Anjia understood the protective intent in Lanqin's words, and her heart warmed instantly. When she heard Lingzhu talk about the loving relationship between her and her husband, she couldn't help but shed tears. Perhaps she was moved by Lanqin's filial piety, or perhaps she was reminded of the times she and Lingzhu had shared when they were young.
When Lanqin left, there were two more letters in her bundle. One was for the Dutch in the palace, and the other was for herself. Ju Lingzhu said that they contained Yang's secret recipes for conceiving a child.
When Lanqin returned to the manor, she saw Fatty Wang and the others at the gatehouse. Although they did not kneel to greet her as they had when Fourth Master was present, they were still waiting respectfully in front of the carriage.
"This servant greets Princess Niu!" Fatty Wang bowed respectfully, expressing his utmost admiration for the princess who was able to visit her parents' home after the Fourth Master left.
There's only one word to explain this situation: spoiling!
"Eunuch Wang, has the manor been peaceful these past few days?" Lanqin asked Fatty Wang, who was beside her, as Nianxue helped her.
"An Sheng! These past few days, apart from you, Gege, no one else has gone out." Fatty Wang wanted to flatter Lan Qin by saying a few words indirectly, but little did he know that his words sounded rather harsh to Lan Qin.
Seeing that Lanqin's expression was not good, Fatty Wang did not say anything more and left after seeing her off to the porch connecting the main gate to the south courtyard.
When Granny Wang opened the courtyard gate and saw that Lanqin had returned, she immediately called out to the people inside the house. Huanbi and Ziran heard the greetings from outside and knew that the princess had returned, so they immediately dropped what they were doing and went to greet her.
"Princess, His Highness has sent a letter. I received it yesterday, and I've put it away for you." Huanbi received the letter from Xiahe, the wife of the fourth prince, yesterday, and was naturally very happy for Lanqin. According to Xiahe, apart from Lanqin, none of the other women in the fourth prince's harem wrote letters; only the wife and Lanqin received letters from him.
Upon hearing Huanbi's words, Lanqin immediately quickened her pace, a smile spreading across her face.
As soon as she entered the bedroom, Huanbi immediately followed her, took out an envelope that looked like kraft paper from her dressing case, and handed it to Lanqin.
"You may all leave. There's no need to serve me here. I want to be alone." Lanqin dismissed all the maids and sat alone in front of her dressing table, opening the first letter from the Fourth Prince.
In the letter, the Fourth Prince mentioned that he had arrived in Chengde Prefecture and that he had handled the tasks assigned by the Emperor quite well. These were only a few sentences; the rest of the letter described the local customs, traditions, and snacks he encountered along the way. The letter ended with a question about Lanqin's relationship with the two princes, especially Honghui.
Lanqin read it once, and couldn't help but read it carefully again, as if she could smell a trace of the Fourth Master's longing for her from these beautiful small regular script characters.
I need to write back to the Fourth Prince, tell him about the Fourteenth Prince's erratic behavior, and then talk about the finger guards I made for the two young princes, as well as the trinkets I brought them from outside.
Lanqin folded the letter, stuffed it into the envelope, and put it back in the dressing box as it was.
When Lanqin arrived at the study, which she hadn't visited in a long time, to write back to the Fourth Master, she was pleasantly surprised by its cleanliness and ingenious furnishings.
"Ziran, you cleaned very carefully," Lanqin said to Ziran, who was following behind her. It has to be said that this woman with delicate eyebrows and eyes is quite talented.
Lanqin sat down in the large huanghuali chair, casually pulled out a wolf-hair brush that was neither too thick nor too thin from the antique vine pen holder, and thought about how to write this letter to the Fourth Master.
Zi Ran first laid out the letter paper for Lan Qin, then casually poured some tea into the inkstone and began grinding.
Lanqin raised her hand and placed the brush into the already ground inkstone, dipped it in the rich ink, and after the wolf-hair brush had absorbed enough ink, she began to write the first word she wrote for the Fourth Master on the letter paper in front of her.
As Lanqin wrote, she realized she had so much to write. After filling three pages, she discovered the most important thing was still missing. Turning to the third page, she paused for a moment at the beginning of the fourth, then wrote: "Fourth Prince, the Fourteenth Prince intends to have me, the First Princess, and the Second Princess compete alongside Consort De at Consort De's birthday banquet. I find this inappropriate. Perhaps the First Princess could bring the white deer into the palace to present to Consort De. I am merely a concubine; it is neither proper nor appropriate for me to meet Consort De. I urge Fourth Prince to immediately write a letter informing the Fourteenth Prince not to proceed with this action."
After writing all this, Lanqin carefully checked it again, and only after confirming that it was correct did she personally fold the four sheets of paper and put them into the envelope she had prepared beforehand.
"Princess, let me take this to Mr. Dai for you." After grinding the ink, Zi Ran deliberately stood some distance away from Lan Qin, probably to avoid suspicion. Lan Qin did not ask her to serve her, so she tactfully avoided the situation.
"Okay. Take it there quickly." Lanqin hesitated for a moment, then immediately handed the letter to Ziran.
Meanwhile, the Fujin (Prince's wife) learned immediately that Lanqin had returned to the manor, and of course, that Lanqin, like her, had also received a letter from the Fourth Prince. At that moment, her own letter lay open before her, and the Fujin stared at the paper. The few words were strikingly different from Lanqin's three-page letter. In it, the Fourth Prince recounted his recent situation and then inquired about Honghui and the state of the manor.
Just now, the gatekeeper came to report that Zi Ran from the South Courtyard went to see Mr. Dai. It should be Niu Gege's reply to the master, and it is now lying on Dai Zhuze's desk.
"Slap!" A fair, bony hand, clad in openwork, gilded armor inlaid with rubies and sapphires, suddenly slammed onto the thin piece of paper.
"Madam!" Granny Li stood behind Madam Fu, her brows furrowed as she softly called out, then placed her hand on Madam Fu's back and slowly stroked it downwards. With her other hand, she waved away all the maids in the room, leaving only Chunliu to prune the madam Fu's favorite roses.
"Granny, Niohuru is growing in power. If she gives birth to a prince, I'm afraid it will make me restless and unable to eat or sleep." Because of Lanqin's comings and goings in the front courtyard, and now that she has received a letter from the Fourth Prince, how could the Fujin not start to be wary?
“Madam, Lady Li has been favored for almost ten years, and now she has given birth to two princes. You have never been like this before,” Granny Li comforted her.
"Granny, I feel that the master seems to treat this Lady Niu differently. Although Lady Li was favored, she was never treated like this. She is just a concubine, why should she be allowed to go to the front courtyard?" The Fujin felt a pang of sadness, thinking about how Honghui had talked to her about Lanqin these past few days.
Her son would not be allowed to be touched by anyone. That Niohuru woman not only won the Fourth Prince's favor, but also dared to win over Honghui; it was simply intolerable.
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