The following day, Nianxue, following Lanqin's instructions, handed the large stack of silver notes to Chen Shou.
Five thousand taels!!!
When Chen Shou held this large sum of silver notes, the shock he felt was immense. From birth until now, and even in the future, he was unlikely to ever see such a thick stack of silver notes placed before him again.
A servant only earns three taels of silver a month, and naturally, his food, drink, clothing, and lodging are all provided by his master. Even if he doesn't spend a single penny, he can only save thirty-six taels of silver a year.
Even if Chen Shou lived a hundred years, without a pay rise, he would only have 3,600 taels of silver. That's basically it, after deducting medical expenses, illnesses, and other costs.
Chen Shou stood in his room and bowed deeply towards Lanqin's main room. This princess had no relation to him, yet she trusted him so much—truly a rare master. Following such a person, how could he not have opportunities to rise in the future? And when that time came, would he only have three thousand six hundred taels of silver?
As Chen Shou emerged from the house and walked out of the South Courtyard, Nianxue stood with Lanqin at the window of the Hexagonal Pavilion, watching.
“Princess, what if he takes five thousand taels of silver and runs away? Aren’t you worried at all? That’s more money than he could ever earn in his entire life.” Nianxue was fanning Lanqin’s back with a palace fan.
"They ran away, so what? For me, it's just a loss of five thousand taels of silver. It's just a stack of paper lying there, not much use. For him, it's probably to support his family. Anyway, he won't throw it into the fire. As long as it's used for people, it's not a loss," Lanqin said.
Nianxue said nothing more. At this moment, the Third Prince walked in, wearing a bright blue robe. Because he came often, Granny Wang didn't announce his arrival and let him in directly.
"Auntie, I want to pick more tomatoes," the Third Prince called out to Lanqin inside the house from beside the small vegetable garden.
"Okay, pick them, wash them, and pickle them with sugar." Lanqin didn't go out, but said to the window.
Seeing the Third Prince's bright face shining in the sunlight, Lanqin couldn't help but step out of the house.
"Don't we have to study today?" Lanqin wondered, since it should be the Third Prince's class time.
"Master Zhu is sick today and took the day off. Father gave me a day off." The Third Prince squatted in the tomato seedlings, already holding two or three tomatoes in his hand.
Lanqin stood beside the vegetable garden, pointing at the Third Prince. Nianxue quickly grabbed an oil-paper umbrella and held it over Lanqin's head.
"Third Prince, come inside with your aunt. Give the tomatoes to Nianxue." Lanqin noticed that the Third Prince's head was covered with glistening beads of sweat.
“Yes, Third Prince, let’s go inside. Princess is standing here with you, and her little brother in her belly is so naughty.” Nianxue stepped over the small fence and took the tomatoes that the Third Prince had picked from his hands.
"Auntie, is your little brother very naughty?" the Third Prince asked worriedly, looking at Lanqin's large belly.
"After he comes out, let him play with the Third Prince, okay?" Lanqin took the Third Prince's hand and walked into the main room.
“Okay, I’ll give all my toys to my little brother to play with,” the Third Prince said obediently.
Recalling her first meeting with the Third Prince, Lanqin suddenly felt a pang of sympathy for him. From being the favored child to now being so adept at reading people's expressions, Lady Li truly shouldn't have allowed this child to suffer so much. Yet, there are always some people who insist on using this child to achieve their own despicable ends.
"What's wrong, Third Prince? Your aunt seems to think you have something on your mind." Lanqin noticed that the Third Prince had something on his mind.
“Aunt, I miss Mother. When can we talk about her? I want to tell Father so he can investigate,” the Third Prince said.
Lanqin led the Third Prince into the house. She then had Xicha pour him a glass of chilled jasmine milk tea before taking a cloth from Sihua's hand and wiping the sweat from his face.
"Third Prince, let's wait until after your eldest sister's coming-of-age ceremony. Then we'll tell your father, okay?" Lanqin said again. "The whole mansion is preparing for this now. If we tell your father now, things might get uneasy again. Third Prince, do you remember our agreement?"
The Third Prince lowered his head and pondered for a moment, then looked up and said, "Yes, Aunt is right. Let's wait until the eldest sister's coming-of-age ceremony is over before we talk about it."
Lanqin tenderly stroked the Third Prince's head and comforted him, "Hongjun, remember, your aunt promises you that she will never let your mother die unjustly. Your aunt is trying to find the maids who served your mother. Only they might know something."
The Third Prince nodded, took the iced jasmine milk tea handed to him by Nianxue, took a sip, found it delicious, and drank it continuously.
"Third Prince, what is your Aunt Yin doing in the room? I haven't seen her come out at all," Lanqin asked casually, seemingly without thinking.
"Aunt Yin likes embroidery. I always see her embroidering things. I think she was going to embroider a screen," the Third Prince said.
Lanqin and Nianxue exchanged a glance, then asked, "Did you see anyone from the main courtyard go to your Aunt Yin's place?"
The Third Prince thought for a moment, shook his head, and said, "Auntie, do you suspect that the person who harmed my mother was my legal mother?"
Lanqin was taken aback and quickly said, "Auntie was just asking casually. You can't say things like that carelessly. Hongjun, you can't say those words again until Auntie finds the person who framed your mother, understand?"
The Third Prince nodded as if he understood but not quite.
Lanqin naturally had Niu Baoquan prepare a meal that the Third Prince liked, and only allowed the Third Prince to return after dinner.
"Princess, this servant noticed that the Third Prince always seems to enjoy himself very much when he comes here, as if he's never had enough to eat before." Nianxue took a piece of jade and massaged Lanqin's back. As the pregnancy progressed, Lanqin felt her lower back becoming increasingly sore.
“Niu Baoquan’s meals are much better than the portions served in the kitchens. The Third Prince is at the age where he is growing, so it’s natural for him to eat more,” Lanqin said lazily.
“I noticed that when the Third Prince came, no one was with him,” Nianxue said.
Lanqin narrowed her eyes and smiled, "You're so observant. Yes, the Third Prince should have someone with him, but he always comes alone. Those servants who serve him are really not doing their job properly."
“This servant noticed an oil stain on the side of the Third Prince’s clothes, so he probably hasn’t changed them,” Nianxue said.
"Tomorrow, go and ask Zi Ran what kind of servants are serving the Third Prince. They are so negligent; you should have told the head nanny first thing this morning." Lan Qin couldn't stand people who fawned over the powerful and bullied the weak.
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