As August progressed, the weather grew increasingly hot. Upon learning that the disaster in the capital had subsided, Li Chenjiao breathed a sigh of relief, and the capital returned to its bustling state.
Because of the heat, the princes and princesses were exempted from school. Faced with the Fourth Prince's eager eyes, all the books Li Chenjiao had been reading in the study lately hadn't been in vain. She managed to maintain her dignity as a mother and wasn't stumped by the Fourth Prince's questions.
I heard that the disaster situation in Shandong has been stabilized. His Majesty was overjoyed to hear this and waved his hand, declaring that this year's Mid-Autumn Festival should be celebrated in a grand manner.
Well, the Imperial Household Department immediately got busy.
In addition, after finishing dealing with the disaster in Shandong, Prince Zhi and Prince Ba were also ordered to return to the capital. Judging from His Majesty's words at the morning court, it would be a good opportunity to hold a welcoming banquet for the two princes during the Mid-Autumn Festival.
The Fourth Prince, who was in charge of preparing disaster relief grain and money at the Ministry of Revenue in the capital, was completely forgotten by His Majesty.
The Fourth Prince himself did not show much concern for the matter. He had been frequently visiting the Imperial Household Department recently, all for the sake of his younger sister, Princess Wenxian's, marriage.
Knowing that the Imperial Household Department would be busy with the Mid-Autumn Festival, the Fourth Prince stopped for a few days.
I had a rare period of leisure, during which I visited the eldest princess for two consecutive nights, but I only stayed at Song Gege's place for one night, and I didn't call for water that night.
This matter was mentioned by Bai Jiashi when she came to visit. It was hot, and it was kind of her to come all the way here in person.
Before long, Niohuru, who was behind her, also came to Li Chenjiao's east courtyard, which was unprecedented.
When Li Chenjiao arrived at the imperial palace, she noticed that Bai Jia and Niu Hulu were not getting along. Today, the two of them got together and their conversation was... both funny and absurd.
It made Li Chenjiao feel as if she had returned to the days when she was still in the imperial palace last year.
However, the imperial palace was much cooler than the capital.
It was hot, and the two children were still half asleep when they got into the carriage on the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
Fortunately, although the morning air was stuffy, there was always an occasional cool breeze.
This time, the Fourth Prince will not be with Li Chenjiao. Instead, he will go to the Baohe Hall with the Second Prince and the Third Prince.
While in the carriage, Li Chenjiao watched as the siblings whispered amongst themselves, and she wasn't particularly curious about their behind-the-back conversations and little actions.
He simply waved his fan on the side, and after the two children finished speaking, he invited them to have some snacks to tide them over.
I'm not drinking much tea, or I'll have to change my clothes.
When the carriage arrived in the capital, Li Chenjiao led the Second Princess to the Yonghe Palace of Consort De, while the Fourth Prince took the three children to the Baohe Hall.
The Yonghe Palace was a bit quieter today, since the Prince Zhi and the Eighth Prince had just returned to the capital yesterday, and there were naturally more noblewomen and officials' wives going to Consort Hui's palace today.
However, when Li Chenjiao arrived at Yonghe Palace, she did see a familiar face, or rather, several familiar faces.
These are the same girls that Li Chenjiao saw when Consort De summoned her to the palace to assess her last time. However, Li Chenjiao saw fewer girls this time; it seems there were only three.
After that lunch, Li Chenjiao, who had a good memory, remembered the faces of several girls.
This time she also learned who the girls were, and naturally, the girls also learned Li Chenjiao's identity today.
Among the three girls, Zhao Jiashi, whom Li Chenjiao had met the other day, was also present. After learning Li Chenjiao's identity, she still greeted her politely and smiled as before.
However, Li Chenjiao said that she saw an acquaintance, the wife of Prince Jian, of the Guarjia clan.
However, the two didn't talk much this time. After all, Li Chenjiao was a concubine, and it was already quite a rare thing that Li Chenjiao could get along with this person.
Since the primary consort was free today, Guarjia naturally couldn't chat with Li Chenjiao, the secondary consort, right under her nose.
Li Chenjiao understood this very well. Her relationship with the Guarjia clan was based on the relationship between the men outside, unlike her relationships with the Zhaojia and Cao clans, which were different.
But Guarjia was an interesting person. Even though she had free time with the Fujin today, she didn't go to chat with her. Instead, she talked about the children's funny stories with Consort De.
Li Chenjiao is free today, the only thing she needs to pay attention to is keeping a close eye on the Second Princess.
Perhaps because she had talked about the eldest princess with the Fourth Prince a while ago, Li Chenjiao glanced at the eldest princess a few more times today.
The little girl, probably because of her young age and frail health, always seemed much quieter. At almost six years old, she was a beautiful and delicate child.
Noticing Li Chenjiao's gaze, the little girl was slightly taken aback, but still gave Li Chenjiao a sweet smile.
The little girl is even more adorable when she smiles.
The lunch was rather unappetizing; in Li Chenjiao's opinion, it was certainly not as good as the meal she had at Consort De's palace that day.
After lunch, Consort De's small kitchen brought out various kinds of mooncakes, imprinted with different patterns, all auspicious omens. Li Chenjiao tasted two; they were fragrant, soft, sweet, and glutinous, and they filled her stomach.
Yesterday, Li Chenjiao had already eaten mooncakes at the manor. However, the kitchen and small kitchen at the manor only made the flavors that Li Chenjiao liked in previous years. In the past two years, there have also been two other flavors that the second princess likes. In any case, Li Chenjiao ate quite a lot yesterday.
Dinner will also be served in the palace tonight, and I heard that we can watch fireworks after dinner.
Li Chenjiao seemed to have not seen fireworks for a long time, so she brought the Second Princess along to see something novel.
I wonder how Fourth Master is doing with the children up ahead.
The Fourth Prince probably didn't get a good nap today.
Li Chenjiao's thoughts drifted away silently.
...
Inside the Hall of Preserving Harmony, the banquet was much less crowded with ministers, making it more like a family dinner.
After His Majesty finished his visit to Prince Zhi, he naturally praised the prince, saying that the prince was indeed worthy of being called a "Baturu" of the Qing Dynasty and had the demeanor of a true Qing man.
The Fourth Prince didn't react to these words; he simply lowered his head and wiped the Second Prince's mouth.
In the corner of my eye, the Third Prince was sitting very upright, while the Fourth Prince... the Fourth Prince was eating a mooncake with his head down.
The Fourth Prince twitched his lips, then turned around and used another handkerchief to wipe the Fourth Prince's mouth.
He pulled his hand out and touched the Fourth Prince's belly. Hmm, it wasn't too full.
However, the Fourth Prince quietly moved the cakes in front of the Fourth Prince a little further away.
Although the Imperial Kitchen thought that the princes were still young and prepared sweet, soft and easy-to-digest pastries, they would still inevitably suffer from indigestion if they ate too much.
After greeting all the princes, His Majesty began to test the grandsons' knowledge.
One by one, the Fourth Prince went up to the residence of the Fourth Prince. When the Fourth Prince went up, the Fourth Prince was still secretly sweating.
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