After the absurd scene, Li Chenjiao sat down to eat and only glanced at the Fourth Master. She didn't seem fierce at all; instead, the redness at the corners of her eyes added to her charm.
Fourth Master didn't say anything, but he did, unusually, pick up two pieces of food for Li Chenjiao during the meal.
These are all foods that Li Chenjiao loves to eat, and it's quite remarkable that Fourth Master remembered them.
Li Chenjiao wasn't truly angry. If she didn't want to, she would naturally have her own way of refusing. She just wanted to show her attitude to the Fourth Master.
It also delayed our meal, but fortunately we had hot pot today, so we didn't have to worry about the food getting cold.
The servants outside, having overheard the Fourth Master calling for water, could hardly be unaware of what had transpired inside.
Although it was already dark, Li Chenjiao still felt ashamed of her daytime debauchery, as she hadn't even had dinner yet.
After dinner, Fourth Master seemed to have inexhaustible energy. The hot water in the washroom had barely been prepared when he pulled Li Chenjiao into the inner room.
Li Chenjiao figured that Fourth Master would probably be busy tomorrow, the eve of the Lunar New Year, so she simply let him do as he pleased.
In the middle of the night, as she was half asleep, Li Chenjiao felt the heat source beside her disappear. She opened her eyes groggily and vaguely saw the Fourth Master getting up quietly.
Li Chenjiao unconsciously curled the corners of her lips, but in her heart she felt sorry for the Fourth Master who got up before dawn for only a second.
Oh, and the Princess Consort too.
When the Fourth Prince arrived at the front yard after getting dressed, his wife was already waiting there. The couple didn't say much and got into the carriage one after the other.
The Fujin naturally knew that the Fourth Prince came from Li Shi's place. She wasn't jealous, but she disliked Li Shi's persistence in clinging to the Fourth Prince during the New Year.
There were some simple cakes and pastries on the carriage, but no soup or soup. After all, it was inside a carriage, and it would be difficult to clean up if something spilled.
The Fourth Prince naturally wouldn't deprive himself of food, and he certainly wouldn't skip having something to eat. On the other hand, his wife sat upright in the carriage, not touching a single bite.
The Fourth Prince didn't even look at his wife.
When he got off the carriage, Su Peisheng told him that the Crown Prince's illness was not fully recovered and he would not be showing his face for the next few days. Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince's lips twitched.
Fourth Prince would never envy the Crown Prince.
Back at the manor, Li Chenjiao naturally had a good night's sleep. When she woke up and was having breakfast, Qiu Hu told her that her concubine, Miss Zhang, had already gone home that morning.
The official explanation given to the public was simply that one of the concubines in the household had been removed.
During the holidays, everyone is busy, so who would care whether someone has more or less concubines in their harem?
The reason Qiu Hu was mentioned was because Miss Zhang sent some embroidery when she left the mansion. It is said that even Princess Bai Jia, who is under house arrest, has some, which can be considered to complete this relationship.
After having breakfast, Li Chenjiao casually asked, "Where is Madam Hu?"
Qiu Ci curled her lips and said, "That person was unwilling to leave. Later, the eunuch Fu Lu from the front courtyard went there in person and finally accepted his fate. I heard that he will leave the mansion in a few days."
The reason for avoiding the timing with Zhang was naturally to prevent anyone with ulterior motives from finding out and making a fuss about it.
In these matters, the Fourth Master was actually a very humane master. Originally, he had planned to send Zhang and Hu home after the New Year, but in the end, he sent them home before the New Year.
I just don't know if people will talk about me when I get home.
Qiu Hu then said, "I heard that Miss Hu agreed because Eunuch Fu Lu threatened that if she didn't leave, the compensation originally given to her would be withheld—"
In this world, those with money are naturally the bosses.
Li Chenjiao didn't ask any more questions. Taking advantage of the nice weather, she asked two maids to take out her books to air them out.
At lunchtime, Qiu Ci mentioned Song Gege again: "Song Gege has been going to the front yard quite frequently lately."
