In this backyard, the favor one gets is always fought over, and Li Chenjiao found the Fujin's reaction and behavior today to be very strange.
After all, the Fujin (wife of the emperor) never talked about being favored, and in most cases, she would only mention it when she was being reprimanded.
Li Chenjiao was too lazy to figure it out. With the recent spate of things happening to the Fujin, it was impossible to guess what she was thinking.
The princess opened her mouth, her eyebrows and eyes showing that she was about to get angry.
Before he could finish speaking, a servant who had been standing outside hurried in.
"Greetings to the First Lady and Consort, and greetings to all the ladies."
"The master has arrived."
Why is Fourth Master here now?
Li Chenjiao stood up. She hadn't heard the two maids or Xiao Luzi mention that Fourth Master hadn't left the mansion today.
The wife in the main courtyard knew more about the situation. She knew that the Fourth Prince had left the mansion early this morning, so why was he back now?
The people in the room were naturally somewhat surprised and uncertain.
However, in the short time that he was stunned, Su Peisheng had already lifted the curtain and welcomed the Fourth Master in.
The Fourth Master, dressed in dark casual clothes, merely raised his hand slightly in response to the bows of the crowd, and said, "Please sit down."
The head wife had already waved to the servants to bring tea and a rosewood chair with a double fish design, and she slowly sat down.
"This year's pre-rain Longjing tea was sent by Her Majesty in the spring. Would Your Highness like to try some?"
Fourth Master, out of courtesy, picked up his teacup and drank, then gave a flat "hmm" in response.
The Fujin (principal wife) said with a smile, "Not to mention me, all the ladies in the house haven't seen the Fourth Prince for quite some time. Today is a rare occasion. No wonder the magpies outside were chirping non-stop this morning."
Magpie was the name that the princess consort gave to the parrot in the outer corridor.
But what the Fujin said was interesting, since she had just said that Li Chenjiao was currently riding high.
Everyone present, except for the newly arrived Fourth Prince, could naturally understand the Fujin's allusion.
Li Chenjiao twitched the corner of her mouth but didn't reply.
When Fourth Master was around, Li Chenjiao still had to put on an act.
Anyway, the Fourth Prince didn't hear what the Princess Consort said earlier, so there was nothing to say.
Li Chenjiao was too lazy to make things difficult for herself.
Fourth Master's expression didn't change much after hearing this: "There are many holidays in the second half of the year, so there will be plenty of opportunities to meet."
Indeed, there are many festivals from Mid-Autumn Festival, Double Ninth Festival, Lunar New Year's Eve, Laba Festival, Little New Year to Lunar New Year.
Li Chenjiao's eyes curved into a smile, her lips pursed, her smile even more radiant than the most beautiful crabapple blossoms of the season.
“You’re right, sir.”
Fourth Master lowered his head and met Li Chenjiao's gaze.
Li Chenjiao was still laughing, but she had toned it down a bit.
The princess consort responded with a forced smile: "What you say makes sense, sir. However, the eldest princess and the second prince also have their birthdays around the Double Ninth Festival. Shouldn't we celebrate those as well?"
The Song and Wu women sitting below also looked up.
Fourth Master did not give a definite answer: "There's no rush to bring it up after the Mid-Autumn Festival."
There have been quite a few things happening inside and outside the palace lately, but things have been relatively calm until the Mid-Autumn Festival to find out if anything will happen.
The princess nodded in agreement upon hearing this.
The Fourth Prince also hummed in agreement: "These days, the Princess Consort doesn't need to work too hard. Wu Shi will share everything with you."
Wu stood up, her expression unreadable: "Yes, it is my duty to share the burdens of my wife."
This time, the princess consort was truly unable to maintain her smile.
Her eagerness to finish her postpartum confinement as soon as possible stemmed from her desire to reclaim the power of managing the household from Princess Wu.
A few days ago, during her postpartum confinement period, she wanted Madam Wu to come to the main courtyard and hand over Madam Wu's management rights that she had been holding for so long.
However, Granny Qian persuaded her to stop, saying that the matter could be brought up naturally on the fifteenth day, the day when everyone pays their respects.
Just as the Fujin was about to warn Li and then reprimand Xu, the Fourth Prince interrupted her.
The Fourth Prince looked at his wife and said, "It's important that you take good care of yourself."
The princess bit her lip and paused for a moment before replying, "Yes, Your Majesty, I thank you for your thoughtfulness."
The way the Fourth Prince looked at his wife said it all.
The princess was unaware that she could no longer conceive because of this childbirth. She thought that the second prince was still resentful of her because of the incident when the empress visited the children in the manor last time.
So at this moment, when the Princess Consort met the Fourth Prince's gaze, she could only passively accept his words.
Fourth Master didn't stay long; it seemed like he was just making a brief visit.
After the Fourth Prince got up and left, and everyone greeted him, the Princess Consort excused herself by saying she had a headache and quickly told everyone to disperse.
The person who benefited the most today was the Xu family.
As soon as Li Chenjiao left the main courtyard, no one came up to talk to her, except for Madam Song, who thanked Li Chenjiao for giving her the prescription.
Song Gege couldn't hide the smile on her face as she spoke. She said she came to thank Li Chenjiao for her kindness, but it looked more like she came to remind Li Chenjiao to send her the prescription.
Li Chenjiao turned back twice before Song Shi left, satisfied.
There's really nothing to say about the Song family.
When she first entered the manor, Li Chenjiao thought she was smart and clear-headed. However, after Song Shi became pregnant and gave birth to the eldest princess, her personality changed a lot, but it was hard to say whether it was good or bad.
Qiu Hu held up an umbrella, and Li Chenjiao waved a fan. Li Chenjiao had only taken two steps when she was stopped by Fu Lu in the front yard.
"Please wait, Consort."
Li Chenjiao stopped and frowned: "Does Fourth Master have any instructions?"
Fu Lu should have said, "The master invites his concubine to sit in the front courtyard."
On this day, for no apparent reason, Fourth Master asked her to go to the front yard to do something.
Li Chenjiao paused in her fanning, then smiled and said, "Alright, then I'll trouble Fulu to lead the way."
Fu Lu hurriedly replied that he dared not.
Li Chenjiao followed Fulu toward the front yard. She rarely came to the front yard herself; most of the time, she would send Xiaoluzi or two maids to do it.
The last time Li Chenjiao came to the front courtyard was when the eldest princess was born and her health was not good.
Li Chenjiao was still somewhat unfamiliar with the front yard, but with Fulu leading the way, she didn't intend to memorize the route after just one visit.
When Li Chenjiao arrived at the front yard, she was led into the study, a place that Li Chenjiao was quite familiar with.
Inside was an ice chest, and Li Chenjiao immediately felt much cooler.
After Li Chenjiao finished her greetings, the Fourth Master turned around and glanced at her: "There's no need to change out of this outfit."
Li Chenjiao exclaimed "Ah!" and before she could react, Fulu came in from outside and handed her the curtain.
"I'm going to the estate."
Oh, Li Chenjiao understood instantly.
This means that Fourth Master is taking her out with him.
Li Chenjiao glanced at the sky outside, her face showing no emotion whatsoever.
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