Su Peisheng, who was right behind him, also saw it and barely managed to suppress a cry of pain.
“This morning the fellow was quite docile in the front yard—how could this be? This servant will go back and thoroughly investigate this matter.”
Su Peisheng apologized, subconsciously thinking that someone from the backyard had reached into the front yard.
This is what the Fourth Prince hates most.
Fourth Master had already reached the door of the side room when he suddenly stopped. Upon hearing Su Peisheng's voice, he simply uttered a cold remark.
"If you can't find out the truth today, then wait until you do before coming back to serve me."
Fourth Master's words were very clear: if Su Peisheng couldn't find out the truth, he wouldn't be able to continue his duties.
Su Peisheng hurriedly agreed, and as he left, he couldn't help but kick Fulu hard.
"After serving by Fourth Master's side for so long, he still doesn't learn his lesson."
Meanwhile, inside, Fourth Master entered the room but did not see Li Chenjiao.
"Where is your concubine?" Fourth Prince called out to Qiu Hu, who was walking out from inside.
Qiu Hu lowered his head, looking down at his nose and his mind: "Reporting to Fourth Master, the concubine was frightened today and has already gone to bed."
Fourth Master frowned, only saying that Qiu Hu should go down first, and then went straight into the room.
Fourth Master entered the inner room, where Li Chenjiao's curtains had already been drawn. The curtains were thick, obscuring the view inside.
The Fourth Prince didn't say anything, but walked over and lifted the tent flap.
Li Chenjiao had indeed already lay down, and was even facing away from the Fourth Master.
Fourth Master paused for a moment, then leaned forward to touch the exposed hand warmer.
The warmth of the touch calmed the Fourth Prince's heart. He sat down on the edge of the bed and said, "That fellow outside was chosen by me for both you and the eldest princess. Since the eldest princess is still young, he has been kept in the front courtyard. I have already sent people to investigate this matter thoroughly."
Li Chenjiao finally turned over, a smile appearing on her fair face, but she didn't show her teeth: "What should I do if you find out, Master?"
The Fourth Prince reached out and touched Li Chenjiao's palm again: "If it is a person, I will tie them up and bring them to you for you to deal with. If it is not, have someone send that vicious dog back to the Imperial Household Department, and from now on, no cats or dogs will be allowed in the mansion."
Fourth Master's heart is really leaning towards Li Chenjiao.
Her crescent-shaped eyebrows relaxed and then furrowed, making the Fourth Master's heart tighten as well.
Li Chenjiao pouted, her dark blue eyelashes trembled, and she called out "Fourth Master" in a soft voice.
She then slightly lowered her chin, leaned closer, and straightened up to wrap her arms around Fourth Master's neck: "I was really frightened today. If it weren't for Dongli protecting me in time, Fourth Master probably wouldn't be here to see me now."
Li Chenjiao rarely refers to herself as "I".
Despite this lack of manners, Fourth Master still overlooked it because of Li Chenjiao's words.
"What nonsense are you talking about?" Fourth Master pressed the man down.
"I will find out the truth and won't let you be frightened for no reason." Fourth Master raised his hand and patted Li Chenjiao's back very lightly.
Li Chenjiao remained silent, simply resting her head on Fourth Master's shoulder.
After a long while, Fourth Master suddenly felt a wet patch on his shoulder.
People in the backyard often cried too. Some, like Madam Song, would sob while holding a handkerchief, while others, like Madam Xie, would be mindful of whether their makeup was ruined when they cried.
But it's extremely rare to encounter someone like Li Chenjiao who cries without making a sound.
Fourth Master suddenly felt a little lost.
"My men have sent over a tiger-sable as the New Year is approaching. Aren't you afraid of the cold? I'll have someone make a cloak for you and send it over tomorrow."
"Is there enough silver charcoal? You never like using other types of charcoal. If not, I'll have someone bring you some tomorrow."
"That beast outside frightened you. I had someone send it back to the Imperial Household Department tonight for you to deal with—"
Fourth Master didn't know how to comfort people; he just wanted the person in his arms to stop crying.
In Fourth Master's eyes, Li Chenjiao was indeed delicate and charming, and it was only right that she be pampered and coaxed.
Li Chenjiao slowly stopped crying, as if she had cried enough, and slowly lay back down.
"Why won't you push me away, Master?" Li Chenjiao said reproachfully.
Fourth Master took a handkerchief from the bedside and wiped away the tears on Li Chenjiao's face: "Follow Su Peisheng to find out the truth, and I'll keep you company and let you get a good night's sleep later."
The Fourth Master softened his voice without him noticing.
Li Chenjiao said softly, "Okay," and then lifted the blanket to make room for him: "Master, you've been busy all day, you should lie down for a while too."
Fourth Master glanced at her, then lay down again.
As the room quieted down, Li Chenjiao's heart also calmed down.
Su Peisheng was Su Peisheng after all. Having served the Fourth Master for so many years, he quickly and efficiently investigated the matter.
Hearing that Fourth Master and Li Chenjiao were inside, Su Peisheng told Qiu Hu what he had to say and asked her to relay it.
That guy has always been very well-behaved in the front yard, and he hasn't eaten anything wrong these past few days. Later, Su Peisheng carefully checked what had recently entered the back yard.
Finally, the investigation led to Princess Wu.
Recently, only Wu Gege's courtyard sent turtle soup to the front yard once, just last night.
Last night, the Fourth Master stayed in Li Chenjiao's east courtyard and did not return to the front courtyard. The servants in the front courtyard then fed the turtle soup to the Pekingese dog outside that was still barking incessantly.
The Fourth Prince rubbed his temples and said, "Tomorrow you will go to Consort Wu's courtyard yourself to find out the truth, without disturbing the First Prince. But you must give the Consort the truth."
The Fourth Prince did not suggest that his wife investigate the matter, which may have been due to either a lack of trust in her or an unwillingness to burden her with such an important task.
However, Li Chenjiao was still puzzled as to how this matter ended up involving Wu Gege.
After all, Princess Wu wasn't the type to send food to the front yard.
She has always been a very cautious person. After giving birth to the eldest prince, she devoted herself entirely to him, except for managing household affairs.
Moreover, according to Su Peisheng, Wu Gege only had the turtle soup delivered to the front courtyard after the Fourth Prince arrived at Li Chenjiao's east courtyard.
Isn't this just a complete waste?
It's really suspicious no matter how you look at it.
This doesn't seem like Wu Gege's style of doing things.
As for why the Pekingese rushed towards Li Chenjiao's east courtyard, the imperial physician's explanation was that it was perhaps because the Pekingese often sniffed the Fourth Prince's scent, and the Fourth Prince often came to Li Chenjiao's east courtyard.
The Pekingese dog, having eaten something bad, wanted to find its owner and eventually followed the scent to Li Chenjiao's east courtyard.
Before going to sleep, an idea suddenly popped into Li Chenjiao's mind.
That turtle soup might have been prepared by Lady Zhu at Lady Wu's arrangement.
Finally, Wu added some other things to the turtle soup, intending to frame Zhu.
If the Fourth Prince notices and investigates thoroughly, then the Zhu family will definitely not be able to escape.
However, Princess Wu hadn't calculated the exact time of the Fourth Prince's return to the mansion—
That bowl of turtle soup eventually ended up in the stomach of the mad Pekingese dog outside.
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