The young girl was genuinely worried that her princess might fall out of favor, even though there were no signs of her princess losing favor at the moment.
Li Chenjiao didn't think much of it. It would be a good thing if Song Gege treated the eldest princess better, but it wasn't really appropriate to keep the eldest princess in the front yard all the time.
Song Gege was clearly smarter; she knew that by being nice to the eldest princess, she could gain the fourth prince's forgiveness.
As long as the Song family has the eldest princess, who is currently the only heir in the household, then they will have their own protective charm.
Having learned her lesson a few times, it's likely that Princess Song won't treat the eldest princess so harshly anymore, since the Song family still needs the eldest princess to compete for favor.
That's disgusting to even think about.
However, Li Chenjiao suddenly remembered Wu Shi, who lived in front of her.
Counting the days, Wu Gege's pregnancy has lasted for more than a month. A while ago, Qiu Ci often said that Wu Gege was going to the small courtyard where Xu Mama lived. But these past few days, I heard that Wu Gege caught a cold and has been staying at home.
Li Chenjiao pondered, thinking that Princess Wu probably knew she was expecting a child.
However, Wu Shi will probably keep it a secret for a while, so for now, the only one who will stand out in the mansion is Li Chenjiao, the favored one.
When soldiers come, we'll block them; when water comes, we'll dam it.
On the day before the Lunar New Year, Li Chenjiao also admired Qiu Hu and Qiu Ci.
Qiu Hu and Qiu Ci each received ten taels of silver, while Xiao Luzi received slightly more, fifteen taels.
As winter approached, Li Chenjiao noticed that all the miscellaneous items in the courtyard and the food retrieval from the kitchen were done via a side path.
The servants were naturally overjoyed, especially Xiao Luzi, who usually served Li Chenjiao little but received the thickest red envelope, and his eyes even turned red.
Naturally, it was touching.
Li Chenjiao was too lazy to say those polite words: "As long as you serve me faithfully, you will have every good day that your master has."
Qiu Ci was so happy that she danced with joy.
Even on New Year's Eve, the Fourth Master didn't have time to go into the backyard.
Madam Hu left the mansion on the 28th day of the twelfth lunar month, and she also sent some gifts.
It was an unopened box of lip rouge. Li Chenjiao opened it and saw that it was an extremely beautiful color, and the quality was no worse than the one that the Fourth Prince had given to her.
Qiu Hu explained, "Miss Hu said that she figured this out herself and gave it to the princess, saying that if they have the chance to meet again in the future, she will give some more to the princess."
Li Chenjiao was indeed surprised by Hu's excellent craftsmanship.
She wasn't stupid, of course. She first dug out a little bit and had Xiao Luzi take it to ask the royal physician. Only after confirming that there was no problem did she feel relieved enough to accept it.
During this time, the mercury mirror that Fourth Master had mentioned before was delivered one day.
Qiu Ci, quite unusually, wiped it until it shone with a handkerchief.
Qiu Hu was puzzled, after all, his young lady loved beauty, and when she was still in her boudoir, the lady of the mansion had found a mercury mirror that was slightly smaller than the one in front of her.
This thing is not unfamiliar to Qiu Hu.
Li Chenjiao didn't explain much, but simply used the lip rouge that Hu had given her, looking at herself in the mercury mirror in a good mood.
In her interactions with the Fourth Prince, Li Chenjiao learned how to make him happy and naturally understood that occasional requests were also a way to foster their relationship.
Otherwise, men will only think that everything she does is a matter of course.
Li Chenjiao doesn't want that kind of Fourth Master. She should act like this when she wants to, and let the Fourth Master know that she has her bottom line. Of course, sometimes she will ask the Fourth Master for what she wants.
"Tell the kitchen to prepare a bowl of lily bulb and lotus seed soup and send it to Fourth Master tonight. Tell him I really like what Fourth Master sent."
As for why it's lily bulb and lotus seed soup?
During the New Year holidays, Li Chenjiao knew without a doubt that the palace would be serving lots of rich and meaty dishes, so sending a bowl of cooling soup would be just right.
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