"Princess, please be careful, I'll take care of it." Nianxue saw Lanqin personally pecking at the pillow-sized block of ice with a knife.
"Are the fruits all ready? Go check on Niu Baoquan and see how the watermelon carving is going. I'll do my part for the eldest princess's coming-of-age ceremony too," Lanqin said, handing the knife to Nianxue and addressing Sihua beside her.
"Princess, just as you predicted, Granny Li from the main courtyard went out early this morning," Nianxue said. This was something a servant at the gatehouse had secretly told her; Lanqin had instructed Nianxue to deliberately befriend a servant at the gatehouse. After giving him a few purses, the servant was naturally happy to befriend the South Courtyard.
"Fortunately, Chen Shou was sent out early this morning, and it seems that the person has been settled. We're just waiting for the eldest princess's coming-of-age ceremony." Lanqin said with a faint smile.
"This servant didn't know that those fruits could be carved into such beautiful patterns. Master Niu's knife skills are truly amazing." Si Hua went out for a moment, took a look in the kitchen, and then returned to report.
"Sihua, take this ice and spread it under the fruit, then put it in the cellar. Cover it with a gauze curtain to keep mosquitoes away," Lanqin instructed.
"Girl Song must be very happy to see how much effort the princess has put into the coming-of-age ceremony for the eldest princess," Nianxue said with a smile.
"As long as Sister Song is happy. It's just a little trick to make everyone laugh," Lan Qin said. She taught Niu Baoquan some of the fruit-cutting techniques she had seen in the 21st century. Old Niu was already very skilled with a knife, so he naturally grasped the technique immediately. After practicing for about ten days, the fruit he cuts now looks quite nice.
At this moment, Xi Cha, who had been called out by Lan Qin to ask Zi Ran earlier that morning, returned.
Looking at the dense beads of sweat on her forehead and the sweat-soaked hair at her temples, Lanqin said to Xicha, who had not yet spoken, "Go wipe your face, have some tea, and then come back to answer."
Xi Cha nodded, turned around, and went to her own room to wash her face.
“Princess, all the people serving the Third Prince were arranged by Madam Li. How could they not be devoted to the Third Prince?” Nianxue covered the ice she had prepared with a layer of white gauze, waiting for Sihua to take them to the kitchen one by one.
“The Li family is gone, and the tea has gone cold. It’s hard to guarantee that someone inside hasn’t gone against their conscience and taken orders from them!” Lanqin held her belly and paced back and forth in the room, naturally in order to have a smooth delivery.
"Shouldn't you, Princess, go and mention it to the Master?" Nianxue asked Lanqin. She knew that there was probably no room for negotiation between the Princess and the Fujin.
“Not now, it depends on how you bring it up,” Lanqin said, looking at Nianxue meaningfully. They could see the helplessness in each other’s eyes, but the struggle between the principal wife and the concubine was inevitable.
Just then, a little maid from Geng's room suddenly barged in without warning. Lanqin recognized the maid; her name was Cui'er.
"Granny, I have urgent business to discuss with you, Princess. Please make an exception." Cui'er was covered in sweat, but she didn't bother to wipe it away; her anxiety was palpable.
"Granny Wang, let her in." Nianxue glanced at Lanqin, understood, and hurriedly went out, quickly walking to the door and saying as Lanqin wished.
Cui'er had never been to the South Courtyard before, but she had seen Nianxue in Geng's room. She quickly bowed to her and then followed her to Lanqin.
"This servant greets Princess Niu," Cui'er quickly bowed to Lanqin.
"Is something wrong, Sister Geng?" Lanqin asked. Seeing the little girl's hurried appearance, her heart pounded with anxiety.
"Yes, the princess was forced to kneel by the madam, right in the middle of the west courtyard. In this sweltering heat, I'm afraid the princess won't be able to bear it," Cui'er quickly said.
Lanqin was startled and almost lost her footing, but Nianxue quickly supported her.
"Princess, be careful. What did Princess Geng do that the Fujin is punishing her like this?" Nianxue asked the flustered maid as she helped Lanqin sit on the couch.
"It's said that the princess had an affair with the little prince born to Princess Yu. Our princess went for a walk today and said she met Princess Yu, who was leading the little prince and the princess, in the small garden. The princess then hugged the little prince." Cui'er paused for a moment, then continued, "Later, Princess Yu suddenly barged into our room with her people, saying that the princess had given the little prince something, and that as soon as the little prince returned home, he started foaming at the mouth."
Lanqin felt a twitch in her eyelids and her mouth gradually felt dry, but she still asked, "When did this happen?"
That very morning, the Fujin (Prince's wife) had just arrived with some people and said that they had not yet found out what had happened to the young prince, but that the princess was a prime suspect, so she ordered her to kneel in the middle of the courtyard.
"We haven't even investigated this thoroughly yet, and you're already making Geng Gege kneel? What kind of logic is that?" Nianxue looked at Lanqin with concern.
"If you want to find fault, you can always find a pretext." Lanqin tried to calm herself down, sighing inwardly: How coincidental! But it seems that the Princess Consort had already foreseen this...
"Princess Niu, please save our princess! She hasn't done anything wrong!" Cui'er pleaded.
Nianxue glanced at her with a troubled expression, her hand resting on Lanqin's shoulder. Lanqin raised her hand and patted the hand on her shoulder, saying, "My sister and I have already sworn brotherhood; we share the same fate, whether it's good or bad. Let's go, let's go see. Nianxue, go and let Sister Song know."
Lanqin knew that she shouldn't be overworked at this moment, but if she didn't go, she didn't know what Geng would do. Fourth Prince was still in the palace, and even if he returned, Geng would probably find it difficult to clear her name in the face of Yan Yu's accusations.
Seeing this, Nianxue had no choice but to immediately have Xicha take the umbrella and call Sihua to follow along. She and Sihua supported Lanqin and followed Cuier to the main courtyard.
Meanwhile, Geng was kneeling in the courtyard of the main house, with Green Lan only daring to use a fan to shield her from the scorching sun.
Furthermore, Madam Yin personally witnessed Madam Geng's maid hurriedly going to the South Courtyard.
“Princess, how could Geng Shi harm that man’s child? I don’t believe it,” Ye Ying said. “It seems that the Fujin wants to cause a scene before the eldest princess’s coming-of-age ceremony. Anyway, she doesn’t want to do anything with us, so let’s just wait and see. There might be a good show today.” Yin Shi walked to the embroidery pavilion in the room, where she saw densely packed silk threads piled up.
There are light green, emerald green, dark green, pink, crimson, plum red, orange red... In front of the embroidery frame, on the wooden clothes rack, hangs a "Spring Day Dwelling Picture", in which there are mountains as dark as ink and smoke, cowherds walking among the clouds, and thatched huts hidden among the mountain peaks.
"Princess, this painting is really too much work. Please keep your eyes peeled." Ye Ying couldn't understand why the princess wanted to embroider such a difficult painting.
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