The Second Prince watched as his mother, Li, led the Fourth Prince and the Second Princess away, one on each side. His mother would often come to pick him up, but she would never hold his hand; instead, she would have the wet nurse hold his hand tightly.
The second prince turned around and thought, "Those few laughing beads, it's good that they're making a ruckus."
The wet nurse quickly came to fetch him: "Oh my Second Prince, are you alright? Let me see you quickly, did you bump or hurt yourself? How did those little monkeys take care of you? Are you hurt?"
This was the wet nurse who had been replaced by the Second Prince once. As she spoke, she looked the Second Prince up and down, and finally breathed a long sigh of relief as if she had escaped a disaster.
"My little darling, are you starving? This servant will take you back; lunch has already been prepared."
The second prince had no chance to speak and could only let his wet nurse lead him toward the main courtyard.
After walking a few steps, the wet nurse suddenly stopped again: "Look at me, I've forgotten about your book box, Second Prince..." As she spoke, she gave a look to a little eunuch behind her.
After the young eunuch returned to the front courtyard to retrieve the book box, he led the Second Prince back to the main courtyard.
The people who came to fetch the Third Prince were the last to arrive. The Third Prince sat in the side room for a while, not touching any of the cakes that Granny Zhong had sent over from the front yard. He just sat there properly, and only jumped up when he heard his mother's voice outside.
It was Madam Xu who came to see the Third Prince in person. Madam Xu usually came to pick up the Third Prince herself, but she didn't wait directly at the front gate. Instead, she waited not far from the front yard.
She had been waiting at the usual spot for a while when she received the news today. She didn't dare to go too fast and waited patiently for the concubine to lead the second princess and the fourth prince back. Her heart was pounding as she waited for a long time before she went to the front courtyard.
Once she saw the Third Prince, her anxiety subsided: "Let's go back first."
When the Third Prince saw his mother, his eyes lit up and a big smile spread across his face.
He carried the book box out himself, and Madam Xu quickly stepped forward to take it. She looked the Third Prince up and down, but did not touch him, for fear of touching or hurting his wounds.
At the front gate, she didn't dare to linger. Only after seeing the Third Prince shake his head and say that everything was alright did Xu Shi breathe a sigh of relief. She took the Third Prince's hand, bent slightly at the waist, and headed towards their small courtyard.
This farce naturally couldn't be kept secret from the people in the backyard. Although Bai Jia was worried because the East Courtyard was busy and it was mealtime, she still held back and only sent Danqing, who was by her side, to check on her.
However, the Niohuru clan, who was closer to the rear, did not make any other indication.
However, Li Chenjiao didn't have time to listen to the maids about who had come. She first sent the Second Princess to have lunch, as the young girl couldn't stand being hungry, and then called the Fourth Prince to the study.
Just now, when the Fourth Prince ran into her arms in the front yard, he said four words in a voice that only the mother and son could hear.
"Mother, let's go quickly."
At that moment, Li Chenjiao knew that this brat was definitely involved in today's drama.
Li Chenjiao sat in the armchair in the study, folding a blanket with her head down, not even looking at the Fourth Prince: "Tell me, what have you been doing today?"
The Fourth Prince was a sly one; he first dashed into Li Chenjiao's arms.
But Li Chenjiao didn't give him the chance at all, and raised her hand to press on the Fourth Prince's forehead: "Will you talk or not?"
Seeing that this tactic was useless, the Fourth Prince squatted down at his mother's feet and replied, "Today, I went to school with Eyun, and everything was fine. However, when I went to change my clothes, I overheard the servants of the Second Prince arguing. I happened to hear a bit of it. Mother, you have no idea, they were actually saying..."
This brat, he straightened up as he spoke, which piqued Li Chenjiao's interest.
Li Chenjiao sat up straight and cleared her throat: "What did they say?"
The Fourth Prince, mimicking his mother's usual "Hey!", clapped his hands with a precocious air: "One of them said, 'Do you know who my father is? Do you know my surname? Don't hang around the Second Prince like that!' And the other said, 'I don't care who you are, you're serving the Second Prince. Do you really think the Second Prince likes you that much?'"
I wonder who the Fourth Prince learned his speaking style from.
Li Chenjiao twitched her lips, suppressing a laugh.
As the Fourth Prince spoke, he became increasingly angry: "They were talking, but of all times they chose the changing room. I couldn't hold it in any longer, so I went in. They stopped talking then, which would have been fine, but one of them bumped into Dongsheng when he came out. That was really infuriating..."
Children are the most reckless. When the Fourth Prince turned around, he saw clearly that the person not only bumped into Dong Sheng and made him stumble, but also stepped on Dong Sheng's foot. The Fourth Prince could even hear Dong Sheng's cry of pain.
Li Chenjiao finally glanced at Wanwan: "So what did you do?"
The Fourth Prince licked his lips, seemingly a little embarrassed: "I didn't mean to do anything. Later, when I had Dongsheng keep an eye on that man while he went to change his clothes, I took a slingshot and shot at him once. I don't know if I hit him or not..."
He then scratched his head sheepishly, saying, "My son isn't strong enough to flick it high. Bayanbu and Muliha are much stronger; they flicked it several times..."
As the Fourth Prince spoke, he clenched his chubby hand into a fist and made a punching motion.
Li Chenjiao's lips twitched again, stopping her son from continuing his glorious deeds: "What else? How did Haha Zhuzi next to the Second Prince end up fighting?"
The Fourth Prince answered his mother's question with his head held high and chest out: "I threw my slingshot into the book of beads that I was arguing with that person."
Oh, the Fourth Prince added a sentence.
"While the person behind me was talking to my second brother, I had Dongsheng slip me a book under the pretense of finding one."
What a clever... diverting the blame eastward.
Li Chenjiao was speechless with astonishment.
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