The Fourth Prince's villa was a royal estate built against the mountains in present-day Changping, Beijing. Consort Wang and the Eighteenth Prince moved in separately, one after the other, and only told the people there that she was a noble relative of the Fourth Prince, without specifying her identity.
Oh dear, what kind of situation is this? The emperor's concubine and youngest son actually went to the eldest son's estate to recuperate together, and they can't even explain it.
Lanqin, the children, and Fourth Master arrived by carriage after traveling for almost two hours. The rooms where they, the mother and children, and the wet nurses and maids they brought with them lived were all prepared, separated from Consort Wang and her children by a garden.
Lanqin led the children, maids, and wet nurses into the small courtyard located on the east side of the estate. Although it was not as nice as the South Courtyard, it was still well-maintained and had two maids and servants working there.
Lanqin brought all four of her maids, Chen Shou brought his, along with Xichen's wet nurse and Wuxiha's wet nurse, and two maids to assist them. There were more than a dozen people in total. Lanqin ordered Nianxue to go and assign rooms; she herself was too lazy to manage these matters.
After a long morning journey, Lanqin felt exhausted, and the two little ones were also drowsy and wanted to sleep, so she told the wet nurse to take them downstairs to rest.
"Master, shouldn't we first pay our respects to Consort Wang and the Eighteenth Prince?" Although Lanqin was very sleepy, she was still clear-headed about these matters of etiquette.
"Hmm. Quickly wash up and come with me to pay your respects to Consort Wang. In the future, when I'm not here, you'll still have to deal with Consort Wang," said the Fourth Master.
This Consort Wang wasn't from a particularly high-ranking family; she was a member of the Han Banner Army. She was exceptionally beautiful and charming, and Emperor Kangxi adored her. She was also very fertile, giving birth to two sons in quick succession: the sixteenth prince and the eighteenth prince. The sixteenth prince was now ten years old, and the eighteenth prince was only four. However, Consort Wang didn't rise in rank because of her sons; she remained a lowly consort. Many in the palace mocked her, but Lanqin secretly believed that it truly showed Emperor Kangxi's love for her and her two sons.
Who was Emperor Kangxi? He was one of the greatest emperors in Chinese history! He captured Oboi at the age of thirteen or fourteen, quelled the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories at seventeen or eighteen, and conquered Taiwan. He was incredibly successful at a young age. But as people get older, the youthful vigor is worn down by time, and they become more pragmatic and prepared for potential dangers even in times of peace.
Consort Wang came from the Han Banner Army, and her maternal clan was not good. If she were to rise to a high position, her ambitions would grow, and she might not bring peace to her two children, but rather various schemes against them. Poor Emperor Kangxi, with his loving fatherly heart, I wonder if Consort Wang understood or appreciated it.
Lanqin washed her face with the help of Xicha, applied some oil, and restyled her hair. After getting ready, she followed the Fourth Prince to see Consort Wang and the Eighteenth Prince.
"This humble servant greets Consort Wang. May Consort Wang enjoy boundless blessings and peace!" Lanqin greeted Consort Wang as she entered. The Fourth Prince, in his capacity, nodded in acknowledgment.
"Wang Yun also pays her respects to the Fourth Prince and his concubine. Thank you for your help this time, Fourth Prince. Otherwise, Yinxi and I would not have had this opportunity to be alone together." Consort Wang was about to give the Fourth Prince a curtsy.
The Fourth Prince quickly bowed and said, "Your Excellency, there's no need for such formality. My Eighteenth Brother is in poor health, and it pains me to see him like this. Besides, Father Emperor has a motherly heart for you. Please don't worry about it. Just stay here and help your Eighteenth Brother recover. Lady Niu has just given birth to a princess, so she can keep you company and let your Eighteenth Brother play with the children. If he's in a better mood, he'll naturally recover faster."
Lady Wang held Lanqin's hand with great gratitude and asked her about her pregnancy and childbirth. They became familiar with each other in no time.
As a prince who had already come of age, the Fourth Prince could not stay here for too long, so he took the Eighteenth Prince outside to play. Actually, the Eighteenth Prince was just weak, and as soon as autumn arrived, he would catch a cold and cough.
Looking at the child who was as beautiful as a porcelain doll, Lanqin sighed in her heart: What good is being a prince? He had to be separated from his birth mother from birth and grow up in the care of those nannies.
Clearly, Consort Wang's continued lack of promotion was due to the jealousy she faced, mainly because she had given birth to two sons. The sixteenth prince was already ten years old, but the eighteenth prince was favored by Emperor Kangxi from birth, being intelligent and bearing a striking resemblance to Consort Wang.
"Your Majesty, I see that the Eighteenth Emperor is in much better spirits. He should rest well at the estate and take some appropriate supplements; he will gradually recover," Lanqin said.
“Alas, this child has been sickly and ill since birth. It’s all my fault for being incompetent and not being favored by the Emperor, so I can’t be promoted. Even if I were just a concubine, I could raise him myself,” sighed Consort Wang.
Um, talking about this seems a bit off-topic... Lanqin was just Kangxi's daughter-in-law after all, so it's not appropriate for her to comment on her father-in-law's harem.
"Your Majesty seems to dote on Consort and the Eighteenth Prince. Consort, please don't overthink it. Just stay here at the estate and rest. Tomorrow, let's go see what's fun at the estate and take the Eighteenth Prince along, shall we?" Lanqin tried to change the subject.
Seeing that Lanqin was not very willing to continue the conversation, Consort Wang naturally understood and immediately changed the subject, talking to Lanqin about places on the estate.
After all, Lanqin's sister, Holland, is also a noblewoman. How much grievance must Consort Wang have been holding in, to say such things to someone? It seems she's not thinking things through.
The Fourth Prince had to return home after spending a day at the estate, as he still had matters to attend to in the palace, and the two-hour carriage rides each day were too tiring.
Lanqin wasn't the kind of woman who fussed over things. At first, she was a little reluctant to leave, but once Fourth Master was really gone, she wasn't that heartbroken. Soon, Lanqin discovered that life on the estate was actually much more comfortable than in the manor. Everything she ate and drank was locally sourced, and she naturally brought Niu Baoquan with her. Furthermore, everyone here was under her control, and she could go wherever she wanted—it was much freer.
The next day, before Lanqin had even opened her eyes, she received the first letter from the Fourth Master.
Hehe, the Fourth Prince complains about being tired from running around, but his servants don't need to work in the palace, so it's fine for them to run around every day. And look, our Fourth Prince still has a romantic streak; as soon as he got back, he started writing a letter to Lanqin.
Lanqin slept until she naturally woke up, since no one bothered her anyway. She would pay her respects to Consort Wang every day, and if she wanted to play together, she would; if not, she wouldn't bother her.
"Princess, the young princess and the young master are both up. Are you still sleeping? The master wrote you a letter." Nianxue said as she saw Lanqin stretching lazily in bed.
"Give me the letter, I want to read it first." Lanqin still didn't want to get up and reached out to Nianxue for it.
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