Li Chenjiao sat for a while, and then suddenly burst out laughing, seemingly lost in thought.
"I reckon Fourth Master will be quite busy these next few days. Let's go to the kitchen and ask if they can find any lambs in the next few days."
The first thing Li Chenjiao thought about after Fourth Master returned was not anything else, but that she could eat a whole roasted lamb.
Li Chenjiao had been craving this for a long time, and now that she had woken up, she didn't think about anything else.
Qiu Hu twitched his lips upon hearing this, but managed to suppress a laugh.
The news of the Fourth Master's return to the mansion spread quickly.
The Fujin was the first to receive the news. She got up early in the morning and heard from her servants that the Fourth Prince had gone to the East Courtyard after returning to the mansion last night. Naturally, the Fujin had mixed feelings.
But what could she say? During the days when the Fourth Prince was away from the mansion, the East Courtyard had only written one letter, which was delivered to the Fourth Prince along with the imperial concubines from the palace.
The princess knew perfectly well that there was nothing else.
It wasn't the girl from the East Courtyard who was hooking up with the Fourth Master; it was the Fourth Master himself who was thinking about the girl from the East Courtyard.
What else could she say? Blame the Fourth Master?
Hearing the maid's words, the Fujin touched the corner of her lips with her handkerchief: "In the end, it's still Bai Jia who's useless."
Since the Fujin (principal wife) couldn't blame the Fourth Prince, she could only blame Bai Jia Shi (a woman from the Bai family).
Yu Ru also sighed.
She left just as easily as she returned last night.
When I went there, I had only half a box of things, and when I left, I had the same box.
According to my report, Princess Baijia called the royal physician as soon as she returned last night. The physician said that she was exhausted from traveling.
Another thing is that Bai Jiashi never had a happy marriage.
According to the physician, Bai Jia looked much more haggard after returning from her trip north with the Fourth Master.
The Fujin was both angry at Bai Jia for being so useless and secretly relieved when she heard the report that Bai Jia had not been pregnant.
The Fujin lowered her eyes, her brows furrowing slightly: "Now that the Fourth Prince is returning to the manor, have Wang Jinzhong go to the front courtyard and ask if we should prepare a feast for the Fourth Prince to welcome him back?"
During the New Year holidays, although it was customary to welcome guests back and cleanse the house, the Fujin (principal wife) was not so ignorant of social etiquette. She knew that the Fourth Prince must have some business to attend to upon returning to the mansion.
However, she was also using this welcoming party as an opportunity to test whether the Fourth Master had any complaints about her during his trip.
During the two months that the Fourth Prince was away from the mansion, he only wrote back to the mansion once, but he never stopped writing to the Empress in the palace and the Thirteenth Prince of Yuanmingyuan.
The wife had long suspected that the Fourth Prince had noticed something, but she didn't dare to test him rashly, so she kept it to herself until now. Now, she decided to use the welcoming banquet as an opportunity to test him.
The front yard quickly gave a definite answer.
Wang Jinzhong didn't see Fourth Master; it was Su Peisheng who came out and told him.
The gist of it is that the Fourth Prince has been busy with official business lately, and he is also overwhelmed with the snow disaster in the capital. It would be too conspicuous to hold a welcoming banquet now, so it would be better to hold a banquet at the Qing Courtyard during the New Year.
Upon hearing this, the Fujin felt uneasy once again, but fortunately, Wang Jinzhong had a second half to say.
“Madam, Master said he’s been busy lately, but he’ll come to see you when he has some free time.”
The princess paused, then asked instinctively, "Does Your Highness really say that?"
Wang Jinzhong didn't dare to raise his head: "Yes, these are Su Peisheng's exact words. Master will come to see you when he has some free time after this busy period."
The princess seemed relieved: "That's good. I'll have someone send some nourishing soup to the front courtyard later, so that the master can also take care of his health."
As soon as the Fourth Master returned to his residence, the whole mansion seemed to have something to look forward to.
However, the Fourth Master spent the entire day outside on the first day he returned to the mansion, and it was already past midnight when he finally got back, which was really late.
Li Chenjiao had already gone to sleep. She didn't have the time or energy to wait. At her age, what was she waiting for if she wasn't going to rest early?
Li Chenjiao wasn't too particular about food and drink, nor did she drink excessive amounts of tonics; however, she would keep in mind everything the imperial physicians said.
Just like she does love drinking soup and broth, but if she drinks the same thing every day, she gets tired of it. She only enjoys drinking different things every day.
The Fourth Master was so busy for three or four days that he didn't even set foot in the backyard. He only had lunch once in the east courtyard and sat there for a while.
There were no overnight stays; he spent two of those days resting at the Ministry of Revenue.
It was on the day they had lunch in the East Courtyard that Li Chenjiao saw the Fourth Prince for the first time since he returned to the mansion.
He has indeed lost weight, thankfully it's not summer anymore. He looks a bit rougher after this trip north.
Li Chenjiao noticed that Fourth Master's chin had become thinner and more pointed, and he looked much thinner overall.
When Li Chenjiao ordered the food, she chose something light and appetizing. She knew that Fourth Master had probably eaten too much spicy food on the grasslands during his trip north and was probably tired of it.
Li Chenjiao accompanied them for lunch; the occasional light meal was quite refreshing.
She originally wanted to let the Fourth Master rest for a while, since his eyes were so dark they looked like he hadn't had a proper rest for several days.
She was unusually quiet at that time, but when she talked too much, she inevitably became noisy.
However, Fourth Master still waved his hand and declined: "I have other matters to attend to outside, so I will not stay any longer."
Before leaving, Fourth Master stared at Li Chenjiao for a moment, then suddenly raised his hand.
Li Chenjiao subconsciously closed her eyes.
The Fourth Prince merely fiddled with the small tassel that was tangled around her temple.
"You should get some rest." Fourth Master didn't give a definite answer as to when he would come next time.
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