Lanqin was unaware of the consequences of her bold suggestion. All she knew was that Emperor Kangxi doted on the Eighteenth Prince, and that it would be beneficial for the Fourth Prince to get closer to the Eighteenth Prince. So she made that suggestion.
When Kangxi saw that Consort Wang was crying pitifully, and because he felt sorry for her, he couldn't help but waver.
When the Fourth Prince saw this situation, he was still a little confused. He had never even thought about bringing his eighteenth brother to his estate. But since Lanqin had brought it up, if he didn't express his opinion now, it would make Kangxi overthink things.
"Your Majesty, I have a villa with beautiful scenery and servants. I'll take Eighteenth Brother there for recuperation and send some imperial physicians with him. He might recover faster than if he stayed in the Prince's residence." Fourth Prince wasn't very sure either, but since Lanqin had already said so, he had to continue to smooth things over for her.
"Your Majesty, I beg you. Please allow me to stay with Yinli for a while. I will return to the palace as soon as I see that she is better." Wang looked to be no more than twenty years old and was extremely beautiful.
Lanqin looked at her and suddenly thought of Zheng Chunhua, who was probably already forgotten by Kangxi. She also thought of her sister, Holland, wondering how she was doing in the palace.
"Alright, that's settled then. However, Consort Wang will only be leaving the palace to pray for the Eighteenth Prince and will stay at Huangjue Temple for a while. The Eighteenth Prince, Yinli, will be staying at his Fourth Brother's residence for a while," Kangxi said.
Wang glanced gratefully at Lanqin and the Fourth Prince, then curtsied to Kangxi and left.
"Girl, I've noticed that you always come up with ideas that others can't. Now that you've been promoted to the rank of Consort, you must help the Fourth Prince manage his household well." Kangxi was clearly quite pleased with Lanqin's quick wit, and his expression softened considerably.
"This humble servant thanks Your Majesty for your praise." Lanqin gave a proper curtsy, daring not to be disrespectful in front of the real Emperor.
"Fourth Prince, your concubine is quite good; you should cherish her. Girl, go see your sister. I haven't visited her in a while; she hasn't been well. Perhaps if you go and see her, and comfort her and tell her not to worry, her illness will improve faster," Kangxi said.
"Your Majesty, I obey your decree. I thank you, Father Emperor, for granting me the title of Consort." Lanqin knelt down again and performed the grandest of rites.
"Rise. You may go now. Fourth Prince, stay here; I have something to say to you," Kangxi said.
Lanqin dared not say another word and immediately bowed and withdrew.
Emperor Kangxi specifically instructed those outside to send Lanqin to the place where Holland was staying. She lived in a side hall of Jingyang Palace, in the main seat of a concubine who had once been very favored by Emperor Kangxi.
Lanqin had wanted to visit Zheng Chunhua as well, but Shufangzhai was quite far from here, so she had to give up the idea.
In a side hall of Jingyang Palace, the room was filled with a slightly pungent fragrance. She was sitting on a chaise longue, a blanket draped over her, and holding a few sheets of paper in her hand.
"Your Excellency, your younger sister, Consort Niu, has come to see you," a palace maid announced.
Holland looked up and saw Lanqin and her two personal maids walking towards the door.
"My sister has arrived. How did she come to the palace?" Holland looked at Lanqin's face, which was fair and rosy, and her face was much rounder. Even her demeanor was different from before. Holland knew that she was living a happy life, unlike herself, who was struggling every day to win Kangxi's favor, only to end up in such a situation.
"I went to the palace with the Fourth Prince to express my gratitude," Lanqin said.
"Look at my eyes, my sister must have been promoted, because her clothes are different now." Only then did Holland notice the color of Lanqin's clothes.
"No matter how much I rise in rank, I still have to go to the palace to pay my respects to you. Sister is truly blessed." Seeing Holland's current state, Lanqin felt bad and could only flatter her.
"You've already seen how I'm doing, so why bother with such hypocritical words?" Holland didn't look too well.
"Sister, take good care of yourself, and the Emperor will come soon," Lanqin could only say. Holland's beauty was once exceptional, but once she entered the palace, she realized there were always people more beautiful than her. Even the demeanor and grace of that Consort Wang just now surpassed Holland's. Zheng Chunhua was also a beauty of unparalleled grace; Holland's beauty was truly insignificant here.
"Lanqin, I'm quite envious of you now. You have the Fourth Prince's favor, you have your own child, and you're living your own life. You're much better off than me," Holland said with a forced smile.
"Holland, this is the path you chose yourself. Now that you've chosen it, you have to walk it well. There's no use saying these things now. You can't keep wallowing in self-pity. You must pull yourself together, make yourself look your best, and only then will you have a chance to regain the Emperor's favor." Lanqin felt uncomfortable seeing Holland like this.
After Lanqin's words, the last trace of a smile on Holland's face vanished without a trace, like the light snow of early winter.
“The demons and monsters here are far more dangerous than that Fourth Prince’s wife. You can easily fall into their traps. Look at me now, my body is like a medicine pot. I’ve had two miscarriages. How can I ever recover?” Holland said, fighting back tears.
“Even if Father knew about the inappropriateness of my sister being here, he probably couldn’t do anything about it. How to gain the Emperor’s favor is a survival skill you must learn yourself. Why do you always miscarry, while Consort Wang was able to give birth to the eighteenth prince safely? You need to figure out the reasons yourself,” Lanqin said.
After hearing this, Holland stopped lamenting. She knew that if she gave up now, she might never see the emperor again.
As for the Fourth Prince, Kangxi talked to him about gradually banning the activities of Western missionaries in the Qing Dynasty, and also mentioned the illness of the Eighteenth Prince. The Fourth Prince listened to Lanqin's words and showed great care for the Eighteenth Prince, which pleased Kangxi.
When Lanqin came out of Jingyang Palace, the Fourth Prince had already sent someone to pick her up to have a meal at Yonghe Palace.
Consort De specially ordered a table of food to be prepared, but Lanqin and the Fourth Prince had never eaten with Consort De before. Lanqin could only try her best to ease the awkwardness between the mother and son, and she didn't enjoy the meal very much.
Once outside the palace, Lanqin grabbed the Fourth Prince's arm and said coquettishly, "I've been starving to please your mother. I don't care, Your Highness said you'd take me to a restaurant. We're going now."
The Fourth Prince was surprised that Lanqin hadn't finished eating yet, and felt a pang of pity. It was all his fault for always feeling uncomfortable in front of Consort De, which made the little princess joke around and make people happy.
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