"Your Majesty!" Lanqin said, "I think we should reply to Sister Geng."
“But since you’ve spoken up for her, it means you want to do this for her!” Fourth Master said.
It turns out that the Emperor was weighing how to save face for Lanqin.
"Your Majesty, Sister Geng is only afraid of being with Hongzhou."
"We've become estranged. I can understand her feelings. After all, she raised Hongzhou to adulthood," Lanqin said. "Letting Sister Geng live with Hongzhou isn't an unreasonable request. I'm thinking, how can we satisfy Sister Geng's request without violating the rules of the Qing Dynasty?"
"And what about you! Hongzhou is your own flesh and blood. Qin'er, I know you've always felt indebted to Hongzhou. But don't you want to acknowledge him?" The Fourth Prince felt a pang of sorrow and said with heartache.
Lanqin stared blankly at the Fourth Master, though she had longed to recognize Hongzhou.
However, Hongzhou has been recognizing Geng as his mother for fifteen years. If he were to suddenly be told that he is actually her mother, would this be good for him or harmful to him?
The answer is the latter.
"Your Majesty, if we tell Hongzhou that I am his biological mother, I feel it will do him more harm than good. He will resent me for letting Sister Geng raise him, he will feel unbalanced, and it will even hurt his brotherly relationship with Hongli. I don't want to take that risk. It's better not to tell him and let him be a happy Fifth Prince. I already owe him so much, and I really don't want him to suffer any more harm," Lanqin said, tears welling up in her eyes.
The Fourth Prince looked at Lanqin and quickly went over to her, personally wiping away her tears, saying, "I will do whatever you say. Whatever you say, I will do."
Lanqin burst into laughter through her tears, saying, "Has Your Majesty become afraid of your wife?"
Fourth Master laughed and said, "I'm afraid of my wife, that's all. I'm only afraid of you, my wife."
Lanqin said, "Why don't we arrange a job for Sister Geng? For example, let her go to a temple outside the palace to pray for blessings. As for whether she actually goes to pray for blessings, who would know? In this way, Sister Geng can live in Hongzhou's residence for a long time. If they, mother and son, are happy, I will also feel gratified."
"Qin'er, my Qin'er always handles things so perfectly. I always feel I owe you something, but I can't find a way to make it up to you. Qin'er, I'm afraid I'll feel indebted to you for the rest of my life," the Fourth Prince said, embracing Lanqin.
"Your Majesty owes me nothing. I do all this in the hope of putting Your Majesty at ease and making you happy. I am content as long as the children are doing well," Lanqin said.
She has unknowingly transformed into a typical virtuous wife and loving mother, without even realizing it herself.
Subsequently, the Fourth Prince sent someone to deliver an imperial edict to Lady Geng. The gist of the edict was that after the Hongzhou residence was completed, she should go to Ganlu Temple outside the palace to pray for the Qing Dynasty.
Lanqin had already summoned Gengshi and told her about her plan. Gengshi was overjoyed and naturally agreed to leave the palace in this way and follow Hongzhou.
That's a story for later, so let's leave it at that for now.
Lanqin also busied herself with preparations for Hongzhou's marriage. To make up for her guilt towards her son, Lanqin did everything according to the standards of Hongli's wedding. She felt that at least in terms of the marriage, Hongzhou would not be wronged.
The Fourth Prince shared the same idea. In addition to urging the Ministry of Works to expedite the construction of the mansion, he also bestowed many gifts upon Hongzhou and granted him the title of Beile.
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