Lanqin's eyelids tightened. In the past, she might not have thought much of it, but now was a crucial time for the Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince in their struggle for the throne. Was the Fourteenth Prince's presence in Consort De's palace merely out of filial piety towards his mother?
After Consort De came out of the West Buddhist Hall, she did not immediately summon Lanqin to see her. Instead, she sent for the Fourteenth Prince's wife and his eldest son, Honghui. After learning about the name bestowed upon the Fourteenth Prince's eldest son by Emperor Kangxi, Lanqin thought to herself: "Is Kangxi doing this on purpose? How come the names of the Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince sound so similar, only the characters are different? Now even the names of their sons sound the same, except that the Fourth Prince's eldest son, Honghui, is already gone."
Just as Lanqin was pondering about the Fourteenth Prince and his family, a palace maid entered and conveyed Consort De's message that Lanqin should go to the main hall.
As Lanqin helped Sihua step over the high threshold, they heard Consort De speaking kindly to Lady Wanyan. Meanwhile, the Fourteenth Prince was carrying his son and walking around the palace.
Lanqin walked up to Consort De and, as always, greeted her with natural manners and a friendly attitude.
"Fourth Prince's wife, do you know why I summoned you here today?" Consort De was in a good mood and her attitude towards Lanqin was not bad.
Lanqin felt relieved. As long as Consort De didn't cause trouble, her hot pot restaurant could continue to operate. Even if she got a few words from her, it wouldn't be a big deal.
"I don't know, please enlighten me, Mother," Lanqin said.
"I heard that you've opened several restaurants outside, called something like 'Great Qing Hot Pot,' and even Lady Zhaojia is involved in it?" Consort De asked.
"Replying to Mother, your daughter-in-law only invested some capital in these few shops, as did the Thirteenth Prince's wife. This is called investment!" Lanqin had already prepared her speech before coming in. If Consort De asked her why a woman would go out and do those men's things, especially the most low-class things of a merchant, she would say it was investment.
"Investment?" Consort De was indeed stunned by this word.
"What is investment?" asked the Fourteenth Prince's wife, Lady Wanyan, curiously.
“Simply put, it’s about managing your own money. Mother, if you keep your money in the treasury for a year, it will remain the same; it won’t generate any more money. But if you take this money out and put it in a money exchange, it can generate more money. That’s called ‘investment.’ However, your daughter-in-law didn’t put her money in a money exchange; instead, she invested it in Daqing Hot Pot,” Lanqin said.
"But that's not what I heard. I heard that you opened it yourself, and even had Lady Zhaojia open it with you." Consort De said, her smile fading.
"Your Majesty, who is spreading such nonsense? How could I possibly open my own shop? I stay in the inner quarters every day; there's no way I would run away. If that were the case, how could the Prince allow it!" Lanqin said, looking wronged. She truly never went to the shop, and even when she did, she would only go briefly and return quickly. Once the business was on track, she would stay in the inner quarters writing marketing plans and then have them delivered to the shop. The weekly reconciliation and auditing were always done by having them come to the mansion.
At this moment, the Fourteenth Prince walked over with his son in his arms and said, "Fourth Sister-in-law is really good at investing. Even I have been there. Mother, that hot pot is really delicious."
"Is that so? Why didn't you take me to try it too, Your Highness?" Wanyan said, seemingly displeased that the Fourteenth Prince was saying this at this time.
"Is that so? Niohuru, do you know your mistake? As a secondary consort of a prince, you shouldn't be making investments. If people find out and it gets to your father's ears, he will think that you have disgraced the royal family." Consort De's tone suddenly became stern.
Lanqin wanted to argue, but remembering the Fourth Prince's words, she held back and could only continue to listen to Consort De's reprimand.
"I say, Consort Niu, is it because you don't have enough money that you're thinking of investing? Otherwise, Fourth Brother wouldn't be unable to support you, would he?" Wanyan continued to fan the flames. Lanqin used to think of her as an immature little princess, but now her words were barbed, no longer innocent, but clearly provoking Consort De's anger.
As expected, Consort De said, "Niohuru, I order you to immediately take back the silver from those shops and stop doing those things. How can a prince's concubine engage in such business activities? It is a disgrace to the Yong Prince's Mansion!"
Lanqin was speechless. No matter how many reasons she gave, they couldn't withstand the attack of these words. In ancient times, merchants were indeed the lowest class of people. Even farmers had a higher social status than merchants.
"Why is Consort Niu silent? Does she not agree with what her mother said?" Wanyan continued.
"Your Majesty, Prince Yong has arrived!" A palace maid came in to report, thus easing the awkward situation from before.
The Fourth Prince had already entered. Seeing that Lanqin was still standing, he was immediately displeased. He walked to her side with a sullen face and bowed to Consort De.
"Fourth Prince, you've come at the right time. I was just asking your concubine about that investment. Do you know anything about it? How could you let her do it like that?" Consort De said.
"Your Majesty," the Fourth Prince said, "I think investing in a hot pot restaurant isn't a bad idea. These days, which household doesn't have some money stored away? Take the Ninth Prince, for example; he owns countless antique and pawnshops. The Third Prince even runs a bookstore. So, I don't think what Niohuru did is a big deal. I wonder where Your Majesty heard these rumors. You should first ask those who like to gossip whether they've lent out their money at high interest rates. I'm afraid quite a lot." In fact, Wanyan's money was indeed stored in illegal money lenders; the Fourth Prince's words were deliberately meant for her.
Consort De frowned, immediately displeased. Was the Fourth Prince telling her to her face that she shouldn't have summoned Niohuru to the palace to reprimand her?
Looking at the expressions of the Fourth Prince and Consort De, Lanqin wondered if the mother and son were simply incompatible. She couldn't let this incident ruin their relationship!
"Your Majesty," Lanqin said, "I initially invested in these shops because I saw the difficulties faced by the Thirteenth Prince's household. Otherwise, she wouldn't even be able to keep her servants. Your Majesty, the Thirteenth Prince is still there. He was once raised under your care, and you surely wouldn't bear to see his family struggling. Our Prince has been secretly subsidizing them for years, but I think it's best for the Thirteenth Prince to have her own source of income and not rely on others for support." She didn't want the Fourth Prince to be disliked by Consort De for no reason. Judging from Wanyan's relentless pursuit just now, Lanqin even suspected that this matter was not simple.
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