"I think Qin'er's approach is good, to prevent some people from having unwarranted thoughts." Madam Wu picked up a plum from the plate and played with it in her hand.
"Forget it, let's not talk about her anymore. I don't want to associate with her." Lanqin recalled the Dragon Boat Festival family banquet, when Lady Fucha, in an attempt to attract the Fourth Prince's attention, deliberately placed a note expressing her feelings inside a zongzi (sticky rice dumpling). At the time, Lanqin remained silent, quietly concealing the note. Lanqin even suspected that Lady Fucha might be from her hometown. However, afterward, seeing that Lady Fucha didn't show any further unusual behavior, Lanqin gradually let the matter drop. If Lady Fucha truly was from her hometown, then Lanqin absolutely couldn't associate with her, otherwise, she would immediately expose her origins as a time traveler.
“Qin’er, my mother and younger brother will be here in a couple of days. I really want to thank you. I haven’t seen them for over ten years. Sigh.” As Song Shi spoke, tears streamed down her face. Because she was only a concubine of the Fourth Prince, although she entered the palace early, she had never been promoted to a secondary consort. Therefore, she was not entitled to leave the mansion, nor did she have the ability to ask the Fourth Prince for permission to see her family. They did exchange letters, but they could never meet in person.
Lanqin sighed inwardly: the saying "entering the gates of a noble family is like entering a deep sea" probably describes people like Song. She was truly like a daughter who had been married off, like water spilled from a cup, unable to see her family for more than ten years.
“Why are you crying, sister? This is a good thing. My sister and my mother are coming too. We are all thanks to Lanqin. What a wonderful thing!” Wu said, tears welling up in her eyes. Although she hadn’t been in the household as long as Song, she was still older than Lanqin, and it had been almost eight or nine years since she had seen her family.
“Don’t say that, it was just a casual remark. It was just that the master thought about how long it had been since you’d seen your families. Actually, it was something the master thought of himself,” Lanqin said.
“No matter who it is, we can see our relatives again and stay here for a while. This is something we never even dreamed of before,” said Madam Wu.
"Indeed, being able to live with my family for a while feels like a dream. Qin'er, I made some little clothes for the Fourth Princess, the Fifth Princess, and the Sixth and Seventh Princes. I don't have much to thank you for, but these handicrafts are what I'm most proud of," Song said, her tears turning into a smile.
“These embroidery works of yours are all treasures. These girls all grew up wearing clothes made by yours,” Lanqin said.
"Qin'er, I don't have much to thank you for. I just embroidered some book bags and sachets for those children. Please don't find them too bad. I'm not as skillful as Sister Song, whose clothes are truly beautiful," said Madam Wu.
"You have your Namin too. I heard that the Third Princess is getting along very well with the Fourth and Fifth Princesses?" said Madam Song.
“Oh, then our Namin is really lucky. All the clothes she’s wearing were made by the embroiderers in the manor. I’m clumsy and can’t make many decent clothes,” Madam Wu said with a smile. “Indeed, the three girls are having a blast.”
Lanqin smiled and said, "They are sisters, so it's good that they are so close. It's just that I don't know how the Seventh Prince looks now, as I haven't gone to see him in a long time."
At this point, Lanqin's expression inevitably fell. Hongzhou was simply a thorn in her side forever.
“Don’t be sad. I went to see him the other day. Hongzhou is quite handsome, about the same height as Hongli. They are twins, but their faces are not exactly the same. Hongzhou looks more like the Fourth Prince. Hongli looks like you!” said Madam Song.
"To be honest, Sister Geng is really something. This time, when we asked her to come, she acted strangely and refused. It's like she's afraid people will see Hongzhou." Madam Wu was slightly disdainful of Madam Geng's behavior.
“It’s easy for you to say that when you’re not in my shoes. If the Fujin (princess) came to you now asking for the Third Princess, saying that she was born to her sister, would you give her to her?” said Madam Song.
"I'm not afraid of her coming to see the Third Princess. Whether Namin is my daughter or not, I treat her well. She knows that. She might not necessarily become close to the Fujin (the Princess's wife)," said Wu Shi.
“I’m not going to ask Sister Geng for Hongzhou back. She’s raised him for over a year, and she definitely treats him like her own son. Going to ask for the child now would be like cutting off her own flesh. I just want to go and see him, after all, Hongzhou also came from me.” Lanqin’s mood couldn’t help but drop when she mentioned Hongzhou.
“That’s right. By doing this, she’s preventing Qin’er from seeing it. Isn’t that going too far?” said Madam Wu.
Lanqin kept her head down silently, lost in thought. Just as she was about to suggest that Song and Geng stay for lunch, the Fourth Master entered.
Madam Song and Madam Wu quickly rose and bowed, expressing their gratitude to Fourth Master for allowing their family to come in and meet them, before taking their leave.
Lanqin composed herself, feeling slightly down, and asked, "Master, why are you back at this hour?"
Fourth Master took off his hat and said with a slightly displeased expression, "The exam hasn't even started yet, and all sorts of people are passing notes and using back channels. Today, I accompanied the officials who were proctoring the exam to the most famous teahouse in the capital to sit down and see what was going on. It's really infuriating."
Lanqin considered the advantages and disadvantages of the imperial examination system and said, "Master, have some people started selling exam questions down there?"
Fourth Master looked up at Lanqin, and said with slight surprise, "How did you know?"
Lanqin smiled and said, "It has always been like this since ancient times. The imperial examination is the only way for people from poor families to reach the top of the pyramid. It is also the way for the children of officials and merchants to continue to maintain their wealth and glory."
After listening to what Lanqin said, Fourth Master nodded and said, "That's exactly right."
"Where there is profit, there is struggle, intrigue, and business!" Lanqin said emphatically. "Master, why don't we have a self-selected exam for this year's autumn examination? That way, those candidates who bought the questions in advance will only be able to write down all the essays they've memorized. That way, you can catch them every time." Lanqin suggested.
Fourth Master looked at Lanqin with a bewildered expression, realizing that this young woman possessed a truly remarkable depth of thought. Her words always seemed to resolve some of the perplexing issues swirling in his mind.
"What's wrong?" Lanqin sat on the Fourth Prince's lap, one arm around his neck, looking quite like a favored concubine.
"What were you saying with Yu Ning and Ru Yi just now? You seem unhappy," the Fourth Prince said.
Lanqin thought that Fourth Master hadn't heard, but it turned out he had. She smiled and said, "I'm just sharing their sorrow. When relatives come, I'm excited, but it only brings back my sorrow."
"I won't allow you to be sad. If you're unhappy about anything, just tell me." Fourth Master raised his hand and pinched Lanqin's cheek.
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