When the Fourth Prince came out of the palace with several children, the snow had already started to fall. The Fourth Prince was covered in snow, which Li Chenjiao, sitting in the carriage, naturally did not see.
She and the Fujin left the palace a little earlier, and had been waiting for about fifteen minutes, during which time they had also witnessed some excitement.
That is, the Third Master was helped out of the palace while drunk, and he also overheard something about what happened at the Baohe Hall.
When the Fourth Prince was led into the carriage by Dongsheng, the Second Princess was already fast asleep on Li Chenjiao's lap, her cloak half-covering her face.
The Fourth Prince, upon boarding the carriage and glancing at her, quickly quieted down. He crouched slightly and walked to the other side of his mother, quietly taking off his cloak and placing it over her knees.
Li Chenjiao, who was taking a nap, trembled slightly with her eyelashes. She opened her eyes and saw that it was Wanwan, so she knew that the Fourth Prince had come out of the palace. She raised her hand and touched the back of the Fourth Prince's hand: "Is it snowing?"
As she withdrew her hand, she twirled the snowflakes she had plucked from the Fourth Prince's clothes, her fingertips feeling slightly cool.
The Fourth Prince touched his mother's hand with his palm, which was slightly warm from the hand warmer, and said in a low, breathy voice, "Yes, I played with it for a while. It was fun."
Li Chenjiao raised her hand again and touched Wanwan's face, which was slightly cool as expected.
"Who did you play with?" she asked in a whisper, rubbing her hands together before covering the Second Princess's ears.
"I played with my third brother for a bit, and then I played with Dongsheng the rest of the time."
Li Chenjiao hummed in agreement and didn't ask any further questions: "Go back and drink ginger soup. Are you cold?"
The Fourth Prince shook his head and said he wasn't cold, so Li Chenjiao reached out and hugged him before closing her eyes again.
By the time they returned to the manor, it was already past midnight. Li Chenjiao woke up the Second Princess in advance and personally helped the two children put on their cloaks. The hand warmer wasn't very warm anymore, so she simply handed it to the maids.
When they got off the carriage, the snow outside was falling even harder. One umbrella wasn't big enough, so Li Chenjiao arranged for two children to share one umbrella. Dongsheng and Xiaoluzi were in front, and Lin Mama and Lüju were behind. Qiuhu was holding the umbrella next to Li Chenjiao.
The snow was too heavy, and the princess was too embarrassed to say anything polite, so she waved her hand to signal everyone to disperse.
The Fourth Prince glanced at the crowd, his vision blurring. The aftereffects of the wine he had given the Third Prince in the Hall of Supreme Harmony were now surging within him. He didn't say anything, but glanced at Li Chenjiao and her two companions, and then looked at Su Peisheng as he looked away.
Su Peisheng understood immediately, waved his hand lightly, and Fulu silently followed behind him.
Seeing this, Fourth Master gave Su Peisheng a rare glare, and Su Peisheng quickly stepped forward to support him: "Master?"
Fourth Master said in a low voice, "I have prepared three purses in the study in the front courtyard. Take them and deliver them to Master Li in the east courtyard."
Oh, no wonder Fourth Master gave him a disapproving look earlier; he misunderstood.
Su Peisheng quickly agreed and then turned around to give instructions to Fulu.
Li Chenjiao and her group returned to the East Courtyard at a leisurely pace. The roads were slippery due to the snow, and even though it was cold, Li Chenjiao dared not let the children walk too fast.
Li Chenjiao had just returned to the East Courtyard when she found that the East Courtyard had already received advance notice and made preparations. Upon returning, she found the East Courtyard to be warm and cozy, with hot water already prepared in the clean room.
Li Chenjiao first watched the two children drink the ginger soup, and then personally bathed with the little girl, who was already so sleepy that she could barely keep her eyes open.
After the little girl finished her bath, it was almost New Year's Eve, and just then, good fortune arrived.
Fu Lu said that Fourth Master had asked him to send it. Li Chenjiao first had Qiu Hu accept it, and then, because it was the New Year, she also had Qiu Hu give Fu Lu a large red envelope.
