The matter of Li Si'er's visit to the mansion quickly subsided, since only Li Chenjiao, the principal wife, and the servants knew that it was Li Si'er who had come to pay her respects.
When the Fujin heard that Li Si'er had been seen off, she simply lay leisurely on the Yangfei couch in the main courtyard.
The princess chuckled and casually placed five scallions against the belly of her jade teacup: "The person has been sent away?"
Yu Rudun said.
The princess shook her robe: "Did Li Si'er say anything to Li Shi?"
Yu Ru shook her head: "This servant had the maid listen behind the screen. Li Si'er's words were very unpleasant. At first, Consort Li was smiling, but later she was probably provoked by Li Si'er and ended up speaking less politely."
Upon hearing this, the Fujin laughed again: "Although Li Si'er is indeed annoying, he can at least keep that one in the East Courtyard in check."
Ultimately, for the Fujin (wife of the emperor), she disliked Li Si'er, but she disliked even more the glamorous and flamboyant people in her own household.
Yu Ru, sitting below, was stunned for a moment upon hearing this, but in the end, she silently suppressed the cold look that Consort Li had given her earlier.
Enough. The situation in the manor is unclear right now, so it's best to let the Fujin worry less about the East Courtyard Consort.
Yu Ru could see clearly that the East Courtyard Consort was currently enjoying great favor. The Left and Right Consorts, who had been favored for the past two or three years, had never overstepped their bounds, nor had they tried to seize power like Consort Wu of the South Courtyard.
Yu Ru observed that the ambitions of Consort Li of the East Courtyard were far less than those of Consort Wu of the South Courtyard.
The princess was in a good mood, and Yu Ru didn't want to spoil her mistress's good mood.
Things have calmed down in the manor, but Fourth Master is still unaware of what's happening there. Right now, he's hearing Su Peisheng mention another matter.
"Reporting to Your Majesty, after the morning court session, Lord Longkodo was invited by His Majesty to the Qianqing Palace for a game of chess. He hasn't come out yet, and I reckon he'll be staying for lunch."
Su Peisheng spoke these words with trepidation.
Su Peisheng could still feel the echoes in his ears from the conversation between his master and Lord Longkodo outside the Forbidden City yesterday.
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince simply gave a faint "hmm" to indicate that he understood.
It was actually within Longkodo's expectations that his father would summon him to the Qianqing Palace.
He wasn't in a hurry, and instead asked about other things first: "Have you done everything I asked you to do?"
Su Peisheng replied, "As per Master's instructions, I only instructed the officials accompanying the journey to keep a close watch on Lord Li. I didn't give any other instructions. The officials were just doing their jobs for money and didn't know that this was Master's order."
Fourth Master grunted in response, then waved his hand without looking up.
Su Peisheng hesitated for a moment, but eventually obediently withdrew.
However, before Su Peisheng could leave, he was suddenly stopped by his master.
"I heard that Fei Yanggu is ill. Later, I will ask Fu Lu from the manor to go to the master's private storehouse and find two top-quality century-old ginseng roots to send to Fei Yanggu."
Su Peisheng responded with an "eh," but couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
In the past, regardless of whether there was a reason or not, the Fourth Prince would always send the chief eunuch Su Peisheng to the Ulanara clan during holidays. But this time, the Fourth Prince sent Fulu instead.
It's clear that the master still remembers the serious mistake that almost happened when Young Master Wu participated in the retest last time.
Su Peisheng had been serving his master closely, so he was naturally fully aware of the matter of the retest.
At that time, Fourth Master was not planning to accept the gifts sent by Lord Nian Xialing, but he heard about the foolish things of the five criminals when he left the yamen that evening.
In order to clean up the mess left by the Fifth Prince and to clear his name of the "Fourth Prince's maternal cousins' involvement in the bribery case," the master wrote the memorial to His Majesty despite the storm.
Su Peisheng knew perfectly well that among the Ulanara clan, there were none outstanding enough to share the burden with their master, and on the contrary, there were a lot of people who required their master's attention.
Looking at the Li family, although they were only from the Five Banners under the Han Army, they had a clean family background. Their father and brother were not confused, and they did not spread rumors about taking advantage of the Fourth Prince's influence to act recklessly just because their daughter became a concubine in the Fourth Prince's mansion.
Putting everything else aside, at least this way it saves you a lot of trouble.
See? Right now, although the master won't promote anyone out of favoritism, he'll still look after them to some extent.
However, Su Peisheng really couldn't figure out Lord Longkodo's situation for the time being.
However, he couldn't easily guess what his master was thinking. Since his master had his own plans, he just needed to keep a close eye on the storms outside.
Su Peisheng had people secretly keeping watch outside the Forbidden City gates, so he was naturally well aware that Lord Longkodo only left the residence in the evening.
It's no exaggeration to say that Lord Longkodo spent most of the day in the Qianqing Palace of the Forbidden City and received the Emperor's favor.
When Su Peisheng reported back, the Fourth Prince had already mounted his horse. After hearing Su Peisheng's report, the Fourth Prince first asked, "Is today the first day of the month?"
Su Peisheng replied, "Yes, Master, it is indeed the first day of the tenth month."
The Fourth Master remained silent for a long while before nodding, flicking his whip, and riding away in a cloud of dust.
Su Peisheng wondered if the first day of the tenth month was some kind of special day. If it was a festival, how come he had never known about it after serving his master for so many years?
After thinking it over, Su Peisheng decided to ride his horse and follow the Fourth Master.
When the Fourth Prince arrived at the mansion, Longkodo had already returned home under the cover of night.
The gatekeepers didn't need to say anything more; they understood just by looking at Longkodo's back.
"Where did you go to rest again? That's really—"
One of the servants muttered under his breath.
"Ever since that person entered the manor, have you ever seen the master rest anywhere else? But that person is truly fortunate; before, he was merely—"
"Shh, don't you want your head? Don't you know that person is most sensitive about others mentioning those things? She is indeed lucky, but her heart is really hard. If what you just said had reached her ears, no one could have protected you."
The courtyard where Li Si'er lived was named Lilutang, a name she chose herself, and she even asked Longkodo to inscribe it and hang it in front of the hall.
When Longkodo arrived, he was staring blankly at the three characters "Lilutang" above his head. The little girl said timidly, "Sir, the master said that you can only enter if you bring silver."
Longkodo skillfully felt the purse, and finally simply threw it into the little girl's hand.
The little girl bounced around, feeling light as a feather, and a relieved smile appeared on her face. She then pushed open the carved door for Longkodo.
"Even the officials outside know that money is the best policy. I hope the master won't be angry about this."
Li Si'er's voice came from inside, naturally charming.
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