"Qiuyue, what is Consort Hua's surname, and what is her given name?" Lanqin and her servant followed Qiuyue along the long palace path.
“Our esteemed guest is named Zheng Chunhua!” Qiu Yue replied.
Lanqin stopped in her tracks, her face filled with shock, and exclaimed, "Zheng Chunhua!"
“Yes, our esteemed lady was a selected woman in the 43rd year of the Kangxi Emperor’s reign and was granted residence in Shufangzhai,” Qiuyue said.
Lanqin remained silent for a moment, simply following Qiuyue, feeling quite uneasy. Seeing that the once lively and inquisitive Niu Gege had suddenly fallen silent, Qiuyue wondered if she had said something wrong, and kept glancing at Lanqin's expression.
Before long, Yonghe Palace finally appeared. After Qiuyue took her leave, Lanqin stood at the door, dumbfounded and didn't move.
"Princess, what's wrong? Aren't we going in?" Nianxue tugged at Lanqin's sleeve.
"Ah, of course we should go in. Let's go." Lanqin entered Yonghe Palace with Nianxue's support.
As expected, Consort De did not like Lanqin very much. After exchanging a few words with her, she claimed to be feeling unwell and sent her away.
Lanqin didn't want to stay there any longer; she still wanted to see Holland. Holland's residence, Zhongcui Palace, was right behind Yonghe Palace, and this time she didn't get lost again.
When Holland saw Lanqin arrive, he took her hand and led her into the inner room. Since the two sisters had gone through hardships during their southern tour to the Yellow River estuary, their relationship had naturally become much better than before.
"Sister, do you know Zheng Chunhua?" Lanqin's mind was still full of Zheng Chunhua.
"You've seen her?" Upon hearing these three words, Holland's expression clearly turned displeased.
"Yes, I got lost when I went to Yonghe Palace and accidentally wandered into Shufangzhai. I didn't expect it to be her residence," Lanqin said.
"She lives there. Isn't she prettier than me?" Holland said with a hint of helplessness in his voice.
Lanqin nodded and sighed, "Truly a stunning beauty, no wonder~"
Lanqin couldn't say what came next, otherwise people would call her a fortune teller.
"No wonder what?" Holland asked as Lanqin spoke before Lanqin finished her sentence.
"No wonder my sister doesn't seem to like her very much!" Lanqin naturally suppressed what she wanted to say and teased her in the blink of an eye.
Sure enough, Holland rolled his eyes at Lanqin and said, "Are you here to annoy me, or to see me?"
Lanqin, holding Holland's hand, said, "Alright, I was just kidding. But Consort Hua is truly beautiful. The Emperor must favor her greatly, so why is she only a Noble Lady?"
Holland picked up the candied fruit from the table and said, "Although she is beautiful and has always been a favorite in the harem, it is a pity that she was born into a bad family and that her fate is also unfortunate. Although the emperor loves her beauty, he cannot spoil her too much, otherwise it will bring him bad luck."
Upon hearing this, Lanqin asked, "What do you mean by bad fate? Who told you that?"
Holland said smugly, "This is an open secret known to everyone in the harem. Otherwise, the Emperor wouldn't have kept her in such a remote place as Shufangzhai."
Upon hearing what Holland said, Lanqin thought to herself: Consort Hua's residence, Shufangzhai, is indeed far from Kangxi's Qianqing Palace. If the old man Kangxi truly favored her, he should have placed her in a place not far from him.
"The saying 'beautiful women bring disaster' probably refers to people like her. She's so beautiful, but unfortunately, she only brings trouble," Holland said.
Lanqin glanced at Holland and thought to herself: "Sigh, why do women have to make things difficult for each other!" However, it seems Zheng Chunhua was involved with the Crown Prince. Apparently, this was unearthed in the 44th year of Kangxi's reign. Zheng Chunhua was sentenced to death, while the Crown Prince was imprisoned. However, Kangxi did not depose the Crown Prince at that time. But that's a story for later, so let's leave it at that.
Good heavens, Zheng Chunhua might be sentenced to death next year!
Lanqin felt a chill run down her spine when she thought of this. Such a beautiful woman, yet in this place where power struggles are most intense, she was forced to bear the ugly reputation of being a member of the imperial harem.
"Sister, what is Zheng Chunhua like in general?" Lanqin asked again.
"She probably doesn't like to associate with anyone because she thinks she's beautiful. In any case, no one in the palace associates with her." Holland put a sour plum into her mouth.
"Why is Sister eating this? Is she pregnant?" Lanqin asked suspiciously, seeing that Holland had eaten a lot of these, but she was still thinking about Zheng Chunhua. She was probably being envied by everyone and deliberately isolated. Now she was being portrayed as arrogant and not liking to interact with others.
Sigh, a woman's jealousy can be truly terrifying sometimes; she can turn white into black and wrong into right.
After staying in the Netherlands for a while, Lanqin returned home, supported by Nianxue.
“Princess, Consort Hua seems to be such a carefree person, how could she be the way Consort Lan described her?” Nianxue suddenly said.
"You also think that Hua Guiren isn't that kind of person?" Lan Qin asked.
“Hmm, this servant finds Consort Hua to be gentle and kind, unlike what Consort Lan described as arrogant and self-admiring! She treated me and the princess, who were complete strangers, with such warmth and hospitality, so she certainly doesn’t seem like someone who doesn’t enjoy socializing. On the contrary, this servant finds Consort Hua to be quite lonely,” Nianxue said.
"Hmm, it seems there's a lot of gossip and intrigue in the harem, with women openly and secretly vying for power!" Lanqin said meaningfully.
The two remained silent on the way back to the Fourth Prince's residence, where they found Xicha and Cui Niang under the parrot cage, teasing the parrot and making it talk!
"Brother, may you be blessed! Brother, may you be blessed!" The parrot seemed to truly understand human nature, and began to chirp as soon as it saw Lanqin return.
“Gege, this parrot is so strange. Cui Niang and I teased it for a long time, but it wouldn’t say a word. But as soon as you came back, it started talking. It really knows how to read people!” Xi Cha said with a smile.
"Really? Let me take a look!" Lanqin walked to the parrot cage and looked at the parrot with its brightly colored feathers and red eyes.
"Princess, Fourth Master just came back and said he won't be back tonight; he'll be staying up all night at the Ministry of Revenue!" Xi Cha whispered to Lan Qin.
Lanqin felt a knot in her heart, thinking to herself: Comrade Sisi is really a workaholic!
After playing with the parrot all day, Lanqin went back inside to rest. She was quite tired after being outside all day. When it was time for dinner, Lanqin was still tired, so she just got up and ate a few bites before going back to rest.
Well, so being a favored concubine in the inner palace means sleeping soundly without a care in the world! Lanqin's life, which she had always dreamed of, finally came true three hundred years later. No need to get up early to clock in, no need to be mindful of her boss's mood, no need to worry about work, and no need to anticipate her meager monthly salary—only a lack of freedom. Even someone as beautiful as Zheng Chunhua, who could only be imprisoned in a golden house by Emperor Kangxi, was that a blessing or a curse?
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