Although Lady Anjia no longer had as much influence as Lady Yang in front of her husband, she was still happy. Her own daughter had been betrothed to the Fourth Prince, which was much better than her entering the deep palace. It would be easier for her and her daughter to see each other.
"Qin'er, according to the rules, you can only bring two maids with you. Sigh, your mother originally wanted to have Granny Tian go with you, but we can't break the rules." Madam Anjia was directing the servants to pack some things for Lanqin, which could be considered part of her dowry.
"Then I'll take Xue'er and Xi'er with me." Lanqin glanced at the two maids beside her. Of all the girls she'd met since she transmigrated, they were the only ones she was truly familiar with.
Anjia walked to her daughter's side, took her hand, and instructed her, "When you go to the Fourth Prince's residence, you can no longer serve him the way you did when you were with your mother. You must serve the Prince well. Xue'er, Xi'er, you two go with the Princess. In everything you do, you must put the Princess first, help her, and take good care of her."
Xue'er and Xi'er walked up to the lady and knelt down.
Xue'er said, "This servant will take care of the princess as if it were her own life. Please rest assured, Madam."
Anjia nodded, told them to get up, and gave their families some silver.
After the dowry was almost ready, Lady Anjia dismissed all the servants, closed the door, and said to Lanqin, "Qin'er, your mother has packed 20,000 taels of silver for you. This money is for bribing the servants in the Prince's mansion. Don't be stingy with the money. Your mother only hopes that you can live well in the Fourth Prince's mansion."
Although Lanqin had no feelings for her mother, she felt a little sorry for her seeing how much her mother had worried about her these past few days. She took Anjia's hand and said, "Mother, don't worry. Lanqin will definitely live a good life. But Mother, for now, let's avoid that Aunt Yang. When Lanqin is capable, she will make plans for Brother Zheng."
...
The Fourth Prince's residence sent a wedding sedan chair, a bright red soft sedan chair.
Lanqin changed into a new pink dress, and Anjia personally combed her hair and put a set of pearl headdresses with gold threads on her head. She looked delicate, pretty, and radiant.
She rode alone in the sedan chair sent by the Fourth Prince's mansion, while Xue'er and Xi'er rode in the Ling family's own wedding sedan chair, with two large trunks following behind.
Upon arriving at the Fourth Prince's residence, the sedan chair bearers, following the instructions of the Princess Consort, entered through the side gate instead of the main gate.
Sitting in the sedan chair, Lanqin thought to herself: This is how I get married?! It seems too simple. A strange emptiness filled her heart.
The sedan chair was carried all the way to the western courtyard of the Fourth Prince's residence. There were already nannies, maids, and eunuchs waiting there.
Xue'er and Xi'er got out of the sedan chair first, and then hurriedly went to Lanqin's sedan chair to lift the curtain for her.
"This old servant greets the new princess!" The leading old nanny curtsied, and the others followed suit.
"Lanqin is new here, and there are still many things that need to be done by Granny Lao." Lanqin immediately changed her greeting. She knew that such powerful servants were often not to be offended, otherwise they would cause trouble for her in the future.
This old nanny was none other than the head nanny who had served the Fourth Prince since he was a few years old; she had followed him out of the palace to establish his own residence. Now, the head nanny was in charge of distributing the monthly wages of all the servants in the front courtyard and controlling the keys to the front courtyard storeroom. Today, she wasn't supposed to be the one welcoming the new princess, but since the Fourth Prince had specifically instructed her to do so, she had no choice but to comply.
Seeing that Niohuru Lanqin was well-mannered and did not act arrogantly just because she was the Fourth Prince's new concubine, the head nanny became much more friendly and said, "Princess, please come inside with this old servant."
Lanqin, supported by Xue'er and Xi'er, entered the room. Her trunk was also carried in.
"Princess, there are four princesses living in this courtyard. The room to your left is where Princess Yin came in with you. The room to your right is where Princess Geng lives, and the room in front is where Princess Wu lives. In addition, there are Princess Song and Princess Wang, who live in another small courtyard," the head nanny introduced.
"Oh, then I won't be lonely anymore. Lanqin will definitely get along well with all the sisters." Lanqin said in a formal tone, but in her heart she was thinking: Damn it, there are four women living in this courtyard. They'll be fighting all the time. Just thinking about her man sleeping in her roommate's room next door, how can she feel good about that?
The head nanny smiled slightly and said, "Have you chosen the names for these two young ladies? According to the rules, names cannot be reused; they must be changed. Tell me so I can inform the Fujin (principal wife), as their monthly allowances will be paid from the back courtyard from now on."
Upon hearing this, Lanqin felt a pang in her heart. After all, she had received a modern education and had a natural sense of awe towards the first wife, always feeling as if she were the mistress.
Xue'er and Xi'er exchanged glances, then looked at Lanqin in unison.
“Oh, they’re all ready. This one is called Nianxue, and the smaller one is called Xicha,” Lanqin said, quick-wittedly.
The head nanny nodded and said to the maids and eunuchs who were tidying up the room, "Let's step back and let the princess rest properly." After saying that, she gave Lan Qin a bow.
Just as she was about to leave, Lanqin called out, "Thank you for your trouble, Granny. Take these and buy some tea for her."
She glanced at Nianxue (Xue'er), and Nianxue immediately took out a small purse from her sleeve, inside which were two taels of silver.
The head nanny smiled slightly and accepted the purse, thinking to herself: If I don't accept it, I'll be disrespecting Princess Niohuru.
After the row of people left, Nianxue finally breathed a sigh of relief. The three of them stared blankly at the large house with two side rooms.
Lanqin, intrigued, first went to a side room to take a look. There, she saw a new sandalwood canopy bed with a red gauze curtain, and the bedding was also brand new. The dressing table and chairs were also new and made of sandalwood. She assumed this was her bridal chamber.
Lanqin then led the two maids to another side room, where they saw several small wooden beds, clearly for the servants to live in.
"Princess, would you like to rest for a bit? Xicha and I will pack our things first," Nianxue said.
Lanqin was also a little tired, so she nodded and went to her bedroom to rest.
Nianxue and Xicha began packing two large boxes of things.
As darkness fell, Lanqin slept soundly.
Xi Cha said with concern, "I'm completely lost here. Where will we get the princess's dinner? And what about hot water for washing up?"
Nianxue was dusting off the dust with a feather duster when she said, "Wait a minute, I'll go ask Wu Gege's maid in front."
Just then, a woman who looked like a maid walked to the door and said to them inside the room, "The Princess Consort invites Princess Niohuru to the main courtyard."
Nianxue curtsied and said, "Thank you for your trouble, sister. I'll have Gege get ready right away. Please wait a little while, sister."
After saying that, she winked at Xicha, signaling her to bring out some pastries brought from the Ling residence for the little maid to eat.
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