Before heading to the front yard storeroom to find medicinal herbs, Fu Lu made a detour to the east yard at the back; he needed to deliver a message.
Li Chenjiao knew that the Fourth Prince was going to have dinner with the Princess Consort in the main courtyard, but she didn't show anything. The two children just pouted when they heard that the Second Princess was going to have dinner with the Princess Consort.
Li Chenjiao saw this and pinched the little girl's cheek: "Let your mother see whose little mouth is big enough to hang an oil bottle on."
The two children had already seen their father once in the garden. By then, Xiao Lu and the others had picked quite a few lotus flowers and leaves. When Fourth Master saw the two children, Second Princess was hiding and playing with a lotus leaf on her head.
The Fourth Prince didn't say much to the two children, and the Fourth Prince seemed somewhat calmer when he saw the Fourth Prince.
This child has his own set of principles for dealing with things. In his heart, his father's companionship is neither too much nor too little, and he is naturally not as affectionate towards his father as he is towards his mother.
The lotus leaves picked by the two children were used by the small kitchen to make lotus leaf chicken, and the lotus flowers were also put into the two large vats at the gate of the yard, filling the yard with the fragrance of lotus.
The evening breeze was light. After dinner, Li Chenjiao felt sleepy. Pregnancy often leads to more thinking and sleep. Since she was too sleepy to do anything else, she waved her hand and went to wash up and get ready.
In the front yard, Fourth Master, a very busy man, was not so relaxed.
By this time, the Fourth Prince had already returned from having dinner in the main courtyard. He and the Second Prince had dinner together. The Second Prince showed just the right amount of concern for his mother's illness. Only after learning that his wife had fallen asleep and had not yet woken up did the Second Prince pick up his chopsticks.
After dinner, the Fourth Prince tested the Second Prince's knowledge several times. When he came out of the main courtyard, the Fourth Prince felt somewhat uneasy.
Both mother and son seemed a bit off today.
In the end, the Fourth Master only instructed Su Peisheng to keep a close eye on the main courtyard.
In the study, Dai Duo had not yet arrived. Fourth Master stopped thinking about the strange things that had happened in the main courtyard today and opened the letter that Nian Jia had just sent.
The Fourth Prince read the letter very carefully, taking a full quarter of an hour to read the three-page letter.
As usual, he first copied the contents of the letter by hand before burning it.
As expected of the eldest brother, Prince Zhi.
The Fourth Prince was not surprised by this answer.
The eldest brother has always loved keeping wild beasts. When he first arrived in Fujian and encountered a snake at night, the fourth prince actually suspected Prince Zhi afterward, but he was forced to do so because he had no evidence.
Not only that poisonous snake, but also several assassination attempts on the way back to the capital; some wanted to kill him, while others just wanted to injure him.
The copied letters were still in front of Fourth Master. He sorted out the ins and outs of this trip in his mind. Some of the remaining groups of people were connected with his elder brother, but there were also other groups involved.
After thinking for a moment, the Fourth Prince picked up his pen and wrote a reply to Nian Gengyao, which contained only one large character.
"check."
Continue the investigation; the person behind Fourth Master must be thoroughly investigated.
The Fourth Master sealed the letter and carefully put away the copied letter. He looked down at his desk, slightly lost in thought.
What is he thinking...?
It's already July, and August will be here in another month.
He remembered that when the funeral of the First Princess Consort, Lady Irgen Gioro, was over, he and his elder brother were still sitting together at a breakfast shop eating breakfast.
He still remembers the way his older brother looked when he left that day.
Just as he never expected to sit down and have breakfast peacefully with his elder brother back then, the Fourth Master never expected that his elder brother would send someone to harm him.
How ridiculous it is for brothers to kill each other.
The Fourth Master was lost in thought when Su Peisheng called out twice that Dai Duo had arrived, bringing him back to his senses. He glanced at the table and said, "Come in."
His voice was colder than usual.
The Fourth Prince was thinking about how to retaliate, but it was best not to damage the brotherhood, or at least not to let his father, the Emperor, find out.
Fourth Master always maintains a semblance of decorum when handling matters.
With Dai Duo present, the Fourth Master discussed matters with him until late into the night.
The candlelight in the front yard burned brightly until the second watch of the night. After discussing things with Dai Duo, the Fourth Prince didn't forget to ask how the children were doing with their studies while he was away from the mansion.
Dai Duo had already walked a few steps when he heard the Fourth Prince's question. He stopped and thought about it seriously for a moment: "The Second Prince is intelligent and hardworking, which is quite rare. The Third Prince is calm and quiet, loves to read but doesn't talk much. Prince Hongli... Prince Hongli is lively but also disciplined. Although he is still young, he has shown talent in his studies and is a promising student. However, Prince Hongli is still young and sometimes needs to be strictly disciplined."
As he spoke, Dai Duo began to stroke his beard.
The Fourth Prince noticed that when Dai Duo made his evaluations, he used the order of seniority, referring to Honghui and Hongyun as the Second Prince and the Third Prince, but he only referred to Wanwan as "Prince Hongli".
The Fourth Prince naturally couldn't find out about the two princesses from Dai Duo. After Su Peisheng saw Dai Duo off, the Fourth Prince let Granny Zhong come in to talk.
By the time Fourth Master finished asking about the children's recent situation, it was already past midnight.
The imperial physician had already returned, and since the Fourth Prince was busy here, he naturally forgot to ask the imperial physician about the wife's health.
However, the imperial physician had already told Su Peisheng what needed to be said before he left.
Su Peisheng's voice trembled as he replied. He had cursed the imperial physician countless times in his heart. This was such an important matter, a matter of life and death, yet the imperial physician hadn't given him any hints beforehand. By the time he realized what was happening, the imperial physician had already finished speaking at lightning speed, patted his behind, and left.
Nobody wants to get involved in something like this, which involves countless people.
In the study, Su Peisheng adjusted his tone and repeated the imperial physician's words word for word. The study was eerily quiet; Su Peisheng could even hear his own breathing.
It seemed as if the words he had just spoken were still lingering on his lips.
"The imperial physician means that the Princess Consort has inexplicably damaged her vital energy, and her health is severely depleted. It's too late to discover this now. If she takes good care of herself, perhaps, perhaps she can still live for another three to five years..."
These are the imperial physician's original words.
The Fourth Master remained silent for a long time. Suddenly, the wick of the lamp in front of him popped, but the Fourth Master did not move.
He asked, "Which imperial physician regularly examines the Fujin's pulse? Invite him to the mansion tomorrow. Also, send over the Fujin's pulse records from the past few years."
How could a perfectly healthy person suddenly suffer such a severe blow...?
The Fourth Prince unconsciously thought of the sordid methods used in the harem.
He wore and put down the first-generation dragon-patterned Vajra bracelet on his wrist repeatedly, finally holding it in his palm and slowly stroking the pattern with his thumb.
Fourth Master said, "That's really sudden."
Yes, it really came too suddenly.
At this moment, the Fourth Prince even suspected that the imperial physician might have misdiagnosed his pulse.
Su Peisheng could only remain silent; at this moment, he could not speak no matter what.
Fourth Master waved his hand: "Go down."
Su Peisheng felt as if he had been granted a pardon, but after leaving, he couldn't help but look back once.
The candlelight wasn't very bright, and Fourth Master was hidden behind it, so he couldn't see Fourth Master's face clearly.
After all, they've been married for many years, and hearing such news out of the blue is bound to be... hard to accept.
How awful!
How could this happen...?
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