Lanqin accompanied Consort Cheng all the way to her palace, which was a bit far from Consort De's main palace. Ever since Consort Cheng gave birth to the disabled Seventh Prince, she had been neglected by Emperor Kangxi. This was evident from the fact that even though she was already a consort, she had not yet taken on the position of a principal consort and was instead dependent on Consort De.
"Your Highness, do you have something to say?" Lanqin asked as they approached Consort Cheng's palace.
“Good child, I see you are a kind-hearted child, and you and Xinyi are sisters. That’s why I kept it from you and told you this: Your Majesty’s niece is not simple. Back then, she almost got together with the Fourth Prince. In the end, Your Majesty still ruthlessly cut off this relationship. I witnessed the whole thing.” Consort Cheng stopped and took Lanqin’s hand.
"So, as far as Your Majesty knows, does Wuya Wanru intend to make a comeback?" Lanqin asked.
"Judging from her appearance, I suspect she hasn't given up hope. Her Highness is her aunt, so it's understandable that she might favor her and thus miss her intentions. However, as an outsider, I believe this Wuya Wanru is not the person she appears to be in front of Her Highness. Lanqin, the Fourth Prince is a loyal and compassionate man. He doesn't look down on his seventh brother and helps him in every way, for which I am very grateful. But this also means he might have feelings for Wuya Wanru; you should be prepared," Consort Cheng said.
"Thank you for your guidance, Your Highness! I understand now," Lanqin said, curtsying to Consort Cheng.
When she returned alone, Fourth Master happened to arrive as well; she had invited him to lunch.
The family of three waited in the main hall. The Fourth Prince asked a few questions to the Second Princess, while Lanqin listened from the side. Consort Cheng's words echoed in her mind, and she looked at the Fourth Prince's questions to the Second Princess, each word meticulous and reasonable.
Will Fourth Master rekindle his old feelings for Wu Yawan? Lanqin asked, staring at the back of Fourth Master's neck.
Meanwhile, Consort De was in Wuya Wanru's room, accompanying the imperial physician who had come to treat her. It turned out that Wuya Wanru had gone to pick iron-skinned wind chimes growing on the outer wall of the Western Six Palaces for Consort De, but she hadn't been careful and had fallen off the ladder.
"Wanru, why did you go over there without permission? You even tripped and fell. You're so careless!" Consort De said, both a little distressed and a little reproachful, when she saw that Wuya Wanru's ankle was indeed swollen.
"It's all Wanru's fault, Your Highness, please don't worry." Wuya Wanru's eyes were already a little red, clearly she was in so much pain that she cried.
"Imperial Physician Liu, how is Wanru's ankle bone?" Consort De didn't want to say anything more, so she asked Imperial Physician Liu, who had examined her leg bone.
"It's not serious, Your Majesty, please don't worry too much. There's a slight fracture in the shinbone; you'll need to be on the deck and will recover in two months," said Physician Liu.
"Alright, then please have Physician Liu disinfect her first, and then fix her with a splint," Consort De said immediately.
“Aunt, why don’t you leave the palace? How can I trouble you here?” Wuya Wanru said, raising her hand and wiping away her tears with a handkerchief.
"Nonsense! You've already broken your leg, and you still want to limp out of the palace? You can stay here with me to recover. Do you think I'm short of a room for you?" Consort De immediately decided to let Wuya Wanru stay and recover.
After instructing the palace maids to take care of her, Consort De remembered that she had already sent someone to summon the Fourth Prince, so she hurriedly left with her palace servants.
The two palace maids who stayed behind to take care of Wuya Wanru, one went with Doctor Liu to prepare medicine, and the other went to the kitchen to find a suitable wooden board for her.
"Madam, let me change your clothes. Look at you, you're in so much pain that your clothes are soaked with sweat," Cuiyun said softly after she and Wuya were left alone in the room.
"Ugh, it hurts so much I'm almost losing consciousness. Go get me a basin of water to wash up," said Uya.
After Cuiyun brought the water, she placed the wooden basin on the round stool by Wuya's bedside, and then helped Wuya sit up from the cushion.
"Madam has really hardened her heart to degrade herself in order to stay in this palace. What if Consort De doesn't let you stay?" Cuiyun took a hot towel and wiped Wuya's face.
“I expected her to keep me. My aunt always likes to pretend to be virtuous and proper in front of others. If she were to kick me out without any pity if I were to pick iron-skinned wind chimes for her, wouldn’t that ruin Consort De’s reputation?” Uya said with a mocking smile.
"Madam really knows Consort De well." After wiping Wuya's face, Cuiyun put the cloth in the basin and washed it several times before wringing it out to wipe her neck and hands.
“I entered her palace when I was eleven and have often served her. How could I not know her personality? Just look at the character ‘德’ (virtue) in her title of Consort, and you can see what she values most. Now that she won’t allow me, she’s naturally afraid of being laughed at. Look at my good aunt, she’d rather protect her own reputation than give me happiness.” Uya’s resentment towards Consort De grew stronger and stronger. In her eyes, all her misfortunes were caused by others.
"Madam, don't think about these things anymore. Once you can marry the Fourth Prince as you wish, it will all be worth it," Cuiyun could only advise.
Meanwhile, Consort De returned to the main hall of Yonghe Palace, where the Fourth Prince, Lanqin, and the Second Princess had been waiting for quite some time.
"Hurry up and set out the meal, and don't forget to send some to Wanru as well!" Before Consort De even reached the main hall, she said to Granny De who was standing beside her.
"Yes, this servant will arrange it right away!" Granny De responded and immediately turned to go to Consort De's private kitchen.
As soon as Consort De entered the main hall, she saw the Fourth Prince and Lanqin talking with the Second Princess.
"Have you been waiting long? Lunch will be here soon," Consort De said, looking exhausted.
"What's wrong with Mother?" Fourth Master asked.
Consort De said awkwardly, "It's nothing. You can leave after you've finished your meal here. I'm a little tired today, so I won't keep you any longer."
The Fourth Prince nodded, and Lanqin understood that Consort De did not want Wuya Wanru to have too much contact with the Fourth Prince.
After the three of them had lunch with Consort De, they thanked her and took their leave.
The Fourth Prince led Lanqin and the Second Princess along the red palace walls. Lanqin casually asked, "Master, shall we go back to the manor today?"
Ever since Lanqin offered to send a princess to serve the Fourth Master, he had been angry with her for several days and ultimately refused to let her actually send anyone in.
"Well, I've finished my business, so why don't I go back with you now?" Fourth Master wasn't so angry anymore when he saw the little woman taking the initiative to talk to him.
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