"Yes, I, as her mother, haven't even had enough time to look at her, and she's already leaving this mansion." Song's eldest daughter is now eleven years old.
“Even if she’s married, she can still come back to visit her family. Sister Song is so lucky; she’s old enough to be a grandmother. People like us don’t even have any children yet,” said Madam Wang.
Upon hearing this, Madam Song froze on the spot! The eldest princess was her only child, and had been taken away by the Fujin (principal wife) at a young age. But Madam Song, as her mother, had never given up on her; she even hoped that one day her daughter would return to her side. Moreover, she sensed the sarcasm in Madam Wang's words, but she remained silent.
Lanqin saw Song's face turn pale instantly and asked with a pang of pity, "Sister Wang, what you're saying is true. Sister Song also has the chance to conceive."
Wang felt a little uncomfortable after Lanqin said that, but she quickly regained her composure and said, "Look at my mouth, Sister Song, don't take it to heart. I envy you for having a daughter, unlike us who have no children."
Lanqin wanted to say something more, but seeing a tear roll down Song's cheek, she had no choice but to change her words and say, "Sister Song is beautiful and dignified, and she is also an old servant who has served Fourth Master. Fourth Master must have a special affection for her."
Upon hearing Lanqin's words, Madam Song stopped herself. Realizing that she had been too impulsive, she wiped away her tears and said apologetically to Lanqin and Madam Wang, "I'm sorry to have made you two sisters laugh."
After exchanging a few more pleasantries, the three of them went their separate ways back to their own courtyards.
As soon as Lanqin stepped into the courtyard, she heard Fourth Master asking about Nianxue. A smile appeared on her lips, and she quickened her pace.
"Where have you been?" Fourth Prince asked as soon as he saw Lanqin. He had just returned to the manor and couldn't wait to tell Lanqin about what had happened in the palace that day. Ever since he had talked to Lanqin about the court affairs once, Fourth Prince couldn't help but bring it up with her again and again, because Lanqin always gave him unexpected comments.
"I was just taking a stroll in the small garden, Master. What's wrong?" Lanqin noticed the irritation on Fourth Master's face. She waved to Nianxue and Huanbi behind her, then walked up to Fourth Master and touched his hand.
After Lanqin's comforting words, Fourth Master's expression improved slightly, but a gloomy look still lingered on his face.
"Master, would you like to have dinner first?" Seeing that the Fourth Master didn't seem too happy, Lanqin changed the subject.
"Hmm, let them bring the food up." Fourth Master pinched the bridge of his nose with his index finger and thumb, looking very tired.
"Alright, Master, please wait a moment, I'll go and fetch you right away." Lanqin stood up, about to leave, but was grabbed by the Fourth Master's hand.
"Let me speak to you first. I'm not hungry right now." The Fourth Prince stood up, covered Lanqin's small body from behind, and said softly, "Recently, the Dzungars and Mongols have come to the Qing Dynasty again to ask for a princess. Sigh, I still remember how my fourteenth and fifteenth princesses looked back then. But they never came back. The thirteenth prince was depressed for a long time because of this."
Ah, aren't the emperor's daughters supposed to be showered with love and affection? Lanqin thought to herself, sighing inwardly: As the emperor's daughter, she often has no choice in her own life. I never thought that even the powerful Emperor Kangxi had to send his own daughter away to ensure the stability of the Qing Dynasty.
"Your Majesty, why doesn't the Emperor remove the threat from behind our Great Qing?" Lanqin knew that if she tried to appease the Fourth Prince with words like "putting the interests of the Great Qing first, putting the overall situation first," she wouldn't succeed. At this moment, the Fourth Prince's heart was definitely won over by family affection. Because only with Lanqin could the Fourth Prince not wear the mask of a cold-faced king, but simply let his true emotions flow freely.
"This is a question that Father has been pondering, but so many years have passed, and Father has sent away one princess after another. Now there are no princesses of marriageable age left," the Fourth Prince said in a low voice. "My daughter, Moyaqi, will be attending the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet this year. I only have two daughters, and I don't want to send her away."
Hearing the Fourth Prince's somber voice, Lanqin felt deeply distressed. No parent wants to see their child go to their death. In the past, few Qing princesses who went to the desert or grasslands for marriage alliances met a good end; almost all of them died young.
“My lord, nothing has happened yet. I believe the eldest princess will return safely,” Lanqin said, but she knew in her heart that another princess would inevitably be chosen—either you or her. After all, they were all daughters of the Aisin Gioro clan, but at this moment, no one wanted their daughter to be chosen.
"I don't know. If she's chosen, I'll still send her away without hesitation. Lan'er, am I a heartless father?" Fourth Master turned Lanqin around, facing her directly. He believed in this little princess before him; from the first moment he saw her and heard her words, he felt she would never deceive him. These were things he should have said to another woman, but that woman had repeatedly disappointed him, driven him to despair, and even made him want to give up.
It's strange that everyone says Emperor Yongzheng was inherently suspicious, which may be related to his upbringing in the treacherous and unpredictable palace. However, Lanqin had only ever spoken the truth, yet she gained the Fourth Prince's extraordinary trust!
"If you can't be ruthless to your own daughter, you'll be ruthless to the millions of people of the Qing Dynasty. My lord, Lan'er doesn't want to persuade you too much right now, because the matter of the eldest princess hasn't happened yet. If that day truly comes, I want to plead for Sister Song's sake, to let her see the eldest princess more often. After all, she is the eldest princess's birth mother." Lanqin recalled the two lines of tears on Song's face in the pavilion, and unconsciously spoke a few words for her. If the eldest princess is truly chosen, then Song is truly too pitiful.
Fourth Master clearly didn't expect Lanqin to say that, but she spoke at just the right time, because as a father, Fourth Master was worried about his eldest daughter's future, so he could naturally understand a mother's feelings.
"Yes. Lan'er, I'm leaving. I'm going to see the Fujin today. I need to talk to her." The Fourth Prince glanced at Lanqin nervously, a look that made Lanqin want to laugh, but she was truly happy inside. The Fourth Prince was afraid she would be unhappy, but Lanqin really wasn't unhappy at all.
“Go ahead, the Fujin will surely be reluctant to part with the eldest princess, after all, she was raised by the Fujin,” Lanqin said.
After Fourth Master left, Lanqin suddenly thought of a question: If she really gave birth to a child for Fourth Master at this moment, would she be like Song Shi, not qualified to raise her own child?
Oh, my foot! How could I have forgotten about that? If that's really the case, I'd rather not have had children at all!
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