“My eldest cousin has now entered the cabinet as a reader, and I think my cousin’s wife is quite beautiful. She will surely give my eldest cousin a healthy baby boy in the future,” Chen Xiuzhu said quickly to help Shi out of her embarrassment.
“Sister, you’ve raised your daughter well; she’s very good at sweet-talking. I like her very much,” said Anjia to her younger sister, Little Anjia.
“No one can compare to my sister Lanqin, who is now the concubine of the Fourth Prince. She is truly blessed,” said Xiao Anjia.
“Alas, there’s still the principal wife above us. Our Qin’er has suffered a lot. Xiuzhu should be someone’s principal wife in the future,” said Anjia.
“Next year is another year for the imperial concubine selection. Her father and I don’t want her to enter the palace. She was eliminated in the second round, so we can find her a good match. Your fifth daughter is thirteen this year, right? She will be participating in the selection with our Xiuzhu next year,” said Xiao Anjia.
“Yes, that’s right. My illegitimate daughter is quite alright, with good looks and character. Master doesn’t plan for her to enter the palace anyway, so she can go in with Xiuzhu. That way, she can keep him company,” said Madam Anjia. She wasn’t very strong-willed, and she didn’t care about her illegitimate daughter’s future. She let Lingzhu arrange it.
"Oh. Why haven't I seen my fifth cousin?" Chen Xiuzhu naturally asked when her fifth cousin was mentioned.
"You'll be serving at your second cousin's place, right? They'll all be back soon," said Madam Anjia, a vague understanding forming in her mind. This illegitimate daughter of hers certainly had some ambition; she'd latched onto Lanqin, clearly hoping to find herself a good husband through her.
Sigh, Anjia's brain is really slow to react.
“Shuhui, come here. This is Xiuzhu, about your age. The imperial concubine selection is coming up soon. You two should get to know each other,” said Madam Anjia to another girl sitting some distance away, speaking softly to Madam Shi. She had come with Princess Dachun, a concubine's daughter of the Niohuru clan from Tonglu. Since there were no legitimate daughters in her family, she was beautiful and gentle, naturally winning the favor of her two older brothers. Dachun had come to visit, partly to strengthen their relationship, and partly to arrange the selection of this girl.
After finally figuring things out, Anjia realized why her younger sister had brought her cousin's daughter this year – it was all because of Lanqin's influence. In previous years, when Anjia wasn't so popular, her younger sister hadn't brought Chen Xiuzhu to visit. Since the sisters weren't born of the same mother, they weren't usually very close. This year was different; not only did she bring gifts, but she also brought her daughter to pay New Year's greetings in person – it was undoubtedly because of Lanqin's current status.
Chen Xiuzhu then started whispering in the ear of this virtuous girl. Being girls of the same age, they naturally had a lot to talk about.
"Ah, I married a Han official back then. Sister, you're so much better off, having such good fortune today," said Xiao Anjia. Although Lingzhu's official rank wasn't much higher than her husband's, he was a Manchu, a surname that carried far more weight than a Han one. Even their children were divided into different classes. Even during the imperial concubine selection, the women chosen from the Manchu banners were naturally different from those from the Han banners.
Anjia smiled and said, "I think Xiuzhu is of excellent character and appearance. Even if she is not betrothed to a prince, she can still find a good family. Sister, you don't need to worry too much."
Xiao Anjia was inwardly displeased upon hearing this, thinking to herself: Why can't my daughter be betrothed to a prince as a princess? Aren't there quotas for the Han Banner? But she remained outwardly calm and said, "Then I'll have to ask my elder sister to keep an eye on her."
Just then, Lanqin and Xinyi entered the house, looking travel-worn.
"You're finally back! Look at all this roomful of people who want to see you!" Anjia exclaimed excitedly, blurting out everyone's thoughts. Everyone was inwardly sweating, but naturally, they all greeted Lanqin with smiles.
As Lanqin was being helped off her cloak by Nianxue, a girl dressed in a peach-colored dress with a light green qipao underneath walked up to her and bowed: "Xiuzhu greets Consort, may Consort be well!"
Lanqin found the girl to be pretty and cute and liked her quite a bit. Before she could speak, another girl in a light yellow qipao came over and bowed, saying, "Sister Shuhui greets Second Sister!"
Lanqin was slightly surprised and looked at Anjia, only to hear her say, "The one in pink is your aunt's legitimate daughter, and the one in pale yellow is the illegitimate daughter of one of your distant cousins."
"Both of you, sisters, please rise. It's quite lively today." Lanqin offered a helping hand and noticed a woman standing next to Anjia who bore a slight resemblance to her. She guessed that this was her aunt, Little Anjia.
With the help of her maids, Xin Yi removed her cloak, greeted a cousin and a younger cousin, and then went to greet An Jia Shi. Naturally, she also greeted the younger An Jia Shi.
"Fifth Miss is also beautiful. Why don't you get to know your sister?" Xiao Anjia said with a somewhat ingratiating smile.
Lanqin took Wuxiha from the wet nurse, played with him for a while, then patted Xichen's head and asked the two children if they were eating well and if they had slept.
"Qin'er, come here." Madam Anjia understood her sister's intentions and naturally didn't want to offend her. After all, she was her sister, and they hadn't had any major conflicts when she was still unmarried. She would help her if she could.
Lanqin handed the child to the wet nurse, then gracefully walked to Anjia's side, grabbed Anjia's arm, and said coquettishly, "There were so many people at the temple fair today, I'm a little hungry."
When Anjia saw that her sister had seen through her whereabouts, she felt a little embarrassed. She glanced at her sister with a hint of embarrassment, and seeing that the latter was not amiss, she said with heartache, "Have some pastries. Your father will be preparing lunch later, and his guests will also be having some."
Someone with sharp eyes and ears came up carrying a row of osmanthus cakes and chestnut cakes, and stood to the side of Lanqin, waiting for her to take them.
Lanqin picked up a piece of osmanthus cake and ate it, not caring about the stares of others. They probably already had doubts about what Anjia had just said.
Xiao Anjia thought to herself: How can a prince's concubine just go out like that, and even abandon her child to go out and play?
Chen Xiuzhu thought to herself: She doesn't look particularly good, and her demeanor is just average. I heard she's very much favored by the Fourth Prince.
Niohuru Shuhui simply smiled as she looked at Lanqin, a hint of curiosity in her heart.
“Your younger sisters have come all this way, why don’t you go and talk to them?” said Anjia.
Lanqin, seeing her expression, roughly understood what was going on, and said, "Come and sit down, my two younger sisters. Xinyi, you sit down too."
The three of them walked over respectfully and sat around Lanqin according to their relationship with her.
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