The 47th year of Kangxi's reign had finally come to an end, and it was time to go to the palace again to pay New Year's respects to the Emperor, the Empress Dowager, and the concubines. Lanqin felt exhausted just thinking about it, but she had no choice but to go. This time, there was also Lady Nian, and she hoped that things wouldn't get too chaotic between them. Lanqin knew that Lady Nian harbored resentment towards her because of the repairs to the East Courtyard. Given Lady Nian's personality and the support of her family, she would probably be quite arrogant in the palace.
As expected, when the Fourth Prince led his family into Yonghe Palace, Lady Nian, due to her newly promoted rank, became unusually active in front of Consort De. In addition, having given birth to a prince, she quickly became the focus of attention in the palace. She was already beautiful, and with her delicate little mouth, she was even more endearing.
"Haha, you little rascal!" Consort De was amused by Lady Nian's teasing, and the other young ladies-in-waiting also laughed. The Fourteenth Prince's wife, who still had no news, felt even more resentful seeing Lady Nian so smug in front of Consort De.
Lanqin chatted happily with the Seventh Consort Xinyi, not minding at all that Consort Nian was favored by Consort De.
"Mother, let me tell you another interesting story!" Before entering the palace, Lady Nian had done her homework, finding out who lived in Yonghe Palace, which families they came from, and what their personalities were. In short, she had learned about their preferences and prepared a number of jokes and folk tales. Now she was telling them to these concubines who had lived in the deep palace for a long time, and she really made them very happy.
Consort De was overjoyed to see Lady Nian's chubby son. Alas, Lanqin knew that no matter how much Consort De liked her, it couldn't compare to the affection of a prince.
"Third sister, this Consort Nian in our household is quite capable. She managed to make Consort De and my mother very happy on her first visit to the palace," Xin Yi whispered to Lan Qin.
“Ms. Nian is beautiful and quick-witted, which are her own strengths. In addition, she has given birth to a prince, so she will naturally be able to win people over from all sides,” Lanqin said.
"Isn't Third Sister worried?" Xin Yi asked anxiously. "I heard from Mother that that cousin is still living in Yonghe Palace!"
"As a concubine of the princes, other women can't help but worry when they give birth to sons. Our concubine in the manor is just too stubborn and does all sorts of underhanded things behind their backs. And what was the result?" Lanqin said, thinking of the fate of the fourth concubine. "As for that cousin, if she could really succeed, she wouldn't have stayed with Mother for so long without making a move. I'm sure Mother would never agree to it."
“Third Sister is absolutely right. Just focus on your own children and live your own life. If you're always scheming and plotting, you'll end up hurting your husbands, but in the end, you'll only hurt yourself,” Xin Yi said.
“That’s right! Xinyi, I’m reminded of Holland. Back when she was in our family, she was the most successful and proud. And now? She’s long gone. Thinking about it, among the three of us, Xinyi, you’re the happiest. Seventh Prince treats you very well, doesn’t he? There aren’t many concubines or mistresses in the inner quarters.” Lanqin said with a smile.
"Third sister is teasing me. Everyone knows that you are the most favored woman by Fourth Prince." Xin Yi smiled, her gilded jade headdress exceeding the allowance for a secondary consort, showing how much Seventh Prince doted on her.
“Look, I still have this one in my household, and a cousin who’s always eyeing Fourth Master’s fragrant bone with a covetous look!” Lanqin said.
"Pfft!" When Xin Yi saw Lan Qin compare the Fourth Master to a "dog bone," she couldn't help but cover her mouth and spit it out.
"What are you laughing at, Seventh Consort? Why don't you tell us and have some fun with us?" Consort De saw Lanqin and Xinyi whispering to each other. Actually, she didn't want this Lady Nian to stand out too much, but Lanqin was too quiet today, lacking the liveliness she usually showed in front of her.
Xin Yi was a little flustered when Consort De suddenly called her name. She absolutely couldn't have said those words! Consort Cheng, who was sitting next to Consort De, immediately said when she saw her daughter-in-law being called on by Consort De, "Why don't you hurry up and say it so that Her Highness can have some fun?"
Xin Yi was immediately embarrassed, her face turning red. Just as she was wondering what to say, Lan Qin suddenly said, "Mother, I was just joking with the Seventh Consort!"
When Consort De saw that Lanqin had finally spoken, she turned to her and asked, "Why don't you tell us a joke so we can all have a laugh?"
Seeing that everyone's attention had turned to Lanqin again, Nian felt anxious, but she couldn't show it. So she just stared at Lanqin, waiting to see what kind of joke she could come up with.
Lanqin pondered for a moment and then smiled, "The jokes I tell are all lowbrow and not as good as Consort Nian's. Mother, you'd better not listen to them."
Nian looked at Lanqin with a disdainful expression, as if to say that Lanqin couldn't possibly come up with any funny jokes.
Consort De laughed and said, "How could I not hear it? You little monkey, hurry up and tell me what happened!"
Seeing that she couldn't avoid it, Lanqin had no choice but to say, "Then I'll make a fool of myself. Someone asked: How can you correctly distinguish between an octopus's arms and legs? Everyone thought for a long time but couldn't figure it out, because it's really hard to tell the octopus's arms and legs apart. The person was very proud of himself, and then he slowly said: If you fart and let it smell it, the ones that cover its nose are arms, and the others are legs."
Pfft!
Pfft!
After Lanqin finished speaking, she looked at Consort De with a serious expression. She had no choice; she had racked her brains for a while before coming up with this joke. Consort De maintained a straight face, but when the two young noblewomen beside her couldn't help but laugh, she too couldn't help but laugh.
"Vulgar! How can you say such foul language in front of your mother and all these distinguished guests!" Madam Nian said solemnly.
“I think this joke is much funnier than those jokes about scholars and officials that you tell. Isn’t it?” Wanyan Shi had long been impatient with Nian Shi’s smug look about having a son, and couldn’t help but defend Lanqin.
When Lady Nian saw that the Fourteenth Princess Consort dared to say to her face that her jokes were inferior to Lanqin's, even though Lanqin's rank was higher than hers, Lady Nian stubbornly held back her retort. Lady Wanyan glared at Lady Nian triumphantly.
"Alright, they're all just jokes, there's no question of which is better or worse," Consort De quickly stepped in to smooth things over. To be honest, the Fourteenth Prince's wife was right; Lady Nian's jokes were all rather literary, not as straightforward and easy to understand as Lanqin's. However, now that Lady Nian had been promoted to a secondary consort and had given birth to a prince, Consort De couldn't show too much favoritism towards either side, which was why she said that.
Upon hearing this, Lanqin understood what Consort De meant. Sigh, the Fourth Prince is just like his mother; both are masters of balancing things!
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