Peach Blossom stayed with the Yehe clan in a humble manner. Perhaps it was the Nian clan's aggressive behavior that provoked the Yehe clan, or perhaps it was Peach Blossom's humility and Vino that made her feel that she was indeed different from before.
Lanqin didn't bother to care; she was already exhausted from her few days on leave. People from all over were flocking here, hoping to make a good impression on her, the new head of the household.
"Cui Niang, it seems we need to ask the head maid to bring in a few more maids to help. Nianxue and Lanqi are already overwhelmed." It turned out that Lanqin had promoted Nianxue and Lanqi to be her head maids and assistants. She had delegated the final responsibility for some matters to Nianxue and Lanqi. For example, Nianxue was in charge of allocating the household expenses; Lanqi was responsible for the maintenance and repair of various houses in the household; and Cui Niang naturally helped Lanqin manage and distribute the monthly wages of the personnel in the household. Xicha and Sihua, because they were not as steady as Nianxue and Lanqi, remained Lanqin's head maids, responsible for taking care of her daily life.
"Yes, indeed. How about we ask for four more maids? Besides serving the master, they can also help with some of the affairs in the courtyard. We also need to add a few more maids; people frequently come to report things to us now. Every blade of grass, every tree, every fence, and every house in the courtyard can't be left unattended any longer. Those servants are very good at reading people's expressions; if the master's place isn't grand enough, they'll dare to deceive their superiors, pretending to be respectful while secretly mocking the master," said Cui Niang.
"Alright, let Nianxue and the other three maids each have their own room. This will make it easier for them to manage the other maids. Cui Niang, go and inform the head nanny later that we need to bring in six more maids, four rough-working women, and two errand runners. You can discuss with Nianxue how to use them. I only need one more maid. Xicha is in charge of my clothes, jewelry, and accessories, and Sihua is very capable. Just one more maid will be enough for serving tea, water, and fetching things. The others can be assigned to various tasks. Too many people will only hinder each other. Now that the Second Princess has moved in, I don't care about her people, and you also manage the people in Wuxiha and Bechuk's rooms. So, I need to assign a maid to serve you. Nianxue and the others also need someone to serve them, otherwise, they're not made of iron," Lanqin said.
Cui Niang glanced at Lan Qin gratefully and said, "Alright, Your Highness, don't worry about it. I'll take care of everything. But Your Highness's confinement period ends tomorrow, so you'll need to get ready quickly. I've noticed that Consort Nian and Consort Yehe are the most favored by the Fourth Prince."
Lanqin was in confinement for a month and couldn't take care of the Fourth Master. However, the Fourth Master would still come to have dinner with Lanqin every day. If he didn't need London, he would usually stay or return to the front courtyard; if he did need London, he would usually go to Lady Nian or Lady Yehe.
"Master, the flower delivery has arrived from the flower room," Xi Cha said from the doorway.
"I didn't ask them to send flowers, why?" Lanqin asked, exchanging a puzzled look with Cui Niang.
"Perhaps the head of the flower shop is trying to curry favor with us," said Cui Niang.
"Let's go take a look." Lanqin had been able to get out of bed in her last few days, but she was still wrapped up very tightly by Cui Niang.
"Master, it's Hongmei!" Si Hua's excited voice rang out from outside.
Lanqin was even more impatient. She quickly put on the white cloak that Cui Niang had given her, and a hand warmer was also stuffed into her hand.
Then, Hai Da, the head steward of the flower room, led five or six young eunuchs in carrying in five or six potted red plum trees. These were all skillfully pruned by the gardener. Those miniature red plum trees in the flowerpots, like scaled-down red plum blossoms, looked quite charming.
"This servant greets Consort Yu, may Consort Yu be well!" Hai Dayou said happily as he approached Daqian.
"Thank you for your trouble, Eunuch Hai. These red plum bonsai are really nice. They'll look even better when it snows soon," Lanqin said with a faint smile, standing on the steps of her main room.
"Not at all, this was personally ordered by Master. Half a year ago, this servant began preparing these potted plants according to Master's instructions. Grafting these flowering trees is not easy. Fortunately, this servant has several very capable gardeners under his command, so that we can live up to Master's good intentions towards his concubine." Hai Dayou said with a hearty laugh, completely different from his previous disregard for Lanqin.
Cui Niang quickly took out a purse from her sleeve and gave it to Hai Dayou as a tip, saying on behalf of Lanqin, "It's really a lot of trouble for Steward Hai."
Hai Da repeatedly expressed his gratitude and busily directed the servants to move the potted red plum trees to the location designated by Cui Niang. Lan Qin, carrying a hand warmer, paced back and forth under the eaves, watching everyone bustling about, feeling somewhat moved. Had Fourth Master been planning this surprise for her for half a year? His romantic gestures were truly elaborate!
Seeing their master trying so hard to please him, the maids were naturally delighted and busied themselves with serving him.
"Xicha, go to the Lanyue Pavilion in the back and invite the Second Princess to come and see her too. Young ladies like her, always hiding in their rooms and never going out, they're getting bored," Lanqin suddenly thought. From the way the Fourth Prince mentioned Erlinzhu several times, she could tell that he was slightly dissatisfied with the Second Princess's personality, which resembled that of the Fujin (the First Princess's wife). Since he was trying so hard to please her, she should do something in return; it was a matter of reciprocity.
The second princess, Elinzhu, arrived wearing a light green cloak embroidered with floral balls. Her hair was styled in a small double bun, adorned with a few pink silk palace flowers, giving her the air of a well-bred young lady.
"Elinzhu greets Consort Lanqin." The Second Princess walked with small, quick steps, keeping her eyes straight ahead as she bowed to Lanqin.
"Elinzhu, come and see, aren't these red plum blossoms lovely? Which pot do you like? Have them moved to your side," Lanqin said enthusiastically, pulling up the Second Princess. Looking at this "daughter" who wasn't much shorter than herself, Lanqin thought to herself that she had to behave well and try her best to be a good aunt.
"Thank you, Consort. If Elinzhu wants to see, she can come here. Don't trouble them to move over." Elinzhu was, after all, an eleven-year-old girl. After these ten days of getting to know her, she could see that this Consort was completely different from the First Consort. So, she gradually loosened up and revealed some of her innocent and romantic nature.
“Okay, let’s go take a look at those flowers.” Lanqin took Erlinzhu’s hand, and the two of them admired each pot of flowers, and they were quite harmonious.
Lanqin invited the second princess to dine with her. During the meal, the "mother and daughter" chatted and laughed, looking more like sisters.
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