The Fourth Prince returned to the manor late at night. Li Chenjiao in the East Courtyard had already gone to sleep, so the Fourth Prince ate at the front courtyard kitchen. He hadn't had any of the manor's cooking for more than half a month, so his appetite was poor and he didn't eat much.
The next morning, Su Peisheng was sent to the main courtyard to deliver a message, and then the Fourth Master went to the east courtyard.
Now that Fourth Master is recuperating from his injuries, he is unusually lazy and unwilling to move. He can simply send someone to inform the Ministry of Revenue of his roll call. It is likely that Fourth Master will not be going to the Ministry of Revenue for the next half month.
It was terribly cold in the first month of the lunar calendar, and Li Chenjiao was naturally still asleep when the Fourth Master arrived at the East Courtyard.
Xiao Luzi led the people outside to sweep the snow. When Li Chenjiao was choosing a midwife, she also asked the Imperial Household Department to send people over. In the end, she left two eunuchs to sweep outside.
The maids were busy going back and forth in the corridor, and the Fourth Master overheard a few words as he approached.
"Don't prepare breakfast too early. We'll see when the two young masters need to get up. Is the hot water ready?"
"The master said yesterday that he wanted to eat dried plums..."
The Fourth Master arrived silently, and the maids under the eaves noticed and quickly bowed.
Fourth Master made a shushing gesture: "Is your master resting?"
Qiu Hu bowed and said yes.
The Fourth Prince hummed in agreement, seemingly unsurprised: "I'll go sit in the study."
Before he finished speaking, Li Chenjiao inside seemed to have woken up. Her voice was not soft, and she sounded quite energetic.
"Who's outside? What time is it?"
Seeing that no one was waiting inside, Li Chenjiao's voice gradually rose.
Seeing this, the Fourth Prince didn't go to the study, but went straight inside.
Li Chenjiao was currently contemplating whether or not to get out of bed. She was now quite far along in her pregnancy, making it difficult for her to even bend over, let alone put on shoes and socks.
As Fourth Master watched Li Chenjiao get up from afar, his eyelids twitched, and he quickly stepped forward.
When Fourth Master came to help her up, Li Chenjiao reached out and squeezed his hand in return. Unexpectedly, she was startled by the coldness and shivered, but she did not let go. She held Fourth Master's hand and blew on it to warm it, causing the strands of hair hanging down in front of her to sway slightly.
The Fourth Master hadn't even taken off his cloak when Li Chenjiao's actions amused him: "Don't you find me cold? Did I disturb you? Go back to sleep for a while?"
All three questions were phrased in a questioning or inquiry tone, without any sense of request.
Li Chenjiao chuckled as she listened, saying, "I thought we'd grown distant after not seeing each other for half a month. Since you're coming from outside, why don't you go warm yourself up by the fire? I've been so worried about you these past few days, I haven't been sleeping well at all."
She spoke in a half-serious, half-joking tone, as if she were teasing the Fourth Master.
The Fourth Prince didn't quite believe Li Chenjiao's explanation. He had just checked on her and found her to be in good spirits, but he still said seriously, "If she's not sleeping well, she should be seen by the imperial physician..."
Li Chenjiao didn't want to hear Fourth Master's nagging again so early in the morning, so she simply stayed in bed, sat back down, and turned her back to Fourth Master.
The Fourth Prince said nothing, got up and went to the brazier. Without any hesitation, he sat down on the embroidered stool in front of him, his palms outstretched, the red light making his face glow.
As he warmed himself by the fire, his mind calmed down.
Fourth Master sat for a while, and when he didn't hear Li Chenjiao's voice or make any noise, he looked up.
Li Chenjiao wasn't asleep. She turned over and stared at him for who knows how long.
Fourth Master suddenly forgot what he was going to say. He coughed twice and asked, "Why are you looking at me?"
Li Chenjiao felt a little hot, so she went to circle the gilded and carved hand warmer by the couch, which had already cooled down. She sat there somewhat languidly and comfortably: "It's been so long since I've seen you, Master. Can't I even take a few more glances?"
Fourth Master paused, and Li Chenjiao looked at him from afar as if he wanted to say something to her but then seemed to stop.
She smiled again, pursing her lips.
The two kept quiet about what was happening outside. It wasn't until after breakfast that Li Chenjiao remembered that the Fourth Master was injured. The Fourth Master, afraid of frightening Li Chenjiao, only said that he was almost fully recovered.
The wound is actually quite deep, and we still need to be careful.
Li Chenjiao didn't know if she suspected anything, but she still instructed the kitchen to prepare something light for lunch and avoid foods that might aggravate the condition.
When Fourth Master was in the East Courtyard, he seemed to do nothing most of the time. After lunch, he watched Aman thread a needle with Li Chenjiao. Wanwan wanted to join in, while Li Chenjiao played with the thread on the side.
Wanwan's hands are surprisingly skillful, well, he can only thread a needle. If you really ask him to use an embroidery needle, he'll just prick himself.
Li Chenjiao, as the mother, didn't feel sorry for her at all; she just watched the spectacle from the sidelines.
However, this tranquility did not last long, as Su Peisheng came back to say that he had something to report.
Li Chenjiao pondered whether she should lead the two children out or whether the Fourth Prince should go out to listen. However, she didn't need to worry about it. After the Fourth Prince glanced at her, he strode out.
Her gaze followed for a moment, and she saw that the Fourth Master had stopped in the outer room.
Li Chenjiao then withdrew her gaze and focused on watching the two children threading the needle. What could Su Peisheng possibly want with Fourth Master at this moment? She was curious for a moment, but only for a moment.
...
Su Peisheng bowed: "Your Majesty, we've found out. It's said that Miss Xianxin took something from the Fujin's place, but the imperial physician couldn't detect it..."
Fourth Master nodded: "What is it?" If that's the case, then it must be related to Ulanara Xianxin.
Su Peisheng hesitated for a moment, thinking of a gentler way to put it: "I didn't dare disturb Miss Xianxin. I only took some things, mostly spices and some insects..."
Fourth Master surveyed the four walls, a metallic taste rising in his throat—a prelude to his anger: "Witchcraft?"
Su Peisheng shook his head, feeling a lingering fear in his heart.
The Fourth Prince pondered for a few seconds: "Go to the Ministry of Personnel and find the old coroner. Ask him about the unusual spices and insects. Go immediately. Where did you find them?"
Su Peisheng dared not delay. He stopped abruptly when he heard the Fourth Prince's question: "Xia Chong said it was found in the soft pillow and large bolster that the Fujin usually uses..."
Fourth Master closed his eyes: "Continue the investigation."
To dare to make a move right under his nose, they must have some nerve.
Now that Fourth Master has found out, he will not let go of even the slightest clue.
When Fourth Master returned to the inner room, he still hadn't quite contained his fierce aura. He was so concerned that he said, "It's getting cold today. Have someone bring out all your usual items to air them out later."
Li Chenjiao was completely unaware: "It's still snowing outside. We took them out to air them before winter even arrived. Now that it's cold, Qiu Hu and the others will take them out to air again when it gets warmer. But in the capital, we don't have to worry about things getting moldy and infested with insects like in the south..."
When Fourth Master heard the words "insect infestation," his eyelids twitched: "Hmm..."
His voice sounded somewhat perfunctory.
Clearly, the Fourth Prince was still uneasy.
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