The Fourth Prince was reading in his study in the front yard, while Xiao Guizi was at the door in the back yard relaying the words of the Princess Consort to Su Peisheng.
After Xiao Guizi left, Su Peisheng tiptoed into the study. Ever since returning from the palace a few days ago, the Fourth Prince had been sulking and refused to let anyone know the reason.
Su Peisheng, with utmost caution, bowed and reported to the Fourth Master: "Your Majesty, the Princess Consort requests your presence. She says that the Lady of the Palace has assigned two young ladies to you, and she requests that you come over to discuss the matter of the new ladies entering the manor."
"I understand," Fourth Master said in a deep voice, but he did not move.
He couldn't get the woman he wanted, so he sent in two timid and submissive women. How were they any different from the Song and Geng women in the inner quarters?
Thinking about what happened on the day of the imperial concubine selection, the Fourth Prince was still feeling uneasy. Now, disturbed by his wife's words, he lost interest in reading and closed the book. He said to Su Peisheng, "Go and tell the wife that we will have lunch at her place."
...
Inside the East Courtyard.
Que'er was helping Li Shi to get in shape. Since giving birth to the Fourth Prince, her waist had indeed gotten much bigger. The Fourth Prince used to adore her supple waist, but now it was all sagging fat.
"Que'er, have you found out what I asked you to inquire about?" Madam Li took a breath and had Que'er pull a piece of waistband cloth behind her and tighten it behind her back.
"I've found out, Your Highness. It's said that the Fujin (princess) personally went to the Empress of Yonghe Palace to ask for it." Que'er tightened the cloth strip and, together with Xiangqiao, wrapped it around Li's waist.
"Hmph, she's not favored, so all she can think about is sending people to the master's room." Madam Li rolled her eyes in disgust.
The two maids dared not speak; such gossip about their mistress was not something they were allowed to say. Lady Li had been favored by the emperor for almost ten years, having given birth to three sons and a daughter for the Fourth Prince, and had only recently been granted a title last year. Gradually, she began to speak ill of the Prince's wife, and the maids had overheard quite a bit of it.
"Xiangqiao, go and tell Wu Gege to come over when she has time. Tell her I have some fabric that I think would suit her." Li Shi sucked in her stomach and slowly walked out of the inner room, sitting down in the main seat of the main room.
Xiangqiao curtsied and then left the house.
"Master, do you want Consort Wu to teach those two newcomers some manners?" Que'er walked behind Madam Li and massaged her shoulders.
"What are you saying? When did I ever ask Princess Wu to teach someone?" Madam Li said with her eyes closed.
"This servant knows her mistake. Master was just talking to Consort Wu." Que'er shut her mouth nervously. She remembered last year, there was a maid named Xiangling in this room who let slip to the Fujin (principal wife) that her mistress had sold her off under some pretext.
...
The wife's quarters in the backyard.
The Fourth Prince and his wife had already taken their seats at the dinner table.
Fourth Master looked at the table full of dishes, but had no appetite at all. Most of them were steamed or stewed, dishes that the kitchen made year-round.
This wife has been married to him for eight years, and she's never put any thought into food and drink. She probably doesn't even know his preferences.
Thinking of this, Fourth Master's expression grew even more unpleasant.
The Princess Consort glanced at the Fourth Prince's face, unsure of what was wrong with him, so she had no choice but to send Granny Li to fetch the invitation sent by the Empress.
"My lord, the Empress has arranged for you to eat the daughters of these two families." Seeing that the Fourth Prince didn't seem to want to eat much, the Fujin also lost her appetite. This was almost always the case whenever she dined with him.
After speaking, Granny Li handed a card to the Princess Consort. The Princess Consort personally handed it to the Fourth Prince.
Fourth Master didn't want to look at it at first, but seeing that she kept holding it up, he had no choice but to take it and glance at it hastily.
When he saw the words "Niohuru Lanqin", his eyelids twitched, and he looked at them more carefully.
That's right, she is the legitimate daughter of Lingzhu, a fourth-rank official.
Without revealing his true feelings, the Fourth Prince placed the invitation on the table and said gently to his wife, "Wife, please eat more. I think you're not eating enough."
Standing beside her, Granny Li secretly nudged the Fujin from behind, implying that the Fourth Prince was showing her favor and she should quickly respond and stop being so aloof.
"My lord, you should use more too." The princess thought for a long time but couldn't come up with a coquettish remark, so she could only say this.
Standing outside the door, Su Peisheng watched anxiously, thinking to himself: "It's Li Consort of the East Courtyard who knows how to talk. If it were her, she would probably be sitting on my lap this time, wanting me to feed her."
"My lord, when will these two new princesses be brought in? The Empress is still waiting for a reply!" the Fujin asked again.
Li Mama sighed inwardly, thinking to herself: "Madam, why are you still mentioning the new princess now? Why don't you take advantage of the good atmosphere and get closer to the master?"
The Fujin (Prince's wife) actually had her own plans. She had long since discerned that the Fourth Prince's mood had suddenly brightened after seeing the invitation. It seemed he either already knew the two new concubines, or he truly disliked the one in the East Courtyard. Therefore, she went along with his wishes and quickly brought them in. After all, there could only be one primary Fujin, and only two secondary Fujins. Having more concubines would allow her to share some of Li Shi's favor; for the past eight years, she had been almost completely overshadowed by her.
"Please come in, both of you. Tomorrow is an auspicious day. Go and arrange for them to be picked up. Set up a feast in the main courtyard then," Fourth Master said calmly.
After lunch, the Fourth Prince returned to the front yard. He then went to the drill ground to practice archery for a while, and personally taught the Third Prince how to ride a horse. The two of them played together in the drill ground for an entire afternoon.
"Father, let's have dinner at Mother's place tonight. It's been a long time since I've dined with Mother and Father," the Third Prince said, blinking his eyes as he pleaded with the Fourth Prince.
"This is what your mother told you to say." The Fourth Prince saw that the Third Prince was covered in sweat, so he picked him up from the horse and asked.
"Mother didn't say it, but your son wants to dine with Father." The three princes, who were only four and a half years old, did not yet know how to curry favor with their mothers, but a child's instinct was to want their parents to be together day and night.
The Fourth Prince looked at the Third Prince for a while, then suddenly remembered the Fourth Prince who was still in swaddling clothes. He smiled and said, "Alright, go take a bath first. Your father will go over to your mother's place for dinner tonight."
The Third Prince was overjoyed and immediately pulled the eunuch serving him back to the East Courtyard to tell his mother.
As the Fourth Prince watched the Third Prince's retreating figure, his brows gradually furrowed. It seemed that the Third Prince had to move out of the East Courtyard; otherwise, the closeness or distance between the adults would inevitably affect the child sooner or later.
Over the past two years, Li's relationship with the Fujin (the primary consort) had deteriorated. Although he disliked the Fujin, he did not want Li to do anything that crossed the line. After all, Ulanara was the Emperor's personal consort, and no matter how favored Li was, she was only a secondary consort; she could not surpass the Fujin.
However, in the evening, the Fourth Prince still went to the East Courtyard to have dinner with Madam Li, his two sons, and the Second Princess.
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