Upon hearing this, Fourth Master glanced at Li Chenjiao, but said nothing. He simply slammed his teacup on the table, his expression not pleasant.
"What nonsense are you talking about?"
Li Chenjiao exclaimed, "Oh! Did you hear that, Master? I was talking to the Second Princess, why were you eavesdropping?"
Qiu Ci, who was bringing in hangover tea, lowered her head and suppressed a laugh upon hearing the sound.
Only their own master would dare to joke with the Fourth Master at this time.
Li Chenjiao didn't even look at Fourth Master's reaction. While teasing the little girl, she didn't forget to say something to Qiu Ci.
"Is the hot water ready? Have Granny Chen come in and take the Second Princess away in a bit. Judging by the time, she should be hungry."
Qiu Ci answered them one by one, completely ignoring the Fourth Master.
Fourth Master accepted Qiu Ci's hangover tea. He wasn't completely confused at the moment, so he lowered his head and thought without saying a word.
When Qiu Hu came in to report that the hot water was ready, Fourth Master went to the clean room to take a bath. Only then did Qiu Ci, who was serving Li Chenjiao, have a chance to speak in a low voice.
They were all speculating about why the Fourth Master had come at this time.
Li Chenjiao glanced at her, and Qiu Ci wisely kept quiet.
Li Chenjiao said seriously, "Fourth Master is still here. It's fine to keep these words to yourself, but it's wrong to say them out loud."
Qiu Ci was not being reckless; she simply misspoke.
It's fine if Fourth Master isn't in the East Courtyard, but right now he's just gone to the clean room. What if he suddenly comes back?
Li Chenjiao has always been cautious, especially since the current hot topic in the mansion is all about the Third Prince, which she doesn't want to get involved in.
Let the Fourth Master come if he wants; we have to deal with him anyway.
Li Chenjiao didn't even bother to think about it, and could still laugh and joke when she saw Granny Chen come to take the Second Princess away.
While the Fourth Master was taking a bath, Li Chenjiao had two maids bring a copper basin to wipe her face again.
Li Chenjiao was unwilling to let the Fourth Master get close, but even though she wouldn't let him get close, she still wiped her face again.
She's very clean.
Li Chenjiao touched her face, thinking that she had to find a windless day to close the courtyard gate and wipe herself down, otherwise she wouldn't be able to stand it.
When Fourth Master came out of the washroom and returned to the inner room, Li Chenjiao was instructing Qiu Hu to set up the cool mat.
There was no ice chest placed in the inner room. Li Chenjiao was always afraid of the heat, but because of the various restrictions during her postpartum period, she finally couldn't help but ask the servants to place an ice chest in the outer room.
Li Chenjiao was quite envious when Qiu Hu arranged the cool mat, and she was even more eager for the Fourth Master to sit down.
After Fourth Master sat down on the rosewood canopy bed with its intricate carvings, Li Chenjiao remarked that the weather was hot.
After some casual conversation, Li Chenjiao avoided mentioning the Third Prince and even rarely spoke of Lady Xie.
It wasn't that Li Chenjiao was cold-hearted, but rather that Xie Shi's relationship with Li Chenjiao during her lifetime was far from that of casual acquaintances.
Now that Xie Shi has left, if Li Chenjiao were to say those sentimental words again, to be honest, she probably still wouldn't be able to say them.
Fourth Master, now sober, leaned against the wall not far away, lost in thought. He only nodded occasionally in response to Li Chenjiao's words.
Li Chenjiao didn't want to mention it, but Fourth Master would still bring it up on his own initiative.
"Your Highness intends to find a foster mother for the Third Prince. What do you think?"
Li Chenjiao raised her eyes slightly, her two bright eyes clear and beautiful, her cherry-like lips slightly pursed, full of reproach: "What you said is interesting, Master. What do you mean by 'what I think'? You shouldn't have asked me that question."
Fourth Master let out a low murmur, not annoyed at all, but rather as if he was used to Li Chenjiao's reactions.
"Just speak freely, I'll hear what you have to say."
Li Chenjiao blinked, and after a while, she smiled gently: "I don't know about others, but I don't have that much ability. The Second Princess alone is already making my heart feel suffocated, and now the Master is giving me trouble. How can I have the energy to think about anything else?"
Li Chenjiao made her stance clear first. Regardless of whether the Fourth Master was happy or satisfied with her words, there was nothing wrong with what she said.
Fourth Master said sternly, "Are you exhausted? What about others? Can you give me some advice?"
Fourth Master's words were quite direct. Li Chenjiao was stunned for half a second when she first heard them, but she quickly continued.
"If you want my advice, you will reward me. However, whether you listen to my advice or not, and what happens afterward, is none of my business."
Li Chenjiao's words were a perfect example of taking advantage of the situation; she only offered suggestions and ignored everything else. Only she could say something like that.
Fourth Master neither said yes nor no, only saying, "You go first."
Li Chenjiao chuckled and glanced at the direction where Fourth Master was sitting.
"Then I'll just make something up for you, Master. After giving birth to the eldest princess, Consort Song's health was damaged. If Consort Song were to adopt the third prince, I'm sure she wouldn't mistreat him. Everyone in the mansion knows how good Consort Wu is to the eldest prince, so it wouldn't be bad for her to adopt him. Consort Bai has just been released from confinement and has been very well-behaved lately, so that's good too. And then there's Miss Xu, who used to serve Consort De and has always been sensible, so she'd naturally be able to raise the third prince well—after all this, I think there's nothing wrong with it."
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master laughed and scolded, "You little rascal."
It may seem that Li Chenjiao is trying to smooth things over, but in reality, she is exposing the character of everyone in the backyard.
For example, Song Gege certainly wouldn't mistreat the Third Prince, and would even treat him exceptionally well because she hadn't given birth to a prince herself. However, the First Princess would likely be completely ignored.
Then there's Consort Wu. She had children and treated her eldest son very well, but those were her own flesh and blood. However, after adopting the third prince, things might not be the same.
As for Bai Jia Gege, Bai Jia Shi was released from confinement, but what was the reason for Bai Jia Shi's confinement?
Li Chenjiao left it at that, and naturally there was no need for her to elaborate further.
However, Li Chenjiao did not mention that Xu Shi was of low status.
The Fourth Prince's gaze naturally became meaningful as well.
Li Chenjiao thought of Madam Xu because Qiu Ci had told her something.
Xu was a palace maid who taught the Fourth Prince about sexual matters, and she was also older. The reason why Consort De chose Xu was because Xu had once accompanied Consort De in the freezing cold and suffered punishment, which injured her body and made her unable to have children.
Li Chenjiao then thought of Madam Xu; otherwise, given Madam Bai's recent docility, she was actually quite good.
However, Li Chenjiao was thinking further ahead. Next spring, there would be another triennial general election, and naturally, new people would be brought into the manor at that time.
It remains to be seen what the situation will be like then.
But it's always good to plan ahead.
Li Chenjiao's words may not be entirely without the intention of smoothing things over.
It all depends on what the Fourth Prince thinks.
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