"To be honest, sister, I've already sent people to fetch water for washing clothes and bathing." Later, Madam Geng even had Cui'er and Lülan fetch water from the garden to water the flowers, mop the floor, wash clothes, and bathe. In the sweltering summer heat, one was soaking wet by the end of the day, and there was no ice in her room, so it was really unbearable not to take a bath.
"That must be really tough on you, sister. Even the Fourth Prince's mansion is struggling financially. What must it be like outside?" Lanqin said in disbelief. You can't truly understand something until it happens to you.
"May Heaven protect us and bring rain soon, otherwise the people outside will suffer terribly from the drought. Master's return to the Ministry of Revenue has come at such a terrible time; he must be extremely anxious." As Geng spoke, her resolve to support Lanqin only strengthened. Yesterday, Nianxue had gone to the west courtyard after Lanqin fell asleep and told Geng the truth about Lanqin's miscarriage, instructing her not to tell anyone, including Lanqin, because she herself knew nothing about it. From that moment on, Geng decided to form an alliance with Lanqin. No matter how much she envied or jealous, she vowed to herself that she must become true sisters with Lanqin, supporting and helping each other. Therefore, she decided today to tell Lanqin the truth about the drought, letting her know what the Fourth Master was most concerned about, so she wouldn't make any inappropriate moves. Thinking that the Fourth Master could still send Lanqin a word of concern even in such circumstances, she felt she couldn't compare. Geng secretly felt that her decision was correct!
"Sister's method is really good. Besides drinking water, we can have people carry water from the garden to wash clothes, bathe, mop the floor, and water the flowers. We can then give the saved water to the people outside for drinking." Lanqin recalled seeing news of major disasters like the Wenchuan earthquake on television. They could only watch the suffering of the affected people on TV, donate money and supplies, and then stop paying attention. Now, with a drought, all people can do is pray for divine intervention!
“Well, but how much water can we save? If we can persuade the Fujin to mobilize the whole household to save water, it might have some effect,” Geng said, looking at Lanqin.
“You’re right, but it would be best if the Princess Consort handled this matter herself,” Lanqin said.
“That’s right, we can’t go over the Fujin’s head. Otherwise, let’s wait a few more days. Maybe the Fujin will notice this and make arrangements herself.” Seeing that Lanqin was unwilling to be the one to take the lead, Gengshi was even more unwilling.
"Let me think about it. I'll go pay my respects to the Fujin tomorrow, and maybe I can bring it up." Lanqin felt sad thinking about how some people didn't even have water to drink.
After chatting for a while, Madam Geng took her leave. Lan Qin then called in Nianxue and several other maids and told them about the recent severe drought that had caused water shortages in the mansion.
"Did you all understand? From now on, everyone must conserve water. Some water can be used for multiple purposes. For example, water used for washing vegetables and dishes can be used to water flowers, and water used for washing clothes can be used to mop the floor and dust. Everyone should also try to conserve water when taking a shower and stop wasting it as usual." Lanqin's gaze swept over everyone.
"Princess, is water becoming a problem? What will we do without water in the middle of summer?" Huanbi couldn't help but complain.
"The Fourth Prince is currently in the palace, working day and night to plan and research ways to alleviate the severe drought. All we can do is try not to put pressure on him and save as much water as we can. Perhaps the water we save can solve the daily water needs of several families."
After hearing this, everyone followed Lanqin's instructions for the next few days. The only one who resisted was Huanbi, a second-class maid. She was responsible for washing Lanqin's clothes and watering the potted plants and trees in the courtyard and various rooms—all of which required water. Originally, because of Lanqin's favor with the emperor, the kitchen's water supply to the south courtyard had been quite ample. However, with just a word from Lanqin, the water supply had been greatly reduced, and even everyone's daily water intake was limited. It turned out that after setting the rules for water use, Lanqin, on the second day, took the opportunity of paying respects to the Fujin (the emperor's wife) to mention the severe drought outside and suggested that the household reduce water usage and then provide relief to the people outside. Unexpectedly, the Fujin immediately agreed. As a result, Huanbi and the other second-class maids had almost half the water they could drink each day. Since her work involved water, Huanbi's dissatisfaction gradually accumulated and intensified with the summer heat.
On the third day after Lanqin suggested that the entire household reduce water usage, the women in various courtyards of the inner quarters, like Gengshi, went to the garden to fetch water. These included Xiangqiao from Consort Li's residence, Hongqian from Wushi's, Hongying from Wangshi's, Qingping, Songshi's personal maid, and Yeying, who rarely left the house. Huanbi was also there, and even a stranger, Yunyuan, Yanyu's maid. At first, each went only once at a different time, but the weather was unbearably hot, and now even their mistresses were using the garden water for bathing. The maids couldn't resist any longer, and so the maids from each courtyard began fetching water from the garden. To be honest, Bixin Lake wasn't a real lake at all; it was just a large pond, only containing the word "lake" in its name. Because of the sweltering summer heat, the water in Bixin Lake had dried up considerably. The young maids had to squat down, tie ropes to wooden buckets, and throw the buckets into the water to fetch a bucket of water. Sometimes Huanbi carried water alone, and sometimes Ziran accompanied her. The water they carried back was mainly used by the maids in the courtyard for bathing, while Li Shubao, Niu Baoquan, and a few other men also carried water themselves.
That evening, Huanbi arrived at the garden carrying two wooden buckets, intending to fetch some water to take back for a bath. Unfortunately, Yan Yu's maid, Yun Yuan, also arrived. Since there was only one designated spot for fetching water from Bixin Lake, everyone came to the same place.
Huanbi had just finished carrying two buckets of water and was about to turn back when she saw Yunyuan approaching with buckets of water as well. The two had only met a few times at Bixin Lake and didn't know each other. Huanbi, feeling hot, was walking quickly, and as she brushed past Yunyuan, she accidentally stepped on her foot. Because Huanbi was carrying two buckets of water, the step was quite heavy, and Yunyuan cried out, "Aren't you blind?!"
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