In May, when Li Chenjiao was having dinner, the sun was still setting outside when the gatekeeper announced that the Fourth Master and the Crown Prince had arrived.
Li Chenjiao is peeling bamboo leaves and eating a zongzi. She's eating a jujube paste one, and she loves its sweet taste.
"Qiu Hu is with Granny Xu ahead, right? She can relay any messages in time. You should go and rest for a while too."
The last part was said to Qiu Ci.
Qiu Ci was a little worried at this moment. After all, it was the first time her princess had arranged such a thing, and she couldn't help but worry that there might be some oversights.
The biggest worry is that if something goes wrong, their princess will be neglected.
Li Chenjiao herself seemed quite relaxed and carefree.
As for the Fourth Master in the front yard.
He had already spoken a lot with the Crown Prince on the way, and when he heard from Granny Xu that dinner had been arranged, he turned to look at the Crown Prince.
"Then the younger brother ordered the servants to serve the meal first?"
The Crown Prince had already taken his seat. He didn't have high expectations for the meal, knowing that the Fourth Prince was an extremely proper person.
He was just using the so-called Dragon Boat Festival to leave the palace for some leisure, and the meal was an extra thing.
However, as the dishes were served one by one, the Crown Prince glanced at them and then looked back at the Fourth Prince with amusement.
"Fourth brother, you've found a confidant in your household? I was right to come today; only a simple hospitality like yours is appropriate."
After saying that, the Crown Prince laughed heartily again.
The Crown Prince knew about the behavior of the Fourth Prince's wife in his previous life; to put it bluntly, she was actually the same kind of person as the Crown Princess.
However, this was the fourth brother's family matter, so he naturally couldn't say much.
However, he had also heard that when the fourth prince went to stay at the estate this time, he did not bring his wife with him.
This meal could only have been arranged by the people in the fourth brother's backyard.
The Crown Prince lowered his head and took a sip of calamus wine, his smile deepening.
"You really know how to enjoy life, Fourth Brother."
These were words the two brothers could only speak in private, but Fourth Master did not directly agree, only smiling and saying, "It's just that it's more relaxed on the estate."
The Crown Prince then smiled again.
The Crown Prince didn't say much, but after drinking a bit too much, he couldn't help but punch the Fourth Prince's shoulder.
"When I left the manor today, I ran into Prince Zhi. That fellow was so angry when he saw me, hahaha—"
This is true—
Fortunately, only the Fourth Prince and the Crown Prince were in the courtyard. The Fourth Prince silently took a sip of wine and then replaced the Crown Prince's wine with the hangover soup that Granny Xu had just brought over.
He knew he couldn't hold his liquor, but the Crown Prince really loved to force him to drink, and the Fourth Prince's head was already a little dizzy.
It's true that you can't just drink with the Crown Prince.
The two brothers ate dinner late into the night. At this time, the road back to the capital was not safe. After the Crown Prince had drunk the hangover soup and sobered up a bit, the Fourth Prince asked the Crown Prince what he thought.
Only then was the Crown Prince settled in the front courtyard.
Fortunately, the Fourth Master did not allow anyone from the back courtyard to enter the front courtyard of the estate, otherwise it would have been inappropriate to let the Crown Prince stay overnight.
These days, Fourth Master often stays in Li Chenjiao's courtyard.
After watching the Crown Prince's attendants settle him in, the drunk Fourth Prince, still slightly dazed, stumbled into Xinlutang with Su Peisheng's help.
Li Chenjiao is now very clear about Fourth Master's drinking capacity.
As Li Chenjiao fed Fourth Master warm water, she couldn't help but whisper, "Fourth Master knows he has a low alcohol tolerance, so how come he can get drunk on wine—"
"Please don't say that the Crown Prince can drink too much," Li Chenjiao said, speaking before the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Master stared at Li Chenjiao with relatively clear eyes and slowly uttered two words: "Insolence."
Li Chenjiao slowly put down her teacup, then burst out laughing.
"Is the hot water in the clean room ready?" Li Chenjiao asked, peeking out.
She is now the least afraid of the Fourth Master when he's drunk.
After the Fourth Master finished his bath, the quiet of the night in bed was the perfect place for them to whisper secrets.
"You've arranged dinner very well tonight."
Li Chenjiao did not take credit: "It was Granny Xu who contributed more. I just thought about some of the dishes."
The Fourth Prince hummed in agreement: "I know all of that."
Li Chenjiao felt confused. What did you know now?
However, Li Chenjiao was really tired today. The holiday was quite a hardship. This morning, she reviewed the list prepared by the kitchen staff again. Choosing the wine was time-consuming, and Granny Xu came to ask several times about the replacement of the dinner utensils.
Li Chenjiao gave a perfunctory "hmm" and closed her eyes.
The candles in the New Green Hall go out early, but that may not be the case elsewhere.
The first one is the Dongfeng Academy behind it.
Princess Wu naturally heard the commotion in the front yard while she was having dinner, and she even sent her trusted confidante to inquire about it.
When she learned that it was the Crown Prince who had come to the estate for dinner during the Dragon Boat Festival, Princess Wu was somewhat surprised.
"Did Fourth Master only assign this matter to Granny Xu? Could it be that because I am pregnant, he also assigned Consort Song and Granny Xu to make arrangements together?"
When Wu Gege said this, she naturally sensed a subtle sense of crisis.
The confidant shook his head: "This servant went to Qiaoyun Courtyard and saw that, apart from the eldest princess's occasional laughter, there was the sound of Song Gege and the eldest princess's wet nurse arguing—and this servant didn't see Xu Mama go to Song Gege's courtyard either, but—"
"What do you mean? Why are you speaking so hesitantly?" Wu Gege gently stroked her abdomen, her tone still relatively calm at this moment.
"These past two days, I've often seen Granny Xu going to Xinlutang in the front. This morning, I even saw the kitchen staff moving wine to Xinlutang, and then Granny Xu went there again and stayed for quite a while."
Upon hearing this, Wu Gege immediately sat up straight, clearly finding it utterly unbelievable.
"How could it be Li? Isn't she always someone who doesn't get involved in things?"
The servant lowered his head and remained silent.
Wu was genuinely surprised, but after the initial surprise, she realized that she had underestimated Li's abilities. How could anyone not want power?
She slowly leaned back against the large cushion: "I don't need to rush this right now. It's best to send this message back to the manor so that person knows. That person should be the one who is most anxious right now."
Using someone else to do the dirty work is naturally the best approach.
What Wu should do now is to take good care of her pregnancy and hopefully give birth to a prince smoothly, so that she can then be promoted to the rank of secondary consort.
What will all of Li's favor and what we have now matter then?
Let the Fujin and Li fight it out right now.
"Such liveliness on the estate, Princess Song should know about it. It's too narrow-minded of her to be kept in the sights by a high-ranking princess. It's not like she can't have children—"
Princess Wu would love for chaos to break out both on the estate and in the manor.
That way, not so many eyes will be staring at her belly.
However, Princess Wu's wishful thinking was destined to fail in the end.
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