Uya was helped into the room arranged for her by the Fourth Prince. The matchmaker said a few auspicious words, received a reward, and then left. All of Uya's belongings, which she had brought with her, were placed in the main room, and then everyone left. According to custom, concubines were not served; they had to arrange everything for themselves. Uya had only brought Cuiyun and these things because Consort De had specially taken care of her.

Uya sat upright on her wedding bed, looked around her room, and saw that the surroundings were better than those in the Xiao family. After all, this was the prince's residence, and even the lowest-ranking concubine lived in a better house than the average wealthy family.

"Cuiyun, I'm hungry. Go get something to eat first. We can get these things later when we're full!" Wuya felt hungry, and looking at the situation, she realized that the Fourth Master was probably not even in the manor. This day was a joyous occasion for her, but for the Fourth Master, it was merely the day a concubine entered the household.

"Yes, this servant will go out and ask right away, and bring in some food for you first. Please stay here, this servant will be right back," Cuiyun said.

Uya nodded, and after Cuiyun went out to fetch the meal, she began to inspect the rooms that the Fourth Master had arranged for her. Clearly, they were too large for the two of them and seemed rather empty.

Wuya walked to the window, pushed open the wooden window, and saw Wu across the way admiring a row of potted flowers in front of her house with a little girl. The little girl was about three and a half years old, with fair and delicate features, and slightly resembled Yan Yu. She was Namin, the third princess born to Yan Yu, the younger sister of the Fujin.

Wuya looked at Wu, noticing how kind she treated the little girl, following her closely as if afraid of making a mistake. Wuya thought of her own daughter, Man'er, who was now ten years old and had naturally stayed with the Xiao family, living with her uncle's family. Wuya felt a pang of sadness. She had insisted on divorcing her deceased husband, leaving alone to marry the Fourth Prince. But she could no longer fulfill her role as a mother to her daughter.

Meanwhile, Cuiyun went to the gatekeeper of the west courtyard to inquire about the location of the mansion's kitchen, and then went to fetch her meal. Upon arriving at the kitchen, she saw it was a long, narrow room with two doors. Inside were a series of traditional stoves, each tended by several people. Some stoves had large steamers on them, steaming something; others had large iron pots on them, simmering something; still others were frying something—it was all very busy, and no one noticed the new face who had arrived.

"Hey, where are you from?" Huang, the eunuch in charge of the kitchen, was lying in a room next to the kitchen, holding a purple clay teapot. When he saw a woman with an unfamiliar face passing by, he immediately stood up and went out to ask.

"I am a new maidservant of Mistress Wuya. Our mistress is hungry, so I came to bring her some food," Cuiyun said quickly.

"Master Wuya?" Eunuch Huang thought for a moment, then seemed to remember something and said, "Is she a concubine who just entered the manor?" Because when a princess enters the manor, a feast is prepared, and the masters from various departments are invited to meet her, but concubines receive nothing. The head matron naturally sent someone to tell Eunuch Huang that an extra meal should be prepared from now on, which is why he remembered her.

Cuiyun felt slightly uncomfortable seeing the contemptuous tone in Huang's voice, but she still nodded in agreement.

"Little Chenzi, come here quickly!" Eunuch Huang called out from inside. A young servant with a whip coiled around his neck ran out, his face beaming with smiles.

"Take her in and fetch the concubines' rations of food," Eunuch Huang instructed.

So Cuiyun followed Xiao Chenzi to fetch the meal. Seeing that there was nothing to curry favor with, Eunuch Huang turned around and went back to his room to drink tea.

Cuiyun followed Xiao Chenzi to a large table covered with many dishes. Xiao Chenzi took out a food box for her and, without asking her a question, quickly took out a plate of sesame oil chicken, a plate of mushroom and pork slices, a plate of chive and egg yolk pancakes, and a plate of bell pepper and pork stir-fry from the dishes. Then he took two bowls of rice and a bowl of green vegetables and mushrooms.

"Here, take good care of this food box. You'll use it to carry your meals every day from now on," Xiao Chenzi said, handing the food box filled with food to Cuiyun.

"You didn't even ask me, how would you know what our master likes to eat?" Cuiyun said discontentedly, without taking the food basket.

"You don't know the rules, do you? What right do concubines have to order food? I'm only here for the first time, so the food isn't bad." Xiao Chenzi saw that Cuiyun not only didn't appreciate it, but also complained about the food.

"You!" Cuiyun was so angry that she couldn't speak. She grabbed the food basket and turned to leave quickly.

Meanwhile, after waiting for a long time and seeing that Cuiyun hadn't returned, Wuya went to the table to pour herself a glass of water. However, the water in the kettle was cold.

"How can there not even be someone to pour hot water!" Uya finally said, sounding somewhat uncomfortable.

"Little sister, you've just arrived, you probably don't know the rules yet!" Suddenly, a gentle voice came from the doorway.

When Wuya looked up, she saw a woman whose appearance wasn't particularly good; it was Geng, who lived in the west courtyard. She walked to the door with her maid and saw that Wuya was alone in the room. She knew in her heart that Wuya's status was probably lower than her own, and she shouldn't even be qualified to live in these rooms.

"Sister, what are your rules?" Wuya was not actually younger than Geng, but because she came later, she addressed Geng as "sister."

“If my sister’s identity is that of a princess, there should be maids serving her in the room right now. If not, then my sister will have to take care of her own food and daily life from now on,” said Madam Geng, standing outside the door.

"Thank you for telling me, elder sister. I understand now." Only now did Wuya realize what a concubine's status was—she didn't even have anyone to serve her tea or water. Luckily, Cuiyun had come in with her; otherwise, she really would have had to do everything herself.

"No need to thank me, Lulan. Go to the gatehouse and fetch a bottle of hot water for the newlyweds," Madam Geng instructed.

"No, that won't do. It's better to wait until the maid I brought in comes back before we drink!" Uya said hurriedly.

"It's alright, my sister is new here, so there are bound to be some things she's not familiar with yet. She'll get used to it after she gets to know herself better," said Madam Geng. She knew that this newcomer was just a concubine, yet she was able to live in this west courtyard, which meant that she was no ordinary person. Moreover, she shared the same surname as Consort De, so she was probably sent over from the Uya family.