The Empress of Tea

Empress Ming, Empress Xiaochunxian, of the Gu'erjia clan, from the Manchu Plain White Banner, younger brother is Grand Scholar Gu'erjia Jiahuan. When Shizong Yongzheng was a prince, she gav...

Chapter 118 Deliberately Trying to Die for Oneself

In the main hall of a certain mansion in the capital, the following conversation is taking place.

"Sigh! Why hasn't the imperial edict arrived yet..."

"My lord! You actually believe your short-sighted daughter's words? The imperial concubine selection is all decided by the palace. What does she, a woman, think she can influence the Emperor's mind? You should persuade your precious daughter. Even if the Emperor doesn't bestow her upon a prince, it's still good for her, a concubine's daughter, to be betrothed to a member of the imperial family or a high-ranking official..."

Hesheli, who was standing at the doorway, suddenly clenched her handkerchief tightly and pursed her lips, wanting to refute it forcefully.

But the imperial edict didn't arrive today, which means her dream has been shattered. That's the truth, and she has no facts to support her in refuting it.

She suddenly turned around, ignoring the worried calls of the maid behind her, and ran away on her high flowerpot shoes.

"You, you, how can you say such a thing? You're her legal mother, how can you not comfort her..."

"Hmph, stepmother, that sounds nice, but I don't see the slightest respect she has for me as her stepmother. I doubt she truly acknowledges me as her stepmother."

...

As evening approached, the Fourth Prince, after returning from his journey to the palace to express his gratitude and escorting his younger brothers back to the palace, was covered in frost. Su Peisheng, standing beside him, felt a chill and oppression.

Watching Gao Wuyong leave after handing over the reins, he almost burst into tears.

Why am I always the one who gets the cold shoulder?!

However, he only dared to feel like crying in his heart; in reality, he wasn't that afraid, because he generally wouldn't make things difficult for those around him, at most he would just suffer some coldness.

So, when it was his turn to speak, and when it was his turn to do something, he did it anyway. "Your Highness, today is the Fourth Prince's one-month celebration. Are you going to Peach Courtyard?"

The Fourth Prince paused, recalling his little prince wrapped in a tiger costume and the words his father had said when he entered the palace that afternoon. His already gloomy face darkened even more.

He pursed his lips and said in a cold voice, "Go? Of course I'll go!"

Guarjia dared to cause such a commotion at his full-moon celebration; he had to go and settle accounts with her!

Su Peisheng watched as the Fourth Prince hurriedly strode towards Peach Courtyard after speaking, and silently mourned for the Guarjia master of Peach Courtyard! However, the little prince's swaddling clothes today, cough cough, were quite good.

When the Fourth Prince arrived at Peach Courtyard, he saw Jiaming and her personal maid Hongtao holding a rabbit-themed swaddle blanket and gesturing around his little prince.

The Fourth Prince's eyes twitched, and he couldn't help but recall the embarrassment of being teased by his brothers and father earlier that day, and...

At this moment, Hongtao turned her head slightly and saw the Fourth Master enter. Her hand, which was holding the corner of the rabbit-shaped swaddle, trembled and she let go. She stood up in a fluster and curtsied, saying, "This servant greets Your Highness. May Your Highness be well!"

The sound startled Jiaming, who was lost in a dreamy reverie, from gesturing. She turned her head and looked at Fourth Master with her bright, watery eyes.

She glanced at Fourth Master, then at the rabbit-themed swaddled baby in her hand, and at her son who was still wearing a tiger-themed swaddled baby. She gave an awkward smile, her bright, watery eyes blinking at Fourth Master.

Hmph! Don't think that just because you're flirting with me, I'll let you off the hook!

Fourth Master strode forward and casually sat down on the bed next to Jiaming, ignoring her rising to greet him.

He gestured to Su Peisheng with his eyes, and Su Peisheng, being perceptive, poured him a cup of tea. The Fourth Master held the cup in his hand, but didn't drink it; he just played with it.

Jiaming didn't hear the Fourth Master tell her to get up for a long time. She cursed the Fourth Master in her heart for being stingy. All he did was wrap his son, who looked like him, in a tiger-shaped swaddle for his full-month celebration.

"I've already considered your feelings; otherwise, the swaddling clothes she used for the little prince today would have been this even softer and cuter bunny costume."

All sound in the room came to an abrupt halt. Hongtao and Su Peisheng, in slow motion, like robots, turned their heads or raised their eyes to look at Jiaming.

Good heavens! Master (Guarjia) is incredibly audacious! How dare she say such things to the master's face! At this moment, Jiaming was on the verge of tears. These were her true feelings, and she had let them slip without realizing it—a tragedy!

Su Peisheng and Hongtao suddenly glanced at the rabbit costume in unison, and after a moment's thought, they imagined the scene... They both lowered their heads, their eyes shining brightly unseen by others.

"Ahh!"

A childish voice suddenly rang out, and everyone turned their gaze toward the bed.

The chubby baby, who had just fallen asleep, had already opened his eyes. His little fists were twitching by his ears, and his bright black eyes were staring intently at Fourth Master.

The Fourth Prince was a master of cosplay in the Qing Dynasty and actually quite fond of cosplay. Of course, this was a private hobby, and apart from a few servants such as Su Peisheng and Gao Wuyong, no one knew about it.

Seeing the little prince, who looked even more adorable in the tiger costume, he couldn't help but hold him in his arms.

Thanks to the timely intervention of the young prince, Jiaming escaped a disaster and was finally woken up by the fourth prince.

However, before Jiaming could breathe a sigh of relief, the Fourth Prince, who was playing with the young prince and whose finger was being held by the young prince, spoke up.

"Guarjia clan, do you know your mistake?" Fourth Master glanced at Jiaming with an inscrutable look.

In recent days, when the Fourth Prince and Jiaming were alone together, without the presence of the Fujin and others, he had been very indulgent towards her.

So, Jiaming, who was getting bolder and bolder, only dared to change her son's swaddling clothes into a tiger costume today for the full moon celebration. This time, she felt her scalp tingle from the Fourth Prince's unfathomable gaze, so she decided to admit her mistake and compromise with him first. However, she was determined not to change her mind and planned to fool the Fourth Prince today.

This chapter is not finished, please click the next page to continue reading!