"Master, I went to the front courtyard to inquire and found out that Master has been resting in the south courtyard these past few days." Peach Blossom saw Yehe sitting behind her desk with an angry expression. On the desk was a sheet of Xuan paper with a few strokes of pomegranate flowers, but the colors were extremely flamboyant.
Yehe frowned, picked up a brush, and scribbled a few lines on the paper. She said coldly, "I know. You can leave now!"
After the Fujin fell out of favor, Tao Hua completely lost her support, and she became increasingly cautious around Yehe Shi. The other day, Lingxiu from the Fujin's side and Cuiling from Nian Shi's side had both come to see her, and she had something on both of them, so she couldn't afford to offend either of them.
After she left, Yuhen said, "Now that the Fujin no longer controls the inner quarters, you can send this Peach Blossom away, lest she cause any more trouble."
Yehe sat listlessly in her chair, muttering, "It's been almost ten days since that day that Master hasn't come to see me. Has that thing stopped working?"
Yuhen frowned and said, "That's impossible. Once he drinks that stuff, he can't possibly stop thinking about Gege. Back when I was still in that kind of place, I saw the aunties use things like that to keep guests." As she finished speaking, her voice gradually faded, and her ears turned slightly red.
Yehe raised an eyebrow and said, "Then why haven't you come to see me after ten days?"
Yuhen said, "This servant does not know, unless Master is intentionally holding back."
Upon hearing this, Lady Yehe slammed her brush onto the Xuan paper and said angrily, "How could the Princess Consort be so easily defeated and be placed under house arrest like this? Now the entire inner quarters have fallen into the hands of that person in the South Courtyard. Are we all supposed to go and pay our respects to her from now on?"
Yehe's face was contorted with anger, so she said cautiously, "Princess, why don't you go and bring some food to Master? I heard that Master hasn't been going to the South Courtyard much these days."
Yehe knew what Yuhen meant: if others wouldn't come, he would go and seduce them himself!
Meanwhile, the Fourth Prince had been quite busy these days. After dealing with his wife, he felt a sense of relief, and he felt at ease leaving the affairs of the manor to Lanqin. However, he was worried about tiring his little woman, so he specially called the head nanny over for a chat.
"Granny, now all the affairs of the inner quarters have been handed over to the Consort. She's just starting out and isn't familiar with many things yet. First, have the Consort get acquainted with all the managers in charge of different areas. Also, discuss with the Consort the time and day for reporting matters. Don't disturb her with just any little thing." After saying this, the Fourth Prince suddenly realized how long-winded he had been.
The head maid was embarrassed. The master wanted the concubine to take on responsibilities, but didn't want her to be burdened! Well, she had no choice but to take on more. Fortunately, the concubine was gentle, generous, and easy to get along with!
As the Fourth Master rambled on, the head nanny took notes.
Su Peisheng was guarding the door when he looked up and saw Yehe Shi and Yuhen walk in together. Yuhen was carrying a basket, the contents of which were unknown.
Well, let's try to please the master! Su Peisheng turned his head to look at the scene in the study, pondered for a moment, and decided not to inform him in advance.
Logically speaking, without the Fourth Prince's special permission, even the Princess Consort could not easily enter or leave the front courtyard. Therefore, Lady Yehe and her servants could only wait in the front courtyard's entrance hall.
"Eunuch Su!" Yuhen called out slightly.
Hearing this, Su Peisheng had no choice but to walk from the study doorway towards that direction and say to Yehe and her servant, "Master is discussing important matters with the head nanny, so it is not appropriate for this servant to go in and disturb him at this time."
Upon hearing this, Yehe Shi understood that Su Peisheng was unwilling to relay her message, so she immediately took off a gold bracelet with pomegranate patterns carved in gold filigree and stuffed it into Su Peisheng's hand.
"Please take it back, Your Highness. This servant dares not accept such a great reward from Your Highness. This servant can only wait until the head nanny comes out and find a moment to pass on a message to you." Su Peisheng saw that this person was making such a move right away, and he didn't want to offend her too much, since she was still very much favored by the Fourth Prince.
Seeing that Su Peisheng refused to accept the bracelet, Yehe put it back on and said resentfully, "Then I will wait in the gatehouse. Please remember to inform him."
Su Peisheng bowed and then turned to go back to the study.
Yehe and Yuhen were invited into the gatehouse by Xiaozhu, the gatekeeper's assistant.
“Little Pillar, I remember there used to be a servant named Zhao here, but where is he?” Yehe said. This was something Lingxiu had told her quietly one day, saying that there was someone in the front yard who could help her, and that was the servant named Zhao Quan.
"Oh, Zhao Quan is off today, he's probably at home. Does Gege need to see him?" Xiao Zhuzi asked.
"Oh, I saw him bring things to my room a few times, nothing serious, I was just asking," said Yehe.
Xiao Zhuzi knew that Yehe Shi was currently favored, so he naturally didn't dare to offend her. He wasn't Su Peisheng, so he immediately went to pour her tea.
Seeing that Xiaozhuzi had some sense, Yuhen took out a small purse from her sleeve and handed it to him.
Xiao Zhu was pleased to see Yehe Shi reward him, as such extra income was usually very limited for servants like them who worked as gatekeepers.
"Little Zhu, why don't you call out to Zhao Quan for our princess?" Yuhen saw that Little Zhu's eyes were shining and became even more eager to please him.
"Alright, this servant will go and call Brother Zhao for Princess Ye." Little Zhuzi readily agreed; it wasn't a big deal anyway.
After Xiao Zhuzi left, Yehe Shi put away the faint, chrysanthemum-scented smile on her face and said, "Su Peisheng has always sided with the South Courtyard, so I'm afraid he won't report this on my behalf."
Before long, Zhao Quan followed Xiao Zhuzi to the gatehouse. Upon hearing that it was Princess Yehe looking for him, he immediately followed without further ado. In fact, Zhao Quan had received no less than a thousand taels of silver from the main wife over the years, but now that the princess had fallen from power, his source of income had been cut off.
Lingxiu had approached him and told him that as long as he followed Yehe's instructions, he would still receive silver, and even double the amount. Besides the Fujin (principal wife) who would almost always reward him, Yehe would also reward him.
"This servant greets Princess Yehe!" As soon as Zhao Quan entered the room, he cheerfully bowed, even half-kneeling. Xiao Zhuzi, who was standing to the side, saw this and secretly admired Zhao Quan's obsequiousness.
"Please rise, Eunuch Zhao. Our master is only here out of concern for his master, to bring a bowl of lily and pear soup," Yuhen said.
"Please give the princess to me. Master is busy reorganizing the affairs of the manor, and has been doing so for many days. I'll take advantage of any spare moment to deliver the princess's message," Zhao Quan said, understanding Yehe's intentions.
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