The next day, Lady Anjia reluctantly saw Lanqin off onto the carriage, which Lanqin then used to return the day before. The four guards sent by the Fourth Prince had been arranged by Lingzhu to stay in guest rooms the day before. Their silent and imposing demeanor was different from that of ordinary servants, and even Lingzhu could tell that they were not servants who would serve others.
"Madam, don't worry. Qin'er's favor with the emperor is likely to last. Look, even the Fourth Prince has sent his own guards to escort Qin'er. He cares about her very much," Lingzhu said.
Anjia stared blankly at the two departing carriages, only to see the people riding behind them warily, clearly different from ordinary servants.
“Alas, she is a young woman, yet she now bears the weight of the entire family’s rise and fall. Zheng’er was only able to enter the Hanlin Academy because of the Fourth Prince’s support. Now, Yang’s two sons will also depend on Qin’er’s support. Qin’er’s burden will be even heavier in the future.” Anjia naturally felt sorry for Lanqin.
"Alright, stop crying. In short, our whole family will support Qin'er from now on. If she needs us, even this old man like me will do anything for her. Now, the Fourth Prince is highly regarded by the Emperor and will definitely be granted the title of Prince in the future. At that time, Qin'er's status will be even more noble. Now, she is also a concubine in the imperial family." Lingzhu murmured, watching the carriage disappear into the distance.
"So what? She's still just a concubine, unlike Fifth Sister, who, despite not having a principal wife, acts like one. I just hope she lives a smooth life with less suffering. As for whether her status is noble or not, that's secondary." Anjia rolled her eyes at Lingzhu and turned to go back into her room. Now, she even dared to give Lingzhu a hard time.
Meanwhile, Lanqin sat in the carriage, listening to the bustling sounds outside the street. She felt a strong urge to go out and explore. However, given her pregnancy, she decided to be cautious.
"Chestnut cake, chestnut cake..." A hawker's cry could be heard from outside.
Lanqin suddenly wanted to try some, so she said to Cui Niang, "Stop the carriage, I'll go buy a bag of chestnut cakes. The taste here is different from the ones in the manor." Actually, she just wanted to get off the carriage and go for a walk in the market.
"My lady, there are a lot of people outside. Let me go buy it for you." Cui Niang didn't want Lan Qin to get out of the carriage at this time. What if some blind person bumped into her? There were a lot of people outside, and this was the busiest time of the market, so Cui Niang dared not take the risk.
"Please, Cui Niang, let me go buy it myself." Lanqin knew that the Fourth Master must have said something to them before he left. She could clearly feel that Cui Niang and Nianxue were much more nervous towards her than usual.
After a moment's hesitation, seeing Lanqin's pleading expression, Cui Niang couldn't bear it and said, "Then I'll help you go buy it."
Lanqin nodded.
Cui Niang then lifted the carriage curtain and said a few words to the coachman outside, and the carriage slowly came to a stop.
Cui Niang and Nian Xue got off the carriage first, said a few words to the two guards walking in front, and then helped Lan Qin get off the carriage. Cui Niang and Nian Xue each took one side of Lan Qin and walked towards the chestnut cake shop.
The two guards merely rode their horses around the carriage, not following Lanqin closely. They sat high on their horses, taking in the movements of Lanqin and her two servants.
Lanqin and her friends stopped at the chestnut cake stall. Lanqin chatted with the vendor for a few minutes, and then waited for the steaming chestnut cakes to come out of the steamer.
On the street, vendors were vying to sell their wares to passersby, and the crowd grew larger and larger. Cui Niang and Nian Xue stayed behind Lan Qin, keeping an eye on her so that others wouldn't crowd her.
The chestnut cake was finally ready. The owner put the steaming hot chestnut cake into a paper bag and handed it to Lanqin, saying, "Madam, this chestnut cake is delicious. Eat it while it's hot."
"Alright, let's go." Lanqin replied to the boss with a smile.
"Let's go!" Lanqin said to Cui Niang as she turned around.
The three of them started walking against the flow of people toward the carriage on the other side of the road, but it seemed like there were more and more people, and Lanqin and the others were having a hard time making their way.
"Master, be careful." Seeing that there were too many people, Cui Niang and Nian Xue had no choice but to carry Lan Qin on either side and walk forward.
"Get out of the way, get out of the way!" Suddenly, a man riding a black horse came galloping towards them. He was brandishing a whip and running in the middle of the road, whipping the people around him as he ran.
When Lanqin and the others noticed, he had already run right in front of them. The crowd panicked even more and rushed towards Lanqin.
The guards across the street noticed, but it was too late. The man in black on horseback was still waving his whip, driving the crowd away.
Lanqin was so overwhelmed by the terrified crowd that she could barely move. Cui Niang and Nianxue were also pushed around by the flow of people and could no longer hold onto Lanqin.
Seeing this, Lanqin was so frightened that she quickly covered her stomach with her hands and had no choice but to turn around and walk with the crowd, thus getting separated from Cui Niang and Nianxue.
"Master, Master!!" Cui Niang cried out anxiously.
The four guards had already dismounted and were practically running as they squeezed into the crowd. They were stronger than the average person, so they quickly cleared a path.
But Lanqin was nowhere to be seen; they couldn't find her anywhere.
The man in black rode past on horseback, slowly scattering the crowd. Only Cui Niang and Nian Xue could be seen staring at each other in terror.
"Secondary Consort, Secondary Consort!" they couldn't help but call out.
The crowd gradually dispersed, and Lanqin was seen squatting on the side of the road, her hands covering her head.
"Master, are you alright?" Nianxue saw Lanqin first and rushed over immediately.
Four guards rushed over and quickly surrounded Lanqin, preventing anyone from getting close to her.
Cui Niang rushed over, squatted down, and asked, "Master, are you alright?"
Lanqin slowly raised her head and looked at Cui Niang, saying, "My stomach is upset, please help me back."
Cui Niang was shocked and quickly helped Lan Qin up from the ground with Nian Xue, then helped her back to the carriage.
"Master, don't scare me. What happened just now?" Cui Niang asked impatiently after helping Lanqin into the carriage.
"Just now in the crowd, someone pushed me. I couldn't tell who it was, and everyone was pushing and shoving each other. I had to squat on the ground to avoid being pushed over," Lanqin said.
"He didn't fall, did he? It was really scary just now. Those people seemed to have gone mad, suddenly rushing towards us. They didn't hurt Master, did they?" Cui Niang was still worried.
"I was pushed and shoved just now, and it felt like someone bumped my stomach a few times. I'm not feeling well right now," Lanqin said, leaning on Cui Niang's shoulder, her face slightly pale.
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