For several days, Lanqin had been pondering what kind of birthday gift to give to Consort De. After much thought, she suddenly remembered the peach orchard she had seen while playing "Counter-Strike" in the garden with the Fourth Prince and the others that day.
Peaches! Peaches! Peaches are the traditional Chinese fruit for celebrating birthdays! Lanqin already had a vague idea in mind, but he wasn't sure if he could pull it off the way she envisioned. The Fourth Prince said that Consort De lacked nothing, except genuine affection.
Since she was going to enter the palace, she might as well try to win over her mother-in-law! Lanqin knew that the only obstacle the Fourth Prince had was Consort De, and winning Consort De's favor would be the same as winning Consort De's favor for the Fourth Prince. Moreover, Lanqin also felt a little guilty towards Consort De because her cheap father had insisted that she send that secret formula for conceiving a child to Holland.
Now, Emperor Kangxi is, by rights, Lanqin's father-in-law, and since Holland is his concubine, Lanqin is her junior, so she should naturally bow to her. Lanqin doesn't find it awkward to bow to Holland, but she knows Holland isn't the kind of person who's gentle and docile; she'll likely be ridiculed and mocked. Thinking of Lady Anjia, Lanqin gritted her teeth. It's only a day; she'll give the letter to Holland then, and she'll try to avoid her as much as possible.
"Princess, the embroiderer has brought the clothes she made for you." Huanbi and the other maids saw that Lanqin had been sitting on the couch all morning, lost in thought, and they didn't dare to disturb her. Now, just in time, the clothes made of Shu brocade and satin that Fourth Master had ordered last time had arrived, so Huanbi led the embroiderer to ask Lanqin about them.
"Oh, just leave it there. Have Nianxue give them a purse." Lanqin was clearly not that interested in the clothes and replied casually.
"Princess, why don't you try them on? If there's anything that doesn't fit, I can have the seamstress alter them." Huanbi saw that Lanqin didn't care about the clothes at all and thought to herself: This princess is really something else. Those clothes are so beautifully made, yet she doesn't even glance at them.
"It's so hot in here, changing clothes is such a hassle. Why don't you try them on for me?" Lanqin said suddenly, seeing that Huanbi seemed very interested in the clothes and noticing that Huanbi was about the same size and weight as her.
"This, how can this be! I am but a servant, how can I try on my master's clothes? Besides, how can I compare to the princess in them?" Huanbi said this, but in fact, Lanqin's words had stirred something within her. Huanbi's father was once an advisor in the textile bureau of a small place in Jiangnan, but later, due to being implicated, his whole family was taken into the palace as slaves.
"You were just trying it on for me, I don't mind, why should you mind?" Lanqin was too lazy to move, so she said to Ziran, who was dusting the furniture, "Go to the study and get me some colored paper and some scissors."
Zi Ran didn't know what Lan Qin wanted these for, but she immediately agreed and left.
"Why don't you try it? Let me see how it goes," Lanqin said, picking up a plate of pastries from the small table and eating them. She preferred eating to the hassle of changing clothes.
Seeing Lanqin's insistence, Huanbi didn't delay any longer. The two embroiderers, hearing Lanqin's words, surrounded Huanbi and helped her undress. After removing Huanbi's outer clothes, the embroiderers helped her put on her newly made clothes.
The light green Shu satin dress was embroidered with leaves of various shapes, which were extremely lifelike. The collar and cuffs were trimmed with white Shu satin. The workmanship of the whole dress was very exquisite and it complemented her skin tone very well. Huan Bi was not fair-skinned to begin with, but after wearing this dress, her temperament and charm were completely transformed.
"Princess, what do you think of this dress?" Huanbi nervously opened her arms for Lanqin to see.
“It looks quite nice. I’ll wear this when I go to celebrate Consort De’s birthday. Just put the rest in the closet.” Lanqin waved her hand, signaling Huanbi and the embroiderer to hurry up and leave, as she had important business to attend to.
Zi Ran glanced at Huan Bi, then walked to Lan Qin's side and placed the things she had instructed on the couch table one by one.
"Ziran, do you know how to cut paper?" Lanqin picked up a piece of colored paper after Ziran laid out the colored paper and scissors.
"This servant knows a little, but not much of the more complicated patterns. Princess, are you going to do paper cutting?" Zi Ran saw Lan Qin start cutting the colored paper with scissors.
“I absolutely don’t know how. Zi Ran, go and call them all in, I have something to say to them,” Lan Qin said.
Nianxue and Xicha were hanging clothes out to dry and helping Niu Baoquan in the kitchen, respectively. When they heard Ziran call, they both put down what they were doing and followed her.
"Granny Wang, Uncle Li, and Master Niu, call them all over. The princess said everyone should go to her room." After Zi Ran finished speaking, everyone followed her to Lan Qin's side. Huan Bi had just come out from the inner room after changing her clothes and was already serving Lan Qin with paper cutting.
Seeing that everyone had come over, Lanqin put down her scissors and said to everyone, "Among you, is there anyone who knows how to cut paper? It would be best if you could cut out more complicated patterns."
Everyone was surprised that Lanqin had called them in for paper cutting. They shook their heads in astonishment. Only Li Shubao stood there, seemingly wanting to say something, but hesitant.
"Li Shubao, you seem to have something to say?" Lanqin noticed the unusual expression on his face among the crowd.
"Your Highness, this servant knows a little, but I don't know what kind of paper flowers Your Highness would like to cut. This servant hesitated just now because I was afraid that my skills would be wasted in front of Your Highness." Li Shubao was a very clever man, but he was ultimately a man, and Lanqin rarely had any direct contact with him.
“I don’t need anything too complicated, like cutting out the character for ‘longevity’ or a cute little dog or cat. Can you cut that out?” Lanqin asked.
“These servants can still cut them. My grandmother used to be the best paper-cutting lady in the village. Every year during the New Year, I would see her cutting out auspicious patterns to sell for several days in a row to earn some extra money for the family. That’s when I learned a little from her. I never thought the princess would need them today. If only I had learned more back then,” Li Shubao said earnestly.
"Then cut out a 'longevity' character for me to see first." Lanqin smiled and gestured for Ziran to hand a piece of paper and a pair of scissors to Li Shubao.
Li Shubao took the scissors and the paper. Everyone saw him fold the paper several times before he started cutting. The folded paper spun around in his hands for about ten minutes before Li Shubao handed the scissors to Xicha next to him and slowly unfolded the cut paper.
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