Consort De was somewhat surprised by the Fourth Prince's answer. She silently put down her teacup, clearly intending to listen to what the Fourth Prince was thinking.
The Fourth Prince did not first mention his preferred candidate for the title of Secondary Consort, but instead spoke of others.
"Wu's pregnancy is naturally a joyous occasion in the household, and she has always been well-behaved. However, even after the pregnancy, she still has to take care of all the previous affairs, which is really a lot of trouble for her."
Consort De immediately understood what the fourth prince meant.
Wu was indeed well-behaved. After her pregnancy, she did not become as greedy as Song had been when she was pregnant and began to interfere in the affairs of the mansion. However, she did not take down the mansion's account books and other things that she had been asked to look after before.
What the fourth prince meant was that it was fine for Wu to continue managing her original affairs, but it was not acceptable for her to become a concubine.
Consort De nodded slightly to indicate that she had listened, and then tentatively added, "The eldest princess is a good child, and her birth mother, Lady Song, has been a long-time servant of you, Fourth Prince—"
This time, the Fourth Prince did not rush to refute Consort De. He only shook his head slightly after Consort De finished speaking: "The eldest princess's deficiency is precisely the time when she needs someone to take care of her."
Consort De couldn't recall any other women in the Fourth Prince's household for the time being.
In her memory, there was only Xie Shi and Bai Jia Shi, who had broken the rules and was still under house arrest, as mentioned by the fourth son's family last time.
But it's clear that neither of them is a good fit.
"Li, the wife of my son, is also a well-behaved person. Last time during the Dragon Boat Festival at the estate, my son arranged for her to prepare for the banquet to receive the Crown Prince, and nothing went wrong. Although she can't see her mother, she often copies Buddhist scriptures to pray for her mother's well-being."
After hearing the Fourth Prince's words, Consort De understood everything.
Li, she suddenly remembered.
The Han Banner girl was pretty and came from a respectable family. The fourth prince seemed to like her too, but—
"Haven't you heard she's pregnant?"
In the palace, it was generally considered legitimate for a concubine to be granted the title of secondary consort, unless she had children. Otherwise, if she had not made any contribution to the imperial family, the consort's title would be quite conspicuous.
Of course, the case of Consort Cao in the Third Prince's mansion is an exception.
The Fourth Prince lowered his eyes: "My son is currently planning to establish a concubine and has already selected someone, but there is no rush."
Only the Fourth Prince himself knew how long he had left the greeting memorial, which was pressed at the bottom of his desk in the study in the front yard.
Consort De suddenly realized something again.
The fourth prince meant that he would ask for the title of concubine to Li Shi once she had a happy occasion.
I only informed her today because she asked about it.
Consort De's feelings were somewhat complicated, but she had long been prepared that the fourth prince had his own ideas. So she didn't say anything against it, but said, "I know you are a person who has a plan in mind. I will not interfere in the matter of requesting to be made a secondary consort."
Fourth Master stood up and thanked him, feeling naturally pleased.
After returning to his residence from the palace, the Fourth Prince went straight to Li Chenjiao's east courtyard.
Li Chenjiao was completely unaware of what was happening in the palace; she was peeling lotus seeds with two maids.
These were not lotus seeds from the garden or pond in the manor, nor were they purchased from outside by the kitchen; rather, they were sent by the steward of the estate.
This is quite rare.
There was undoubtedly an element of the steward trying to curry favor with her. Although Li Chenjiao loved to eat, she wouldn't accept these things indiscriminately just for a taste.
It was only after the servant who brought the lotus seeds said that the estate had a bumper harvest this year and that there were many nobles in the manor that Li Chenjiao accepted them.
When Fourth Master arrived, the lotus seeds on the table had not yet been peeled.
Li Chenjiao had originally said she would wait until all the lotus seeds were peeled before eating them, but when she saw Fourth Master come in and glanced at the lotus seeds on the table, she forced a smile.
"I was just saying that I would peel these lotus seeds and have Xiao Luzi take them to the front yard for Fourth Master to cool off and relieve the heat, but you just happened to arrive, Fourth Master."
Fourth Master lifted his robe and sat down: "Your period has just ended, so eat less cold food. I heard that the estate sent several baskets of fresh crabs and live shrimp, so eat less of those too."
The two maids exchanged a glance, bowed silently, and withdrew.
Li Chenjiao then stood up and went behind the Fourth Master to massage his shoulders: "How did you know that I was planning to eat crab roe soup tomorrow?"
Li Chenjiao had seen others celebrate their weddings while still in her boudoir, and she knew that after such a celebration, lotus seeds could be eaten, but in moderation, as could shrimp and crab, which are considered cold in nature.
With its own natural warning system, it's unlikely that overindulging in food will harm the baby in its womb.
Li Chenjiao was clear about what was more important.
The Fourth Prince did not mention the matter of appointing a concubine. Lady Li had not been pregnant for a long time, so mentioning the matter of appointing a concubine would not cause her any worry.
However, Fourth Master doesn't plan to rest early today.
Thinking of this, the Fourth Master's eyes also turned deep.
There was an ice chest inside the room, but the cicadas outside were chirping noisily. Fourth Master went to the clean room to take a bath. After bathing, Li Chenjiao sat in front of the small window and used a round fan to gently tap the window screen from time to time to scare away the flying insects.
She was thinking of what to say at that moment.
Lately, Fourth Master has been busy with something, spending most of his time in the front yard.
Only now did Li Chenjiao realize it was because of the Eighth Prince's wedding, but she didn't have the mind to think about it too much at the moment; what mattered was the present.
Li Chenjiao always liked to turn off the lights at night. When the Fourth Master got into bed, Li Chenjiao turned over to face him and suddenly made a sound.
"Master, I lied to you."
Fourth Master paused, staring intently at Li Chenjiao in the darkness.
"What did you lie to me about?"
Nobody likes being deceived, especially the Fourth Master.
Because of his childhood experience of being sent to Empress Tongjia by Consort De, he was at an age where he couldn't be separated from his mother and would often cry incessantly. It was only after Consort De found an excuse that the Fourth Prince stopped crying.
However, the Fourth Prince will not remain unaware of the truth forever.
Fourth Master especially detests deception.
Li Chenjiao said very softly, "This servant did not have her period last month."
No menstruation last month - No menstruation last month?
What?
Before the Fourth Master could react, Li Chenjiao continued, "It's just that my periods are sometimes irregular. On those days, I'm unsure of myself and afraid of being disappointed like last time, so I didn't tell you. Right now, I'm really panicking. I know it's my fault for keeping it from you, but I really don't know what to do. I don't even dare to tell my two maids—"
These words were sincere. First, she explained why Li Chenjiao hadn't told the Fourth Prince why her period hadn't come, then she talked about her own anxiety these past few days, and finally she said that the first person she should tell was the Fourth Prince.
She was organized and logical, which showed that she still put Fourth Master first when things happened in Li Chenjiao's heart.
In addition, Li Chenjiao herself knew that she had truly encountered good fortune, so she was not afraid of being disappointed.
Li Chenjiao still felt exhausted from saying these things every day.
There was no other way; to survive in the backyard, one had to appease the Fourth Master.
A year's worth of friendship, though not much, is still there.
However, we still need to see the Fourth Prince's attitude.
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