However, the Fourth Prince has indeed been busy lately. Apart from resting in the East Courtyard for two consecutive days, he has been resting in the Front Courtyard for the next two or three days.
It was inappropriate for the principal wife to personally invite the fourth prince to the main courtyard, as it would make her seem overly anxious, and she herself was not in a hurry.
The people in the backyard had no idea about this, so naturally no one was worried.
Li Chenjiao in the East Courtyard was even less in a hurry.
On the tenth day, the Fourth Master finally had some free time, but he didn't return from outside until night, and then went to the main courtyard.
The Fujin was not surprised at all. She sat down to greet the Fourth Prince, but instead of getting to the main topic, she asked the Fourth Prince if he wanted to go and check on the Second Prince who had not yet gone to bed.
This is something that the Fujin (principal wife) has been thinking about these past few days. The girl in the East Courtyard is unwilling to go north with the Fourth Prince, which is obviously something that will offend the Fourth Prince. However, several days have passed and the Fourth Prince has not yet dealt with the girl in the East Courtyard.
The Fujin then gleaned some information: the East Courtyard woman had used the Second Princess as an excuse not to go north with the Fourth Prince. Since the Fourth Prince hadn't reacted, it meant that he felt the East Courtyard woman's decision to stay for the Second Princess's sake wasn't wrong.
Now that the Fujin had brought up the Second Prince, it was naturally not wrong, especially since she saw the Fourth Prince stand up after she said that, and she knew that what she had said was not wrong.
The princess consort then got up with the fourth prince and went to the side room to see the second prince.
The couple visited the Second Prince together, and on their way back, they walked side by side, showing a rare glimpse of a harmonious married couple.
As the two walked together, it was the Fujin who spoke first: "The Second Prince's health has improved a lot recently, and I, as his mother, am very happy to see that."
The Fourth Prince hummed in agreement: "I'm sorry to trouble you, Madam."
The two of them immediately adopted a polite tone when they spoke.
The smile on the princess's face faded slightly: "These are all things I should do. Everything prepared for Your Majesty for this year's Golden Festival has been prepared. Bring me the register."
The Fourth Prince waved his hand: "No need to look. I trust you with your work, my wife. I came here today to discuss our trip north in a few days."
The Fujin readily waved her hand, indicating that Yu Ru didn't need to go, and then adopted a posture of listening attentively.
"These days I've been so busy taking care of the Second Prince that I forgot about the trip to the north. It was my oversight, and I hope Your Majesty will forgive me."
As she spoke, the princess stood up again, bowed, and apologized.
The Fourth Prince waved his hand, clearly aware that his wife was just being polite: "It's alright, I've already made up my mind. The trip north is to demonstrate the spirit of the men of our Great Qing against the Mongol princes, so it's not appropriate to have too many women. I prefer to bring only Lady Baijia."
The Fujin slowly stood up. Although she was somewhat surprised, she still echoed the Fourth Prince's words, saying, "Bai Jia Shi? Although she did some foolish things in the past, she has indeed become much more well-behaved lately. Everyone in the mansion has children on both sides, so it is indeed appropriate for Bai Jia Shi to accompany you north this time."
The Fourth Prince neither confirmed nor denied it, but instead asked after taking a sip of tea, "Does the Princess Consort have any other candidates in mind?"
The conversation was thrown to the wife so that she could put on an act.
The couple spoke as if they were exchanging cryptic remarks in the imperial court, each word carrying countless probing questions.
The Princess Consort had already anticipated that the Fourth Prince would ask this question, and her smile remained unchanged: "Your Majesty, I think the same thing. All the children in the manor cannot do without their mothers. If we really have to talk about it, the eldest princess is a bit older, and I heard that she has been learning to read recently. Song Shi is also an old servant who has been serving Your Majesty for a long time. It would be a good choice for her to go north with Your Majesty."
The Fourth Prince's expression remained impassive upon hearing this: "Winter is approaching and the eldest princess will be inseparable from someone. I am quite worried. When I am not at home, the princess will need to take good care of her."
Since the Fourth Prince has spoken, and given the princess's advanced age, the Fujin (principal wife) should at least act as her guarantor.
The princess paused, gritted her teeth slightly, and finally smiled, "Yes. As the eldest princess's legal mother, it is my duty to take care of her health. Tomorrow, I will have the imperial physician send over the eldest princess's medical records, and I will personally supervise the physician to ensure that the eldest princess's health is properly treated."
The Fourth Prince said nothing more than "His wife is virtuous" and that was it.
The princess lowered her eyes, a myriad of emotions flashing within them.
The master is referring to her; otherwise, why would he only mention the eldest princess and not the other children in the manor?
It's all because Lady Song doesn't care about the eldest princess. The other courtyards are surrounded like an iron barrel. It's already quite an achievement that the Fujin (the wife) has been able to get some information. However, it's much more difficult than expected to make a move against the second princess.
Empress Wu treated the eldest prince like the apple of her eye, doing everything for him personally, making it even more difficult for her to do anything to him.
Because his adoptive mother, Madam Xu, was only a concubine, the Third Prince received a lot of care from the Fourth Prince in the front courtyard after moving to a new courtyard.
However, given the Third Prince's current background, the Princess Consort really has no need to take action.
Now that the Fourth Prince is about to leave the mansion and head north, his biggest worry is the eldest princess. Now that he has entrusted her to the Fujin (principal wife), she will have to pay attention to her, at least outwardly.
As for the intricacies of the inner workings of the palace, the Fourth Prince had seen countless such things when he was young, and most of the time he simply couldn't be bothered to expose them.
On the contrary, he actually prefers someone like Li Chenjiao, who, although she might take a roundabout approach, will ultimately speak her mind.
Regarding the matter of Madam He, Fourth Master may not be unaware that Li Chenjiao could not keep Madam He, but the fact that Li Chenjiao first sought out Fulu from the front courtyard makes a difference.
Fu Lu naturally obeyed Fourth Master's orders. Li Chenjiao entrusted Fu Lu with the task, which meant she was prepared for him to find out about it.
Or more accurately, Li Chenjiao took the initiative to let the Fourth Prince know.
It's quite rare to hear someone so openly express their thoughts in the backyard.
After finishing his business, Fourth Master inexplicably thought of Li Chenjiao in the East Courtyard. He touched the back of his neck and said, "I'm a little hungry now."
The princess paused, then subconsciously tried to dissuade her: "It's late. According to the old matriarch's rules, we should eat two meals a day. We can't break the rules. I'll have someone bring some warm tea and cakes to tide us over."
Fourth Master suddenly chuckled and found it boring.
The Manchu custom is to eat two meals a day, but Fourth Master always eats three meals a day in Li Chenjiao's East Courtyard, and occasionally has some late-night snacks.
Fourth Master stood up: "That's enough, let's rest."
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