Two days before the tenth day of the eleventh month, the Fujin went to the front courtyard.
The Fujin (principal wife) has been busy dealing with Granny Xu lately, and knowing that the Fourth Prince is angry because of the eldest princess, she has not gone to the front yard to provoke him.
However, since the Fourth Prince had never paid any attention to her, the Fujin (wife of the fourth prince), she was naturally a little restless. It was almost the fifteenth, and if the Fourth Prince didn't come to the main courtyard—Ulanara dared not think too deeply about it.
However, the Fujin's visit to the front courtyard wasn't entirely without purpose; she had a pre-existing excuse for coming there.
"It seems like Consort Cao's happy day is just around the corner, but after what happened a few days ago, I'm unsure whether I should go to my third sister-in-law's side—"
The Fourth Prince didn't even look up: "Go then. You can comfort your Third Sister-in-law. As for Consort Cao, there's no need to bother with her."
The Fujin breathed a slight sigh of relief upon hearing the Fourth Prince's voice. She did not rush to leave, but glanced at Su Peisheng lightly.
Su Peisheng first glanced at the Fourth Master's expression before bowing and retreating outside the study.
In the study, after Su Peisheng left, the Fujin gritted her teeth and slowly knelt down.
"The matter concerning the eldest princess was due to my lax management. The maids and nannies under my command were misled, which led to this terrible mistake and almost cost the eldest princess her life. I am entirely to blame. I beg Your Highness to punish me. I am willing to accept any punishment, only wishing that the eldest princess may be free from illness as soon as possible."
As she spoke the last few sentences, the Fujin seemed to be in great grief, her voice trembling with sobs, making her sound incredibly pitiful.
"Please punish me, Fourth Master—" The Fujin bowed deeply and kowtowed to apologize.
She rarely acted so humbly. When she lowered her head, the princess consort skillfully concealed the fierceness in her eyes. When she stood up again, her eyes were already filled with tears.
Normally, anyone would feel a pang of sympathy seeing their wife so tenderly and considerately admit her mistakes, but the Fourth Prince was no ordinary person.
The Fourth Prince was neither blind nor stupid. He knew his wife's temperament perfectly well. He knew how much malice lay hidden beneath her temporarily concealed fangs, but he couldn't completely get rid of her.
The Fourth Prince closed his eyes, unwilling to look at his wife's posture.
“Since Mother has sent Granny Xu to help the Fujin share the burden, and the Fujin has been working very hard these days, why not take a good rest for a while? Let Granny Xu temporarily take care of these trivial matters in the mansion, and we will trouble the Fujin to do so again after the New Year.”
The Fourth Prince knew all too well where his wife's Achilles' heel was.
His words hit the nail on the head.
Upon hearing this, the Fujin was struck dumb. She opened her mouth to defend herself, but the Fourth Prince had already given her no chance.
“Mother asked the master to go to the palace earlier. If the princess has nothing else to do, she should go back to the main courtyard. Su Peisheng, escort the princess back to the main courtyard, and then give the key to the mausoleum to Granny Xu.”
The princess had no chance to argue.
Su Peisheng entered upon hearing the sound. His head was bowed low, but his voice was not soft: "Madam, this servant will see you off."
The fact that she had lost her composure in front of the servants made the Fujin feel embarrassed. She slowly stood up, lowered her eyes and bowed, no longer struggling: "Your Majesty, I take my leave."
If you were to ask who in the entire household was happiest that the Princess Consort had lost her power to manage the household, it wouldn't be Li Chenjiao, but rather Song Gege.
She had entered the manor early and knew a little about the Fourth Prince's temperament, and she also knew that the Fourth Prince was really angry this time.
Seeing the Princess Consort in such a sorry state would be incredibly satisfying for Song Gege, but she had more important things to do right now.
It was only after the incident with the eldest princess that Song Shi finally realized how important the eldest princess was to the fourth prince. As the eldest princess's birth mother, how could she not seize such a good opportunity?
"Willow catkins, bring me my cloak."
Li Chenjiao herself didn't pay much attention to the commotion in the backyard, but she had Qiu Ci, who knew everything that happened in the mansion.
Li Chenjiao woke up, yawning as she listened to Qiu Ci recount what had happened in the manor that day. Hearing that Song Gege had gone to the front yard, Li Chenjiao became slightly more awake.
It wasn't that Li Chenjiao suddenly felt a sense of crisis; she just subconsciously felt that Song Gege's attitude towards the eldest princess was likely to anger the Fourth Prince.
However, Li Chenjiao didn't think about it too much. She rested her chin on her hand and slowly pondered what to eat tonight: "I didn't have a chance to try the chestnut chicken soup in the front yard last time, but I'm really craving it now. It would also be delicious to simmer some fresh bamboo shoot soup at this time of year. As for other things, I'll just ask the kitchen to make two more of my usual favorite dishes."
In winter, it's naturally more comfortable to drink some hot soup.
When Xiao Luzi went to the kitchen to bring back dinner, the two maids had already set out the dishes when they suddenly heard a noise outside.
Li Chenjiao put down her chopsticks after picking them up, and it was at this moment that Fourth Master entered with a dark face.
Not missing the wry smile in Su Peisheng's eyes, Li Chenjiao stood up, waved away the two maids, and calmly stepped forward to take off the cloak for the Fourth Master.
"Is it snowing outside again? Fourth Master, you didn't forget to bring me some salt to add flavor? I was having dinner at the time, so I'll return the favor and ask Fourth Master to have some."
As they were talking, Li Chenjiao handed the cloak to the sensible Su Peisheng, who stepped forward. The two maids, Qiu Hu and Qiu Ci, also noticed and added a bowl and chopsticks.
Fourth Master was not the type to vent his anger on others. He was angry, so he simply remained silent and sat down.
Seeing this, Li Chenjiao didn't say much, and unusually stood up to ladle a small half bowl of chicken soup for Fourth Master.
When the Fourth Prince saw that she did not sit down as usual, he frowned, thinking that he had frightened the little princess.
His slightest frown startled the two maids serving him, who dared not utter a sound, fearing that their princess would anger the Fourth Master.
Fourth Master finally spoke: "Please sit down." As he spoke, Fourth Master pulled on Li Chenjiao's wrist.
Li Chenjiao responded and sat down. She spoke in a gentle voice as usual, without deliberately asking whether the Fourth Master was angry or trying to comfort him. She simply talked about the dishes on the table.
"I wonder how the chestnut chicken soup in the front yard is? Fourth Master, would you do me the honor of trying it? I had the kitchen prepare it today."
"The kitchen said they got a few live fish, and we've made sauerkraut fish today. How does it taste, Your Highness?"
Before long, the Fourth Master's expression softened considerably.
After dinner, while the Fourth Master went to the bathroom to bathe, Li Chenjiao asked Qiu Hu to invite Su Peisheng in. She didn't ask any questions, but only inquired whether it was because of Song Gege.
Su Peisheng had witnessed the scene that unfolded after Song Gege arrived in the front yard. Seeing that Li Chenjiao didn't ask any further questions, he felt relieved and simply nodded cautiously.
After thinking for a moment, Su Peisheng added in a low voice, "Gege doesn't know, Princess Song is still kneeling in the front yard and hasn't left yet."
Li Chenjiao was stunned for a moment. Everyone was smart enough to understand Su Peisheng's unspoken meaning.
It wasn't that the Fourth Prince was angry and punished Song Gege, but rather that Song Gege herself voluntarily knelt down and refused to leave.
I just don't know how Song Gege angered the Fourth Prince.
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