On the day of Consort De's birthday, the weather was extremely sunny. After arriving at the palace gate and entering the palace, they reached Consort De's Yonghe Palace. When Li Chenjiao arrived at Yonghe Palace, her fair face flushed slightly, and a bead of sweat appeared on her chin, which she wiped away with a handkerchief with great disdain.
Consort De's birthday celebration was not a grand affair. The children from her household all went to the palace. There were not many people from the palace, only Consort Cheng and the Seventh Prince's wife, Nara. It is said that Lady Uya originally wanted to go to the palace to celebrate with the Empress, but the Empress excused herself because of her joy and tranquility.
However, Yonghe Palace was already quite lively at this moment.
The children were not restrained and were taken directly to the Imperial Garden by Granny Zhao. The Second Princess did not go with them; the little girl chose to stay by her mother's side.
When Li Chenjiao and the Fujin entered the main hall, Consort Cheng and the Seventh Fujin, Nara Shi, had already arrived.
After a brief exchange of pleasantries, knowing that Consort De was in a good mood, the Fujin stepped forward with a smile: "Your daughter-in-law is late, please punish me, Mother..."
Li Chenjiao silently followed behind the Fujin, and after the Fujin stopped, she silently took one step, then two steps back...
After a while, she became curious about what kind of perfume the Fujin had been using on herself lately, that could have such a strong scent... But it seemed that apart from Li Chenjiao, no one else could smell the Fujin's unusual fragrance when they got close to her.
While the Seventh Prince's wife, Consort De, and Consort Cheng were talking, the Seventh Prince's wife pulled Li Chenjiao aside and said a few more words: "What kind of incense do you use, ladies? Did you mix it yourself? It smells so special..."
Li Chenjiao concealed her subconscious expression of shock. She stammered for a moment, then chuckled awkwardly, "I'm not quite sure about that..."
She thought for a moment: "Scents and spices, if they smell nice, will naturally make me feel good, but if I suddenly switch to another one, I'm afraid I won't be able to get used to it..."
Li Chenjiao doesn't like using perfume. In the summer, she usually wears a light herbal scent to repel mosquitoes. The scent is made by Granny Zhong and is not pungent at all.
At other times of the year, the scents are mostly fruity or floral, and the aromas are faint, so you have to get close to smell them.
Nara thought Li Chenjiao's words made sense, but she was the kind of person who had to know everything she wanted to know, so she waited until the Fujin was free to talk to her.
The Second Princess stopped while speaking with Nara and was led to sit in the flower hall. Now that Li Chenjiao had finished speaking, she eagerly ran to her mother and simply followed her without making any other moves.
Li Chenjiao felt a warmth in her heart. Before she could say anything, Zhao Mama, who was by Consort De's side, suddenly reached out her hand from afar.
She hesitated for two seconds before stepping forward, but before reaching Consort De, she turned back and had Madam Chen lead the Second Princess.
Consort De was dressed as simply as ever today. Li Chenjiao stepped forward and stood at a distance that was neither too close nor too far away.
Consort De looked Li Chenjiao up and down and said, "You seem to have lost some weight... Your appetite hasn't been very good lately?"
When Consort De spoke, she smiled and showed concern, which made her seem like a gentle elder.
Her laughter likely stemmed from the belief that Li Chenjiao had lost her appetite and become thin because the Fourth Master was not at home.
But such gentleness made Li Chenjiao somewhat uneasy; she could even feel the close gaze of the Fujin following her from behind.
It's like having a thorn in your side; that's exactly what it means.
Li Chenjiao lowered her head, speaking very politely and respectfully: "Your Majesty, please forgive my rudeness."
She readily agreed to Consort De's words and didn't say anything more, partly because she was afraid Consort De would ask her more questions, and just wanted to quickly return to her corner.
Consort De's smile suddenly faded, and her voice lowered slightly: "The fourth prince has almost finished suppressing the bandits in Guangdong. I heard a couple of days ago that he was already cleaning up the aftermath, so he should have already set off for the capital. He has done a great job this time."
There are some things that Consort De cannot tell Li Chenjiao completely. She is telling Li Chenjiao these things now because she knows that her son has feelings for this concubine, and also because she sees that Li Chenjiao looks rather haggard today.
Compared to the smugness and joy of the Fujin (Prince's wife), Li Shi was much more docile and seemed genuinely concerned about the Fourth Prince...
Consort De wasn't nearsighted yet; she could still clearly see and distinguish between a person's good and bad, right and wrong.
Thinking this, Consort De looked at Li Chenjiao with a hint of satisfaction.
Li Chenjiao raised her eyes and met Consort De's gaze for a moment. She was so overwhelmed by Consort De's extremely gentle gaze that she didn't know how to make an expression.
Li Chenjiao had only ever seen such an expression on her face when Consort De looked at the Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince.
She lowered her head again, her voice still carrying a hint of ease as she spoke: "Yes, I understand."
Consort De hummed in agreement, and seemed to see a shadow of her former self when she was just a Noble Lady or Consort De in Li Chenjiao.
She spoke again: "You look pale. Have the kitchen bring you a bowl of ginseng soup for lunch."
The Consort De was speaking to Zhao Mama beside her in the middle. She added that Li Chenjiao should drink it at lunchtime, which meant that it would be too conspicuous if the kitchen were to serve it to Li Chenjiao at this time.
Li Chen thanked her sincerely and stepped aside, choosing not to look at the princess's expression.
The Fujin was indeed curious about what Consort De and Lady Li were talking about, but she was currently preoccupied with Lady Nara and couldn't spare the time to listen to what Consort De and Lady Li were saying.
She kept glancing at him out of the corner of her eye, and only breathed a sigh of relief after Li Shi had left.
Lady Li spoke with Consort De for less than a quarter of an hour, while she spoke with Consort De for a full quarter of an hour.
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