"Please sit down, Madam. Si Hua, bring tea!" Lan Qin had no choice but to reply politely. She had already sent word that there was no need for such a formal greeting.
After Lady Fucha was seated, she bowed and said, "Jin'er has been in the household for more than half a year now, and I am grateful for the care she has received from Consort Fu. I thought I should come and pay my respects to Consort Fu. I brought a small gift, which is not much of a token of my appreciation. Please take it and play with it."
After saying this, the nanny behind Lady Fucha walked up to Lanqin and opened the brocade box, revealing its contents. Lanqin had seen many fine things, including quite a few that the Fourth Prince had given her privately, but she had never seen anything like the contents of this brocade box before. It contained a pair of luminous pearls the size of cat's eyes.
"Consort, these cat's-eye luminous pearls are brighter than candles when placed in the bedroom at night," Lady Fucha said to Lanqin. "Jin'er has just entered the manor, so I will have to trouble you to teach her more."
Well, this is a gift! Lanqin glanced at the pair of luminous pearls and thought they were indeed quite nice, but the implication in Fucha's words made her somewhat reluctant to accept them. Was this a shortcut she was trying to take through her connections, implying that Fucha would follow her in the future?
"Thank you for your generous gift, Madam. However, I may not be able to help you. Please consider other options!" Lanqin decided not to accept it. She reasoned that accepting a gift was obligatory.
Lady Fucha was surprised that Lanqin replied directly to her. Just as her daughter had said, Niohuru was unpredictable and her temperament and preferences were completely unfathomable.
Seeing Lady Fucha's embarrassed expression and the old woman's dilemma, Lanqin said apologetically, "Madam, if there's nothing else, you should go back and spend more time with Princess Fucha."
This was clearly an order to leave. Lanqin would never do what the Fujin did—placing a new concubine in the master's bed and then placing her in his bed to secure his favor. Sorry, I won't do such a thing, nor do I need to secure favor in that way.
Seeing that Lanqin spoke so clearly, Lady Fucha could only awkwardly give a hasty curtsy and then leave with her nanny and maid.
As she left Wanfang Anhe, Lady Fucha's expression shifted from astonishment to anger. She was a second-rank noblewoman, yet she had been so humiliated by such a refusal. But she couldn't find a retort, leaving her only to be the subject of further ridicule.
"Madam, let's go back to the princess's place. This servant thinks that Consort Niohuru is no ordinary person," the nanny advised.
Lady Fucha, feeling deeply unhappy, returned to Quhe Villa and told Lady Fucha about the rebuff she had received from Lanqin.
"I told Mother not to go, but she wouldn't listen," Fucha said indignantly.
"I never expected that this Niohuru clanswoman would be so special, actually refusing my gift to my face. Even if she doesn't want to be your ally, there's no need to be so disrespectful. What does she mean by this?" Lady Fucha frowned.
“Mother, she never flatters anyone. Since she has refused, it means she doesn’t want any further connection with our Fucha family,” said Fucha.
"This Niohuru clanswoman shows utter disrespect to me and the Fucha family; it's simply outrageous! I'll go back and tell your grandfather." Lady Fucha was clearly upset by Lanqin's words and couldn't take it anymore. Just imagine, a second-rank noblewoman being rejected to her face—it was truly embarrassing.
“Mother, the Crown Prince has just fallen, and our grandfather is in a sensitive period. It's best if you don't go to him; he is, after all, a former official of the Prince of Heshuo. It's not appropriate for him to say anything now. The reason our Fucha family has remained standing is because we never place all our bets on one person,” said Lady Fucha. She had come to understand clearly that her rebirth was completely different from her original world. She knew that the Fourth Prince would become Emperor, so she wasn't in a hurry, nor was she in a rush to gain his favor. She would patiently lie low, like a snake hidden in the weeds.
Lady Fucha was surprised that instead of comforting her daughter, she was the one being comforted by her daughter, which made her feel quite uncomfortable. However, hearing Lady Fucha's mature and steady words, she felt much more at ease, at least her daughter was no longer as willful and spoiled as before.
Meanwhile, after Lanqin spent some time writing with her two daughters, she took them out for lunch.
“Master, wasn’t it a bit too direct of you to refuse Lady Fucha like that? Actually, if you accepted it, you could just give it to Princess Fucha later.” Cui Niang said as she tidied the dining table for Lanqin.
"I don't like pretense. Why accept their gifts when I clearly won't help that Fucha woman?" Lanqin said meaningfully.
“Well, what you say makes sense, Master. But I think you’re being a bit too direct,” said Cui Niang. She was five or six months pregnant, and Lanqin had told her not to come in to serve her anymore, but she insisted on coming. Lanqin had no choice but to let her have her way, trying not to assign her any heavy work. The other maids also took care of Cui Niang, so she was rarely asked to lift a finger.
“I understand your intentions. Please sit down. I told you not to come in and serve me anymore, but you wouldn’t listen. If you accidentally bump into something and fall, Li Wei will be worried sick,” Lan Qin said with a smile.
"He's been busy lately, and I don't even know what he's been busy with. We still owe the concubine money. If she sends me back, I won't have any money to pay her back," Cui Niang joked.
“You don’t need to return it,” Lanqin said.
"I must repay the money I owe to Consort Cui," Cui Niang said earnestly.
“Okay, okay, I’ll definitely pay you back. But you should also take care of your own health. If you ask me, you should go back and rest now, and come back to take care of me after you give birth, okay? Your monthly salary will still be paid as usual,” Lanqin said.
“That won’t do. I won’t come in to serve you anymore. It’s outrageous that the concubine should pay me my monthly allowance.” Cui Niang firmly disagreed.
Lanqin said no more; no matter what she said, Cui Niang refused to go back to rest. Lanqin had no choice but to secretly ask Si Hua and the others to take extra care of her.
In the afternoon, both Madam Song and Madam Wu came to find Lanqin to pass the time. After hearing about Lady Fucha's matter, they both said that Lanqin was too direct.
“I’ve decided that since it’s impossible for me to actually help Lady Fucha, why should I accept her gifts? Sister Wu, don’t you agree?” Lanqin said.
“That’s true, but it’s really embarrassing for them to refuse to my face,” said Madam Song.
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