After Lady Geng left, Baoqin, who had been following Lanqin, spoke up: "Does Your Highness really intend to plead for Lady Geng?"
Lanqin walked back into the house and said, "In your opinion, what's wrong with it?"
Baoqin helped Lanqin sit down and whispered in her ear, "In my opinion, Geng's request is a bit excessive. The rules of the palace were set by our ancestors. Only when the emperor is gone can the concubines with children leave the palace with their sons. How could the emperor possibly agree to Geng's request?"
Lanqin nodded, but did not speak immediately.
Baoqin's words made sense, and she herself knew it perfectly well.
Even if the Emperor favors her and is willing to grant Geng's unreasonable request out of respect for her status as a Noble Consort, what about the entire court and the many people in the harem who are watching? This matter is probably not so easy.
But then Lanqin thought about it again and realized that Geng Shi was indeed pitiful. Since she had no imperial favor, after Hongzhou left the palace, her courtyard would be no different from the Cold Palace.
Moreover, considering the merits of the Geng family in raising Hongzhou over the years...
It seems that Lady Geng was a pitiful person. Hongzhou was her own son, and he and Hongli were twins. Only the Fourth Prince and Lanqin knew this. But as a woman herself, Lanqin understood that Lady Geng probably couldn't get over the hurdle in her heart.
Whether it's an adopted son or not, at least there's something to look forward to. If she doesn't even give Geng this much hope, it's indeed a bit cruel.
"Your Majesty?"
Seeing that the Empress was silent and lost in thought, Baoqin thought that she had said something wrong.
Lanqin snapped out of her daze and said to Baoqin, "Speak, I'm listening."
Baoqin thought for a moment and continued, "In my opinion, Lady Geng is clearly worried that the Fifth Prince will not be close to her after leaving the palace, so she came up with this plan."
Lanqin smiled wryly and said, "How could I not know? Madam Geng was afraid that after Hongzhou left the palace, their relationship would become distant, so she made this request."
"Then will Your Highness still help her?"
Lanqin nodded and said, "I am willing to give it a try, even if it's just for my own peace of mind. I still need to ask the Fourth Prince and hear his opinion."
Baoqin nodded and said nothing more.
After that day, Lanqin thought about it for a long time and finally decided to tell Fourth Master about Geng's request.
On this particular day, the Fourth Prince summoned Lanqin to accompany him to admire paintings. After dressing up, Lanqin went to the Emperor's study.
Fourth Master was naturally pleased to see Lanqin and asked her to grind ink for him. He then became interested in composing poems and painting.
Lanqin stayed by her side, but her mind was always on Geng's matter.
The Fourth Prince was very satisfied with the painting, and Lanqin seized the opportunity to speak to the Emperor.
"Fourth Master, Lanqin has something to say, but she doesn't know if she should."
"Oh? Tell me about it."
Lanqin smiled and came to the Fourth Prince's side, saying softly, "It's Geng Shi. She wants to leave the palace with Hongzhou after his wedding. She came to me that day and told me about it, wanting me to make the decision and send her out of the palace. I know I can't make the decision on my own, so I thought it over and came to discuss it with you, Fourth Prince."
The Fourth Prince was indeed surprised after hearing this. He put down his brush and turned to ask, "Did Madam Geng really say that? She wants to leave the palace with Hongzhou?"
"Yes, that's exactly right."
Lanqin lowered her head slightly, waiting for the Fourth Prince's reaction, but after a long time, the Emperor just paced back and forth with his hands behind his back without saying a word, and Lanqin felt a little uneasy.
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