“What’s there to be nervous about? His mother is a concubine, and so is yours. Besides, your mother’s family is much better than Niohuru’s.” Lady Nian said, somewhat displeased with her son’s timidity.
Hongsheng was quite afraid of Lady Nian because, from birth, he had been raised in the East Courtyard and had almost no contact with other children, being served by servants. These servants were all afraid of Lady Nian, which fostered Hongsheng's personality: barely arrogant and domineering in front of the servants, yet fearful and weak in front of Lady Nian. Hongli's disregard for others' feelings just now displeased Hongsheng, a consequence of Lady Nian's consistent indulgence, which had cultivated in him a personality that treated everyone else as servants.
“Yes, Mother. That Hongli is even younger than me, why should I be afraid of him!” Hongsheng said.
“That’s right. You don’t need to be afraid of him. In fact, you should always be better than him in every way, understand?” said Madam Nian.
When the Fourth Prince and his entourage returned to the Yong Prince's Mansion, it was almost 9 PM. Everyone was exhausted and immediately had to be helped back to their own courtyards by their servants. The Fourth Prince did not go anywhere with them, but returned to the front courtyard.
The next day, the Thirteenth Prince's wife, Lady Zhaojia, arrived. She came to see Lanqin, but she first went to the main courtyard to pay her respects to the Fourth Prince's wife.
The Fourth Prince's wife had almost no interaction with the Thirteenth Prince, so after exchanging pleasantries with Lady Zhaojia, she was allowed to leave.
Although the Fourth Prince sent many things to the Thirteenth Prince's residence, Lanqin still packed a large box of fabrics and medicinal herbs from her own storeroom and sent them over. Lady Zhaojia, grateful for Lanqin's generosity, made a set of underwear for both her and the Fourth Prince.
“Look at this, the Thirteenth Princess Consort’s handiwork is truly exquisite.” Lanqin unfolded the undergarment that Zhaojia had given her, and saw that the collar and cuffs were embroidered with very elegant little flowers. The fabric used for the garment was also very fine plain satin.
“If the concubine likes it, I’ll make some more. Anyway, I have nothing else to do,” said Lady Zhaojia.
“That won’t do. Embroidery is very hard on the eyes. If Thirteenth Princess doesn’t mind, may I call you Wenxiu?” Lanqin said. It turned out that Thirteenth Princess was called “Wenxiu”, and she was the same age as Lanqin.
“Alright, then let’s address each other by our given names. Consort, you are a generous and righteous person, and Wenxiu admires you greatly. I’ve come here specifically to thank you,” said the Thirteenth Princess.
“Don’t call me Consort, call me Consort, call me Lanqin!” Lanqin quickly replied.
"Oh, right, Lanqin." The Thirteenth Princess's heart warmed. Lanqin was the only one who hadn't shown her any special treatment during her years of hardship. Since the Thirteenth Prince's misfortune, those who had previously fawned over him, along with her own relatives and extended family, had all stopped visiting her, and some had even begun to mock her. Over the past six years, Lady Zhao had experienced the coldness of human relationships and the fickleness of the world. Naturally, she was deeply moved that Lanqin had come to her aid in her most perilous time. Although Lanqin was only a secondary consort, while she was the primary consort, their statuses were unequal, but what did it matter?
“Wenxiu, why don’t you stay here today? After we finish our meal, I’ll accompany you for a stroll in our courtyard. Some of the early spring flowers are already in bloom,” Lanqin said.
Zhao Jia stayed to talk with Lan Qin. When it was time for lunch, Lan Qin specially ordered the kitchen to prepare a meal of the highest standard, which even Zhao Jia, who always maintained the demeanor of a young lady from a prominent family, said was delicious.
"Lanqin, the chef here makes such delicious food," Zhao Jia said, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief. The two of them had already devoured almost the entire table of food.
“If you want to eat, bring your chef next time, and I’ll have Master Niu teach him some. You can also order whatever you want in the Thirteen Prefectures,” Lanqin said.
Zhao Jia said, "I have dozens of mouths to feed, how can I eat like this?"
“Wenxiu, why don’t you think about how to increase your income? Thirteenth Prince’s salary is clearly not enough to support your large family. Just the New Year’s celebrations and social obligations will cost a lot of money,” Lanqin said.
“How can a woman like me generate income?” Zhao Jia asked.
“I noticed that you have a large garden in your residence, but it’s all empty. We could come up with some ideas for that place!” Lanqin said.
"Lanqin, do you have any ideas?" Zhao Jia had already opened up to Lanqin, and the two of them, once they let go of their identities, actually got along very well.
"I was thinking, why don't we open a shop together?" Lanqin said, blinking. She wasn't involved in anything else now, just managing the household accounts. The steward would only show her the ledgers.
"Open a shop?" Zhao Jia had actually wanted to find something to do for a long time. Thirteen didn't have any businesses and was struggling to make ends meet with his meager salary.
“Yes, open a shop. You can find a few trusted confidants to manage it, and you can be the big boss behind the scenes. We can open it as a joint venture. Anyway, we don’t have much else to do.” Lanqin wanted to help Zhaojia’s family alleviate their financial pressure, and also to find something to do for herself.
"I'd like to hear the details!" Zhao Jia's interest was immediately piqued.
“Let’s go for a walk in the garden to digest our food. We can talk as we walk,” Lanqin said.
So, after washing their hands with the help of their maids, they put on cotton cloaks, still holding hand warmers, and went out together.
The garden in early spring was still a scene of withered growth, with only a few early spring plants sprouting tender buds. Lanqin and Zhaojia walked and talked, paying almost no attention to the scenery.
Cough cough cough...
A familiar voice suddenly came from Lanqin's side. As soon as Lanqin heard the cough, she knew it was Nian Shi.
What bad luck! I ran into her here again!
Sure enough, Lady Nian and Lady Fucha were in front of some forsythia flowers, right in front of Lanqin and the others. Lady Nian noticed that Lanqin and Lady Zhaojia were chatting so much that they barely noticed her, so she frowned and reminded them.
Lanqin greeted Lady Nian with a polite bow, while Lady Fucha, who was beside Lady Nian, quickly bowed to Lanqin and then to Lady Zhaojia.
“Consort Nian, how can you not pay your respects to the Thirteenth Consort?” Lanqin saw that Consort Nian was arrogant and barely paid any attention to her when she offered her a courtesy, let alone to Consort Zhaojia.
Lady Nian naturally looked down on the Thirteenth Princess. Since she had been imprisoned by Emperor Kangxi for several years, she didn't bow to Lady Zhaojia. Unexpectedly, Lanqin seized on this and directly questioned her about etiquette, making her feel embarrassed.
Consort Zhaojia, contrary to her usual gentle demeanor, put on a stern face and said, "What's frightening is that Consort Nian thinks she's different from others and doesn't need to bow to me."
"This concubine greets the Thirteenth Prince's Consort!" Lady Nian had no choice but to raise her handkerchief and reluctantly perform the curtsy.
“Consort Nian and Princess Fucha, why don’t you enjoy the flowers here? Let’s go over there and take a look, Lanqin,” said Lady Zhaojia, who held the highest status among them, seeing the awkward situation.
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