The Fourth Master did not return home all night, and the whole mansion was in a state of chaos upon hearing the news.
The Fujin went to bed early last night and was in good spirits when she woke up today. She first asked what time the Second Prince returned last night, and Yu Ru said it was around the same time as before.
The princess hummed in agreement, noticing that Yu Ru was somewhat hesitant.
She naturally assumed that since Honghui had returned to the mansion last night, then Fourth Master must have returned as well.
So when the Princess Consort learned that the Fourth Prince had not returned to the mansion last night, she was also surprised.
During the New Year holidays, it's impossible for someone to be kept in the palace by the Emperor, right? There's no such rule or precedent.
If it weren't for that Fourth Master, he should have sent someone to deliver a message back. Why hasn't there been any movement yet?
The princess asked who had escorted the princes back, and Yu Ru said it was Fu Lu. However, Fu Lu had hurriedly returned after seeing the princes off at the gatehouse.
Yu Ru bit her lip: "The gatekeeper said that Fu Lu sent the princes to the gate and then rode off on horseback, seemingly heading towards the palace."
It's already past Chenshi (7-9 AM). Even if the Fourth Master isn't going back to the manor, he should at least send someone to deliver a message.
The Fujin suddenly felt a headache coming on. She sat back down and said, "First, send someone to the Thirteenth Prince's residence to ask if the Fourth Prince went to stay there last night after getting drunk. Then, send someone to the palace to pay respects to the Empress. Has the Second Prince gone to the palace?"
Since no one from the palace came to speak, according to the rules, the princes naturally still had to sneak into the palace.
Yu Ru nodded: "Seeing that no one came to deliver the message for a long time, Granny Qian took Prince Honghui into the palace, and the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince followed later."
The Fujin suddenly seemed to remember something and stared at Yu Ru, asking, "Did they say anything when they sent the Fourth Prince from the East Courtyard?"
Yu Ru understood what her mistress meant, but she still shook her head: "It was sent by Lü Ju from the East Courtyard. I didn't see anything on that girl's face. I don't know if she doesn't know anything or if she already knows something."
The princess thought to herself, "Could it be that Lady Li is more well-informed than me? That would be truly going against the natural order."
The Princess Consort didn't believe it. She waved her hand, "Since they don't know, there's no need to tell them. It would only scare them into coming to me crying and begging for answers. I don't think anything will happen..."
If something really happens, it can only mean that someone is framing Fourth Master behind his back, and that's something she can't help with. She can't help by being anxious and flustered, so she might as well relax.
It was rare for the Fujin to be so calm. Her calmness made Yu Ru feel that something was not right. Yu Ru looked at the Fujin cautiously, but was eventually waved away by the Fujin and sent away.
"Is breakfast ready? Go ahead, I'm starving." Although the princess's face wasn't exactly beaming with a smile, she certainly appeared relaxed.
Just as Yu Ru reached the door, the Fujin suddenly called her back: "Have someone keep an eye on what each household is doing."
Yu Ru noted it down and instructed Xia Chong and Xia Cao to prepare breakfast, while she went to instruct Wang Jinzhong to gather information.
By noon, Fourth Master had not sent anyone back with a message, but Wang Jinzhong had indeed managed to get some news back.
"They say that last night, Prince Zhi was suddenly summoned to the palace, and later I heard that the Eighth Prince and the Ninth Prince were also summoned to the palace." Wang Jinzhong was panting as he spoke; he had been running around quite a bit this morning.
Well, the fact that the palace gates were opened in the middle of the night to let Prince Zhi and the Eighth and Ninth Princes into the palace clearly means that something has happened in the palace.
The princess consort couldn't sit still any longer.
...
Li Chenjiao knew this morning that the Fourth Master had not returned to the manor last night. She had just sent Xiao Luzi to inquire about the news when she heard the gatekeeper send word that Zhao Jia had sent something.
It's a New Year's gift for the two children.
This is naturally a statement that cannot be faulted.
It's just that now that the Third Master has lost power, Lady Zhaojia had already sent New Year's gifts for the two children and even for Li Chenjiao before the festival. The fact that she sent more gifts now clearly means...
The old drunkard's heart was not in the wine.
Zhao Jia sent Aman a dressing case. Li Chenjiao opened the dressing case directly and soon found an envelope in the hidden compartment.
Seeing this, Qiu Hu went to the outer room to dismiss everyone. By the time she returned to the inner room, Li Chenjiao had already finished reading the letter.
Qiu Hu served her mistress some sweet water to soothe her throat, and asked softly, "Is there any news about Consort Zhaojia?"
She was the maid who had served Li Chenjiao the longest, having been with her since Li Chenjiao's boudoir, so she dared to ask the question now.
Li Chenjiao raised her hand.
Qiu Hu understood and lit the candlestick. Li Chenjiao burned the letter. The smell in the inner room was not very pleasant. She slightly opened the window: "No, it is said that their Third Master was also summoned to the palace this morning. I heard that Liang Jiugong personally went to their residence to invite the Third Master to the palace."
The Third Master, who was under house arrest, was suddenly summoned to the palace; anyone could tell something was amiss.
Li Chenjiao waited until noon, but still received no news.
Wanwan came back last night and said that "Father went to see off Uncle Fourteen first." What could possibly happen in the Forbidden City?
Li Chenjiao couldn't guess.
She was eight months pregnant, and Qiu Hu tried to comfort her so as not to worry Li Chenjiao. However, no matter how much she said, it was better for the Fourth Master to return to the mansion.
...
Yes, who would have thought there would be assassins in the Forbidden City?
During the New Year holidays, the princes didn't need to go to the study room to study. The Fourteenth Prince received the news early in the morning and disregarded all the rituals and regulations. He rushed straight to the Qianqing Palace without even having time to put on his cloak.
When I arrived at the Qianqing Palace on the 14th, my shoulders were covered in snow because I was walking in such a hurry.
"Who...who..." Fourteen went straight to the side hall, uttering several unpleasant words.
At this moment, even the Emperor had to put aside his sons' affairs, since there were quite a few things to do during the New Year holidays.
Aside from the frightened Yinreng, the injured Fourth Prince and Tenth Prince, the remaining princes, despite not sleeping a wink in the Qianqing Palace last night, still had to keep their spirits up during the day.
Su Peisheng was dozing outside when he heard the Fourteenth Prince's voice and woke up.
"Fourteenth Prince, you are well. His Majesty has just changed his medicine and gone to sleep." He quickly stopped the Fourteenth Prince and made a shushing gesture.
The Fourteenth Prince quickly stopped and peered inside, asking, "Fourth Brother is asleep? What did the imperial physician say?"
Haha Zhuzi, who was following behind, was getting impatient: "Master, we should get to the front."
Fourteen waved his hand, still smiling, but the look in his eyes as he looked at Su Peisheng was completely different: "Have you found out?"
Su Peisheng thought about the past relationship between the Fourteenth Prince and the Eighth and Ninth Princes, and hesitated to speak.
The Fourteenth Prince was getting impatient and was almost ready to take action.
Finally, Su Peisheng spoke, but his voice was somewhat low.
The Fourteenth Prince froze on the spot—no, he was dumbfounded.
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