"This humble servant greets the Fujin!" Lanqin entered the Fujin's courtyard and bowed to the woman sitting in the head seat.

"How many years has it been since Consort Niu last visited me? What brings you here today to pay your respects?" Consort Niu asked, squinting her eyes.

"I have come today to discuss something with you, Madam," Lanqin said, standing up, ignoring whether Madam had called her or not.

"Please sit down! Now that Consort Niu is in charge of household affairs, may I ask what you wish to discuss with me?" Consort Niu asked, clasping her hands together.

"Fourth Master has been at Changchun Garden for a day and a night. I think we should prepare some white clothes for our household," Lanqin said, looking at Fujin.

"Do you know what crime it is to prepare mourning clothes and white mourning attire in the mansion without permission? Do you want the entire Yongwang Mansion to be buried with you?" The Fujin looked at Lanqin in astonishment and said sternly, as if she thought Lanqin had lost her mind to say such treasonous words.

“Madam, the matter is urgent. The Prince has been gone for so long this time, and hasn’t even sent back a single word. We don’t know what’s going on in Changchun Garden. We can only prepare some necessary things in advance, so that we won’t be too busy later.” Seeing Madam’s reaction, Lanqin had no choice but to say this.

Fourth Princess stood up, looking outside with displeasure, as if she wanted to see the guest out. She said, "We should wait until the Prince returns before making any decisions about this matter."

Judging from the expression on the wife's face, Lanqin probably thought that she had said these words on purpose, and that her good intentions in coming to remind her had been misunderstood as ill-intentioned.

Lanqin had no choice but to rise, curtsy, and say, "It was Lanqin who overstepped her bounds; Lanqin will now take her leave..."

Since she couldn't reason with the Fourth Prince's wife, Lanqin had no choice but to leave the main courtyard dejectedly. Just as she stepped outside, Baoqin, who was standing nearby, couldn't help but feel indignant on Lanqin's behalf: "The Consort is too good-natured. We were just going to offer a few words of advice; did the Fourth Prince have to scold us like that..."

Lanqin showed no anger and continued walking forward: "What she thinks is none of our business, but this matter can't wait any longer. Let's go and discuss it with the head nanny, and see if we can prepare it in advance so we won't be caught off guard when we need it urgently..."

After Lanqin left, Fourth Princess Consort, though skeptical of Lanqin's suggestion, thought it over and realized that Lanqin wasn't usually so careless. Since she had come all this way to remind them to prepare mourning clothes, there must be a reason. Remembering that Fourth Prince had been summoned last night and hadn't returned, she was greatly alarmed. Could something have happened in the palace?

Fourth Prince's wife was worried, so she had to send a servant to fetch Hongshi. At this moment, Fourth Prince's wife was filled with anxiety; Lanqin's words kept echoing in her ears. She was calculating that if something really happened, she couldn't let Lanqin get there first. Perhaps this was her chance to make a good impression on Fourth Prince.

When Hongshi arrived, he was lazy and unwilling to move.

Fourth Princess Consort hurriedly pulled Hongshi aside and whispered, "Go to the Duke of Ying's mansion right now and ask your uncle if anything major has happened in the palace recently. Remember, you must go and come back quickly..."

"Why is Mother in such a hurry? Don't you know what's going on in the palace when Father comes back? Why go through all this trouble to ask Uncle?" Hongshi asked in surprise.

The Fourth Prince's wife was furious. She pushed and pulled Hongshi up, scolding him with dissatisfaction: "You child, I told you to go, but don't let the Fourth Prince beat you to everything..."

Seeing how eager his fourth wife was, Hongshi had no choice but to obey: "Alright, alright! I'll go, I'll go."

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