After Lanqin was helped away by Nianxue and Sihua, she didn't think much about what happened in the front courtyard. Judging from the Fourth Prince's expression, the Princess Consort definitely wouldn't punish her this time, and perhaps she really thought it was all Li Momo's doing.
"Nianxue, I want to sleep for a while. Wake me up when it's time for lunch," Lanqin instructed as soon as she returned to the South Courtyard. Nianxue knew that Lanqin wasn't very happy either, so she immediately helped her to bed. It's common for pregnant women to take naps now and then when their bellies are big.
After helping Lanqin into bed, Nianxue laid out the crimson gauze curtains, lit a stick of calming sandalwood incense for Lanqin, and then withdrew.
Seeing that Nianxue's expression was not good, Xicha and the other maids knew what was going on. Only when they saw her come out of the princess's room did they dare to ask in a low voice.
“I thought this time I could expose the evil deeds of the Fujin, but unexpectedly, Li Momo appeared.” Nianxue said, pulling Xicha outside.
"Ah, so all those things that the Fujin did are just let go like this?" Xicha asked in surprise.
“That’s right. It was clearly the Fujin who ordered Li Momo to do it, but now she’s claiming she knows nothing about it. Even I find it infuriating. The princess couldn’t hold back and came back first,” Nianxue said angrily.
Lanqin slept until almost lunchtime. Madam Song, Madam Geng, and Madam Wu came to see her.
When the three entered the South Courtyard, they did not see Lanqin, but only several maids doing their own things.
"Greetings, ladies. My master is sleeping." Lan Qi, who was serving outside, saw the three of them enter first and quickly stepped forward to greet them.
"I'm afraid she's just unhappy. Alas, I never expected it to end like this," Geng said weakly.
"She is, after all, the principal wife. How could she be so easy to deal with? Let's go see our sister." Madam Song was calmer than the other two. After all, she had entered the manor earlier. Back then, Madam Li was so favored, yet the principal wife still gave birth to the eldest prince. This shows that the Fourth Prince was not a prince who favored his concubine over his wife.
As the three entered the house, they heard Lanqin and Nianxue talking in the inner room.
"Princess, you've been lying in bed too long, why don't you get up and walk around?" Nianxue saw that Lanqin had woken up and immediately prepared to serve her.
"Shameless! You just got up and you're already asleep again?" Madam Song forced a smile and stepped into the inner room first.
"Sister is here." Lanqin saw Song standing at the door with a smile and quickly reached out her hand to her.
Song Shi, of course, understood her meaning and quickly came over. Geng Shi and Wu Shi naturally followed behind her.
Song walked to Lanqin's bedside and sat down next to her. Geng and Wu each found a place to sit down.
"How is she? What happened to her?" Lanqin didn't want to ask, but she couldn't help asking anyway.
Song sighed and looked at Geng and Wu.
"Wang was sent to Zhanghua Pavilion, and Li Momo was beaten to death." Wu Shi blurted out.
"Oh, Li Momo's loyalty is truly extraordinary." Although Lan Qin had expected this, she still couldn't hide her disappointment upon hearing the result.
"The Princess Consort requested to be confined to her quarters for three months," Song added. "She herself said that she hadn't disciplined her servants properly, which led to these actions, and it wouldn't be right not to punish her."
"Hmph, isn't this what she always does? On the surface, she's humble and gentle, but in reality, she's ruthless. Do you know why I haven't been able to conceive all these years?" Madam Wu said indignantly.
"My sister has been favored by the master for the past few years, but unfortunately she has not conceived." Madam Song was referring to the time before Lanqin entered the mansion, when, apart from Madam Li, only Madam Wu was slightly favored.
"She gave me a string of red coral beads, which were originally made of musk. I wore them every day, which damaged my health. How could I possibly get pregnant?" Wu was furious whenever she mentioned this.
Lanqin was surprised when she heard this.
Good heavens, musk and arsenic have appeared! These are common tricks used in the inner quarters to harm people.
"Why don't you go and tell the master?" Geng asked.
"As you all saw, the evidence is overwhelming today, yet she remains unscathed. My claim about the red coral beads—that she gave them to me privately—is baseless. She might even turn around and accuse me of framing the wife," Wu said helplessly.
“What Sister Wu says is quite right. No matter what, as the principal wife, she naturally carries a certain ‘legitimate’ connotation than us. In everything, we are inherently inferior to her, so we cannot touch her without solid evidence,” said Madam Song.
Lanqin helplessly rested her head on Song's shoulder and said softly, "In short, the principal wife is the principal wife, and the concubine is the concubine. To use the concubine to fight against the principal wife is to commit treason."
Alas, traditional feudal thinking dictates that the principal wife can discipline the concubines, but if a concubine speaks ill of the principal wife, she is considered to have an impure heart and should be drowned in a pig cage or forced to climb a memorial archway.
The four sat in silence for a while before Lanqin finally spoke up: "Four people make a perfect mahjong table. Let's play mahjong this afternoon!"
It turned out that Lanqin had asked Carpenter Wang to make a set of "mahjong" out of wood, but she hadn't been able to gather four people to play, so she hadn't brought it out. Usually, Nianxue and the others would always decline to play with her. Today, Lanqin saw the three of them, so they decided to play mahjong together.
"Mahjong? What's that?" Wu asked, turning her head.
Song and Geng were not surprised, as they had both seen the things Lan Qinsu had brought out. Seeing Wu's curious expression, they both covered their mouths with handkerchiefs and laughed.
At lunchtime, the Fourth Master sent someone to say that he wanted to come and have lunch.
Hehe, this is because they're afraid Lanqin will get angry, so they sent someone over beforehand to find out Lanqin's attitude. Before, they would just come directly.
"Go back and tell the master that I am not feeling well today and ask him to have dinner in the main courtyard." Lanqin had already asked Niu Baoquan to prepare the meal, and at this moment, the four princesses were sitting around the table, waiting for the meal to be served.
The servant who delivered the message was startled, but dared not say anything and could only obey.
Seeing Lanqin's domineering attitude, Song and Geng laughed, "Only you would dare to turn me away."
Lanqin pouted and said, "Never mind him, let's have a good meal. The Fujin is so virtuous, let her serve us well."
During this meal, all four seemed to have forgotten what happened that morning, and none of them wanted to mention it again.
Meanwhile, upon hearing the servant's words, Fourth Master immediately felt embarrassed and became angry. He only sent Su Peisheng to fetch his meal, and ate alone in the front courtyard in a sullen mood. However, the rationed dishes could not compare to the small kitchen in the south courtyard; no matter how he ate, they were not as delicious as those.
Su Peisheng served him at the side, not daring to speak as usual. He knew the Fourth Prince was angry, but he didn't know who he was angry at. If he was angry at Lanqin, she had been wronged. If he was angry at the Fujin, the matter had already been dealt with. Now, he could only say he was angry at himself.
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