As they were leaving the palace, they ran into the Fifth Prince's wife, Lady Tatara. She had a pale face and red eyes, clearly having been crying. It looked like she had just come from Consort Yi's place.
The princess watched coldly, pursed her lips and said nothing, then got into the carriage without even glancing at the fifth princess again.
It's pitiful, but also... he brought it on himself.
When the Princess Consort returned to the mansion, she immediately ordered someone to remove the two pots of crabapple blossoms, and then listened to what Granny Cui had to say.
Thanks to Consort De's reprimand, the Fujin was now more confident and ordered, "Give her twenty strokes of the cane and send her back to the Imperial Household Department. It's time to put an end to these bad habits in the household."
Then, thinking that Li Chenjiao had suffered for no reason, she pursed her lips and said, "Never mind, send that bracelet to Li's family."
Yu Lou's eyes widened: "Madam, that was a gift from Consort De. This servant thinks it's exquisite."
The princess waved her hand: "Have Yuru send it over." These days, the princess has no interest in anything when she sees that thing.
That was like Consort De slapping someone and then giving them a sweet treat—just a pair of bracelets. It's better to go with the flow…
Yu Lou dared not say anything more and went about her business.
After Li Chenjiao received the items, she heard Yu Ru say that the Fujin (princess) had just returned from the palace. After Yu Ru left, she took another close look at the pair of bracelets.
The bracelet was a vibrant green, crystal clear, and its translucency was indeed excellent, though the color was a bit dated. Li Chenjiao put the item down and said, "Keep it."
"I heard that when the Princess Consort returned, she ordered the crabapple trees to be removed..." Qiu Ci came in from outside, carrying a plate of pastries.
She had just returned from the kitchen with pastries when she heard it from the garden maid on the way.
Li Chenjiao rested her chin on her hand and first glanced at what kind of pastry it was today.
"Why is it mung bean cake again? It's been like this for two days in a row!" Li Chenjiao glanced at it and then looked away, taking a sip of tea in a sullen mood.
Qiu Ci chuckled to herself: "When Fourth Master left the other day, he asked someone to reward the kitchen staff, saying that the mung bean cakes they made were of good quality. So, these past two days, we've been having mung bean cakes all the time."
Li Chenjiao shook her head slightly and took two more sips of tea: "Do you think the crabapple cake is delicious?"
Qiu Ci put down the pastries and laughed when she heard her princess ask this question: "Princess! Why are you still thinking about that crabapple?"
With nothing else to do, Li Chenjiao picked up a book from the small table and started reading: "You know what, I think the crabapple blossom cake is quite delicious."
"Hey, is this Fourth Master's book?" Li Chenjiao asked, flipping through a couple of pages.
Qiu Ci peeked out and said, "Perhaps? This servant did not know."
Li Chenjiao waved for Qiu Ci to go out and do her work, then looked at the book left by the Fourth Master.
It's a miscellaneous book, covering all sorts of things from all over the world, and it's written in an interesting way. Occasionally, the Fourth Prince would even add annotations in the margins.
One page mentions Han Chinese foot binding, and the Fourth Prince comments at the end: "The Emperor had already issued a decree banning Han Chinese foot binding, which shows just how prevalent it was."
Li Chenjiao couldn't help but laugh. Fourth Master was as serious as ever.
As for foot binding, Li Chenjiao was spoiled since childhood, and her father favored her. She was also petite, so she had never experienced foot binding.
However, the daughter of the wealthy Liu family next door had bound feet. For the first two days, the screams she made were so loud that you'd think a pig was being slaughtered.
However, the Fourth Prince is actually quite good; he has no prejudice against foot binding, perhaps because he has been influenced by the Emperor.
On the next page, there's another mention of pillows and beds. The Fourth Prince succinctly states, "Hard or soft pillows are a matter of personal preference; there's no need to impose it on others. Spending all day gossiping is no different from being a shrew in the marketplace."
No wonder the Fourth Prince asked her that night if she slept on a soft pillow; he must have been feeling something about it.
