Chapter Fifty-Five: Soup and Rice

  Qiu Yan said it was right, the second prince's marriage had nothing to do with them.

  If the fourth prince gets married, it would be completely different.

  Song Can's domineering ways won't last much longer. Even if the future second prince consort has a good temper, she still can't tolerate her.

  Unless the second prince's consort is a holy mother like the second daughter in Dream of the Red Chamber.

  But the probability is too small.

  Thinking of this, even if it was her who informed on him and secretly harmed him last time, Chao Sheng didn't feel much hatred towards her.

  Song Can is both hateful and pitiful. Even if she has the means to reach the heavens, she's just a palace maid, a slave. The second prince's consort can have her dealt with without any reason.

  Song Can only relied on the Second Prince, but would the Second Prince still cherish this old affection?

  Chao Sheng used to think that Chun Mo was quite silly, now looking at it, Song Can is the same. Although they have an old relationship with their masters, those are master-servant relationships, and turning them into male-female relationships is a bit...

  What's the value of old love? The prince will never lack beautiful women around him. In three to five years, it'll be a new generation replacing the old one. Becoming a concubine is actually worse than being a slave, who can see you at any time. When the time comes and you don't have a son or daughter, who will remember who you are? Look at the emperor, the entire harem is like a backyard garden, with an absolute number of women exceeding three thousand. Even if the ratio of beauties is one in ten, there would still be three to five hundred - not to mention that these women were carefully selected when entering the palace, and the ratio is definitely not just one in ten, but possibly even one in five or one in three. As long as the emperor is willing to indulge, he can taste something new every day.

  Hmmm... So, it seems that the Emperor is quite self-disciplined after all. He doesn't have that many women - one Empress, a few consorts and concubines, and some talented beauties, adding up to around fifty or sixty in total? Before Chao Sheng was born, when she was helping her aunt in the laundry alley, she had kept track of whose clothes were from which palace and whose mistress they belonged to. Of course, it's possible that some people's clothes weren't sent for washing, so the number would have to be increased by a few more, but not too many.

  Han Xiang has always been honest and hardworking, her status is not particularly important, the second prince's marriage should not have too much impact on her.

  But now that the second prince is getting married, does he have to move out of Yi Qiufeng Palace?

  It is highly likely that the third prince heard that after getting married, he moved out of the East Palace and had his own mansion outside.

  The second prince is moving out, and other princes will probably move in again.

  It's really an iron-clad camp and flowing water soldiers.

  The second prince is also getting married, and next it will be the fourth prince's turn.

  Nor did they know that the fourth prince had become a family man, and what would happen to these people.

  This year, the fourth prince had many social engagements. In addition to going to the Chongwen Pavilion, he also went horseback riding, archery, and attended banquets and poetry gatherings. At that time, people would gather for various reasons, not like modern times when they could simply say "let's go out for a drink". But in those days, people didn't value straightforwardness, instead emphasizing elegance and subtlety. There were countless activities such as spring outings, sending off the old year, rain viewing, lake tours, welcoming the wind, seeing off guests, flower appreciation, moon appreciation, snow appreciation, and so on.

  At first, Chao Sheng thought that these bookworms were just idle and had nothing better to do, wasting their time on useless things. But later he found out that these things were actually quite useful. How can two strangers get acquainted? They can't just go up to each other's doorsteps and introduce themselves with a name card; they need someone to make introductions, which is where all sorts of gatherings come in - it's not all about indulging in food and drink like Chao Sheng thought.

  The master is not at home, and the workload is naturally much lighter. The fourth prince is a good master. If he doesn't come back for lunch or dinner, he will always send someone to say something, so as not to let them prepare in vain. Sometimes he would bring some small things from outside, which are enough to surprise people. For example, Autumn got a piece of Liyun eight-angle silk handkerchief, and Chao Sheng also got a pair of oil bamboo lacquer boxes.

