The two of them stayed indoors for half a day.
Li Chenjiao put down her paintbrush when Qiu Hu came in to inquire about dinner. She took the warm, damp cloth offered by Qiu Hu to wipe her hands and began to think about what to eat that night.
Fourth Master started writing a little later than Li Chenjiao, and he remained unmoved when Li Chenjiao stopped writing.
"The wind is strong and the rain is heavy today. Have the kitchen prepare a bowl of hot chestnut chicken soup. I wonder if there are any fresh chestnuts left on the estate. If not, bamboo shoots will do. The lychee pork dish the kitchen made last time was also very good. I found it excellent; it wasn't too sweet. Would you like to try some, sir?"
Fourth Master didn't look up: "I'll do as you say."
Eating lychees at this time of year is quite a luxury. Although the dish Li Chenjiao ordered, Lychee Pork, has lychee in its name, doesn't contain any lychee at all.
The method involves cutting the meat slices into domino-sized pieces, boiling them in plain water, then deep-frying them in hot vegetable oil until thoroughly cooked. Once cooked, immediately place them in cold water.
The sudden temperature change caused the meat slices to wrinkle. Then, after being removed from the water, they were simmered in wine and soy sauce until tender.
It tastes refreshing. The wrinkled slices of meat resemble lychee meat.
Li Chenjiao ordered another dish: shrimp cakes and drunken shrimp.
These past two days she's been craving the taste of fresh shrimp, but actually Li Chenjiao is craving crab even more, it's just not the right season.
After ordering her meal, Li Chenjiao straightened up to watch Fourth Master paint.
On a whim, Li Chenjiao only painted the spring rain and the courtyard scene outside the small window. However, while painting, she carefully sketched two figures in front of the small window.
The Fourth Master's paintings are different; he painted mountains, and the colors and ink used in his brushstrokes were far superior to those of Li Chenjiao.
Li Chenjiao rested her chin on her hand and guessed that it must be Mount Wutai.
After Fourth Master finished painting, Li Chenjiao handed him a handkerchief to wipe his hands.
Fourth Master watched as Li Chenjiao proudly presented her painting to him, then met the little princess's smiling eyes.
Fourth Master's Adam's apple bobbed as he succinctly commented, "Not bad."
Li Chenjiao knew it was rare to hear a word of praise from the Fourth Master; a simple "okay" would be enough to satisfy her.
So Li Chenjiao could still smile and sincerely praise the Fourth Master: "Of course, it is the Fourth Master's painting skills that are superb."
Fourth Master then glanced at Li Chenjiao again.
The rain outside gradually stopped during dinner. Fourth Master seemed to really like the lychee pork dish, and Li Chenjiao also had a few more bites, but she still preferred the shrimp cakes today.
During dinner, Li Chenjiao patted her belly and muttered, "I'll have the kitchen make shrimp balls tomorrow; they shouldn't taste bad."
Qiu Hu then laughed.
After dinner, Li Chenjiao begged the Fourth Master for a long time before she finally got his calligraphy.
Seeing Li Chenjiao smiling broadly as she carefully put away the scroll, Fourth Master chuckled and shook his head: "I haven't stamped it yet."
Li Chenjiao didn't care about such things, and didn't even look up when she heard the words: "This servant can keep it and appreciate it himself. It's fine without stamping it. It's not good to ruin Fourth Master's painting."
While Li Chenjiao was putting away the painting, the Fourth Master had already gone into the clean room where the servants had prepared hot water.
Although Fourth Master only went to Wutai Mountain for about ten days, he actually ate a vegetarian diet for more than a month.
Since Fourth Master moved to the estate for a short stay in early March, he has been running back and forth between the capital and the outskirts of the city every day. He gets up early every day and has no interest in going out at night.
It wasn't that he wasn't really interested, but he couldn't be without energy to do his job the next day, so the Fourth Master simply excused himself from doing that kind of thing.
