“Your Highness, you’ve been holding the Sixth Prince for an hour now. How about I hold him for a while?” Cui Niang asked, worried that Lan Qin was too tired from holding Hongli for so long.
"I'm not tired. He's only four months old and weighs just over ten pounds. How much could he weigh?" Lanqin held Hongli and teased him, while Hongzhou was held by the wet nurse, babbling and crying as he looked at Lanqin. He was used to Lanqin holding him, but suddenly he realized that there was a baby who was more favored by his mother than he was, and he couldn't quite accept it.
“Hongzhou, be good. Your brother isn’t with your mother. Let your mother hold him more, okay?” Lanqin said, watching Hongzhou wave his little arms.
"Hongzhou was jealous when he suddenly saw you holding another child," Geng Shi said with a smile as she walked over, supported by her maid, Lülan. Seeing Lanqin talking to the two children, she teased her.
"Sister Geng is here!" Lanqin's heart skipped a beat when she saw Geng Shi in her cherry blossom red cheongsam. Historically, Hongzhou was born to Geng Shi, who was therefore made a concubine by Emperor Yongzheng.
"I was so bored that I came to see the Sixth Prince and the Seventh Prince." Madam Geng was carrying a flower basket filled with camellias. "These camellias are blooming in my area. They're very beautiful. I cut some for you. They'll look quite nice in a vase."
"Nianxue, quickly take the camellia from Sister Geng and put it in that dark green glazed vase," Lanqin instructed.
"Sister, come help my baby Hongzhou. Look at him, he's quite a handful," Lanqin said, turning to Geng Shi.
Madam Geng smiled and took Hongzhou. It was really strange; as soon as Hongzhou was in her hands, he stopped crying and fussing.
"Look at this little guy, he actually really likes Sister Geng. As soon as she holds him, he stops crying," Lan Qin said in surprise.
Geng played with Lanqin and the two children for quite a while before saying goodbye and leaving.
“Gege Geng is also missing her child,” Cui Niang said to Lan Qin, who was taking a midday rest.
“Alas, Sister Geng is also a pitiful person. She has never been favored by the Fourth Master. But there is nothing I can do to help her in this matter. Sister Song has given birth, and Sister Wu has also been favored. Only Sister Geng is in such a situation, there is really nothing we can do,” Lanqin said.
“Yes, Master can’t just push Fourth Master into her room, can she?” said Cui Niang.
“If we’re talking about pitiful women, I think those concubines in the harem who were favored by the Emperor for one night and then forgotten are the ones who are truly pitiful. They sit there until their hair turns white,” said Cui Niang.
“Yes, women who have been favored by the Emperor cannot remarry and can only grow old and die in the palace,” Lanqin said. She thought of the beauties sent from all over the country who had been forgotten by Kangxi in the Yuanmingyuan Garden and still lived there.
“Cui Niang, do you think we should have Master send all the women living in Hongci Yonggu back to their hometowns? They’re wasting their youth here like this, it’s so pitiful,” Lanqin suddenly said.
“But they are all the Emperor’s women. Some of them have even been favored by him. What should we do?” said Cui Niang.
"Then let's send back the women who haven't been favored yet. As for those who have been favored, let's ask the Emperor what his plans are. It's not good to just leave them here like this, wondering if the Fourth Prince has taken them in?" Lanqin said.
"My lord, how dare you say such a thing!" Cui Niang said, her face turning pale with fright.
“What’s wrong with the Emperor? He’s only human, and humans make mistakes. If he makes a mistake, he should correct it immediately. That would be a good way to be a wise ruler,” Lanqin said.
That night, when the Fourth Prince arrived, Lanqin mentioned the women living in Hongci Yonggu to him. After hearing this, the Fourth Prince, like Cui Niang, felt that it was inappropriate to speak to Kangxi so rashly.
"My lord," Lanqin said, "I believe that if you speak to Father Emperor, it might not displease him. Perhaps he has simply forgotten their existence. Your reminder will only serve to remind him. Who knows, maybe some of them are still favored by Father Emperor?"
“If they truly loved them, they wouldn’t have been forgotten here; they would have been brought back to the palace long ago,” the Fourth Prince said. “Your Highness, I think they are all so pitiful. If you were to speak to Father Emperor, perhaps you could change these women’s fates. The more good deeds one does, the more blessings one receives,” Lanqin said.
"Alright, then I'll go and ask. But it might not work!" Fourth Master looked at Lanqin and affectionately tapped her nose. He'd been in a good mood lately; lobster restaurants all over the country were starting to send money back to him. So he agreed to Lanqin's request.
After hearing the Fourth Prince's account, Emperor Kangxi immediately thought of the women living in Hongci Yonggu. He had indeed completely forgotten about them; when he bestowed the Yuanmingyuan upon the Fourth Prince, he hadn't even considered them.
The Fourth Prince then carefully relayed Lanqin's suggestions to Emperor Kangxi. To his surprise, Emperor Kangxi readily agreed to send all the women who had not been favored by him home, while those who had been favored by him could be sent to the inner palace.
Fourth Master was surprised that things would go so smoothly, and immediately went back to Yuanmingyuan and headed straight for Lanqin.
“I think our Emperor is very wise. When he knew that he hadn’t handled this matter well, he naturally didn’t say anything and immediately agreed,” Lanqin said proudly.
"Yes, it's all thanks to your brilliant idea for the lobster restaurant. You know, the silver that has come back from all over the country has exceeded 300,000 taels, with 200,000 taels already received. Father Emperor was very pleased when he found out," the Fourth Prince said with a smile.
"That's great. The common people will have subsidies from the imperial court, and their lives will be a little easier. But whether the money will actually reach them is also a question," Lanqin advised Fourth Master.
"You're right. Some officials are corrupt and will not even let go of this disaster relief money. It's really despicable! Corrupt officials exist in every dynasty!" Fourth Master sighed.
“Then why not just buy the grain and distribute it directly to the disaster victims? Silver is easily embezzled, but what about grain?” Lanqin said. “If you can handle this matter well, Father Emperor will be even happier. Only when there is no corruption and the people truly receive the disaster relief grain from the court will they remember the court’s kindness. Don’t let the money from the lobster restaurant fatten the pockets of those corrupt officials.”
The Fourth Prince was deeply moved by Lanqin's words and nodded repeatedly. He then asked a few more questions about how to punish corrupt officials. Lanqin, relying on the methods of punishing corrupt officials that she had seen in later generations, gave several suggestions, all of which greatly excited the Fourth Prince.
Lanqin felt that since she had given birth to Hongli, she should do everything she could for him. She should work hard to help the Fourth Prince seize the throne so that Hongli would have a chance to become emperor, and she herself would have a chance to become empress dowager.
The women were overjoyed when they learned of Kangxi's arrangements.
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