"Hmm, I hope so. Oh, does Sister live in a courtyard by herself?" The two talked as they walked, and had already reached the entrance of the South Courtyard. Nianxue stepped forward and knocked on the door. After a short while, Granny Wang took the door bolt from the inside and pushed open a vermilion door from the inside.
Lanqin nodded, then pulled Dong Shi up the steps and into the South Courtyard.
As she walked, Madam Dong looked around at the layout and decoration of the South Courtyard and exclaimed, "Sister Niu must be very much favored by the Fourth Prince. This is hardly the place for a princess. Compared to you, I feel like I'm living in a shabby room."
Hearing Dong's praise, Lanqin felt a sweet warmth in her heart. She thought about how she had been favored by the Fourth Master since entering the mansion, and how, apart from the incident with Yin, she had not suffered any hardships along the way. In short, things had gone smoothly for her.
“Sister, don’t worry. Once you give birth to your son, you will rise in rank because of your son, and I’m sure Seventh Master will promote you,” Lanqin comforted her.
Madam Dong nodded happily and entered the main house with Lanqin. When she discovered that Lanqin had ice in her room, she envied her even more, since a princess was not entitled to enjoy ice. She had never had ice before, but because she was pregnant, the Seventh Prince took pity on her and gave her ice in her room.
Meanwhile, when the Fujin (principal wife) led everyone to Xiaoyin Pavilion to watch the opera, she was surprised to find that the Fourth Prince had also arrived with his brothers. Fortunately, Yan Yu had reminded them beforehand and had specially arranged many seats in Xiaoyin Pavilion, otherwise it would have been quite an awkward situation. The princes and their families naturally sat together, except for the Seventh Prince, who sat alone next to the Eighth Prince, while his wife, Lady Dong, was nowhere to be seen.
When the Fourth Prince saw this, he frowned slightly and asked in a gentle voice, "Seventh Prince, I remember you brought a princess with you, where is she?" After saying that, he turned to look at the Princess Consort, implying that the Seventh Prince's princess was missing.
"I was just wondering too. Has Fourth Sister-in-law seen Lady Dong?" The seventh prince had always been somewhat insecure, never complaining to Kangxi about being mistreated. He had noticed Lady Dong's absence earlier, assuming she might be using the restroom or something else, but after waiting for a while without her appearing, he began to worry. However, he was also someone who didn't want to cause trouble for others, and seeing Fourth Princess Consort busy attending to everyone and constantly by Fourth Prince's side, he felt too embarrassed to ask.
"This, I just clearly saw her..." When the Fourth Prince asked, the Fujin immediately scanned all the tables and found that Dong Shi was nowhere to be seen. Not only her, but she also did not see Niu Shi. She frowned deeply.
"Reporting to Your Highness, I saw Consort Dong and my lady go to the restroom together. Perhaps I should go and call them?" Just as the Princess was struggling to answer, a maid with thick eyebrows and large eyes suddenly curtsied and said. Li Mama, who was beside the Princess, immediately went behind her and said in an extremely low voice that this woman was indeed Huanbi, a maid transferred from the South Courtyard.
"Oh. I see. Huanbi, go and call Dong Gege and your master." Fourth Master recognized Huanbi and immediately said.
"Yes." Huanbi stepped back.
With the sound of gongs and drums and the lingering sounds of Beijing opera, everyone was immediately distracted by the expression on Xiaoyin Pavilion's face and stopped paying attention to such a trivial matter.
Meanwhile, Lanqin never expected that the Fujin's departure with Dong Shi would create an ugly situation for her, nor did she expect that the Fourth Prince and his group would go to watch the show.
"Does this really improve your skin?" Mrs. Dong asked, holding the cucumber slices that Lanqin had put on her face, while also holding a glass of Lanqin's specially made iced milk tea.
“Of course, it’s not much trouble anyway. And now that you’re pregnant, you can’t use other scented powders or skincare products. This natural cucumber mask is the best choice. Once your skin is healthy, Seventh Master will naturally favor you more.” Lanqin and Madam Dong lay side by side on the main couch, letting Nianxue and Ziran each apply cucumber slices to them.
"Hehe, my sister will cancel me." Although Dong said this, she was secretly pleased.
Just as Lanqin was about to speak again, Huanbi walked in from outside and curtsied, saying, "Your Highness, the master wants you to go to Xiaoyin Pavilion with Dong Gege to watch a play immediately."
Seeing Huanbi trying various ways to squeeze into the inner hall, Nianxue couldn't help but ask, "Did the masters go to watch the opera too?"
Lanqin and Madam Dong stood up in surprise, clearly just as Nianxue had thought.
Huanbi did not directly answer Nianxue's question, but said, "Your Highness, all the princes, wives, concubines and princesses are currently watching a play at Xiaoyin Pavilion. Seventh Prince couldn't see Dong Gege, so I took the opportunity to say that Dong Gege had gone to relieve herself with you. That's how I got the chance to see you. Please come with me immediately, otherwise, if it takes too long, I'm afraid it will arouse your suspicion."
Lanqin immediately picked up a towel and wiped the cucumber slices off her face. Dong Shi naturally followed suit and wiped the cucumber slices off her face as well, a hint of panic flashing in her eyes.
"I understand, Sister Dong, come with me to Xiaoyin Pavilion immediately." Lanqin took Nianxue's outstretched arm, and the maid who was with Dong Shi immediately helped her own princess up. The two of them let them brush off the wrinkles on their bodies, and after checking their hair, they followed Huanbi out of the South Courtyard.
"Sister, we came here without permission. Won't that displease the Fourth Prince?" Dong asked, following beside Lanqin. She wasn't worried about the Seventh Prince, but she was afraid that Lanqin would be reprimanded for it.
"No, my sister just told Huanbi that she went to relieve herself with me. She stopped to admire the beautiful scenery of the small garden for a while. It's nothing serious." Lanqin patted Dongshi's nervous hand.
When they arrived at Xiaoyin Pavilion, Madam Dong helped her personal maid to Seventh Master's side, whispered a few words in his ear, and then sat down next to him. Lanqin naturally walked carefully to the seat behind Fourth Master, glancing at the profiles of Fourth Master and his wife as she went, hoping not to disturb their performance.
"oops!"
Suddenly, a sweet voice called out from beside Lanqin. Zhaojia frowned and said, "Why don't you watch where you're going? You stepped on my foot."
With this sudden rebuke, everyone's attention was undoubtedly drawn.
The Thirteenth Prince quickly pulled Zhao Jia's arm, signaling her not to make a fuss, and said to Lan Qin, "Princess Niu, please sit down, she's fine."
However, Lady Zhaojia was unwilling to comply. Originally, she did not want to say anything more after Lanqin apologized to her, but when she heard the Thirteenth Prince say this, she was already unhappy about him taking Princess Chen on the tour, and this completely aroused her dissatisfaction.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
