In the Prince's Mansion, in the East Courtyard, a maidservant hurried along a winding path, her head bowed.
Without informing anyone, he pushed open the door, his expression tense. Nian, who was taking a nap, removed her hand from her forehead, frowned, and scolded, "What's the matter that's so urgent? What kind of behavior is this, so impulsive and unruly?"
"Reporting to Consort, the General has sent a letter this year!" The maid was a little out of breath from the journey, so she knelt down and lowered her voice as she presented the letter with both hands.
Upon hearing that it was a letter from her brother, Lady Nian was wide awake. She hurriedly got up, took the letter, and unfolded it to read. Excitedly, she said, "Brother says that Fourth Master ordered him to send five thousand men to Ganzhou to support Seventeenth Master. Brother plans to use this opportunity to have Fourth Master avenge Hongsheng..." Lady Nian finished reading the letter, trembling, and held it to her chest, gritting her teeth as she said, "Brother still remembers my suffering and has found an opportunity to avenge Hongsheng!"
Seeing that Lady Nian was unsteady, the maid supported her with both hands and comforted her, "Don't worry, Madam. Since General Nian said he would avenge the prince, he will definitely do it. Madam, please take care of yourself and wait for good news!"
After her initial excitement subsided, Lady Nian instructed her maid, "Go, go and find out for me whether the Prince has agreed!" Lady Nian was still uneasy, after all, the Fourth Prince's mind was unpredictable, and if he did not agree, even if General Nian intervened, it would be of no use.
Bang……
A cup of tea was flung against the corner, scattering tea leaves all over the floor. The angry man was none other than the Fourth Master. The servants, who were trembling with fear, saw Lanqin arrive and stared at her as if she were their savior. Lanqin dismissed the servants, who tidied up the mess, and then calmly reassured the Fourth Master: "Fourth Master, what has caused your anger?"
The Fourth Prince tossed Nian Gengyao's letter to Lanqin, who took it and immediately understood everything.
The Fourth Prince was still angry, and his voice was a little loud: "I ordered him to send people to support the Seventeenth Brother, but he actually mentioned Hong Sheng's death in his letter."
Lanqin put down the letter, walked to the table, and bent down to pick up the inkstone to grind the ink. When Fourth Master saw that Lanqin did not speak, he asked, "What's your opinion?"
Lanqin raised her head and replied nonchalantly, "I don't blame him for having such thoughts. The concubine has always been resentful about Hongsheng's death, so it's understandable that General Nian brought it up. It's just that he shouldn't have used military power as a bargaining chip!" What Lanqin said was exactly what angered the Fourth Prince. Lanqin understood the Fourth Prince best.
Fourth Master frowned and said, "If we don't agree to his demands, he'll definitely find some excuses to delay Seventeen's thorough investigation of Magistrate Lou..." Lan Qin continued grinding ink, "If we agree to his demands, it will only embolden him, and he'll use military achievements to gain influence and negotiate with military power in the future..."
This is what the Fourth Prince is worried about. The Nian family has military power and military achievements, and the court cannot do without them for the time being. If he agrees to their demands, wouldn't that be indulging them to do whatever they want and disregard the imperial orders and authority?
Lanqin put down the inkstone, walked to the table, picked up the teapot, and poured a cup of tea. She handed it to the Fourth Prince and calmly advised, "Your Highness, the Seventeenth Prince's matter is more important. Why not reply to him and agree to his request first? Besides, he is doing this for Hongsheng, to appease the Nian family. It's beneficial for both of us." Lanqin considered the bigger picture and persuaded the Fourth Prince to agree to Nian Gengyao's request first.
After a moment of contemplation, the Fourth Prince decided to first agree to Nian Gengyao's request to thoroughly investigate Hongsheng's death in order to alleviate the Seventeenth Prince's immediate crisis. He then looked at Lanqin with satisfaction. Lanqin's gaze fell on the pen and ink on the table. It turned out that after reading the letter, she had weighed her options and decided to persuade the Fourth Prince to agree to Nian Gengyao's request. So the Fourth Prince got up and picked up his pen to write a letter...
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