Now that the Emperor has seen off his southern tour and explained to the Crown Prince that he wants to take it easy, the Fourth Prince will have some leisure time ahead.
Naturally, tonight will also be a sleepless night.
Li Chenjiao had just finished bathing and came out of the clean room, while Qiu Hu was still wringing out the ends of her hair, which were a little damp from the bath.
Fourth Master was also sitting on the couch in his nightgown, holding a book in his hand.
Li Chenjiao leaned closer to see the title of the book and remembered that it was a military book that the Fourth Prince often read.
As the maids serving inside discreetly filed out, Su Peisheng suddenly spoke from under the small window.
"Master, Consort Wu from Dongfeng Courtyard sent someone to say that she has some stomach discomfort."
Li Chenjiao had just sat down in front of the small couch and was playing with the ends of her hair when she heard Su Peisheng's voice and stopped playing.
Fourth Master has been back all day and has stayed with her. Is Princess Wu unhappy about this?
Li Chenjiao was quite puzzled. How come after one or two of them became pregnant, their appetites all increased?
The Song family was like that before, and so is the Wu princess before us.
When Wu Gege entered the manor, she was quite clever and cautious. Why did she go out of her way to cause trouble after Yu Xi?
Li Chenjiao still remembered how Song had used the excuse of sending someone to the main courtyard to intercept Bai Jia Gege when she was pregnant.
However, with the Fujin and Baijia Gege already there, when Song Shi intercepted Yu Xi again when the Fourth Prince went to the main courtyard for the third time, the Fourth Prince was unwilling to go again.
So when Song was overjoyed, Li Chenjiao had not yet experienced the feeling of being outmaneuvered.
This was the first time Li Chenjiao had ever experienced being outmaneuvered by Wu Gege.
Li Chenjiao didn't think there was anything wrong with Fourth Master visiting Wu Gege at this moment. After all, she was pregnant, and what if Wu Gege was really feeling unwell?
So Li Chenjiao stopped what she was doing, slowly raised her eyes, and said very considerately, "It's important that Princess Wu is pregnant. You should go and see her first, Your Highness. It's alright for me here."
The Fourth Master felt inexplicably displeased when he saw the smile on Li Chenjiao's face. He paused and said, "Are you rushing me away?"
Li Chenjiao's smile froze.
Why is she being so considerate? Why is the Fourth Prince acting so out of character? Shouldn't he be nodding with satisfaction and saying, "You're so sensible, I come to see you whenever I have time"?
However, Li Chenjiao reacted quickly, raising her hand to cover her mouth and lowering her head: "This servant is unwilling, but this servant is unworthy—what can I do but watch helplessly now?"
At this moment, she naturally couldn't let the Fourth Master think that she didn't care about him, so Li Chenjiao quickly brought up the topic of offspring.
The phrase "unlucky" was enough to leave the Fourth Prince at a loss.
"Who's following you and saying you're unlucky?"
Su Peisheng had been waiting outside for a while, inwardly cursing Wu Gege for causing trouble, but he had no choice but to speak up: "Master—"
The Fourth Prince didn't have the same patience for Su Peisheng outside: "If she's not feeling well, use my token to call the imperial physician. I'll go see her in a bit."
Even through the window, Su Peisheng could sense his master's irritability. Upon hearing this, he felt as if he had been granted a pardon and quickly withdrew.
Li Chenjiao slowly raised her head at this moment.
At this point, it wouldn't be appropriate for the Fourth Prince to make any choice.
Li Chenjiao, however, would prefer that Fourth Master visit Consort Wu instead.
If Fourth Master doesn't go today, Li Chenjiao will be even more aware of the extent of her favor, but she will still feel heartbroken.
Li Chenjiao had no doubt that the Fourth Prince's trip would dispel many of Princess Wu's fantasies.
For Li Chenjiao at this moment, it is perfectly acceptable.
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