The next morning, the Fourth Prince instructed Su Peisheng to select birthday gifts for the First Prince and the Eldest Princess from the storeroom, and to deliver them to them as soon as he returned to the mansion.
In the following days, the Fourth Prince was very busy. The news of the Crown Prince's illness could not be leaked. On the surface, the Emperor was still doing nothing, visiting and investigating the landscape and local conditions of Dezhou.
During the day, the Fourth Prince had to accompany the Prince of Zhi and avoid suspicion with the Thirteenth Prince. Several other princes also followed the Emperor, but they just followed behind him and had fun without having to worry about anything like the Fourth Prince and the Prince of Zhi.
The Crown Prince was occasionally lucid, but he was completely unable to walk. The younger princes, the Fifteenth and Sixteenth, were secretly asking the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Princes whether the Crown Prince would accompany them on the upcoming southern tour.
The Thirteenth Prince naturally gave a vague answer, but he genuinely didn't know. The Fourteenth Prince, on the other hand, was quite direct. When the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Princes came to ask him, he simply said that they should just ask their father, the Emperor, since he himself wanted to know too.
Fifteen and Sixteen dared not ask their father about this, and in the end, they both fled in disarray.
The imperial procession did not linger in Texas for long, as there were many others waiting for them. Not only were officials from various regions eagerly anticipating the journey, but the accompanying officials were also preparing to depart.
However, His Majesty has yet to make a statement. Li Chenjiao had already packed her bags a day or two in advance, but she has yet to receive any news of her departure.
If she hadn't known that the Fourth Master wouldn't lie to her, she would have seriously suspected that he had received some false information.
However, the weather in Dezhou has cooled down a bit in the past few days, which is not much different from when she was in the palace. Apart from missing the Second Princess and the Fourth Prince in the mansion, Li Chenjiao is willing to stay in Dezhou for a few more days.
The Fourth Master came by once in the past few days, but he almost always fell asleep as soon as he arrived, clearly looking extremely exhausted.
On September 27th, the emperor finally received confirmation that his entourage would depart.
However, instead of continuing his southern tour, he returned directly to the capital.
The southern tour has only just begun, so why is His Majesty suddenly returning to the capital?
Later, everyone learned that it was because the Crown Prince was ill, and the Emperor was worried about him, so he stopped the southern tour and took the Crown Prince back to the capital first.
When the news reached Li Chenjiao, her eyes widened in shock.
Who has the audacity to spread such news? Don't they want to lose their head?
Who would dare to do such a thing? Unless it was ordered by His Majesty?
However, returning directly to the capital was not a bad thing for Li Chenjiao; on the contrary, she was more than happy to do so.
That night, Fourth Master came to the East Courtyard, his face indescribably grim.
Fourth Master rarely acts like this. Even when he's unhappy, he usually restrains himself when he's with Li Chenjiao. But today, as soon as he arrived at the East Courtyard, he forgot to call Li Chenjiao to get up and went straight to the inner room.
Su Peisheng offered a brief explanation in a low voice, but his words were vague and ambiguous.
Li Chenjiao stood up understandingly and went into the inner room, waving her hand to indicate that the others did not need to follow her in.
Li Chenjiao entered the inner room. As soon as she entered, she walked up to the Fourth Master and, imitating his stern face, suddenly pushed him. Then she turned her back to him and sat on the other side of the soft couch.
Fourth Master subconsciously glared at the person, but his glare went straight to nothing.
He seemed somewhat helpless, but not particularly angry: "Why are you throwing a tantrum?"
Li Chenjiao chuckled and crossed her arms over her chest: "That's what I should be asking you."
Fourth Master was completely baffled, and could only see Li Chen's pouty profile: "You should at least give me a straight answer."
Li Chenjiao looked back at the Fourth Master, her beautiful eyes widening slightly: "It's all your fault, Master, I forgot."
The Fourth Master almost laughed when he heard this: "Nonsense."
Li Chenjiao mimicked the words perfectly: "Nonsense!"
Fourth Master couldn't help but laugh out loud this time. He pointed at Li Chenjiao, looking both angry and helpless.
Li Chenjiao blinked, leaned slightly forward, and pried the Fourth Master's outstretched finger back.
Well, after Li Chenjiao's outburst, Fourth Master has almost forgotten all his unhappiness.
Today, the Emperor ordered the end of the southern tour, saying it was due to the Crown Prince's illness. In reality, the Emperor had not visited the Crown Prince at all in the past few days.
Furthermore, the Crown Prince from the capital will not be traveling with them this time; instead, he will stay in Dezhou to recuperate.
What made the Fourth Prince feel most helpless was that the Thirteenth Prince volunteered to stay and take care of the Crown Prince.
Fourth Master understood that Thirteenth Master might have stayed behind to avoid suspicion, which made Fourth Master even more unhappy.
In the end, the Emperor agreed, leaving only the thirteenth prince.
The departure date for returning to Beijing was set for September 29th, which is two days from now.
That way, when we return to the capital, we'll be able to catch the Golden Banquet.
However, it remains to be seen when the Crown Prince will be able to return to the capital.
Each and every matter was clearly predetermined long ago; the only question was when the Emperor had made those decisions.
What Fourth Master needs to do right now is to do nothing.
We'll only find out once we get back to the capital.
The journey back to Beijing didn't seem particularly rushed; the weather was getting cooler, and the pace was leisurely.
Everyone seemed to have forgotten about the Crown Prince who was still in the small palace in Texas.
Nobody paid any attention.
On the sixth day of the tenth month, the emperor arrived in the capital at dusk.
The Fourth Prince and several other princes went to the Forbidden City first, while the women returned to their residences.
Miss Cheng had been secretly sent away when she was still in the outskirts of the capital, and she left with great joy.
As soon as Li Chenjiao got off the carriage, Qiu Ci reached out and helped her.
But her eyes were filled with complex emotions. Li Chenjiao asked what had happened at the manor.
Qiu Ci gritted her teeth and spoke with great difficulty.
The 41st year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign was perhaps a year of added misfortune for the Fourth Prince.
The bad news came so quickly and so unexpectedly.
Li Chenjiao's hands suddenly started trembling violently.
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