“It was the old woman from Juyuan who came to report something, and she said it was very serious. I couldn’t persuade her, so I had to come to you, Master,” Baoqin said quickly, bowing her head.
"Alright, let's go back and take a look," Lanqin said. Then she took Yuxiao's hand and went to her main room.
When Lanqin returned to the main room, she took off her fox fur cloak and discarded her hand warmer, which had become somewhat cold, with the help of Yuxiao and Baoqin. She then washed her hands in a basin of water that Cui Niang had personally brought over before saying, "Let her come in and give her an answer."
Today, Lanqin wore an orange-red cheongsam with a hundred-bird pattern. The collar and cuffs were inlaid with white fox fur, making her look more elegant and noble. She had lost her youthful appearance and had some fine lines around her eyes, but she looked more mature and charming.
The willow catkins at the door lifted the curtain, and an old woman dressed in a dark blue cotton-padded jacket and trousers hunched her shoulders as she entered. She dared not look around, but only glanced at the woman in front of her, who was dressed in fine clothes and beautiful accessories and was sitting in the main seat, with two beautiful maids standing beside her, who were no less beautiful than the concubines.
"This old servant greets Consort!" The old woman quickly squatted down and bowed.
"Are you Zhang Mama, who guards the chrysanthemum garden?" Cui Niang asked first on behalf of Lanqin. She asked with a frown, and after learning that it was about Shui Ling, she became even more disdainful.
"Yes, madam. I've come to report to Consort. This morning, that Lady Ji caused some trouble, insisting on coming out, and then somehow she fell to the ground. I dare not act on my own, so I've come to ask Consort for advice," Zhang Mama replied cautiously. Everyone in the inner quarters knew about Shui Ling's background, and naturally knew that Lan Qin disliked her. Therefore, after she became a concubine, the two old women responsible for watching over the Chrysanthemum Garden often gave Shui Ling a hard time, one of whom was Zhang Mama. The Chrysanthemum Garden was a place specially set aside by the Fourth Prince, located in a very remote area in the northwest corner of the Fourth Prince's inner quarters, next to the courtyard where servants who had committed offenses were imprisoned. Since the Fourth Prince established his residence, he had had several concubines. One of them from the early years was killed by Lady Li, and now there was Lady Yun living in the Chrysanthemum Garden, and then there was Shui Ling.
"How badly are you injured?" Lanqin finally spoke, her hand, clad in armor, appearing long and elegant.
"This old servant thinks she's injured a bone. It's swollen, and I only applied some ointment to reduce the swelling. Miss Ji kept calling out, so this old servant had no choice but to come." Zhang Mama said, choosing words that were advantageous to her. She and another old woman, Qiu Mama, had been assigned to guard several concubines because of some offense they had committed when they were young. In the past, these concubines had no one to serve them; they had to fetch water and food themselves. Zhang Mama and Qiu Mama were only responsible for guarding the gates and checking to see if anyone was there at the appointed time; they didn't care about anything else.
"Then let's go and ask a doctor to take a look," Lanqin said.
"Yes, then this servant will go and fetch the doctor." Seeing that Lanqin was not in a difficult position, Zhang Mama sighed inwardly at Shui Ling.
After Zhang Mama left, Cui Niang said, "Master, why did you call a doctor for her? It's just a fall, a broken bone is a broken bone. She can just find a board to brace herself and lie in bed for ten days or half a month and she'll be fine."
Cui Niang seemed even angrier than Lan Qin about Shui Ling climbing into bed, because Shui Ling had disgraced them, the servants.
Cui Niang remembered that the day of the incident was a sunny day. Lan Qin helped Si Hua and a few children out, leaving Shui Ling and Yu Xiao alone in the house to guard the place.
That lowly maidservant, for some reason, secretly changed into Lanqin's clothes and lay down on Lanqin's bed. The maidservant had probably been jealous of Lanqin for a long time, and seeing that Lanqin seemed to be away, she changed her clothes, wanting to act like her mistress for a while. Unfortunately, that day, the Fourth Master returned early. Perhaps he hadn't been celibate for a while, and although he had come to look for Lanqin, he was also drunk from drinking with someone outside. Seeing someone lying on Lanqin's bed, he got in.
“Cui Niang, it’s the New Year, it would be bad luck if she cried out in pain. Let Doctor Lin take a look. I don’t want the household to be in turmoil before the New Year,” Lan Qin said. Although she already loathed Shui Ling, she couldn’t bring herself to be a wicked mistress and ignore someone’s life. After all, Shui Ling was just a concubine, and the Fourth Master hadn’t visited her since that time with her. Since she had already tolerated her, she had no intention of pushing her to the brink.
Seeing Lanqin's words, Cui Niang had no choice but to stop mentioning Shui Ling and instead asked, "Master, I just saw our Fourth Princess go to find the Third Princess."
“She’s always on the go. How did Ushiha develop such a personality? It really worries me. If she gets married in the future, I’d love to send you to be her dowry maid before I feel at ease,” Lanqin said.
Cui Niang was startled, but immediately said, "Your Highness, I think it would be more appropriate to send the Fourth Princess's wet nurse. The Fourth Princess is close to her wet nurse, and she also nursed her."
"I was just saying, whether you're willing or not, I'm not. But Wuxiha's wet nurse, Mama Gui, isn't very capable or shrewd. Cui Niang, we need to promote a capable wet nurse for Wuxiha. Also, we need to have a good talk with this child. Her marriage is the most important thing right now. After the New Year, the Prince will definitely start looking for a wife for her immediately," Lanqin said.
“Yes, then this servant will go and find a capable and loyal mother for Fourth Princess. She can accompany her as part of her dowry and keep an eye on things for her mistress,” said Cui Niang.
Lanqin nodded, glanced at the small Western clock on the display shelf, and said, "I'm hungry, let's set out the meal. Wuxiha, that child, went to find Namin at this time, isn't that obviously going to trouble Sister Wu?"
“Princess Wu isn’t afraid of trouble; she really likes our Fourth Princess,” Cui Niang said with a smile. Then she walked to the door curtain and whispered a few words to Liu Xu, signaling her to quickly have Yue Lan start setting the table.
Meanwhile, Wu Xiha had indeed arrived at Wu's place, and the three of them were currently eating around the table. Wu Xiha was naturally familiar with the place, and she and Namin, who had been at odds since childhood, now seemed inseparable.
"Fourth Princess, this is top-quality beef, please use more." Madam Wu personally served Wuxihabu.
"Aunt Wu, just call me Wuxiha. Don't call me Fourth Princess!" Wuxiha said sweetly. She was a straightforward person; if someone was nice to her, she would immediately become familiar with that person.
“Yes, Mother, my name is Wuxiha. My concubine also calls me Namin.” Third Princess Namin said to Wu Shi with a calm and gentle expression.
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