That night, the Fourth Prince returned to the front courtyard, leaving the First Prince in the main courtyard to stay with his wife for the night. However, many women couldn't sleep that night.
Li was standing at the gate of her courtyard, gazing intently at the gate.
She was looking forward to it, hoping that Fourth Master would come to her courtyard tonight. In the past, Fourth Master would always come as soon as he returned, and this time would certainly be no exception.
The fact that Fourth Master comes shows that she still holds an irreplaceable and undeniable place in his heart.
But even though the moon had already hidden behind the clouds, all she received was news that the Fourth Master had already stayed in the front yard.
She was filled with resentment. Standing at the door, she stared longingly at it, her mind replaying everything that had happened since the Fourth Prince's return: he hadn't gone to the main courtyard or anywhere else; he'd had lunch and rested in the front courtyard, and he hadn't allowed the eldest prince to go to the main courtyard, but had sent his own son to see her. Without a doubt, the Princess Consort must have done something to displease the Prince. In the evening, the Fourth Prince did go to the main courtyard, and only after some time did he send someone to fetch the eldest prince there, where he had lunch. Surprisingly, the eldest and second princesses also ate there. Then, the Fourth Prince still didn't stay overnight, but he allowed the eldest prince to stay. Presumably, the Fourth Prince's anger towards the Princess Consort had subsided, otherwise he wouldn't have let the eldest prince stay.
Thinking of all this, Li's heart skipped a beat: the Fujin must have used the eldest and second princesses to appease the master and gain favor. Thinking of the second princess, Li felt a piercing pain in her heart. She was her first child, and the birth had been difficult, almost resulting in a difficult delivery. She had risked her life to give birth to Elinzhu. But the little girl was taken to the main courtyard before she was even a month old. She cried for three days straight, and even now her eyes water at the slightest breeze. Many doctors had seen her, but none could cure her, all saying it was due to excessive crying during her postpartum period. Her Elinzhu now called that woman "Mother," and she could hardly even see her. Although she was now a concubine, Elinzhu had been gone for so long that she had long forgotten her as her biological mother.
Why can't I even see my child? Li gripped the handkerchief tightly in her hand, her face showing a resolute and ruthless expression.
My goodness! Why are you so cruel? I've borne you four children! The fourth prince is almost old enough to call you "Mother" and "Father," and you don't even want to come and see me, to hear the children call you "Father"? It must be that woman; she loves to scheme behind people's backs. Could it be that Niohuru clanswoman? She wouldn't let go of you while you were on the estate, and now that you're back, she won't let go!
Li's love turned to resentment, and then to hatred. She dared not hate the Fourth Prince, because he was her only support in this life, so she could only hate the women in the Fourth Prince's harem who had taken away her favor.
Behind the Li family's small courtyard in the east, two other women were still unable to sleep.
All Song knew was that the Fourth Master had returned today; no one told her what he had done that day. At this moment, she sat upright before the bronze mirror, gazing at her incomparably dignified and beautiful face. After these past few years of recuperation, the health she had suffered during the birth of the First Princess had recovered, and her complexion had become rosy. Although she lacked the delicate fragility of a thirteen or fourteen-year-old girl, she was only in her early twenties, the most charming and alluring time of her life.
No, I can't just grow old and die here! I was the first woman to serve Master, and the first woman to bear his child. I shouldn't waste my life here. My Moyaqi is waiting for me to bring her back.
Song raised her hand and slowly stroked her face, as if she were touching a priceless treasure.
Wang, who lived in the room opposite hers, was also unable to sleep. She had borrowed some books from the Fujin (principal wife) to read, and seeing that the Fourth Prince wasn't in the manor, she grew increasingly lazy each day. Upon learning that the Fourth Prince was returning today, she immediately began to tidy herself up. Her face was no less beautiful than any of the women in the inner courtyard, so why was she being neglected in this corner by the Fourth Prince? She pondered this for many days and finally came to a conclusion: the Fourth Prince no longer judged people by their looks.
How can I regain Fourth Master's attention? Madam Wang, clutching a book, lay sprawled on the bed, pondering this question.
In the west courtyard.
Lady Yin lay on the bed with her eyes open, recalling the scene when her master summoned her to serve him those past two days. Although she was pregnant, she was past the first trimester, and as long as she didn't exert herself too much, she could still serve the master. But when the Fourth Prince summoned her, he only accompanied her to write and read books, without even saying a word to her. She had thought that Lady Niu had been disliked by the Fourth Prince for riding her horse recklessly, but then when he went hunting and to the lotus pond with the princes, it was always Lady Yin who was summoned, and she didn't even have a chance to show her face.
Why is it that even though I'm pregnant with the Fourth Prince's child, I'm still not favored? What's so great about that Lady Niu that she can monopolize the Fourth Prince's affections?!
Madam Yin was destined to have a sleepless night; the questions she was pondering were also on the minds of many others.
Wu, who lives opposite Yin, is currently venting her anger on Hong Qian.
"Are you trying to kill me with this heat? Even fanning yourself is too strenuous. Where's all your energy going?" Madam Wu, dressed only in a thin undergarment, sat on the bed scolding the maid, Hong Qian, who was fanning her. The weather was indeed unbearably hot, but it wasn't yet time to use ice. Even if it were, someone of her status as a princess wouldn't be entitled to any. In the past, when Madam Li was favored, she could curry favor and receive a little ice as a reward from her. But now, that hope was likely dashed.
Thinking of this, Wu hated Lanqin even more, cursing her eight hundred times in her heart. Especially this afternoon when she saw Lanqin visiting Gengshi, she was so jealous and resentful that she wished she could pierce through her with her eyes.
Was that little vixen deliberately using that wooden figure to disgust me? The wooden figure that Madam Wu was referring to was Geng, who had always been, and was the only one, on good terms with Lanqin.
At this moment, Madam Geng was naturally not asleep either. She lay motionless on her side, facing inwards. The maids, assuming she was asleep, lowered the gauze curtains and withdrew. Lanqin had come to see her in the afternoon and told her all the interesting stories about hunting and shrimp fishing with the Fourth Prince and the princes. It wasn't that Lanqin was showing off; the two of them simply had nothing else to say, so they could only talk about the interesting things happening outside.
"Sigh, when will Master be able to take me out to stay for a while?" Geng sighed silently in the gauze curtains and then closed her eyes.
That's just how people are. Before, Geng Shi had never had any thoughts. The reason why Li Shi and Wu Shi called her "wooden person" was because she was content to be an unknown woman in the Fourth Prince's harem. But ever since she went to the Third Prince's mansion with the Fourth Prince, her heart started to stir. Her former complacency was gradually swallowed up by her growing desire to gain the Fourth Prince's favor.
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