Upon seeing Lady Tian, Lanqin exclaimed, "What a beauty! No wonder she captured the Third Prince's heart. She's actually been serving him since the time of the princes, and this son she's given birth to is her third child. She's in a similar position to Consort Li, who serves the Fourth Prince. This time, the Third Prince will probably request a title for her."
"Oh, isn't this Princess Niu?" A woman who was carrying them turned to the side, saw Lanqin, and immediately called out.
It turns out it was actually a member of the Guarjia clan who was selected alongside the Dutch team!
What's going on? I ran into two acquaintances in one day! This kind of chance can only be found in the Aisin Gioro family, since they love talent shows.
It turns out that Lady Guarjia was later betrothed to the Third Prince by Consort Rong, while Lady Dong, whom we just saw, was betrothed to the Seventh Prince by Consort De. Why was Consort De still concerned about the Seventh Prince? The reason was that the Seventh Prince's birth mother, Consort Cheng, was on good terms with Consort De and was practically dependent on Yonghe Palace.
Seeing that Lady Tian was favored, Lady Guarjia came over to flatter her and was now standing in front of her, receiving the princesses of various masters on her behalf.
Lanqin smiled at her and walked over to Tian Shi, saying, "Lanqin greets Sister Tian. The little prince is so cute." She looked at Tian Shi reclining on the warm couch, and at the little prince who was only a month old, looking so tender and delicate, she really wanted to pinch his little cheeks.
Like any woman who has been elevated to the status of a central figure, Madam Tian wore a blissful expression, appearing as a kind and noblewoman to everyone she met. She nodded to Lanqin and Madam Geng and said, "Thank you for coming, sisters. Don't be shy. Just tell me what you'd like to eat. Lanxiu, please take care of things for me."
Guarjia obediently agreed and walked up to Lanqin, saying, "Gege Niu, Gege Geng, come with me."
Lanqin and Geng followed Guarjia to the inner courtyard, where a banquet was held for the women. All those seated were women, presumably the wives, concubines, or principal wives of various families.
Lady Dong was sitting with a group of princesses she didn't recognize, and her husband's wife was naturally sitting with the Fourth Prince's wife and the others.
Lanqin and Gengshi walked toward Dongshi's table, but Guarjia grabbed their arms and said to Gengshi, "Genggege, you should sit over there. Niugege must come with me. Our Fujin specifically told me that you must sit next to her."
Lanqin looked at her with a puzzled expression, then glanced at the Fourth Prince's wife. She saw that the table was full of women dressed in bright red, crimson, orange, or rouge, presumably all of them the primary wives of the princes. How could a mere princess like her possibly sit at the same table with them?
"Then I'll go and pay my respects to the Third Princess Consort, and come back to sit down later." Lanqin had no choice but to follow Guarjia Clan to the table where the primary princess consorts were sitting.
Guarjia walked to the Third Prince's wife's side, whispered a few words in her ear, then curtsied and withdrew.
"Damn it, what's going on here?! Are they deliberately teasing me?" Lanqin thought to herself.
“Cousin, I heard that your Lady Niu is the sister of Consort Niu, who is currently favored by the Emperor!” The Third Princess stood up, walked to Lanqin’s side, took her hand, and looked her up and down.
These words had the effect of dropping a bomb on a calm lake; almost all the women heard them and were now watching Lanqin and discussing among themselves.
The Fourth Prince's wife remained calm. The Third Prince's wife had already told her that this Lady Niu had been noticed during the selection process. Although the Third Prince's wife hadn't explained it clearly, the Fourth Prince's wife seemed to have guessed something. She suddenly remembered that the Fourth Prince had also entered the palace on the second day of the selection process. After returning, he had a gloomy face for several days, but when he saw the candidate selected by Consort De, his face visibly relaxed.
But did Fourth Master already know Niohuru Lanqin beforehand?
At this moment, the Fourth Prince's wife was preoccupied with imagining all sorts of possibilities between her husband and Niohuru Lanqin, and didn't hear what the Third Prince's wife was saying at all.
Seeing that her master's wife didn't move, Lanqin thought that the wife should at least stand up for her at this moment, since it was the Fourth Prince who was losing face. However, the Fourth Prince's wife remained motionless, seemingly watching her make a fool of herself.
"Third Princess Consort, you may have misunderstood. I do not know any Noble Lady Niu in the palace. The Niohuru family has deep roots and a long history. Since following the Qing Taizu, the Niohuru family has always been grateful for the Emperor's grace. Empress Xiaoduanwen and Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang were also aunt and niece. They were both wise and holy mothers of our Great Qing Dynasty. Would you agree, Third Princess Consort?" Lanqin asked seriously.
These words immediately silenced the entire room.
The Third Prince's wife was speechless for a moment, choked by these words. Lanqin's words were very oppressive. First, there were many people in the Niohuru clan. As for which branch of the Niohuru Consort you mentioned, I'm sorry, I don't know. As a prince's wife, you went to inquire about the Emperor's, your father-in-law's, life in the inner quarters—you simply have a death wish. Second, my Niohuru clan is one of the founding heroes of the Qing Dynasty. We have deep roots and many members throughout the court and the country. Don't bully me just because I'm one rank lower than you. Third, even the Qing Taizu Nurhaci married an aunt and a niece, and they both had children. How dare you bring up your father-in-law?
“Cousin, have you had too much to drink? The Noble Lady Niu in the palace is probably from Aling’a’s household, and she and our Princess Niu might be from the same clan.” The Fourth Princess Consort finally spoke up to save Lanqin.
"Oh dear, look at me, I've had a bit too much to drink today. Sister Niu, please don't take offense, come, sit down quickly." Upon hearing the Fourth Princess's words, the Third Princess knew she had messed up. She had originally intended to expose the embarrassment of her cousin's daughter, but the result was the opposite, leaving her in an awkward position.
"Lanqin, please sit over there. All of you ladies, please enjoy your meal." After saying this, Lanqin curtsied and turned to walk towards the table where Madam Dong was.
Madam Dong and Madam Geng had been on tenterhooks for Lanqin, thinking she was going to be troubled by the third and fourth princesses, but she didn't have any maids with her (the maids had all been taken to another place for a banquet) and couldn't go to the front to inform the master, so they were very anxious.
"Sister Qin, you're amazing." Madam Dong pulled Lanqin over and made her sit down next to her.
After hearing what she had just said, Madam Geng's opinion of the little princess changed. She had originally thought that Lanqin was just an innocent, willful and self-centered person, but she did not expect her to have such a sharp tongue.
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