In the following days, the Fourth Prince was quite busy. There was increasing friction between the Crown Prince's faction and the Prince Zhi's faction in the court. The Fourth Prince was outwardly biased towards the Crown Prince, so he was naturally targeted by the Prince Zhi's faction.
Fortunately, after being reprimanded by Emperor Kangxi, Prince Zhi became much more well-behaved.
With Fourth Master busy, he didn't have time to go to the backyard. Since the day Fourth Master left with a cold face, he hasn't come to Li Chenjiao's place again. Originally, the crowd was just watching the show, but now they are starting to kick her while she's down.
For example, today's breakfast was much worse than usual, but Li Chenjiao always took care of the kitchen, so even though the food was a bit cold, it was still possible to go out.
Li Chenjiao had a simple meal, changed into a light red cheongsam, dressed up beautifully for the first time, and went to the main courtyard.
Today is the fifteenth, the day to pay respects at the main courtyard.
Li Chenjiao arrived early today, but Xu Shi always arrives early, followed by Zhang Shi and Hu Shi, and Bai Jia Shi. Song Shi was the last to arrive today.
However, it's understandable; Ms. Song is almost six months pregnant now, so it's normal for her to arrive a little late.
Song was already showing signs of pregnancy, and her complexion didn't look too good. However, when Li Chenjiao saw Song enter, her heart suddenly skipped a beat. In her mind, she no longer pictured Song leading a little girl, but rather a baby in the arms of a wet nurse, completely lifeless.
Li Chenjiao blinked, her head throbbing, and she felt a little uneasy.
What exactly is this thing?
Why do images pop into her mind whenever she sees Song Shi, and why is this time different from before? What does that mean?
Li Chenjiao tightened her grip on the corner of the yellow pear wood table, lowering her eyes to no longer look at Song Shi.
When the princess came out, everyone stood up to greet her. The princess invited them to sit down, and they all sat down.
The Fujin first greeted Song Shi with a smile: "How have you been these days? What did the imperial physician say? Your health is getting worse, so you don't need to pay your respects anymore."
Madam Song smiled and rose to express her gratitude: "Thank you for your concern, Madam. With your thoughtful arrangements, I am very grateful."
The princess's eyes flickered slightly, and the smile on her lips widened a bit: "That's good." Then she turned to look at Li Chenjiao.
"I heard that Fourth Master hasn't visited you for a while? Don't worry, he's been busy these days, but he'll remember you when he's done."
These words sounded as if the Fourth Master had already forgotten, and the tone was truly disgusting.
Li Chenjiao replied with a smile, "Yes, thank you for your concern, Madam. I noticed that Madam's complexion has improved a lot, probably because of the donkey-hide gelatin. If Madam still wants some, I have some and will send it to you tomorrow."
The newly arrived Zhang and Hu were unaware of the story of donkey-hide gelatin, but Song and Bai Jia knew. Song simply smiled faintly while fanning herself, while Bai Jia's expression changed instantly.
The princess was speechless for a long while before finally saying, "You're so kind."
However, the donkey-hide gelatin that Li Chenjiao gave was indeed of much better quality than what was sold outside.
After being told off by Li Chenjiao, the Fujin lost her appetite, said a few words casually, and then dismissed the party.
After leaving the main courtyard, Madam Bai arrived with an arrogant air, though her expression was somewhat indifferent: "I thought you were so capable, but now you've fallen out of favor, haven't you? Just you wait and see, from now on, Fourth Master will be going to my place."
Li Chenjiao couldn't help but twitch her lips. Bai Jiashi... she wondered where she got her confidence from.
Li Chenjiao knew that Fourth Master wasn't angry that day. As for Fourth Master not coming, it wasn't just him who didn't come to her place. He hadn't even entered the backyard these past few days, okay?
How did they come to the conclusion that she had fallen out of favor? Besides, was she ever ever favored?
???
As Li Chenjiao returned from the main courtyard, she was saying that she was going inside to rest for a while when Qiu Hu told her that Xiao Lu had something important to report.
Li Chenjiao then called Xiao Luzi in.
After paying his respects, Xiao Luzi said, "Your Highness, there have been some strange noises in our courtyard these past few nights..."
Li Chenjiao, who always slept soundly, naturally didn't know any of this. Hearing Xiao Luzi say this, she asked, "What's that noise?"
Xiao Luzi thought for a moment: "This servant can't say for sure what the noise is. It's been going on for several nights in a row, like something moving around. I was afraid of alerting them, so last night I mustered up my courage and peeked out. It seemed like someone was there."
Li Chenjiao, who had just been drinking from a white porcelain teacup, lost her smile: "Someone? Running around in our yard in the middle of the night?"
That's truly...strange. A thief could possibly emerge from the prestigious Prince's residence? Li Chenjiao didn't believe it.
Xiao Luzi nodded cautiously: "Today, the princess went to the main courtyard to pay her respects to the princess. I was the only servant in the courtyard, and I was tidying up in the side room when I suddenly heard a noise."
“It was a little eunuch who entered our courtyard. The screen window was closed, so I couldn’t see his face, but he was definitely rummaging around under that crabapple tree doing something suspiciously.”
The crabapple tree was transplanted from the front yard in June.
Li Chenjiao remained silent for a while: "Don't go to that crabapple tree these next few days. Wait and see if that little eunuch comes again. Xiao Luzi, you'll have to work hard at night these next few days and keep a close watch on that place."
Xiao Luzi readily agreed.
Qiu Hu was somewhat uneasy: "Princess? This servant thinks this is not a good thing."
Li Chenjiao finally smiled: "Alright, have you put away the knot I made? I know what I'm doing."
Upon hearing this, Qiu Hu felt a little more at ease: "Yes, this servant has already put it away."
Li Chenjiao hummed in agreement, sighing inwardly.
They've finally made their move again, but Li Chenjiao is quite curious about what it is. However, she'll have to observe for a couple of days first.
Otherwise, if we dig up the secret under that tree today, who knows, that little eunuch might bury it under another tree tomorrow.
It's better to let the people behind it think that the matter has been accomplished.
...
Inside the main courtyard.
Yu Ru quickly lifted the curtain and went inside, whispering in the Fujin's ear.
The Fujin paused in her copying of the scriptures, smiled slowly, uttered a few words, and then waved for Yu Ru to leave.
If you're going to copy scriptures, then copy them with sincerity and honesty.
...
After lunch, Li Chenjiao went for a walk. When her gaze fell on the crabapple tree, her eyes widened in surprise, and her slender hand, like a kite with a broken string, suddenly dropped.
The servant Qiu Hu was startled: "Princess? Princess?"
She saw it! She saw it!
The image of the things wrapped in purses and cloth under the crabapple tree, though I didn't know what they were, had already popped into my mind.
It was a woman, her face deathly pale, her hair disheveled, her lilac-colored dress stained with large patches of blood, and on the ground, drops of blood bloomed into little blood flowers, a pitiful and powerless sight.
The woman's eyes were closed, and she looked lifeless.
The next moment, the woman suddenly opened her eyes, her high-bridged phoenix eyes filled with pleading and resentment.
Li Chenjiao felt a splitting headache as she imagined the scene, and quickly leaned against Qiu Hu: "Help me inside..."
Qiu Hu responded and loudly called Qiu Ci out. The two maids then helped Li Chenjiao inside.
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