Li Chenjiao waved her hand and explained in a low voice, but she didn't say it was because she was flustered. She only said that she was afraid the two children would fall in the dark at night.
Seeing this, Lady Zhaojia invited her daughter, the Third Princess, to play with her two older sisters. The Third Princess's nickname was Arong. She was a little girl born in the first month of the fortieth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. Arong means "melting snow in winter."
Li Chenjiao didn't see Arong at noon because Arong had suffered from heatstroke as soon as she arrived at Changchun Garden yesterday. She had been lying in bed all day and was feeling better now, so Zhaojia took her out for some fresh air.
While she was speaking, Arong was talking to Cao Shi with her head down.
Seeing this, Zhao Jia explained, "Arong's name was chosen with the help of Sister Cao. Perhaps because of this, Arong is closer to her than others."
Li Chenjiao made a sound of understanding, but not quite.
Just then, His Majesty entered. Li Chenjiao, standing there, couldn't hear clearly. Anyway, once His Majesty finished speaking, the banquet began with singing and dancing.
Li Chenjiao admired the mooncake for a while, then lowered her head to eat it.
Since no mooncakes were served at noon, Li Chenjiao guessed that they would probably be served at the dinner banquet. So, Li Chenjiao quietly shared mooncakes with the little girl and tasted the different flavors.
However, Li Chenjiao got tired of eating two bowls. She silently drank two sips of vegetarian soup and pointed to her stomach when Zhao Jia offered her the fruit wine.
Before Zhao Jia could react, Cao Shi had already offered her congratulations. It was rare to see a smile on her usually icy face, which even surprised Li Chenjiao.
Zhao Jia quickly realized what had happened and grabbed Li Chenjiao's wrist: "When did this happen? I was wondering why you looked thinner... You need to be more careful..."
As she spoke, her voice gradually lowered.
What followed was naturally not to be heard by others.
"Don't let your usual amiable demeanor fool you. If anyone knew you were pregnant, they'd all be secretly cursing and wishing you bad luck with this pregnancy... I miscarried last time..."
Zhao Jia fell silent as she spoke, as it was clearly inappropriate for her to say these things at Li Chenjiao's time.
Li Chenjiao patted the back of her hand, clearly not taking it to heart: "I know what you mean, and thank you for saying all this. I understand..."
Zhao Jia felt a surge of relief. She murmured "Eh?" twice, then smiled and said, "You'd better be careful, or someone might harm you. Finding someone like her in this backyard is a rare find..."
As Zhao Jia spoke, she glanced at Cao Shi with a smile, and the "she" she was referring to could only be Cao Shi.
Li Chenjiao then looked at Cao Shi with a smile, but Cao Shi awkwardly turned her head away and gave a soft hum before turning her back to look at Li Chenjiao and Zhao Jia Shi.
Li Chenjiao and Zhao Jiashi exchanged a glance and smiled.
Indeed, it's not easy to find a truly compatible and genuine person in your backyard.
The three of them talked, and the atmosphere was just as joyful and lively as during the day.
Occasionally, Lady Zhaojia, who was sitting with the Third and Fifth Prince's wives, would offer Li Chenjiao a cup of wine, which Li Chenjiao would always accept with soup.
After several rounds of drinks, Li Chenjiao finally witnessed the scene of the Emperor testing the children.
Zhao Jia sighed, "Our Hongxi is hopeless; all he does is play all day..."
Upon hearing this, Li Chenjiao subconsciously glanced at Cao Shi beside her. Cao Shi met Li Chenjiao's gaze without flinching, as if she were the frost and snow on a plum blossom bud in winter.
Following Li Chenjiao's gaze, Zhao Jia tugged at Li Chenjiao's sleeve and explained, "Don't look at her. She doesn't want to have children; she already drank a bowl of safflower soup. I admire her most for that."
Li Chenjiao was stunned.
Zhao Jia continued, "You know, she entered our household against her will. I used to think she was aloof, but now..."
As Zhao Jia spoke, she also started to feel awkward.
When Cao heard what Zhao Jia said, she didn't refute it, and her expression didn't even change. She even waved to Aman, who was eating mooncakes.
Cao loved children, but she didn't want her children to become puppets of the Cao family; she herself had already done enough.
Li Chenjiao withdrew her gaze. It's one thing for other people to talk about their affairs, but it's not her place to comment.
As a woman herself, she couldn't possibly be unaware of Cao's hardships.
If it weren't for the talent show, she wouldn't have entered the Fourth Prince's harem.
Li Chenjiao and Zhao Jia exchanged another glance and both chuckled.
Yes, who has it easy?
At the beginning of the scene, Zhao Jiashi pulled Cao Shi over: "Look at you, come here and talk to me, you've almost crushed the mooncake in your hand..."
As they were talking, Li Chenjiao looked up and saw her son, Wanwan, hopping and skipping down from above, seemingly holding something in his hands.
Li Chenjiao also noticed that several pairs of eyes seemed to be fixed on her.
What's wrong?
Zhao Jia, who was standing nearby, also noticed. She paused for a moment, then lowered her voice again, "What's going on? Why do I see them all staring at us?"
Cao confirmed Zhao Jia's doubts from the side: "Yes, they are watching us."
Li Chenjiao subconsciously looked towards the Fourth Prince's direction and saw that the eunuch in front of the Fourth Prince, who seemed to be the Emperor's eunuch, was holding something.
Li Chenjiao raised her hand and waved her round fan.
Qiu Ci immediately went to inquire.
Before Qiu Ci could return, someone from Zhao Jia's side arrived.
"I heard that Prince Hongli from the Fourth Prince's residence recited a poem that pleased His Majesty, who then personally wrote out the poem and bestowed the calligraphy upon Prince Hongli."
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