The sedan chair had just landed at the main gate of the Ling residence when the steward and several servants came out to greet them. After Granny Wang opened the sedan curtain, Xue'er followed suit and opened the princess's sedan curtain as well. Only after the mistress stepped out of the sedan chair did the sedan bearers, who had been squatting on the ground, stand up.
Supported by Granny Wang, Anjia entered the gate and headed towards the main courtyard. She pondered how to speak with Lingzhu.
With Xue'er's help, Lanqin walked from the side of the main courtyard to her small courtyard on the west side.
Granny Tian had been waiting at the door of her boudoir. As soon as she saw Niohuru Lanqin return, she immediately stepped forward to help her up, saying, "Princess, this old servant has prepared dinner for you. Are you hungry?"
Upon hearing this, Lanqin realized she was indeed hungry.
As soon as she entered, Xue'er immediately helped her remove her cloak. Granny Tian had already sent a maid to the kitchen to bring the princess her dinner.
As Anjia entered her main house, she saw Lingzhu writing in a side room. This puzzled her greatly; why was he still here when he should have been in Yang's courtyard long ago?
Speaking of Lingzhu, his great-grandfather was Eidu, a famous founding minister in the early Qing Dynasty. By the time it came to him, he was no longer a member of the main branch of the Niohuru clan. In fact, his lineage was not far removed from that of the current emperor's second empress, Empress Niohuru. His father and Ebilun were direct cousins, but Ebilun was a famous minister during the reigns of the Shunzhi and Kangxi emperors, while his father had already faded into obscurity.
However, although Lingzhu was only a fourth-rank official, his wealth was not to be underestimated. Take his courtyard, for example. Although it couldn't compare to the courtyards of the princes in the palace, it was still quite large. There were courtyards connected to courtyards on all sides.
Anjia naturally lived in the main house of the main courtyard. The other side rooms on the east and west sides of the main courtyard were either empty or occupied by the maids and other servants who served her. The two side courtyards behind the main courtyard were where Lingzhu's concubines lived. All the young masters and princesses lived in smaller courtyards further away from the main courtyard.
"Madam is back." Hearing the noise, Lingzhu put down his pen and came out to greet her.
With Wang Mama's help, Anjia Shi removed her cloak and said to all the servants in the room, "You may all leave now. Wang Mama, go to the kitchen and bring over the master's and my dinner."
After dismissing all the servants, the couple went to the heated couch and sat down on either side of a small table.
Anjia immediately recounted to Lingzhu everything she had discussed with the abbot at Huangjue Temple, word for word.
After listening, Lingzhu's brows gradually furrowed. Seeing Anjia's worried expression, he had no choice but to comfort her first: "Madam, you can't completely believe the words of these worldly people, but you can't completely disbelieve them either. I do have some good news. After you left, I went to my cousin Aling's residence and told him about Qin'er. He was very supportive. Although he didn't say it explicitly, he has already agreed to say a few words for Qin'er in the imperial concubine selection."
Seeing that Lingzhu was not bothered by the abbot's words at all, Anjia became anxious and lost her composure, saying, "Master is only thinking about the future of the Niohuru family. How can you not care about Qin'er's life or death? What's so good about that deep palace? Once you go in, you're destined to be carried out. An empress and a concubine both died young."
"How dare you!!" Ling Zhu roared upon hearing this, immediately slamming his hand on the table, knocking a clean white vase with a few fresh flowers onto the ground, where it shattered with a crash.
Just as Granny Wang and her maids were carrying the master and mistress's dinner to the door, they heard a loud roar from the master and the sound of a bottle shattering inside. They were so frightened that they dared not move.
"How dare you discuss Empress Xiaozhaoren and Consort Wenxi? You ignorant woman!! The Third Princess must participate in the selection." Lingzhu suddenly stood up, about to leave, but Anjia stood up first, grabbed his sleeve, knelt down, and cried, "My lord, it's not that I want Qin'er not to go, but that I want to find her a companion. The abbot of Huangjue Temple said that if she insists on going, she must have a relative accompany her, never leaving her side, to avoid disaster. I think the Second Princess is already interested in participating, so why don't you ask my cousin Aling'a to send Holland and Qin'er to participate together? That way, the sisters can look after each other, and it will give the Niohuru family more hope!"
Upon hearing this, Lingzhu thought to himself that she was right. He had only thought about sending his daughter to participate in the selection, but he hadn't considered sending several more. Wouldn't that increase the chances of being selected? Even if Lanqin didn't catch the emperor's eye, and even if the Second Princess's maternal family wasn't good, she was still a daughter of the Niohuru family. Although the regulations stipulated that each family could only send one eligible girl, there was no rule against sending more. Besides, there was Aling'a's connections in the palace. After all, Empress Xiaozhaoren and Consort Wenxi had once managed the harem, and they still had some influence.
“Madam, please get up quickly. Do you think I’m only doing this for the family? Do you think I don’t care about Zheng’er’s future? As a fourth-rank official, there’s not much I can do to help him. Now that my cousin Aling is willing to put our daughter out there, this is Lanqin and Holland’s chance.” Lingzhu helped Anjia up.
Seeing that he had already mentioned the Second Princess at the end of his sentence, Lady Anjia felt somewhat relieved. It turned out that her hasty words about "having a family member accompany her at all times" were something she had hastily fabricated, just to increase her own daughter's chances of being rejected. Niohuru Holland looked very much like her mother, Lady Yang, but possessed a more alluring and seductive charm than Niohuru Lanqin. Lady Anjia understood that these extra few points of beauty would be enough to make men more favored.
While Lady Anjia was honest and simple, she wasn't stupid. The rise and fall of the Niohuru family in the court was beyond the comprehension of a woman confined to the inner palace. However, she understood that the emperor couldn't possibly accept two Niohuru girls into the palace simultaneously, as this would easily arouse unease and suspicion from other families. She wanted to exploit this to ensure her own daughter wouldn't be chosen. That way, she would either be betrothed to a prince or return home. Both outcomes were better than entering the deep palace! Although Emperor Kangxi was exceptionally brave and powerful, he was still more than ten years older than Lady Anjia. Even if her daughter gained favor, she wouldn't have a few years of good fortune, and if she didn't bear a son, she would likely die of old age in the palace.
If Lin Mengyao knew that her adoptive "mother" had been so worried about her losing the election, she would be moved to tears!
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