Lanqin's breakfast was plentiful. Hearing that Madam Song and Madam Wu had come, she specially asked the maids to serve extra breakfast.
"You haven't had breakfast yet, have you?" Lanqin asked as she sat at the dining table, seeing Song and Wu walk in, her face relaxed and content.
Madam Song and Madam Wu, having heard about last night's events early in the morning, naturally lost their appetites and came over early to see what Lanqin planned to do. With the master and mistress both away, and this happening during the New Year, things were particularly difficult.
"You really haven't had breakfast yet!" Seeing Lanqin's relaxed expression, Wu Shi's tension dissipated.
“You can still eat? I heard about this first thing this morning and rushed over without even having breakfast,” said Madam Song.
“What’s there to worry about? Liu brought this on herself, knocking her own child out. What does it have to do with us?” Lanqin said.
After Madam Song and Madam Wu sat down at the table, the maids began to prepare breakfast for them.
“Sister Song, you see. Qin’er isn’t worried at all, but we’re just worrying unnecessarily,” said Madam Wu.
“However, this matter might allow the Liu family to escape punishment!” Lan Qin said, her smile fading.
Madam Song and Madam Wu knew about Liu's affair with that leading man from the Mu family troupe at the Yuanmingyuan Garden; Lanqin had told them the details. Originally, after Liu gave birth, the Fourth Prince would have ordered her to be confined to Zhanghua Terrace.
“This was clearly done on her own initiative. Do you think Your Highness will believe her and not you?” said Madam Wu.
"This is perhaps no longer a matter of belief or disbelief. The Prince is now in a high position; look at all the people who sent him gifts this year. They practically wore out the threshold of our manor. The Nian family, the Fucha family, and the Ulanara family—their families have deeply entrenched influence. How much impact will they have on the Prince? Now, the Prince may not be considering these matters of the inner quarters anymore, but rather the overall situation," Lanqin said. Thinking of this, Lanqin knew that she might not be implicated this time, but the Fourth Prince would release Liu Shi as a compromise to balance the various factions.
Madam Song fell silent, and Madam Wu's face darkened. They relied solely on Lanqin's place in the Fourth Prince's heart, on his undivided affection for her. Now, the Fourth Prince faced forces from all sides; they could either help him seize the throne or become obstacles to his rise.
"Let's eat quickly. Now that we know the outcome of this matter, there's nothing to worry about. I will definitely protect Si Hua, and the Prince will also take pity on me," Lan Qin said.
Song and Wu looked at Lanqin, exchanged a glance, and then lowered their heads and said nothing more.
After Song and Wu left, Fucha was led by her maid to Lanqin's main room, where Lanqin was sitting on a warm couch.
"This concubine greets Consort Fu!" Lady Fucha had been waiting since early morning, and was already furious, but she couldn't leave, so she had no choice but to sit there patiently.
"I apologize for keeping Princess Fucha waiting. Today is the first day of the month; if Princess Fucha wishes to pay her respects, that will suffice," Lanqin said calmly. Since these people could never become friends, there was no need for pretense.
Lady Fucha was slightly taken aback, and quickly said, "This concubine wishes to ask the Consort for a favor. I wonder if the Consort would be so accommodating?"
Lanqin raised an eyebrow at her and asked, "What is it, Princess Fucha?"
"I wish to return to my parents' home to pay my respects for the New Year. I wonder if I could go back for two days?" Lady Fucha had already planned this out and came to ask Lanqin for leave.
As a concubine, a princess was not allowed to enter or leave the mansion at will; she had to obtain permission from the principal wife or the secondary wife before she could go anywhere.
"Oh? This is only Fucha's first year, right? Do you know how many years Sister Song and Sister Wu have been in the household?" Lanqin asked, looking at Fucha.
"I just want to go back and wish my father and mother a Happy New Year..." Fucha said, looking at Lanqin.
"Sister Song and Sister Wu, don't you want to? Princess Fucha, I'm afraid I can't grant you this favor. You should know the rules for concubines. If it's given to you alone, what about the others?" Lanqin refused. In the past, she herself would have hated such "rules," but as the Fourth Prince's secondary consort, and having been in this inner palace for almost ten years, Lanqin knew she couldn't view these things with the eyes of someone from a later era. She was no longer the "Lin Mengyao" of the past, but the current Niohuru Lanqin.
Fucha could have gone to Nian. The reason she came to Lanqin was simply to see Lanqin's attitude towards her. Now it seems that she suspects that she was also involved in Liu's affairs.
"Is there any other problem?" Lanqin asked when she saw that Lady Fucha did not speak. "If there is nothing else, Lady Fucha, you may go back. I still have things to take care of."
Lady Fucha emerged from the south courtyard with a pale face.
“I didn’t expect her to be so tough today! I thought she needed allies at this time, and even if she didn’t consider me an ally, she shouldn’t have offended me. She should have tried to win me over.” Fucha said to Hongqiao.
“This servant thinks that Consort Niu has already figured out the whole thing, Princess, there’s no need to try to curry favor with her anymore,” Hongqiao said.
"Yes. Let's go!" said Lady Fucha.
The first and second days of the Lunar New Year passed peacefully. Although Liu did not give birth, it was almost the same as giving birth, and she continued to take supplements to nourish herself every day.
Lanqin didn't go to ask her; she planned to wait until Fourth Master returned before dealing with the matter. There was no point in wasting her breath now. It seemed that Madam Nian was also waiting for Fourth Master and the others to return.
On the afternoon of the second day of the Lunar New Year, Shi, who hadn't visited in a long time, came to pay her respects to Lanqin with her eldest son, Niu Gulu Zheng. Lanqin quickly sent someone to fetch the mother and son.
Shi has given birth to three children for Lanqin's eldest son in the past few years. Today, she brought her eldest son to pay New Year's respects to Lanqin.
Shi was dressed in a dark blue cheongsam, her hair styled in a double bun, and adorned with a set of sapphire gold-plated pearl flowers.
"Quan'er, quickly greet your aunt!" Shi Shi pulled six-year-old Niu Gulu Quan to greet Lan Qin.
"Quan'er greets Auntie!" The six-year-old boy, dressed in a light gray cotton robe and wearing a small hat, with his long, thin braid hanging down the back of his head, bowed respectfully to Lanqin.
"Quan'er, come here quickly, let your aunt take a look!" Lanqin had already stood up and gestured to the maids to call the younger children to play with their cousin.
Lanqin pulled Quan'er around and looked him up and down, saying, "Quan'er is growing up so well. Is everyone at home doing well? Are your mother and father all doing well?"
“Father and Mother are both in good health. Mother originally wanted to come with us to visit Aunt, but she is not feeling well. Now that Aunt is in charge of the Yong Prince's Mansion, she is probably unable to leave, so she specially asked me to bring Quan'er to pay New Year's greetings,” said Madam Shi.
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