When the Fourth Prince returned, it was already completely dark. The head nanny had personally explained to him why the sedan chair carrying Lady Wuya had been stopped outside the side gate that day. Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince knew it was because he hadn't specifically sent someone to say so, and naturally wouldn't blame the gatekeeper at the side gate.
Looking at the Fourth Master's expression, Su Peisheng wondered if the Fourth Master would go to see that Lady Wuya tonight.
"Master, would you like to have dinner in the South Courtyard, or would you like me to bring you your meal?" Su Peisheng asked, seeing that the Fourth Master had gone straight into the study after returning and had not told him where he would have dinner.
"South Courtyard. But first, go open the storeroom and pick out two ornaments suitable for a concubine to send to her. Tell her that I will visit her when I have time, so she can settle down and feel at ease." The Fourth Prince had actually been somewhat conflicted on the way back. Regarding Lady Wuya, he still remembered the feelings he had for her more than a decade ago, but as for what he felt for her now, it seemed he truly had none.
"Yes, Your Majesty! I'll go and do it right away." Su Peisheng was delighted to see that the Fourth Master was still going to the South Courtyard, and immediately turned around to pick out a reward for Wuya.
Meanwhile, Lady Wuya had already returned from Lady Nian's place. She was hoping that the Fourth Prince would come to visit her room as soon as he returned, since today was her auspicious day of entering the manor.
"Cuiyun, take a look, do these clothes suit my skin?" As soon as Wuya returned from Nian's place, she immediately had Cuiyun serve her by washing her face, combing her hair, and putting on makeup. She even changed her clothes.
"Your Highness looks stunning in that cherry-red dress, no less beautiful than those two concubines," Cuiyun praised.
"Will he come tonight?" Having received such courteous treatment from the Nian family, Wuya's mood immediately improved. She thought the Fourth Prince would likely come tonight.
“Master should be coming today. Today is the day Master enters the manor. How could Master forget Master?” Cuiyun added.
“Alright, go and get some incense from me and light it. The master will surely like it if there’s some incense burning in the room.” As Wuya was speaking, a servant suddenly walked in through the door, followed by a younger servant.
"Excuse me, is Lady Uya here?" the servant called out.
Cuiyun quickly came out of the room to greet them and asked, "Madam is inside. May I ask who you are?"
The servant said, "We are from the front courtyard. This is a gift from our master to the madam. Please accept it. Also, our master said that the madam should stay here and rest well today."
Upon hearing that the Fourth Master had bestowed a reward, Cuiyun quickly accepted it on behalf of Wuya. Wuya also came out upon hearing the commotion and asked the young servant, "Has the master returned?"
"Yes, Master has already returned and is now in the South Courtyard. This servant takes his leave!" The young servant was sent by Su Peisheng to deliver the message.
"Wait a minute! This is for you." Uya suppressed the immense disappointment and bitterness in her heart, took out a purse from her sleeve, and handed it to the little servant.
"Thank you for your generous gift, Madam!" The young servant, seeing that the lady was quite generous, happily accepted the purse before leaving.
After he left, Cuiyun held the black lacquered tray with a red background and said in surprise, "Judging from what he said just now, the master isn't coming?"
The faint smile that had just graced Wuya's lips gradually faded, and the anticipation in her eyes slowly disappeared. She had encountered such a situation upon entering the manor today, and was already filled with grievances. She had wanted to see the Fourth Prince and have a proper talk, but now he hadn't even come on their first night. If word got out tomorrow and the masters and servants all found out, it would be even more difficult for her to survive in this manor.
“Master, look at the gifts the Master has bestowed upon us, they are truly wonderful. This servant has never seen such a beautiful jade pot before, and this lovely tricolor horse is also very fine.” Cuiyun lifted the red cloth, looked at the gifts the Fourth Master had given to Wuya, and immediately said.
But Wuya only glanced at them a few times and said, "That's not porcelain, it's white glaze. The colored ones are Tang tri-color ware. None of them are very valuable, but it's better to have them than not. Put them up!"
After saying that, she walked to the door, looked in the direction of the South Courtyard for a long time before turning back and walking towards her bedroom.
Meanwhile, Lanqin assumed that Fourth Master would definitely go to Wuya's place today, so she didn't wait for him to have dinner together. By the time Fourth Master arrived, Lanqin had already eaten half of her meal.
"Master, what's wrong? Have you had dinner yet?" Lanqin had only said two words when she realized there was no need to bring it up, so she changed her words.
"No! Why didn't you wait for me again?" Fourth Master noticed that Lanqin's complexion had recently become fair and rosy, and her cheeks had become rounder.
"I'm really hungry! What would you like to eat, Master? Have Niu Baoquan bring up two more dishes?" Lanqin said.
"No need, you haven't finished eating yet. That's enough. Bring me a bowl of rice!" Fourth Master said, sitting down next to Lanqin.
After the maid brought the Fourth Master's meal, the Fourth Master picked up his chopsticks and ate dinner with Lanqin.
"My lord, I heard from Xinyi that Father has begun to allow the princes and their offspring to study in the palace study?" Lanqin asked after mentally reviewing what she had thought of.
"Yes, Father Emperor did say so. He said that each household can send one or two children to study!" the Fourth Prince said. He hadn't mentioned this because he didn't have a legitimate son yet, the Third Prince wasn't a good student, and the Fourth Prince was too young.
"Then why don't you let the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince go to study? Such a good opportunity shouldn't be wasted!" Lanqin said hurriedly. Her plan was to have the Fourth Prince take the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince to the palace to study together, so that the Fourth Prince wouldn't have any free time to associate with people he shouldn't be with.
“Hongjun isn’t cut out for studying; he just loves to practice archery on the training ground every day. The Fourth Prince is a bit too young; it’s not too late to let him go in a couple more years!” the Fourth Prince said.
“Your Majesty, although Hongjun is not particularly outstanding in his studies, isn’t it a bit hasty to make such a decision about him so early? Although Fourth Prince Hongshi is young, he is a promising student. It would be better to let him enter the palace to study earlier, which would benefit his future studies,” Lanqin said.
The Fourth Prince was taken aback, and after a moment of silence, he said, "Then let's do as you say and send the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince in. However, they can't go home every day. They'll have to live in the palace to study."
Lanqin chuckled upon hearing this and asked, "So the palace still has a dormitory system? Where will the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince stay?"
Fourth Master said, "We'll stay in the Prince's quarters. Anyway, all those rooms are still empty."
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