And so everyone watched as Fourth Master and Li Chenjiao's figures disappeared into the distance.
Now that she was a little sober, Madam Song shook her handkerchief, clearly exhausted: "It's getting late, so this servant will take her leave."
She curtsied gracefully to the Fujin, putting on a good show of politeness, but turned and left before the Fujin could even nod.
The princess consort didn't take it to heart, but shook her head with a hint of helplessness: "This Song woman, she's still the same."
Those who had offspring have all passed away, and the only one who still has offspring is the lowly Xu.
The remaining few were the ones who didn't dare to leave in a huff.
Naturally, no one dared to respond to the Princess Consort's words.
The princess consort clearly didn't care about these things, and she wasn't saying these words to them.
She glanced at the few still standing: "It's getting late, you should all go home soon. The rain has stopped, but you still need to be careful with the servants who serve you. Do you all understand?"
The maids in the courtyard all said yes.
The Fujin nodded with some satisfaction: "By the way, Niohuru, you are still under house arrest. You don't need to come out for the morning greetings in a few days. It's a good time for you to recuperate."
The wife's words were perfectly reasonable, but her tone was noticeably less gentle than when the Fourth Prince was alive, and more cold.
Of course, the Fujin (wife of the emperor) would not be so magnanimous as to feel no resentment towards Niohuru's previous words.
Niohuru curtsied, her waist softening as she did so. This movement didn't appear coquettish on her; instead, it conveyed a sense of lightness.
Beautiful without being seductive, truly eye-catching.
The princess withdrew her cold gaze.
What good is a graceful and delicate demeanor? It still won't earn her the Fourth Prince's serious attention.
No matter how beautiful one's appearance, it is not as secure as the position of the primary consort.
Everyone curtsied, and the Princess Consort gave a few more words of advice.
"You don't need to be too careful with the Third Prince, Madam Xu. After all, the Third Prince is the son of the Fourth Prince. Even if his birth mother is not favored by the Fourth Prince, it has nothing to do with the Third Prince."
"Liu, you were with Fourth Master the other day. It's perfect timing. I've always longed for the scenery of Jiangnan. Come and walk and chat with me."
Liu agreed, while Xu hesitated for a second before agreeing.
Both women were traveling south with the Fourth Prince, but this time the Princess Consort only chose Liu Shi. The deeper meaning behind this was self-evident, and Bai Jia Shi, with her eyes lowered, understood perfectly.
The biggest surprise today is Niohuru. How could such a beauty not be favored?
Bai Jia suddenly felt uneasy, a slight unease about the future favor shown to Consort Li.
Right now, she's hoping that the concubine will remain in the emperor's favor for a long time, or that the concubine will give birth to a baby boy safely this time.
Previously, she had deliberately mentioned that the concubine had been vomiting and having diarrhea during the southern tour, intentionally making everyone, including the main wife, think that the concubine's pregnancy was not going well.
As for why the Fujin called Liu Shi together at the end, wasn't it because she wanted to ask in detail about how the side Fujin's health was during the journey?
While Bai Jia's earlier response did contain some exaggeration, it was true that the concubine experienced morning sickness during the journey, that she was taking medication to prevent miscarriage daily, and that she suffered from insomnia and excessive sleepiness.
What else could Liu say?
The October weather was indeed quite cold. Bai Jia pulled her clothes tighter and suddenly remembered the charcoal that Consort Li had sent over last winter.
Bai Jia lowered her eyes.
Every winter is the hardest to endure in Beijing; hopefully, this winter will be a little better.
"Princess, it's windy, let's go back quickly." Danqing held up the lantern and gently called out to his princess.
Looking at the bright candlelight ahead, Bai Jia's eyes no longer held any desire. She simply pulled her clothes closer and said calmly, "Let's go."
——
"It's windy, what are you doing standing so far away?" Fourth Master's voice seemed to be carried by the wind, whistling past.
Upon hearing this, Li Chenjiao took small steps toward Fourth Master, reducing the distance between them to a point where two people could stand side by side.
However, there was still an arm's length of distance between them.
Fourth Master frowned, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he said to Qiu Hu beside Li Chenjiao, "Help your mistress a little."
Qiu Hu bowed his head and agreed.
The two walked towards the east courtyard. Fu Lu and Jin Zhong were in front, holding lanterns, while Xiao Lu Zi and Shanxi were behind, holding lanterns.
Li Chenjiao deliberately kept her distance from Fourth Master at this moment, naturally with her own thoughts and ideas.
Firstly, because Wang Jinzhong was in front, and he was a member of the main courtyard, Li Chenjiao naturally couldn't say what she wanted to say at this time.
Another thing is that Li Chenjiao always pretends to be jealous.
Yes, it's feigned jealousy, not genuine jealousy.
The appearance of Niohuru did indeed make Li Chenjiao feel a slight sense of crisis, but only a little.
It wasn't that she was overconfident or exaggerating, but rather that she was at peace with herself.
Li Chenjiao kept a certain distance from Fourth Master along the way. After arriving at the East Courtyard, Li Chenjiao gave Xiao Luzi a look, and Xiao Luzi smiled, bent down, and led Wang Jinzhong out.
Wang Jinzhong dared not be arrogant in front of Xiao Luzi at the moment.
Li Chenjiao quickly withdrew her gaze and, unusually without any hesitation, entered the west wing room before Fourth Master.
"Quickly, quickly, bring out any hot soup you can find. Has the Second Princess gone to sleep? Has the small kitchen prepared any medicine to help with pregnancy? Why do I smell a medicinal odor? Do you still have the dried bayberries we bought last time? I suddenly feel like eating some now."
Li Chenjiao spoke a string of words in quick succession, sounding hurried and frantic, yet she spoke without even taking a breath.
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