The passing of a prince's wife would not have any significant impact on this vast country; at least for the middle-aged man currently on the highest throne, it was merely the passing of a daughter-in-law.
As far as His Majesty is concerned, he could easily find a better successor for the Baturu in his heart.
Even the Emperor disliked the way his son panicked after hearing the news of his wife's passing. How could a Baturu of the Qing Dynasty be troubled by matters of the heart?
However, if Prince Zhi could remain calm and stay by the emperor's side after hearing the news of his wife's passing, the emperor would likely suspect that Prince Zhi was too cold-hearted.
That's why there's a saying that serving a ruler is like serving a tiger.
For Prince Zhi, the pain of losing his wife was naturally heart-wrenching. However, having reached this point, many things were beyond his control. The four horses that died during the day and night he rushed back, and the tears he couldn't stop as soon as he arrived in the outskirts of the capital—how much of it was real and how much was fake, only Prince Zhi himself could know.
The First Princess Consort did not leave behind any dignified appearance during her lifetime, and after her death, most of the Emperor's rewards went to her maternal family. However, her funeral was very well arranged.
In the end, His Majesty made an exception and allowed the Imperial Household Department to handle the funeral arrangements for the First Princess Consort in accordance with the funeral rites for a Prince's primary consort. Naturally, regardless of whether His Majesty intended to confer the title of Prince Zhi on the Prince, the nobles in the capital flocked to it.
After Prince Zhi returned to the capital, the Fourth Prince diminished his presence. Every day, apart from accompanying the Crown Prince to Yuqing Palace to handle some trivial memorials, he would go to the Ministry of Revenue to do errands. As for the affairs of the First Princess Consort's funeral, he only sent his personal attendant Fulu to Prince Zhi's residence to help out.
As for how frequently his wife had been visiting the Prince Zhi's residence these days, the Fourth Prince didn't say anything.
The Fourth Prince has already distanced himself from Prince Zhi. With his wife being so adept at navigating the Prince Zhi's household, the Fourth Prince doesn't seem out of place. This can be seen as a form of going with the flow.
Fourth Master's behavior is somewhat like that of a fence-sitter, trying not to offend either side.
But if we're really talking about it, he's naturally closer to the Crown Prince. If others were to gossip, there's nothing wrong with his wife helping out because of her sister-in-law.
The Fourth Prince knew perfectly well that the person who visited the Prince Zhi's residence most frequently after the First Princess Consort passed away was definitely not the First Princess Consort.
However, the Fourth Prince only learned that Li Chenjiao of the East Courtyard had caught a cold and developed a high fever after the funeral of the First Princess.
With the Emperor still not back in the capital and the funeral of the First Princess Consort over, the Fourth Prince wasn't too busy after noon.
Upon hearing Su Peisheng report that Madam Li of the East Courtyard was ill, Fourth Master kicked Su Peisheng, saying, "You good-for-nothing, it's been so long since you came to report this."
Indeed, the First Princess passed away early on the 8th of the seventh month, and was buried on the 20th of the seventh month. Isn't that "so many days" already?
Su Peisheng was speechless with bitterness upon hearing this. How could he dare not report the matter to Master Li of the East Courtyard? It was Master Li who had instructed him to keep it a secret from the master for the time being.
He's caught in a dilemma.
The Fourth Prince has been really busy these days. Although he hasn't shown up at the Prince Zhi's residence, Fulu tells him every day about the news he's gathered there.
He looked young and lacked the imposing presence of Su Peisheng, but he was quite adept at using polite phrases.
Every step the Fourth Prince takes now requires careful consideration, as it has far-reaching consequences. Unlike the Prince Zhi, he is not reckless and unrestrained, and he must weigh his father's thoughts on every step he takes.
Su Peisheng had personally witnessed how much weight his master had lost in the past few dozen days, or rather, he had never seen his master gain weight since leaving the mansion to live separately.
There are always all sorts of things to deal with throughout the year.
Seeing his master's figure disappear into the distance, Su Peisheng had many things on his mind, so he could only hurry after him.
By July 20th, Li Chenjiao's health had almost completely recovered.
The Second Prince in the palace couldn't possibly have so many imperial physicians serving him, so on July 12th, an imperial physician came to Li Chenjiao's place.
The imperial physicians in the palace did indeed prescribe more bitter medicine, and Li Chenjiao drank the bitter medicine for three consecutive days. Every day when she ate, she still felt that her tongue was bitter.
The high fever subsided before the imperial physician arrived, but the cold tormented Li Chenjiao for quite some time.
Another downside of catching a cold is that the Second Princess will see her mother less often.
The Second Princess was restrained by the maids and nannies every day, and could only peek at her mother from afar outside the screen when she was eating. If she wanted to take another step inside, she would be stopped by the nannies.
This was something Li Chenjiao had instructed the nanny to do in advance.
The children are weak, and they would suffer if they caught a cold.
Since the Second Princess couldn't see her mother every day, after her meal, she would run to the flower window outside Li Chenjiao's room, stepping on an embroidered stool to place brightly blooming flowers picked from the garden or the sweet, soft, and easily digestible milk cakes that the nannies prepared for her every day on the flower window.
The little girl would take her own handkerchief and, every evening after dinner, place the cakes she had saved up throughout the day in front of the latticed window, as if hoarding food.
At first, the maids were worried that the little girl would fall, but after a senior princess was born, the maids... became even more worried.
The maids squatted anxiously by the side every day, afraid that the two young masters would fall.
This was the scene that Fourth Master saw when he arrived at the East Courtyard.
By mid-July, when it was already getting hot, the Fourth Prince rode his horse all the way back to the mansion. He seemed to be covered in sweat from the sun, and the back of his neck was burning hot.
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