When news of Song's visit reached Lanqin's ears, our Comrade Lanqin was skipping rope in her self-made "sports uniform"! The so-called sports uniform was very simple; it was just a set of modern pajamas made of cloth, similar to the undergarments of the ancients, only not as loose. Lanqin specially asked an embroiderer to cut out a set of undergarments that fit her quite well, and then she modified it herself, turning it into the short-sleeved and short-short "sports uniform" she is wearing now.

Why was she jumping rope? Naturally, it was to lose weight—a pre-pregnancy weight loss plan for her pregnancy. For a while, Lanqin had been taking supplements, and combined with her enormous appetite and Old Man Niu's unparalleled cooking skills, she had become quite plump. Although Fourth Master had said he liked her plump appearance and that she didn't need to lose weight, when Lanqin noticed her belly and armpits starting to bulge out, she immediately sought out Nianxue, asked her to find her a jump rope, and solemnly devised a weight loss and fitness plan. Although she had never had children, Lin Mengyao remembered a former colleague saying that if you're overweight before pregnancy, it's best to lose weight beforehand, otherwise, once you're actually pregnant, your weight will skyrocket!

"Princess, Princess Song has arrived. This servant has already welcomed her to the main room for tea," Nianxue said to Lanqin, who was jumping rope in the study.

"Her!" Lanqin jumped up and down, trying to speak, but she couldn't get the words out because she was breathing too fast.

"Princess, after you finish dancing, should we let her go back first?" Nianxue wondered, seeing that Lanqin showed no sign of stopping.

"I'll be right there, you, you call her, wait a minute." He had to repeat this simple sentence to Lanqin three times.

After Nianxue went out to give her reply, Lanqin jumped a few more times before collapsing to the ground from exhaustion. Ziran, who was behind her, immediately stepped forward to help her up.

"Princess, are you alright?" Zi Ran took the rope from Lan Qin's hand and tried to help her up.

"I'm so tired. Losing weight is really hard. Zi Ran, I really envy you. You're naturally thin and can't gain weight no matter what you eat." Lan Qin looked at Zi Ran's slender waist and was helped to stand up.

“Your Highness is not fat at all, why are you envious of me?” Zi Ran put down the rope and quickly went to a basin of water that had been prepared, and wrung out a handkerchief to wipe Lan Qin’s face.

"This Song Gege has never been here before, why is she here today?" Lanqin asked Ziran while wiping her face.

"This servant doesn't know, Princess. Let this servant help you change your clothes." Zi Ran picked up the clothes that were placed to the side.

Meanwhile, Madam Song was already seated in the guest seat of the main house in the south courtyard, and Nianxue had already served her a cup of plum juice.

"What is this?" Madam Song asked, seeing a pool of dark purple water in the blue-and-white porcelain cup, which she had never seen before.

“Song Gege, this is a ‘drink’ invented by my princess. She calls it ‘sour plum soup’.” Nianxue pronounced the three words “sour plum soup” very accurately.

“Sour plum drink? I’ve never heard of such a tea before. The things here, Sister Niu, are truly unique.” As Madam Song was speaking, she saw Lanqin walk in and immediately stood up to greet her, saying, “Sister, I hope I haven’t disturbed you.”

"Sister, what are you saying? It's very peaceful here. It would be better if you all came and disturbed me. It's just a pity that Lanqin has been in the manor for more than half a year, and today we finally welcome our second guest. It's you, Sister Song." Lanqin took Song's hand and led her to sit down on the couch.

"Sister Song, Lanqin congratulates you. I heard that the eldest princess has been allowed to visit you every day." Lanqin guessed that Madam Song would say this, so she took the initiative to speak. Only she knew that this meant that the Fourth Prince had taken her words to heart.

“Sister, I’ve come precisely for this matter. Sister, please tell me honestly, did you mention to Fourth Master what I said in the pavilion that day, and did you even plead with him on my behalf?” Madam Song said, looking at Lanqin with gratitude. Since Lanqin and Madam Yin entered the manor, she had never had any interaction with these two young princesses. In her eyes, they were almost the same age as the eldest princess, so she felt there was nothing to say to them.

"I already said that Sister Song was an old servant who had served the Master, and he would definitely have special feelings for her. What does it have to do with me?" Lanqin decided to remain silent. Her words weren't the key to arranging the meeting between Song and the Eldest Princess. The key was that the Fourth Master felt guilty about sending the Eldest Princess away, which was why he did it. Looking at Song's grateful expression, Lanqin thought to herself, what would happen if Song knew that the Eldest Princess might be married off to Mongolia by Emperor Kangxi for a political alliance? Sigh, this woman who can't raise her own child is truly...

“Sister, don’t try to hide it from me. You know very well what my position is in the Master’s heart. Ever since you said those things in the pavilion that day, the Master came to my place the next day, then the eldest princess was taken there, and then today’s events happened. Although I am not very clever, I am not blind or deaf. You must have pleaded with the Fourth Master for me.” Seeing that Lanqin refused to admit it, Madam Song was even more moved, and tears welled up in her eyes as she spoke.

Oh dear, our Comrade Lin Mengyao just can't stand seeing a beautiful woman shed tears. This Song woman is definitely a great beauty, although she is a bit old (actually, she is only 25 years old, still a young woman, but three hundred years ago, she was already a mother of a child, and an 11-year-old child at that).

“Sister Song, are you about to cry? Isn’t it a good thing that the eldest princess comes to visit you every day? Why are you crying?” Lanqin comforted her. She had originally intended to get to know the women of the inner quarters better, but seeing Song Shi so helpless and alone, she felt a pang of pity. Now that her words had actually brought Song Shi to thank her, Lanqin felt unsure of what to do. As for helping, she didn’t intend to actually help Song Shi; she simply wanted to discuss the matter of women below the rank of princess not being allowed to raise their own children.

“Sister Niu, we were originally not very close, but today you have helped me without expecting anything in return. Song Yaru bows to you, sister.” After saying this, Madam Song stood up and immediately bowed to Lan Qin, almost squatting down.

"Sister, what are you doing? Get up quickly. I didn't do anything, I just said a few fair words," Lanqin couldn't help but say.

"It was truly my sister's help that made me so grateful. I thank you so much, my sister." After saying this, Madam Song almost wanted to kowtow to Lanqin.

Lanqin quickly winked at Nianxue, who immediately stepped forward and helped Song Shi up.