When the group emerged from the woods and returned to the place agreed upon by the Fourth Prince, it was almost dusk. The Eighth and Ninth Princes had already left their prey where it was, with servants guarding it, and had gone back to the estate to change clothes. At a glance, it was clear they had hunted quite a lot of game; the Fourth and Fourteenth Princes certainly hadn't gotten nearly as much. Lanqin hadn't even had a chance to look at the Tenth Prince's game yet.
"Put the prey down and go back inside to change your clothes." After saying this, Fourth Master remembered something and said, "Let's have a bonfire party tonight and roast the whole lamb first."
When Lanqin returned to her room, Nianxue and the other maids, seeing that she had returned safely, immediately brought her tea, fanned her, and served her water.
"Princess, hunting must be fun, right?" Huanbi asked, fanning herself with her fan. She was lively by nature, and since Lanqin was not strict with her, she often did things that went a little over the rules.
Nianxue glared at Huanbi, walked past her, and carried the basin of water to Lanqin, saying, "Princess, quickly wash your face."
Lanqin was preoccupied with something, so she didn't answer Huanbi's question. Instead, she took Nianxue's towel and began to wash her face.
Huanbi realized she had overstepped the rules, and seeing that Lanqin ignored her, she quickly squatted down and said, "This servant deserves to die, please punish me, Your Highness."
Lanqin took the tea that Xicha offered and said calmly, "You didn't do anything wrong, get up quickly. Nianxue, bring me some dinner, some soup or simple drinks, we're going to the bonfire party that Grandpa mentioned later. You guys can come along too."
Huanbi quickly replied, "Sister Nianxue, please help the princess change her clothes. I'll go run the errand."
Nianxue said helplessly, "Go quickly, don't keep Gege waiting."
After Huanbi left, Nianxue couldn't help but say, "Princess, you're too lenient with her. It's made this little maid act without any manners."
Lanqin knew that Nianxue was doing this for her prestige, so she smiled slightly and comforted her, "Alright. You can keep an eye on things for me. Your princess doesn't have the energy to discipline servants right now. Quickly, help me comb my hair and then do a double bun."
Xi Cha had already brought out a light pink qipao and was showing it to Lan Qin, who was letting Nian Xue take off her hair.
"Take that set of moon-white jewelry, and wear hairpins of the same color." Lanqin glanced at it and waved her hand. She felt that Fourth Master's mood hadn't recovered since they came out of the woods. Although they were going to have a barbecue and have fun together that night, Lanqin could still sense the desolation in his words.
Huanbi brought back the noodles. Lanqin had already changed her clothes and was having Nianxue comb her hair.
Just as Lanqin was about to eat her noodles, she discovered that Fourth Master and Su Peisheng had already strode to the door.
"Greetings to our master!" The three maids immediately bowed hurriedly.
"Get up, everyone. I'll have some noodles, right?" Fourth Master walked slowly to the seat opposite Lanqin.
"My lord, if you don't mind, please eat my portion first. Nianxue, hurry to the kitchen and make another portion, and then have them serve some braised beef slices, garlic-flavored preserved eggs, cold seaweed salad, and some cold spinach salad," Lanqin said.
Su Peisheng immediately interjected, "This servant should go; this servant is faster. Miss Nianxue should stay here and serve Master and Princess by washing their mouths and hands."
With Fourth Master's tacit approval, Nianxue curtsied to Su Peisheng.
Su Peisheng bowed and then left. Based on his years of experience as a servant, he knew that the Fourth Master's mood had not improved since returning from the hunting trip, so it was best to leave it to Princess Niu.
"Master, everyone's had a long and tiring day. Why don't we rest for now and resume tomorrow?" Lanqin asked cautiously in a low voice. The ordeal in the woods was exhausting enough, and now she just wanted to go to bed immediately.
"Shall we go and deliver the message now?" Fourth Master was obviously tired, but he was also concerned about saving face, after all, Peach Blossom Nine's mouth was not a kind thing.
"How about we serve the same dinner to all the gentlemen? They must be waiting for you to have dinner," Lanqin said.
Fourth Master picked up his chopsticks, took a bite of noodles, and tacitly approved. Lanqin nodded to Nianxue, who was serving nearby, and she went to carry out the order.
Silence... The only sound in the room was Fourth Master slurping noodles.
Lanqin thought that since the Fourth Master had come over on his own initiative, he must be in a better mood. Little did she know that this man was actually holding back a lot of anger.
Should she ask? Lanqin recalled the first time Fourth Master vented his anger on her, which left her so exhausted that she could barely get out of bed the next day.
What should we do? It's not good to stay silent either! Judging from his expression, he clearly wants Lanqin to speak first.
Fortunately, Su Peisheng's meal was brought back just in time. Alright, now that my mouth has something to do, I don't need to speak anymore.
Su Peisheng ordered the young eunuchs to place plates of side dishes on the couch table, and then said to a slightly overweight eunuch: "Old Niu Tou, you serve these noodles."
Lanqin was sitting cross-legged at one end of the couch when she heard Su Peisheng say this, and she couldn't help but look up at the person who came.
A eunuch who looked to be in his fifties walked respectfully to the table.
He first bowed deeply to the Fourth Prince, then prostrated himself on the ground and said, "This servant, Niu Baoquan, greets the Fourth Prince. This servant greets Princess Niu." After he finished speaking, he turned around and bowed again to Lanqin.
This was the first time such a generous gift had ever been given to Lan Qinhang by someone of such advanced age, which made her feel uneasy.
"Get up quickly. What's in this jar?" Lanqin changed the subject before Fourth Master could reply.
Niu Baoquan immediately scrambled to his feet, bowing low as he replied, "This is a small invention of a container for holding noodles. It keeps the noodles very warm. The point of eating noodles is to eat them hot. Ordinary containers don't keep the noodles warm enough; they're usually almost cold by the time they reach you, Master. This servant specially invented such a container. You put the noodles, cooked to about 60-70% done, inside, then wrap it in a cotton blanket. It keeps them very warm. By the time they reach you, Master, the temperature inside the container has heated the noodles to about 90% done, so the broth isn't too scalding. That's when it's best to pour them out and eat them."
"Not bad, Niu Baoquan, you're thoughtful." Fourth Master suddenly looked up at the hunched-over eunuch Niu. Since he came in, Fourth Master hadn't looked up at him, and the bowl of noodles in front of him was almost finished, so he didn't touch it anymore.
"Thank you for your praise, Your Highness. This servant will serve you and the Princess noodles." Niu Baoquan suppressed his elation. He was already over fifty; if he didn't make something of himself soon, he would truly die here. During the days since the Fourth Prince arrived, he had been scheming to gain favor with his master. He had always bribed Su Peisheng or the eunuchs he sent. Sure enough, this time Su Peisheng remembered him.
Su Peisheng listened from the side, feeling a knot in his heart: Well, it turns out that I didn't promote you for nothing. Now it's up to fate.
In fact, Su Peisheng was only in his early thirties, old enough to be someone's son. But he was the personal chief eunuch of the Fourth Prince, and even the oldest eunuchs who worked for the Fourth Prince had to call him "Grandpa".
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