"I haven't seen my sister for many days and I miss her dearly. Today, let's have a good time together." The Fourth Princess Consort immediately took the outstretched hand.
After the Third Prince's wife and the Fourth Prince's wife exchanged greetings, the Third Prince's wife said to the women standing behind her, "Today, you all take good care of the sisters that the Fourth Prince's wife brought."
Lady Guarjia, along with the Third Prince's many daughters, bowed in unison and said, "Yes!"
Lanqin suddenly felt as if she had been swept by a cold gaze, and immediately looked back as if by reflex, but caught nothing. She wondered who had looked at her with those venomous eyes and then vanished without a trace.
The group followed the Third Prince's wife into the Third Prince's residence, heading straight to her main courtyard. Several round tables had already been set up in the side rooms on either side of the main house, laden with playing cards, melon seeds, peanuts, and candied fruit. Many maids stood serving around the tables. The Fourth Prince's wife, along with the maids brought by the other princesses, including Lanqin, had been taken elsewhere, just like last time, to idly eat melon seeds and drink tea.
"My dear sisters, why don't you take the princesses that Fourth Princess Consort brought along and go have some fun? I'd like to have a word with my cousin," Third Princess Consort instructed Guarjia.
Lanqin and Lady Yin were led to the east wing by Lady Guarjia and another princess of the Third Prince, Lady Majia. As soon as they entered the room, they felt immediately cool, as there were ice blocks inside, which were emitting a slight chill.
"How refreshing! It's so hot outside!" Guarjia said, and the four of them sat down around the table. The maids began to wash and wipe their hands, and then brought out a plate of chilled watermelon.
“Alas, we princesses never get to enjoy ice; we only get it in the wives’ quarters.” Ma Jia reached out and picked up a slice of watermelon from the plate. “This must be Princess Yin. How many months pregnant are you?” Ma Jia asked, noticing her pregnant belly.
"Four and a half months," Madam Yin replied, but in her heart she was thinking about the four people here. It was Lanqin's courtyard that had unusual expenses. Ma Jia's words just now had really stung Madam Yin. She was already pregnant with the Fourth Prince's child, but she couldn't even compare to Madam Niu.
"You must be Sister Niu, one of the imperial concubines from my generation. You've only been in the palace for less than half a year, and you're already pregnant. Sister Yin is truly the luckiest person." Guarjia began to draw cards, glancing at Lanqin while speaking to Yin. Since being confined to her quarters for a month by the Third Prince at the full-month celebration for the baby boy she gave birth to for Lady Tian, she no longer dared to target Lanqin as she had before.
Lanqin saw that there were cards to play, which was better than just standing around dealing with her sisters, so she focused all her attention on the cards and didn't pay any attention to their casual conversation.
But Lanqin's indifference seemed arrogant to Madam Yin and the others. When Madam Guarjia said this, Madam Yin could hardly contain her grievances. She glanced at Lanqin out of the corner of her eye and saw her holding a few cards and looking at them, without any emotion on her face.
"Oh, it's just a coincidence. If we're talking about good fortune, I'm definitely not the luckiest person here," Madam Yin said with a hint of bitterness.
"Play cards, play cards, ladies, shall we have some stakes?" Lanqin suddenly grumbled. Although she hadn't been paying close attention to what they were saying, she had kept some in mind. Upon hearing Yin's words, she deliberately changed the subject immediately.
"Sister Niu, you're in such high spirits! How about we wager some golden melon seeds and see if you can win all of my gold melon seeds?" Guarjia had always disliked Lanqin and was always trying to outdo her. Her words were meant to provoke Lanqin: "Look at her, she entered the manor at the same time as you, and she's already pregnant with the Fourth Prince's child. She's much more favored than you."
Alas, if Lady Guarjia knew what Lady Yin was thinking, she would be furious.
"The golden melon seeds I brought are not right, so please go easy on me, sister." Lanqin understood the meaning behind Guarjia's words just now, and thought to herself: Today, I will make sure you lose everything.
Seeing them arguing, Madam Yin was naturally pleased, though her meager amount of gold seeds was utterly insignificant compared to Guarjia's bag. Madam Yin came from a humble background and was an illegitimate daughter; her father hadn't visited her in the capital since sending her to the imperial concubine selection, making her probably the poorest of the four princesses. Her meager monthly allowance was all used to bribe the servants; in reality, Ye Ying's bag only contained a few seeds.
"I didn't come out today intending to play cards with you ladies. I'm afraid I didn't bring enough gold coins, and I'm afraid I won't have enough to lose," Madam Yin said softly, her face already flushed.
Ma Jia and Guarjia exchanged glances, their tacit understanding seemingly already formed long ago.
“My sister is pregnant with the emperor’s grandson, so just play with us. Winning or losing won’t affect her. Just let her relax, okay?” Guarjia said understandingly.
“Yes, yes, Sister Yin, don’t take it too seriously. Be careful of the imperial grandson in your belly,” Ma Jia echoed.
Lanqin wanted to say that Yin Shi was not included, but they beat her to it, so she continued, "Sister Yin is pregnant with Fourth Master's child, so she shouldn't think too much. If she doesn't want to fight, or if she feels like going out, she can go. The three of us can fight too."
In fact, she said these words entirely out of concern for Ms. Yin, who was pregnant: pregnant women should not use their brains, nor should they have too many emotional fluctuations, and it is best not to sit for long periods of time.
But hearing this made Madam Yin blush even more. Every word Lanqin spoke seemed to be implying to her: If you don't have golden melon seeds, don't get involved, lest you lose.
Okay, sometimes brainless pretty girls are just that idiotic and self-righteous!
Yin wanted to refuse Lanqin's suggestion, but she was too embarrassed to join in the fight. Although Guarjia and Magia had already said so, she still felt ashamed. However, Lanqin's words made her feel even more ashamed, and she wished she could find a hole to crawl into right now.
Seeing that Madam Yin seemed hesitant and blushing, Madam Ma quickly smoothed things over, saying, "Sister Niu is right. Sister Yin is pregnant, so she shouldn't be thinking too much. Why don't you sit here with me and help me watch the cards?"
Madam Yin glanced gratefully at Madam Ma and nodded gently.
Well, Ma Jia's words were almost the same as Lan Qin's, but to Yin Shi they sounded like concern and care, while to her they sounded like mockery and ridicule.
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