Su Peisheng quickly led Li's mother, Shen, in.
The princess sat upright, her eyes involuntarily scrutinizing him.
Madam Shen looked slightly younger than her mother and was wearing a Manchu-style dress. However, judging from her surname, she should be from the Han Banner Army and knew some manners.
The clothes did not appear to be made of expensive materials, and the hairpins and ornaments in the woman's hair were mostly plain and elegant. Only the two pairs of cloisonné hairpins looked quite good, and the beads on the pair of earrings looked to be of decent quality. However, it was clear from the look that she was not from a prestigious family.
Because Shen was looking down, the Fujin could only see her not-so-plump figure, which looked thinner than her mother.
The bowing was quite proper, and there was no sign of nervousness; I wonder how long she had studied at home.
The Fujin forced a smile and remained polite in front of Su Peisheng: "Madam, please do not stand on ceremony. Since you have come to visit Madam Li, there is no need for you to linger here. Please go to Madam Li's place. As this is your first time here, I have prepared a small gift for you. I hope you will not find it offensive."
The things were naturally prepared by the Fujin (principal wife) at the last minute, and her politeness at this moment was only because Su Peisheng was waiting on the side.
She knew in her heart that this was why the Fourth Master arranged for Su Peisheng to come because he didn't trust her.
However, in front of Madam Li, the Fujin naturally had to pretend that she already knew Madam Shen was coming.
In fact, the Fourth Prince never informed her about this matter; clearly, he never intended to inform her.
This made the Fujin (wife) uneasy again. She spoke perfunctorily to Shen, and felt disgusted by Shen's face, which resembled Li's.
Soon, Su Peisheng led Shen Shi to Li Chenjiao's east courtyard. During the trip, Su Peisheng said a few words, mostly about how the concubine was kind and generous.
After bringing the person to the east courtyard, Madam Shen gave her maid a look, and the maid, understanding the situation, handed a purse to Su Peisheng.
Madam Shen smiled kindly: "I'm sorry to have bothered you so much today, please don't refuse."
The purse felt light and airy. Su Peisheng smiled and said, "Alright. Madam, please go ahead. I won't disturb you any longer. If you need anything, just send someone to the front yard to let me know."
Madam Shen simply nodded politely and waited for Su Peisheng to leave before turning around and entering the east courtyard.
Dongsheng had already noticed the commotion outside in the east courtyard. He didn't recognize Madam Shen, but he did see that the person was brought by Eunuch Su.
However, he still had some doubts in his mind: why did Eunuch Su leave so quickly?
He stepped forward with a puzzled look and bowed respectfully: "Madam, have you come to see our concubine? Please wait a moment while I go and deliver the message. Please come with me to the corridor to wait."
At this moment, Lin Mama, who was tending to the flowers that the Second Princess had picked from the garden these days, also saw the unfamiliar figure.
Seeing that everything here was in order, Madam Shen smiled, a smile that was no longer somewhat insincere in the main courtyard: "Please trouble you, Father-in-law, to announce that Madam Li Shen from Shandong has come to pay her respects."
Dong Sheng's eyes flickered slightly, as if he had realized something, but he still went in first to deliver the message.
Soon, a figure rushed out from inside. It was not Li Chenjiao, but Qiu Hu, who was beside her.
"Madam? Madam, what brings you here? Why didn't you let us know beforehand? My master almost ran out when he heard it was you."
The usually composed Qiu Hu couldn't stop smiling at this moment, her face flushed with excitement, but she still politely bowed to Madam Shen first.
Madam Shen pulled her hand and stood up: "Good, you're becoming more and more like a head maid as you follow your mistress. Come on, come on, if we don't go in soon your mistress might really come out."
Indeed, no one knows a daughter better than her mother.
Qiu Hu helped Shen Shi into the side room, and Li Chenjiao had already gotten out of bed.
After not seeing each other for several years, it goes without saying that I miss you.
This time, Li Chenjiao couldn't hold back any longer. Tears welled up in her eyes, and she threw herself into Shen's arms.
The maids all quietly withdrew.
"Do you miss your mother? Do you miss your mother more or your father more? Your mother can't hold you anymore. Come on, let's sit down and talk."
Shen's eyes also reddened, and she pulled Li Chenjiao to sit down.
Li Chenjiao couldn't stop her tears and insisted on sitting next to Shen Shi: "Did Master send Mother? The dry rations must not be very tasty, right?"
Madam Shen clicked her tongue: "We were originally planning to arrive before you gave birth, but some things went wrong along the way, so we were a few days late?"
Li Chenjiao exclaimed, her heart tightening at the sound of her voice, and she immediately felt worried: "Is the road not safe?"
Madam Shen hesitated for a moment, feeling somewhat embarrassed in front of Li Chenjiao even though she was a grandmother: "I ate something bad and had to rest for a while on the way."
Li Chenjiao's lips twitched slightly: "You... I want to eat too? I didn't have time to sample the food along the way when I entered the capital. What did you eat?"
Upon hearing this, Madam Shen slapped her thigh, completely losing the proper manners she had displayed in front of Su Peisheng.
"Speaking of which, Mother has a lot to say. Osmanthus and toon are so fresh at this time of year, as are clove chicken and crystal shrimp cakes. I ate at three different inns, and one of them had the best flavor. I've eaten there a few times and I roughly know how they make it. I'll write down the recipe for you, and you can enjoy it to your heart's content from July to August after your confinement period. Also, I had crab roe and cabbage once when we were almost in the capital, but the cabbage didn't taste very good. The vegetables were good, but the cooking wasn't..."
Li Chenjiao couldn't help but swallow hard as she listened: "Daughter has a small kitchen here. Just order whatever you'd like to eat today..."
As she spoke, she suddenly snuggled into Shen's arms, and the two of them soon burst into laughter.
"You can't eat it now either, you greedy girl..." Madam Shen said, "You must have had a hard time during your postpartum period, right? Let me eat something good, and you can watch me eat, that's enough for you..."
Li Chenjiao stood with her hands on her hips, displaying the demeanor of a spoiled young girl, and at this moment, she couldn't shed a single tear.
She's really happy right now.
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