The imperial edict announcing Lanqin's promotion and investiture arrived, sent personally by officials from the Ministry of Rites to the Fourth Prince's residence. The formal announcement was to be made by the Fourth Prince and his wife gathering all the concubines in the main courtyard to proclaim it together, and naturally, a feast would be held to celebrate.
The headdress and clothes for Lanqin's concubine, which were made in haste, have also been prepared and delivered to the South Courtyard.
"This servant thanks Consort Niu for the reward!" The lead embroiderer smiled broadly, holding the large purse given to her by Nianxue, and bowed respectfully to Lanqin.
The two embroiderers behind her also received purses, though they were certainly smaller than hers. They also bowed respectfully to the head embroiderer.
These embroiderers knew best who was favored and who wasn't in the inner quarters. They spent the whole year making clothes for their respective mistresses, and it was easy to tell who received the most. Since Lanqin entered the mansion, the mistress of the South Courtyard was the one they made the most clothes for. Now that she had given birth to a princess, the master had promoted her rank, showing how much favor she received.
"This is what you deserve. There are a few children in the courtyard. Go and use the fabric to make some autumn and winter clothes for the children." Lanqin looked at the clothes they brought up. One set was made of fine cloud satin, another set of Shu satin, and two sets of cheongsams made of Suzhou satin. They were all close to bright red, clearly befitting the status of a concubine.
Actually, Lanqin doesn't really like wearing red; she prefers lighter shades like light blue, light green, and light yellow. But now that she's in a more prominent position, it's necessary to prepare some formal attire for holidays.
"Yes, please rest assured, Consort, I will make the clothes for the princess as soon as possible," the embroiderer replied immediately.
"Not just for Ushiha, but also clothes for another one-year-old boy and a six-month-old girl, make a few sets for them too." Lanqin was referring to the wet nurse's children. The fabric was all readily available, and since the other children were here, it felt a bit awkward to only make clothes for Ushiha.
The embroiderer was unaware of the situation and thought that Lanqin was talking about Wuxiha.
"Yes, this servant will make these clothes as soon as possible." Although the embroiderer was surprised, she naturally had to grant the request of this newly promoted concubine.
After the embroiderer left, Nianxue and Xicha displayed two qipaos, one orange-red and the other crimson, that had been placed under a large red lacquer tray in front of Lanqin.
"Princess, oh no, Consort, which outfit will you wear when you are conferred your title?" Nianxue asked, unable to contain her joy.
"You should still call me Gege; it sounds better." Lanqin reclined on the couch, showing little interest in the two sets of formal attire befitting a concubine. She never wanted to put herself in a position of conflict with the primary wife.
“How can that be? Now that you’ve been promoted to a secondary consort, how can we still call you ‘Gege’?” Nianxue said.
"When there are no outsiders around, please call me Gege. Only call me Consort when necessary," Lanqin said, knowing that Nianxue would never break the rules.
"Call whatever pleases your master." Fourth Master strode in from outside.
Seeing that Fourth Master had said so, Nianxue quickly smiled and agreed.
"What, don't you like these clothes?" Fourth Master walked to Lanqin's side, sat down, pulled Lanqin up, and hugged her.
"I don't like it. I prefer wearing cool colors; they look refreshing and cool," Lanqin said coquettishly, nestled in Fourth Master's arms.
Nianxue and the others had gotten used to this style of painting, and they all lowered their heads, acting as pillars.
"It's alright, just wear these colors when you need to, for example, when you go to the palace with me to express our gratitude tomorrow, it would be better to wear that orange-red outfit," said the Fourth Prince.
Lanqin nodded and said, "My lord, why don't we take advantage of this opportunity to go for a stroll together?"
The Fourth Prince impatiently tapped Lanqin's forehead and said, "You're a mother now, and you're still so playful. Are you really willing to leave Wuxiha for a day? She has to go to the palace very early tomorrow morning. She probably won't be out until the hour of Wu (7-9 AM)."
Lanqin said shyly, "Wuxiha is so happy now that he has two children to eat, drink, and sleep with. It's alright for me to go out for a little while."
Okay, Lanqin has been stuck in the South Courtyard since she was seven or eight months pregnant. She really misses the food outside and is feeling a bit restless. In the 21st century, Lanqin would be called postpartum depression.
"What's wrong? With Ushiha around, you still want to go out for a stroll?" Fourth Master naturally didn't know Lanqin's feelings, nor did he understand postpartum depression. He just couldn't understand Lanqin's idea of leaving Ushiha behind and going out to play by herself.
"Master, we have our own child, but we can't live without ourselves. I just want to enjoy some time alone with you," Lanqin pouted.
Upon hearing this, Fourth Master found it reasonable and asked, "Where do you want to go?"
Seeing that the Fourth Master had said this, Lanqin knew he had agreed, and smiled, "I just want to take a stroll. Wherever you go, I'll follow."
The Fourth Prince lowered his head and kissed Lanqin's forehead, saying softly, "I know a place with excellent food. How about we have dinner there after we leave the palace?"
When Lanqin saw that Fourth Master had offered to go eat, she was naturally delighted and agreed.
"Can you change your clothes now? You're the star of the night, and the banquet has already been set up in the main courtyard of the Fujin (Prince's wife). I'll have someone come to fetch you then," said the Fourth Prince.
"I know, I will definitely dress up beautifully and show off my status as a concubine." Lanqin said with a smile. The headdresses that Zhao Quan brought earlier were all made of gold and silver, of the finest quality, but they were all very heavy. Just thinking about wearing those headdresses made Lanqin's scalp ache.
That evening, Lanqin was dressed in crimson, her hair styled in a large, elaborate headdress adorned with gold and jewels. All the princesses had arrived, and under their watchful eyes, Lanqin performed a grand salute to the Fourth Prince and his wife, and received various forms of greetings from her as a secondary consort.
When Yan Yu walked up to Lan Qin and bowed deeply to her, he thought she would speak rudely, but to his surprise, she was surprisingly obedient and docile.
The Fujin glanced at Yan Yu a few times, expecting her to say something to Niu Shi, but this time she was very respectful and showed no sign of dissatisfaction.
After the formalities were completed, everyone took their seats and began to drink and eat. For a time, the Fourth Master's entire inner quarters were peaceful and tranquil. However, as Lanqin watched this moonlit night filled with the joyous gathering of beautiful women, a tightness gripped her heart. She hoped that this peace and tranquility could last longer, much longer.
That night, Fourth Master naturally stayed at Lanqin's place. Meanwhile, in Yan Yu's room, red candles flickered, and the people inside were not asleep either.
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