That evening, the Fourth Prince returned to his residence. He did so partly to entertain officials and relatives from various places who came to pay their respects for the New Year, and partly to secretly prepare for Lanqin's arrival, instructing Cui Niang to pack her things. He had already given instructions regarding the affairs at the other residence.
Anjia came over that evening and talked to Lanqin about Chen Xiuzhu.
"Mother, it's so late, why aren't you in bed yet?" After seeing the Fourth Master off, Lanqin went to check on the children before returning to her room. She still felt a tremor in her heart as she recalled what she and the Fourth Master had done that afternoon on her old bed.
"Qin'er, seeing how loving you and Fourth Prince are, I feel a little more at ease," said Madam Anjia with a smile. She had been worried that Lanqin would be mistreated by the Fujin in the inner quarters, but now that she saw how much the Fourth Prince doted on her, she was finally less worried.
"Mother, don't worry. I'm destined to enter the Fourth Prince's inner quarters. Now that Ushiha is here, you don't need to worry about me anymore," Lanqin said coquettishly, pulling on Anjia's arm.
"Well, Mother has something to tell you. It's about your aunt's daughter, Xiuzhu. This girl is a bit too ambitious. You saw it yourself. When your aunt left today, she begged Mother, saying she wanted Xiuzhu and Xinyi to come to your place to learn manners. What do you think?" After Lingzhu's suggestion, Anjia Shi felt it wouldn't be right to insist that Lanqin accept Xiuzhu. Compared to sisterly affection, her daughter's safety and honor were naturally the most important.
"Let her come if she wants. It's good that the three girls can study together and then enter the palace together for the imperial concubine selection," Lanqin said dismissively.
"But, your father said that Xiuzhu seems to have a bit of a crush on the Fourth Prince?" Anjia asked, looking at Lanqin's face.
"Hehe, so what if she admires him? Anyway, my Sisi is handsome and smart, so it's natural that many women admire him. It's perfectly normal," Lanqin said with a smile.
What kind of reaction is this? Anjia looked at Lanqin in confusion. Most women would be furious if they heard that their sister was coveting their man.
"How could you agree to let Xiuzhu go?" Anjia looked at Lanqin with disbelief.
“Mother, it’s Xiuzhu’s business whether she admires Fourth Master or not. I know whether Fourth Master admires Xiuzhu or not. So I’m not worried. If you think it’s inappropriate, then don’t let Xiuzhu go.” Lanqin said calmly.
“No, I’m afraid that if she goes, she might cause trouble and it won’t be good for you. But your aunt asked me to, and it’s hard to refuse her right now,” said Anjia. That’s just the kind of person she is—gentle, indecisive, and prone to procrastination.
"Let her go. I'll teach her a lesson. If she behaves herself, she's still my mother's niece, and I'll lend her a hand," Lanqin said.
Meanwhile, when the Fourth Prince returned to his residence, he naturally didn't go anywhere. He only instructed the South Courtyard to start organizing Lanqin and the children's clothes, jewelry, and other daily necessities. The rest of the time, he looked at the door invitations that had been delivered all day.
One of the door stickers caught the Fourth Prince's attention; it was a gift of charcoal and some local specialties from the southwest sent by Nian Gengyao. So, the Fourth Prince began to read Nian Gengyao's letter carefully.
In the letter, Nian Gengyao mentioned the issue of military affairs in the southwest and also discussed the problems constantly being stirred up by the Dzungar tribe, which was currently troubling the court. Nian Gengyao even volunteered for battle and asked the Fourth Prince to introduce him to the army. The Fourth Prince also knew that Kangxi had already made preparations, from ordering him to collect silver last year to stockpiling grain, all in preparation for a major battle.
After some thought, the Fourth Prince decided against recommending Nian Gengyao. After all, Nian Gengyao and his troops were located in the southwest, far removed from the northwest. There was still no word on which troops Emperor Kangxi would deploy or who would be the commander-in-chief. To bring it up so rashly with Kangxi would only arouse suspicion and might not benefit Nian Gengyao's future.
However, Nian Gengyao was indeed quite capable. In recent years, he had served as the Governor-General of Sichuan and Shaanxi with great success, and the court had repeatedly commended him for his work in the southwest, which greatly expanded the Qing Dynasty's military strength. The Fourth Prince decided to once again petition for merit for Nian Gengyao, so he picked up his pen and began to write a reply to him.
As Su Peisheng watched the Fourth Prince write the letter, he was thinking about a matter Lanqin had entrusted to him. It was about Geng Gege's father, Geng Jingzhong, who was going to the capital to renew his post and wanted the Fourth Prince to grant him permission to visit Geng Gege. Lanqin had already mentioned this to the Fourth Prince; she was only bringing it up with Su Peisheng so he would remind the Fourth Prince of something.
Seeing Fourth Master intently writing at his desk, Su Peisheng dared not disturb him. Only after Fourth Master finished writing the letter, sealed it himself in a leather envelope, and told Su Peisheng to affix it and send it out quickly, did Su Peisheng casually remark as he took the envelope: "Master, would you like to meet Geng Jingzhong? He's a general in the Northwest Camp, and is said to be very brave and skilled in battle."
Fourth Master was taken aback, then suddenly remembered something and said to him, "Send someone to the post station to look for him and have him choose a day to come to the mansion to see Lady Geng. Send someone to deliver a message to Lady Geng."
Su Peisheng immediately agreed and naturally sent a servant to the west courtyard to deliver the message.
Now, when Geng saw that someone had come to deliver a message from the front courtyard, she quickly had Lülan bring a purse and handed it to the servant who had brought the message. Seeing that Geng was sensible, and considering that this was a favor from her master, the servant's attitude was naturally much more respectful.
After the servant left, Lülan said with delight, "Princess, you can finally meet the master. It's been three years."
A mist had formed in Madam Geng's eyes as she recalled that it was probably Lanqin who had spoken to the Fourth Prince on her behalf that gave her this opportunity. She murmured, "Today, I am only able to meet Father thanks to the Secondary Consort's good fortune."
Green Orchid, overjoyed, wept and said, "Yes, it was the right thing for the princess to get closer to the South Courtyard. If she had ended up like Madam Yin, she would be in the same situation now."
Madam Geng sighed, "Why bother talking about that? Go and see your younger sister and brother at home. Take stock of all my unused jewelry and fabrics. Although Father is a military officer, he is honest and upright, and his salary is not enough to support the family."
Green Orchid felt a pang of sadness and said, "The princess only has a few sets of jewelry and not much fabric. If you give them all to the master, what will you wear and what will you have to wear in the future?"
Geng felt a pang of sadness and said, “Weren’t some things distributed during the New Year? Let Father take them back first. I’m not favored anyway, and I just sit in this room all day. What’s the point of having so many clothes? Let Father take them back to make some clothes for my younger siblings. I said I entered the prince’s inner palace, but it’s been three years and I haven’t brought anything home. I’ve really let Mother and Father down.”
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