After the fifteenth, the Fourth Prince rested in the front yard for several more days. When he went to the back yard, he first went to see the eldest princess at Song's place. Since he went at night, he stayed overnight.
However, everyone in the backyard was watching closely, and they all knew that Song Gege hadn't called for water that night.
Later, one of the eldest princess's wet nurses let slip that the Fourth Prince hadn't actually stayed in Princess Song's room that night.
The Fourth Prince didn't go to Wu Gege's place. If he had gone, Wu Gege would have had to perform the proper courtesies, which would have been exhausting for him.
Although the Fourth Prince did not go in person, he still sent Su Peisheng to pick out some nourishing medicinal herbs from the storeroom to check on Princess Wu.
Then the Fourth Master came to Li Chenjiao's east courtyard.
The Xie family seemed to have been completely ignored.
However, Xie did not seem to be in any hurry, and would wander around the garden every day when she had nothing to do.
It's quite remarkable that she had such leisure time in July.
This matter naturally became known throughout the courtyard. When the Fujin (Prince Consort) found out, she merely smiled sarcastically: "Fourth Prince wouldn't like a restless woman."
If I had known this would happen, I would have let Her Majesty choose someone more proper. What a waste!
After Xie's incident, it became much harder for the Fujin (a high-ranking official) to use Consort De to send people into the inner palace.
The Fujin felt suffocated just thinking about it. Not only did this Xie woman not take away Li's favor after entering the mansion, but she also wandered around all day, which was no different from adding to her troubles right under her nose.
Yu Ru, who was serving behind them, was somewhat distracted at this moment—
The wife's period seems to be a little late this month.
However, the imperial physician said that it was normal for the princess's blood and qi to be irregular and her menstrual cycle to be somewhat disordered lately.
Yu Ru didn't think of anything else.
As for Li Chenjiao, she found another excuse on the day the Fourth Master came.
It was already the end of the month, and Li Chenjiao only said, "This servant's period came a little early this month."
After holding back for so long, Fourth Master finally had no choice but to back down.
He pinched Li Chenjiao lightly and said, "Go to sleep."
Li Chen chuckled twice, naturally because of the Fourth Master's expression just now.
This excuse might fool the Fourth Master, but it couldn't fool the two maids.
Li Chenjiao's period does indeed end at the end of the month, usually around the 24th, and it's always very regular.
When Qiu Hu was twenty-three, she was already preparing menstrual belts.
When Qiu Hu discovered on the 24th that Li Chenjiao's period had not come, she didn't say anything, but she was thinking to herself.
Not only did she notice, but when the two maids were keeping watch at night, Qiu Ci couldn't wait to pull Qiu Hu aside and whisper in his ear.
"Is your period late this month, Master? It shouldn't be like this."
Li Chenjiao is in good health, and her menstrual cycle has always been very regular.
Qiu Hu could tell at a glance what Qiu Ci was thinking: "What if the princess gets her period tomorrow?"
Upon hearing this, Qiu Ci sighed, "I only hope that Princess will not have her period."
Hearing the little girl's mutterings, Qiu Hu's heart skipped a beat, as if something had occurred to him.
Princess Gege stopped taking her medicine two months ago. It seems that the person who prepared the medicine knew the effects of these medicines and that they were all harmless to women's bodies.
If the princess is really—
Qiu Hu suppressed her thoughts: "Don't be so happy, and don't show it in front of the princess."
Qiu Ci naturally understood. Although her princess didn't say anything usually, she could see how much she loved the persimmons and frozen pears.
Perhaps they also long for having their own children.
The uncertainty meant that if Gege found out it was just a delayed period, she would inevitably be upset.
However, when her period was three or four days late, Qiu Hu began to have some doubts. She didn't know how to express it, so she just pretended to be casual in front of Gege.
"Your Highness hasn't had the physician at home check your pulse for a while, has she? I heard you cough a little the other day; I suspect you've caught a cold."
Li Chenjiao knew from these words that the girl had noticed something. She smiled and, instead of responding, asked, "Is my period a little late this month?"
Qiu Hu paused for a moment: "It seems—it seems a bit late."
She was still afraid that her daughter's hopes would be dashed.
Li Chenjiao had no intention of disturbing the royal physician at this moment. She knew very well that if she did, the Fujin (principal wife) would definitely inquire about it under the guise of concern.
Li Chenjiao looked at Qiu Hu's expression and couldn't help but chuckle: "Maybe I've encountered good fortune?"
Qiu Hu was still a little uneasy, not expecting her own princess to say these words first: "Perhaps I should have Xiao Luzi secretly go and invite the royal physician."
This girl is getting a little flustered by concern right now.
Li Chenjiao pretended to ponder: "Why don't we wait until next month's affairs? There are too many people in the mansion, so there's no need to rush."
Qiu Hu started to worry, muttering, "Fortunately, the princess hasn't been drinking tea lately, otherwise it would be truly worrisome—"
Li Chenjiao's period was due at the end of the month, so naturally, the Fourth Master would stay at Li Chenjiao's place during these days, but he didn't touch her.
For Fourth Master, Li Chenjiao's place was like a second front yard, where he seemed to sleep even more soundly than in the front yard.
On the first day of the eighth lunar month, as usual, I went to the main courtyard to pay my respects.
This time, Li Chenjiao simply didn't bother to speak. However, when the Fujin appeared from behind the screen at the head of the table, Li Chenjiao looked up—
She quickly lowered her head to hide the surprise in her eyes.
After taking her seat, Li Chenjiao looked up again while listening to the Fujin speak, and the same scene flashed into her mind once more.
The princess looked pale but with a faint smile as she watched Xu Mama holding a swaddled baby.
Is the Princess Consort pregnant?
Li Chenjiao's initial surprise quickly turned into relief.
While it was indeed somewhat unexpected that the princess consort was pregnant, it was certainly a good thing for Li Chenjiao at this crucial juncture.
So she and the Fujin were pregnant one after the other, and the Fujin was so busy that she couldn't spare the time to take care of her.
Thinking about it carefully, the timing of the good news for the Princess Consort was just right.
Throughout the entire greeting process, Li Chenjiao paid little attention to the conversations of the other people present.
What about Princess Wu laughing at Princess Xie for having a leisurely life all day long? What about Princess Song saying that the eldest princess has been able to crawl around and is in good health these days? Of course, what is mentioned most is that the Fourth Prince went to her courtyard to take care of the eldest princess.
Of course, there's also the old saying that Li Chenjiao hasn't had a happy ending in a long time.
However, to Li Chenjiao, it was as if a gust of wind had blown by.
However, as she was leaving the main courtyard after everyone had dispersed, she suddenly remembered that Princess Wu had come to the main courtyard to pay her respects again today.
Wu Gege's due date is in mid-September, which is close to the date of Song Gege's delivery last year.
Wu Gege is now more than eight months pregnant. Although it has only been half a month since they last met, Li Chenjiao feels as if Wu Gege's belly has grown even bigger.
She silently touched her stomach, speechless for a moment.
It has to be said that Wu Gege's rules are truly impeccable.
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