Wu Gege was covering her lips with a handkerchief at the moment. Upon hearing this, she removed the handkerchief and put on a forced smile: "Thank you for your concern, Madam. This servant has just been feeling a bit unwell with my stomach these past few days."
The princess consort, though unsure whether she believed her, still looked very concerned: "If you're not feeling well, you should at least have the royal physician examine you. I'll have Doctor Chen come and check on you after the banquet."
At this moment, Madam Song suddenly interjected: "What the Princess Consort said is very true. When I saw Sister Wu's reaction just now, I thought she was pregnant. She really should have a doctor take a look."
The atmosphere at the table immediately changed after Song said this.
Wu Gege remained calm and smiled slightly at Song Shi: "If I really have such good news, then I must accept Song Gege's auspicious words."
The princess raised her wine cup and turned to the fourth prince, whose expression remained unchanged: "If Princess Wu is indeed pregnant, then I would like to congratulate you in advance."
The Fourth Prince glanced around the table with a bored expression, but ultimately, not wanting to offend his wife, he picked up his wine cup and took a sip.
After finishing her drink, the princess turned her attention to Li Chenjiao.
"Speaking of which, if Consort Wu, who entered the manor last, really has good news, Consort Li doesn't need to be secretly sad. There will always be opportunities. But perhaps Consort Li's health is not good?"
To say in the backyard that a woman is unwell is practically a death sentence for Li Chenjiao, especially if the male master values offspring.
No matter how beautiful a woman is, it's all in vain if she can't have children.
Li Chenjiao: I was just sitting at home when trouble came out of nowhere.
Li Chenjiao slightly raised her jade-like face, placing the chopsticks in the chopstick rest with neither too much nor too little force, while her other hand, hanging under the table, gently caressed the surface of her brocade skirt.
She glanced at the Fourth Prince, then looked at the Princess Consort and retorted in a low voice, "Princess Consort, I don't quite understand what you mean. I'm just a servant who uses my looks to please others. How dare I ask for the Fourth Prince's children? I only hope that the Princess Consort will be pregnant. That would be a joyous occasion for our entire household."
After Li Chenjiao finished speaking, she stood up and greeted the Fourth Master with neither servility nor arrogance: "This servant has some indigestion, so I will take my leave first."
She didn't give the Fujin a chance to speak, and soon took Qiu Hu's arm and walked away, disappearing from everyone's sight.
The princess nearly dropped the jade chopsticks in her hand: "This is outrageous!"
The Fourth Prince straightened up at some point: "Madam, you've gone too far."
The courtyard fell silent instantly after the Fourth Master's seemingly casual remark.
Wu lowered her eyes, concealing the mockery within them.
Anyone could see that it was the Fujin who first stabbed Li Gege in the heart, and then listened to Li Gege's hurtful words, especially since Li Gege had always been favored.
At this moment, the Fourth Prince is probably only heartbroken that Consort Li was being bullied by the Fujin, and has even forgotten that Consort Li disrespected the Fujin.
However, Wu Gege felt that Li Gege had made the right move.
From today onwards, it's likely that no one in the entire mansion will dare to disrespect Consort Li. After all, Consort Li is someone who dares to talk back even to the Fujin (the wife of the emperor), and even dares to leave directly during a banquet.
When the Fujin heard the Fourth Prince's words, her face turned pale. She hated Li Shi's arrogance just now. If the Fourth Prince hadn't been there, she would never have let Li Shi leave the gate of the Qing Courtyard.
Fourth Master didn't say much. He casually threw the wine glass he was holding onto the table. The glass wobbled, and the remaining wine spilled down the side of the table.
The princess immediately fell silent.
The anger of a member of the imperial family is truly terrifying.
"I'm tired."
The Fourth Prince stood up, leaving without even a glance, and left the Qing Courtyard.
As they stepped out of the corridor, Su Peisheng hurriedly tied a cloak around the Fourth Master's neck, asking cautiously, "Sir, are you going back to the front courtyard or—"
Fourth Master had already started walking, his voice deep and resonant: "To the East Courtyard."
The Fourth Prince had actually heard from Consort Wu about her good fortune when he visited her courtyard last time. At that time, Consort Wu earnestly requested the Fourth Prince to wait until three months had passed before announcing it to the public.
The Fourth Prince stared at Lady Wu for a long time before finally acquiescing to her words.
The Fourth Prince had long been disappointed in his wife, ever since she started targeting Song's child.
Later, when the Fourth Prince stayed overnight at the Little Princess's courtyard, he said in a moment of passion, "Give me a child." During their intimate moments, Li Chenjiao suddenly struggled and pushed the Fourth Prince away.
Li Chenjiao's struggles were minimal, but her eyes slowly welled up with tears: "If it weren't for the child, Fourth Master wouldn't have come?"
The Fourth Prince was startled by the little princess's gaze, and he slowly shook his head.
Only then did Li Chenjiao raise her elbow to rest on the Fourth Master's shoulder, and laugh uproariously, "The Fourth Master wasn't here the day Consort Song had a difficult childbirth. This servant and Consort Bai Jia sat outside and kept watch for half the night. We were really afraid, this servant—"
Although Li Chenjiao was laughing, the Fourth Prince could tell that the little princess was sad and that her voice was gradually choking up.
Fourth Master sighed: "I misspoke."
The Fourth Prince is only twenty years old, and he devotes most of his attention to the national economy and people's livelihood. That's why he said that earlier. He really wanted the Little Princess to have an heir, so that she would have someone to rely on even when he was not in the mansion.
The Fourth Prince could then more legitimately submit a memorial to Li Chenjiao requesting that she be made a concubine.
However, since the little princess was unwilling, there was no rush.
If Li Chenjiao knew what the Fourth Prince was thinking, she would definitely say, "My master, with your favor, who in the entire mansion would dare to bully me to my face?"
The image of the little princess's tear-streaked face from that night still seems vivid in my mind. Even the Fourth Prince felt malice when he heard the Princess Consort's words during the banquet. The little princess probably doesn't even know how to cry right now.
Fourth Master quickened his pace as he recalled the little princess's disparaging words.
When Fourth Master arrived at the East Courtyard, the lights in the courtyard were still on.
Without informing Su Peisheng, the Fourth Prince went directly into the inner room, leaving Su Peisheng to stand guard outside, thinking that the little princess was probably still crying and he wanted to save her face.
The Fourth Master personally pushed open the curtain and entered the inner room, only to be taken aback.
The scene I had envisioned—the little princess sobbing at her desk—did not happen. Instead, she was sitting at the desk, enjoying a hearty meal.
Upon seeing the Fourth Prince, Qiu Hu, who was standing nearby, quickly bowed and reminded her mistress, "Greetings to the Fourth Prince."
Li Chenjiao seemed to have known all along that Fourth Master would come, and without even raising her head, she said, "Is Master hungry? Why don't you sit down and have some more?"
A bowl and chopsticks had been prepared on the table sometime beforehand.
The anger on Li Chenjiao's face disappeared as soon as she came out of the Qingyuan. What was there to be angry about in the words of the Fujin? She was just using it as an excuse to vent.
In other words, it could be described as establishing authority.
Li Chenjiao never intended to pretend to be affectionate with the Fujin. After today, no matter how unhappy the Fujin was, she would have to pretend to be kind and benevolent.
What Li Chenjiao needs to do right now is to cling to Fourth Master's coattails.
After the Fourth Prince was seated, Li Chenjiao asked pitifully, "Should I not have done that? But the words of the Princess Consort were like knives, stabbing straight into my heart."
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