When Jinju and Putao carried Hongli back to the South Courtyard, Lanqin was talking to Baizhi, Nian Shi's maid. It turned out that Nian Shi was in charge of the house repairs. Because two new ladies-in-waiting, Fucha Shi and Liu Shi, had joined the household in May.

Construction on the houses for them had begun at the beginning of the year, and the location was chosen on an open space near the garden of the Fourth Prince's mansion. Perhaps the Fourth Prince anticipated that his harem might become increasingly crowded in the future, so he simply replanned the layout and had the construction servants add several courtyards.

"This is something your concubine can discuss with the head nanny or the master; there's no need to come and discuss it with me, your concubine," Lanqin said, taking a sip of tea from a white glazed teacup with blue and white floral patterns.

"Consort, our master said that these matters used to be managed by you, and she wants to learn from your experience," Bai Zhi said.

"Alright, ask away. I will tell you everything I know," Lanqin said. She knew that Lady Nian was only trying to get her to intervene in the matter of the new concubine entering the mansion. Otherwise, she felt a little unwilling to do so alone, as she wanted to intervene but also felt it wasn't her business alone.

Over the years Lanqin had spent with Nian Shi, she had come to realize that Nian Shi was not at all like the hot-tempered and vicious woman portrayed in later television dramas. Even if she were, it was only because her family was destined for future prosperity. The honor and disgrace of these women in the inner quarters were closely related to the rise and fall of their families. Judging from Nian Shi's daily behavior and speech, she was simply a wealthy and beautiful woman with a bit of a temper and a high level of self-confidence. She wasn't actually that malicious; she was somewhat arrogant, self-righteous, and narrow-minded.

“The concubine, or rather, our principal wife, is having some trouble deciding how to arrange the rooms and furnish them. It’s said that the two brides who are about to enter are both daughters of well-to-do families. Our mistress doesn’t know what the master is thinking, and is afraid that if the arrangement isn’t done well, the brides might suffer, which would be bad for the master,” Bai Zhi said.

Lanqin glanced at Baizhi a few times and thought that the maidservant beside Nian was scheming. So she said, "Let me think about it and then go and discuss it with Sister Nian. Actually, there are rules about how to arrange a princess's room. We might as well ask the head nanny first."

Bai Zhi curtsied and said, "Yes, this servant has come here because our Consort Niu wants to discuss this matter with her. This servant will go back and report to our mistress that Consort Niu has made up her mind and wants to discuss it together."

Lanqin vaguely heard Hongli's voice, and lost interest in talking to Baizhi any further, so she nodded. After Baizhi took her leave, Lanqin said to Cui Niang, "The Sixth Prince and the others have returned. Bring them in so we can see them."

Cui Niang had already seen Jinju and Putao carrying Hongli into the courtyard of the South Courtyard. Hongli looked like he had suffered some grievance, and he was sobbing intermittently.

"What's wrong with Hongli?" When Lanqin walked to the door, she saw that little Hongli, who was being held in Putao's arms, didn't look well and looked like he had been crying.

"Reporting to Consort Jinju, this servant knows her mistake and begs for punishment!" Jinju bowed and said.

"What's wrong with you? You took the Sixth Prince out. It's nothing," Lanqin said.

“No, we were carrying the Sixth Prince to chase the kite when we ran into Consort Geng and the Seventh Prince in the garden,” Grape said immediately.

Both Cui Niang and Lan Qin were shocked by the two maids' words. Cui Niang couldn't help but immediately scold them, "How dare you two openly disobey the master's orders! The Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince are not allowed to meet. You carried the Sixth Prince out and ran so far away. Have you forgotten the master's rules?"

Jinju and Putao knew they were in the wrong, so they dared not say anything and could only lower their heads and let Cui Niang scold them.

"Hand the Sixth Prince to me." Lanqin also felt that the two maids should be punished.

After Grape handed Hongli to Lanqin, the two maids let Cui Niang scold them. Lanqin turned to leave with Hongli in her arms, but then, as if remembering something, she turned back to the two maids and asked, "Didn't anything happen?"

Jinju glanced nervously at Lanqin, then exchanged a look with Putao before saying to Lanqin, "Seventh Prince, Seventh Prince has fallen down."

Lanqin felt a pang in her heart. Although Hongzhou had been with the Geng family for several months and she had forced herself to try not to think about him, hearing that he had fallen felt like a knife had been plunged into her heart.

"How badly did you fall? How did you fall?" Seeing that Lanqin's complexion was not good, Cui Niang immediately asked.

"I checked, and thankfully he's alright, but the Seventh Prince is crying terribly! I reckon he fell and hurt his cheek," Grape said, her face still wet with tears.

Hearing this, Lanqin felt extremely distressed. She said to Cui Niang, "You two take Hongli to wash up, then give him something to eat. I will go and check on Hongzhou."

After Jinju carried Hongli away, Lanqin helped Cui Niang and said, "Come with me to Sister Geng's place."

The two, mistress and servant, walked towards the new courtyard of the Geng family. When the courtyard was completed, the Geng family specially named it "Cunhui Hall".

When Lanqin and her servant arrived at the entrance of Cunhui Hall, the old women guarding the door were quite surprised to see that it was Lanqin, but they dared not stop her and hurriedly ran inside to report.

When Lanqin arrived at the main house of the Geng family, she saw that the Geng family had already come out to greet her.

"The concubine has arrived!" Lady Geng said with a smile.

"I heard Hongzhou fell. How is he?" Lanqin asked with concern.

“It’s nothing serious. I’ve already punished the maid who fell. Hongzhou is already asleep, so please don’t disturb him,” Geng said gently.

But Lanqin felt a pang of unease as she listened. It seemed that Madam Geng didn't want her to see Hongzhou again, even though she was Hongzhou's birth mother. Lanqin hadn't expected Madam Geng to be so strict with Hongzhou, as if she couldn't even see him easily.

"I'm worried, I'd better go check on Hongzhou," Lanqin said.

“Consort, Hongzhou is really alright, just a scrape. I’ve already cleaned it for him. Consort herself said before that she would never see Hongzhou again. And when Hongzhou grows up, she will not tell him about his relationship with the Sixth Prince. Does Consort really want to break her own decision now?” Geng Shi said.

Lanqin looked at Madam Geng as if she were a complete stranger. Yet, she could understand. Madam Geng had spent half her life without favor, confined to this inner quarters, practically a living dead. Now that she finally had Hongzhou, her possessiveness towards him was not to be underestimated.