Si Hua and Lan Qi ultimately did not tell Lan Qin about those rumors, fearing that Lan Qin would be angry and think that they were just gossips from some malicious servants who were jealous of Lan Qin.
Early the next morning, Xia He from the Fujin's quarters suddenly visited the South Courtyard, saying that the Fujin wanted to hold a chrysanthemum appreciation banquet in the chrysanthemum garden in the courtyard, and had specially asked the kitchen to prepare dishes and pastries with fresh flowers, and asked Lanqin to be sure to attend.
Lanqin hadn't gotten up yet, so it was Cui Niang who received Xia He. Cui Niang and Xia He were actually old acquaintances; they had worked together before when they were in the Fourth Prince's residence.
“Xiahe, you’re not young anymore, why don’t you find a reason to go out? Chunliu has already gone out with the eldest princess, do you still plan to stay by her side?” Cui Niang pulled Xiahe into the courtyard to talk.
“Jinxi, what difference would it make if people like us went out? I’ve been following Master for almost ten years. As long as we do our job well, Master is still lenient.” Xiahe said, avoiding Cui Niang’s gaze. It turned out that Cui Niang’s name was Cui Jinxi.
"Hehe, Xiahe, how well did Chunliu serve the eldest princess? If it weren't for our mistress, I'm afraid the Fujin wouldn't have let her go. Now, that Lingxiu, a mere six or seven-year-old girl, is already riding roughshod over you all. Haven't I been devoted enough to her in the palace? And what was the result? If it weren't for our mistress, my family would have died without knowing why. Xiahe, if I were you, I'd better start thinking about my own future," Cui Niang said.
"I have delivered the message from the lady on the other side of the main house. I'm leaving now." Xia He fled from the south courtyard as if she were escaping.
Watching Xia He's retreating figure, Cui Niang sighed, shook her head, and turned to go into the house.
When Lanqin got up, Cui Niang helped her choose clothes while relaying what the Fujin had said.
"A chrysanthemum appreciation banquet?" Lanqin glanced at Cui Niang and asked.
"Yes, Xia He came to say so herself. She said that everyone in the inner quarters will be attending. Since it's being hosted by the Fujin herself, I'm sure everyone will go," said Cui Niang.
"I never expected that the Princess Consort would have such thoughts. The flowers in the Chrysanthemum Garden are blooming beautifully, what does she mean by this?" Lanqin let Sihua comb her hair while she reached out and opened the jewelry box, fiddling with the jewelry inside.
“My lady, I believe that the Fujin never does anything without a purpose. She must have some purpose in holding this chrysanthemum appreciation banquet. But I still can’t guess what the Fujin is planning,” said Cui Niang.
“Then let’s go take a look. I’m going to the garden anyway. Since the Princess Consort has so sincerely invited us, there seems to be no reason not to go,” Lanqin said.
“My lady, I think it would be best to come up with some reason to decline. Now that the master is not in the manor, if she tries to do something, I'm afraid it will be detrimental to the concubine,” Cui Niang said worriedly.
“She wouldn’t be that stupid. After all, they already know I’m pregnant. If Master isn’t here, and something goes wrong at the chrysanthemum appreciation banquet she’s hosting, what will Fourth Master think of her? She wouldn’t take that risk, would she?” Lanqin said.
Cui Niang thought about it and agreed. In broad daylight, the Fujin (principal wife) shouldn't resort to any underhanded tactics.
“Cui Niang, how many wealthy households do you think there are in our capital? If we asked each of them to donate a dan (a unit of weight) of grain, we would need at least 100,000 wealthy households to donate,” Lanqin suddenly said. Si Hua was inserting a hairpin into her hair when she shook her head.
“There are so many people in Kyoto, with tens of thousands of merchants alone. Getting them to donate ten dan of grain wouldn’t be difficult. Is Master thinking about that matter concerning Master?” Cui Niang showed Lan Qin a light blue qipao.
Lanqin looked at it, shook her head, indicating that she didn't want to wear it, and then said, "Think about how to get them to willingly donate these ten dan of grain. The imperial court can't just force them to give it to us."
Cui Niang hung the qipao back up, then looked through it again and picked out a cherry-red qipao, saying, "Official families value reputation the most, while wealthy merchants value profit the most. If we want them to willingly donate grain, we must have a reason that they all value."
Lanqin glanced at the clothes in Cui Niang's hands, nodded, and said, "I've been thinking about this problem these past few days. The Emperor wants Fourth Master to raise 100,000 dan of grain in the near future. I imagine he's extremely busy right now."
"This servant is foolish and can't think of any good ideas right now," said Cui Niang.
Lanqin let her get dressed and her hair combed. After having breakfast in the main room, she went to the study alone and didn't let anyone serve her.
Si Hua hesitated, still unsure whether to report the rumors about the quota from that day to Lan Qin. Cui Niang had noticed Si Hua's hesitant demeanor these past few days, and seeing that there was nothing else to discuss, she pulled her aside and asked, "Si Hua, you seem to have something to tell the master these past few days, but I sense something is wrong?"
Si Hua couldn't hold back any longer and said to Cui Niang, "I told you, Aunt Cui, it's best not to tell the master yet. I'm worried about the master, afraid she'll be angry if she hears it."
Seeing that Si Hua was taking it seriously, Cui Niang immediately whispered, "Speak quickly. I know what I'm doing."
So Si Hua told Cui Niang everything that she and Lan Qi had heard in the alley that day.
“That’s really going too far. If Master heard this, he would be furious. Do you know who spread these rumors?” Cui Niang said.
"I heard from those two old women that they were in charge of sweeping that area. I wonder who they are, maybe it's that Granny Shen?" Si Hua asked.
"Let's keep this from the master for now. We need to find out where the rumors started." Cui Niang thought for a moment, considering that there were now people in the manor who were on Lan Qin's side.
"Yes, Aunt, I've been keeping this to myself for so long, it's been agonizing. Now that I've told you, I finally feel at ease. Those two old women are probably the head nanny's people, so why don't we just go find her directly?" Si Hua suggested.
"I understand, you can go and get back to work," said Cui Niang, patting Si Hua's hand.
Meanwhile, Lanqin was reading a book, her mind preoccupied with how to raise the 100,000 taels of military rations for the Fourth Prince. If the court directly asked the civil and military officials for rations, it would seem to damage the court's reputation; if it directly asked the wealthy households in the city for rations, it might incite some conflict, and if things went wrong, it might even incite a popular uprising, which would be a greater loss than gain.
How exactly can we urgently raise 100,000 taels of grain for the Fourth Master?
Lanqin thought about it again, but still couldn't figure it out, so she simply stopped reading, threw the book down, and got up to go see Wuxiha.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
