The Fourth Prince was preoccupied with matters of the court, and only held Lanqin tenderly for a moment before doing nothing more. Lanqin, preoccupied with the matter of the Golden Festival, also had little interest. The two talked in each other's arms for a while before falling asleep.
The next day, Lanqin didn't get up as usual, but rather a little earlier. She called over Cui Niang and asked what time she had returned the day before, and also asked if Lingxiu had caused any trouble. After confirming that nothing unusual had happened, she finally felt at ease and took the list that Cui Niang handed her to read.
"Consort, why don't we distribute these today? I'm worried that things might change if we wait. After all, if we leave them with you, what if something goes wrong with them and we don't know?" said Cui Niang.
“If there’s anything wrong, can’t we just say it’s a problem on her side?” Lanqin retorted.
Cui Niang was taken aback. She had never considered that if something went wrong with those things, it would cause problems for the Fujin.
"But aren't all the things kept with her? If there's a problem, is it definitely our fault? Is that what you all think? Or will Fourth Prince think the same way? He'll just assume it's because I lack experience, causing the things I distributed to go wrong. And the other princesses will think I'm incompetent at managing things, yet I'm trying to compete with the Fujin for control of the household. Nobody will suspect the Fujin of any wrongdoing. Because this time, she took the initiative to approach me. She voluntarily handed over the power to manage the household to me," Lanqin said slowly.
Cui Niang nodded blankly, agreeing that everyone would think that way.
“So this is the Princess Consort’s skill. Cui Niang, you’ve served her for so many years, think about what she would do?” Lanqin stared at Cui Niang and said.
Cui Niang lowered her head and pondered, then raised her head and said, "This is bad. She already tampered with things last night. She knows that you, Master, have just taken over the affairs of the inner quarters, so you will definitely be eager to get things done and will distribute these things to the princesses in various places as soon as possible. Therefore, she must have tampered with things last night."
Lanqin pursed her lips, nodded, and said, "So what do we do now? Should we go and count it again?"
Cui Niang glanced at Lan Qin and said, "She'll say we didn't count it clearly yesterday."
Lanqin nodded approvingly, then sighed and said, "So, let's distribute the items first this time. We don't need to tell them what we've distributed yet. Let's just distribute them according to the records here. First, let's keep the items for the Fujin, then Sister Song, Sister Wu, Sister Geng, and Madam Yin, and finally, let's distribute them to me. That way, if there are fewer items, I'll be left out. We need to make sure this Banjin Festival goes smoothly. The first time, we really can't afford any problems."
Cui Niang looked at Lan Qin with admiration and said, "This servant has seen many masters, always afraid that their possessions are inferior to others, but I have never seen a master like Consort Lan Qin. Consort Lan Qin's magnanimity is truly a blessing to the inner quarters."
Lanqin smiled and said, "Keep praising me. I'm not that good. I just can't do anything about the ways the Fujin uses, so I have to suffer in silence."
Cui Niang also smiled and said, "Master is able to suffer in silence; he will surely enjoy great fortune in the future."
Lanqin, thinking that she would be Qianlong's biological mother and had been the Empress Dowager for over forty years, couldn't help but smile and say, "Perhaps your words will come true. Let's begin. Call Nianxue and the others over so they can all help. I, the Princess Consort, will also go."
After having breakfast, Lanqin led all the maids from the South Courtyard to the Fujin's place.
"Greetings to Consort Lanqin!" Lingxiu was in the courtyard when she saw Lanqin leading a large group of maids from the South Courtyard. She smiled and went to greet them.
"This concubine has come to pay her respects to the Princess. Today, let's distribute the rewards from all places. Where is the Princess?"
"The Princess Consort is reciting scriptures. Please wait a moment, Consort," Lingxiu said. It turns out that the ladies in the palace all liked to recite Buddhist scriptures in the morning and before going to bed at night, originally to pray to Buddha for the Emperor's favor. Over time, this became a habit. This trend also spread to the private quarters of princes and ministers outside the palace.
"Cui Niang, go and move Sister Song's things out first. I'm going to pay my respects to the Fujin," Lanqin said, turning around to Cui Niang.
Lingxiu was taken aback. The script she had planned was for Lanqin to first pay her respects to the Fujin (Prince Consort), then show her the allocation list. Once the Fujin agreed, the process would begin with the Fujin, then the secondary Fujin, and finally the Gege (Imperial Consorts). The rewards for the Fujin and secondary Fujin hadn't even been distributed yet, and they were already starting with the Gege.
"Consort, this seems to go against the usual rules!" Lingxiu said in her haste.
"How dare you! You think you can talk to the concubine about etiquette? I never knew a maid like you could speak to the concubine like that!" Cui Niang stared at Lingxiu and shouted sternly.
Lingxiu realized she had spoken out of turn and quickly lowered her head, saying, "This servant was only in a moment of panic, please forgive me, Consort. Perhaps you should wait until you see the Princess before we begin, as I am afraid of making a mistake."
"Slap her!!" Lanqin glanced at Lingxiu and said casually.
Cui Niang stepped forward and slapped Lingxiu across the face. Lanqin stopped her after the fifth slap.
Before Lingxiu could react, Cui Niang slapped her five times in front of everyone in the courtyard, leaving red finger marks on her fair face.
"Do you know why I hit you?" Lanqin asked in a deep voice, her brows furrowed.
"This servant, this servant misspoke." Lingxiu knew that speaking to Lanqin in this way was inappropriate for her status.
"Hehe, you know it but you keep making the same mistakes. It seems that the Princess Consort has been too lenient with you, and you've completely forgotten the rules. What I, the Princess Consort, have done is none of your business, even as a maid." Lanqin changed her usual casual and kind attitude. Although her face still looked a little young, when she spoke those words, she still had quite a bit of the dignity of a concubine.
"Cui Niang, go ahead." Seeing that Lingxiu dared not say anything more, Lanqin turned around and said to them.
"Yes, this servant will take the people there right away." Cui Niang left with everyone, including those from the South Courtyard and some servants sent by the head nanny to carry the rewards.
Lanqin left Lingxiu behind and went alone into the main room of the Fujin (principal wife), sitting in her usual spot. Today, she wore an orange-red cheongsam, and her agate and gold headdress was exceptionally elegant and luxurious. Her face was also made up, with a light purple eyeshadow at the corner of her eyes, adding a touch of maturity to Lanqin's slightly youthful face.
When the Fujin returned from the Buddhist hall and walked into the room, she suddenly felt that Lanqin in front of her seemed different from the Niohuru clan who was used to being carefree.
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