The next day, Lanqin finally saw the Fourth Prince. She could go back to the manor with him soon. It had been seven or eight days since they were separated, but it felt like a long time. She wondered how the children were doing.
The Fourth Prince specially came to pick up Lanqin at noon, and after having lunch with Consort De as usual, he took his leave.
Lanqin felt tired, and her mind was still on Cui Niang's matter. As soon as she left Yonghe Palace, she said to the Fourth Prince, "Your Highness, I would like to bring Cui Niang out of the palace and have her come to my courtyard. Speaking of which, now that I have become a concubine, my courtyard is short of a matron to manage things. Nianxue and the others are still young."
Fourth Master would naturally agree, but upon seeing that it was Consort Cui, he hesitated somewhat. "Consort Cui used to serve the Princess Consort in the palace. You don't mind?"
Lanqin said, "I felt a sense of familiarity upon meeting Lady Cui. Having served you, Madam, I hope to get to know you better in the future, making our relationship easier." Lanqin didn't want to appear complicated in front of the Fourth Prince, but sometimes she couldn't help it. After all, the Fourth Prince was a man; he was busy with affairs of the court. It was already good enough that he treated her this way; could she expect him to handle every little detail? No, some things couldn't be avoided. She had to rely on herself.
"Alright, she's the first person you asked for. I'll go to the Imperial Household Department in a few days and have them release Cui Niang." The Fourth Prince felt this wasn't an unreasonable request at all.
The Fourth Prince noticed that the young woman's complexion wasn't as good as when she first arrived, and felt a pang of pity, knowing she was certainly not as comfortable as she was in her own courtyard. He decided to skip the Ministry of Revenue altogether and leave the palace with Lanqin and her servant.
Fourth Master didn't know that Lanqin could return today, so he didn't bring many carriages. Su Peisheng, Nianxue, and the others could only sit on the carriage shaft.
Lanqin nestled in Fourth Master's arms, thinking to herself: Finally, I can go home.
"What's wrong? Why are you so quiet? I like seeing you in such a lively state." Fourth Master turned his head and kissed Lanqin's forehead.
Hmph, for her sake, he stubbornly refused to stay at Madam Yin's place yesterday. Logically speaking, they are all his women, so why couldn't he stay at her place? But the Fourth Master doesn't seem interested in anyone else these days; it seems all his passion is focused on this little woman in his arms.
"I visited Consort Li yesterday. Did you hear, Your Majesty? You said the Emperor went to Minqing Palace and took away several servants," Lanqin said. Actually, she wasn't unhappy, just a little listless.
“Oh. She delivered something to Ushiha. Since you're in the palace, it's only right that you return the visit. You don't need to worry about the Crown Prince's affairs. Father Emperor will handle it naturally. Why are you unhappy about these things?” the Fourth Prince asked.
"My lord, as a concubine, shouldn't my duty be to voluntarily relinquish you so that the other ladies can bear you children?" Lanqin muttered. Well, she was conflicted. As a woman, no one wants to share their man, but as a prince's concubine, does that mean her duty has to be upheld?
"What did your mother tell you?" Fourth Master immediately understood why the little woman was unhappy.
"Master, I didn't stop you from going anywhere else. It's you who didn't want to go!" Lanqin nodded and snorted.
"Yes, yes, it was all my own choice to go to the South Courtyard. You didn't stop me from going!" Fourth Master said, suppressing a laugh, his mind unconsciously recalling what happened at Madam Yin's place last night.
Lanqin was even angrier when she saw the smile on Fourth Master's face: Your mother asked me to send women to your room, and you're so happy about it. Is that what you really want?!
"Then shall I stay at Madam Yin's place tonight?" Fourth Master added.
"How dare you!!" Lanqin immediately became furious. This bad person knew perfectly well that she was uncomfortable, yet he deliberately provoked her.
"Now you're the one stopping me from going anywhere else." Fourth Master found the little woman's troubled expression quite adorable and wanted to tease her to see her get angry!
"You're so mean, Master. If you want to go, then go. I'm not going to listen to you anymore." Lanqin looked at the Fourth Master's expression and although she knew he was teasing her, she still felt inexplicably uncomfortable.
What to do? The Fourth Prince will be the Yongzheng Emperor in the future, and there will be a selection of concubines every year! Waves of beautiful women will be coming in!
Lanqin knew in her heart that she was making things difficult for herself. Expecting a feudal emperor to remain chaste for her was nothing but a pipe dream!
"Alright, my Qin'er would never get angry over these things. You'll live the same way you always have. Your mother's words are just talk; do you expect you to follow through?" Fourth Master raised his hand and touched Lanqin's face.
Lanqin smiled sheepishly. Fourth Master was right. It was just polite talk; why had she gotten so caught up in it? Unless Fourth Master went on his own initiative, she wouldn't stop him, but she couldn't bring herself to deliver it.
Su Peisheng overheard something outside. He had intended to tell Lanqin about what happened last night, but judging from the scene inside, he figured it was unnecessary. Yesterday, the Fourth Prince ordered a bath as soon as he returned to the front courtyard. Why would he suddenly need a bath in this weather? To cool down! With Consort Niu not around, the Fourth Prince stubbornly refused to seek relief from any other concubines—that's truly impressive!
Once they returned to the manor, Lanqin couldn't wait to go see her children. The two children were still infants and didn't rely on Lanqin much, but Lanqin cried, and the two children, seeing her cry, also started to cry.
"Consort, Ushiha can hold his head up now, and Xichen can pronounce words!" The wet nurse quickly threw out some things to distract her, and sure enough, Lanqin stopped crying, wiped her eyes, and asked, "Xichen can pronounce words, what did he say, was it 'mama'?"
“It’s not ‘Mom,’ it’s ‘Dad,’” the wet nurse said.
Lanqin was stunned for a moment, but then she smiled and thought to herself: Could this child have also traveled from the 21st century? How come he speaks so many modern words?
"Consort, the young master is very clever. He will call you Consort after a little teaching." The two wet nurses thought Lanqin was unhappy and quickly comforted her.
"No need, let him shout whatever he wants. Just make sure Xichen eats plenty of porridge. He can't just drink milk." Lanqin knew that babies should start eating complementary foods at six months old from a colleague who was also a mother.
"Yes, we servants followed the concubine's instructions and cooked noodles in fish soup, making them soft and mushy, to feed the Fifth Prince," the wet nurse replied quickly. This concubine was a kind person, though she had some strange requests, but they weren't difficult to fulfill, so no one complained.
After Lanqin recovered, the first person to come and tell her about Yin Shi was naturally Wu Shi.
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