During the twelfth lunar month, Li Chenjiao took advantage of her leisure time to prepare for the various matters to be done during the New Year, as well as to prepare a New Year's gift for the Second Princess.
The little girl's birthday is in May, but Li Chenjiao always wants to prepare something for the little girl during festivals and holidays, and doesn't want to mistreat her at all.
When the little girl grows up, she will know that she grew up in love and will not have to worry or be afraid of anything.
Li Chenjiao had also noticed the worries of the maids and servants below her these days.
She didn't hold back and gave them a thorough dressing-down when she had some free time.
The servants were bound to worry about her future, but they couldn't let the fact that her first child was a princess prevent them from being concerned, even though a princess was still the apple of her eye.
The servants were worried about her, but they couldn't express their hopes that their mistress would give birth to a prince soon, or even their complaints that the prince wasn't born to her.
Fortunately, both wet nurses were sensible, and Lüju was also clever; she was the first to kneel down and kowtow after Li Chenjiao finished speaking.
"This servant understands. Second Princess is the young mistress of the East Courtyard. This servant will do his best to take care of her. Second Princess is this servant's second mistress. How dare this servant disrespect her?"
Anyone can talk big, but Li Chenjiao has never been one to promote someone based on a few confident words. She always judges people solely by their actions.
After this exchange, the maids and servants at least understood something: right now, their master's Achilles' heel is the Second Princess.
Li Chenjiao didn't think of this matter for no reason; it was because she noticed the maids' anxiety about not accompanying the Emperor north this time.
The maids naturally dared not neglect the Second Princess in the slightest, let alone complain. However, Li Chenjiao, being a parent herself, also wanted all the servants around her to understand that the Second Princess should never be neglected under any circumstances.
But who wouldn't like someone as adorable as the Second Princess?
Whenever Qiu Ci didn't keep watch at night, she would go to the Second Princess's place and stay for a long time, listening to the Second Princess muttering something she couldn't understand. Qiu Ci couldn't understand it, but she still felt incredibly soft-hearted.
After Li Chenjiao spoke with the maids once, the maids, who were already afraid to neglect the Second Princess, are now even more attentive than the two wet nurses.
Whenever he had a spare moment, he would watch from outside the Second Princess's room.
Li Chenjiao once saw this and wondered why the maids were out in the cold wind. That night, she had the maid Lüzhu cook a big pot of ginger soup to warm the servants' stomachs.
In the east courtyard, there was never a shortage of things like ginger soup to keep warm.
Like Granny Lin, who had suffered a lot in the palace, she sighed deeply as she drank the ginger soup.
"Even a confidant of a concubine in the palace would find it difficult to achieve this level of skill as a servant. You should all be secretly delighted."
Lin Mama wouldn't say such things without a reason. She knew that her mistress did this because she cared about them, the servants. The servants appreciated it, but that didn't mean they would become ungrateful.
Now that we have accepted our master's favor, we must serve him with even greater loyalty from now on.
Li Chenjiao naturally understood Lin Mama's intentions. What she lacked most was someone like Lin Mama who could keep the servants and maids in check.
On the day of Laba Festival, Li Chenjiao took the Second Princess to the palace again.
As the twelfth lunar month progressed, the weather grew increasingly cold. Before leaving, Li Chenjiao carefully checked on the Second Princess one last time to make sure she was wrapped up tightly.
You could see the warm breath Li Chenjiao exhaled as she spoke; she was holding a hot water bottle, and her palms were still warm.
“This winter is really cold. Lin Mama, you can stay in the courtyard today. Qiu Hu and Xiao Lu Zi can go with you. Chen Mama, you and Lü Ju can go and look after the Second Princess.”
Granny Zhong has recently caught a cold and has been staying in the back room for the past few days, rarely coming to the front, for fear of infecting the Second Princess or Li Chenjiao.
Li Chenjiao then ordered Green Chrysanthemum, which could be considered as giving Green Chrysanthemum a chance.
The eldest princess is also going to the palace this time. Strictly speaking, all the princes and princesses in the mansion are going to the palace this time.
However, since His Majesty is not in the capital this time, the Imperial Household Department will simplify the preparations for this Laba Festival. The Imperial Noble Consort also made it clear in advance that the ladies of the various households should follow the same procedures as before.
Li Chenjiao got up very early. When she saw the Fujin, she didn't bother to look at the Fujin's expression or anything like that. She just waited for the Fujin to speak before getting into the carriage.
The princess's expression remained unchanged: "There are only two princesses in the manor, the eldest and the second. So, as before, the eldest princess will still be looked after by you, Madam Li."
As she spoke, the Princess Consort raised her hand to smooth her hair: "The Second Prince is not well, and I am unable to attend to him. The First Prince and the Third Prince will ride in the same carriage. You all need to take good care of them and not be negligent."
The carriage was not large to begin with, and Wang Shi bowed to Li Chenjiao with quiet remorse.
Li Chenjiao instructed, "Alright, Qiu Hu, you and Lü Ju go and sit in the back carriage. Nanny, get in the carriage and take care of the children. Be careful and make sure they don't catch a cold."
Xiao Luzi was outside the carriage with the coachman, driving the horses. Li Chenjiao first watched as the wet nurse carried the two little girls onto the carriage.
The princess consort ultimately dared not mistreat her children.
The carriage had a heater and was covered with wool blankets, making it warm and cozy to sit on. Li Chenjiao watched as the two wet nurses sat facing each other, holding the little girl. She sat on the other side and secretly rubbed her hands together.
The eldest princess was very well-behaved. Hearing the sound, she didn't look around randomly. Instead, she stared wide-eyed at the second princess in Chen Mama's arms across from her.
"My little sister is growing up so fast! Can she talk yet?"
As if in response, the Second Princess reached out from Chen Mama's arms as soon as the First Princess finished speaking, muttering something unintelligible.
The eldest princess didn't understand, so she looked at Li Chenjiao curiously.
Li Chenjiao couldn't hear her at all. She opened her eyes wide and blurted out, "My sister said she hasn't seen the eldest princess in a long time, and the eldest princess has become even more beautiful."
The eldest princess is already three years old. Due to her ailment, she looks thinner and weaker than other children. The little girl also looks fairer and more like a porcelain doll.
Li Chenjiao liked it more and more the more she looked at it.
The eldest princess has already made herself very clear.
"Replying to Mother Li, the nanny was afraid I would catch a cold from the wind during the winter, which is why I haven't come to pay my respects to Mother Li yet. We'll wait—until spring—"
As she spoke, she looked at Wang Shi, who was standing to the side. Wang Shi simply smiled and looked at her.
The eldest princess seemed encouraged, a sweet smile on her face: "I will definitely visit Mother Li and my second sister next spring."
This child is so sensible.
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