Fourth Master slept soundly, and Li Chenjiao also fell asleep eventually. However, she woke up a little earlier than Fourth Master, and her eyes hurt even more when she woke up.
When Qiu Hu came in, she couldn't suppress her gasp of surprise. Fortunately, the Fourth Master inside wasn't awakened by the sound.
Qiu Hu helped her mistress walk to the outer room. Once they were out, she said with concern, "Your eyes are swollen... I'll go get an ice pack to put on them for you."
Li Chenjiao hummed in agreement and asked what time it was.
"It's only past mid-Shenshi (3-5 PM), but... a message was sent to the main courtyard earlier. The news was kept tightly under wraps; not a single whisper has escaped." Qiu Hu carefully considered his words.
Li Chenjiao frowned slightly upon hearing this: "When did this happen?"
Qiu Hu helped her mistress to a seat on a round-backed chair in the corridor. She thought for a moment and said, "It should have been about half an hour."
That would take quite a while.
Li Chenjiao didn't take it to heart: "I guess they went to check on the Second Prince's pulse. Go get some ice packs, I'll sit for a while. Where are Aman and Wanwan?"
Qiu Hu was about to go get the ice cloths when she heard her mistress asking about the young masters. She stopped and simply asked Green Bamboo, who was free in the corridor at the moment, to go get the ice cloths.
"The Second Princess and the Fourth Prince said they were going to pick lotus flowers in the garden to bring back for the Master to see, and Xiao Luzi and Dongsheng went with them..."
Li Chenjiao was still a little worried: "Are all the nannies with you? The water in the garden is quite deep..."
Qiu Hu said, "Granny Lin went along too. With Granny Lin there, she won't let the two young masters get close to the water."
Green Bamboo returned with an ice pack in no time. Li Chenjiao took it, closed her eyes, and applied it to her eyes. The coolness was refreshing. Li Chenjiao talked to the two maids with her eyes closed.
Seeing nothing amplified Li Chenjiao's hearing. As the hurried footsteps approached, Li Chenjiao suddenly opened her eyes, but she didn't relax much even after seeing who it was.
It wasn't Xiao Luzi and Dongsheng, who were with the two children, who returned; it was Fulu, who came in from outside the east courtyard.
Qiu Hu spoke up: "What happened? Why are you in such a hurry? The master is still resting inside."
Fu Lu looked around but didn't see his master. He hesitated for a moment, but thinking of his master's respect for Master Li, he still bowed and told the truth.
"The princess in the main courtyard fainted from heatstroke. When the imperial physician arrived, she coughed up blood again, which is why he sent someone to fetch the Fourth Prince..."
Li Chenjiao understood. If it weren't for coughing up blood, the Fujin probably wouldn't have sent anyone to disturb the Fourth Prince. How considerate she was.
She thought for a moment, the handkerchief felt slightly cold in her palm, and she stood up: "I'll go in and take a look."
Fu Lu smiled gratefully and quickly bowed to express his thanks.
Li Chenjiao entered the side room alone. As soon as she stepped into the inner room, she saw that Fourth Master had already gotten up and was rubbing his stomach.
Li Chenjiao had originally asked the small kitchen to prepare lunch for the Fourth Master, but she didn't expect him to sleep for so long. Considering that he had returned so early today, she guessed that he might not have even had breakfast.
Two meals a day are not enough; anyone would be hungry by now.
Li Chenjiao thought for a moment, then approached and stated the facts: "Just now, the head of the main courtyard came to ask Fourth Master to go see the Fujin. The Fujin fainted due to heatstroke and then coughed up blood again. The imperial physician has also arrived."
Fourth Master paused, his throat bobbing slightly: "How is he?"
Li Chenjiao shook her head honestly. Fu Lu hadn't mentioned it. She pouted towards the outside and said, "Fu Lu is outside. Call him in to give an answer."
Fourth Master propped himself up and got out of bed. Li Chenjiao then went forward to straighten his clothes. Fourth Master's sleeping posture was quite good; although he was sleeping fully clothed, there were no wrinkles.
"What's in the small kitchen?" Fourth Master asked.
Seeing that Fourth Master didn't continue asking, Li Chenjiao didn't press the matter further: "The small kitchen also has old duck soup, how about eating it with thin noodles? There are also pickled cucumbers, they taste refreshing too."
Fourth Master hummed in agreement, then asked, "Why do you crave these sour foods again?"
Li Chenjiao blinked, wondering if Fourth Master would think she was pregnant, but he said directly, "And you're drinking sweet mung bean and pumpkin soup again..."
Fourth Master still remembered what Li Chenjiao said when she returned from paying her respects, saying that he didn't like drinking mung bean and pumpkin soup.
Does that mean he doesn't like to drink it? No, it means someone else loves it so much that he simply says he doesn't like it anymore.
To make someone happily drink two large bowls a day.
The Fourth Prince naturally wanted to visit the main wife's quarters, but he needed to fill his stomach first, otherwise he might faint in the main courtyard.
Besides this reason, there is also the fact that the Fourth Prince's mentality has changed.
As time goes by, people's state of mind will naturally change.
In the past, whenever the Fourth Prince heard that something had happened to his wife in the main courtyard, he would drop everything and go to her. But now, although he still goes to see his wife, that concern is long gone.
Fourth Master was so hungry that he could barely stand. He sat down on the soft couch in the outer room, and Li Chenjiao sat opposite him, continuing to apply an ice pack to her eyes.
Earlier, Li Chenjiao had been speaking with her head down in the inner room, so Fourth Master did not notice that Li Chenjiao's eyes were swollen like walnuts.
Li Chenjiao had been applying the compress for quite a while, and the swelling was actually not as bad as before. Saying that it was as swollen as a walnut would be a bit of an exaggeration; it looked like a swollen dumpling skin with a slight reddish tinge.
They looked even more pitiful than before.
Noticing the Fourth Master's gaze, Li Chenjiao used one hand to apply an ice pack to her eyes, while raising the other hand to cover her slightly swollen eyes so that the Fourth Master wouldn't see them.
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