October 15th, two days after the Golden Festival.
Fourth Master has not returned to the manor for two consecutive days. It is said that he is busy with errands outside. However, Li Chenjiao, after hearing Xiao Luzi's report that night, guessed that something must have happened.
To be honest, even though it was Prime Minister Su who had gotten into trouble, Li Chenjiao was still somewhat worried.
In Li Chenjiao's mind, Fourth Master had always had a good relationship with Crown Prince. For example, Crown Prince would drink with Fourth Master at the estate in the past, and Fourth Master always showed respect for Crown Prince in his words.
Li Chenjiao didn't sleep well last night, and she lost count of how many dreams she had. Of course, she was concerned about Fourth Master, since no one in the manor could escape his troubles.
When Li Chenjiao woke up in the morning, her eyes were swollen. Then, Green Bamboo brought two eggs from the small kitchen and applied them to Li Chenjiao's eyes, one on each side. Finally, when the eggs were no longer hot, they were given to the little girl who was going to school in the front yard.
Because she wasn't feeling well, Li Chenjiao still had Qiu Hu apply makeup to cover it up. She hadn't slept well, so she got up earlier. Although the makeup took a while, she still arrived at the main courtyard earlier than usual.
But unexpectedly, Li Chenjiao was the last one to arrive today.
Sitting opposite her was still Madam Song, and below Madam Song was Madam Wu. Madam Wu looked no different from before, except that she was more taciturn than before, but this was probably also because Madam Song did not deliberately argue with Madam Wu.
Putting aside the favoritism towards their children, everyone was actually quite the same. Madam Song loved to bicker with Madam Wu, and now that their banter had stopped, she felt a little strange and unaccustomed to it.
She was just waiting for the Fujin (principal wife) to come out so she could have a good, unrestrained argument with her.
Everyone is here today, including Miss Lu. Miss Lu was given a courtyard by the Fujin (principal wife) in the midst of her busy schedule; it wasn't a very nice courtyard.
It was right behind the courtyard where Xie Shi used to live, which was also the courtyard where Wu Shi lived before she was pregnant with the eldest prince. The courtyard was neither too big nor too small; to be precise, it was probably in front of Li Chenjiao's east courtyard.
However, this Miss Lu has been keeping a low profile these past few days, probably because she was slapped by the head of the household for her outrageous remarks that night. There has been no news of her leaving her courtyard.
Yu Ru's slap that day was not light. Although several days have passed, there are still faint red marks on her face. Zhu herself did not try to hide it, and did not even flinch when everyone looked at her.
But only she knew how difficult it was for her to hide the fear in her eyes.
That slap that day certainly taught her a lesson.
As everyone chatted about trivial matters, the Princess Consort emerged from behind the screen above.
The princess's complexion looked quite good.
Although she was indeed worried about the Fourth Prince not returning to the manor for the past two days, her thoughts were somewhat different from Li Chenjiao's. With the Crown Prince out of favor, apart from the Prince Zhi who was clearly in power, the other princes also had a chance.
It's a pity that it was Suo'etu who fell from power, not the Crown Prince himself, but for the Fujin (the wife of the Crown Prince), it could still be considered a good thing.
These past two days, the Princess Consort has had a rare good night's sleep, which is a relief for her, as she hasn't had a good night's sleep since giving birth to the Second Prince.
When she woke up this morning, the maids all praised her for her good complexion, which naturally made the Fujin even happier.
Later, Yu Ru said, "Then it must be that the calming prescription that Wang Jinzhong offered a few days ago was indeed effective."
After the princess finished washing up, she remembered that there was indeed such a thing. She heard that Wang Jinzhong had asked someone in the palace to find the recipe, and the princess had been using that incense for the past few days.
However, the princess was still a little worried: "Let's stop for now."
Yu Ru agreed.
Wang Jinzhong was punished and is still bedridden. Just when he was trying to find medicine for his injuries, he got this calming prescription. The imperial physicians had already checked it and said it was usable. However, since his wife was worried about Yu Ru, she naturally agreed.
Wang Jinzhong was, after all, a eunuch who came from the Imperial Household Department. Even if he tried his best to climb the ranks, he still had to see if his wife would use him.
As soon as the Fujin came out from the upper seat, Li Chenjiao was a little puzzled because she didn't feel the needle-like pain. Was it because the children weren't around? Or was the Fujin acting normally today?
Li Chenjiao was lost in thought for a while, and when she came back to her senses, the atmosphere in the room had become somewhat tense for some reason.
She didn't act rashly, but first looked towards the source, where Wu Shi was sitting a little below her.
"No need for your concern, Madam. If the First Prince is watching from heaven, he will see everything clearly. Your concern is admirable. I imagine that my First Prince is also thinking of the Second Prince all the time. I wonder when the brothers will be reunited."
Wu, who had remained calm and composed from the moment she sat down until her wife appeared, suddenly seemed to be stressed.
The woman sitting next to her, surnamed Song, was already dumbfounded.
Goodness, it turns out that Wu Shi always gives in to her when they argue. If she were the Fujin (principal wife), she would probably be furious with Wu Shi's words right now.
That's the Second Prince, who cursed the Princess Consort in a roundabout way!
Just thinking about how Wu Shi had just lost her eldest son, and how he might have been harmed by the Fujin (wife of the emperor), Song Shi couldn't help but sigh. After thinking for a moment, she finally said, despite the puzzled looks from everyone, "That day will come eventually. Sister Wu is too impatient."
She meant... well, that's what she meant, I guess.
Song tugged at her handkerchief, and finally chose to give up on herself.
Li Chenjiao understood now, but she also chimed in, though she put it much more tactfully: "Princess Wu is so heartbroken that she's talking nonsense. Your Highness is very magnanimous and will naturally not blame her."
She spoke up before the Fujin could reprimand her, trying to shut the Fujin up no matter what.
The words that were about to come out of the Fujin's mouth had to be stopped. Her gaze swept over Wu Shi, Song Shi, and Li Shi, who had spoken earlier, and she felt that the good mood she had when she woke up this morning had all vanished.
This is absolutely outrageous!
Yu Ru quickly stepped forward to support the Fujin, patting her back lightly without making it obvious.
The princess paused for a moment, first saying "okay," before continuing, "Madam Wu, you are overwhelmed with grief, so naturally I won't hold it against you. But if these words reach the master's ears, I won't be able to protect you either."
The princess was very clever; she directly brought up the Fourth Prince.
The eldest prince is gone, but her second prince is still alive and well.
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