Li Chenjiao raised her eyes and smiled: "Of course there's no need to hide it. Charcoal is no small matter. You two girls were too reckless in your actions, handling things so quietly. It's impossible to hide it from them. It's better not to hide it. If we don't leave some clues, how can we give the person behind us an opportunity to act?"
Qiu Hu then realized that he had forgotten to inform his master about the charcoal fire beforehand, which was a major taboo for a servant—acting on his own initiative.
"This servant acted on his own initiative, and I beg my master to punish him."
Li Chenjiao yawned and waved her hand: "You are all thinking of preparing for a rainy day, but silly girl, how could you forget about the front yard? The master is no longer in the mansion, but not all of the master's staff in the front yard have been left behind."
Qiu Hu dared not defend herself, but regretted her carelessness. Everything in the East Courtyard had been going too smoothly lately, which made her relax.
Li Chenjiao sighed and leaned down slightly to pull Qiu Hu up: "If you do something wrong, you have to be punished. So, your punishment is to make sure that there's enough charcoal in the small kitchen before winter arrives, and that there's neither too much nor too little. As for another punishment—you two will also have to copy books for half a month."
When the weather gets cold, copying books and writing characters can be incredibly tedious.
This punishment was only because Li Chenjiao was told by the Fourth Master to copy his calligraphy when he was not around.
Li Chenjiao's use of this as punishment is a way of indirectly imitating the Fourth Master.
Qiu Hu was helped up by her master and naturally understood that her master was not angry. However, she would not be arrogant because of this. Instead, she secretly made up her mind to keep a close eye on that girl, Lü Lan, from now on.
As expected, Fourth Master came to the East Courtyard at dinner time that night. The weather in October was gradually getting cooler, and it was getting dark earlier than before.
When Fourth Master arrived at the East Courtyard, Li Chenjiao was instructing the maids to set up tables and chairs in the flower hall, using screens to block out the wind.
Li Chenjiao's beloved rocking chair was also moved to the flower hall. In October, the maids carefully added a soft cushion to the rocking chair, and a cloak was also prepared behind it.
Li Chenjiao leaned back in the rocking chair, using the cloak as a blanket to cover her calves, while the Second Princess looked around in her arms.
Fourth Master took off his cloak, which Su Peisheng quickly took from him.
Fourth Master stood for a few seconds until Li Chenjiao noticed him and looked at him with bright eyes before he stepped forward and walked up to her.
He waved his hand, looked at Li Chenjiao who was holding the Second Princess in his arms, and exempted Li Chenjiao from the formalities.
Li Chenjiao wasn't one to be pretentious. Seeing this, she didn't even bother to get up. Instead, she hugged the Second Princess and said, "Second Princess, look who's here! Quickly greet your father."
The mother and daughter both looked up at Fourth Master. Their two little faces were somewhat similar in their features, but one had a cunning smile and the other had an innocent one.
Fourth Prince patted Second Princess's head and asked Li Chenjiao, "What did you do today?"
Without hesitation, Li Chenjiao spoke the truth: "After getting up and having lunch, I took a nap."
Fourth Master pressed his temples, unsure of what to say.
On second thought, Li Chenjiao's way is quite worry-free, but it only seems worry-free for the short time at hand.
Fourth Master knew perfectly well whether Li Chenjiao was a worry-free person or not.
When the Second Princess got hungry and was carried away by Granny Chen, Li Chenjiao touched her belly, smiled and told the Fourth Master that she was hungry, and then pulled the Fourth Master to stand up and walk towards the flower hall.
“I remember there’s a jar of fruit wine left in the storeroom from last year. Qiu Hu, go and fetch it. I want to try it today.”
Li Chenjiao has a low alcohol tolerance and doesn't like to drink on ordinary days. She only drinks a small glass when she is in a very good mood.
Since Da Qiuhu followed his master into the mansion, apart from the various banquets held in the mansion and the palace, he had only seen his master drink wine privately two or three times.
The last time was when my mistress was out of confinement and she was in a good mood, so she had a couple of drinks.
At this moment, Qiu Hu glanced at the Fourth Master sitting at the head of the table, then looked at her own master, and after stepping down, she quickly returned with the jar of fruit wine.
Li Chenjiao doesn't like drinking, and she doesn't brew much. The jars are small, so they look like they can't hold much wine.
Li Chenjiao opened the wine jar herself. She had drunk it once in June when she finished her postpartum confinement. Perhaps because it was fruit wine, it wasn't that intoxicating.
However, it does smell much more mellow than last time. Li Chenjiao sniffed and silently poured herself another cup.
Qiu Ci watched the pot heat up, while adding the dishes that her masters usually liked to eat.
Li Chenjiao poured herself a drink, then turned to see the Fourth Master looking at her. She paused for a moment before asking, "Master—would you like to try some?"
Judging from Li Chenjiao's appearance, it was obvious that she was unwilling to share with Fourth Master.
The two men's eyes met, and Fourth Master tapped the table and nodded, giving a very subtle "hmm".
Li Chenjiao obediently poured a cup of wine for the Fourth Master.
She wasn't bothered by it, and quickly raised her wine glass to the Fourth Master again: "I wish you a safe journey and all the best tomorrow."
Fourth Master raised his wine glass, said nothing, and simply drank it all in one gulp.
That's just like Fourth Master's personality. Li Chenjiao would be quite surprised if Fourth Master said something.
Li Chenjiao didn't overindulge in the wine; she only drank two-thirds of a glass of fruit wine before stopping.
She put down her wine glass, and her thin face quickly flushed a rosy hue, her complexion as fair as jade.
It was already quite dark outside, but Li Chenjiao was still awake. Looking at the steaming pot in front of her, she squinted her eyes, clearly in a very good mood.
The two of them enjoyed a hot pot meal comfortably on this autumn night. Li Chenjiao occasionally used serving chopsticks to put some of the Fourth Master's favorite dishes on his plate.
She herself was engrossed in eating and thoroughly enjoyed it, so Fourth Master didn't need to worry about her at all.
Li Chenjiao had a really good appetite today; she ate most of the food in the pot, and even left the fruit wine aside.
As the maids came in and cleared away the food, Green Bamboo couldn't help but whisper as she left.
Qiu Ci: "Sister, is our master pregnant? She looks like—"
Qiu Ci tapped her on the head: "Who gets pregnant in a day after a happy event? Silly girl, hurry up and go to the small kitchen to see if the water is ready."
Green Bamboo then scratched his head and withdrew.
As Qiu Ci watched Green Bamboo run away, she couldn't help but mutter to herself.
"If it's really as Green Bamboo says, then Master will truly be blessed with good fortune."
After Fourth Master leaves the mansion tomorrow, who knows how much "liveliness" will take place there.
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