Song quickly wiped away her tears and gave Lanqin a smile that broke through her sobs.
Looking over there, one could see the Fujin (princess) combing the eldest princess's hair while the head nanny recited a prayer, which roughly meant that she wished the eldest princess to be gentle and kind, filial to her elders, and respectful to her husband in the future.
Lanqin suddenly felt it was all meaningless, thinking to herself: "Sure enough, Master was right; perhaps she shouldn't have come." And she couldn't even sit; she had to stand and listen to those long, repetitive ramblings.
After finally getting through the time when the Fujin's hair was combed and the head nanny finished reading her verses, Lanqin thought she could finally rest for a while. But in fact, the formal coming-of-age ceremony had only just begun.
Next, the three aunts—the First Princess Consort, the Third Princess Consort, and the Fifth Princess Consort—began to style the eldest princess's hair and add her hairpins, naturally prompting another round of nagging from the head nanny. This time, Lanqin really couldn't take it anymore.
The Fourth Prince and his wife stood at the bottom of the steps, watching the eldest princess sit on the cushion and have her hairpins tied by the other wives. The Fourth Prince couldn't help but glance at Lanqin, also worrying about whether the young princess, with such a big belly, could stand up.
Sure enough, once he saw her, the Fourth Prince could no longer focus his attention on the First Princess.
Lanqin frowned and began to turn her body from time to time.
The Fourth Prince desperately wanted to send Su Peisheng to tell Lanqin to go back to her room and rest. However, looking at the other princes below, even the Prince of Zhi was there; the Crown Prince hadn't come, but he had sent his eldest son, Hongxi. It would be inappropriate for him to suddenly speak to Su Peisheng at this moment. But seeing the little princess's expression, she seemed genuinely unwell.
Just then, Lanqin, who was still standing, suddenly felt dizzy and quickly called out to Nianxue behind her. As soon as Nianxue helped Lanqin up, Lanqin's head tilted and she leaned on Nianxue's shoulder.
The Fourth Prince was so frightened by what he saw that he wanted to run over immediately. The Princess Consort, who was standing to the side, noticed the Fourth Prince's strange behavior and quickly turned her head to look. She saw that the Fourth Prince was staring in the direction of the women.
Song and Geng were seen carrying Niu Shi on either side of her, walking from the back towards the corridor. Fortunately, they were smart enough not to make a sound. They simply carried Niu Shi, who had fallen onto Geng, without making a noise. Even the Fourteenth and Thirteenth Princes standing in front of them did not seem to notice.
The princess frowned slightly: Is she tired?
The Fourth Master wished he could immediately pick up Lanqin and take her to rest. Seeing that Madam Geng and the others had already helped her away, he felt slightly relieved, but worried that she might be unwell, and therefore couldn't very well call for Doctor Wu.
Alas, even our Comrade Sisi has moments like this, so preoccupied with a woman. He's quite a far cry from his image as a cold-faced prince!
Meanwhile, Lanqin and the others entered the west wing, accompanied by their respective maids. The others in the main courtyard were all focused on the eldest princess's coming-of-age ceremony and had no spare time to attend to them.
"Sister Song, why don't you go back and continue watching the ceremony? This is the only time the eldest princess will have her coming-of-age ceremony." Lanqin, who had been leaning on Geng's shoulder, suddenly opened her eyes and propped herself up.
"You little girl, sit up straight and be careful of your belly. Although the eldest princess's coming-of-age ceremony is only once, I will personally watch her get married in the future," said Madam Song.
"Sisters, we must continue to pretend, otherwise our good wife will become suspicious. Just let me secretly tell Granny Li that I've had a miscarriage and urgently need to see Doctor Wu. I'm afraid I'll disturb the noble ladies attending the ceremony here, so please take me to Doctor Wu instead." Lanqin finished speaking in one breath, showing no sign of discomfort whatsoever.
"You little rascal, you've got a lot of tricks up your sleeve. You even came up with the idea of faking fainting halfway through," Madam Geng spat at Lanqin and laughed.
“Only in this way can we leave here openly and legitimately, otherwise the Princess Consort will definitely become suspicious,” Lanqin said.
"There's no time to lose, Sister Song, you should go and tell Granny Li right away," Madam Geng urged. This was the first time the three of them had put on a good show in front of the Fujin. They all understood the grievances they had suffered before. If they wanted to fight against this Fujin, they had to form an alliance, and they had to be good at pretending, even more convincingly than her.
Song nodded, pondered for a moment, then immediately put on an anxious expression before lifting her skirt and going out.
Meanwhile, outside, Fourth Master listened to the First Madam's prayers, but his mind was on the west wing, wondering how Lanqin was doing and whether she would have a miscarriage.
Just as she was pondering this, she saw Madam Song come out, looking very anxious. Her heart skipped a beat, fearing that something had happened to the little princess.
Madam Song walked slowly down the corridor, circled around, and came to the back of the Fourth Prince and his wife. Granny Li was standing there; seeing Madam Song approach, she curtsied and waited for her to speak.
"Granny Li, Princess Niu has been standing for too long, and her stomach is a little uncomfortable. Should we go and ask Doctor Wu to take a look?" Madam Song said anxiously.
"This is the eldest princess's coming-of-age ceremony, and it's not appropriate for Doctor Wu to come. Perhaps I should go and consult with the Princess Consort to see what is best," said Granny Li.
Mr. Song nodded naturally.
Granny Li tiptoed up behind the Fujin and whispered a few words in her ear.
Fourth Master knew it must be about Lanqin, so he whispered, "Have someone carry Niu back to the South Courtyard in a sedan chair, and quickly send Doctor Wu there."
Upon hearing this, the Fujin felt a pang of bitterness, but this was not the time to argue, so she instructed Li Mama to do as the Fourth Prince had instructed.
Lanqin was helped out of the main courtyard. As soon as she reached the gate, a sedan chair stopped there, saying that the Fujin had ordered them to carry Lanqin back.
The three of them remained silent and let Lanqin get into the sedan chair first, then headed towards the South Courtyard.
Halfway there, taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, Geng took Green Balustrade's hand and headed towards the front yard.
"Princess, we're going to the head nanny's place, I wonder if she'll let us in?" Green Orchid asked.
"Just say that the head nanny sent people over. Anyway, no one in charge is in the main courtyard right now, so I can still handle them," Geng said decisively.
Without saying another word, the two hurried to the main courtyard.
When Xiao Zhuzi at the gate saw that it was Madam Geng, he was startled, but he quickly stepped forward with a smile and said, "This servant greets Lady Geng. What brings you here at this time, Lady? The master is in the main courtyard performing the coming-of-age ceremony for the eldest princess."
"I'm from the province. Are all the performers from the art troupe we invited here?" Madam Geng gave Green Orchid a meaningful look.
Green Lan understood and quickly took a purse from her sleeve and stuffed it into Xiao Zhu's hand. The latter naturally accepted it and, feeling happy, quickly said, "Yes, they're all in the room with the head nanny. The head nanny said that all the gentlemen will be coming over later, and they're here to entertain."
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