Back in her own courtyard, Geng Youran felt sore all over. After a short nap on the couch, Xinyi brought over some soup from Li Cefujin's servants.

"Princess, this is a Four-Ingredient Soup sent by Consort Li. Drink it while it's hot."

Geng Youran found it strange that Consort Li would suddenly send someone to deliver soup to her.

But she figured that since it was sent by Consort Li, there shouldn't be any problem. She was also a little hungry, so she drank it all.

Next, Geng Youran received three consecutive days of the Fourth Prince's favor.

Of course, after being pampered, you'll inevitably hear all sorts of rumors and gossip.

Especially some busybodies, who know that some people can't stand being provoked, still like to talk too much.

For example, Princess Wang, who has never been favored, has only been favored a handful of times, even though she has been in the household for more than a year.

She lived next door to Yuan Gege and knew that Yuan Gege was good at stirring up trouble, so on the fourth day after Geng Youran was favored by the emperor, she went to talk to Yuan Gege.

They claimed it was just casual conversation, but they were actually talking about Geng Youran, both openly and secretly.

"Little sister, I think you're just too naive. How can that Princess Geng compare to you in terms of looks and family background? She actually dared to seduce the master so much that he doesn't even come here anymore."

Since they were all princesses, their allowances were already meager, and they simply didn't have extra money to bribe spies. That's why Princess Yuan only just found out that the Fourth Prince had been showing favoritism towards Geng Youran for several days in a row.

"That bitch, just because she came out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, she dares to seduce me. Who knows what she will do next?"

Yuan Gege was so angry that she dared to say anything.

What you just said was utterly treasonous.

Wang smiled and pretended to comfort her:

“Sister, there’s no need to be angry. She only knows how to cook a few dishes. To put it bluntly, she’s just a cook. I’m sure he’ll be interested for a few days and come to see you again.”

Yuan Gege, however, could not swallow this insult.

Why is it that I, who am so good, am not favored? Why is it that Geng Youran, a cook, can win the master's favor?

In particular, both the Fujin (Prince's wife) and Consort Li (Second Prince's wife) sided with that woman.

Wang stared at Yuan Gege's face, knowing that this woman was definitely unwilling to accept this.

So he pretended to be kind and changed the subject, saying:

"Little sister, I advise you to behave yourself. The others don't dare to say anything."

Yuan Gege smiled maliciously. She felt that Wang Shi was wrong. There were probably many people in this mansion who were dissatisfied with Geng Youran.

For example, Song Gege, Song Rusi.

In this inner courtyard, she was one of the oldest people who had followed the Fourth Prince for a long time.

In the thirty-third year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Song Gege gave birth to the Fourth Prince's first daughter. However, the daughter was frail and passed away before she was a month old.

Out of pity for Song Gege, the Fourth Prince and his wife have never mistreated her in recent years. Song Gege herself is also a clear-headed person. She did not give up on herself because of the loss of her daughter. Instead, like Li Shi, she recuperated.

Song Gege herself was not bad-looking and had a gentle personality. In Yinzhen's harem, she was not the most favored, but the number of times she received his favor was second only to the First Lady and Consort Li.

It should be noted that the Fourth Prince, Yinzhen, was not particularly interested in women, and in recent years, as he grew older, Emperor Kangxi entrusted him with more and more tasks.

However, Song Gege has one flaw: she is prone to jealousy.

Unlike Consort Yuan, who was vying for the Emperor's favor in the inner court, Consort Song was vying for the Emperor's attention.

After figuring this out, Yuan Gege deliberately brought the gifts that Geng Youran had given to the sisters from the palace on the day of their greetings to Song Gege.

As Yuan Gege had predicted, Song Gege had already placed the things Geng Youran had given her aside, afraid that someone might not know how much she disliked them.

Upon entering Song Gege's room, Yuan Gege faintly smelled the aroma of medicinal soup.

"Sister, are you sick? Why does this room smell like medicine?"

Song Gege smiled.

"You little rascal, you have a keen sense of smell. Ever since my eldest daughter and I passed away, I've been so heartbroken that my father specially arranged for someone to prescribe medicine for me regularly to help me recover."

Yuan Gege pretended to be envious and whispered:

"Master treats my sister so well. I thought that after that Geng woman came along, Master no longer cared about us."

Hearing Yuan Gege mention Geng Youran, Song Gege felt a little displeased, but still pretended not to care and replied:

"You know that I don't like women. From now on, we'll all be sisters, so you should watch your mouth."

When Yuan Gege heard that Song Gege hadn't taken the bait, she continued to play tricks:

"I heard that Princess Geng is particularly skilled in cooking. Maybe she used something in the dishes that made me go there every day."

But Yuan Gege forgot that, according to custom, when a new concubine enters the household, Yinzhen should visit her for three consecutive days. Moreover, when she herself entered the household, she received his favor for many days in a row, no less than Geng Youran.

Song Gege didn't take the second sentence seriously, but she remembered the first sentence.

After Yuan Gege left, Song Gege remained lost in thought. She only snapped out of it when her maid called her.

"Princess, what are you thinking about? You seem so lost in thought."

Instead of answering the maid's question, Song Gege asked in return:

"Green Field, do you think Master likes me?"

The maid, Green Shade, smiled.

"Your Highness is overthinking again. Of course, the Prince likes you, otherwise he wouldn't have the imperial physician come to check on you regularly."

Song Rusi shook her head.

"No, you're wrong. Since the prince was promoted to beile, there have been more and more women in the mansion, and my place in the prince's heart has become less and less."

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