Next to arrive outside the gate were Fifth Master and Fifth Princess, and Seventh Master and Seventh Concubine. Although the two families arrived at the same time, it did not affect the parking at all.
The eunuchs and maids served the Fifth Prince's family and the Seventh Prince's family in an orderly manner. Each family had a designated person to greet them at the gate, guide them, and serve them inside the Yuanmingyuan. Lanqin named these people as "private butlers." The private butlers were required to learn about each family's preferences in advance and provide one-on-one service. They were responsible not only for guiding them but also for arranging all their activities within the courtyard.
The Fifth Prince's family was arranged to rest at Guanlan Hall, while the Seventh Prince's family was arranged to rest at Pinghu Qiuyue. Following closely behind were the Tenth Prince and his tenth concubine, who were also led by palace maids to Xiushanfang to rest.
The Eighth Prince arrived early, and his carriage with his wife stopped at the entrance of the Yuanmingyuan. The Eighth Prince thought that, unlike before, he would either have to wait in line or be in a chaotic carriage. However, when he arrived at the entrance, he found that it was not noisy and chaotic as he had imagined. On the contrary, it was very orderly. The eunuchs and palace maids had clear divisions of labor, each doing their own thing, without interfering with each other and working together very well.
Seeing the valet lead his carriage to the rectangular area with his name on it, with carriages parked neatly on one side, he thought it was quite nice and asked the "personal butler" who was responsible for greeting him, "Who came up with this idea?"
The young eunuch bowed politely to the Eighth Prince and introduced with a smile: "This is a solution devised by Consort Xi. These are called parking spaces, which are special places to park carriages. Each parking space has a corresponding name, and the Eighth Prince's carriage will be parked in the space with the Eighth Prince's name on it."
Eighth Master nodded approvingly and said, "Yes, it's very well arranged, ingenious and saves time and effort..."
When the Eighth Prince praised Lanqin, his wife's face turned cold, and she muttered, "It's just a few shapes, what's so special about that?"
The palace maid glanced at the Eighth Prince's wife with surprise, but dared not offend her. She smiled and led the Eighth Prince and his wife into the courtyard, saying as they walked, "Her Majesty the Consort Xi specially instructed that the Eighth Prince and his wife should not be disturbed, so we have arranged for them to rest in Tongle Courtyard. I am the Eighth Prince and his wife's 'private steward.' If the Eighth Prince needs anything, please let me know."
Eighth Master had just been praising Lanqin's idea for parking spaces, and now that a private butler had appeared, he was even more curious: "What is a private butler?"
The palace maid seemed quite proud of her title, saying smugly, "This was also Consort Xi's idea. Her Highness said that there aren't as many people at the Yuanmingyuan as in the palace, and the service is much more thorough. When the princes and princesses arrive, we've specially arranged for someone familiar with the Yuanmingyuan to be in charge of their reception, hoping that any requests from the Eighth Prince and his wife can be resolved promptly... Her Highness said this is one-on-one service, hence the name 'private butler'..."
Upon hearing this, the Eighth Prince repeatedly praised, "What a brilliant idea! Consort Xi is indeed clever; I admire her for coming up with such a method..." He then secretly marveled at Lanqin's intelligence and wit. Although the Eighth Prince had only met Lanqin a few times, he had always heard that the Fourth Prince favored Consort Xi. Now it seemed that this woman was indeed extraordinary, and it was no wonder that the Fourth Prince was so fond of her...
The Eighth Prince's wife was very dissatisfied with his performance. She stood silently to the side with a stern face, cursing in her heart: "Some trivial tricks, just to seduce men..." Then she thought of Lanqin's cousin, Chen, who was the Eighth Prince's concubine and had given birth to a daughter, and she felt even more disgusted with Lanqin.
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