"What do you have to say? I thought you were quite eloquent, so why aren't you saying a word now?" Consort De turned to stare at Lanqin.
“Mother is absolutely right, Lanqin understands. I am willing to accept the punishment, but please don’t get angry, Mother. My dry throat is caused by excessive liver fire. If you get angry for Lanqin’s sake, it will only worsen my throat condition. All the soup I’ve cooked for you will be wasted.” Lanqin said, bowing her head.
After hearing these words, Consort De's expression softened slightly, and she said in a gentler tone, "Good, at least you're sensible. I'll punish you by making you stay here and copy these account books for me."
Aunt An secretly breathed a sigh of relief. She was afraid that Consort De would really be angry and punish Consort Niu, which would make her feel terrible. She was the one who caused Lanqin to say those things. As for the punishment of losing a month's salary, it really wasn't much of a punishment.
Because she had gotten up early, Consort De went to rest after drinking the monk fruit and snow pear water. Only Lanqin remained in the warm pavilion, kneeling on the couch copying the account books.
Sure enough, these ladies-in-waiting, though able to rise so early, were actually quite tired. They would usually rest after breakfast to digest their food. They wouldn't rise again until close to lunchtime, then after lunch and another midday rest, only getting up to move around for an hour or two in the afternoon before having dinner. If the Emperor didn't come, after dinner, they would wash up and rest.
Lanqin entered the warm pavilion, hunched over a small table, copying down the densely packed account books. After copying for over an hour, her wrists felt a little numb. Seeing that there was no one else in the warm pavilion, she put down the account books and got off the bed. She first poured herself a glass of water, then took a piece of osmanthus cake from the pastry plate and put it in her mouth.
Lanqin walked to the window, gently pushed open the wooden window, and took a few breaths of fresh air before her mind cleared up.
After moving around for a while, she reached out and closed the window, then continued copying the ledger.
I had no idea how many miscellaneous tasks there were in managing the harem until I copied them: the quantity, quality, and origin of each type of tribute; records of the allowances distributed to various departments; records of the inventory in the storerooms.
Meanwhile, Consort De had already gotten up and changed her clothes with the help of palace maids, while Granny De stood by and talked with Consort De.
“He only got up once in between, drank some tea, and ate a piece of pastry. He opened the window for a while before going back to continue copying. He should still be copying now,” Demomo said.
"She's quite patient!" Consort De said with a smile.
"Her Majesty wanted to see what Consort Niu's temperament was like, so she deliberately used Anru's words to punish the two of them," said Granny De with a smile.
"Hmm. Tell me, how much sense does Lady Niu have?" With the help of her maid, Consort De got up from the bed and walked towards the dressing table.
After pondering for a while, Granny De stood behind Consort De and said respectfully, "This old servant thinks that Consort Niu's words are correct."
Consort De's face was reflected in the bronze mirror, making it somewhat difficult to see clearly at this moment, but the smile blooming on her lips was still visible.
"You should try to make me happy like that girl," Consort De said with a smile and a scolding tone.
“This servant has served Your Highness for over twenty years and has witnessed His Majesty’s true trust in you. Your Highness’s maternal family has nothing to rely on, yet His Majesty treats you so well; it truly shows his affection and trust in you.” Granny De couldn’t bring herself to say the word “love.”
A rare tenderness and self-satisfaction flashed in Consort De's eyes. She then said to De Momo, "Go and make her stop. There's no need to rush to finish copying. Have her go to the kitchen to give instructions for lunch. I heard from the Fourth Prince that she's quite the connoisseur."
Granny De smiled, shook her head, and withdrew.
At this moment, the Fourth Prince had just left the Hall of Supreme Harmony, having finished his morning court session.
He was originally going to the Ministry of Revenue for lunch, but with Lanqin on his mind, he turned and headed towards the inner palace.
"Fourth Brother, are you planning to go and pay your respects to Consort De?" Eighth Prince and Ninth Prince called out to Fourth Brother from behind.
"I heard that Consort Niu is attending to Consort De while she is ill. I suppose Fourth Brother is thinking of a beautiful woman," Ninth Prince teased.
Fourth Prince didn't want to get entangled with them, so he simply replied, "I'm going to pay my respects to Mother," and strode away.
"Hmph, what's so great about that? He only pleased Father Emperor by bringing the Wang mother and son to his estate to recuperate. Eighth Brother, look at what he said at the morning court session. He actually proposed opening the imperial examinations to all commoners. What kind of talk is that? From now on, any Tom, Dick, or Harry can become an official in the court!" Ninth Prince said bitterly. He had spent a fortune building connections among officials in various regions. Fourth Prince's proposal in court immediately won over the hearts of scholars across the land. From now on, ordinary people, as long as they had talent and studied diligently, could use the imperial examinations to pursue their ambitions of governing the country. Since official positions in the court were fixed, allowing these people to enter would mean that those scholars from official families who lacked talent, were unwilling to study, or could have entered officialdom through their family's influence would have no hope left.
“That’s what makes him different. Alright, you go see Consort Yi, and I’ll go see Consort Hui and my mother.” The Eighth Prince sighed.
Now, let's talk about the Fourth Prince. He arrived at Yonghe Palace.
When he entered the main hall, he did not see Consort De or Lanqin, so he went to the warm pavilion, where he saw Consort De listening to a small steward from the Imperial Household Department reporting on something.
When Granny De saw this, she quickly whispered something in Consort De's ear, and only then did she see that the Fourth Prince was standing at the entrance of the warm pavilion.
"The fourth prince is here. You may leave now. Come back to speak with me this afternoon." Consort De hurriedly dismissed the eunuch who had come to report.
When the eunuch from the Imperial Household Department saw that the Fourth Prince had arrived, he naturally dared not delay the mother and son's family reunion. He quickly greeted them and withdrew.
The Fourth Prince sat down on a small round embroidered stool that Granny De had personally brought over, and looking at Consort De's expression, he said, "Mother was just feeling unwell, why are you working so hard again? Just leave these matters to the people below."
Consort De smiled and said, "Our Manchu people's Golden Offering Festival is coming soon. I'm worried about not managing the affairs of the inner palace. Did you just come from the morning court?"
Fourth Master nodded and said, "I've come to see my mother. How did Madam Niu serve you yesterday?"
Upon hearing this, Consort De glanced at the Fourth Prince's expression and said, "Are you worried about whether Lady Niu is suffering here with Mother?"
Granny De was really worried for the mother and son. The atmosphere had been so good just now, how did it suddenly turn sour?
Fourth Master immediately said, "Mother, you misunderstand. I was just worried that she was clumsy and wouldn't be able to serve you well, which would make you even more unhappy."
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