The last time she received a generous reward for serving her master for the first time was when she was the current concubine in the East Courtyard.

Su Peisheng silently concealed his surprise, and naturally, he held Niohuru in higher regard because of this.

In the east courtyard, the maids knew last night that their master had gone to Princess Niohuru's place. However, since it was rare for the mistress and the master to get together, the maids naturally wouldn't be so tactless as to tell them about it.

Shen could not stay long, at least not until the Fourth Prince's full moon celebration. However, many of Li Chenjiao's habits were indeed learned from her mother from a young age.

The mother and daughter woke up later and later, and it was Aman who, after waking up and playing around in the yard, rushed in to wake them up.

The mother and daughter weren't embarrassed at all. Shen hugged Aman tightly and kissed the little girl's face twice. Her face was soft and tender, making it hard to resist.

Li Chenjiao slowly sat up from the inside, as if she were still dreaming. It wasn't until her mother, who was holding the Second Princess, asked her what she wanted for lunch with her free hand that she realized that everything yesterday was not a dream.

The mother and daughter sat on the bed and discussed what to have for lunch. However, Shen did most of the talking, since Li Chenjiao could only look on with envy as she wanted to eat, and the Second Princess could only watch longingly.

After lunch, Xiao Luzi went out of the mansion and brought back the things that Shen had left at the inn. Most of them were nourishing herbs, and there was also a lot of donkey-hide gelatin.

Although Li Chenjiao said she was tired of eating it, she actually made Qiu Hu put it away very seriously.

Then Li Chenjiao watched as her mother led the second princess outside to play with Dongli. Over the years, Dongli had grown a lot, but it was gentle by nature and even though it was a bit big, it was still very cute.

Shen's eyes lit up when she saw the frozen pears.

Shizi was dozing off on Li Chenjiao's lap in the inner room. Ever since the Second Princess could walk, Shizi had been avoiding her like the plague.

The entire east courtyard was bustling with activity. Li Chenjiao listened to the commotion outside from her inner room, a genuine smile on her face.

Outside the east courtyard, Niohuru, who had just returned from the main courtyard to express her gratitude, also heard some noise. She lowered her eyelids and slowed her pace.

Holding the gifts bestowed upon her by the Fujin (principal wife), Huiyun was finally able to speak freely as they approached her own princess's courtyard: "The Fujin today... how could she make the princess kneel for so long? It was clearly intentional."

Niohuru remained silent, not taking the matter to heart at all.

"I heard that the concubine's mother came to visit her?" Niohuru asked, her gaze fixed on the east courtyard wall. She didn't look away even after she finished speaking.

Huiyun chattered on and on: "Yes, yes, even though we can only stay for a few days, it's still a very rare opportunity."

Niohuru lowered her eyes, a hint of melancholy flashing within them: "Let's go back."

...

Entering the prince's harem as a concubine and still being able to see his family was an extremely rare and precious thing, and who in the harem wouldn't envy her?

While Lady Wu was busy with the Fourth Prince's full-month celebration, she was naturally envious when she heard the news. However, she had another important matter to attend to at the moment.

Losing control of the household was already an unspeakable pain for her, so what pain was it for the second prince of the Fujin to be taken to the front yard? It was clearly a great blessing. Wu was already thinking about how to send her eldest prince to the front yard as well.

What the second prince has, the eldest prince naturally cannot be left behind.

As for the East Courtyard, Madam Wu simply instructed her maid, Ju Xiang, to deliver some things there.

Losing control of the household was a devastating blow to the Wu family.

Furthermore, although she had long coveted the other vacant position of concubine, the people around her always kept their mouths tightly shut. The rumors that circulated in the backyard a few days ago that she was to be invited by the master to be made a concubine were of unknown origin.

Wu Shi remembered all of these things.

Are there few people in this backyard who don't want her to become a concubine?

Wanting lasting pampering is illusory; what matters most is holding onto what you should hold onto firmly.

Li Chenjiao was happy all day, but it was only after her mother reminded her that she should send something to the Fourth Prince.

After all, it was thanks to the Fourth Prince's kindness that her mother was able to travel a long way to the mansion to accompany her.

However, after thinking it over, Li Chenjiao really couldn't figure out what would be appropriate to send to the front yard. In the past, sending some snacks to the front yard would have been perfect, but these past few days, the Fourth Master hadn't been in a good mood, so Li Chenjiao didn't dare to send food to the front yard.

If I'm not sending food, what would be a good gift?

Shen had never met the historical Fourth Prince, let alone the Fourth Prince who had not yet ascended the throne. Who knew what kind of personality the Fourth Prince had when he was young? Furthermore, according to historical records from later generations, the Fourth Prince may not have been exactly as he was.

Seeing Li Chenjiao's troubled and worried expression, Madam Shen didn't say much: "It doesn't matter if the item is expensive, as long as it's made with care."

Li Chenjiao knew this principle, but she was still troubled because most things that required effort could not be done in a short time.

Li Chenjiao looked around the inner room and finally settled on a Ru kiln vase on the display stand next to the antique shelf.

The vase was filled with various flowers, their colors pleasing to the eye. The Second Princess had just brought them back from outside today, and Lin Mama had trimmed them.

Her eyes lit up.

"Change the water in that vase and take it to the front yard."

But flowers will eventually wither. Without Shen saying anything more, Li Chenjiao rested her chin on her hand and soon came up with an idea.

My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!