bad feeling. He was just saying it casually; if Li Gege didn't get pregnant, what would happen to him...?

"Take my nameplate and invite Physician Xu. Tell everyone that Madam Li caught a cold last night, which is why we invited the physician to examine her," Fourth Master said.

Su Peisheng hurriedly agreed.

Su Peisheng instructed Fulu to fetch the imperial physician, and then the Fourth Prince came out from inside.

"Master?" Su Peisheng asked.

"Go to Li's place," Fourth Master said.

Su Peisheng followed, secretly praying that Li Gege was really pregnant, otherwise his master's joy would be in vain, and he would be the one to suffer.

Serves you right for talking nonsense! That mouth of yours!

When they arrived at the entrance of the East Courtyard, they could hear Li Chenjiao's voice.

So the Fourth Master eavesdropped once again.

"Remove the stems from the hawthorns, wash them clean, and skewer them with bamboo skewers, four or five skewers per skewer. Boil white sugar and water to make a syrup. Once the sugar has dissolved, coat the skewered hawthorns with the syrup and let them cool for a while." Is this candied hawthorn?

"Soak a small amount of dried tangerine peel, dried plum, hawthorn, licorice, and mulberry in water for half an hour, then take them out and put them in a pot to boil. After half an hour, add sugar and boil for about half an hour. Filter out the residue and add ice cubes." It sounds like some kind of soup.

The one Fourth Master heard most clearly was hawthorn.

He strode in and met Li Chenjiao's stunned gaze. The Fourth Master softened his expression and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Li Chenjiao was genuinely stunned. At this moment, the Fourth Master was still in the mansion. After being stunned, she stood up, bowed, and obediently answered.

"The kitchen staff said they bought a basket of hawthorns from outside, and I was thinking of asking them to make some snacks. Then the Fourth Master came."

Fourth Master stared at Li Chenjiao for a while, then asked in a somewhat stiff tone, "Are you feeling unwell? How is your diet?" Fourth Master wasn't used to this kind of greeting.

Li Chenjiao was stunned again. Why was Fourth Master acting so strangely again? This sudden, warm greeting was quite frightening, wasn't it?

"Everything is fine," Li Chenjiao replied cautiously.

Fourth Master grunted in agreement.

Then they fell silent.

Li Chenjiao breathed a sigh of relief; this was the right way to do it.

Li Chenjiao called Xiao Luzi to the kitchen, then glanced at the Fourth Master who was sitting upright, and then looked at the writing brush and ink on the table.

I decisively chose to practice calligraphy.

Let the Fourth Master remain silent.

Fourth Master glanced at Li Chenjiao, raised an eyebrow slightly, casually picked up a book from the small table, and opened it to read.

It's a picture book with a rather cliché story: a rich girl falls in love with a poor scholar, and the poor scholar, thanks to the rich girl's family's support, rises to prominence through the imperial examinations and then marries the daughter of a prime minister.

In the end, the poor scholar married the prime minister's daughter as his principal wife, and the rich girl as his concubine.

Li Chenjiao wrote two words below: "Scumbag!"

Fourth Master raised an eyebrow again and glanced at Li Chenjiao. She was focused on practicing calligraphy and did not notice Fourth Master's gaze.

Fourth Master withdrew his gaze, looked at the delicate characters for "scumbag," and couldn't help but smile.

Does "scumbag" mean a man who treats women like scumbags?

Taking a concubine may not be wrong, but to accept the help of a rich woman, make a marriage promise with her, and then abandon her is despicable.

The word "scumbag" is spot on!

"Princess, the kitchen staff have brought the food."

"Your Majesty, Physician Xu has arrived."

Two voices rang out at the same time. Li Chenjiao, who was practicing calligraphy, was stunned for a moment. After finishing the character she was writing, she looked up at the Fourth Master: "Imperial Physician Xu?"

The Fourth Prince coughed lightly twice: "You caught a chill last night, let the imperial physician take a look at you."

Li Chenjiao frowned. Although she didn't quite believe it, she still agreed and asked Xiao Luzi to bring in the food.

"Don't touch the plum juice yet," Fourth Master suddenly said.

Li Chenjiao exclaimed, "Ah! Is something wrong?"

"Eat less cold food," Fourth Master said succinctly.

After stopping, Li Chenjiao obediently asked Physician Xu to take her pulse.

Physician Xu was over fifty years old. He had already understood the purpose of the visit on the way here. Now, as he took the pulse, he subconsciously frowned.