However, if you calculate the years carefully, the eldest princess was born around the Double Ninth Festival of the year she entered the mansion. She has been in the mansion for six years now, and after this year's Double Ninth Festival, the eldest princess will be six years old.

The eldest princess was a very well-behaved child. A few years ago, Madam Song didn't treat her very well, but in the last two years, the relationship between the mother and daughter has improved somewhat. Occasionally, Madam Song would even personally go to the front yard to pick up the eldest princess.

As for the reasons behind it, Li Chenjiao, an outsider, did not delve into them.

In the past two years, she has not seen the eldest princess much. When she goes to the palace during festivals, because she has to take the second princess and the fourth prince with her, the fourth prince does not arrange for the eldest princess to ride in the same carriage.

However, the child was indeed very well-behaved. Li Chenjiao had heard Chen Shi mention several times that Granny Zhong often praised the princess for her excellent needlework skills. This year, she was also learning household management from Granny Yun. In the past two years, she had gradually reduced her knowledge of poetry and prose, but she could still recognize all the characters.

The second princess is a bit different in this respect; she loves reading more.

It was probably because the Fourth Prince would eagerly wait for his older sister, the Second Princess, to return every day, and obediently sit beside her listening to her tell stories from the books she had heard from Granny Zhong.

Last year was alright; the Fourth Prince wasn't speaking very fluently yet, and every day he would just look at people with his eyes and melt their hearts.

This year, the Fourth Prince has learned to speak. Every time the Second Princess finishes speaking and her throat is dry, the clever boy serves her cool tea while clapping his hands and cheering with bright eyes.

Not to mention the Second Princess, even Li Chenjiao sometimes couldn't handle the Fourth Prince's charm.

However, the Fourth Prince would sometimes ask many irrelevant questions. At first, the Second Princess didn't think much of it when she couldn't answer them, but later, every time the Fourth Prince finished asking questions and saw that the Second Princess couldn't answer, he would comfort her like a little adult...

Well, the second princess also studied much more diligently than usual.

Li Chenjiao couldn't help but smile as she thought of her two children.

Fourth Master waited for a while but didn't get a reply from Li Chenjiao. He turned around and saw Li Chenjiao's happy face. Although he knew that Li Chenjiao was not gloating, he still pinched Li Chenjiao's waist in annoyance: "Where has your mind wandered off to again?"

Upon hearing this, Li Chenjiao quickly begged for forgiveness, showering him with flattery: "I truly admire your dedication."

That's right. Princes and princesses are different. Although princes may not be able to decide their own marriages, they are all grown up and go out into the world. If they are not happy with their marriages, they can take concubines or princesses as secondary wives.

Princesses, however, were different; once they got married, it was a lifelong commitment.

Most of the princesses of today's emperor ended up being sent to marry Mongol princes as part of a political alliance...

The younger of the thirteenth prince's two younger sisters left the capital a couple of years ago to marry into a foreign power.

Moreover, the young princess in the Crown Prince's household was only a few years old when she was destined for a political marriage...

The Fourth Prince's worries began when the eldest and second princesses were born.

The Emperor's daughters have been mostly married off to Mongolian princes...

Fourth Master had no choice but to plan ahead.

Princess Wenxian, the only one who has not yet been married off to a Mongol prince, is the younger sister of the Fourth Prince. Earlier this year, His Majesty decreed that she betrothed to Tong Guowei's grandson, Shun'an Yan.

Yes, this Shun'an Yan was born into the Tongjia clan, and was of the same clan as the Fourth Prince's adoptive mother, Empress Xiaoyiren.

Shun An Yan's uncle was Longkodo. It was Longkodo who first told the Fourth Prince about this marriage.

The Fourth Prince knew about this marriage as early as before the New Year.

But nothing could be changed. Shun'an Yan's background was undoubtedly excellent; he was a chosen one of heaven. However, the Fourth Prince was not satisfied with this marriage.

Leaving aside Shun An Yan's character, Shun An Yan and Tong Guo Wei have always been subtly opposed to the Crown Prince's faction. Although they are not particularly close to the Zhi Jun Wang faction, Shun An Yan and the Eighth Prince have a very close relationship.

In addition, there was Longkodo in the Tongjia clan, whose attitude was ambiguous.

The Fourth Prince was also the adopted son of Empress Xiaoyiren, so when this marriage was arranged, countless people said behind his back that it was a marriage between relatives.

However, the Fourth Prince kept a low profile. For the past six months, he had little contact with the Tongjia clan and avoided Longkodo whenever he saw him.

The Uya clan of Consort De did not react to this matter at all. The Uya clan had considered choosing talented young men from their clan for marriage proposals, but Consort De suppressed them.

In the end, Consort De didn't say anything when she learned that her daughter had been betrothed to Shun'an Yan. It was already a blessing that her daughter hadn't been married off to a distant place for a political marriage. Although she didn't think this marriage was very good, she didn't want to upset the fourth prince.

From beginning to end, Consort De never let the Fourth Prince know about the ulterior motives of the Uya clan.

Princess Wenxian's wedding is scheduled for March next year, when spring is in full bloom.

For the past six months or so, Princess Wenxian has often been by the Empress Dowager's side. Li Chenjiao has seen her a few times when she went to the palace, but they haven't spoken much.

Hearing the Fourth Master mention the two princesses in the manor, Li Chenjiao's thoughts wandered again.

When Li Chenjiao regained her senses, she was awakened by the ice.

"Hiss..." Li Chenjiao's face felt chilly from the cold.

Upon closer inspection, it turned out that Fourth Master was covering Li Chenjiao's face with both hands.

The Fourth Master's hands were ice-cold right now.

When Li Chenjiao met the Fourth Prince's "unfriendly" gaze, she realized that she had been distracted and praised him again without blinking: "The eldest princess is so lucky to have a father like you."

However, the eldest princess is still young, so the Fourth Prince only selected eligible children from the families of the imperial clan and ministers. There is now a very high stack of children on the desk in the Fourth Prince's study.

After praising her, Li Chenjiao added, "Our Second Princess is fortunate to have a father like you."

Li Chenjiao naturally didn't want her daughter to marry far away to Mongolia for a political marriage. Now that she saw the Fourth Prince making plans for the eldest princess's marriage so early, she couldn't help but feel secretly relieved.

Fortunately, the Fourth Prince still cared about the children in this respect.

After all, the Fourth Prince himself had a younger sister, Princess Wenxian, and he also watched the Thirteenth Prince's sisters marry far away to Mongolia. The bitterness and pain he felt were beyond words.

In the stillness of the night, Fourth Master held Li Chenjiao's hand tightly.

His children are getting old, and he, as their father, has started to plan for their future. But what about the Emperor?

His princes have long since grown up. What is he thinking?

The Fourth Prince may not know that even a saint might be confused about some things, and he has been feeling this way quite often lately.

However, when the next day dawned, he still had to dress neatly and go to the Ministry of Revenue to report for duty and do his daily tasks.

Li Chenjiao didn't care about any of that. She was so sleepy that she let the Fourth Master hold her hand. His hand was sticky and sweaty, and she endured it until she fell asleep without even realizing it.

Before going to sleep, Li Chenjiao sighed and thought, "Fortunately, the Fourth Prince is only a Prince of the County, so not so many people are watching. He can still have a say in the children's marriages."

It's not easy being in the imperial family.