The Fourth Prince's favoritism is too obvious. His favoritism in pampering was so obvious in the past two years, but in the last two years, or even just in the last year, anyone who pays attention can find out by looking through the records that the Fourth Prince only calls for water when he is resting and settling down in the East Courtyard.
In other words, when the Fourth Master was resting elsewhere, he would not call for water. The few times he did call for water were mostly because he had gotten his clothes dirty while accompanying the children to practice calligraphy, or because he had spilled tea and wet his clothes, so he would call for water to bathe and change clothes.
Fourth Master's heart had long since strayed, but he was completely unaware of it before; now, however, he belatedly realizes it...
He himself didn't think there was anything wrong with it.
So, although he spoke through gritted teeth about favoring Li Chenjiao, his eyes clearly showed doting affection.
Fourth Master's heart is biased towards Li Chenjiao, so it is naturally difficult for him to treat everyone equally in many matters.
This led to Li Chenjiao's statement, "People's hearts are always biased." Li Chenjiao could see Fourth Master's favoritism, but she never exposed it.
Over time, Li Chenjiao never forgot the kindness that Fourth Master had shown her. However, she had won Fourth Master's heart step by step to get to where she was now. For her, all of this could not be said to be a matter of course, but it was also not enough to make her grateful to Fourth Master for his favoritism and affection.
Is it really that easy to win someone's heart?
In many situations and struggles, she wasn't incapable; she simply chose to remain inactive.
It's good. With the Fourth Prince's favoritism protecting her, she doesn't forget her true self and always stays vigilant. There's nothing wrong with living her life this way.
This year marks the triennial general election, and soon there may be new people entering the mansion. Li Chenjiao never looks at others; she only looks at the Fourth Prince.
The two looked at each other silently for a while, and Li Chenjiao was the first to burst out laughing: "It's time for lunch, otherwise Aman and Wanwan will probably be hungry. I've been working hard lately, so I asked the kitchen to add two dishes. Please try them and see if they suit your taste?"
Fourth Master took Li Chenjiao's hand in return, both of their hands still carrying a faint scent of oranges: "Wanwan told me a few days ago that she wanted to fly a kite. Is the kite ready? I'll take you to the manor for a relaxing day when I have some free time these days."
Li Chenjiao didn't ask when the Fourth Prince had discussed it with the Fourth Master. She walked outside side by side with the Fourth Master, and the warm spring sun felt comfortable on their skin. "Then I'm really benefiting from Wanwan's success. I made two or three kites that Wanwan liked, and Aman also came up with some designs she liked. Xiaolu and the others are working on them these past two days."
The two talked like an ordinary couple as they walked toward the flower hall. Fourth Master said again, "Second Princess has delicate hands. Be careful that the kite string doesn't rub against her hands. I'll have Su Peisheng bring some kites from the storeroom tomorrow that won't rub against her hands."
Upon hearing this, Li Chenjiao smiled and glanced at the Fourth Prince: "Now that you only care about the Second Princess, I'm going to play with her kite later."
The maids followed behind. Fourth Master tightened his grip on Li Chenjiao's hand slightly, his voice tinged with amusement: "Last time, I don't know who it was that flew a kite for less than a quarter of an hour before complaining of being tired. What are you going to do flying a kite? Last time I told you I'd teach you how to use a riding whip. Take your riding clothes out and air them out these next few days. No slacking off!"
Li Chenjiao hissed softly. Well, Fourth Master hasn't forgotten about teaching her how to use a horsewhip.
As the two talked, they arrived at the octagonal table in the flower hall. The two children were already sitting obediently. When they saw their father and mother come out, the two children looked up with smiling faces, which was heartwarming to see.
The Fourth Prince is still young, and there are many foods on the table that he cannot touch. However, he insists on eating with his father, mother, and daughter. Li Chenjiao couldn't persuade him otherwise, so she thought of the family and brought the little one along. She asked Qiu Hu to remember to add an extra small table every day.
Of the two children, the Second Princess is already able to eat by herself. The bowls and chopsticks she uses are specially made, otherwise, it is feared that the chopsticks will poke the little girl's face. Both children are teething, but the little girl's teeth have almost come in, while the Fourth Prince is still small and cannot hold the chopsticks very steadily. His teeth are also still growing. The food is mostly placed in front of the two children according to their situation.
Li Chenjiao sat with the Fourth Master, not worrying much about the two children during the meal. There were wet nurses watching over them on both sides, and the children would also ask for food if they wanted it but couldn't get it.
However, someone arrived at the main courtyard when lunch was only halfway through; it was Yu Ru, the lady-in-waiting of the Fujin.
Li Chenjiao remained silent, waiting for Fourth Master to speak and let Yu Ru in.
As Yu Ru entered, she bowed and quickly glanced around. The two little ones were focused on eating and didn't even look up.
On the other side, the master and his concubine were sitting together. When she came in, the fourth master was serving the concubine a piece of food with his chopsticks. They looked very affectionate.
This side seemed like a happy family, but the principal wife was secretly anxious.
Yu Ru gritted her teeth and replied with suppressed anger, "This morning, Consort Liu came to pay her respects and left a box of milk cakes. The Second Prince is young and has a sweet tooth. Seeing that he liked them, the Princess Consort fed him two pieces to relieve the bitterness after he took his medicine. But suddenly, the Second Prince started vomiting uncontrollably and broke out in a rash. It was quite frightening, and our Princess Consort was very worried..."
As Li Chenjiao listened, she couldn't help but sit up straight.
On the other side, before Yu Ru could even speak, Lü Ju had already covered the little girl's ears. The Fourth Prince also had his wet nurse follow suit, otherwise the children might have been frightened.
The Fourth Prince put down his chopsticks, his face grave: "Where is the imperial physician? Su Peisheng, go to the main courtyard."
He stood up and turned back.
Li Chenjiao then stood up: "Since it's the Second Prince's fault, I'd better go with you to see him."
The Fourth Prince pressed down on her shoulder: "Second Princess and Fourth Prince are still young, so you should look after them. Second Prince is under my care."
Li Chenjiao sat back down and said, "After the children have eaten and settled in, I will go to the main courtyard to take a look."
Fourth Master hummed in agreement, then leaned closer to Li Chenjiao and whispered a few words.
Yu Ru stood to the side, watching quietly. Her eyes were calm and expressionless, which was unsettling.
Fourth Master went to the main courtyard without even finishing his lunch. The maids didn't dare to speak first, since both young masters were there.
After the young masters finished their meal and left, the two maids, Qiu Hu and Qiu Ci, stayed behind to serve them.
Qiu Ci spoke first: "Something doesn't seem right. Why is it Liu Gege who left the cakes after paying her respects..."
Everyone in the back courtyard knew that Consort Liu had been currying favor with the Fujin (Prince's wife) ever since she entered the manor… How dare she bring the problematic cakes to harm the Second Prince?
If anyone truly harbors deep hatred for the Fujin (the wife of the emperor), it should be Consort Wu.
But the Princess Consort would never risk her precious second son.
For someone like Li Chenjiao, she never easily touches food sent from outside... One would expect the Fujin (principal wife) to be even more cautious.
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