Li Chenjiao, still shaken, patted her chest and first peeked out at the sky. She then had a better understanding of the situation and asked questions.
"Has Your Highness gone to see the Second Prince?" She didn't mention that she was forced to "visit" the Second Prince after paying her respects today.
The Fourth Prince gave a faint "hmm," indicating that he had already gone to check.
After asking this question, Li Chenjiao did not continue to say anything bad about the Second Prince, nor did she mention the matter of paying respects today. She rubbed her eyes and slowly yawned.
"Please excuse my rudeness, sir. I've been sleeping in a lot these days." She pursed her lips shyly, looking somewhat embarrassed.
After spending more than three years together, how could Fourth Master not know Li Chenjiao's habits? Even if it were raining knives, it wouldn't stop Li Chenjiao from taking a nap.
As for how long the afternoon nap should last, that's up to Li Chenjiao herself.
Facing the Fourth Master's seemingly all-knowing gaze, Li Chenjiao shrugged playfully: "It's still raining outside. Did you get wet on your way back, Master?"
As she spoke, she shrank back a little, making room for Fourth Master.
To be honest, Li Chenjiao felt a little embarrassed to have Fourth Master sitting on the edge of the bed like that.
After all, she had nothing to do all day, while the Fourth Master was busy outside.
She simply shrank back a little, but showed no intention of letting the Fourth Master into bed.
What a joke! Fourth Master just returned from outside. How could Li Chenjiao possibly let Fourth Master into her bed at this time?
Even though she was very clean, Li Chenjiao couldn't help but sniffle with disgust at the thought of that scene.
However, Fourth Master seemed to be lost in thought and didn't notice it.
The Fourth Master didn't move an inch. Hearing Li Chenjiao's words, he naturally thought of Li Chenjiao's ramblings earlier. His mood, which wasn't very good when he came out of the main courtyard, finally improved a bit.
"Didn't you say you made ginger soup?" Fourth Master brought it up.
Li Chenjiao paused for half a second, then nodded vigorously, and called Qiu Hu outside to bring in the ginger soup from the small kitchen.
The maids were all standing outside, and Li Chenjiao mustered up her courage to touch the Fourth Master's hand, saying earnestly, "Look, Master, your hands are ice cold."
Indeed, compared to Li Chenjiao's warm little hands, Fourth Master's hands were rather cold.
Fourth Master paused, but ultimately did not withdraw his hand.
Li Chenjiao lowered her eyes, a smile in them.
It was past dusk, and the Fourth Prince carried a faint scent of sandalwood. Li Chenjiao secretly guessed that the Fourth Prince had gone to the main courtyard to see the Second Prince after returning.
That's why Li Chenjiao asked that question.
Since Fourth Master has already been to the main courtyard, there's no need for Li Chenjiao to go into detail about what happened there today. If Fourth Master wants to know, he can find out for himself.
There's a saying that goes something like this: "A ruler's heart is hard to fathom."
Even if the Fourth Prince is not the emperor, he is still a prince of the imperial family; how could he possibly show his emotions so openly?
Having been by the Fourth Prince's side for so many years, Li Chenjiao had managed to figure things out. She knew what the Fourth Prince was thinking after he went to the main courtyard, so asking the Second Prince was just a casual remark.
After all, today is the first day of the month for paying respects at the main courtyard, so it wasn't inappropriate for her to say that. Besides, she asked that question because she smelled the sandalwood incense on the Fourth Prince.
Is the Princess Consort not taking her words to heart?
However, it was just a casual remark, and the Fujin (princess) might not have taken it to heart.
Li Chenjiao shook her head inwardly, but she wouldn't ask any more questions in front of the Fourth Master.
Too much talk leads to mistakes, and since it concerns the eldest son of the family, a single word of concern is enough.
Just as Qiu Hu brought in the ginger soup, Li Chenjiao got up and asked about dinner.
"At lunch, the master said that it would be nice to drink some soup to warm up in this weather, so I ordered yam and pork rib soup, which the master usually likes. Second Princess can also have some mashed yam soup. There are a few other dishes as well—" Qiu Hu replied.
These were all dishes that Li Chenjiao from the East Courtyard often ordered. Because they didn't know that the Fourth Master was coming, the kitchen added a few more dishes at the last minute, but they didn't fill the entire octagonal table.
Whether Li Chenjiao was a princess or a concubine, the portions of her meals were always smaller than the usual ones. Too much food would be overwhelming, and not every dish would suit her taste. It was better to just have what she liked.
However, Li Chenjiao didn't eat much for dinner, but she drank a little more soup.
These days, the kitchen staff doesn't dare to send fish, shrimp, or crabs to Li Chenjiao. She used to love them when she first came back in October, but now they always seem fishy.
The kitchen staff's skills remained unchanged, but because of Yu Xi, Li Chenjiao's appetite had changed considerably.
Li Chenjiao's pregnancy this time was indeed more difficult than when she was pregnant with her second daughter.
Because Li Chenjiao had a poor appetite and the food didn't taste good, Fourth Master seemed to use less as well, less than half of what he usually used.
Later, Li Chenjiao noticed Su Peisheng's worried look and personally added a bowl of soup for the Fourth Master. In the end, the Fourth Master still ate the half bowl of green rice.
When Su Peisheng was cleaning up the food, his eyes were filled with gratitude.
Because of the Second Prince's illness, the Fourth Prince did not eat after visiting him in the main courtyard this morning. His lunch at the Ministry of Revenue was also hastily prepared because he was discussing with the imperial physician. The Fourth Prince did not even drink a sip of tea all day.
That night, Li Chenjiao and Fourth Master settled in.
While the maid was keeping watch outside, Li Chenjiao stole a glance at the Fourth Master's expression and asked, "You seem to have something on your mind, Master."
Li Chenjiao's question was definitely not asked casually.
I could guess it from the moment I woke up and saw the Fourth Master and his absent-minded look during dinner.
However, since the Fourth Prince came from the main courtyard, if he was worried about why the Second Prince didn't stay to look after him, it could only mean that the Fourth Prince had other things on his mind.
As expected, Li Chenjiao's guess was pretty accurate.
The thing that distracted the Fourth Prince was also related to her own actions.
Fourth Master hummed in agreement: "Your pregnancy is progressing well. Ask the midwife and nanny to have Su Peisheng take good care of you and have them stay in your east courtyard before the New Year."
Li Chenjiao understood what the Fourth Master meant after hearing his words.
Arranging midwives and nannies should have been the wife's responsibility.
When she gave birth to the Second Princess, the Fujin (Prince Consort) was also in labor and had no time to attend to her, so the Fourth Prince had to arrange this matter.
However, it is the Fourth Prince who is making the arrangements now, which can only mean that the Princess Consort is still too busy to take care of her, or that the Princess Consort has simply forgotten about this matter.
Fourth Master is probably not very happy.
Li Chenjiao didn't reveal her thoughts on her face at all; she simply bowed her head and thanked him meekly.
The Fourth Prince grunted in response, and after a long pause, he spoke again, his voice low, almost a murmur: "The Second Prince's health is not good."
Li Chenjiao was taken aback, and naturally she had to be careful in answering the Fourth Master's question.
Even with her sharp mind, she still had to think things through.
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