Even when he went to the family banquet today, Fourth Master was actually prepared to be ignored.
The family banquet was held at the Songhe Qingyue, where the Emperor's father lived. The Fourth Prince arrived with the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Princes. Although it was a family banquet, the seating arrangement was still based on seniority.
Prince Zhi and the Crown Prince sat to the left and right of the Emperor, with the Fourth Prince below the Crown Prince, and then the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Princes below him.
Opposite Prince Zhi, to the left of two little boys, number fifteen and sixteen.
Throughout the banquet, the Emperor showed concern for his eldest brother and the Crown Prince. It was one thing for the Fourth Prince to be neglected, but later the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Princes were also neglected as well.
Since Consort Min, née Zhangjia, passed away, Thirteenth Prince's life was better when his father, the Emperor, was thinking of him. However, when his father was busy with state affairs and had no time to attend to him, the servants of the Imperial Household Department would treat him with disrespect. It was only thanks to Fourth Prince's constant assistance that he was able to get by.
So, the Thirteenth Prince was actually somewhat used to his father's neglect, but the Fourteenth Prince was not.
The Fourteenth Prince was a troublemaker from a young age. There was never a moment of peace in the princes' quarters ever since he could walk.
He was also pampered by Consort De and the Fourth Prince during his childhood. Although he occasionally had to learn a lesson, he still had a temper.
He himself didn't really care about being ignored. As he got older, the Fourteenth Prince was no longer as reckless as he was when he was a child. Instead, he often used that recklessness to vent his thoughts.
However... he couldn't bear to see his fourth brother receive no concern from their father, especially with the Prince Zhi constantly urging him to drink...
So at the family banquet, the Fourteenth Prince, taking advantage of his recklessness, spoke his true feelings, but those words were naturally not what his father, the Emperor, wanted to hear.
The Fourteenth Prince was immediately punished with a five-day confinement, which was only because the Crown Prince pleaded on his behalf; otherwise, it would have been half a month.
Fourth Master had drunk quite a bit of wine in the end, and his unhappiness at this moment, or rather, the unhappiness he showed after arriving at the East Courtyard, was naturally because of the scolding he received from Fourteenth Master.
In fact, although Fourteenth Prince's words at the family banquet were a bit rash, they were not wrong. Although Fourth Prince was also saying to the Crown Prince to calm the Emperor down, he was still unhappy.
Li Chenjiao was unaware of all this. At this moment, she clung tightly to Fourth Master's neck, her entire focus on him, while also keeping her eyes on the road ahead, hoping to alert him if anything happened. She didn't want to fall.
Fortunately, the Fourth Master walked steadily. When he quickly walked out of the inner room and onto the outer corridor, Su Peisheng and Qiu Hu Lümei, who were on night watch, were still a little dazed.
Fourth Master held Li Chenjiao in his arms, showing no signs of fatigue: "Is the hot water ready?"
Su Peisheng nodded quickly, then lowered his head and led the way.
When they arrived at the clean room, Li Chenjiao was gently put down by the Fourth Master and then half-supported and half-pressed down to sit on the embroidered stool. Only then did she come back to her senses. Perhaps seeing that she was somewhat absent-minded, the Fourth Master leaned down slightly and asked, "Can you still walk?"
Listen to what Fourth Master is saying.
So it turns out that Fourth Master picked her up in the side room because he thought she couldn't walk... Well, she really was feeling quite weak in the legs right now.
The temperature in the clean room was already quite high, and Li Chenjiao had just finished a sweaty activity. Hearing Fourth Master's words, she felt her face burning even more. She nodded blankly, feeling rather unaccustomed to Fourth Master's bluntness when he was drunk.
Fourth Master seemed a little uneasy and went to the outer room. Li Chenjiao vaguely heard Su Peisheng respond from outside.
Soon after, Fourth Master returned, followed by Qiu Hu. However, Qiu Hu kept her head down and only approached Li Chenjiao after hearing Fourth Master say, "Keep an eye on your master."
Then, the Fourth Master glanced at Li Chenjiao again, still somewhat uneasy, before walking around the screen to the inner room of the cleanroom to take a bath.
Qiu Hu waited a while, then carefully squatted down: "This servant will go and fetch a cup of cool tea? Your lips have turned pale..."
Li Chenjiao was a little tired at the moment. She waved her hand and said okay, and then stopped thinking about anything else.
The Fourth Master's attitude seems rather strange right now? She couldn't quite figure it out.
Qiu Hu hurried over, and after Li Chenjiao drank a cup of cool tea, her chest felt much better, and she breathed a sigh of relief.
Qiu Hu said nothing. She dared not blame her master, for if her master heard, it would only harm him. She could only silently look at Li Chenjiao with concern.
Li Chenjiao has recovered somewhat, and apart from some soreness all over her body, she is actually fine now.
She propped herself up on her thighs and said, "Help me to the bathroom to take a bath."
The clean room in this courtyard is very large, with screens and beaded curtains on the east and west sides, but it can actually be used for bathing.
Qiu Hu helped Li Chenjiao to the other side of the clean room. The hot water had been changed because it had cooled down a bit. As soon as Li Chenjiao touched the water, she felt comfortable all over. She waved her hand, indicating that Qiu Hu did not need to serve her.
Qiu Hu hesitated for two seconds before leaving.
The physical exhaustion was hard to recover from all at once, and Li Chenjiao just wanted to lie down, so she slowly closed her eyes.
But as soon as she closed her eyes, sleepiness came over her, and she thrashed about, her face emerging from the bathtub.
She took a long time to bathe.
It was Qiu Hu outside who noticed something was wrong and came in to wake Li Chenjiao.
The water was a bit cold, but fortunately it was August, so the water was lukewarm and soaking in it wouldn't make me catch a cold.
Li Chenjiao shivered slightly when she was woken up, and then simply wiped herself down and changed into her nightgown.
With the smell of alcohol gone, Li Chenjiao nodded in satisfaction.
She left the clean room and sat down in front of the embroidered stool, preparing to return to the side room with Fourth Master in a while, so that they could go in and out together.
After all, it was Fourth Master who carried her to the clean room, so she really felt embarrassed to leave him behind.
She had just sat down when Su Peisheng entered again, bowing respectfully: "It's getting late, and this servant is a little worried..."
Yes, Li Chenjiao entered the clean room a little later than the Fourth Master.
Li Chenjiao has already come out, why hasn't Fourth Master come out yet?
Su Peisheng knew that his master was unhappy at the moment, and he really didn't dare to go in and provoke him. So he spoke and gave Master Li a flattering look.
Li Chenjiao understood the implied meaning behind Su Peisheng's words.
Remembering that Fourth Master had carried her all the way, Li Chenjiao nodded slightly: "I'll go in and take a look."
Su Peisheng exclaimed "Oh!" and thanked him again.
Li Chenjiao didn't let Qiu Hu follow her and went into the clean room alone.
Before going in, she wondered if Fourth Master was asleep like her.
She quietly entered the clean room and the first thing she saw was the back of Fourth Master's head.
She took two steps closer before calling out "Fourth Master" again.
She waited for two seconds, but received no response.
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