Fourth Master had lunch at Lanqin's place and then rested for a while. Lanqin couldn't sleep; she did nothing but eat and sleep all day and seemed to have gained weight. So she decided not to sleep at noon, since she wasn't lacking in sleep anyway. While Fourth Master rested in the house, Lanqin went to the courtyard to play "frisbee" with Fubao.
Fu Bao has become very good at playing this fetch game with Lan Qin, and can even hear some of Lan Qin's commands. For example, if Lan Qin says "sit down," it sits down; if Lan Qin says "lie down," it lies down immediately; if Lan Qin says "stand up," it can even stand up on its own two feet.
"Princess Niu, you've trained this little fellow so well he's become quite human! You've trained him better than those eunuchs in the palace dog kennels." Su Peisheng sat resting under the grapevines in the courtyard. He could only rest for an hour during the Fourth Prince's afternoon nap. Lanqin, seeing how tired he was, had suggested he take a nap in the side room, but he refused. The Fourth Prince needed to be served at all times, and even when he was asleep, Su Peisheng, his personal eunuch, had to stay by his side.
“Dogs are very intelligent and can do many things. Besides guarding the house, they can also be guide dogs, police dogs, and do housework…” Lanqin’s imagination ran wild as she spoke, until she saw Su Peisheng’s brows furrowing more and more exaggeratedly, and then she shut up.
“Girl Niu, I don’t understand what you just said.” Su Peisheng knew that this Lady Niu sometimes said some strange things, but he really didn’t understand what she just said at all.
"Eunuch Su, look, the grapes on your head seem ripe. Would you like to pick some and try them?" Lanqin winked at Xicha, signaling her to quickly brew some tea for Su Peisheng, hoping he would forget her earlier "alien language." Su Peisheng loved tea. This was the first time he'd seen Xicha brewing tea for the Fourth Master at Lanqin's place, and Xicha had specifically pointed out many of the Fourth Master's requirements and characteristics regarding tea drinking. Judging from Su Peisheng's knowledge of tea, Lanqin deduced that he must be a passionate tea connoisseur.
“Hmm, these grapes are red, but they won’t be sweet until they turn purple or black. Um…” Su Peisheng had clearly not forgotten the words Lan Qin had just uttered, and was about to ask again when he took a cup of fragrant Biluochun tea and immediately sniffed it.
"Eunuch Su, I've brewed some Biluochun tea. Please try it and see if I poured it at the right time." At Lanqin's prompting, Xicha brought the brewed tea to Su Peisheng.
Sure enough, upon seeing the tea available, Su Peisheng immediately forgot what he was going to ask. He promptly took the tea from Xicha, took a sip, smacked his lips, and began to say, "Xicha, the water temperature shouldn't be fully boiling yet, right? Listen to me..."
Seeing that she had successfully changed the subject from Su Peisheng, Lanqin smiled and started playing with Fubao again.
Meanwhile, when Yan Yu arrived at the east courtyard, Madam Li was taking a midday rest. Mingyan and Xiangqiao were washing and drying the Fourth Prince's clothes in the courtyard. When they saw Yan Yu coming over, they asked, "Princess Yan Yu, why have you come now?"
Yan Yu hurriedly said, "I know I've bothered Consort Li several times today, but I really have something urgent to attend to. Is Consort Li taking a midday rest?"
Mingyan nodded and said, "Princess Yanyu, would you like to sit here for a while? This servant will go and see if the concubine has woken up."
Yan Yu nodded, looking grateful, and said, "If the concubine hasn't woken up yet, I can wait here."
Xiangqiao led Yanyu to a side room to rest, while Mingyan went to Li's bedroom in the main room to listen. She saw Que'er dozing off at the door.
Mingyan walked over to Que'er and nudged her shoulder, and Que'er immediately woke up with a start.
"Que'er, wake up!" Mingyan knew that Madam Li had been paying close attention to this Yan Yu Gege lately, and had even sent someone to keep an eye on her every move. Therefore, she didn't dare to disturb Madam Li's lunch.
"What is it?!" Que'er was a little impatient. She was quite unhappy when she saw Mingyan wake her up. In this small courtyard, Que'er had gradually become the most important person by Li Shi's side.
"Princess Yan Yu is here. Judging from her appearance, she seems to have something urgent to discuss with the Princess!" Mingyan said.
At this moment, Que'er was fully awake. Upon hearing that it was Yan Yu, she yawned, fought off her sleepiness, and said, "I'll go into the room to see if the Fujin is awake yet. You can have her wait in the side room first."
Mingyan nodded and immediately left. Que'er gently pushed open the door and cautiously went inside.
Ice blocks were placed in all four corners of the room, and the dripping sound of melting ice was particularly clear amidst the rising smoke from the Boshan incense burner. In the center of the room hung a pink silk canopy, behind which slept a person on the main couch: a slender, jade-like hand peeked out from behind the canopy. The person inside had hair piled high like lead, skin like solidified cream, eyebrows like distant mountains, and lips like peach blossoms—hence the Fourth Master's favor over the past ten years. Who else could it be but Lady Li!
Que'er walked to the gauze curtain, squatted down, and softly called, "Fujin, Fujin!"
The person inside the tent gave a soft "hmm," turned over slightly, and then parted their lips to say, "Hmm..."
Que'er immediately lowered her head and whispered, "Madam, Princess Yan Yu has come over and says it's urgent!"
Li's long eyelashes, like small fans, covered her flawless white eyelids. She only opened them when she heard Que'er utter those words.
Meanwhile, Yan Yu was pacing anxiously back and forth in the side room. The thought of the Fujin sending her back to the Ulanara Mansion early the next morning made her extremely agitated.
There must be a way, there must be some way! She kept repeating this sentence to herself.
"Sister!" Li was wearing a skin-colored gauze dress, and her hair was simply tied up in two buns. She looked like she had just gotten out of bed.
"Sister, save me!" Yan Yu cried out as soon as she saw Li Shi, grabbing Li Shi's hand and saying excitedly.
“What do you mean by this, sister? Come, sit down and tell me slowly.” Madam Li pulled Yan Yu’s hand and sat her down, then wiped the tears from Yan Yu’s face with the handkerchief in her hand.
"The Fujin (principal wife) wants me to go home tomorrow. She clearly doesn't want me to come to the manor." Yan Yu no longer wanted to call the Fujin "sister," and directly addressed her by her official title.
When Li heard Yan Yu address her own sister in such a way, she sneered inwardly, but on the surface she feigned disbelief and asked, "Why exactly does the Princess Consort not want you to enter the household?"
Yan Yu was about to speak about what the Fujin was worried about, but then she changed her mind and said, "She's afraid that I'll come into the mansion and steal her favor. In short, she doesn't want me to stay here any longer. Before, at home, Father always put her first. We other sisters were all born out of wedlock, so naturally we couldn't compare to her. Now, seeing my brother-in-law favoring me, I'm afraid she's feeling uncomfortable."
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