After returning with the Fourth Prince, Lanqin was never in a good mood. Although Hongzhou was also very lovable and comforted Lanqin a lot, whenever she thought of Hongli in the palace, separated from her, a part of Lanqin's heart felt missing.
When the Second Princess's wedding day arrived, Nian Shi naturally took over the wedding arrangements from Lan Qin's perspective. Lan Qin didn't mind, since she didn't want to take on so many responsibilities and had to take care of four children herself, so she simply handed over the affairs of the main kitchen to Nian Shi.
Because the Fourth Prince needed to discuss with Lady Nian how to arrange the Second Princess's wedding, he inevitably spent more time in the East Courtyard. Gradually, the two concubines' influence in the Yong Prince's residence became evenly matched.
The Third Prince Hongjun was brought into the palace by the Fourth Prince. He studied in the Imperial Study with the Crown Prince's two sons, the Third Prince's eldest son and the Third Prince, the Fifth Prince's eldest son, and several other children. They could only return once every seven days and all lived in the Princes' Residence.
Lanqin was allowed to enter the palace to visit Hongli every half month, but she was only allowed to go alone and was not allowed to bring anyone else. This puzzled Lanqin, but she couldn't figure out why.
On this day, Lanqin finished visiting Hongli in the palace and saw that he had already sat up and was grabbing the cloth tiger. She was really reluctant to leave him, but in the end, she left after being persuaded by Eunuch Liang.
When they returned, Lanqin hugged Hongzhou, her mind filled with images of Hongli's adorable little face.
“My lady, the Second Princess came by today. She said she did some needlework for the Sixth and Seventh Princes. Judging from her appearance, it seemed like she had something to say to you,” Nianxue said to Lanqin.
"Let me see!" Lanqin handed Hongzhou to the wet nurse beside her and then went to look at the needlework that the Second Princess had brought.
They were all children's items, such as bibs, diapers, bottom flaps, underwear, socks, cloth tigers, etc., and they were all made very elegantly, showing that they had been carefully thought out.
"Go and invite the Second Princess over. This is just her way of showing concern as an older sister. She's getting married soon, and since she's staying here, she should at least say a few words to her," Lanqin said. Ever since Hongli was brought into the palace, she hadn't had the heart to think about anything else. When Madam Song, Madam Wu, and Madam Geng came to tell her that she shouldn't have relinquished control of the Grand Kitchen, she just smiled and let it go.
The Second Princess arrived with her maidservant by her side. Lanqin had already instructed the wet nurse to take Hongzhou to nurse.
"Elinzhu greets Consort!" the Second Princess greeted.
"Please sit down, Second Princess. Look at the little things you made for Hongli and Hongzhou, so thoughtful," Lanqin said with a smile. She had always held back her feelings towards the Second Princess. She had indeed inherited Li Shi's mindset, and having lived with the Fujin (the Princess's wife) for so many years, her thoughts were no longer those of a young girl.
"I'm glad the concubine likes it. It's all just little thoughtful gestures. After Erlinzhu gets married, she probably won't be able to come back. Xiao Liu and Xiao Qi won't be able to see their second elder sister anymore. So I made some little things for them to satisfy my heart as their elder sister." Erlinzhu is already thirteen years old, and her speech and actions are nothing like those of a little girl. She is much more mature than the eldest princess.
"Nianxue said, does the Second Princess have something to say to me?" Lanqin didn't want to be hypocritical with a little girl.
“Consort, Elinzhu is getting married soon, and she may never be able to come back. So before she leaves, Elinzhu wants to ask you a favor and a question,” said the Second Princess.
Lanqin actually knew what the Second Princess wanted to ask and what she wanted to ask her, so she said, "Now that you are about to marry into the Nian family, you will be even closer to Consort Nian. Why don't you ask her for that favor?"
The Second Princess pondered for a moment and said, "The Consort Nian is about to become my aunt, but Erlinzhu still feels that the Consort Nian can help Erlinzhu fulfill her wish."
Lanqin looked at her and said, "The Third Prince is already under my care, so I will not mistreat him. Your father will not mistreat him either. You don't need to worry about him."
The Second Princess bowed her head and said, "Thank you, Consort. It is a blessing for Hongjun to be raised under your care. There is another matter that has been lingering in Erlinzhu's mind, and I especially want to ask about it today. If I don't ask, I'm afraid I will never have peace of mind for the rest of my life."
“Actually, you shouldn’t have asked. Asking won’t help,” Lanqin said.
"Can Consort Erlinzhu answer this question? Erlinzhu doesn't want to be confused," said the Second Princess.
“Your mother didn’t die by suicide; she was probably poisoned. I suspect it was the Fujin (principal wife), but the only witness is now either dead or missing, so we can’t get any evidence,” Lanqin said calmly.
Erlinzhu listened quietly to Lanqin's story, as if it had nothing to do with her. After a long while, she finally said, "But the Fujin said that Mother was killed by the Concubine."
Lanqin chuckled a few times and said, "If the Second Princess believed her, she wouldn't be saying these things to me right now, would she?"
The second princess stood up and bowed deeply to Lanqin. This action startled Lanqin, and the maids, including Cui Niang, also showed surprise.
"Second Princess, what are you doing? Get up quickly." Lanqin gestured for Cui Niang to help her up.
“Elinzhu has a request, please grant it, Consort. Otherwise, Elinzhu will not be at peace with her marriage,” said the Second Princess.
"Tell me, what else is there?" Lanqin asked.
"Elinzhu begs the concubine to avenge my mother!" the Second Princess said through gritted teeth. "Elinzhu was born a daughter, but she cannot avenge her mother, so she has no choice but to shamelessly beg the concubine to do this. Only the concubine can do it."
Lanqin looked at the Second Princess, finding no pretense on her face, and said in a deep voice, "You've already seen it. It's already a life-or-death situation between us. Even if you don't beg me, I have to do this."
The Second Princess said, "Thank you, Consort. Elinzhu can go now without worry."
Five days later, Erlinzhu, with 108 loads of dowry and a ten-mile-long procession of red bridal procession, left the Yongqin Prince's Mansion in grand style for her wedding. The second young master of the Nian family, who came to fetch the bride, was handsome and talented, and Madam Nian was busy with all the arrangements, making the second princess's wedding quite a grand affair.
Lanqin prepared a chest of dowry for the princess. Besides treasures, there was also a letter detailing the events that occurred during the period when Li was murdered. Lanqin didn't know why she did this, but she felt it was necessary.
As time passed, more than three months had passed since Hongli entered the palace, and Lanqin's longing for him seemed to have lessened. Moreover, she visited Hongli in the palace every two weeks, which somewhat soothed her yearning for her son. Furthermore, Kangxi had not stripped her of her maternal rights, nor had he forced Hongli to recognize someone else as his mother like the Fourth Prince. Therefore, Hongli recognized Lanqin and knew she was his mother.
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