Lanqin promised Zheng Chunhua that before leaving the palace, she would take Nianxue's hand and go to Shufangzhai the night before she left the palace, and also brought the parrot that Li had given her.

Upon entering Shufangzhai, one sees red lanterns hanging everywhere, but there are few people around, making it seem rather quiet.

Lanqin, supporting Nianxue's hand, entered the main house and found Qiuyue standing at the door. Upon seeing Lanqin, Qiuyue immediately smiled and said, "Your Highness will surely be pleased with the arrival of the Princess. Please come in with me, Princess."

Zheng Chunhua was painting flowers in the room when she heard someone laughing. Upon closer listening, she realized it was Lanqin. She immediately put down her wolf-hair brush, stood up, and went to the door. Sure enough, she saw Lanqin and her servant walking into the room with Qiuyue.

"Lanqin greets the honored guest!" Lanqin saw Zheng Chunhua looking at her with a smile, so she curtsied, and Nianxue behind her naturally followed suit.

"Get up quickly, Qiuyue, help Niu Gege up." Zheng Chunhua walked quickly to Lanqin, took her hand and said in a deliberately reproachful tone, "I'm so happy you're here."

Zheng Chunhua noticed that Nianxue was carrying a parrot cage with a sky-blue parrot inside. She asked curiously, "Is my little sister planning to give me this parrot?"

When Lanqin saw that she had brought it up herself, she nodded and said, "Sister, if you are feeling down, let this parrot keep you company. It is very smart and can mimic human speech very well. Letting it keep you company will definitely relieve your boredom."

Lanqin knew that she was isolated by the people in the harem because of her unparalleled beauty. No one came to talk to her, and even Shufangzhai was deserted.

Zheng Chunhua pulled Lanqin over to the lotus painting she had just finished and said to Lanqin, "I've heard that you're good at appreciating paintings, so what do you think of my painting?"

In ancient times, women were proficient in all four arts: music, chess, calligraphy, and painting. Although Zheng Chunhua's family was not a prestigious one, she had always been well-off since childhood, so she was naturally skilled in these four arts for women.

Lanqin looked intently at the meticulous painting Zheng Chunhua had laid out on the table. To be honest, this kind of painting was considered quite basic, but Zheng Chunhua's painting was still very exquisite, showing that she had a very solid foundation in painting.

However, Lanqin felt that the lotus flowers in the painting had an ethereal and hazy beauty that seemed to transcend the mundane world.

"My sister praises me like that, but I know I only know a little bit about painting," Zheng Chunhua said. Although she was extremely beautiful, she didn't have any arrogant or self-important air about her. On the contrary, Lanqin always felt a touch of sadness about her, just like the lotus flowers on the paper. Although they emerged from the mud unsullied and had an extremely refined appearance, there was always an inescapable sense of loneliness in them.

"Little sister, you're leaving the palace tomorrow? I really envy you being able to leave this palace." Zheng Chunhua's eyes showed envy. She could never escape this palace, which everyone yearned for and wanted to be among the elite.

"Sister, please serve the Emperor well. Perhaps he will take you on his next southern tour, and then you will be able to leave the palace," Lanqin said, unable to think of any other words to comfort Zheng Chunhua.

"Heh, I hope so." Zheng Chunhua's eyes were devoid of any light when she said this.

Lanqin wanted to warn her not to get close to the Crown Prince, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. Instead, she said, "Sister, don't isolate yourself too much in this palace. Go out and move around more. If you can give birth to a child for the Emperor, even a princess, it will bring you joy in your time here in the palace."

For some reason, neither Lanqin nor Holland ever said these things; every word they uttered was meant to comfort Zheng Chunhua.

Upon hearing these words, Zheng Chunhua's face showed a hint of unease, and she said in a low voice, "But the Emperor has no intention of giving me the child, so how can I give birth?"

Upon hearing this, Lanqin was startled and couldn't help but ask, "The Emperor won't let you have children? Why is that?"

Zheng Chunhua gave a bitter smile and said, "I'm afraid they dislike my birth, or they say I'm an unlucky person. If I give birth to a royal child, it will bring trouble to the Aisin Gioro royal family."

Beauty is a curse~~

After hearing Zheng Chunhua's words, only these four words came to Lanqin's mind.

However, what Zheng Chunhua said was truly absurd—someone with bad luck...

Seeing Lanqin looking at her with a puzzled expression, Zheng Chunhua made no attempt to hide her feelings, saying, "Although there have been officials in my family for generations, none of them have held important positions in the court; most are just minor officials. When I was born, my parents had my birth chart analyzed, and they said I was an unlucky person. However, because of my outstanding appearance, my family, in order to bring glory to the family, offered me to the emperor, hoping that my beauty would bring honor to the Zheng family. But the current emperor is such an enlightened ruler; although he values ​​my beauty, he has always refused to let me conceive. Every time he has slept with me, he has someone give me a medicine to drink. It's that dark black liquid; after drinking it, I won't get pregnant."

After hearing her account, Lanqin almost opened her mouth, staring at Zheng Chunhua in disbelief.

No wonder she rarely looks happy; carrying so many secrets must make her unhappy.

"It's so unfair! How could the Emperor treat you like this? If he wouldn't let you have your own children, he might as well not have taken you as a concubine at all." Lanqin thought that Kangxi had coveted Zheng Chunhua's beauty for his own selfish desires and interests, yet refused to give her the right to be a mother. This was obviously because he thought her bad luck would bring disaster to the royal family.

“In the Heavenly Court, there has never been any fairness,” Zheng Chunhua murmured to herself.

Looking at Zheng Chunhua's angelic profile, Lanqin felt a chill run down her spine. Finally, she couldn't help but say, "Sister, try to stay away from the men of the Aisin Gioro family in the future. Remember that you are the emperor's concubine. Never forget that, or you will bring disaster upon yourself."

Zheng Chunhua glanced at Lanqin, her heart trembling slightly. She seemed to understand the meaning behind Lanqin's words. Was the Aisin Gioro man she was referring to him?

The happiness that man gave her was something Kangxi could never provide. She knew that once she stepped into the palace, there was no turning back. But Lanqin's words undoubtedly startled Zheng Chunhua. She thought no one knew anything, so how could even Lanqin, who had only been in the palace for a short time, know something?

After staying at Shufangzhai for a while, Lanqin left the parrot behind because it was getting late and she was afraid that the Fourth Master would worry. She then helped Nianxue and Zheng Chunhua to say goodbye.

Zheng Chunhua sent a young eunuch from the courtyard to escort Lanqin and her maid back.