"What? Those two midwives are gone? Granny, did you personally ask Madam Liu?" The Fujin's eyes flashed several times. The day before yesterday, Zhou Zifeng had already clearly told her that, judging from the pulse, they were not twins at all. However, sometimes fate might arrange things differently, and doctors cannot make absolute judgments.
Zhou Zifeng's words were essentially meaningless. The Fujin had no choice but to keep him detained until the Fourth Prince returned to deal with him.
"This old servant went back to the master's place yesterday and spoke with him and Madam Liu, asking that the two midwives come tomorrow to celebrate the third-day celebration for the prince and princess. This is the old custom. The midwife celebrates the third-day celebration for the baby. But Madam Liu actually said that both midwives have already left." Granny Li's words were full of dissatisfaction with Madam Liu. She was just a concubine, and the women she had chosen were from who-knows-where; how could they have both left?
"I'm afraid she doesn't want us to see those two midwives again. It seems there must be something wrong with Yan Yusheng's two children." The suspicion in the Fujin's eyes deepened.
“Master has doted on this Lady Liu all these years, and this old servant is not happy about it. Madam only told this old servant to keep the princess in good condition. As long as she has a prince in her hands, she still has the position of the principal wife to rely on,” said Granny Li.
The princess nodded, then turned and sat down in the high-backed chair by the window, turning her head to look at the rose bush that she had taken such good care of.
"Go and make the arrangements. We'll have the two children's third-day bath tomorrow. Let the head nanny do it. She's older and more dignified," the Fujin said.
That day, everyone in the courtyards knew that they would be going to give the twins a third-day bath the next day.
"Let's go to Sister Song's place. She said yesterday that I should go to her place to get some things. She said that she had prepared a lot for the eldest princess before, but we haven't used them." Lanqin just found out that it's best to give some children's clothes and socks for the baby's third-day celebration.
If it were anyone else, who usually enjoys cutting and embroidering fabric in their spare time, preparing clothes for a child would be a piece of cake. But she had no experience in clothing embroidery, and with this unexpected baby shower, she had no choice but to ask Madam Song for help.
Holding Nianxue's hand, Lanqin walked slowly. When they reached the back of the East Gate, they saw that Madam Wang was holding her maid Hongying's hand and walking to the other side. She had already turned her back to Lanqin and the others, so they didn't see her.
Lanqin had no interaction with her that day, so she didn't greet her and instead took Nianxue's hand and headed towards Song's side.
Mrs. Song was standing under the eaves of her house, feeding a few orioles. In early spring, she had asked someone to buy birdcages and orioles, just to amuse herself. When the eldest princess arrived, she also loved playing with the birds.
"Sister, these birds are getting more and more lively." As soon as Lanqin entered the room, she saw Song Shi wearing a light green jacket and skirt, adding water to the birdcage with a kettle.
"Yes, I've made them very comfortable. These birds are just like people; they sing to whoever treats them well." Madam Song handed the water jug to Qingping beside her, took a few steps, greeted Lanqin, and then pulled her to look at the orioles together.
"Sister is kind-hearted and treats the birds well, so the birds will naturally repay you with their beautiful singing voices," Lanqin said with a smile, flattering her.
"Hehe, tell me, are you only flattering me because of the gift for tomorrow's third-day celebration?" Madam Song laughed.
Lanqin stuck out her tongue and took Song's hand, saying, "Sister, you're so clever and skillful. You can't hide my little tricks from you."
"I prepared it a long time ago, don't worry, there's something for you and something for Sister Geng. Come on, let's go see!" Madam Song pulled Lanqin into the house.
As soon as Lanqin entered the room, she saw some small clothes spread out on the tatami mat.
"Sister, you're so kind! So many little clothes, you must have put in a lot of effort." Lanqin walked closer, picked up one of the jumpsuits, and thought to herself: In the Qing Dynasty, they even have jumpsuits!
“I have nothing better to do than make some small clothes. Some of these are things I made before, they’re all quite nice, but I’ve never worn them. These are a few new ones, you can take them. Sister Geng is very skillful, I’m sure she’s already prepared some,” said Madam Song.
This simple sentence encapsulates the bitterness of women confined to their homes. With no men to visit, they endure countless lonely nights alone, passing the time by doing needlework.
Lanqin felt incredibly bored thinking about how women in ancient times were illiterate and how the idea that a woman's virtue lay in her lack of talent.
"If you ever feel bored, Sister, come find me and Sister Geng. We can all play cards and chat together. Don't do these things; they strain your eyes too much," Lanqin said.
Song nodded and then pulled Lanqin aside to tell her about the origin of these little clothes. Lanqin looked at the clothes and socks and saw that the stitches were very dense and the embroidery was very good. The cats and dogs were lifelike; the grass and flowers were also very lifelike. It was truly a masterpiece.
“These clothes you made, sister, are so beautiful. I can’t bear to give them away,” Lanqin said, holding up a small jacket.
“When you have children, I’ll do it with you.” When Song heard Lanqin say this, she assumed that Lanqin was lamenting that she didn’t have children.
Seeing that Madam Song had misunderstood, Lanqin didn't say anything more. She knew that if she said more, Madam Song would think she was being pretentious, since she didn't actually want to have a child so early. She was only fifteen.
“Sister, Wang Shi, who lives in the same courtyard as you, just left with her maid. Judging from the direction she was going, she was heading to the main courtyard, wasn’t she?” Lanqin said, pulling Song Shi down to sit.
Qingping immediately brought over the tea.
“She must have already pledged allegiance to the main wife. Didn’t you see what she said at the delivery room door that day? Madam Wang was always protecting the Fujin (principal wife).” Madam Song said, her smile fading.
"Didn't she used to be close to Wu and Li?" Lanqin asked.
“Now that Li is gone, she will naturally find another powerful figure to rely on. Sister, have you discovered something?” Song asked, noticing the doubt on Lanqin’s face.
"It's nothing, I was just thinking, what should the Fujin do now? Li Shi is gone, Yan Yu gave birth to twins. And what about us?" Lan Qin unconsciously began to think about the principles of survival in this backyard.
“Now that the Princess Consort is pregnant with the Fourth Prince and her sister has given birth to another prince, she should be able to rest easy. However, the favor bestowed upon her sister may make her restless and unable to eat or sleep, so she should be careful,” said Madam Song.
After leaving Song's place, Lanqin returned to her small courtyard in the south with gifts for tomorrow's baby shower.
In the small kitchen, they began preparing the bamboo leaves for making zongzi. Lanqin remembered the bite-sized zongzi she had made last year, and that reminded her of Fourth Master.
"Princess, a letter from Master has arrived!" Xicha said happily as Lanqin entered the room.
Sure enough, Lanqin immediately said: Give it to me quickly.
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