“Mother, sister-in-law, I think you should go back and persuade my elder brother. He’s just a minor scholar; he shouldn’t get involved in these matters concerning the important affairs of the court,” Lanqin said.
“We’ve already tried to persuade her, and if we could, we wouldn’t be bringing this up with you. Sigh!” It seems that Anjia thinks that once her daughter takes over, she can solve all her problems.
Lanqin sighed inwardly. Seeing Shi Shi with such a large belly, she didn't want to worry her too much, so she said to her, "Sister-in-law, don't worry. Eldest brother is just a minor official of the sixth rank. Perhaps he's just following the crowd. When you go back, just say that Fourth Master said so. Don't let him get involved in any faction. Just do your job well. His future is still uncertain. Don't fantasize about gaining merit by following the emperor before you even know the situation. In the end, you'll be implicated and dismissed from your post, and countless families will be exiled."
Shi nodded and said, "That's what I'm worried about. He feels that he got his current official position because of his concubine, and he feels that he should work hard so that he can have a good future and support his sisters."
Upon hearing this, Lanqin felt a little better. It was good that Ling Zheng had this idea.
"Alright, brother, your intentions are good, but don't pay attention to anyone at this time. Just do your job well. Our master hasn't expressed any opinion yet, and he's even planning to move out for a while to avoid the people who keep coming to our door."
Anjia and Shi exchanged a glance and understood Lanqin's meaning, which gave them an idea.
Lanqin invited Anjia and Shi to have a meal, and the three of them reclined on the warm couch in the main room. Now that her son's matter was settled, Anjia naturally began to care for her daughter.
"Now you're in charge of the household?" Lady Anjia was surprised that Lanqin, as a concubine, could actually manage the Fourth Prince's harem.
“Yes, I’m in charge of everything in the inner quarters now. But there are supervisors in charge in each area. I just need to listen to their reports and check from time to time to see if they are following the rules.” Lanqin picked a few walnuts for Shi and handed them to her.
"Sister-in-law, eat more of this, it's good for the brain, and it will make the child smarter!" Lanqin said to Shi.
“Such a large inner quarters must be quite a handful to manage. No wonder you look so thin. Where is the Fujin (wife of the emperor)?” asked Lady Anjia.
“Mother, I naturally gained weight after giving birth a while ago, so it’s normal for me to lose weight now. It won’t do if I keep getting that fat.” Lanqin took a few more red dates and stuffed them into Anjia’s hand. “The Fujin is recuperating in her main courtyard. As for how long she will recuperate, I don’t know. It depends on the master’s mood.”
Shi smiled and said, "Mother, Third Sister is doing so well, you are worrying too much. The only thing Third Sister needs now is to have another son soon, then everything will be very stable."
Lanqin understood what Shi meant. It was simply that a mother's status depended on her son. It was useless for a woman to have many daughters; she needed a son to have a strong backbone.
“Yes, Qin’er, you still need to give birth to a son. Although the Fourth Prince has now handed over the management of the household to you, you are still a concubine in terms of status. You can never be called the principal wife. If the other concubines give birth to sons, and the Fourth Prince already has two sons, Qin’er, it’s hard to say what your status will be in the future,” said Anjia.
Lanqin calmly ate grapes, silently summarizing Anjia and Shi's meaning: First, although the concubine was favored and managed the household, she was still just a concubine. Once she lost favor, everything could change. Second, only sons could inherit the Fourth Prince's title and wealth. No matter how many daughters there were, they would all marry out and were useless (they completely forgot Lanqin's significance to them at this moment). Third, only with a son could she have a good life even if she grew old and lost her beauty.
"Mother, I know all that. Why don't you tell me about the rest of the family?" Lanqin didn't want to reveal too much about the future to them. The Fourth Prince was going to be the emperor, and her son was the future Emperor Qianlong, so Lanqin didn't want to worry about what they were worried about.
When asked about the others, Anjia said, "You know about Xinyi's situation. It's surprising that Liu, who was never favored by your father, is now living a good life in her old age. Yang is naturally not as good as before, and your father doesn't visit her much anymore. Her two sons are also useless. What's worth mentioning is your cousin, my sister's daughter. I heard that she's having a big fight with the Eighth Prince's wife in the Eighth Prince's mansion!"
Lanqin immediately became interested. No wonder the Eighth and Tenth Princes treated her that way; she had indeed been caught in the tail end of the storm.
“That child Ruzhu is not peaceful. I heard she’s been trying to lure the Eighth Prince into her room. The Eighth Prince’s wife has never had a child, but Ruzhu is pregnant now, so naturally the Eighth Prince will pay more attention to her,” said Anjia.
"Oh, she's pregnant. Ruzhu hasn't disappointed us." Lanqin exclaimed in surprise, thinking to herself that no wonder the Eighth Princess Consort had been so sarcastic towards her; it turned out that her cousin had really become a thorn in her side.
"Alas, although you have both received your husbands' favor, your mother still needs to warn you. You are not the principal wife, so don't overstep the rules. Yang Shi was favored by your father for twenty years, but look at her now. If she hadn't gone too far, your mother wouldn't dislike her so much, including her son. To be honest, although I can't do anything to her son, I won't help him with his future. The same goes for you. If you give birth to a son in the future, the principal wife will still be his legal mother, and will have a great influence on his future. Qin'er, don't go too far with the principal wife." Anjia Shi, being the principal wife, naturally spoke full of the wisdom of a principal wife.
Lanqin nodded haphazardly. She didn't want to tell Anjia about her complicated experiences, fearing it would frighten them. Lanqin knew that she had only gotten to where she was today because of the Fourth Prince's favor. Without his love, she would probably have died at the hands of his wife long ago.
After Madam Song and Madam Shi left, Lanqin rested on the warm couch for an afternoon. She had a dream in which her primary wife had returned to power and even given birth to a son. Her two daughters had been married off to the grasslands, and her son had been murdered through a scheme. Lanqin cried bitterly, and gradually, she truly began to weep, tears streaming down her face, yet she remained unconscious. When the Fourth Prince approached, he saw the tears on Lanqin's face and tenderly wiped them away, saying, "The secondary wife didn't see her mother today. What happened?"
Nianxue, standing to the side, naturally didn't dare to say anything, and simply shook her head.
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