After Lady Uya cared for him tirelessly for seven or eight days, the Fifth Prince's smallpox miraculously began to improve. The Fourth Prince was overjoyed to see that the Fifth Prince had survived this ordeal. He decided to ask Emperor Kangxi to name the prince, who was already one year old.
The Fifth Prince had indeed recovered. At that time, Lady Nian could only stand outside the house and catch a glimpse of him from afar; it was Lady Uya who personally cared for him. The Fourth Prince's favor towards Lady Uya had indeed improved considerably, which made Lady Nian even more unhappy. Lady Nian wasn't the kind of person to be overly kind; she knew that Lady Uya's initiative in caring for the Fifth Prince was only because she wanted to curry favor with the Fourth Prince, so Lady Nian had no genuine gratitude towards Lady Uya.
“Consort, the fact that the Fifth Prince has survived smallpox shows that he is a very fortunate person. Although Lady Wuya has ulterior motives, you should still reward her,” Baizhi said to Lady Nian, who was having breakfast.
“Yes, she should be rewarded. She took good care of the Fifth Prince for me, so she deserves a reward!” Lanqin said.
“Yes. Then we’d better give her the reward before the master does, so that the master might not be able to give her the reward later,” Bai Zhi said.
"Hmm, you're right. Go pick out a few suitable items and give them to her as a reward," said Madam Nian casually.
Meanwhile, Uya had already returned to her room; the past seven or eight days had truly exhausted her. As soon as she returned, Cuiyun prepared water and gave Uya a bath.
"Madam, Consort Nian's reward has arrived." Shuang'er walked to the door.
"She's quick! The master's reward hasn't arrived yet!" Cuiyun said.
“Isn’t she just trying to prevent the master from giving her a reward?” said Madam Wuya.
Cuiyun went out to receive the rewards and presented them to Wuya. Upon opening them one by one, she found they were all gold headdresses or other jewelry.
"She's certainly generous!" said Uya, glancing at the contents of the black lacquered plates.
"Yes, what kind of reward is this! It's like we've never seen gold before!" Cuiyun pouted.
“Take them all out and melt them down. Make them into small rings and earrings, specifically for giving as rewards!” said Uya.
“Yes, such a heavy headdress must be very heavy to wear!” Cuiyun said.
Meanwhile, when Madam Nian saw that Cui Ling, who had given the tip, had returned, she asked, "What did she say?"
“Wuya didn’t come out to see me; it was her personal maid who came to receive the offering! She said she was asleep!” Cuiling said.
"Hmph, she's just a concubine, yet she didn't even come to thank us for the reward!" Madam Nian said bitterly.
Just then, after looking at the Fifth Prince, the Fourth Prince came to the door of Lady Nian's room and said, "I heard you rewarded Lady Wuya?"
Lady Nian quickly smiled and said, "Your Highness has arrived! I was grateful to Lady Wuya for taking such good care of the Fifth Prince, so I had Cuiling bring some things over."
The Fourth Prince nodded and said, "The Fifth Prince's name has been bestowed. I came here specifically to tell you!"
Upon hearing this, Lady Nian immediately asked, "I wonder what name Father Emperor has given to the Fifth Prince?"
“Hong Sheng,” Fourth Master said.
"This concubine thanks Fourth Master for writing down the Fifth Prince's name!" Lady Nian curtsied, her heart still worried about whether Fourth Master had heard what she had just said!
"Alright, Fifth Prince Hongsheng, you must take good care of him from now on. The fact that he survived smallpox shows that he is blessed! You take good care of him!" The Fourth Prince raised his hand and patted Lady Nian's shoulder before turning to leave.
"Master, please stay for dinner!" Madam Nian said hurriedly when she saw that the Fourth Master was about to leave.
"No, I have things to do in the front yard, please eat by yourself!" The Fourth Master's tone was unreadable, but he did not stay for dinner.
"Cui Ling, don't you think the master seems a little angry?" Madam Nian said somewhat uneasily.
“Master may have overheard what you said about the Uya clan,” Cui Ling said.
"Who's guarding outside? Why didn't they say a word when the master came in! Go and call her in!" Madam Nian was displeased and was about to vent her anger on the maid. Actually, it wasn't the maid's fault; when the Fourth Master came in, he made sure no one was called to announce his arrival.
Meanwhile, Fourth Master walked towards the front courtyard, then suddenly stopped and turned to head towards the west courtyard.
Looking in that direction, Su Peisheng knew that Fourth Master was going to see that Wuya woman.
"It seems that Consort Niu has met her match!" Su Peisheng thought to himself.
When the Fourth Master arrived at Wuya's door, he saw her standing in the courtyard enjoying the cool air.
"This concubine greets Your Highness! I pay my respects to Your Highness!" Wuya was dressed in a light blue ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress), and her hair was simply styled into a bun with a few palace flowers adorning her dark hair, making her look very pleasing.
"Why are you standing here?" Fourth Master asked. He knew it must be because it was hot inside, and there was a breeze in the courtyard, but he didn't have any other ideas, so he just asked casually.
“Our master is hot, and it’s a bit windy here!” Cuiyun quickly said.
"Who asked you to be so talkative! Get down!" Wuya scolded lightly, then lowered her head in embarrassment.
"It's too hot inside, but it's cool outside. Have you had dinner yet?" Fourth Master asked.
"It was too hot, so I only had some porridge," said Uya.
"Why don't you accompany me for a walk in the garden? It's windy there!" Fourth Master felt indebted to Lady Wuya and wanted to make amends. Lady Nian had already given him a reward, so he couldn't very well give her another. He could only spend some time with her.
The news that Lady Wuya accompanied the Fourth Prince on a night stroll in the garden quickly reached Lady Nian's ears, which angered her so much that she threw a vase.
Next, Lady Wuya finally became the Fourth Prince's woman, securing a place among the few women he had. On one or two out of the ten times the Fourth Prince returned to the inner quarters, he would stay with her.
Lanqin knew this was inevitable. Unlike Yan Yu, the Fujin, or Nian Shi, Wuya Shi only needed to appear weak and obedient in front of the Fourth Prince, and he wouldn't forget her. After all, the feeling of first love is something one can never forget, let alone someone like the Fourth Prince.
With Lady Uya finally gaining favor with the Fourth Prince, the dynamics within his household underwent a slight shift. Lanqin remained the Fourth Prince's most favored concubine, Lady Nian held a place, and Lady Uya was also able to meet with the Fourth Prince.
Lanqin's mind was entirely focused on the two little ones in her belly, and she couldn't be bothered to pay attention to what was happening outside the South Courtyard. The Fourth Prince came to inquire almost every day, and even if he didn't stay overnight, he would have dinner with Lanqin and play with Wuxiha and Bechuk, just like before. However, Lanqin knew that the Fourth Prince still had feelings for Wuya Shi in his heart.
As for the matter of Uya taking realgar, Lanqin had mentioned it to the Fourth Prince, but she never heard him mention it again. Just like Consort De's attitude, there was no news at all.
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