"I was just joking, look at my sister, why are you taking it so seriously?" Geng said, taking Lanqin's hand.
"Sister and Sister Song, let's come to the lake often in the future, and we can also go fishing. It's much more fun than staying cooped up in the house." Lanqin knew that Madam Geng had always been jealous of her, but what could she do? Her attitude towards the Fourth Master remained the same. Unless she went herself, she wasn't noble enough to push him into another woman's room. Not even her sworn sisters, Madam Song and Madam Geng.
When the Fujin (princess) arrived with the eldest and second princesses, and naturally Hongshi, and the Fourth Prince appeared with the Third Prince Hongjun, it was already quite dark. The meals prepared by the kitchen staff had already begun to be delivered here, one load at a time.
When everyone saw the Fourth Prince's wife arrive, they all bowed and said, "Greetings, Your Highness and Your Highness's Wife!"
Lanqin, with her sharp eyes, noticed that behind Fourth Master was Aunt An. Aunt An had originally said she would come with her, but Lanqin had made up an excuse to postpone it. If Aunt An was watching her here, she wouldn't be able to have any fun.
But now...
The Fourth Prince and his wife exchanged a few words, essentially telling everyone not to be shy and to eat and drink to their hearts' content. In the pavilion opposite the boat, the musicians from the opera troupe had already gone in and were taking their seats, waiting for the host to begin the performance.
The Fourth Prince hadn't originally planned to come with his wife, but seeing how well-behaved Hongshi was, he asked to come along—a one-and-a-half-year-old child!
This is too obvious, but can the Fourth Prince refuse his son's request?
So, when Lanqin saw the Fourth Prince and his wife arrive together, she felt slightly uneasy. They had agreed that they might not come, but they ended up appearing at the same time.
Lanqin's feelings as a concubine were quite intense at this moment, mainly because she was pregnant!
The Princess Consort invited the Fourth Prince to take the seat of honor, and she herself naturally sat next to him. Naturally, no one present dared to take that seat from her.
Yan Yu appeared, dressed in a magnificent outfit. She had left her two children with the wet nurse; they were too young to come. She then sat down on the other side of the Fourth Master, making Lan Qin's eyelids twitch uncontrollably.
"Yan Yu, go sit down next to your sister. You can help take care of the eldest princess, the second princess, and Hongshi." The Fourth Prince saw that the little princess's mouth was pursed, and he naturally knew what was wrong. If he didn't say anything now, she would probably feel bad.
Yan Yu was momentarily stunned. This was clearly a way of telling her to leave; the message was quite explicit.
Everyone present stared at Yan Yu, secretly laughing to themselves: Who told you to be so competitive? You gave birth to twins, but you still haven't been promoted and haven't even received the master's favor.
"Yu'er, come here and help me take care of the two princesses." The Fujin sneered inwardly, but she couldn't ignore Yan Yu on the surface, so she immediately came to her rescue.
At this moment, the spot on Fourth Master's side was empty, but no one dared to step forward rashly. Yan Yu's fate was right before their eyes.
"Lan'er, come and sit down. What are you doing standing there while you're pregnant?" Fourth Master couldn't help but say.
Okay, sir, you're just making me the target of hatred!
However, Lanqin was still very happy, very happy~~
With Nianxue's help, she walked out from among the several princesses, went to the right side of the Fourth Master, took his outstretched hand, and sat down.
Seeing this, the others also began to take their seats. Since they were all equally favored by the Fourth Master, they didn't distinguish between each other and sat down as they pleased.
The Fujin glanced at Lanqin a few times and noticed that behind her, besides Nianxue, stood an unfamiliar aunt, who was probably sent by Consort De.
"Let's begin," the Princess Consort said to Granny Li, who was standing to the side. The latter nodded, disembarked, and headed towards the Bixin Pavilion.
At this time, women in the household enjoyed watching plays, as there wasn't much other entertainment. Being able to come out for food and drink, and watch the actors chatter for a while, was a good way to pass the time. But for Lanqin, those plays she couldn't understand were truly boring.
Fortunately, the Fourth Prince seemed to know what she was thinking. He held her hand the whole time and pressed it a few times, indicating that she didn't need to be agitated.
With the sound of gongs and drums, the banquet began.
Aunt An served Lanqin from the side, reminding her what she should and shouldn't eat.
"Elder sister, I heard that when you gave birth to the eldest prince, Consort De sent her personal nanny to take care of you." Yan Yu had just been sent back by the Fourth Prince, and she was still unhappy. Seeing Lan Qin being arranged to serve by the Fourth Prince's side, she was naturally very annoyed and glared at him a few times. Seeing Aunt An serving Lan Qin, she couldn't help but ask deliberately.
Sigh, this woman, has she lost her mind? She's asking for trouble! Lanqin glanced at Yan Yu, wondering why Fourth Master suddenly took her in back then.
The Fujin was already quite unhappy about this, and Yan Yu's mention of it under these circumstances only made her angrier. However, she had to consider Yan Yu's feelings and could only say, "Master has never had many children. Now that Consort Niu is pregnant, Mother is only sending people to serve him because she cares about the family line. From now on, you should all take Consort Niu as an example, serve Master well, and help the royal family to have more children and continue the family line."
That's an exaggeration...
Lanqin had to give this Fujin a thumbs up. Even the Fourth Prince seemed to feel that he hadn't done his duty to produce offspring for the royal family after hearing her say that.
"Yes~~" everyone responded.
Suddenly, a voice as sweet as a nightingale's song drifted over, and everyone's attention was immediately drawn to the charming female lead's voice on the Bixin Pavilion.
She was dressed in a pale yellow, butterfly-patterned, double-breasted gown, with a phoenix crown on her head and a folding fan in her hand. She was singing "The Drunken Beauty." She was portraying Yang Guifei, one of the Four Beauties of ancient China, who captivated the emperor but ultimately met a tragic end.
The play is about Yang Guifei's sorrow and confusion over Emperor Xuanzong's infidelity. In short, it's about a woman who is extremely dissatisfied with her husband's open affair with other women, but because he is the emperor, she feels resentful because he can betray their vows without question.
The female lead's costume was exquisite. Lanqin thought that the woman on the stage was the most beautiful woman she had ever seen. Without realizing it, she turned her head to look at the Fourth Master, only to see that his gaze was also fixed on the face of the female lead in the pavilion.
"I think the actress on stage looks familiar," Madam Wang suddenly said.
After she said that, the others also began to observe the appearance and figure of the female performer. Lanqin couldn't help but stare at the woman on stage as well.
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