"Keep an eye on Li Gege. If I find out that Li Gege has left her room, you will all be in for a beating."
Li Tiao wondered if this meant she was being confined to her home.
Before she could even process what he said, she saw the Fourth Prince reach out to her, and Li Tiao blinked in confusion.
"How much money did you make from Lao Ba?"
Understanding the Fourth Prince's meaning, Li Tiao instinctively took two steps back. Although the gold ingot was not on her at the moment, Li Tiao still subconsciously put her hands behind her back to avoid the Fourth Prince's outstretched hand.
That's ruthless! They've been undermining themselves time and time again!
Li Tiao was determined to never comply, even if it meant death. She had no money, but she could take her life.
Seeing Li Tiao's actions, the Fourth Prince said nothing more and went into Li Tiao's room.
Seeing this, Li Tiao also took off running after the Fourth Prince into the house.
Chunxi and Su Peisheng didn't understand what was wrong with their two masters. Before they even entered the house, the door was slammed shut.
"Master, you can't do this. That's money I earned myself."
Seeing that the Fourth Prince was heading towards the kang (heated brick bed) and even rummaging through the cabinets on it, Li Tiao nimbly darted onto the kang and fiercely protected the cabinets.
Originally, the Fourth Prince was just guessing, but now, seeing Li Tiao's blatant attempt to conceal something, he knew that she had probably hidden her money there.
“You don’t need money for food and drink, so what do you need so much money for? Besides, that money came from Lao Ba. What will the brothers think of me? They’ll think I’m mistreating you.”
Li Tiao scoffed at the Fourth Prince's patient persuasion, thinking to herself, "Aren't you just being harsh on me? Otherwise, why would you even take my money?"
Although Li Tiao realized that her actions had revealed to the Fourth Prince where she had hidden her gold.
But she thought that as long as she could get rid of the Fourth Prince, she could hide herself again.
Because of her silence, the Fourth Prince spoke again: "You heard a lot in Kunning Palace just now. The Eighth Prince wants you to leave the palace and hide you. And you've saved so much money. Could it be that you're planning to work with him from the inside?"
"No, this servant has no."
Li Tiao wanted to run away, but she would never have anything to do with the Eighth Prince again. Wouldn't it be better to run away alone?
"Since there isn't..."
“Master, in front of you, I am indeed of lowly status, but in front of the servants, I am at least a mistress. I have not given any of my own money to the servants.”
"I can disregard my own pride and be called stingy, but I cannot let Master be gossiped about as well. I am now the only person serving you, and my reputation, to some extent, represents you. So, Master, please... show mercy..."
The Fourth Prince stared at Li Tiao for a long time before turning and leaving.
Hearing the Fourth Prince outside instructing the palace maids and eunuchs to keep an eye on her and not let her go out, Li Tiao breathed a sigh of relief but was also very depressed.
She was frustrated by her bad luck, wondering why she was so unlucky that the Fourth Prince always managed to catch her doing something wrong.
She thought that her birth chart and the Fourth Prince's birth chart must be incompatible, not only incompatible but also clashing.
However, Li Tiao was more concerned about her golden treasure. She quickly found the gold ingot in the cabinet on the kang (a heated brick bed), sat cross-legged on the kang, and observed it for a long time. Finally, Li Tiao found a wonderful place to hide it.
She carefully placed the gold in a box and put it in the fire pit under the kang (a heated brick bed). Since the weather was hot and the kang wasn't heated, no one would care about that spot.
As for winter... Li Tiao thought that she would have run away long ago by winter.
Just as she hid and was about to stand up, the door suddenly opened, startling Li Tiao so much that she quickly stood still and blocked the opening under the kang (a heated brick bed).
When she saw that it was Chunxi who came in, she breathed a sigh of relief: "You scared me to death, I thought it was Master."
"Master, why did the master place you under house arrest?"
Li Tiao sighed, "Who knows? It doesn't matter."
For now, Li Tiao doesn't want to think about these things. Being confined to her quarters is fine; she can use this time to make some plans. If she can escape, that would be the best outcome. If she can't, Emperor Kangxi has already issued an imperial decree that the Fourth Prince will be given a separate residence. The residence is already there; all that's needed is to tidy it up properly inside.
Li Tiao felt it wouldn't take long.
Now Li Tiao is worried about one thing after another. In addition to how to escape, the Eighth Prince's changed attitude is also troubling her.
Being confined to her quarters by the Fourth Prince meant that the Eighth Prince could no longer reach her, which was a good thing.
But the fact that Consort De killed Granny Liu... Li Tiao always found it a bit unbelievable.
Although the Eighth Prince asked her to investigate why Consort De and the Fourth Prince had such a bad relationship, Li Tiao managed to fool her.
But deep down, Li Tiao was also curious.
Li Tiao's intuition told her that Consort De's killing of Granny Liu was probably related to her bad relationship with the Fourth Prince.
Glancing at the busy Chunxi, Li Tiao waited until she had almost finished her work before asking, "Chunxi, why do you think Consort De killed Granny Liu?"
"Your Majesty, this servant does not know."
"Go and find out, isn't there any gossip around here at the Prince's residence? Liu Mama was previously punished by the Prince and sent to the East Third Residence, where she's been with those supervising matrons. Don't you know anything about those supervising matrons?"
Chunxi stopped what she was doing and asked Li Tiao, "What do you mean, Master?"
"Try to find out from those old women and ask them about it," Li Tiao said. "Consort De has always had a problem with me. Although it's not a big deal for a concubine to kill an old woman, Liu the old woman was brought from my maiden family. I should at least ask about it."
“My lady, I understand what you mean. I will help you inquire. However, as you know, I entered the palace with you and am not very familiar with the people in the palace, so... it's best if you don't have too high hopes.”
Li Tiao naturally understood. After thinking for a while and struggling for a long time, she took out the loose silver she had earned from those young princes from her purse: "Here, take this. Be careful when you ask those old women for information."
Chunxi initially refused, but Li Tiao insisted, and in the end she accepted the silver.
Although she seemed very generous, Li Tiao still felt a pang of heartache for a long time, after all, she was not as well off as before and did not have as much money.
After Li Tiao was placed under house arrest, the Fourth Prince never appeared. Li Tiao was happy to have some peace and quiet, no longer needing to think of ways to appease that prince.
The only inconvenience for Li Tiao was that she couldn't go anywhere, which made her a little bored.
Just as Li Tiao was wondering if she would continue like this until the Fourth Prince was given his own residence, the Fourth Prince came to Li Tiao's place that very day.
"Go out with the prince?" Li Tiao was extremely surprised to hear the Fourth Prince's words: "This servant is just a concubine, is it appropriate for me to go out with the prince?"
"So you're saying you don't want to anymore?" the Fourth Prince retorted.
Li Tiao certainly wanted to, but she was afraid it was a trap.
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