After the Fourth Prince saw the Crown Prince off, he saw that the Third Prince was already quite drunk. He was pulling the Fifth Prince aside and nagging, "Fourth Prince, you have quite the influence, even the Second Prince came to congratulate you on your birthday." The "Second Prince" he was referring to was the Crown Prince Yinren.
"Fourth Prince, I really admire you. Both Father Emperor and the Crown Prince think you do a good job, unlike me, who gets scolded by Father Emperor for compiling a book." The Third Prince had recently been scolded by Emperor Kangxi for compiling a book, and today, taking advantage of drinking, he poured out his heart.
"Fourth Brother is naturally extraordinary. After all, he was raised by Father Emperor for two years. His relationship with Father Emperor and the Crown Prince is something we can't compare to." It was the Eighth Prince who said this. His words were ostensibly praising the Fourth Prince, but they subtly placed the Fourth Prince on the opposite side from the other brothers, which was quite damaging.
Fourth Prince glanced at Eighth Prince, curled his lips and said, "Brothers, let's not talk about palace affairs today, just drink. There's also a play to listen to later, so please make yourselves at home."
Seeing that Fourth Master didn't respond to the question, Eighth Master didn't say anything more and could only raise his glass along with the others. But as he drank, he felt a stern and cold gaze sweep over his head, making him quite uncomfortable. However, when he looked back, he saw nothing but Fourth Master talking very well with Thirteenth Master. But the gaze had clearly come from that direction.
Meanwhile, on the women's side, the game of beating drums and reciting congratulatory words had long ended, and the Fujin had already arranged for everyone to take their seats, where they were now enjoying various rare dishes. The Fujin and the secondary Fujin sat at one table, while the princesses from various households and Lanqin and others sat at another. Both tables were set up in the main house of the main courtyard, and the room was full of people. Maids could be seen moving around among them, making it quite lively.
Lanqin naturally sat down next to Madam Dong and Madam Geng. She was clearly more interested in the delicacies on the table than in listening to the idle chatter of the wives and princesses. Therefore, she ignored even Guarjia's repeated attempts to sow discord. However, this made the latter even angrier. She thought that Lanqin was deliberately ignoring her, and she was really upset.
"Do you know which concubines and noble ladies His Majesty took with him on this southern tour?" The speaker was Lady Zhaojia, the Thirteenth Prince's wife.
“We have no idea that my mother-in-law has fallen out of favor with the Emperor and we can’t hear anything from her anymore,” replied the Eighth Prince’s wife, Lady Guoluo.
“I heard that the Emperor didn’t bring any of his concubines this time, but only his lesser consorts. For example, the most favored Consort Lan, of the Niohuru clan; and Consort Hui, of the Shu clan,” Zhao Jia said, listing them off as if they were her own.
Originally, Lanqin had no interest in what concubines or noble ladies Emperor Kangxi had with him, but when she heard the words "Niohuru clan, Noble Lady Lan," her perked-up ears picked it up without fail.
"You know, don't blame your fourth sister-in-law for not reminding you, it's better to know less about these things," the fourth princess suddenly said.
"By the way, how do you know about the Emperor?" Guo Luoluo asked curiously.
Lanqin couldn't help but glance at the Eighth Prince's wife. To marry a handsome man like Takeshi Kaneshiro, she must be a celestial beauty. However, after looking at Lady Guoluo more closely, a thought popped into Lanqin's mind: Why do handsome men always marry women who are not their equals? To be honest, Lady Guoluo wasn't exactly a beauty; her features were rather ordinary. Only her demeanor and bearing were somewhat striking, barely compensating for her plain appearance. Lanqin had learned from various unofficial histories and TV dramas that this Eighth Prince's wife was no ordinary woman. The Eighth Prince's ability to earn the title of "Eighth Virtuous Prince" was inextricably linked to this Lady Guoluo's skill in cultivating relationships.
"This is something Eighth Sister-in-law doesn't need to know. Anyway, the Emperor only brought along minor noble ladies, and I'm afraid all of us gentlemen are planning to bring our princesses along as well." Zhao Jia then revealed the reason why she brought up this topic.
Lanqin's heart skipped a beat for no reason. She thought to herself, "Why did you bring this up out of the blue?" Ironically, she had already agreed to the matter the Fourth Master had mentioned, which happened to be somewhat related to this Lady Zhaojia.
Upon hearing this, the wives and concubines all wore expressions of disappointment, clearly indicating that the princes had brought princesses with them. The princesses sitting at the table, naturally, also felt uncomfortable hearing this.
"I heard that Fourth Sister-in-law has prepared a play for us. Why don't we go and listen to it? We've eaten enough, let's save some room," Eighth Princess Consort suddenly said, breaking the slightly awkward silence.
Upon hearing her say this, everyone was eager to escape the atmosphere from before and immediately echoed her sentiments.
Lanqin glanced at Dongshi and said, "Let's go to my courtyard later." The latter nodded in understanding. Hearing them say this, she also wanted to go with them, but she hesitated because the Fujin had arranged this scene, and she was worried that if she didn't go, it might displease the Fujin.
Everyone left the table one after another. Because she had made an appointment with Madam Dong, Lanqin deliberately walked at the very back. After they helped their maids to Wang Xiaoyin Pavilion, Lanqin and Madam Dong walked hand in hand, chatting and laughing, towards the South Courtyard.
"Sister, I'm pregnant." Madam Dong's voice was incredibly gentle at this moment, seemingly completely different from when they met just four months ago.
"What? You're pregnant!" Lanqin was shocked when she heard this. She took Dong's hand and looked at her belly.
"It's only been a little over two months, you can't tell anything yet." Mrs. Dong's face was practically dripping with happiness.
"Oh, Sister Dong, I really envy you. Is the Seventh Prince treating you well? And what about his primary wife, Lady Nara?" Although it wasn't her who was pregnant, Lanqin was still as happy as if she were pregnant herself when she heard that Lady Dong was pregnant.
"Seventh Master treats me quite well, but his primary wife..." At this point, a shadow crossed Dong's face.
"Is the Seventh Princess Consort making things difficult for you?" Lanqin asked.
"No, but I used to see things like this at home. Sister Niu, I'm really worried that this child won't be born safely, and even if he is, he won't grow up safely." Fear showed in Dong's eyes. Before, when she was still unmarried, her father's aunt had inexplicably miscarried. Later, she discovered from her mother's casual conversation that those unborn children didn't just disappear for no reason.
"You're probably overthinking it. There aren't that many conspiracies! Besides, if you're more respectful to the primary wife, and with Seventh Master's help, it shouldn't be as serious as you think." Lanqin could only comfort her like this. Actually, she wasn't very confident either, since Madam Yin's child had also mysteriously disappeared.
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