Li Chen chuckled and flipped through the pages one by one, but didn't make any more annotations after that, probably because the Fourth Master hadn't seen them yet.
However, the Fourth Prince's calligraphy is quite beautiful. Every stroke seems to have its own style and character, making it exceptionally beautiful.
Li Chenjiao immediately waved her hand, telling Qiu Hu to prepare brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, ready to show off her skills.
Perhaps because of her Han Chinese origin, she was taught music, chess, calligraphy and painting by a tutor for three or four years from a young age. Although she was not proficient, she was generally passable.
Li Chenjiao spread out the paper and calmly practiced calligraphy.
Only when the ink in the inkstone was almost dry and the air was filled with the fragrance of ink did Li Chenjiao slowly stop writing.
Well, the characters are beautiful, but the finishing stroke ruined most of them.
"I really shouldn't have looked at Fourth Master's calligraphy. When I finish a stroke, I always think I should be like Fourth Master." Li Chenjiao muttered softly, her lips pursed into a straight line.
After practicing for a while, I still couldn't get my handwriting right. When I finished writing, I kept thinking about the Fourth Prince's handwriting.
Li Chenjiao put down her pen, washed her hands, and went outside to have her meal. Qiu Hu had already come in twice to urge her to eat.
After dinner, I took a stroll around the courtyard as usual. The weather was nice today, the sun was warm, and it felt very comfortable.
Li Chenjiao squinted her eyes, then went back inside and lay down on the couch for a short rest.
Just then, a ray of sunlight shone in.
...
Li Chenjiao slept until 9 PM, and when she woke up she was hungry. She was basically eating and sleeping all the time.
Li Chenjiao then counted on her fingers as she ordered: "Ask the kitchen if they have any fresh fish, as we haven't had any for two days. Also, ask for crispy pork. And for the soup, I'll have a simple vegetarian soup. And I'll ask the kitchen to bring out any side dishes they have in mind."
Xiao Luzi wrote everything down and then hurried off.
Before long, the Fourth Master arrived, seemingly having just returned to the manor.
Li Chenjiao came out to greet him and saw that the Fourth Prince was looking at the crabapple blossoms. She curtsied and said, "Greetings, Fourth Prince. Look at those crabapple blossoms. They were given to you by the Princess Consort a couple of days ago. They look so lovely."
It took the Fourth Prince a while to finally hum in response. He was thinking about why the Fifth Prince hadn't come today. The imperial physician said he was ill, and his father, the Emperor, didn't look too well either, especially after hearing that the Fifth Prince hadn't come.
After the Fourth Master hummed in acknowledgment and then remained silent, Li Chenjiao asked after a long while, "Master?"
Fourth Master snapped out of his daze, glanced at Li Chenjiao, and went inside.
Li Chenjiao quickly followed.
Once inside, Fourth Master invited her to sit down. As soon as Li Chenjiao sat down, she heard him say, "If you like those flowers, put them inside the house..."
The Fourth Prince doesn't mind this, but he's worried that his wife might feel uncomfortable. He knows that his mother summoned his wife to the palace today, which must be related to the Begonia Spring Banquet.
Li Chenjiao immediately understood. Ah, there's a story behind these crabapple blossoms. No wonder the Princess Consort removed them.
Smiling in response, Li Chenjiao asked, "Has Master not had dinner yet?"
Fourth Master nodded and picked up the book to read.
Li Chenjiao laughed as she looked at the book, but fearing that the Fourth Master would notice, she got up and went out, instructing Xiao Luzi in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft to go to the kitchen to add two more dishes.
When Fourth Master comes, he should at least get some good food, right?
The kitchen replaced the vegetarian soup with chicken soup, but Li Chenjiao didn't like it much. Chicken soup was tasteless at this time of year; it was better to drink it in winter.
After the meal, she took two turns as usual, and then took a bath. By the time Li Chenjiao finished turning around, Fourth Master had already finished his bath.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
