"Master!" Cui Jia called out weakly, looking at Lan Qin's profile. She felt that Lan Qin seemed different this time.
"It's alright, Cui Niang! Anyway, I can't leave this inner quarters no matter what! Let's go back, they should be awake by now." Lan Qin said with a smile.
But even though Cui Niang saw it, she couldn't detect any joy in that smile.
For the next few days, Lanqin acted as usual, as if nothing had happened. Fourth Master did come over, since he hadn't seen the children for quite some time, and used the excuse of visiting them to come to the South Courtyard. Lanqin received him as usual, and didn't mention Wuya's matter again.
It seems that Lanqin and the Fourth Prince have "made up" in this way. The Fourth Prince still comes to Lanqin's place for dinner from time to time, and sometimes stays overnight. This makes Nian Shi, Wuya Shi, and the Fujin who are hiding behind the scenes, who originally wanted to see a good show, a little disappointed.
Time flies, and the summer has passed just like that. Kangxi has returned with his entourage.
The Fourth Prince specially prepared a small kitchen for Lady Wuya, but her appetite was still not controlled. Now she is more than eight months pregnant, and her whole body has become like a wall. Her former beauty and delicate features have all left her.
Looking at herself in the mirror, Uya felt depressed all day long. She knew that a woman's most precious possession was her beautiful face, and her current appearance was something no one wanted to linger over.
“My lady, don’t worry. We can lose the weight after the baby is born,” Cuiyun said, seeing Wuya sighing.
"Cuiyun, I'm so scared. This baby in my belly is sure to grow big. Will I have a difficult delivery?" said Wuya.
“My lady, the master has already prepared the best midwife for you, and Consort De has also sent an experienced midwife to check on you. Even if there is a difficult labor, it doesn’t necessarily mean you won’t be able to give birth. Please relax and don’t let your worries accumulate, which will only make the delivery more difficult,” Cuiyun said.
Uya looked outside and saw that the days were getting shorter; autumn had arrived.
"Help me to go for a walk in the small garden!" said Uya.
The two, mistress and servant, had already come out, but they hadn't gone far when Uya, due to her obese figure and shockingly large belly, could no longer walk. Fortunately, it was already September, and the weather was no longer so hot, otherwise Uya would never have dared to come out.
"My lady, let me help you to the pavilion over there to rest," Cuiyun said.
As soon as the mistress and servant entered the pavilion, they found that there were already people inside, namely Lanqin and Cui Niang. It turned out that Lanqin had just gone to see the newly issued autumn tribute from the Imperial Household Department at the head nanny's place. Passing by this place, she saw the hibiscus flowers in this small garden blooming beautifully, so she turned and walked in.
This was the first time Lanqin and Wuya had met since the Dragon Boat Festival. After several months apart, Wuya's enormous belly was strikingly noticeable. Lanqin suddenly felt a dryness in her throat. She had always been reluctant to face Wuya, even deliberately waiving her formal greetings; even if she hadn't, the Fourth Prince would probably have allowed it. Therefore, they had always lived separately, never exchanging glances. Now, with their eyes locked, Lanqin had no more barriers to avoid them.
"This humble servant greets Consort Wuya!" Consort Wuya bowed slightly and said.
"Get up. Help your master up!" Lanqin had no choice but to say. Now everyone thought she couldn't tolerate the woman in front of her, and if she let her squat for even a moment longer, someone would probably hear about it from the Fourth Master.
Although it seemed that Fourth Master and she had reconciled, and perhaps Fourth Master thought so too, only Lanqin knew in her heart that she had not accepted him at all.
"It's been many days since I last saw Consort Wu. She doesn't look well. Has she not been sleeping well?" Uya asked with a slightly smiling face.
Is this a sarcastic remark about Lanqin's month-long stalemate with the Fourth Master, during which she had to compromise and thus couldn't sleep at night?
“Princess Wuya, you are mistaken. Our concubine’s complexion is even better than this hibiscus flower. However, Princess Wuya, with your figure, you should probably walk more.” Cui Niang retorted immediately when she saw that Wuya dared to speak so rudely.
"You! Are you mocking me?" Uya was most afraid of being called fat, and seeing Cui Niang speak so bluntly, she immediately flew into a rage. She couldn't just casually mention her status as a concubine; how dare her servant be so disrespectful?
“Cui Niang, don’t talk nonsense. Princess Wuya isn’t fat, she’s plump! Think of Yang Guifei, the peerless beauty of the Tang Dynasty, didn’t she win Emperor Xuanzong’s favor precisely because of her plump figure?” Lanqin interrupted Cui Niang.
The Uya clan was from a humble family, and in this era of queues (traditional Manchu hairstyles), the requirements for women's cultural literacy were not high. As long as they could embroider and bear children, that was enough, so they didn't read many books. This Uya clan member wasn't even very familiar with Yang Guifei, only knowing that she was one of the Four Beauties of the Tang Dynasty. When Lanqin said this, she thought it was a compliment, and she felt a little proud.
“Yes, Your Highness is right. Perhaps this servant should help Consort back. This place is so small, it wouldn’t be good if it kept Princess Wuya from enjoying the flowers,” said Cui Niang, suppressing a smile.
"Yes. You're right this time. Let's go." Lanqin flicked her handkerchief, took Cui Niang's hand, and walked towards Wuya Shi.
"Respectfully seeing off Consort Lanqin." Lady Uya bowed slightly to Lanqin's retreating figure.
"Princess, this servant feels that they were just saying that you're fat!" Cuiyun seemed to have caught the sarcasm in Lanqin and her servant's words, and stammered to Wuya.
"What did they say?" Uya didn't think Lanqin had been disrespectful to her just now; on the contrary, she even compared her to Yang Guifei.
“But, Princess, that Yang Guifei was just a plump beauty. And just now, that Cui Niang said, ‘This place is so small, I’m afraid it will delay Princess from enjoying the flowers!’” Cuiyun said.
Wuya's expression changed immediately. She had just seen Lanqin and her mind went blank for a moment. After Cuiyun's prompting, she immediately understood the meaning behind their words—they were all mocking her for being fat!
"Why didn't you say so earlier!" Uya said angrily.
“This servant wanted to remind you of the visitors, but you were staring at them, and this servant couldn’t say anything directly in front of the concubine,” Cuiyun said.
“What’s there to be afraid of? Even if she’s unhappy, as long as Master sides with me, what can she do?” said Madam Wuya.
"Such arrogance. If the master hears you speak like this, he'll probably find it hard to side with your sister." Suddenly, a soft, delicate voice came from behind Uya and her servant.
"It's you!" Wuya turned her head and saw that it was Liu.
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