Lanqin woke up early and found that the room beside her was already cold. Remembering that the Fourth Master had left with Nian Shi and Geng Shi that day, she simply stopped thinking about it.
"Cui Niang, come with me to my parents' home today. Let's go back and visit them before we come back to prepare to return to the villa," Lanqin said to Cui Niang, who was preparing breakfast for her.
"Yes, this servant will arrange the carriage right away. Please have breakfast first, Your Highness. Let's take the Third Princess back to show the Old Madam, shall we?" Cui Niang said with a gentle smile.
"Yes, take her there," Lanqin said with a smile.
After she had breakfast, Cui Niang had already sent Lan Qi to the main courtyard to inform her, and also asked Si Hua to tell the head nanny to prepare the carriage. The ten guards that Fourth Master had arranged for Lan Qin were already waiting in the front courtyard, ready to follow her orders. Cui Niang only called four guards to accompany her.
In the main courtyard, the Fujin was standing under the eaves feeding a lark, a gift recently given to her by Sanfu. The little bird chirped softly, its voice truly melodious, and it became the Fujin's new favorite.
When Lan Qi came to report, she smiled and said, "It would be good for Consort to go back and see Mother." After Lan Qi left, the Consort immediately called Lingxiu over, whispered a few words in her ear, and then, with a smile on her face, let her go.
“Madam, this bird can even talk. With a little training, it will be fine,” Sanfu said obsequiously, seeing that Madam liked it. Ever since Lingxiu spoke up for him to Madam, he had been allowed to serve by her side.
"I, the Fujin, order you to keep an eye on Yehe's side. What has she been doing these past few days?" The Fujin was clearly not very interested in this lark; she was just plotting something and didn't want to be idle.
Sanfu's expression changed, and he quickly lowered his head and said, "This servant did not notice anything unusual about her. Ju Taohua reported that Princess Yehe spends her days playing the zither, painting, and making kites, and does nothing else."
The princess paused in her work, a clear look of displeasure flashing in her eyes, and said coldly, "Tell her to come see me after lunch."
Sanfu quickly agreed, bowed his head, took a few steps back, and then turned and left the main courtyard.
Meanwhile, Lanqin and the others were ready, so they had two wet nurses follow them and personally carried Wuxiha out of the side gate of the south courtyard. The carriage was already waiting there, and the four guards were all strong men with powerful physiques.
"Greetings, Consort Lan!" the four people said in unison, paying their respects to Lanqin.
“Alright, actually, there’s no need for them to come along when I go back to my parents’ home. Aunt Cui?” Lanqin suddenly felt that this was a bit of an overreaction, as this wasn’t her first time going back to her parents’ home.
“My lady, you are pregnant now, so you must be extremely careful. When the master left, he instructed us to take good care of the concubine and the young master,” Cui Niang said solemnly.
Lanqin remembered that she had fallen asleep in Fourth Master's arms last night, and that he had arranged so much for her. Her heart warmed instantly, and she said helplessly, "Okay, let's go."
Nianxue and Xicha helped Lanqin into the carriage, while the wet nurses carried Wuxiha into the second carriage. Cui Niang followed the wet nurses into the second carriage, while Nianxue and Xicha naturally stayed by Lanqin's side.
Two of the four guards rode in front on horseback, while the other two rode at the rear of the palace. The group set off.
Because she hadn't been informed beforehand, when Lanqin arrived at Lingzhu's residence, Lingzhu wasn't there; he was probably working in the palace. Her elder brother wasn't there either; he was currently working as a probationary official in the Hanlin Academy.
When Anjia came out to greet her, she was almost running. Liu followed her out, which surprised Lanqin.
Before Anjia could even enter the room, she said to Lanqin, "Your sister-in-law is pregnant!!" It turned out that since Xinyi married the Seventh Prince and became his concubine, Liu had often come to Anjia's place to serve her. Right now, she was helping Anjia make clothes for the baby.
Lady Anjia was happy to have Lady Liu speak to her. Lady Liu had also been out of favor for many years, and her subservient behavior before Lady Anjia made Lady Anjia quite comfortable. Lady Yang, who had previously enjoyed the Emperor's favor, was now the most resentful. Her daughter had married into the palace and would never see her again. Her two sons were not very promising, not as good at their studies as the eldest son, and the Emperor didn't want to invest much energy in them. They stayed at home, spending their days with several maids. Lady Yang couldn't stand it and often nagged her two sons. Over time, the two illegitimate sons not only failed to understand Lady Yang's good intentions but also harbored resentment towards her, resulting in a rift between mother and sons.
As Lanqin listened to Liu's story, a faint, calm smile remained on her face, while Anjia's face showed much more relief. Yang had suppressed her for half her life, yet she was still inferior to her children. Moreover, because of the eldest son and Lanqin, Lingzhu was now treating Anjia and Liu much better than before.
"Yang has been domineering for over a decade. Now that her two illegitimate sons are good-for-nothings, she'll have a lot to worry about. You just need to serve the master well. Xinyi is now the concubine of the Seventh Prince, so the master will also take a liking to you." Anjia pulled Lanqin to sit in the main seat of the hall.
"This is all thanks to the Third Princess's help. Otherwise, how could that girl Xinyi have married the Seventh Prince as a concubine? This servant must pay her respects to the Third Princess." After saying this, she stood up and walked to Lanqin, intending to bow deeply.
“Nianxue, help your aunt! Xinyi is my own sister, it’s only right that I help her out. What are you doing, Aunt Liu? Besides, Xinyi was able to marry the Seventh Prince because she caught his eye, I was just going with the flow. Aunt, there’s no need for such formality, you’re making Lanqin feel uncomfortable.” Lanqin saw that Liu was an honest person who was not favored by Lingzhu and shared the same plight as Anjia, so she felt sorry for them and their son.
“Yes, what are you doing? Fifth Sister’s marriage today is her own good fortune. Now, one of them is a concubine of the Fourth Prince, and the other is a concubine of the Seventh Prince. They’ve truly become sisters-in-law and will help each other in the future,” Anjia said with a smile, quite satisfied with Liu. This was because Liu had been coming to serve her frequently these past few days, and the two wives and concubines who hadn’t gotten along well before had become like good sisters.
Lanqin smiled as she watched the two of them being polite, but in her heart she thought of the Fourth Prince's primary wife, Ulanara, and realized that she and she would probably never be able to achieve that.
“Sigh, Fifth Sister is doing well now, but your Cousin Chen doesn’t seem to be doing so well.” Anjia’s smile vanished as she spoke to Lanqin.
"Didn't Cousin Ruzhu marry into the Eighth Prince's family as she wished and become a princess? What happened to her?" Lanqin asked casually.
“A few days ago, your aunt came. As soon as she saw me, she cried and said that your cousin was being mistreated at the Eighth Prince’s mansion. She said that she hadn’t even consummated her marriage with the Eighth Prince yet!” Anjia said, shaking her head.
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