For three consecutive days, Lanqin accompanied the Fourth Prince to the palace, but Wuxiha was not brought in again. The Fourth Prince, thinking this through, also refrained from bringing in the other children.
Not being able to sleep in for three days made Lanqin uncomfortable, but she finally made it to the point where she didn't have to go. On the fourth day, she slept in for a long time.
On this day, the Fourth Prince also took a day off, as he usually takes a few days off after major holidays.
Cui Niang kept in mind the few words Lan Qin had told her a few days ago. She carefully observed the maids and nannies in the South Courtyard, but none of them seemed to be spies, and she didn't find anyone behaving improperly. She couldn't figure out what was going on for the time being.
With the masters resting, the off-duty servants had nothing to do. These people usually liked to play a game of guessing high or low, gathering together to try their luck.
That day, Li Shubao was not on duty, and Xiao Huanzi, who lived in the same room, told him about gambling. Li Shubao did not gamble; he would give his monthly allowance to his family.
"I guarantee you'll win, are you coming or not?" Xiao Huanzi said.
"What makes you think I'll win?" Uncle Li asked, a hint of interest in his voice.
"Because of Zhao Quan, he's incredibly unlucky and always loses at gambling. I've already won quite a bit of money from him." Xiao Huanzi said happily, the money he won from Zhao Quan was enough for several months' worth of wages.
"Where did Zhao Quan get so much silver? I think he spends quite a lot." After leaving the South Courtyard, Li Shubao was assigned by the head nanny to work in the front yard, specifically in charge of the distribution of various materials in the warehouse.
“That’s right. I’ve noticed he often buys tobacco to give to Eunuch Su. And look at what he wears and uses—it’s all the best. I don’t know where he gets so much money to gamble,” Xiao Huanzi said.
Li Shubao recalled that a few days ago, Nianxue had mentioned to him that the concubine suspected there might be spies in the South Courtyard. This gave him an idea: Zhao Quan was Eunuch Su's apprentice, so he was probably the first person to know the information from Eunuch Su. Could he have leaked the information about the South Courtyard, or could someone have bought information from him?
With these thoughts in mind, Li Shubao decided to follow Xiao Huanzi to see where they usually gambled.
These people really know how to pick a location. It turns out that the inconspicuous little hut behind the warehouse used to be where the servants who did odd jobs would occasionally rest, but now they've turned it into a gambling den.
When Li Shubao and Xiao Huanzi went in, they heard the sound of sieves hitting porcelain bowls. The air was slightly hazy. They saw Zhao Quan sitting at a large square table, with Wang Pangzi's apprentice sitting opposite him, along with some other people on duty in various places. They were all surrounding the two of them and placing bets.
"We'll follow Brother Liu down." Several servants began to throw the loose silver from their bags into the middle of the table.
"Hmph, I just don't believe it, my luck is just that bad. This time, I'll win all your money back." Zhao Quan angrily threw a silver ingot onto the table.
When Li Shubao saw the silver, it was one and a half taels, which was almost half a month's allowance for him, but Zhao Quan threw it away without any hesitation.
Brother Liu tossed the porcelain bowl in his hand for a while, then slammed it down on the table. Everyone's eyes were drawn to this action, and they began calling out "Big!" and "Small!"
Li Shubao stared at Zhao Quan, who seemed unconcerned. As everyone stared at Brother Liu's hand, a contemptuous smile appeared on his lips.
"So small~~"
The winners were ecstatic, while the losers were dejected. Zhao Quan lost again, but he didn't seem to mind and continued to bet on "big".
Li Shubao stood aside and watched for a long time. After calculating, he concluded that Zhao Quan had probably lost five taels of silver.
While they were engrossed in their gambling and no one noticed who had come or gone, Li Shubao quietly slipped out.
Meanwhile, after having lunch, Madam Song came to the South Courtyard. She heard from Nianxue that Lanqin had just finished breakfast and hadn't had lunch yet.
Lanqin held Wuxiha and played on the heated tatami mat. Xichen was also placed on the heated tatami mat, and the two children sat together playing with several beanbags.
"Sister, please sit down." Lanqin quickly pointed to the opposite side when she saw Song Shi come in.
With Qingping's help, Madam Song took off her gray mink cloak and wore a maple leaf patterned cheongsam underneath, covered with a moon-white shoulder-length blouse, which made her delicate and gentle features appear even more ethereal.
"Sister, have you recovered?" Madam Song asked with a smile. She knew that Lanqin was a sleepy person and had been working from dawn till dusk these past few days, so she must have been exhausted.
"Not enough, but I really slept enough today. I'll continue tomorrow. I need to catch up on sleep for three days, otherwise I always feel like my brain isn't clear." Lanqin was holding a necklace in her hand. She was tying the necklace cord, adorning it with gold and red gemstones, with a gold longevity lock hanging from the bottom.
"Your method is quite novel. Using ropes to inlay some treasures for Wuxiha to wear won't be as jarring as those silver and gold ones," Song praised.
"This is what Consort Cheng taught me in my mother's palace. Consort Cheng has it tough, but her skills and eye for craftsmanship are truly excellent. She can come up with all sorts of creative ways to make things interesting," Lanqin said.
"My sister, instead of focusing your attention on this, you should spend more time looking at the people around you," Madam Song couldn't help but say.
Lanqin shifted her gaze from Yingluo to Song Shi, asking in confusion, "What's wrong, sister?"
Song then recounted what she had said to Wu Shi a few days earlier to Lanqin. After listening, Lanqin pondered for a moment and said, "Sister Wu's thoughts are quite normal. After all, you are all Fourth Prince's daughters, and naturally you hope to receive his favor. Lanqin also hopes that you sisters can receive some favor, but Lanqin will not be the one to do it. If Fourth Prince is willing to do it, Lanqin will not stop him. This is for Wu Shi, and also for you, sister."
Madam Song looked at Lanqin and nodded, saying, "I understand, but I'm afraid that Madam Wu will become estranged from us again, just like before, and be used by people with ulterior motives. Now that she has lost two pieces in a row, her forces are in dire straits, and it's hard to guarantee that she won't seek new ones."
Lanqin looked at Madam Song and said, "I understand what you're thinking, sister. It would be good if Sister Wu could gain some favor. So would Sister Geng. I really don't want to monopolize Fourth Master."
In fact, Lanqin understood that the Fourth Prince was destined not to belong to her alone. It was normal for Wu Shi and others to have such thoughts now. She would not take the initiative to let the Fourth Prince go, but she would also accept that the Fourth Prince would spend the night with other concubines.
That evening, Fourth Master naturally came to Lanqin's place. After dinner, Lanqin tentatively said, "Master, Mother said that Lanqin should take care of some of your children."
Fourth Master raised an eyebrow and said, "You want me to go somewhere else?"
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