After Xiao Luzi saw Fu Lu off, Li Chenjiao looked at the small characters on the purse and gave one to the Second Princess and the Fourth Prince, keeping the last one for herself.
She weighed it in her hand; it was quite heavy.
Li Chenjiao first opened her purse; no wonder it was so heavy.
It is a gold ingot, with a filigree bracelet next to it.
Is this... New Year's money?
Sure enough, when Li Chenjiao went to look at the purses that the Fourth Prince had prepared for the Second Princess and the Fourth Prince, they were indeed all gold ingots, each with a small gold lock, and together they seemed to be a pair.
Alright, Li Chenjiao placed the two purses on the bedside of the two children, and then she herself went to make her own arrangements while yawning.
No, no, it really won't work... I have to get up around 3:30 AM tomorrow, and then I have to go to the palace around 3:30 AM.
If things aren't settled soon, Li Chenjiao won't be able to sleep at all tonight.
Outside, the wind and snow continued all night, but inside, it was warm and cozy, and Li Chenjiao slept very comfortably.
After drinking the hangover soup in the front yard, Fourth Master quickly fell asleep.
Some people sleep peacefully in the Forbidden City, while others cannot escape the ravages of the night.
The Emperor did not enter the inner palace that night, but simply settled down in the West Warm Pavilion.
However, His Majesty did not sleep well that night. Although he closed his eyes and slept peacefully, he was still drowsy.
In a daze, it seemed as if he had entered a misty, cloud-shrouded place where nothing could be seen. The Emperor subconsciously raised his hand to fiddle with something, and then walked forward unconsciously. After an unknown amount of time, he finally broke through the mist and found a small path.
Looking closer, it turned out to be the same scene as before.
The figures in the palaces and pavilions were vaguely discernible as those of the Tongjia clan... His Majesty called out, but there was no response.
The Emperor rushed towards the figure, sometimes near, sometimes far, catching up with the person under the covered walkway. The two were a few steps apart when, upon seeing the person's face, he was startled again: "Ayi...Ayi..."
Now even His Majesty forgot about the Tongjia clan; the woman standing before him was clearly the Hesheli clan, his first wife.
His heart pounded, and he rushed forward to chase after her, almost within reach, but the next second Hesheli disappeared from his sight again.
The Emperor suddenly stumbled: "Ayi, Ayi..."
"Why is the Emperor here?"
His Majesty heard another melodious voice. He turned around and saw it was Tongjia Shi, who had just appeared. She was holding the hand of a young prince, and her face looked somewhat familiar.
When His Majesty turned his head again, it seemed as if the Hesheli clansman who had just appeared was merely a hallucination...
"Father...Father..."
His Majesty heard someone call him "Father Emperor" again; it was Bao Cheng's voice... yet it didn't quite sound like him... His Majesty felt a tightness in his chest...
When he opened his eyes again, His Majesty's hand was still over his heart, and his chest was rising and falling slightly.
Looking sideways, they saw no one; upon closer inspection, they could no longer find any trace of Hesheli or Tongjia.
His Majesty hadn't dreamt of Hesheli and Tongjia for quite some time.
Or perhaps it's because Hesheli and Tongjia hadn't appeared in his dreams for a long time.
I don't know if it's because I blame him or something else...
The Emperor straightened up, and Liang Jiugong, who was on night watch outside, heard the noise and hurriedly went inside: "It's only the hour of Yin (3-5 AM), is Your Majesty having a nightmare?"
The Emperor raised his hand and pressed his temples. At this moment, his mind was only on that dream, and he had no desire to sleep.
Seeing this, Liang Jiugong withdrew again.
The Emperor lay back down, and he couldn't help but think...
Did Ayi come to him in his dream to blame him, to blame him for crippling Baocheng...? He was his and Ayi's only child...
And the Tongjia clan...
The Emperor thought about many things, and no one knows how he closed his eyes again.
It's unlikely I'll be able to sleep soundly again.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com