"Please rest assured, Madam. The First Prince and the Third Prince will be accompanied by their wet nurses and will rest in the front courtyard for a day." Chunliu said, as she and Dongmei put on the phoenix-shaped hairpin with pearls, kingfisher feathers, and gold thread, which symbolized Madam's status.
"Yes, you all need to be on your best today and not cause any trouble that would embarrass me!" The princess looked at herself in the bronze mirror and saw that she was indeed elegant and noble. Although she no longer had the air of a fourteen or fifteen-year-old girl, she had a mature charm and demeanor that was quite appealing.
After 9:00 AM, the Fujin ordered Chunliu to go to Yan Yu's room to invite the Fourth Prince to the front yard to greet the guests, while she herself was already waiting in the main house of the main courtyard, dressed in a bright red cheongsam with bat patterns and gold thread embroidery!
When Yan Yu saw Chun Liu coming to invite him, she knew she couldn't be late, so she went to her bedroom to wake up the Fourth Master, helped him change his clothes, and washed his face.
After Fourth Master and Chunliu left, Yan Yu looked at her apricot-colored cheongsam. The newcomer Fangyun, with her sweet tongue, noticed Yan Yu's slightly furrowed brows and said, "Gege has fair skin, so this dress doesn't stand out much. Why not change into a sky-blue one? It will definitely make you look like a fairy descended from heaven. Then Master will definitely not be able to take his eyes off you."
"You little rascal, you've got a sharp tongue. Come here, help me pick out an outfit!" Although Yan Yu knew she was flattering her, those words did make her feel very comfortable.
"Yes!" Fangyun replied with a smile, and then followed Yan Yu into her bedroom.
Meanwhile, in the South Courtyard, Lanqin was letting Nianxue and Xicha change clothes. They tried on one outfit after another, but the two maids always seemed dissatisfied with something. They tugged at Lanqin, gesturing and muttering to themselves, completely disregarding her as their mistress and treating her like a wooden mannequin.
"What are you two doing? Am I going out to meet the guests, or are you going out to meet them? I think that egg-yolk yellow one is very pretty. Don't pick anymore, I don't want to try it on, just take that one!" Lanqin finally couldn't hold back anymore. She knew she had nothing to do today; the Fourth Prince wouldn't pay much attention to her. She only needed to eat and drink well in the main courtyard and entertain the visiting princesses. If only the First Princess Consort came, she wouldn't have a chance to entertain them. Maybe after eating, she could find an excuse to slip away. Anyway, this was the Fourth Prince and his wife's show, so she shouldn't try to make her presence known.
“Princess, I think that light green one suits you very well, so let’s go with that one!” Xicha said.
Lanqin was about to agree when Nianxue said, "No, sky blue suits the princess's dress better. With pearl headdress, it will definitely be outstanding."
Well, these two girls are just indecisive!
"How about this, you play rock-paper-scissors, and whoever wins, I'll wear what they say, okay?" Lanqin was really frustrated, but she had no choice but to say it.
"Princess!!!" the two maids exclaimed in unison, expressing their protest against Lanqin's irresponsible choice of clothing!
"What else can we do? You keep changing your minds! Which one should I wear? My dear Nianxue and Xicha!" Lanqin started flirting with the two maids, begging them to leave her alone.
“I have an idea! Why don’t you wear my light green dress for half the day, and then change into this sky blue one after lunch? That would give people a refreshing feeling!” Xicha said as if she had thought of a brilliant idea.
"Oh, you bastards! Don't play this on me!" Lanqin wailed, wishing her legs would give way and she could just faint.
“That’s a good idea, Princess, let’s do it this way!” Nianxue rarely agreed with Xicha’s suggestion. She then looked at Lanqin, who was already on the verge of fainting.
When Lanqin came out, everyone saw her wearing a pearl headdress and a light green qipao, and she was being helped by Nianxue to go to the front yard.
"Ziran, you and Uncle Li are in charge of looking after Fubao today. If I can get back sooner, then I will." Lanqin had once heard Nianxue talk about Ziran's behavior when she fell ill, so her impression of her had improved.
"Yes, Princess, please rest assured, this servant will not let Fu Bao look too much like its mother!" Zi Ran often heard Lan Qin refer to herself as "mother" in front of this little dog, so she joked.
"Haha, Zi Ran, you can joke now!" Lan Qin finally broke free from the boredom of changing clothes, and her mood improved thanks to Zi Ran's joke.
When Lanqin, Nianxue, and Xicha arrived at the main courtyard, Li, Song, Wang, Wu, and Geng were already there. Of course, there was one more person, Yan Yu, who had just entered the mansion. Yin was still under house arrest and was not allowed to come out.
Today, Consort Li wore an orange cheongsam, perfectly suited to her status; Consort Song wore a moon-white cheongsam, simple yet fitting her temperament; Consort Wang wore a pale yellow; Consort Wu wore her favorite light peach-pink; and Consort Geng, deviating from her usual simplicity, wore a light pink cheongsam, quite stylish. Yan Yu naturally wore the sky-blue recommended by Fang Yun. When Lan Qin saw her, she was relieved she hadn't worn that sky-blue, otherwise they would have worn the same outfit!
“Sister Niu, you look so good in this color and with your headdress!” Yan Yu suddenly came up to Lan Qin and took her hand.
"Princess Yan Yu is joking. I might even be older than you. I should be the one calling you 'little sister'!" Lan Qin looked at Yan Yu's meticulously made-up face and seemed to see a hint of mockery and jealousy deep in her eyes.
"We were even in the same batch of imperial concubines! I never imagined we'd end up meeting again at the Fourth Prince's residence. Isn't that amazing?" Yan Yu pulled Lan Qin aside, her face always beaming with a warm smile, but in her heart, she harbored deep resentment towards Lan Qin. She hadn't forgotten how, on her first day at the Fourth Prince's residence, the Fourth Prince had abandoned his bride and gone to the South Courtyard. Although he hadn't spent the night there, he had ultimately considered Lan Qin's feelings and had left her behind to see her.
"Oh, what a coincidence." Lanqin subtly withdrew her arm from Yan Yu's grasp, walked to Geng Shi's side, and began to speak with her.
Seeing that Lanqin did not want to talk to her, Yan Yu was not annoyed. She walked past Lanqin and went to Li Shi's side to exchange pleasantries.
As they were talking, the Fujin (principal wife) led several women dressed in similar colors to her into the main courtyard. Behind them followed several women in various colored Manchu dresses. Lanqin spotted Dongshi among the crowd at a glance, and a deep smile immediately appeared on her lips.
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