Li Chenjiao didn't have a particularly good or bad impression of the two, since she hadn't actually met them yet, and it wasn't appropriate for her to make any premature judgments.
This has always been Li Chenjiao's principle in dealing with things.
However, what Lin Mama wrote in the letter did make Li Chenjiao feel a little displeased. This displeasure was not directed at Lin Mama, but at Niohuru, whom she had never met before.
In several of Lin Mama's previous letters, this Niohuru Gege was described as "staying indoors all the time," but she was more well-liked than Liu Gege, who frequently visited the main courtyard of the Fujin (the wife of the deceased).
However, in this letter, Lin Mama wrote that Princess Niohuru had started going out these past few days and was frequently visiting Li Chenjiao's east courtyard—
And on the two rare occasions when I saw the Second Princess playing in the courtyard, she was always very friendly and warm.
This is naturally the root of Li Chenjiao's displeasure.
If Niohuru wanted to inquire about something, that would be fine, but the East Courtyard was like an ironclad fortress, which wouldn't make Li Chenjiao worry at all.
But if Lady Niohuru had her eye on her second daughter, then—
Li Chenjiao put away the letter, a hint of emotion in her eyes.
It was a look like a mother animal protecting her cubs, with a hint of ferocity—an expression Li Chenjiao rarely showed.
"Prepare the brush and ink," she said, her emotions already somewhat subdued as she addressed Qiu Hu.
However, Qiu Hu's expression still seemed a bit off, so she didn't dare to ask and instead waved to Lü Ju, who was standing outside.
The clever girl, Green Chrysanthemum, quickly prepared the brush and ink.
Li Chenjiao dipped her brush in ink and picked it up. Without a moment's hesitation, she wrote the letter very fluently. Qiu Hu watched from the side and noticed that even her master's handwriting seemed to have become more elegant.
After finishing writing the letter, Li Chenjiao put down her pen and put the letter in an envelope: "Have someone send it back as fast as possible, and inform Fourth Master as well."
Green Chrysanthemum agreed and took the letter out to give to Little Lu.
Li Chenjiao rarely had anyone rush to send letters back, since she usually didn't have anything urgent to say. Most of the time, she would have Xiao Luzi pass them on to Su Peisheng, and only send them back together when the Fourth Master had a letter to send back.
The fact that someone was suddenly sent back to the manor at full speed would inevitably arouse the suspicion of the Fourth Master. Li Chenjiao had specifically asked Qiu Hu to inform the Fourth Master.
After giving her instructions, Li Chenjiao suddenly touched her stomach.
"When we get back to the manor, I wonder if the weather has changed there?"
As she said this, the corners of her mouth twitched, carrying a clear hint of sarcasm.
Qiu Hu gently massaged Li Chenjiao's shoulders to soothe her: "Wherever Master is, that's where the manor is—you're overthinking it. We'll be setting off for Suzhou in two days, and I'm worried that you might not have a good appetite then. Is there anything you'd like to eat these next two days? I'll have someone prepare it in advance."
The maids have been packing clothes and trunks for the past two days. This time, they've been staying in Yangzhou for quite a while, which has added a lot more trunks for Li Chenjiao.
Hearing this, Li Chenjiao turned around and glanced at Qiu Hu: "You little girl, you see things very clearly."
After she said that, she felt a little relieved and actually calmly thought about what she wanted to eat.
After all, Lin Mama had reassured her, and after informing her two or three times, she asked the family physician to examine the Second Princess. She told everyone that the Second Princess had caught a cold, and the East Courtyard was now completely closed off.
They would no longer give Niohuru a chance or opportunity to pay her respects.
Fourth Master knew more about the happenings in the manor than Li Chenjiao did.
He didn't care much about the newcomers in the household, but he cared far more about the children than the women.
He didn't even frown after hearing Su Peisheng's report; he just lightly pressed his temples.
Today I had drinks with my third brother. He's not a good drinker, and he was in the right. Even after my third brother got completely drunk, he was still somewhat sober. But now that the aftereffects are kicking in, he's inevitably feeling a bit drowsy.
Seeing this, Su Peisheng quickly brought over the hangover soup: "Everything is fine with the Empress in the palace, except that the Fourteenth Prince accidentally fell off his horse, but he has recovered quite well these days."
The Fourteenth Prince did not accompany the Emperor this time, because among the younger princes' studies tested by the Emperor, the Fourteenth Prince was the only one who failed.
During this time, the Thirteenth Prince was also punished for giving the Fourteenth Prince a meaningful look. However, the Thirteenth Prince only received a minor punishment as a warning and was verbally reprimanded by his father.
This time, the Thirteenth Prince accompanied the Emperor on the southern tour, but the Fourteenth Prince, that monkey, was directly ordered by the Emperor not to accompany him.
However, the Fourteenth Prince has written quite a few letters to the Fourth Prince these days, clearly feeling stifled in the palace and having a lot to say.
Indeed, this time all the younger princes were taken on the southern tour, leaving only the fourteenth prince among the four princes of Ganxi. The older princes who remained were only the Prince Zhi, who was in charge of the country, and the seventh prince, who was physically disabled.
The Fourteenth Prince naturally wouldn't go to play with the Prince of Zhi. The Seventh Prince, on the other hand, was good-tempered, but he couldn't ride horses and shoot arrows with the Fourteenth Prince at the horse farm. Although the Fourteenth Prince was young, he wouldn't use this to provoke the Seventh Prince.
So he had to pass the time alone, and the letters he wrote to the Fourth Master were countless, like snowflakes falling everywhere.
The Fourth Master's headache worsened upon hearing this. He pressed his temples and after a moment spoke—
"Since Master is not at home, the gates are locked to the outside world. Inside the mansion—tell Mother—"
It's not convenient for the Fourth Prince to speak out in public, so he's also giving his wife some face.
The affairs in the backyard are ultimately under the jurisdiction of the Fujin (Prince Consort). If the Fujin doesn't manage things well, it's inevitable that the Fourth Prince will offend her. It would be much more appropriate to let the Mother (Empress Consort) handle it.
Compared to Li and Baijia, who entered the household earlier, Niohuru and Liu, who entered the household this year, do not seem to be too well-behaved.
Those in positions of power seem to enjoy defining their servants, just as the Fourth Prince initially had some personal opinions about Li Chenjiao.
However, judging from the recent actions of Niohuru and Liu, it was inevitable that the Fourth Prince would describe them as "restless."
When Fourth Master returned to his residence in the evening, he was still somewhat dizzy. Although he had gone to get Third Master drunk, Fourth Master had definitely drunk quite a lot of alcohol himself.
Surprisingly, Fourth Master did not go to Li Chenjiao's place or Bai Jia's place, but went directly to the front yard.
The front yard of this house has been almost empty these days, since Fourth Master spends most of his time resting in Li Chenjiao's courtyard, and he has also visited Bai Jia's place twice.
When the Fourth Master fell asleep, he was still a little unaccustomed to it.
When the emperor set off for Suzhou, the fourth prince looked rather unwell while riding his horse.
There was no other reason than that the Fourth Master hadn't been sleeping well in the front yard these past two days.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