  Today is Chao Sheng's turn on duty, she lights the candle and takes out her needlework to do. She hasn't done a few stitches when she hears footsteps outside, Xiao Shun lifts up the curtain, and Chao Sheng goes forward to greet him. The Fourth Prince strides in from outside, bringing with him a chill in the air.

  Unexpectedly, the fourth prince untied his cloak and ordered, "Get something to eat."

  No wonder you came back so early, it turns out you didn't have dinner.

  Chao Sheng went to the small kitchen and looked, there were also ready-made things, she used a tray to bring them over. As they passed by the door, Xiao Shun smelled the fragrance and tiptoed to take a peek at the tray. Chao Sheng asked in a low voice, "You haven't eaten either?"

  "No," Xiaoshun sucked in some saliva: "What is this?"

  "It's soup and rice." Chao Sheng said: "There is still some in the kitchen, just on the fire, you can go eat it yourself when you are free."

  Xiao Shun smiled and said: "I know."

  Chao Sheng arranged the bowls, plates, cups and chopsticks, and the fourth prince sat down: "What's for dinner today?"

  "This is soup rice, you have to mix it yourself and eat."

  Steamed white rice in a bamboo steamer, served with diced bean sprouts, winter mushrooms, ham, shrimp, vegetable hearts, and sauce in small bowls shaped like plum blossoms. Another ceramic pot contains piping hot chicken soup.

  "This is refreshing." The fourth prince smiled and scooped half a bowl of rice, then ladled some winter mushroom ham sauce on top of the rice, finally pouring a spoonful of soup over it, stirring with his spoon, and took a bite.

  "Hmm, stir-frying it yourself makes it taste better."

  Chao Sheng smiled: "Your Highness, why did you come back without eating today? Fortunately, the kitchen had prepared some."

  "Something happened today," the fourth prince, who was particular about his health, stopped eating after finishing a bowl of rice. After taking a sip of tea, he continued: "Today was supposed to be a send-off, but the person being sent off didn't show up."

  "Hmm?" Chao Sheng thought for a moment: "Is it because something happened at his home, so he left ahead of time?"

  "No, his family thought he was attending the meeting and even sent someone to look for him." The fourth prince shook his head: "This person is usually very punctual, never like today. A few people discussed it and sent people to search for him everywhere, I just came back first."

  He's a big man now, he shouldn't get lost. Most likely something really happened, no wonder these people didn't even have time to eat their meals, the fourth prince returned on an empty stomach.

  The fourth prince usually loves to read poetry books, and the people who come and go are almost all of the same type. As time goes on, it's inevitable that Chao Sheng will find it a bit strange - how did those two robes she mended get torn like that in the first place?

  She now knew the origin of those two pieces of clothing - they were made by Cheng Meiren before she passed away, struggling to make them for her son. How old was the fourth prince at that time? Three years old? Five years old? Cheng Meiren had imagined her son's future size when making those two robes.

  She sews clothes with the thought of her son becoming a handsome young man in the future.

  It was just his appearance after growing up, she couldn't see it anymore.

  Chao Sheng helped the fourth prince change into his nightclothes and get into bed, then stood outside the screen for a while. As the weather gradually cooled down, Chao Sheng wrapped himself tightly in his quilt, gazing at the swaying tree shadows on the window paper.

  Since hearing Aunt Li mention some past events during the New Year, Chao Sheng felt that the Fourth Prince was indeed not easy to deal with.

  She was a beautiful woman from a humble background, who had once stayed in the Washing Clothes Alley. Later, she was favored by the emperor, but soon lost his favor. Although she gave birth to a son, she remained a minor beauty until her death. The fourth prince lost his mother and had no one to take care of him. Now he looks glorious, but when he was young, he really suffered a lot.

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  Suddenly found that these chapters are all about eating...

  Uh, am I really a foodie?

  Chengdu's food doesn't suit my taste, and it looks like three more pimples are about to appear on my face...

  Fortunately, I can return home tomorrow