"I, the Consort, will not let her get it at this time!" Lanqin said. "However, I can also give her some things to do. Why should I arrange everything for her? She only needs to eat, drink, and live, and she is still not satisfied. I heard that the renovation of the East Courtyard is still not fully completed?"
"Yes," Lan Qi reported. "Consort Nian keeps sending people over to interfere, making it impossible for the servants who are doing the repairs to know how to fix them." Cui Niang helped Lan Qin sit down in front of the dressing table.
"Tell Lan Qi to hurry up and urge the project to be completed as soon as possible, and don't let anyone from the Nian family in before it's fixed!" Lan Qin said domineeringly.
"Yes. Did Master just say that he would let Nian Shi also manage some affairs?" Cui Niang said, "You must not give her any more power to manage the inner quarters. If she were to plant someone or do something underhanded, it would be impossible to guard against."
“I’ll be frugal. For example, I can let her manage things like flower and tree maintenance, house repairs, and so on. But she absolutely mustn’t get involved in the main kitchen. Although all the expenses for the South Courtyard don’t come from there, we still need to be careful,” Lanqin said. Actually, even if she didn’t bring it up herself, she felt that the Fourth Prince would bring it up anyway, since Lady Nian was now a secondary consort and would definitely let her help manage things.
“That’s exactly right. Your Majesty has a far-sighted vision, which I can’t match. Now that Lady Nian is a secondary consort, if anything happens to Your Majesty, she will take the initiative to ask Your Majesty to help manage it. It would be better if Your Majesty handed over these less important matters now, then she would have no reason to ask again,” Cui Niang praised.
“That’s right, that’s exactly what I was thinking. Lady Nian is quite knowledgeable in this area, and it’s said that the good stuff in her private treasury is no less than that in the palace. It would be most suitable for her to manage the houses, furnishings, and plants in the Fourth Prince’s residence,” Lanqin said.
Just then, the sound of Fourth Master's footsteps rang out again. Doctor Lin also came along with Fourth Master.
After Dr. Lin placed the examination pillow on Lanqin's wrist and draped a gauze over it, he began his examination. Fourth Master stood to one side, carefully observing the expression on Dr. Lin's face.
“Master, your standing here will only put pressure on Doctor Lin. Why don’t you go sit down and have some tea?” Lanqin smiled and found it amusing to see the Fourth Master looking so nervous.
After Lanqin said that, Fourth Master coughed a few times, cleared his throat, and then slowly walked to the high-backed chair by the window and sat down.
Perhaps it was because the pregnancy was too early, or perhaps the Fourth Master was just too nervous, but even after taking the pulse for half an hour, Doctor Lin still couldn't give a clear answer. He just switched hands to examine the patient several times.
"Let's get Doctor Liang to come and diagnose her too," Fourth Master finally couldn't help but say. He was also very anxious, and only then did he remember that there was Doctor Liang in Lanqin's courtyard.
"Doctor Liang has gone back to the estate, sir. Can you please calm down a bit?" Lanqin said, frowning. Then she comforted Doctor Lin, "Doctor Lin, maybe it's not like that."
"Consort, Your Majesty, I've been feeling around for a while and I think it's a pregnancy pulse, but something seems off!" Doctor Lin said, frowning slightly. The Fourth Prince's presence beside him had indeed put a lot of pressure on him, but thankfully Consort Niu spoke up, which eased his tension.
"Really?" Fourth Master jumped up from his seat excitedly and quickly went to Lanqin's side.
"This servant's medical skills are insufficient. Please, Your Highness, invite a few more experienced doctors to examine the concubine," Doctor Lin hurriedly stood up and bowed to the Fourth Prince.
Lanqin was stunned when she heard this, wondering what was going on in her belly that even Doctor Lin couldn't figure out.
"Alright, Su Peisheng, go out of the manor immediately and invite Physician Yang over!" Fourth Master ordered immediately. Doctor Lin stood aside in shame, unsure of what to do.
A bead of sweat dripped from Lanqin's forehead as she looked at Fourth Master's nervous expression, as if he had just become a father.
"Master, it's lunchtime now. We should wait until Physician Yang has finished his lunch before inviting him." Lanqin knew that being invited over in such a hurry when he hadn't eaten lunch was a bit frustrating.
"Come over and use it, I'll prepare a feast for him!" Fourth Master said without any hesitation, and immediately waved to Su Peisheng.
Lanqin broke out in another sweat. Seeing the way Fourth Master was acting, she couldn't keep a low profile even if she wanted to.
As expected, Su Peisheng went out to invite her, but didn't return for a long time. Fourth Master paced back and forth anxiously in Lanqin's main room.
"Master, please don't walk around in front of me, okay? It's almost lunchtime, please sit down and prepare to eat," Lanqin said, reclining on the master couch.
"That damned servant, what kind of work is he doing? He can't even get anyone to come." Fourth Master sat down opposite Lanqin angrily.
"Perhaps Physician Yang isn't home, or something might be going on. Master, I am pregnant, but it's definitely very early in the pregnancy, and Doctor Lin's assessment is pretty much correct. Why don't we go and invite him again in a few days?" Lanqin said.
Fourth Master had no choice but to have lunch with Lanqin in a sullen mood.
Meanwhile, when Madam Nian learned that Fourth Master had gone to Lanqin's place and then saw Doctor Lin enter the South Courtyard, she immediately began to speculate.
"Niohuru was acting strangely in the palace, as if she was arguing with the prince. So when the fourth prince went over, they started arguing and even got into a fight, which is why Doctor Lin was called?" Lady Nian was sitting at the dining table, which was covered with a meal.
"The South Courtyard is surrounded like an iron barrel; this servant really can't find out anything!" Cui Ling said, serving from the side.
“Isn’t there someone with ears right here? Go and send someone to invite the Second Princess over later. Just say that I, the Consort, have something to give her. Anyway, she’s going to marry my eldest brother’s son in the future, so giving it to her is like giving it to my Nian family,” said Madam Nian.
“But judging from the Second Princess’s demeanor, she doesn’t talk much about the South Courtyard in front of her mistress,” Cui Ling said.
"That's because the conditions aren't equal yet. Erlinzhu is clearly different from the First Princess; she's quick-witted too. If I, as her secondary wife, were to offer her enough benefits, she wouldn't keep quiet," Lady Nian said with a contemptuous smile.
Meanwhile, Su Peisheng had already led Yang Yuanzheng through the gates of the Fourth Prince's residence. It turned out that after Su Peisheng arrived at the Yang residence, Yang Yuanzheng wasn't home. His family said he was meeting with friends. So, Su Peisheng waited at the Yang residence. He dared not return to report to the Fourth Prince without being able to invite Yang Yuanzheng. Seeing the Fourth Prince's anxious state regarding Consort Niu's pregnancy, Su Peisheng couldn't help but want to laugh. Consort Niu had been giving the Fourth Prince the cold shoulder in the palace for several days, and the Fourth Prince finally couldn't stand it anymore. This time, he realized that no one could compare to Consort Niu. Even with Lady Uya's arrival, it probably wouldn't change the fact that Lady Niu was favored.
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