Upon hearing this, Lanqin felt a chill run down her spine. The thought of that woman who had once smiled at her, revealing her little tiger teeth, and never seeing her again made it impossible for her to smile.
Nianxue noticed that Lanqin seemed a little off, so she whispered to her, "Princess, what's wrong? Consort De is inside, and there are women all around offering their congratulations."
Lanqin was still in shock from the news of Dong's childbirth resulting in the death of both mother and child, and she seemed not to have heard what Nianxue said.
At this moment, Consort De, accompanied by her consorts and the consorts of several princes, came out carrying the prince among her twins. Everyone bowed and stepped down, but Lanqin remained standing there, dazed and confused.
Consort De noticed at a glance that Lanqin had not bowed to her, and immediately felt displeased.
"Niu Shi, what are you doing just standing there after seeing your mother?" The Fujin immediately said, seeing that Consort De was displeased.
Nianxue immediately nudged Lanqin's back and whispered anxiously, "Princess, Her Majesty is asking us a question!"
Lanqin glanced at the Seventh Consort, Nara, who was standing beside the Consort. Because Consort Cheng was attached to Consort De, she was also very respectful as she accompanied the Consort and served Consort De.
"Greetings to Consort De. I was momentarily distracted by something and thus behaved improperly before Your Highness. Please forgive me." Lanqin finally realized her mistake and quickly curtsied.
“Your Highness, I’ve heard that Lady Niu is very favored by the Fourth Prince, and she will likely soon be able to produce more offspring for the Fourth Prince’s household. Perhaps she is only feeling resentful because Princess Yu gave birth to twins. Please, Your Highness, do not blame her,” said the Seventh Prince’s wife, Lady Nara.
How vicious and provocative! The Fujin (Prince's wife) hadn't even said anything yet, and this Seventh Fujin suddenly jumped in. On one hand, she incited Consort De, the Fourth Fujin, and all the wives and concubines of the Fourth Prince's household to dislike Lanqin; on the other hand, she falsely accused Lanqin of being distracted because she was jealous of Yan Yu giving birth to twins, thus making all the women present hate Lanqin. In short, her goal was to make everyone present feel disgusted with Lanqin.
"Your Majesty, Lanqin was just thinking about something, nothing more than a matter concerning a concubine in the Seventh Prince's household." Lanqin glanced at Nala, whose dignified and bright appearance couldn't hide the inexplicable hostility and disgust in her eyes. Perhaps she was trying to curry favor with the Fourth Prince's wife, or perhaps she simply hated the concubines; in any case, she wanted to embarrass Lanqin!
Upon hearing this, a flash of surprise crossed Nara's eyes, but she quickly regained the composure of a principal wife.
"Oh, then tell me, what are you thinking?" Although Consort De didn't particularly like Lanqin, she didn't dislike her either.
However, she had heard of this princess from Emperor Kangxi, and because of the Dutch connection, she always felt strange about Lanqin.
Actually, when the imperial concubines were selecting their consorts, Consort De knew that one of the Niohuru family members had been chosen, but she herself personally arranged for Lanqin to be given to the Fourth Prince.
"Your Majesty," Lanqin said, "one of the candidates in the imperial concubine selection, Dong, was betrothed to the Seventh Prince by Consort De to become a princess. At that time, I lived with Dong and we got along quite well. I just heard that Dong suffered two deaths right under the Seventh Prince's nose. I am so shocked. I visited Dong a few months ago, and she said that the Prince's wife was very kind and that the Seventh Prince treated her very well. Now, she should have been a good mother like Princess Yu, but this is the result. I have been so rude to mention such a thing to Your Majesty. Please forgive me!" As she spoke, Lanqin shed tears. Her appearance and tone made it clear that she was truly grieving for Dong's sudden death and lamenting that a child had left this world before even seeing it for the first time, along with her mother.
Upon hearing this, Consort De's face showed slight surprise. She glanced at Nara beside her, her meaning clear: How did you take care of your pregnant concubine? Moreover, Lanqin had just reminded her that Dong was the one she had assigned to the Seventh Prince, implying that Nara should have paid more attention to her. How could she have let her die along with two others? Although difficult childbirth was common in this era, in the imperial family, such incidents were often the result of underhanded tactics.
Everyone cast suspicious glances at Lanara, making her feel as if thorns were pricking her back.
"Heaven has its will, and everyone has their own destiny. Perhaps it is the fate of that Consort Dong in Seventh Sister-in-law's household. Mother need not be sad about it. Seventh Sister-in-law, why don't we help Mother to take a walk in the small garden?" The Fujin glanced at Lanqin and came to the Seventh Fujin's rescue.
Consort De, having spent most of her life in the palace, understood everything. However, she couldn't bear to criticize Lanqin any further, so she said to her, "You and that Lady Dong were chosen by me together. Now, it was her fate to die young. You've been in the household for over a year now. Serve the Fourth Prince well and give him an heir as soon as possible."
This can be considered a kind of warning; Consort De is truly shrewd. She gave a reprimand to both those above and below her.
"This humble servant will remember the teachings of Consort De!" Lanqin also bowed at the opportune moment.
Consort De nodded in satisfaction and then left, accompanied by the seventh and other consorts.
Yan Yu had intended to watch Lan Qin be punished by Consort De, but she was surprised to find that Lan Qin had been dismissed with just a few words. She was furious, but there was nothing she could do.
"Isn't my sister accompanying Consort Lan? Why is she here?" After Consort De and the others had gone far away, Yan Yu walked to Lan Qin's side and said in an unfriendly tone.
Lanqin was taken aback, thinking to herself: This woman is treating me like a concubine!
"Since Princess Yu doesn't welcome me, then I'll leave." Lanqin replied without any politeness. After all, she was only there to pay her respects to Consort De, so why bother talking to her?
After saying that, he turned and left without waiting for Yan Yu to say anything more.
Yan Yu stomped her feet in anger, but since everyone else was still there, she could only stand there and calm herself down.
Lanqin quickly walked out of Yan Yu's courtyard, and immediately thought of Dong Shi's matter again.
Judging from the inexplicable hatred that Nala showed towards her just now, one can imagine how she could possibly be good to Dong.
Two lives lost, one unborn! Alas, even the lives of concubines are worthless!
"Nianxue, go to the front yard and find Ziran. Ask her to find a way to tell Fourth Master that he can come to the South Courtyard when he has some free time," Lanqin said to Nianxue beside her.
Ah! Go and call the master to the south courtyard? Although Nianxue knew that Lanqin was always unruly in front of the Fourth Master, the master was currently entertaining his brothers, so how could he have time?
Lanqin could tell from Nianxue's dazed look that the girl was a little scared.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
