The Empress Dowager's gifts arrived at the Fourth Prince's residence the very next day, accompanied by six eunuchs. Each of them carried a black lacquered tray covered with a red silk cloth.
After the eunuchs and maids who had come from the palace to deliver the rewards left with the purses handed out by Cui Niang, the maids in the South Courtyard were all eager to lift the red cloth and see what rare treasures were inside. Although the eunuchs had just announced the rewards, just hearing the names of the items made them seem like priceless treasures. It must be said that Consort De's actions this time were quite grand. She hadn't seen such lavish rewards for her previous two children, both of whom were princesses. It was clear that her rewards this time had a purpose.
Lanqin understood that this was Consort De's compensation for not being able to uphold justice for her, and also a way of hoping that she could give the Fourth Prince a son this time. Therefore, Lanqin felt somewhat disheartened and wasn't in a hurry to look at the rewards. In the past, Lanqin would have been overjoyed, after all, any one of those items would be priceless treasures in later generations, artifacts worthy of being displayed in the Palace Museum. But now, her most precious treasures were her children. As long as they were safe and sound, wasn't that more important than anything else?
"Your Highness, won't you take a look at these gifts from Consort De?" Cui Niang knew that Lan Qin wanted Consort De to investigate those harmful bewitching incense, not these gifts, but she couldn't let Lan Qin be unhappy like this, since they were gifts from her mother-in-law after all.
"If you want to see, then pick it out and look!" Lanqin said, still reclining on the couch.
Seeing that the maids were all eager to try, Cui Niang took the lead to see the rewards.
"Wow! Master, look! Isn't this a jade cabbage?!" Jinju was the first to exclaim in admiration!
Lanqin glanced at the tray they had first uncovered, which contained a piece of icy jade cabbage with floating patterns. The jade cabbage was about the size of a real baby bok choy, but much smaller than a large bok choy. However, jade of this size was already rare, and with its color and floating patterns, it was truly a rare treasure.
It seems that Consort De felt indebted to Lanqin, otherwise she wouldn't have gone to such lengths! Lanqin stared at the jade cabbage and muttered to herself.
“Do you like it? This jade is quite nice. Why don’t we use it to make some bracelets, jade pendants, jade rings, jade earrings, and the like?” Lanqin suddenly said.
"My lady, this was a gift from Consort De. How could you possibly damage it?" Cui Niang exclaimed in surprise. Surely no one would secretly use a reward to make jewelry, and my lady dares to say anything!
"This jade cabbage is just sitting there, unusable and unwearable. It's just an ornament in the storeroom. Why not take it and have a craftsman make it into jewelry? It'll be beautiful, wearable, and portable. Since it's already been given to me, what I do with it is none of anyone else's business!" Lan Qin said. She thought of Lin Mengyao in her later life, who once saw a jade bracelet she liked at a jewelry counter but couldn't bear to spend a month's salary to buy it. Now, with such a piece of fine jade, she could make ten or eight of them to wear!
"Master!" Cui Niang looked at Lan Qin with concern. The other maids also exchanged glances, wondering why Lan Qin was so displeased.
"What's the second item? Open it and let's see!" Lanqin ignored Cui Niang's worries and said to Jinju. She'd been wronged; couldn't she at least vent her anger? Besides, it was already a gift from Consort De; why would she even bother looking at it? Actually, it would be quite useful to have it made into jewelry. Otherwise, although the jade cabbage was precious, it was really pretty useless.
Once the kumquats were opened, everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the second treasure. It was a golden and gemstone pot. It was a full thirty centimeters tall, made entirely of genuine gold—not the inflated gold of later generations. The handle, body, and rim of the pot were intricately carved with exquisite patterns, clearly the work of the Imperial Household Department. It was inlaid with countless red, yellow, and green gemstones, dazzling and breathtaking.
“My lady, I just secretly counted, and there are a total of eighty-eight gems on this pot!” Jinju said.
"Wow, this is a treasure!" Xi Cha exclaimed.
"Um!" Lanqin was about to say something when Cui Niang suddenly grabbed her hand, forcing her to stop what she was about to say.
“My lady, this pot can no longer be melted down to make jewelry. It came from the Imperial Household Department, and there are records of it. You can’t just take it and make jewelry as you please. What if the Emperor asks you about the gift from Consort De? How will you answer then! This jade cabbage is natural; you can find someone to carve a piece of jade like this. But this gold pot is one of a kind. Its size, the carving, and the gemstones on it are all unique.” Cui Niang said hurriedly, afraid that Lan Qin would say again, “Go melt it down and make jewelry to wear.”
Lanqin looked at the maids staring at her expectantly, both amused and exasperated, and waved her hand, saying, "I didn't say I was going to melt it down. I meant this should be carefully preserved."
Everyone sighed, and seeing that Lanqin's lips finally curled up, they knew that she wasn't in such a bad mood anymore.
The third gift was a set of kingfisher feather headdresses. Lanqin immediately felt a sense of déjà vu, and upon closer inspection, she realized that it was very similar to the headdress worn by the "Consort Hua" she had seen in later generations! Everyone praised it again, but Lanqin dared not look at it for too long and quickly covered it with a red cloth.
The fourth item was bells and locks for the child, all made of gold and of the finest quality. Lanqin thought to herself that the royal family was truly extraordinary; even their infants wore such exquisite items.
The fifth item was three bolts of tribute satin, clearly not a ration for someone of Lanqin's status. This reward, however, was the most practical. Lanqin touched the satin; it was all as soft and light as silk. It was said that this kind of satin was made from the finest silk extracted from silkworms. Wearing it as underwear would be both light and comfortable.
“This fabric can be used immediately. Take it to the embroidery room to make underwear for the children. Make two sets each for Ushiha and Bechuk, and one set for the Third Prince and the Second Princess as well. The rest can be used to make some small clothes for the two babies in my belly,” Lanqin immediately instructed.
“Your Highness, this was a gift from Consort De. Why don’t you do anything for yourself?” Nianxue said.
"It would be a waste to make clothes for me looking like this. My figure will change drastically by then," Lanqin waved her hand and said, "Don't worry, I'll still receive such rewards after I give birth. What's the rush?"
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