“My lady, I think we should change rooms. This room faces due north and is in line with the male side’s front room. This kind of room is probably… for the main wife. If the master sees you living here, he might not be happy.” Bai Zhi was the calmest and most rational of the four maids.
As Lady Nian calmed down, she suddenly realized that this made sense. She was afraid that by staying in this room, she had displeased the Fourth Prince. The rumor that had been circulating from who-knows-where had already made the Fourth Prince have a bad impression of her. Now, by rashly moving into the room in the due north direction, which symbolized the status of the principal wife, wouldn't she make the Fourth Prince misunderstand even more and think that she wanted to be promoted?
Lady Nian felt a wave of fear wash over her. What had gotten into her? How could she have made the same mistake again and again? From the moment she boarded the ship, she had been seasick and unable to serve the Fourth Master. Now, she had brazenly ended up in the wrong room. If it weren't for her surname being Nian, the Fourth Master would probably have ignored her long ago.
"Cui Ling, Bi Rou, Zi Ning, do as Bai Zhi says and change rooms immediately. We'll move to the west side." Realizing her mistake, Madam Nian immediately stopped being angry. She wasn't a brainless woman; it was that servant's words, treating Madam Geng as the First Madam, that had momentarily clouded her judgment.
“But Master, the room on the west side gets a lot of afternoon sun, and it’s summer now, so it’ll probably be very hot,” Cui Ling said. “It would be better if we moved to the room on the east side earlier.”
"Now that Madam Geng is already living here, are you going to kick her out? What were you doing earlier? Hurry up and clean up!" Madam Nian suddenly roared angrily at Cui Ling.
The maids immediately lowered their heads and worked, trying to keep their voices as low as possible so as not to provoke Madam Nian's temper.
When the news that Lady Nian had moved to the west room reached the Fourth Master's ears through Granny Luo, he was already quite drunk. Su Peisheng simply sent Granny Luo away and then said to Lady Geng, "The Master is drunk, and the weather is hot. I'll have to trouble you, Gege, to help me wipe the Fourth Master's body, change his clothes, and then he can go to sleep."
Geng had overheard Luo Mama whispering to Su Peisheng at the door. She was surprised that Nian Shi realized her mistake so quickly and was able to correct it so swiftly. It seemed that she was not a fool after all.
“What are you saying, sir? It is my duty to serve you well. Please have someone bring in some water,” Geng said gently.
Su Peisheng returned the greeting. He saw that Geng was clever and was happy to do her a favor. Moreover, she was on good terms with the concubine, so helping her was helping the concubine.
After the hot water was brought, Madam Geng and Su Peisheng helped the Fourth Master take off his outer garments. Then she began to wipe the Fourth Master's face, neck, chest and back, and finally Su Peisheng wiped his genitals.
Then the two of them worked together to change the Fourth Master's underwear. By then, Madam Geng herself was also covered in sweat from exhaustion.
"Eunuch Su, I originally intended to stay here and watch over you, but I really need to go back and change my clothes," Geng said somewhat awkwardly.
"Princess, please go back quickly. This servant will take care of things from now on. Our master has a very good temper when he drinks; he never causes trouble," Su Peisheng said with a smile. Compared to Geng Shi's politeness towards him, Nian Shi was definitely more domineering. Although she also gave him a red envelope, her temper was not easy to please.
Geng, supported by Lülan, returned to the inner courtyard and happened to see Nian standing at the door of the west room, just as she walked in.
"Sister Geng really knows how to pick a room. She picked the best room as soon as she came in," Madam Nian said with a smile, but her eyes were as cold as ice.
"Thank you for your praise, sister. I was just doing my duty and never overstepping my bounds," Geng said, stopping in her tracks.
Lady Nian never expected that Lady Geng, who was usually so taciturn, could be so sharp-tongued. She felt a surge of jealousy, but couldn't find a reason to attack her, so she just rolled her eyes at her and turned to go inside.
"Princess, let's go back and change our clothes. Let's ignore some people's jealousy," Green Orchid said softly.
Madam Nian returned to the room, muttering to herself, "No, we must change the impression we have of the Fourth Prince. Baizhi, come here and think with me about how to change this impression."
Seeing that Madam Nian had gradually calmed down, the maids began to chatter amongst themselves.
“Princess, what is the purpose of Master’s visit to Yangzhou? If you can help him solve his problem, he will definitely look at you differently.” Bai Zhi did not agree with Cui Ling and the others’ suggestion to apologize to the Fourth Master.
“You’re right. The mistake has already been made, and even if I apologize, it won’t erase the Fourth Prince’s impression of this matter. Now that I’ve changed my position, I’ve already made my stance clear,” said Madam Nian.
“But how can we, as young women, help our master solve problems?” Bi Rou didn’t understand Bai Zhi’s words.
“Just because we can’t solve it doesn’t mean my brother can’t. Alright, let’s write to my brother now. He’s currently besieging the Dzungars with the Emperor. I can write to Father and ask him to gather military provisions for my brother in the Gansu and Shaanxi regions,” said Lady Nian.
“My lord, the Grand Governor is currently engaged in the war against the Dzungars. He is probably already facing a shortage of his own military rations. If we were to ask him for more, we might end up neglecting one thing while trying to do the other,” Bai Zhi said.
"Then what do you suggest we do? Besides my brother, who else can I ask for help?" Upon hearing Bai Zhi's words, Nian Shi asked, "So I'm really going to lose to Geng Shi?"
“Princess, no. You’ve already changed your ways. Master still loves you very much, otherwise he wouldn’t have brought you here! Master, there’s no need to be anxious. Why don’t you wait until tonight and go over to perform a dance for Master?” Cui Ling said.
"I'm afraid Master is not in the mood for singing and dancing right now. Master, please wait. He can't possibly ignore the Princess," Bai Zhi said.
"But I can't bear to see someone like Geng being summoned by the master to serve him," Nian said unwillingly.
“Master, we are already in a disadvantageous position. We should stay put and wait for another opportunity. As long as you don’t make any more mistakes, the master will come,” Bai Zhi said.
Ms. Nian knew that she had indeed made a mistake in taking this first step, so she had no choice but to stay quietly in the west room for the time being.
After taking a nap, Fourth Master woke up to find that his clothes had been changed. He asked Su Peisheng and learned that it was Geng Shi. He also heard from Su Peisheng that Nian Shi had moved to a new house. Only then did he say, "Let's go see Nian Gege."
Su Peisheng dared not delay. He quickly washed the Fourth Master's face and helped him change his clothes before accompanying him to the inner quarters.
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