The next day, Chunying took Hongzhou to the primary school. Gengshi no longer accompanied him, and she no longer prevented Hongzhou from getting close to Hongli. She also started to let Hongzhou go to the training ground to practice archery, and no longer took him to that garden to practice archery alone.
When Fucha received the news, she almost spat out blood. She pretended to be sick and didn't go to the peach grove, just to see if Hongzhou would come to see her, and then cause friction between him and Geng, which would make Geng more suspicious of Nanxiaoyuan and aggravate the conflict between her and Lanqin.
But now, after detaining Hongzhou for a few days, Lady Geng suddenly loosened her control over him and even began to allow him to contact Hongli and other princes, which was something Lady Fucha had not expected.
"I wonder what Nan Xiaoyuan and that Lady Geng talked about, that made her suddenly loosen her control over the Fifth Prince today." Hongqiao was also secretly annoyed. She went to Baizhi in private to tell her about Fucha's recent actions. The message that Nian brought her was to continue to assist Fucha.
"So, Niohuru doesn't want her son back?" Fucha said bitterly. She felt that Lanqin definitely wanted her son back, and Gengshi naturally wouldn't give up Hongzhou, so she wanted to make good use of this conflict between them, but she didn't expect Niohuru to resolve it so easily.
“It shouldn’t be possible. How could she not even want her own son? It’s really puzzling. Geng Shi would never easily give up the Fifth Prince, whom she had raised for two or three years. So what exactly did Consort Niu say to her?” Hongqiao added.
"It seems we can only work on the Fifth Prince," said Lady Fucha, lowering her eyes.
“Princess, I think the Fifth Prince still cares about you quite a bit. The other day when I told him that you were sick, he looked very anxious and even wanted to come and see you right away!” Hongqiao said.
“Then go and tell him to come and see me,” said Lady Fucha.
"Does Master mean that the Fifth Prince should continue to be close to us, and then we can look for other opportunities?" Hongqiao asked.
Fucha nodded.
Meanwhile, Lady Nian had already secretly sown discord in Consort De's heart, saying that Lanqin was not virtuous as a woman and that as the Fourth Prince's concubine, she was actually encouraging the Fourth Prince to engage in business, which was really damaging to the royal family's reputation.
Therefore, on this day, a decree from Consort De suddenly arrived in the palace, ordering Lanqin to come to the palace to see Consort De. Naturally, Consort De did not reveal anything, and even the Fourth Prince did not know that it was Lady Nian who had reported it.
"My lord, if I tell Mother the truth, I'm afraid I still won't please her. Will you resent me?" Lanqin, dressed in court attire, sat beside the Fourth Prince and asked. She had been pulled out of bed early that morning, had her hair styled in a high bun, adorned with pearl flowers, and dressed in the most dignified and proper qipao, now resembling the attire of a prince's concubine.
“Your mother lives deep within the palace, and you haven’t actually been directly managing those shops, so how would she know? It seems someone informed you,” the Fourth Prince said with a stern face.
Lanqin sneered inwardly: It's just those few people. There are only so many who can see someone off at the palace. Song Shi won't, Wu Shi won't, Geng Shi won't, and Liu Shi has no one in the capital, so that leaves only Fujin, Nian Shi, and Fucha Shi.
"Will the Thirteenth Prince's wife also be implicated?" Lanqin suddenly realized.
"It shouldn't be. Mother isn't her proper mother-in-law," Fourth Master said.
Lanqin nodded and said, "That's good. Wenxiu is doing a great job now. The Thirteen Mansions are thriving now, and it's no longer the miserable place we saw when we visited during the New Year."
When the carriage stopped at Shenwu Gate, the Fourth Prince had already spoken to Lanqin in the carriage, telling her not to argue with Consort De, saying that he would let Consort De do what she wanted, and that he would go back to Yonghe Palace after court and wait for him.
Lanqin, supported by Sihua, walked unsteadily towards Yonghe Palace. She looked at the long red walls, glazed tiles, and qilin beasts, and the dark blue stone path, which seemed to never change.
A group of palace maids approached from the opposite direction, all with their heads bowed; they were likely newly arrived bondservant maids. Emperor Kangxi had already returned to the palace, and the selection process had begun again. Most of these maids came from bondservant families, some from Han Chinese bannermen, and the most common were women from the common people who had volunteered to become palace maids.
"Si Hua, you're nineteen this year, aren't you? You were only fourteen when you first came to serve me," Lan Qin said as she walked.
"Hmm, I'm nineteen this year." Si Hua thought about herself, then about that person, and finally let out a sigh.
“There are still seven years!” Lanqin said. “Du Zhiqian, you should just forget about it. Even if I wanted to match them up, I don’t know what they really think, and besides, they’re not even around.”
Si Hua was startled and quickly said, "This servant is sorry, I have troubled you, my master. You really don't need to worry about me. I don't want to get married, so I will stay by your side and serve you."
Lanqin sighed inwardly. She really liked Sihua's loyalty and steadiness. If she were to enter the palace in the future, she would indeed need some capable confidantes by her side. After all, Cui Niang had family matters to attend to, and Nianxue and Xicha were both married now. Only Sihua, Shuiling, and Lanqi were the most capable and pleasing maids. Putao was not meticulous enough and too timid, Jinju was not outstanding and belonged the type who would want to get married when she reached a certain age; Baoqin and Yuxiao were still too young.
"Sihua, have you thought it through? Are you really willing to stay by my side and never marry?" Lanqin asked.
Si Hua had just heard Lan Qin say "seven more years" and didn't understand what it meant. She was pondering it when Lan Qin asked her this question. She hurriedly replied, "I have no family here. If I go out, I don't know how I will make a living. Master is now my closest family, so I am willing to serve you for the rest of my life."
Lanqin pinched Sihua's arm and said, "Alright. In that case, do your job well."
When the two arrived at the entrance of Yonghe Palace, Lanqin looked up at the plaque, took a deep breath, and then helped Sihua inside.
Consort De had risen early as usual and was tending to the Buddhist scriptures in the West Buddhist Hall. Lanqin was waiting in the side hall.
To her surprise, the Fourteenth Prince's wife, Lady Wanyan, was also at Yonghe Palace, and it seemed she had been staying there for several days. Lanqin heard the baby crying and, after asking the palace maids, learned that the Fourteenth Prince and his entire family were there.
"Sihua, go and see where the Fourteenth Princess Consort is staying?" Lanqin suddenly felt something was off, so she sent Sihua to ask.
Si Hua went out and asked the palace maids. It turned out that the Fourteenth Prince and his wife, along with their child, lived next to the Consort De's palace.
"It seems that the Fourteenth Prince is indeed close to Consort De, as he has brought his entire family to live here," Si Hua said.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
