“Your Excellency, my princess is a princess from the Fourth Prince’s household,” Nianxue replied.
Upon hearing this, Consort Hui asked, "It is said that the Fourth Prince brought two princesses with him, one from the Niohuru clan and the other from the Ulanara clan. May I ask which princess yours is?" After speaking, she looked Lanqin up and down with her delicate eyebrows.
"Your Majesty, I am of the Niohuru clan," Lanqin said, nodding slightly.
"So you're Consort Lan's sister. Why don't you come in and have a chat? I'm rather bored anyway," Consort Hui said, her eyes flashing slightly.
Lanqin hadn't expected her to invite her into the house, but she didn't want to go back immediately, so she curtsied and said, "Thank you, Your Excellency. I'm sorry to have bothered you."
Consort Hui turned around, took Suoqiu's hand and walked inside, while Lanqin followed with Nianxue's arm.
The living quarters of the emperor's women and the princes' women were naturally different. Lanqin noticed that the furnishings and decorations in this room were more numerous than those in her own. After Consort Hui and Lanqin sat down as host and guest, she said to another palace maid in the room, "Jingxue, go and serve tea to Consort Niu."
Lanqin immediately stood up from her seat, curtsied, and said, "Thank you for the tea, sir."
Consort Hui said kindly, "Sister, there's no need for such formalities. Speaking of which, Consort Lan and I were in the same batch of imperial concubines, so naturally we were in the same batch as you. May I ask where you lived back then, and which tutor you were with?"
Consort Hui's smile was also extremely pleasing to the eye. At this moment, a smile as beautiful as a hibiscus or peony was blooming on her lips. As she spoke of these things, it was as if she was reminiscing with Lanqin about the time when she was selected by Pingque.
"Replying to Your Highness, I was living in Chuxiu Palace at the time, and I was taught manners by Granny Dai." Lanqin tried hard to recall the remaining memories in her mind for a week, but she still couldn't remember Consort Hui's face.
“Oh, I’m from Shufangzhai. No wonder I haven’t seen you before, Sister Niu.” Consort Hui said, “I think we get along quite well. I wonder if you could come over and chat with me often in the future? I haven’t had anyone to talk to while I’m away these days.”
Lanqin hadn't expected Consort Hui to make such a suggestion, but thinking about it, she realized she really had no one to talk to. She really didn't want to befriend Yan Yu, and Consort Hui was someone she had no connection with. It wouldn't hurt to chat and visit occasionally, though it felt a bit sudden. But seeing that Consort Hui seemed to be a kind-hearted person, Lanqin nodded and replied, "Your Majesty, I am honored by Consort Hui's favor. I will come to bother you from now on."
Consort Hui immediately stood up, walked to Lanqin's side, took her hand and said, "Sister, you must come often in the future. This time, only Consort Lan and I accompanied the Emperor on his tour. However, my personality is quite different from Consort Lan's, and we rarely talk to each other. Now that I have seen you, sister, I finally have someone to talk to."
Lanqin was about to reply when suddenly an unpleasant sound came from her stomach...
Feeling hungry, she and Nianxue had been walking around the palace for most of the hour and had almost finished their lunch.
Lanqin glanced awkwardly at Consort Hui, afraid of disturbing her. But Consort Hui smiled and said, "Sister, why don't you have dinner with me? I haven't eaten yet either."
Lanqin was so embarrassed that she wished she could disappear into a hole in the ground. But when Consort Hui invited her to stay for a meal, how could she refuse? She quickly nodded in agreement.
"Suoqiu, go set the table." Consort Hui led Lanqin to a side room and sat her down. There, plates of imperial dishes were laid out, much better than the lunch that had been brought to them. Lanqin was hungry, and Consort Hui's kind and friendly attitude, along with her overtures, made her feel more at ease. She then enjoyed a meal with Consort Hui, chatting and laughing.
"Sister, this abalone soup is excellent, you should try it!" Consort Hui personally ladled a bowl of the last pot of fish soup that Suoqiu had served and placed it in front of Lanqin.
"Thank you, Sister Hui. I'm afraid Lanqin can't drink anything right now, so she can only taste it." Lanqin picked up a spoon, scooped up a spoonful, and tasted it.
"It is indeed delicious. But I really can't eat anymore." Lanqin really couldn't eat another bite, but she couldn't bear to refuse Consort Hui's enthusiasm, so she took a bite.
"Look at my sister, my appetite seems to have improved a lot too." Consort Hui was surprised to see Lanqin eating, but she kept urging Lanqin to eat more.
"Then, sister, come and keep me company whenever you have time. However, in a few days, we will all be going south with His Majesty. If you are bored, Lanqin can come to your carriage whenever she has time and chat with you, how about that?" At this moment, Lanqin completely regarded Consort Hui as a new good friend.
“Very good. Come over whenever you have time, sister. It’s inconvenient for me to visit you,” said Consort Hui.
After chatting with Consort Hui about some interesting things, Lanqin took her leave. Consort Hui specially sent Suoqiu to escort Lanqin back. After they left, the dignified and gentle smile on Consort Hui's face gradually disappeared.
"Your Highness, I don't quite understand why you're trying to curry favor with this Lady Niu. She's not even one of our concubines." Jingxue served Consort Hui a cup of tea and stood by her side. Seeing that Consort Hui was staring at the teacup without saying a word, she asked.
"She also has the surname Niohuru, and she's Consort Lan's younger sister. Tell me, do I have any reason not to befriend her?" Consort Hui's eyes were now filled with a coldness, as if she were a completely different person from the charming and gentle woman who had just been smiling in front of Lan Qin.
“This servant misspoke, please calm down, Your Highness! It’s just that Your Highness has gotten close to her, but she is, after all, the sister of Consort Lan. She probably won’t help us deal with Consort Lan!” Jingxue said. In fact, she was not so much expressing her own doubts as she was simply stating everything that Consort Hui was thinking at that moment.
"The more you understand your enemy, the more likely you are to find their weaknesses. I approached this Lanqin because I wanted to learn more about Consort Lan from her. If I make good use of her, it might achieve unexpected results for me." Consort Hui was furious when she thought of how Holland had been serving Emperor Kangxi every night for the past few days and even being able to stay with him in the imperial tent.
As for Lanqin, when she returned to her room, the maids were so anxious that they almost couldn't help but go out to call for Fourth Master. They finally saw Lanqin and Nianxue return, and only then did they feel relieved.
While serving Lanqin as she washed up, Nianxue couldn't help but say, "Princess, I feel that Consort Hui was being a little too nice to you. We only met her for the first time, and she already seemed to have a crush on you. I only know the old saying, 'People don't do things without a purpose!'"
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