The next morning, Lanqin had just finished her breakfast when someone from the front yard came to tell her that a eunuch had arrived.
Lanqin was taken aback, and quickly changed her clothes and helped the maid to the front yard.
The head eunuch, unaware of Lanqin's identity, glanced at the servant beside him, who whispered an introduction: "This is the concubine of Prince Yong..."
The eunuch smiled and bowed to Lanqin, saying politely, "Greetings, Consort. Please invite the Fourth Prince's wife and the rest of the household to come and hear my decree..."
Lanqin paused for a moment, then suddenly realized what was happening and quickly ordered the servants and maids to go to each courtyard to invite their master.
Lanqin invited the eunuch to sit down and had a maid brew him a cup of fine tea. The eunuch's eyes nearly popped out of his head as he drank it, and he kept praising it.
Before long, Fourth Princess Consort arrived first with Hongshi. Before even entering the room, she was beaming with pride and joy. Then, Lady Nian, Lady Wu, Lady Song, and Lady Geng also arrived, and the room was suddenly filled with people, whispering and speculating about what was going on.
Hongli was the last to enter the room. He glanced at the people inside, walked to Hongzhou's side, lowered his head, and remained silent. Hongzhou glanced at Hongli.
The eunuch coughed, and the room fell silent instantly.
The Fourth Prince's wife walked gracefully over, nodded slightly, and smiled at the eunuch, saying, "I am the Fourth Prince's wife of the Yong Prince's residence. Everyone in the residence, from the highest to the lowest ranks, is present. Eunuch, you may now announce what you have to say..."
Hongshi followed, deliberately standing in front of Lanqin. Lanqin consciously stepped back and returned to the crowd.
The Fourth Princess Consort glanced at Lanqin and chuckled.
Lanqin pretended not to see it, ignoring the Fourth Princess's little actions, but everything was observed by Wu and Song. The two unconsciously moved closer to Lanqin. Lanqin glanced back, and the two smiled and nodded slightly as a greeting.
Immediately afterwards, the eunuch solemnly produced the imperial edict, opened it with both hands, and everyone knelt down...
"Prince Yong, Yinzhen, is of noble character and possesses both virtue and talent. In accordance with the late Emperor's will, the throne will be passed to him. Before his ascension, all affairs of the Prince's residence will be managed by his secondary consort..." The eunuch paused here, glancing furtively at Lanqin kneeling in the crowd, somewhat surprised, before continuing, "with the assistance of the Third Prince, Fourth Prince, and Fifth Prince... So be it..."
"Ascension to the throne?" Lady Nian blurted out. "Fourth Prince is the next emperor?" Lady Nian excitedly looked up and asked the eunuch. The eunuch smiled and nodded silently. Lady Nian was instantly overjoyed, her words tumbling out incoherently, "That's wonderful...that's wonderful..."
The Fourth Prince's wife had been resentful of Lanqin's management of the inner court, and now that Nianshi had fallen into her trap, she glared fiercely at Nianshi and reprimanded her for not knowing the proper etiquette. Only then did Nianshi realize what was happening and, along with everyone else, thanked the emperor and accepted the decree. The eunuch put away the imperial decree, intending to hand it to the Fourth Prince's wife, but then glanced timidly at Lanqin. Seeing that Lanqin had no expression, he had no choice but to pass it on to the Fourth Prince's wife.
The Fourth Prince's wife hurriedly opened the imperial edict. Hongshi read it several times, secretly delighted. With the Fourth Prince ascending the throne, she becoming Empress, and Hongshi being the eldest son of a prince, he had the best chance of becoming Crown Prince. Even the Fourth Prince's anger at having Lanqin preside over the ceremony vanished...
Madam Wu and Madam Song rose and helped Lanqin up, their faces beaming with smiles. Lanqin felt no surprise; everything was proceeding as planned, unchanged from the course of history.
After seeing off the eunuch who delivered the imperial decree, the Fourth Princess Consort did not linger in the front courtyard and returned home with Hongshi.
The news of the Fourth Prince's impending ascension to the throne spread throughout the Prince's mansion, filling everyone with excitement and anticipation. However, this atmosphere clashed sharply with the preparations underway for Emperor Kangxi's funeral…
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