When the Thirteenth Prince sent the five twelve-year-old girls to the villa, Lanqin stared wide-eyed at them. She never expected that the Fourth Prince's joke would actually lead to their arrival.
"Sister-in-law, this is something my fourth brother asked me to do. They are all clean twelve-year-old girls, all from poor families. If they don't come to you, who knows what their future will be like? Please take them in out of kindness. My fourth brother said they can also serve as your maids," Thirteen said with a grin.
"Where did they all come from?" Lanqin looked at the five pretty and delicate twelve-year-old girls, who were all definitely underage girls.
"Don't worry, sister-in-law, I, Thirteen, would never do anything like cheating or swindling. They... they were all maids that Fourth Brother asked me to buy. They can all sing and dance, all thanks to your training, sister-in-law," Thirteen said earnestly.
"Okay, what are your names?" Lanqin looked at the five girls in disbelief, still somewhat unaccustomed to the phenomenon in this society where people could be easily bought with money.
“They don’t have names yet. They’ve become your maids now. You can give them names. Fourth Brother said that your sister-in-law likes to write storybooks, and they’re bought specifically to act out those stories,” Thirteen said.
Lanqin sighed inwardly: she was just bored and rewriting for fun, she really didn't expect that the Fourth Master would actually buy five maids and let her arrange them as she pleased.
"Alright, let me think about it and then I'll name you. Nianxue, take them to Granny Zhou and arrange accommodations for them. Provide them with everything you need, and don't make them do anything; they're still children." Lanqin looked at the five neat and tidy girls and felt a surge of affection for them.
After bowing, Nianxue led the five girls out.
"Didn't Fourth Prince ask you to do anything else?" Lanqin gestured for Xicha to serve tea to the Thirteenth Prince, then sat down with him as host and guest. She knew that this Thirteenth Prince had a rather unfortunate life; he lost his mother at a young age and was raised in Consort De's palace. Consort De hadn't even paid much attention to Fourth Prince, focusing all her attention on Fourteenth Prince, so one could imagine how little she cared for Thirteenth Prince. However, judging from Thirteenth Prince's carefree personality, Consort De had at most not put in much effort; she certainly hadn't skimped on his servants or expenses, otherwise Thirteenth Prince wouldn't have the personality he has now.
"Not yet, but Fourth Brother is currently living in the palace, and he hasn't brought any of the princesses with him," Thirteen said deliberately.
Lanqin suppressed a laugh and said seriously, "Thirteen, you should also consider having a child, otherwise Father Emperor will not feel at ease. Haven't you heard the saying, 'A man without children is like someone whose beard hasn't fully grown; he's unreliable in his work'? Father Emperor is unwilling to give you important responsibilities because you haven't become a father yet, and your sense of responsibility isn't strong enough."
Thirteen didn't expect Lanqin to say such a thing, but it sounded quite novel to him. He was also very annoyed that his father seemed to forget that he was already eighteen years old, but Prince Zhi went to the battlefield at the age of fifteen.
Seeing the Thirteenth Prince's silence, Lanqin knew she had hit a nerve. In Lanqin's mind, the reason Kangxi didn't assign the Thirteenth Prince many tasks was threefold: first, he was indeed young and had no children; second, the Thirteenth Prince's personality was too carefree, likely leaving Kangxi with an impression of not being dignified enough; and third, he was a prince without any powerful maternal family to rely on. Although Consort De's family was also ordinary, at least Consort De was still alive, and the Fourth Prince had once been raised by Empress Tong, so he was naturally not ordinary. Look at the Prince Zhi: his mother, Consort Hui, was from the Mingzhu Nalan family; the Crown Prince, needless to say, had a maternal family descended from the founding hero, Sony; the Third Prince was born to Consort Rong, from the Ma Jia family; the Fifth and Ninth Princes were born to Consort Yi, from the Guo Luoluo family. The Tenth Prince was even more distinguished, born to Empress Niohuru. Except for the Eighth Prince, who, like him, had no powerful maternal family to rely on, but the Eighth Prince was good at interpersonal relationships, and all the officials praised him as a wise prince.
"Thank you for the reminder, sister-in-law. It seems that I, Thirteen, should have an heir, otherwise Father Emperor will always think I am still a child." Thirteen said as if enlightened.
"Hehehe, Thirteenth Master, please stay and have a meal with us," Lanqin said with an awkward laugh.
After lunch, when the Thirteenth Master took his leave, Lanqin deliberately did not go to rest, but went to the residence of the five girls, which was the same room where Xinyi, Shuhui and the others had lived.
"Greetings, Consort." All five girls curtsied.
"Get up, everyone. Did you all come here voluntarily?" Lanqin was afraid that some people might be unwilling, but she naturally wouldn't force anyone. If anyone was unwilling, she decided to send them back.
The five girls all looked surprised, exchanged glances, and nodded.
"Don't be afraid. If any of you don't want to stay here, just tell me. I won't force anyone. Those who don't want to stay can be sent back," Lanqin said when she saw the girls looking at each other.
“Consort, none of us want to go back. Please take us in,” said a slightly older girl.
“Oh, alright then. You can all stay here from now on. I will hire someone to teach you to read. The main thing you need to do is learn from my play scripts. Have you all acted in plays before?” Lanqin asked when she heard her say this.
“We’ve learned it. We can all sing opera. It’s something we learn every day,” the girl said.
“Okay, let’s rehearse together from now on.” Lanqin suddenly felt very excited. She felt as if she had finally found something to do.
"Please bestow a name upon me, Consort," the girl said.
Lanqin was taken aback, then pondered for a moment before starting with the first girl: "You are Fangguan, you are Ouguan, you are Suguan, you are Qingguan, and you are Huaguan."
Seeing that Lanqin had given them unusual names, the five women silently repeated their names a few times before bowing in greeting.
"Fangguan, you'll be their captain from now on. Manage your own little team well, understand?" Lanqin said to the oldest girl.
"Yes, this servant will certainly not fail the kindness of Consort Fang," Fangguan replied hastily.
After settling the girls in, Lanqin finally felt at ease and went to take a nap.
These girls were all terrified of being trained by those ruthless mothers. After coming here, they found Lanqin to be very kind and not demanding, so they all developed a good impression of her.
Fangguan, who was in charge, encouraged everyone to practice their opera skills. So, without delay, they continued practicing.
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