Li Chenjiao always got up whenever she woke up, and as usual, she didn't see the Fourth Master in the inner room when she got up.
Qiu Hu helped her up and whispered, "It's snowing heavily outside today. The Fourth Master had breakfast in the courtyard and left a little while ago. Before leaving, he told the servants not to disturb the Princess. He also told Granny Qin that since the Princess is pregnant, learning etiquette should take the Princess's health into consideration."
As Li Chenjiao listened, a smile played on her lips: "Although it's Fourth Master's concern, he also spoke well with Granny Qin. She's been turning a blind eye to my behavior these days."
Qiu Hu understood what his princess meant.
After having breakfast, Li Chenjiao walked around the room. When Qiu Ci came in, Li Chenjiao was sitting on the tatami mat cutting paper flowers.
"It's cold outside, why are you going out to get chilled and cold?" Li Chen said coquettishly.
Qiu Ci rubbed her hands together and went to the charcoal brazier, poking at the embers: "Master, as soon as Fourth Master returned to the south side of the front courtyard, Consort Wu sent someone to invite him."
Li Chenjiao continued cutting paper snowflakes, her eyes lowered but her demeanor still composed: "What excuse did you come up with?"
The punishment imposed on Wu by the Fujin (principal wife) of confinement had not yet ended.
Wu Shi was quite interesting; instead of sending someone to invite the Fourth Master early in the morning, she waited until he returned to the front courtyard before sending someone to invite him.
It was as if she didn't want Li Chenjiao to misunderstand.
Qiu Ci stole a glance at her princess's beautiful profile: "She said she wasn't feeling well."
See, this is the difference between Princess Wu and Princess Song.
Song would only use the eldest princess as a pawn to get an audience with the Fourth Prince, but Wu would not; she would not use the eldest prince to compete for favor.
As the birth mother of the eldest prince, Wu was not feeling well, which inevitably reminded people that she had just given birth.
In addition, the Fourth Prince had only returned to the manor yesterday and had not yet seen the newly born eldest prince.
Although she didn't mention the eldest prince, every single thing she did reminded people of him; this was Wu Zetian's cleverness.
However, Wu's desire to see the Fourth Master was not for Li Chenjiao's sake.
Li Chenjiao rested her chin on her hand. The only thing that could make the Wu family so uneasy was probably the little bit of power that had been taken away from them.
She yawned lazily, then turned and smiled at Qiu Ci: "Go down and rest, this has nothing to do with us."
This matter is indeed unrelated to Li Chenjiao, but the Fujin (wife of the princess) is already holding a grudge against Li Chenjiao in her heart.
Fourth Master only returned to the manor yesterday, but instead of going to the front courtyard, he went to Li Shi's place in the east courtyard first. What does this mean?
Is the two ounces of flesh in Lady Li's belly more precious than the child in the womb of the primary consort?
Both of them had happy events, so why didn't the Fourth Prince come to the main courtyard first?
The Fujin had a headache all night yesterday, and this morning she heard from Yu Ru that Wu Shi from the South Courtyard had sent someone to invite the Fourth Prince, so she naturally got angry again.
“Even under house arrest, there’s no peace. What did the Fourth Master say in the front courtyard?” The Fujin had no appetite for breakfast, and now, though her stomach was empty, she felt extremely nauseous.
"Fourth Master has already gone to the South Courtyard."
The princess suddenly pressed her hand down on the carved rosewood chair, and it was Granny Qian who broke the silence in the room.
"You need not worry, Your Highness. After all, it was Consort Wu who offended you first, and everyone in the household knows that you have been taking care of your health lately. Since Consort Wu is not feeling well, Your Highness might as well select a cook who is good at making medicinal cuisine to go to Consort Wu's courtyard to help her take good care of her health. This will also show Your Highness's kind heart."
To put it nicely, she's a cook; to put it bluntly, she's no different from an eyeliner.
The princess breathed a sigh of relief: "As expected of the nanny, I suppose you already had a plan and a candidate in mind when you said that. I'll leave the cook to you. I trust you with your work."
Granny Qian laughed again: "It's not just Princess Wu, but also the one in the East Courtyard."
Since Li Chenjiao had already been invited to be named a secondary consort, but had not yet entered the palace to pay her respects, it would be inappropriate to call her Li Gege or Li Cefujin. So, Granny Qian simply referred to her as the one from the East Courtyard.
The princess raised her hand and pressed it to her chest: "The old nanny said that after I become pregnant, I should accumulate blessings for the child in my belly."
The Fujin clearly thought that Granny Qian was going to harm the child in Li Chenjiao's womb, and her eyes darted around as she spoke.
When Lady Wu was pregnant, she restrained herself from taking action. She didn't believe in the saying about accumulating good fortune, and naturally she didn't want Lady Li, who was a secondary consort, to give birth to a child. However, Lady Wu was afraid of the Fourth Prince.
Granny Qian sighed inwardly, but on the surface she could only be more explicit: "Of course we can't touch the one in the East Courtyard, but it's easy to make her childbirth difficult, or even make it difficult for her to give birth in the future. Besides, the one in the East Courtyard has the Fourth Prince's favor, so it's hard to guarantee that she won't develop disloyal thoughts in the future. With the Fujin's people keeping an eye on her, they can always bring back some news to the Fujin."
The princess suppressed her disappointment, but she understood that what Granny Qian said made sense. So she simply instructed Granny Qian to bring the cook she had chosen to her so that she could meet her.
With Qian Mama's suggestion, the Fujin felt much more at ease.
However, when Su Peisheng came to deliver the message in person at noon, the Fujin still couldn't sit still.
When Yu Ru came in to deliver the message, the Fujin thought it was the Fourth Prince asking Su Peisheng to come to the main courtyard for dinner that evening.
After all, she went to Li's place last night and met with Wu today, so she should be considered the wife of the pregnant woman.
But when she saw that Su Peisheng had kept his head down since he came in and had not said any words of congratulations, the Fujin's heart skipped a beat.
"Greetings to the Madam. The master sent me ahead to deliver a message that Granny Xu is getting old and her old ailment flared up in the winter, so this morning the master sent Granny Xu back to her hometown in the countryside to live out her days."
The Fujin still had a smile on her face: "She has been very diligent in the manor these days, but she left in a bit too hastily. Yuru, go to the storeroom and look for some century-old ginseng, preferably, and also pack some silver. She has been traveling through wind and snow, so we can't let her suffer from the cold. Also, find the cloak I prepared for Mother and have it delivered to her as quickly as possible by Xu Mama's carriage."
Sending off Granny Xu was a happy occasion for the Fujin (principal wife), so she was naturally happy to give Granny Xu some face, which would also make her appear virtuous.
Su Peisheng naturally bowed his head and praised the Fujin's kind heart.
"The master also said that the princess is having a hard time during her pregnancy. With Xu Mama gone, the manor is now lacking someone who can share the princess's burdens. Unfortunately, Consort Li in the East Courtyard is also pregnant, so she is probably willing but unable to help. Consort Wu in the South Courtyard used to help the princess with her work and never made a mistake. So, Consort Wu will be taking over the manor's chores these days."
After finishing his sentence in one breath, Su Peisheng added, "Don't worry, Madam. Consort Wu is only acting as an agent. The key and other such items are still in Madam's hands."
Upon hearing this, the princess was so angry that she couldn't speak.
Pointing only at Su Peisheng, he asked, "This, this is Fourth Master's intention?"
Su Peisheng bowed: "Yes. If Master has any further instructions, this servant will take his leave."
Su Peisheng clearly didn't want to get involved in this mess, and he was secretly lamenting his situation as he left the main courtyard.
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