To be honest, this was Li Chenjiao's first time visiting the residence of Prince Zhi. After all, the Prince Zhi's residence had always been very low-key, or rather, there hadn't been any major happy events in the past few years.
Two years ago, the First Princess gave birth to a princess, but at that time Li Chenjiao seemed to have just given birth to the Second Princess and was in her postpartum confinement period. It seems that Li Chenjiao had Qiu Hu send something over at that time.
Strictly speaking, this was Li Chenjiao's first time visiting the Prince Zhi's residence.
After entering the residence of Prince Zhi, the Fujin went to talk to the Third Fujin, the Fifth Fujin, and others. Li Chenjiao, being unfamiliar with the place, did not dare to wander around for the time being.
However, Li Chenjiao still saw many unfamiliar faces while standing under the shade of the tree. At least many of them were unfamiliar to Li Chenjiao, and there were quite a few young faces as well.
Even though the First Princess Consort had only recently passed away, these young faces were all dressed very brightly and beautifully.
Feeling hot, Li Chenjiao took the round fan from Qiu Hu and fanned herself. Before long, another person appeared beside Li Chenjiao.
"Look, anyone who didn't know better would think today was some kind of election day..."
Li Chenjiao recognized the voice immediately and smiled, "It's been a long time, Consort Cao."
"It has been a long time since we last met. The last time I saw you was at your fourth prince's one-month celebration. You look much healthier now."
Standing next to Consort Cao is none other than Consort Zhaojia.
Li Chenjiao nodded slightly when she saw her: "You guys arrived even earlier..."
Upon hearing this, Lady Zhaojia glanced at the women coming and going in the corridor and shook her head with a complicated expression: "We are considered late. Those others arrived much earlier than us."
The Prince Zhi's mansion was already covered in white, but since there was no mistress of the mansion, there was still some panic. Although Consort Tongjia and Consort Hui from the palace had sent their head maids to manage the Prince Zhi's mansion, they were still outsiders, and the servants in the mansion did not completely trust them.
The fact that there wasn't a single servant to greet Li Chenjiao when she came in just now is enough to glean some clues.
Hearing Zhao Jia's words, Li Chenjiao pretended not to understand and asked, "Right now, that person is probably still on their way back to the capital. How could they be so fast..."
Upon hearing this, Lady Cao crossed her arms and sneered, "Prince Zhi and the First Princess Consort are deeply in love. They are afraid of being turned away, so they are naturally trying their best to make a good impression on Consort Tongjia and Consort Hui."
Yes, right now the people in charge of the Prince Zhi's residence are the people around Consort Tongjia and Consort Hui. So, those two old women are naturally the ones who see things most clearly.
Li Chenjiao suddenly realized, and when she looked at the various women in the courtyard, she felt only irony.
The First Princess Consort had only been gone for less than a day, and yet someone was already harboring such thoughts.
Upon hearing Cao's sarcastic remarks, Zhao Jia sighed first, then quickly changed the subject.
With people coming and going right now, if their conversation falls into the ears of someone with ulterior motives, they'll be in big trouble.
However, with their maids guarding the outside, they weren't afraid of causing trouble.
"By the way, have you gone to see the Second Prince?"
Second Prince? Li Chenjiao thought to herself that Lady Zhaojia was referring to the child born to the deceased First Princess Consort.
Seeing this, Lady Zhaojia added in a low voice, "There was a concubine who was fortunate enough to give birth to the eldest son, but I heard that the child only lived for a little over a year before passing away mysteriously. This one is naturally the second prince, but he was born prematurely and is now only kept alive by the imperial physicians. Nobody knows how long he will live..."
After saying this, Zhao Jia sighed again.
Li Chenjiao frowned slightly upon hearing this: "I'd better not go and cause trouble for now. I'll come and check on things after the Second Prince's full moon celebration."
Upon hearing this, Lady Zhaojia subconsciously replied, "I hope so..." Who knows if the Second Prince will live to see that day?
She stopped mid-sentence, realizing she had misspoke, and wiped her mouth with a handkerchief as a cover-up.
Li Chenjiao kindly chimed in, "It's getting hot now, let's go inside and see if there's anything we can do to help."
In reality, there was nothing that could be of any help to Li Chenjiao, but she still had to put on a good show.
When Li Chenjiao parted ways with Zhaojia and Cao in the evening, she overheard some news that she had not known before.
"I heard that the First Princess's difficult childbirth wasn't an accident; it was said that she accidentally fell into the water at night..."
Upon hearing this, a thousand thoughts flashed through Li Chenjiao's mind, but none of them were good.
Even after Li Chenjiao got into the carriage, her back was still a little cold.
How exactly did the First Consort pass away? Probably only the women in the Prince Zhi's harem would know.
Prince Zhi may indeed have favored his primary wife, and such favor inevitably attracts jealousy and hatred. When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down, and no one knows who is behind it.
Li Chenjiao became increasingly alarmed as she thought about it; this was truly a case of people growing cold after they've left.
She returned to the East Courtyard in a daze. Qiu Hu originally thought that her mistress was a little tired after spending a day at the Prince Zhi's residence. However, when she touched her mistress's hand upon returning to the East Courtyard, it was burning hot. When she touched her mistress's forehead, it was even hotter.
"Quickly, go and fetch the imperial physician..." Qiu Hu barely managed to calm himself down.
However, most of the imperial physicians in the Imperial Medical Academy were at the Prince Zhi's residence taking care of the Second Prince, so in the end, the family physician was the only one who could be sent to see him first.
The physician said that Li Chenjiao had developed a high fever from being exposed to wind, and that she was also somewhat dizzy from the fright she had suffered.
Since Li Chenjiao gave birth to the Fourth Prince, her health has indeed deteriorated considerably.
The Fourth Prince did not return to his residence that night. It was said that something came up at the palace at the last minute. In the end, the Fourth Prince left the palace before the gates were closed. However, he was immediately invited to the Ministry of Revenue by the Minister of Revenue and spent the night there.
The Fourth Prince was naturally unaware that Li Chenjiao in his residence had developed a high fever.
Li Chenjiao was in a daze for a day and a night. When she woke up, she didn't ask about the children. Instead, she asked about the funeral arrangements for the First Princess.
At this critical juncture, Li Chenjiao fell ill, which inevitably raised suspicions that she was faking illness to avoid responsibility.
Qiu Hu squeezed his master's hand: "Master, there's no need to worry. Right now, all eyes in the capital are on Prince Zhi. He returned to the capital at noon today!"
Li Chenjiao hissed softly; this was indeed quite astonishing.
Counting the days, it had only been a short time since the news of the First Princess's passing arrived. Even if the news were delivered by fast horse, it would still take a day. Therefore, the Prince Zhi only needed a day and a night to get back to the capital...
This is really...
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