"Princess Consort, please come in quickly!" Cui Da hurriedly said.
Nianxue and Xicha, who were four or five months pregnant, came out of the second gate to greet Lanqin. When they saw Lanqin walking over, both of them looked like married women.
"Sigh, you two are going to be mothers too," Lanqin sighed, holding Nianxue and Xicha's hands.
"Master, we all miss you so much," Nianxue said, wiping away her tears.
“Look at you, why are you crying? Master has come to see us, hasn’t he?” Xi Cha said.
"Yes, you both need to take good care of yourselves during your pregnancy. You can come back after you give birth. My place is always open to you," Lanqin said. She gestured for Cui Da and Cui Er to unload things from the carriage. When she arrived, she realized she hadn't brought any prenatal tonics for Nianxue and Xicha, so Lanqin had made a special trip to the Chinese herbal medicine shop to buy them quite a few. Because today's visit to the Cui family was unplanned, Lanqin hadn't intended to bring anything for Nianxue and Xicha.
“Master, you’re here, why bring anything?” Nianxue said.
"I'm relieved that you two have Aunt Cui's love and care. As for Aunt Cui, I just came here from her house." Lanqin then told Nianxue and Xicha about Aunt Cui as they walked.
“Auntie is suffering so much, why don’t we bring her back to her parents’ home and have our mother and I take care of her during her postpartum period!” Nianxue said immediately.
“You’re already heavily pregnant, how can you take care of people? I’ve already warned Li Wei and his mother, they should understand that Cui Niang cannot be neglected,” Lan Qin said.
The master and servants arrived together in the main room. When Aunt Cui heard that Lanqin had arrived, she immediately came over as well.
"This old man greets Consort Lanqin!" Cui Niang greeted Lanqin in a boisterous manner. The entire Cui family had arrived and treated Lanqin as an honored guest.
"Aunt Cui, I miss your cooking. Can I stay here for dinner today?" Lanqin said coquettishly.
"It is my honor to cook for the concubine. How can it be considered unworthy? I would welcome you even if you came every day," said Aunt Cui with a hearty laugh.
“If I came every day, I’d eat you out of house and home. Auntie, I just came from Aunt Cui’s place; she’s about to give birth,” Lanqin said.
"Yes, I've been counting down the days. I think my eldest daughter's next pregnancy looks like a son, and I'm worried she'll have a boy this time," said Aunt Cui.
Lanqin pouted and said, "Auntie, Cui Niang is your daughter, so why do you insist that she give birth to a son? If it's a daughter, won't you love her?"
“I’ll feel sorry for her no matter what she gives birth to. But her mother-in-law is clearly someone who prefers sons. I hope she has a son so she won’t have to suffer at her mother’s hands,” said Aunt Cui.
Nianxue couldn't help but want to tell Cui Niang about it, but Lanqin stopped her with a look. She said that this matter couldn't be told to Cui Niang, as it might escalate the conflict between them and the Li family.
“Nianxue and Xicha are your daughters-in-law. If they give birth to a daughter, you can’t not love her!” Lanqin joked.
“I feel pain even when they lay an egg!” Aunt Cui said with a hearty laugh.
One sentence made everyone in the room laugh.
After the laughter subsided, Lanqin gestured for Sihua to bring out the phoenix portrait and show it to Aunt Cui and the others.
When the painting was displayed, Aunt Cui, Cui Da, and Cui Er gathered in front of it and looked at it.
“Isn’t that a magpie?” Aunt Cui exclaimed first. “Uncle Cui, I remember the old man caught one of these birds one year.”
Upon hearing this, Lanqin's mind immediately lit up: This is where the drama begins!
“Yes, Mother, your memory is really good. It really is the same kind of bird that Father caught last time!” Cui Dadao said.
“I remember you were all too young to remember. Da Niu insisted on raising you, and you two rascals kept asking to kill her for meat,” Aunt Cui recalled.
“Oh, oh, right, that’s the bird Dad caught that time. It was so beautiful, my eldest sister absolutely adored its feathers,” Cui Er said.
"Aunt Cui, Eldest Cui, Second Eldest Cui, are there still any of these birds? Where can we catch them?" Lanqin asked anxiously.
"Have you two seen it in the mountains before?" Aunt Cui asked.
Cui Da and Cui Er shook their heads and said, "These birds are very afraid of people. They will hide when they are startled. My father said it took a lot of effort to catch one last time."
"Cui Da, could you catch another one?" Lan Qin asked. Then, she gave a brief account of Mu Qingyang's situation.
"Cui Da, Cui Er, you two go back to your hometown and bring back one of these 'phoenixes' for the concubine!" Cui Da Niang ordered without saying a word.
Lanqin absolutely adored this old lady.
“Okay, but we need to talk to our master beforehand, in case he can’t find us. To catch these birds, we have to search in the forest first, and it might take ten days or half a month to find them,” Cui said.
"I'll go back and tell Master. You can go without worry. Nianxue and Xicha don't need to worry either. I'll send someone to take care of them," Lanqin said.
“Consort, then we will set off tomorrow,” Cui said readily.
Lanqin then instructed them to go to the garden first thing tomorrow morning. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, she said to Aunt Cui, "How about this, Aunt, why don't you, Nianxue, and Xicha come and stay in the garden together? Since Cui Da and Cui Er aren't here, it will be easier to take care of them. I have plenty of rooms there, so you can stay there. Sister Song's mother is also here, and the two of you can exchange tips on growing vegetables."
Aunt Cui looked at her two sons and daughters-in-law with a smile, unsure how to respond. Nianxue and Xicha exchanged a glance, each seeing a longing in the other's eyes.
“Consort, isn’t this too much trouble for you? How can we trouble you to take care of my mother and my wife?” Cui Da said.
“Your wife used to be my maid, and I’d like to take care of her. I’m happy to do so. I also really like your mother; she can cook delicious meals for me. I’d like to bring her to the garden,” Lanqin said.
When Cui Da and Cui Er heard Lan Qin say this, they could only look at Cui Da Niang. They saw that the old lady also longed for it; it was a royal villa!
"Then we can rest assured. We will definitely bring back this 'phoenix' for the concubine!" Cui Dadao said.
After enjoying a sumptuous meal at the Cui family's house, Lanqin instructed them to pack some clothes the next day, saying she would send someone to pick her up. Then she boarded a carriage and returned to the Yuanmingyuan.
The next day, as expected, Cui Da and Cui Er, along with their mother and wife, boarded the carriage that Lan Qin had sent earlier and went to the Yuanmingyuan. Lan Qin did not let them stay in the side hall of Wanfang Anhe, but specially had Tongleyuan prepared for them.
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