"Of course, you're just a concubine. What kind of future could you possibly have? You should just serve the Fourth Consort well and stay a stable concubine," the Third Consort couldn't help but mock again.
"That's right, but as a concubine, I can still have my fortune told by Master Yichen, while some people who want to have their fortunes told can't. Master Yichen said he won't be telling fortunes for anyone this year," Lanqin retorted, secretly furious: I've put up with you for too long.
"You, you're talking nonsense. I'll go and make an appointment with Master Yichen right now. I don't believe I won't see him," the Third Princess said angrily.
"Third Princess Consort, you'd better hurry, or Master Yichen will be traveling all over the place," Lanqin said.
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince's wife could no longer remain seated. She immediately said to the Eighth Prince's wife, "I'm going to find Master Yichen. Eighth Prince's wife, Ninth Prince's wife, do you want to go?"
The Eighth Prince's wife then said, "Third Sister-in-law, please go quickly. I won't go with you."
Ninth Prince's wife also shook her head.
The Third Prince's wife didn't really want the Eighth and Ninth Prince's wives to go with her, because that might take away her opportunity. Her question was just out of politeness.
After the Third Princess helped her maid to find the monk, Lanqin said to Madam Song and Madam Geng, "Let's go out and look at the peach blossoms. We'll be going to find the master and the others for a vegetarian meal soon."
Both Song and Geng nodded immediately, having long since decided they didn't want to stay here with these wives anymore.
"Eighth Princess Consort, Ninth Princess Consort, we have arranged to meet with you at a certain time, so we really cannot stay here any longer. We will take our leave," Lanqin said to the Eighth Princess Consort.
"Consort, Master Yichen is said to be a young and highly accomplished monk. I heard he entered the Buddhist order at the age of three and became a disciple of Master Jueyuan of Huangjue Temple at the age of five, who is also the master of the current abbot. Although the abbot is much older than Yichen, Master Jueyuan still took Yichen as his senior disciple, whose position is even higher than the current abbot's. Consort, for being able to have your fortune told by Master Yichen, you still have a connection with Buddhism. Third sister-in-law, I'm afraid you will be disappointed on your trip," said the Eighth Princess.
Lanqin silently praised the Eighth Prince's wife in her heart. Putting aside her status as the principal wife, the Eighth Prince's wife was actually a very intelligent woman.
"Perhaps Lanqin's affinity with Buddhism is too shallow. Master Yichen only said a few words before letting me out. This time it was purely luck that I was chosen to draw Master Yichen's lot." Lanqin really didn't want to waste any more words with them and just wanted to get away immediately.
Although the Eighth Prince's wife wanted to get some information out of Lanqin, Lanqin was too difficult to get, so she had no choice but to let them go.
"Qin'er, why don't we go and meet up with the master? If we run into another Tenth Prince's wife, we really won't be able to handle it," said Madam Song.
“If we’re not afraid of the Eighth Prince’s wife, why would we be afraid of the Tenth Prince’s wife? We’re not having such bad luck today, are we? Why did everyone have to come here?” Lanqin said.
After leaving Yichen's Zen temple, the three of them were somewhat disoriented. Huangjue Temple was built against the mountain, and all the temples and buildings were constructed according to the contours of the mountain. Lanqin remembered that when they came here with the monk, they passed through a peach blossom grove, which was a very beautiful sight.
"Anyway, we're just looking at flowers. We'll just ask anyone we meet. It's alright, as long as we keep going down, we'll reach the Great Buddha Hall," Lanqin said to Song and Geng.
The three women, accompanied by their respective maids, began to admire the flowers as they walked down the path. Along the way, they encountered other pilgrims who had entered the peach blossom path, but when they asked them for directions, they were also unsure of which way to go.
The three were getting tired from walking, and seeing a pavilion by the mountain path, they hurried over to rest. As soon as they reached the pavilion, they saw a beautiful woman sitting inside, with maids serving her.
Lanqin and her two maids entered the room and sat down opposite the woman. Nianxue and Shuiling, who were carrying Lanqin's teapot, took a break to pour tea for the three of them.
"Is that Consort Niu?" the beautiful woman opposite Lanqin suddenly asked.
Lanqin quickly looked at the beautiful woman opposite her and suddenly remembered her face. She should have seen her before, but she couldn't quite place it. So she could only say, "Indeed, Madam looks very familiar, but my memory is not very good and I can't remember you."
The beautiful woman wasn't angry at all, and smiled, "Consort Niu is a noble lady with many affairs. I am Mao from the Eighth Prince's residence. We met at Zui Bai Lou two years ago."
Upon hearing this, Lanqin immediately remembered who she was; it turned out to be Mao, who had given birth to a daughter for the Eighth Master.
After exchanging greetings with Madam Song and Madam Geng, Madam Mao said, "I came to offer incense with my master and his wife today, and I never expected to see the concubine and these two ladies."
When Song was in the Prince's residence, she had actually seen Mao before, but more than ten years had passed, and both of them looked different. Back then, she was just a teenager, but now she was a beautiful young woman, so naturally she couldn't recognize her at first glance.
“Sister Mao, we’ve met before, remember? One year, at our master’s birthday banquet, Eighth Prince brought you along. Eighth Princess Consort wasn’t even married into the family yet then,” Madam Song said with a smile.
“Indeed, more than a decade has passed in the blink of an eye. Sister Song is so lucky to have such a kind-hearted concubine protecting her, unlike me. Ever since the main wife entered the household, we've all just had to endure it,” said Madam Mao.
Lanqin remembered that this Lady Mao was quite favored by the Eighth Prince. The fact that he took her to Zui Bai Lou that time showed that she held a place in the Eighth Prince's heart. Hearing her speak like this now, she took it as flattery, which sounded quite pleasant. Lady Mao was beautiful and sweet-talking, unlike the Eighth Prince's wife who was aloof. The fact that the Eighth Prince favored her suggested that his affections for his wife might not be as exclusive as outsiders believed.
"Princess Mao is very much favored by the Eighth Prince. I heard that the eldest princess in the manor is now of marriageable age. What do you think?" Madam Song shared memories with Madam Mao, so she couldn't help but say a few more words.
"Oh, she's not as good as Sister Song's eldest daughter. I heard that the Fourth Prince dotes on her very much, and the Xu family treats her like a goddess these days," Madam Mao said with a smile.
"My sister's eldest daughter is the Eighth Master's eldest daughter, and his only daughter at that. How can we not value her?" Madam Song was also happy to hear Madam Mao say this. What mother doesn't want her daughter to have a good life? Especially since the eldest daughter-in-law is indeed doing well in the Xu family now. She gave birth to a healthy son, making it harder for her mother-in-law, Madam Meng, to control her. Furthermore, her eldest son and daughter-in-law, Madam Han, have been sent to Henan by the Fourth Master to manage the floods, so she understands the situation better. The eldest daughter-in-law is now the head of the Xu family.
"Alas, to be honest, my eldest princess is probably going to get married soon." After saying this, a look of sadness appeared in Madam Mao's eyes.
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