"Gege Geng, please come out quickly!" Xicha said to Geng Shi, who was standing in the house, a smile spreading across her face.
Lanqin, Nianxue, and the others stared at the doorway. Suddenly, a pretty figure in sky blue appeared before them. It was none other than Geng Shi! However, Geng Shi looked much more radiant than usual thanks to the dress she was wearing. She was completely different from the woman in the light apricot-colored cheongsam she had just seen.
"Princess, you look so beautiful! This sky blue color suits your skin perfectly!" Green Orchid exclaimed with delight.
"Yes, Sister Geng, you should wear more sky-blue clothes in the future, they look really good on you," Lanqin said sincerely.
“It’s not that the princess doesn’t want to wear it…” Green Lan was about to say that Geng’s allowance was not enough to get cloth of such color and material, but when she saw the slight change in Geng’s expression, she immediately swallowed the rest of her words.
"What's wrong, Sister Geng? Wear this color more often in the future. If it's not in the allowance, tell me. I'm not really suited to sky blue, so I'll send it all to you, Sister." Lanqin naturally understood what Lülan meant, so she didn't think much of it and just said it like that.
"How can that be? Those were gifts from Master to my sister. How can I take what belongs to someone else?" Madam Geng turned to go inside and change her clothes. The moment she turned her head, the faint smile on her lips vanished.
“Sister, keep it on. Why take it off? Lanqin will be staying in the palace with the Prince for a few days, and I probably won’t see you for quite a while. Last time you asked me to bring you something, it was all my fault for being careless and not finding it. Consider this garment my apology.” When Lanqin accompanied the Fourth Prince and Emperor Kangxi on their last tour, Lady Geng had come to her asking her to bring back some local specialties from her hometown, such as sweet rice porridge and braised pork from Jinan. Actually, the Fourth Prince had bought Lanqin a whole bunch of Jinan specialties, and Lanqin had specifically saved some for Lady Geng. However, on the way to Jinan with Li Wei to escort the Dutch, they encountered a food shortage and ate the food intended for Lady Geng. Afterwards, our usually forgetful Lanqin forgot about it. It wasn’t until she returned to the manor and saw Lady Geng at the Fujin’s place that she suddenly remembered.
Geng forced a smile and turned back to say, "We can't go back like this. I'll take it off first, so that no one will laugh at me for looking like I've never worn nice clothes before." After saying that, she beckoned to Lülan, inviting her to come inside and change her clothes.
When Lanqin heard what Geng said, she felt a sudden, inexplicable pang of discomfort, but it was only for a moment. Seeing that Geng insisted on taking it off, Lanqin didn't press the matter further.
While Geng and her servants went inside to change their clothes, Lanqin said to Xicha, "Later, take out two more bolts of plain satin that Master gave me, and I'll give them to Sister Geng as well."
Although Geng's words were clearly barbed, that's just Lanqin's personality: she has indeed failed in her duty, so she will definitely find a way to make up for it. As for what others think of her, she is not the kind of girl who likes to worry too much.
After changing her clothes, Madam Geng saw Lanqin directing Nianxue and the others to pack a box, and said, "What's there in the palace? Why do you need to bring all this?"
Lanqin said in a charmingly innocent tone, "These are all things I'm used to using. It's really hard to get used to changing things all of a sudden."
Geng didn't respond, but sat aside watching Lanqin pack her things. Lanqin directed the maids to put things here and there, and occasionally said a few words to Geng. Gradually, she started talking about what happened when she accompanied the Fourth Prince on Kangxi's southern tour.
As dinner time approached, Lanqin specially invited Geng to stay for dinner, but the latter declined, saying that she had been feeling unwell recently.
When they came out of the South Courtyard, Lanqin handed the sky-blue dress and two bolts of plain brocade to Lülan. Gengshi declined, but Lanqin insisted, so she finally had to accept them and came out with Lülan.
Green Lan followed behind Madam Geng, carrying the fabric and clothes. She noticed that Madam Geng's steps were no longer leisurely and calm as usual. She found that she walked slowly at times and quickly at others, as if she had something on her mind.
"Princess, wait for me, I can't keep up with you," said Green Orchid, holding the fabric.
"Who told you to accept those things!" Madam Geng suddenly stopped in her tracks, and Green Orchid, who was following behind, almost bumped into her.
"Princess, what's wrong?" Green Lan had never seen Madam Geng look like this before. Seeing her eyes wide with anger as she stared at her, she asked instinctively.
"Whether I have those allowances or not, do you need to say it to her face?" Geng's eyes were almost spitting out scarlet flames. When she first heard what Lülan said, she really wished she could find a hole to crawl into.
Before, when Geng Shi didn't receive the Fourth Prince's attention, and was even forgotten by him, not seeing him for months at a time, she didn't think much of it. But after that trip with the Fourth Prince, when she even outshone the always self-assured and beautiful Wang Shi, Geng Shi's heart began to change. She began to be jealous of Lan Qin and hoped that the Fourth Prince would remember her one day. However, after the Fourth Prince visited her a few times after returning, he seemed to gradually forget about her.
On several occasions, when Lady Wang encountered Lady Geng, she would mock her. At first, Lady Geng tolerated it, but recently Lady Wang's mockery had intensified, making Lady Geng increasingly uneasy. Today, as soon as Lady Geng entered the room, she saw Lanqin trying on new clothes, knowing it was another gift from the Fourth Prince. Looking at the soft, smooth fabric, she felt truly distressed. Both were princesses, yet Lanqin's possessions and clothing surpassed those of a concubine, even exceeding those of Lady Li. Meanwhile, she herself didn't even have a suitable set of clothes. Lady Geng's previously peaceful state of mind gradually became chaotic; perhaps her previous composure was merely a facade for her survival.
"Princess, I really didn't mean it, please don't be angry. I'll just change these fabrics back." Green Lan had never seen Madam Geng so angry with her, and she was so anxious that she almost burst into tears. She stammered hurriedly.
"You've already accepted it, wouldn't it be even more embarrassing to return it?" Geng said angrily, then turned around and hurriedly walked towards the west courtyard, not caring whether Lulan could keep up with her.
Just after the master and servant pair walked away, another master and servant pair suddenly emerged from behind the hibiscus bushes; it was none other than Yan Yu and Yun Yuan.
"I never expected that a walk today would yield such a great result," Yan Yu said, staring at Geng Shi's retreating figure.
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