Xinyi, Shuhui, and Xiuzhu were led by Mama Lin to a room. Unlike the "Lanchun Courtyard" that Fourth Master had prepared for Lanqin, this room did not have a courtyard; it was just a relatively large room. Mama Lin led the three princesses and their maids inside.
“My ladies, there are four or five rooms in this house. You can each choose one to stay in, and the maids will share one room. You will need to get your meals and washing water from the kitchen. Everything in your rooms is prepared. If you need anything, just let me know. Granny Zhou and I live in the room in front, the one we came from when we turned this corner,” said Granny Lin.
"Thank you, Mom. We understand. Let's pack our things first," Xin Yi said.
Shuhui and Xiuzhu had no objections. After Lin's mother left, the three of them began to tour the house. The house was quite large, with many rooms, but the furnishings were rather ordinary, naturally lacking the exquisite details of a woman's boudoir at home.
"Sigh, are we really going to stay here?" Chen Xiuzhu said, unable to hide her disappointment. She had thought that the Fourth Prince's villa would be so luxurious and grand, with every room decorated with carved beams and painted rafters, a truly magnificent place.
This place is so different from the villa of the Fourth Prince that she had imagined!
“We’re here to learn etiquette, not to play around. This place looks good to me; it has everything you need. You two sisters, please choose first.” Xin Yi didn’t think much of it.
“I think it’s great too. Living with my two older sisters means I have someone to talk to and make me laugh. The rooms here are spread out so far apart that if everyone had their own room, there would be no one to talk to.” Shuhui said with a smile.
"Then I'll choose first. I want to stay in the room on the east side." Seeing that the two of them had an expression of being indifferent to the world and content with their lot, Xiuzhu didn't want to complain anymore. She pulled her maid and walked into the room on the east side.
"Shuhui, which room would you like to stay in? You can choose first," Xinyi said gently.
"Sister, you should choose. I'm just a guest, so there's no reason for me to take the lead." Shuhui still had a smile on her face.
"Since you are guests, I will take good care of you on behalf of my sister. You can choose first, or I'll get hungry. Once you're settled, I'll go and pay my respects to my sister." Xin Yi preferred Shu Hui's personality. Since Xiu Zhu was the legitimate daughter, she had never really paid much attention to the two illegitimate daughters.
"Then I'll choose the room on the west side. Sister, you can stay in the one on the northeast side," Shuhui said sensibly, even playfully winking at Xinyi a few times.
Xin Yi smiled at her and nodded in agreement.
The three women, each accompanied by their maids, packed their belongings. Just as Lin Mama returned to her room, Zhou Mama came to find her, saying that the concubine had instructed the three princesses not to go and pay their respects, but to familiarize themselves with the surroundings first, and that lunch would be served according to the kitchen's plan.
Meanwhile, the three princesses, each with their own thoughts, settled down in the villa. Lanqin and the Fourth Master were sitting cross-legged on the main couch, with food laid out on the small table. Niu Baoquan had just arrived and hadn't had time to cook, so this meal was naturally prepared by the villa's kitchen staff.
"Three girls, what are you planning?" Fourth Master ate some mutton and immediately felt relaxed all over. "Come on, eat more mutton."
Lanqin had already eaten several pieces. They were all from sheep raised on this farm. The meat was fresh and succulent, and the stewing made them very tender and flavorful.
"I don't have any plans. They're all my sisters. They're going to participate in the imperial concubine selection, and they all feel that you dote on me, so they're all trying to learn some advice from me, their older sister. It's normal!" Lanqin said nonchalantly.
Fourth Master glanced at Lanqin and said, "You speak frankly, aren't you afraid that Mother will assign them to other women?"
Lanqin picked up another piece of mutton and said, "Every time there's a selection of concubines, people will enter your princes' harems. What's the use of me being afraid? It's not like I'll stop them from entering just because I'm afraid. So I won't think about things I can't control." After saying that, Lanqin had already eaten several pieces of mutton.
Although Cui Niang did not serve Lanqin and the Fourth Master their meal, she was worried when she saw that Lanqin had already eaten several pieces: Wasn't the master afraid of getting a sore throat from eating too much?
Fourth Master sighed helplessly to himself, thinking: This little woman isn't worried at all. My attempt to scare her was a complete waste. She doesn't care whether anyone enters the inner quarters or not.
"Has Your Highness taken a fancy to someone?" Lanqin asked, seeing that the Fourth Master was speechless for a moment, so she decided to tease him again.
"Nonsense." Fourth Master snorted coldly, and looking at the smile on the little woman's lips, he couldn't wait to press himself against her.
"My lord," Lanqin said abruptly, "Xinyi is calm and composed, but she was born to my father's concubine. If she stays, she'll likely only ever be a princess. I've already tasted the bitterness of being a concubine, and I don't want my sister to follow in my footsteps. Let her go out and choose a good family so she can become a proper wife in a grand and respectable way." Lanqin's words sent a chill down the Fourth Prince's spine. He had gone to such lengths for this young woman, yet she still felt being a concubine was undesirable. Did she regret being betrothed to him?
"You regret it?" Fourth Master couldn't help but say, his tone noticeably colder than before.
Lanqin was talking as she ate, not noticing that the Fourth Prince's face was darkening. Still oblivious to the danger, she said, "I regret not being born a few years earlier. Maybe I would have been betrothed to you as your primary wife back then. Isn't that right?"
The Fourth Master's face, which was about to erupt in anger, suddenly looked as if he had been hit and then given a sweet hug because of the second half of the sentence. Hearing this, Cui Niang secretly broke out in a cold sweat for Lanqin.
"And what about your cousin? Judging from her appearance, she probably wants to join the royal family." The Fourth Prince's expression changed several times.
"Although Xiuzhu is lively, she's also rather impatient, and I'm afraid this kind of personality will cause her trouble. I originally wanted her to go out and marry well, but people don't always listen to their elder sister, the concubine. It mainly depends on her own wishes, so I won't interfere any further," Lanqin said calmly. She didn't have much of an impression of Chen Xiuzhu, only seeing her as a girl who had been pampered. Although she was her cousin, Lanqin didn't really have any feelings for her; she only sent her here out of consideration for Anjia's reputation.
“Your cousin is a decent man, but he comes from a prominent family, and it’s not appropriate for him to be hanging around the master all the time. He can’t become a eunuch anyway,” the Fourth Master said.
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