Seeing that Wuxiha was so sensible, Fourth Master was naturally too embarrassed to keep a stern face. He kissed the little girl's delicate, flower-bud-like cheek and began to talk to Wuxiha.
Seeing that Fourth Master had almost finished eating, Lanqin called for the people outside to come in and clear the table, while she had her maid bring over Bie Chuke as well. She had been busy with Hongshi's affairs these past few days and hadn't seen the two girls for quite some time.
Seeing that the Fourth Prince and Lanqin were each holding and playing with their children, the maids quietly brought the two princesses their favorite toys. The Fourth Prince then led Wuxiha to play on the rocking horse, while Lanqin played with a rattle with Bechuk.
Lanqin glanced at Fourth Master, only to see him playing enthusiastically with Wuxiha.
"Hmph, what a petty man! Does Sister Randao have to unconditionally become the nanny for all these children in the inner quarters? Suddenly becoming the guardian of five children, Sister Randao needs to get used to it." Lanqin thought to herself.
“Father, hug Mother!” Ushiha suddenly said.
Fourth Master was taken aback. He looked at Wuxiha's bright, sparkling eyes, then at Lanqin holding Bechuk, her face flushed, which was truly adorable.
“Father, go hug your mother, and you go hug Bechuk, okay?” Fourth Master said with a smirk.
Lanqin couldn't help but laugh when she heard this. When Bechuk in her arms saw Lanqin laughing, he also happily shook his bell and laughed.
When the time was almost up, Lanqin sent someone to check on Hongshi again. The person returned and said that his temperature had gone down and there was no rebound. He also had more energy and fell asleep after eating rice porridge. Upon hearing this, Fourth Master was relieved and had the maids bring water to help him wash up.
After all the maids had left, Lanqin climbed into bed first, ignoring the Fourth Master, and lay down on her side to sleep. She felt that this man's chauvinistic attitude meant that in his worldview, she was still just a woman in the inner quarters, someone he could arrange as he pleased. He should have at least consulted her beforehand about taking over the upbringing of the two boys. Instead, he came back and immediately gave orders, sending the two children to her to raise, treating her like a free babysitter!
Fourth Master saw the little woman's back to him, and realized she was still angry with him!
"Are you dissatisfied with my arrangements?" Fourth Master said belatedly.
Lanqin silently rolled her eyes, suppressing her anger, and said, "Master is the master of this mansion, and I am, after all, his servant. If Master has made arrangements, I should accept them without question."
When the Fourth Prince heard Lanqin say this, he was immediately a little angry. Although he didn't mean it that way at all, and was even happy that Lanqin cared about Hongshi, hearing her say this made him very uncomfortable. He was the emperor's son, born a master, and had been served by servants since childhood. His way of thinking was that he was the only one who could do what he said, and his servants had no room for objection.
"It seems I've been too lenient with you all this time." The Fourth Master's voice turned cold. Although he felt that Lanqin was different from those women who were always submissive and obsequious to him, he still found it hard to accept when his rights were questioned.
Lanqin felt a surge of tension. Hearing the Fourth Master's cold voice, she immediately felt wronged and quickly sat up, looking at him. She saw that the Fourth Master's face had turned cold, and he still looked somewhat frightening.
He's the future Emperor Yongzheng! Just now, I turned my back to the Fourth Prince, which angered him.
"If Your Highness wishes to arrange for Hongshi and Hongjun to live in my courtyard, I will comply. Your Highness need not be angry." Lanqin understood this and decided not to argue with the Fourth Prince. After all, he was her lifelong meal ticket!
Seeing that the young woman finally showed a hint of fear, Fourth Master's petty temper subsided. He kicked off his shoes and climbed into bed.
Lanqin lay down beside Fourth Master with a little awkwardness, still feeling somewhat resistant. She had thought that since she was sincere, they could discuss things together, but she hadn't expected Fourth Master to be so chauvinistic.
“Let Song Shi take care of Hongshi. She’s gentle, and Hongshi is a man of his own mind, so they should be able to get along peacefully. Hongjun should stay in the front yard; he’s getting old and can take care of himself. You should take good care of Wuxiha and Bechuk,” Fourth Master suddenly said.
Hearing this, Lanqin knew in her heart that the Fourth Prince had finally given in. She couldn't help but smile and said softly, "Your Highness, Hongjun should move here. You are busy with state affairs all day long, how can you have the energy to manage? As for Hongshi, Sister Song has always been close to me, I can go and take care of him from time to time."
Fourth Master then reached out and put his arm around Lanqin's waist, stroking her back as he said, "I'm not used to being rejected by others."
Lanqin knew that the Fourth Prince had already made progress by doing this; he would never have said such things to a concubine before. So, she couldn't be coy anymore and took the initiative to lean over and kiss the Fourth Prince's chin, saying, "I know. I was just a little too hasty."
The two fell asleep in each other's arms, and said nothing more that night.
The next day, before the Fourth Prince left, he instructed the head nanny to inform the people in the Third Prince's and Fourth Prince's rooms that they should be ready to receive any orders from the Consort's side. He also informed them of the matter of moving Hongshi to Song Shi's side and Hongjun to Lanqin's side.
Hongjun, upon hearing that he was to be moved to Lanqin's place, didn't seem particularly uncomfortable. He actually thought the South Courtyard was quite nice, and he liked Lanqin quite a bit. Hongshi, whose fever had just subsided, was also surprised to hear he was going to Song's place. Xia, who was in the house, upon hearing this, decided to go and talk to Nian.
Actually, even if she didn't go looking for him, Lady Nian already knew. She was almost seven months pregnant, and when she heard that the Fourth Prince was going to move the Third Prince to the South Courtyard and Hongshi to Lady Song's room, she was so angry that she smashed her cup.
"Master, Madam Xia has arrived," Cui Ling reported to Madam Nian as she entered.
"She still has the nerve to come here? She can't do a single thing right," Madam Nian said angrily. "Let her in."
When Xia entered, she saw the broken famille rose cup on the ground and Nian's angry face, so she quickly bowed to Nian.
"Granny Xia, are you moving to Madam Song's place?" Madam Nian sneered.
"Oh dear, Princess Nian, I've come to you because I want to ask you if you could think of a way to prevent me from going to Princess Song's place with the Fourth Prince," Xia said cautiously.
"What, you don't want to go?" Madam Nian sneered.
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