Li Chenjiao was woken up by hunger in the east courtyard. She had slept deeply and for a long time. When she woke up, her back was sticky with sweat, and she could almost smell the sweat on her body.

She felt extremely disgusted with herself, but couldn't speak for a while, and the maids outside probably couldn't hear her waking up, so she simply got up herself.

It wasn't until Li Chenjiao went to the outer room that she noticed the figure on the soft couch.

She silently rubbed her eyes.

Fourth Master... Fourth Master, when is this finally happening?

Before she could speak, the curtain outside was lifted slightly, revealing Qiu Ci's face.

Qiu Ci was clearly surprised that her master had already woken up. She let out a soft "ah," then quickly covered her mouth as if she had remembered something.

"Master is awake?" Qiu Ci asked in a breathy voice, only showing her head.

Li Chenjiao couldn't speak, she just nodded and pointed inside, not knowing if Qiu Ci could understand.

Seeing her master's gesture, Qiu Ci tentatively asked, "Master arrived at noon, and dinner has already been prepared."

Li Chenjiao coughed lightly twice. Qiu Ci noticed out of the corner of her eye that Luzhu had also heard the noise and came over, so she waved to her to pour some warm tea.

Li Chenjiao felt much better after drinking the tea. She said in a hoarse voice, "Hot water...dinner..."

Her voice was hoarse, and the two maids immediately looked at her with concern.

Green Bamboo quickly replied, "The hot water kitchen always has some on hand, and the dinner kitchen is waiting for the master's instructions. The kitchen has sent some as usual."

Li Chenjiao hummed in agreement, glanced into the inner room, and then slowly said, "Go take a bath first."

Her voice was still hoarse, which made the two maids even more worried.

Li Chenjiao quickly went to take a bath.

She had only been taking a bath for a short time when the Fourth Prince woke up. After waking up, he learned from the maid that Li Chenjiao had already gone to take a bath, so he went to see the Fourth Prince first.

Compared to last time, the Fourth Prince has grown a lot, but he is only five months old. When the Fourth Prince arrived, the Fourth Prince was still sleeping soundly.

After watching for a while, the Fourth Prince came out of the side room and gave the wet nurse a few more instructions before being pestered by the Second Princess.

Second Princess led Fourth Master to sit in the rocking chair that Li Chenjiao often sat in, which was placed under the eaves, and then sat down on the small embroidered stool next to it with great familiarity.

When Li Chenjiao came out of the bathroom feeling refreshed after her bath, this was the scene she saw. She couldn't help but smile. Before she could get closer, Su Peisheng approached first.

Li Chenjiao noticed Juxiang following behind Su Peisheng; she was Wu Gege's head maid.

She took two steps closer and waved to Aman.

The little girl immediately hopped down from the embroidered stool and walked over to Li Chenjiao. She lowered her head slightly and patted the little girl's head, but did not get too close.

Li Chenjiao pulled Aman to stand to the side, and Juxiang had already walked up to them. It was evening and the night was not too dark yet, and she could see the anxiety on Juxiang's face from afar.

No one knows what Ju Xiang said, but Fourth Master also stood up.

Seeing this, Li Chenjiao took two steps forward, but before she did, she handed the little girl over to Chen Shi, who was standing to the side.

She approached, but didn't speak; she simply covered her lips with a handkerchief.

The Fourth Prince looked at her and said, "What are you doing standing outside? The First Prince has a high fever. I'm going to go see him."

As he spoke, he casually touched the back of Li Chenjiao's hand, his gaze quickly turning disapproving: "Go inside first... If you're hungry, have your dinner first. I'll come to see you again in a couple of days."

Although the evening breeze was muggy, it was still uncomfortable for Li Chenjiao no matter how she felt.

Li Chenjiao moved her lips, but ultimately chose not to speak.

Her voice was hoarse, so her words were hardly pleasant to hear. It was best to leave it at that moment. She nodded, shook the Fourth Master's hand in return, and then went back to the inner room.

Going to the South Courtyard now would be pointless; she'd be better off resting and recovering in her own courtyard first.

Tachibana stood to the side, her head bowed, but her peripheral vision was constantly watching everything happening in front of her.

She vaguely heard something, but not clearly. However, she clearly saw the Fourth Prince raise his hand to grasp Consort Li's hand.

Ju Xiang felt a chill run down her spine. Was this the favor shown to Consort Li?

Although she knew that the Fourth Master visited the East Courtyard most often each month, hearing about it was nothing compared to seeing it for herself. Ju Xiang swallowed hard, not daring to breathe, and waited quietly.

After Li Chenjiao's figure disappeared, Fourth Master turned his head to look at Second Princess, who was peeking out from the end of the corridor.

His expression softened further: "Rest early, and don't disturb your mother."

Fourth Prince didn't care whether Second Princess could understand or not.

Chen Shi curtsied respectfully in response. It was unclear whether the Second Princess understood what the Fourth Master said; she simply smiled.

Fourth Master stood there for a while, and when he turned his head to look at Ju Xiang, whose head was bowed very low, his expression had returned to its usual indifference.

"Has the imperial physician arrived? What did he say?"

As the Fourth Prince spoke, he strode forward. Seeing this, Ju Xiang quickly followed and replied, "The imperial physician has arrived. He said that the prince caught a cold from the cold wind and then developed a high fever. The eldest prince has already taken his medicine."

The Fourth Master didn't say anything after hearing this, but simply walked straight to the South Courtyard.

When the Fourth Prince walked into the garden, he ran into his wife, who was also in a hurry. Upon seeing the Fourth Prince, the wife seemed to be slightly taken aback. She belatedly realized that the Fourth Prince had gone to the East Courtyard after returning to the mansion at noon, and was probably just coming out of the East Courtyard now.

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!