The next day, the Fourth Prince returned to the palace early and instructed Su Peisheng not to tell anyone that he had fainted in the palace.
The master and servant sat in the carriage. The fourth master closed his eyes and said, "Where have you had tea or meals? Which ones didn't go through your hands?"
Su Peisheng knelt at the carriage door. When he saw the Fourth Master ask this question, he immediately began to confidently recall the Fourth Master's daily life in the mansion.
He pondered for a moment and said, "Master usually eats in the front courtyard and the south courtyard in the mansion, and has never eaten in other places. However, he has had tea and such with the princesses in various places."
The Fourth Prince thought for a moment and then said nothing more. The carriage traveled briskly and soon arrived at the Fourth Prince's residence.
Meanwhile, ever since Peach Blossom was kept in the Yehe family mansion, she had been doing the lowest-level jobs, such as serving Yehe's spittoon or chamber pot. Although the work was tiring and dirty, it allowed her to come into contact with Yehe.
However, whenever Yehe wanted to speak with Yuhen, she would often send them away. Peach Blossom recalled what she had seen in the tea room that day and tried to find a way to get there, but Yuhen seemed very wary of them; no one except herself was allowed to enter the tea room.
The reason Peach Blossom and Nian Shi staged that act of deep affection between mistress and servant was to get Peach Blossom back and find out what Yuhen had put in the tea that day. However, besides washing Yehe Shi's undergarments and bed sheets, and emptying spittoons and chamber pots, Peach Blossom was also made to do rough work by Yuhen and Yulu. In short, Peach Blossom was so tired from morning till night that she couldn't even straighten her back, yet she still hadn't had a chance to go to the tea room.
Around dusk, the Fourth Prince returned from the palace and suddenly summoned Yehe Shi to the front courtyard, something that had never happened before. Yehe Shi was overjoyed and immediately ordered Yuhen to help her change her clothes and comb her hair. After that, she did a thorough makeover before taking Yuhen's hand and going to the front courtyard.
Peach Blossom followed the instructions and went into Yehe's room to tidy up the clothes she had changed out of.
Finding no one in the room, Peach Blossom began to peek at Yehe's dressing table or the cabinet where small items were displayed. She couldn't go into the tea room; Yuhen always locked the door when she left.
She secretly began to examine Yehe's dressing table, but after searching around, she still found nothing.
"Peach Blossom, have you taken out all of the princess's clothes?" Yu Lu suddenly walked in and saw Peach Blossom kneeling in front of Yehe's dressing table. "What are you doing? Are you trying to steal the princess's jewelry?"
Peach Blossom, interrupted by Jade Dew, quickly changed her tune and said, "Sister Jade Dew, I just saw a bead fall on the ground here and picked it up for the princess. What are you saying, sister!"
At this moment, Yu Lu was not afraid of Tao Hua at all. She walked over in a few steps and saw that Tao Hua was indeed holding a jade bead in her hand. She raised her eyebrows and said, "The princess asked you to clean the clothes that needed washing. She never asked you to check her jewelry. I think you are just dishonest and trying to steal the princess's things."
Peach looked at Jade Dew with fear and pleaded, "Sister Jade Dew, I really just saw a piece of jade fall on the ground and wanted to pick it up for you, my lady. Please don't tell her. I won't do it again."
Yu Lu thought back to how this Peach Blossom had looked down on the Yehe clan for being powerless and treacherous, even going so far as to betray them and frame the princess. She had long held her in contempt. Now, seeing her plead with her, she felt a surge of comfort and pleasure.
"Alright, if you don't want me to tell, that's fine too. Could you wash both my and Yuhen's clothes for me?" Yulu said, staring at Taohua.
Peach Blossom suppressed her resentment and smiled shamelessly, "Of course, I'll wash all of Jade Dew Sister's clothes from now on."
Seeing the peach blossoms' fawning and ingratiating manner, Yu Lu felt extremely pleased with herself.
Meanwhile, Yehe Shi had already entered the Fourth Master's front courtyard with Yuhen's help, and the Fourth Master had already asked Su Peisheng to bring over dinner.
"Your Highness greets me!" Yehe Shi saw that the Fourth Prince was already sitting at the dining table set up in the main room.
"Come and sit down." Fourth Master glanced at Yehe Shi a few times. She was wearing a light apricot-red cheongsam, her hair was styled in a high bun, and she wore a set of gilded emerald headdress, which made her look cool and beautiful, radiating beauty.
With Yuhen's help, Yeheshi took off the moon-white cloak embroidered with roses and sat obediently to the side of the Fourth Prince.
"Have a meal with me," the Fourth Master said gently.
Yehe agreed with affection in her eyes, serving dishes to the Fourth Master and even talking to him about the books she had read and the ancient music she had played in the past few days.
Standing to the side, Su Peisheng quietly observed Yehe Shi, thinking to himself: Although Yehe Shi is not as beautiful as Nian Shi, she has her own unique charm; in terms of talent, she is outstanding among all the princesses; and in terms of shrewdness, I always feel that there is something unfathomable about her.
The Fourth Prince also began to chat with Lady Yehe, asking her about her past experiences in the inner chambers and about her brothers and sisters.
Su Peisheng watched as Yehe Shi, with a shy expression, chatted quite harmoniously with the Fourth Prince. Little did he know that as soon as the Fourth Prince returned to the mansion, he immediately ordered people to investigate the people around Yehe Shi who had been coming and going from the mansion in the past three months, and also began to investigate Yehe Shi and her family's situation.
After hearing Consort De's words, the Fourth Prince suddenly began to suspect that he had been drugged. Otherwise, why would he suddenly be so enthusiastic about sex and so infatuated with Yehe?
Soon, the gatekeeper replied that Yuhen had gone out twice, claiming she was visiting her family. Seeing the edict from the Yehe Clan, the gatekeeper had no reason to stop her. It turned out that all the maids serving the princesses and other mistresses could request a small amount of freedom to visit their families.
"Don't you have too few maids? Why don't you send two more over?" Fourth Master said.
"I don't need any more. The concubine only has four maids. How can I surpass her?" Yehe said this, but she was very happy in her heart.
“We’ve already added more servants to Consort Nian’s side. Now she has ten maids, six rough-working women, and three general servants. Consort Nian also has six maids. Why don’t you add two more?” the Fourth Prince said.
"Thank you, Your Highness, but Yuhen and Yulu have been with me since they were little, and I'm not used to other people," Yehe said modestly, bowing her head. In front of the Fourth Prince, she always pretended to be forbearing, modest, and indifferent to worldly affairs.
"Yuhen, are you a servant born into the family or a maid who was bought?" Fourth Master suddenly looked up and asked the maid standing behind Yehe.
Yuhen was surprised that the Fourth Prince would suddenly speak to her, and her face turned red. She whispered, "I entered the Yehenara Mansion when I was seven years old, and I served the Princess as soon as I entered."
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