After Fourth Prince and Lanqin had rested for the afternoon, it was already dusk, so there was no need to think about arranging any activities for the distinguished guests. Lanqin simply instructed the kitchen to send hangover soup and similar items to the princes' rooms. Dinner was also served an hour later than usual, and Lanqin specifically requested a light meal, as they had all eaten too much oily food at noon.
Seeing that Fourth Master was sleeping soundly, Lanqin got up first and, before it got dark, took Nianxue's hand and went to the room where the three girls lived.
The three girls were still unmarried and couldn't wander around, so they were all confined to the house. However, one advantage of women in ancient times was that they could pass the time by doing needlework.
When Lanqin entered the room, she deliberately did not ask the maids to announce her arrival, but went straight to Shuhui's room.
That's right, she came to hear Shuhui's opinion. Since the Fourth Prince had clearly stated that the Tenth Prince had taken a liking to Shuhui, she wanted to hear Shuhui's tone first. If the Tenth Prince truly liked her, he might actually ask Emperor Kangxi for her. After all, he came from the Empress's family, and Emperor Kangxi had always doted on him; getting a princess would be a simple matter of a word. However, Lanqin didn't want to wrong Shuhui. What if Shuhui didn't like the Tenth Prince? Then she had ways to win him over.
Shuhui was sitting on a high-backed chair by the bed in the room, embroidering a purse. Seeing how serious she was, Lanqin couldn't bear to disturb her.
"The lighting is so bad, why are you still doing this eye-straining work?" Lanqin looked at the maids in the room and gestured to them why they hadn't lit more candles.
"Sister is here. I told them not to light them. You can see with the light from the window. Why light candles in broad daylight?" Shuhui said with a hint of surprise when she saw Lanqin. She quickly put down her purse and went to greet her.
"What are you embroidering? Let me see." Lanqin took Shuhui's hand and said with a smile.
Shuhui blushed as Lanqin picked up the purse she had placed on the high table and examined it.
"Oh, what kind of flower is this? It's embroidered so exquisitely. Your craftsmanship is quite good," Lanqin praised.
“The princess embroidered twin lotus flowers!” said a maid standing nearby, who must have come from Tonglu with Shuhui.
"Shut up!" Shuhui scolded the maid, but a blush immediately appeared on her face.
"Shuhui, have you found someone you like? The color of this purse doesn't look like something a woman would use; it's embroidered for a man, isn't it?" Lanqin's heart tightened. Shuhui had also taken a liking to someone in that group of numbers? So fast?
"Sister!" Shuhui blushed even more anxiously, but she couldn't speak, so her expression was incredibly cute. Lanqin saw this and thought to herself that it was fortunate that the Fourth Master hadn't taken a liking to her, otherwise such a shy and adorable girl would have been quite a contender.
"Shuhui, I've come today to tell you something. But before I do, you'd better tell me who you have feelings for. Okay?" Lanqin said patiently.
She knew that she was cultivating these relatives so that she wouldn't be all alone in the future, and also for the sake of the Fourth Master. However, she couldn't do it just for herself and disregard Shuhui's feelings.
"Cousin, Shuhui... Shuhui has a crush on the Thirteenth Prince." Seeing that Lanqin was speaking seriously, Shuhui was no longer shy and boldly spoke up. A maid named Zijuan smiled to the side.
Lanqin was slightly taken aback for a moment. She hadn't expected that Shuhui really liked the Thirteenth Prince, just as she had originally thought. It was just a pity that the Tenth Prince had suddenly interfered, and the Thirteenth Prince hadn't shown any interest in her.
"Cousin, you said you wanted to talk to Shuhui about something. What is it?" Shuhui asked anxiously, a little worried.
Looking at Shuhui's appearance, Lanqin sighed inwardly and said, "Shuhui, the Thirteenth Prince is a free spirit. Whether he has feelings for you or not is currently unknown. However, the Tenth Prince told the Fourth Prince that he likes Shuhui very much."
Shuhui opened her mouth slightly in surprise, staring at Lanqin in astonishment, but then the expectation in her eyes turned into disappointment.
"Shuhui, if you don't want to, that's fine too. After all, even a prince can't force someone. Thirteen, I can help you sound out their intentions. How about that?" Lanqin quickly comforted Shuhui, seeing her somewhat hurt expression.
"Thank you, cousin. But I'm a little confused and need to think it over carefully." Shuhui didn't show any sadness. She knew that this was not something a woman like her could decide. Even if the Thirteenth Prince was also in love with her, if the Emperor insisted on betrothing her to the Tenth Prince during the selection of concubines, there was no way to object.
Seeing how sensible she was, Lanqin patted Shuhui on the shoulder and comforted her, "Don't get too excited. It's too early to say anything now. We'll have to wait and see what happens to the three of you after the talent show."
Shuhui suppressed the slight bitterness in her heart, nodded, and saw Lanqin out.
After Lanqin left, Shuhui, still troubled, said to Zijuan, "Zijuan, come with me to find my second brother." If she hadn't known about the thirteenth prince, and if the emperor had ultimately betrothed her to the tenth prince, perhaps she wouldn't be so conflicted. A young woman's first love is genuine. Shuhui appears delicate and charming, but she is actually quite calculating. Born to one of Niu Gulu Lingfeng's concubines, she naturally couldn't ignore the interests of her family. Therefore, Lingfeng's decision to have his second son and her come to the capital to seek refuge with Lingzhu was an attempt to strengthen their relationship. So, if Lanqin were to propose marriage to the tenth prince at this time, she probably wouldn't be able to refuse.
Since Da Chun came here, the Fourth Prince hasn't had a chance to pay him any attention. He knows that a large number of Kangxi's sons have come to the estate, and he's naturally excited. It seems that getting closer to Lingzhu's branch of the family was definitely the right thing to do. These past few days, he's been confined to his room, only to find himself without the opportunity to serve the Fourth Prince.
Da Chun was brewing tea in his room when a maidservant came to his door and said, "Young master, Zijuan from Miss Shuhui's side requests an audience." Da Chun was a guest, so the Fourth Master naturally wouldn't treat him poorly, arranging decent lodging and servants for him.
Upon hearing that it was his younger sister, Da Chun quickly told the maid, "Let her in." Although Da Chun had gone to see Shu Hui several times, he was always turned away by Aunt Cui under the pretext of learning etiquette. The siblings had not seen each other for several days.
Zijuan entered Dachun's room, bowed to him, and said, "Second Young Master, I am here on the orders of the Princess to ask you to come over."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
