Qiu Hu smiled and said, "These words sound like something Madam would say. There are countless paths in life, but the most important thing is to cherish your life. Only Madam could say something like that."
Li Chenjiao nodded: "Mother's words always make sense, otherwise she wouldn't have such a good grip on Father." Her personality is just like her mother's.
Qiu Hu smiled quietly: "That's good for the princess, just like the madam."
The master and servant chatted idly, and time passed quickly. Before long, everyone had arrived.
The Fourth Prince entered with his wife. He was dressed in a dark-colored casual robe with a python pattern on it, and the jade pendant at his waist was very beautiful. The tassel was made by Li Chenjiao.
However, Li Chenjiao found the jade pendant somewhat familiar. Huh? It looked just like the one Fourth Master gave her last time. They were both pinkish-orange, and from a distance, they really did look alike.
Li Chenjiao arched her eyebrows, glanced at the jade pendant she was wearing, then looked up at Fourth Master, and immediately smiled sweetly.
Fourth Master spotted Li Chenjiao immediately. The young girl was dressed in green, looking pretty and lively. When she saw him, her eyes sparkled.
She has such a sweet smile.
The princess consort naturally noticed this fleeting exchange of glances. She pinched her palm with her cloisonné nail guards and slowly said, "Please sit down."
Everyone sat down as instructed.
At first, everyone was a little reserved because of the presence of the Fourth Master, but after a few rounds of drinks, they were all able to chat happily.
Just then, it was Li Chenjiao's turn to offer a toast. This time, Li Chenjiao dared not drink recklessly. She stood up, picked up her wine cup, and said, "They've already said all the nice things. This servant is clumsy with words, so I wish Fourth Master and his wife good fortune and all things going smoothly." After saying that, she took a small sip of wine.
Fourth Master looked at Li Chenjiao and hummed in agreement.
This made Bai Jia and the others look rather unpleasant for a while. When they offered them a toast earlier, the Fourth Master hadn't reacted at all.
After offering the toast, Li Chenjiao slowly sat down, put down her wine cup, and asked Qiu Hu to scoop out a bowl of lotus seed soup.
Today's banquet is a relaxed affair, with each person having their own table and seat, allowing everyone to eat whatever they like.
The food was better than the last Dragon Boat Festival meal.
Li Chenjiao ate her lotus seed soup, pondering the time. The banquet was good, but it couldn't compare to the food waiting for her in the east courtyard.
Li Chenjiao slowly finished the small bowl of lotus seed soup, then looked at the cucumber salad on the table and ate some.
The Fourth Master watched, and couldn't help but smirk. Everyone else just took a few bites, but the little girl was so focused on eating.
Li Chenjiao wasn't stupid; she couldn't possibly eat everything. It was just that the girl was so beautiful that whatever she ate made people happy to watch her.
It was already dark when Fourth Master saw that it was almost time. The young girl put down her chopsticks, coughed twice, said "Let's call it a day," and got up to leave.
The princess said a few polite words and followed.
Seeing that the main characters had all left, Li Chenjiao told Xiao Luzi to carry a lantern and head towards the east courtyard.
The journey was quiet, and the lights in the courtyard were all on, so it didn't feel dark at all.
Qiu Hu supported Li Chenjiao, gently fanning herself with a fan: "Princess, please slow down, there's a pond ahead."
Li Chenjiao hummed in agreement, leaning against the lamplight to look ahead. It was a lotus pond, full of lotus flowers, which looked quite charming.
As they were talking, Li Chenjiao saw a figure reflected in the lantern, a faint silhouette. She immediately tightened her grip on Qiu Hu's hand and took a big step to the left.
When I turned around, there was no one behind me.
Qiu Hu noticed that her princess's hands were sweaty and quickly asked, "Princess? What's wrong?"
Li Chenjiao sneered, staring into the shadows: "This person is really bold, daring to do something on such a good day..." She just didn't know who did it.
Qiu Hu was stunned, her heart trembling and a chill running down her spine: "Princess, the person behind this is too ruthless, truly vicious."
Li Chenjiao tightened her grip: "Xiao Luzi, keep a close eye on the main courtyard and Bai Jia's place. Report back to me immediately if there's any movement."
Xiao Luzi was also shaken and repeatedly agreed, staying close to Li Chenjiao.
Back in the East Courtyard, Qiu Ci was waiting at the door. Upon seeing Li Chenjiao, she quickly came up to greet her.
"Princess is back! Something happened up ahead." Qiu Ci said, carrying a lantern and looking surprised.
Li Chenjiao asked, "What's wrong? What happened up ahead?"
Qiu Ci paused for a moment: "It is said that Dan Gui, a maid in Song Gege's courtyard, accidentally fell into the fish pond behind Taiqing Courtyard. When she was pulled out, she was already dead."
There is a pond behind Taiqing Courtyard, but Taiqing Courtyard is remote and few people usually go there. Why would someone go there in the middle of the night?
Thinking of that faint figure from earlier, Li Chenjiao frowned and said, "Let's relay the message to the front courtyard. The master will investigate this matter himself."
It's nothing more than someone killing her to cover it up... I just wonder if the person who tried to push her was the same one...
Xiao Luzi agreed.
Two maids helped Li Chenjiao inside, and after a quick wash, she was settled in.
The next day, Li Chenjiao woke up to find that the Fourth Prince had been furious, had beaten several servants in the main courtyard, and had even added a new nanny, Granny Meng, to the Fujin's side.
For a time, everyone in the mansion was filled with anxiety.
Li Chenjiao, on the contrary, gained something. Judging from Su Peisheng's expression, it was the Fourth Master's way of comforting her.
Such a mild punishment was enough to settle the matter. Indeed, even if she had committed a grave offense, the Fujin was still a royal wife, and no one but Emperor Kangxi could depose her.
What surprised Li Chenjiao was the ways the Fujin (principal wife) had used. Things were about to get complicated.
Once the Mid-Autumn Festival was over, the Third Master, Fourth Master, and Fifth Master all got their proper jobs. The Third Master was assigned to the Ministry of Rites, the Fourth Master to the Ministry of Revenue, and the Fifth Master to the Ministry of Personnel.
The Ministry of Revenue was a very important place, as it was in charge of the country's territory, land, household registration, taxes, salaries, and all financial matters.
To put it bluntly, they're in charge of the money.
Not long after the Fourth Prince arrived at the Ministry of Revenue, he was given another assignment: to inspect the river works on the Yongding River.
Also accompanying them were Grand Secretary Ma Qi, Vice Minister Yu Chenglong, and Longkodo, the Fourth Prince's nominal half-uncle.
For this matter, Third Master complained to Fourth Master for several days.
Fourth Master went there on the nineteenth of August. According to the front courtyard, he won't be able to return until the Golden Festival.
That means it will take about two months, since the Golden Week holiday is October 13th.
As soon as the Fourth Master left, the main courtyard sent word to all the places that the Golden Offering Festival was coming soon, and that everyone should copy Buddhist scriptures every day, send one scroll to the main courtyard every three days, and go to the small Buddhist hall at the back to pray for blessings every five days.
As for the reasons, they are very simple. Firstly, it is an important day to offer prayers for blessings, and secondly, it is to pray for the deceased Consort Min.
This was the first time Li Chenjiao had ever heard of a Buddhist shrine in the mansion.
Qiu Ci continued, saying that the Fujin was a Buddhist and had a small Buddhist shrine built for her as soon as she entered the mansion.
How can someone with such insidious methods believe in Buddhism?
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