Seeing that she had made such a scene, not only had the Fourth Prince not come to see her, but her personal servant had also been beaten, Lady Nian felt quite annoyed. After sleeping all night, she still felt listless the next day.
"Princess, the meals you used to eat were too greasy, which wasn't good for you or the baby in your belly. I've already prepared a new diet plan, so please follow it from today onwards." Aunt Gu noticed that Madam Nian looked listless and vacant as soon as she woke up that morning, and thought to herself that Madam Nian was rather immature, acting like this while pregnant. She'd only have the confidence to speak properly after giving birth to a son!
Lady Nian was already feeling unwell, and she had always harbored suspicions about Granny Gu. When she saw that Granny Gu had changed her breakfast without her consent, she couldn't help but say, "I'm eating the tonics that the Princess sent me, such as bird's nest, ginseng, and snow frog. These are all good for your health. How is it bad?"
When Aunt Gu heard what Madam Nian said, she said bluntly, "Princess, look, the babies inside are the bigger ones. If you keep eating like this, you might have a difficult delivery and then regret it."
Aunt Gu was a prominent figure in Consort De's palace, while Lady Nian was merely a concubine. Her tactless speech showed a complete lack of manners.
"If Your Highness dislikes me, then I will go and tell the Consort that I should go back. Your Highness is so decisive; she will surely be able to take good care of her pregnancy," Aunt Gu said angrily. Yesterday, Bai Zhi was still speaking up for this Lady Nian, but now she refuses to listen to her advice.
"The nanny is angry with the princess. The princess is just having some emotional fluctuations since becoming pregnant. Princess, just do as Aunt Gu arranges. The people sent by Consort De are definitely doing this for your own good." Bai Zhi quickly stepped in to smooth things over.
Aunt Gu felt a little better after hearing this. Seeing Bai Zhi giving her a meaningful look, Madam Nian regretted her actions. If Consort De were to betray her now, it wouldn't be good for her.
"Aunt Gu, please don't misunderstand. I just feel that the tonics aren't working well for me. I'm not fat!" Madam Nian said, suppressing her anger.
Aunt Gu had only said those words to scare Nian Shi, but now that she saw Nian Shi was taking things seriously, she said, "Princess, you're pregnant now, so you're definitely getting enough nutrition. As for those tonics, besides bird's nest which you can eat in moderation, ginseng and snow frog are extremely hot and extremely cold, respectively, and neither is good for the baby. Also, your diet should be a balanced mix of meat and vegetables, and incompatible foods shouldn't be eaten together. For example, the cold chrysanthemum greens you had this morning and the chestnut stew shouldn't be eaten together. Extremely hot and cold foods shouldn't be eaten, and foods with similar hot and cold properties shouldn't be eaten together either, otherwise it will aggravate the heat or cold in your body. It's bad for both your health and the baby."
Seeing that Granny Gu was speaking so logically, Madam Nian changed her mind, because she had also been feeling unwell in her stomach recently. Could it be that she had eaten these incompatible foods?
“Aunt is absolutely right! Princess, why don’t we eat according to Aunt Gu’s menu today?” Bai Zhi said quickly when she saw the change in Nian’s expression.
Lady Nian nodded in agreement. Seeing that she and her servant had agreed, Aunt Gu went down to arrange Lady Nian's meals for the day.
“Princess, this Aunt Gu is Consort De’s person. She wouldn’t harm her own grandson, would she? Your suspicion that Aunt Gu has connections with the South Courtyard is actually unfounded. The South Courtyard doesn’t have that much power to win over Consort De’s people,” Bai Zhi further advised.
"Whether she is or not, she's not one of my people, and I won't feel at ease. Baizhi, you still need to send someone to keep an eye on Aunt Gu and see if she has any connection with Nanxiaoyuan." Although Madam Nian had agreed to eat according to Aunt Gu's menu, deep down she didn't trust this aunt.
Meanwhile, in her room, Aunt Gu modified the menu for Nian's three meals a day, following the methods she used for the pregnant noblewomen in the palace.
Meanwhile, seeing that the room where the Third Prince was staying no longer smelled, Lanqin began to order people to gradually move his belongings there. Since the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince were still in class, Lanqin had all the maids and servants who served the Third Prince come to the South Courtyard first for a formal audience. She was no longer the princess she once was; with a larger circle of influence, she would attract more attention.
“Reporting to Consort Bai, this servant, Bai Jia, is the wet nurse of the Third Prince. The three of them are all maids who have served the three princes since they were young,” said a middle-aged woman with a square face.
Lanqin had already thoroughly investigated the backgrounds of those around the Third Prince. Now that she was a concubine, those who were openly or secretly jealous of her and wanted to cause trouble might take this opportunity to plant a spy. This Baijia was a bondservant of the Bordered Blue Banner, and her entire family were scattered in various households as servants. So far, it was unclear who she had any connection with. As for the three maids, they used to serve the Third Prince specifically in Li's quarters. Later, when the Third Prince went to stay with Yin for a period of time, the four of them followed him. Now they were hoping to come and serve Lanqin as well.
"Hmm. The Third Prince is grown up now. Bai Jia is the wet nurse, so she can stay. As for the three of you, don't come with me. Send you all back to the head wet nurse's office and reassign your duties. I, the concubine, will personally assign three maids to serve the Third Prince." Lanqin had discussed this with Cui Niang. Only the wet nurse was left, because she had nursed the Third Prince from a young age and was practically his mother. Removing Bai Jia would likely make the Third Prince feel uncomfortable and emotionally unable to accept it. As for the three maids, Lanqin was too lazy to investigate them one by one, so she dismissed them all and reassigned trusted people to serve him.
Upon hearing this, the three maids immediately knelt down and pledged their loyalty, hoping that Lanqin would allow them to continue serving the Third Prince.
Lanqin wasn't a harsh person, and seeing the three young ladies kneeling and begging her, she felt a pang of pity. She glanced at Cui Niang, only to see her shake her head. Lanqin knew Cui Niang's advice was right. Leaving aside whether these three maids had any connection with the people in the other courtyard, their age and figures alone made them unsuitable. The Third Prince was nine years old now; in the 21st century, he would be an innocent child, but even now, someone was already eyeing him. Cui Niang meant that she couldn't keep any of the more alluring maids who had grown up alongside him in his room. She was afraid that as they grew older, their ambitions would grow, and they might try to sleep with the Third Prince—that would be Lanqin's fault for not disciplining them properly.
Lanqin couldn't accept it at first, thinking to herself, "How could a nine-year-old kid be thinking about that kind of thing?"
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