A month passed, and Lady Fucha's confinement ended. However, Lady Liu, who was sitting opposite her, had already slept with the Fourth Prince before her. This greatly displeased Lady Fucha, but what could she do when Lady Liu had done such an outrageous thing as soon as she arrived?
"The Dragon Boat Festival is almost here, Princess, shall we make some zongzi ourselves?" Yan'er asked Fucha Shi, who was sitting in the room with nothing to do. She had seen Fucha Shi doing nothing all day and muttering strange things to herself, so she thought it would be better to find something for her to do.
"Making zongzi?" Fucha said, then suddenly remembered something and immediately said to Yan'er, "Okay, let's make zongzi. Even if I can't see the master, we can at least send the zongzi to him."
Yan'er suddenly realized she had done something wrong again and asked nervously, "Princess, what are you planning to do now?" She felt that something was off about her princess; she was different from the lively and willful Princess Fucha she knew before. Although she was a bit willful before, she wouldn't sit there muttering to herself all day.
"It's alright, didn't you say you were going to wrap zongzi? Anyway, we're just killing time," said Madam Fucha. Although she had been confined to Chunhui Hall for the past month, she had noticed that the people in the inner quarters seemed different from those she remembered.
Yan'er nodded and prepared to go to the kitchen to ask for some ingredients for making zongzi. Anyway, they weren't rare items, and they wouldn't make things difficult for her.
Ping'er and Hong'er have recently lost their enthusiasm. They originally thought they had followed a capable and promising master, but they didn't expect to be outshone by Liu Shi from the very beginning. Moreover, Liu Shi was also eccentric, which made them the target of ridicule from the servants throughout the mansion.
"Hong'er, help me change my clothes. I should go and pay my respects to Consort Niu. Come to think of it, I haven't seen her yet," Lady Fucha said suddenly to Hong'er, as if she had just remembered something.
With the help of two maids, she changed her clothes, recombed her hair, and then, supported by Hong'er, went towards the south courtyard.
Lanqin had been busy preparing marriages for several of her maids, getting appropriate dowries for each of them, and also reminding her two daughters about their studies. When the maids announced that Lady Fucha had arrived, she felt a sudden headache coming on.
Why is it that all these newcomers are still thinking about her, the concubine? They're all living in their own rooms, keeping to themselves, which is so much better!
"Let her in." Lanqin flipped through several booklets on jewelry making.
"This humble servant greets Consort Fucha," Fucha said as she entered the South Courtyard, marveling at its exquisite design and rich atmosphere. This was different from her own residence, Chunhui Hall, where everything was set up with standard rooms and servants. Entering the South Courtyard, she sensed a distinct air about each person, unlike the maids she herself possessed.
"Princess Fucha, please have a seat! Serve tea!" Lanqin replied as usual.
As Fucha sat down, she secretly glanced at Lanqin. Her face was the same as she remembered, not particularly beautiful, and she didn't seem to talk much either. That's why she wasn't very popular with the Fourth Prince in her previous life.
"Princess Fucha, this is our first meeting. How are you finding it? Are you settling in comfortably at Chunhui Hall?" As the head of the household, Lanqin habitually inquired about the well-being of the new sisters and whether they were comfortable in their lodgings.
"Thank you for your concern, Consort. I'm quite comfortable in Chunhui Hall," said Lady Fucha. She looked at Lanqin, trying to discern the reason for her favor in her face. The Niohuru she remembered was still the same unfavored woman from her previous life, the same person sitting high above her in the main seat. The face was the same, but the expression and demeanor were completely different. Because in her previous life, Lady Fucha died before Niohuru gave birth to Hongli and gained favor, she didn't know Niohuru was destined for greatness. She only knew that Lady Nian was favored, and that the Fourth Prince was to become emperor. And she herself died on the eve of the Fourth Prince's ascension to the throne.
Lanqin noticed that Lady Fucha was observing her, and she felt that her gaze was different from that of others when they first met. While others looked at her with inquisitive and curious eyes, Lady Fucha's gaze was scrutinizing and questioning!
"Princess Fucha, what are you looking at?" Lanqin couldn't help but ask.
"I'm looking at the concubine's fortune. I'm going to have my fortune told. Would you like me to read the concubine's fortune?" said Lady Fucha.
Lanqin frowned; this was the first time she'd heard such a thing. Fucha was actually going to tell her fortune?
"Consort, judging from your appearance, you are a person of great fortune." Fucha thought to herself that the Fourth Prince would become the emperor in the future, so Niohuru would at least be granted the title of Consort.
"Oh, what good fortune?" Lanqin raised an eyebrow.
“Our Prince is now the Prince Yong, and he may have an even brighter future. Isn’t that a blessing? As the head of the household, the Consort is naturally blessed as well,” said Lady Fucha.
"Hehe, Princess Fucha is quite eloquent. Well then, the Sixth Prince is about to wake up, so this concubine will not keep Princess Fucha any longer." Lanqin felt that this princess seemed strange, and really didn't know if there was something wrong with her mind. She really didn't want to continue talking.
"Then I shall take my leave. I intend to personally wrap some zongzi as a token of my greetings to all my sisters and cousins. In the future, we will all live under the same roof and look after each other," said Lady Fucha as she stood up.
"You're so kind, Princess Fucha. Don't worry, the sisters in our inner quarters are all quite easygoing. You'll get used to it after spending more time with them," Lanqin said.
After Lady Fucha left, Lanqin said to Cui Niang, "This Lady Fucha seems strange, and the things she says are strange too."
Cui Niang said, "Master, you're already worrying about these people. Someone like her doesn't seem like she'll be easy to deal with. Just wait and see, she's bound to cause some more trouble."
Lanqin thought so too, saying, "Liu has already served the emperor, and now she's at the tavern. Judging from the master's attitude, it seems like he's forgotten about her."
Cui Niang said, "That's right, that's why he came here. Mistress, let me accompany you to see the Sixth Prince."
Lanqin nodded, then took Cui Niang's hand and went to Hongli's side.
Fucha remained silent the whole way. She wanted to know how she could win the Fourth Prince's favor, and it would be best if she could have a child as soon as possible to secure her position.
"Ouch!" Fucha was thinking and didn't pay attention to her footing. Suddenly she tripped over something and twisted her left ankle.
"Princess, what's wrong?" Seeing that Fucha was about to fall, Hong'er immediately grabbed her elbow and tried to pull her back to prevent her from falling.
"I twisted my ankle, it hurts!" Fucha felt annoyed. How could she twist her ankle just by going out? Was this some kind of deliberate attempt to prevent her from gaining favor with the Fourth Prince?
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