The Imperial Concubine's Day was approaching. According to ancestral rules, concubines and lower-ranking consorts were not entitled to enter the palace to pay their respects. Therefore, on this day, Lanqin and her husband, the First Princess, got up early to prepare, as did the children, all of whom were to go to the palace to pay their respects. Last year, Lanqin was still a concubine and naturally was not entitled to go, but this year she was to go. The First Princess was accompanied by the eldest, second, and fourth princes, while Lanqin was accompanied by Wuxiha. Xichen, being not the fourth prince's child, had only reported his illness to the palace. The third prince, whose health had never been good, naturally did not go.
That evening, Cui Niang and Nian Xue prepared things for Lan Qin to take to the palace for the next day's court audience. As a secondary consort, she didn't have to go with the Fourth Prince to the ancestral temple to kneel and pay respects, but she did have to go to hear the Emperor's admonitions, and she would have to kneel for at least an hour.
Cui Niang had already made small cushions for Lanqin and Fourth Master. They were filled with reed catkins and stuffed with buckwheat bran, making them both soft and sturdy. They were much better for kneeling on the knees than kneeling directly on the hard bluestone slab.
"The children will probably be kept in Mother's palace then. Thankfully, Ushiha isn't dependent on me," Lanqin muttered to herself, watching Cui Niang make the cushion. She felt quite proud of herself; her daughter was very adaptable and could eat, drink, and sleep well anywhere. Lanqin intentionally didn't want Ushiha to grow up to be a pampered princess like the eldest and second princesses. Because Lanqin knew that the Fourth Prince would eventually ascend the throne, Ushiha would definitely become a princess.
Starting with Emperor Shunzhi, very few princesses of the Qing Dynasty lived long lives; they either died young or did not live more than a few years after marriage.
Lin Mengyao had done research on this; she remembered that she had even written a paper on it, titled "Why were all the princesses of the Qing Dynasty short-lived?"
The reasons are actually quite simple: First, they were too pampered and overly dependent on their wet nurses. Since they were not raised by their own mothers, it was easier for a wet nurse to take advantage of a stranger with malicious intent. Second, most of the princesses of the Qing Dynasty were married off to Mongolia or even further afield. They were not used to the harsh life in the frontier. They were too gentle in their childhood and could not adapt to that kind of life after marriage. They were depressed and their living conditions were much worse than in the palace. They lacked medical care and medicine, so naturally they did not live long.
“I will accompany Consort Lanqin inside, so you can go and pay your respects without worry. I will take good care of Wuxiha,” said Cui Niang. “Besides, with the wet nurse and Nianxue along, nothing will happen.” Cui Niang reassured Lanqin, thinking she was worried about the child.
"Cui Niang, what is this? Is it cattail fluff?" Lanqin asked, noticing some hair-like things spread out in Cui Niang's winnowing basket.
"Yes, this is cattail fluff. It's softer than other things when placed in a pillow or quilt. However, it's easy for the fluff to drift out, and it's not good if it gets into a person's eyes or mouth. So it can't be used with Suzhou satin for quilts and pillows, as it will easily shed fibers. This one I'm using is Sichuan satin, which is fine and dense, so the cattail fluff won't easily come out. Plus, with the addition of buckwheat bran, it's extremely comfortable to kneel on," said Cui Niang.
Lanqin let out a knowing "oh" and then went back to looking at the worship process in her hands.
Oh my god!! This is going to be so grueling!!! Luckily, I'm still a concubine. The primary wife has to go to the ancestral hall with the master to kneel and worship, and not just for one day, but for three days straight. It's really exhausting.
That evening, when Fourth Master walked into the house, shivering with cold, Lanqin was playing with Wuxiha.
"Master, please have your meal. I've prepared your favorite beef and mutton hot pot for you today, it's still warm." Lanqin gestured to Nianxue, signaling her to inform the kitchen that the meal could be served.
"You really care about me. Tomorrow I'll be going to the palace for the celebrations, and I'm afraid I'll have to kneel and pay respects. The weather is quite cold, so eating some mutton will help get rid of the chill in my body," the Fourth Prince said with a smile. Having dinner at the South Courtyard every day had become an unshakable habit for him. Dining with a woman who understood him and always cared about him—wasn't that what he had longed for all these years ago?
Lanqin handed the child in her arms to the wet nurse beside her, and personally helped the Fourth Master take off his gray fox fur-trimmed cloak, revealing the dark blue brocade robe underneath.
"Master, your hands are so cold. Go wash your hands and clean your face first." Lanqin said when she saw that the Fourth Master was about to hug Wuxiha.
"What's wrong? Are you upset that your daughter is freezing?" Fourth Master asked, feigning displeasure.
"Yes, the child is so weak, and my hands are so cold. Aren't you afraid your daughter will get frostbite?" Lanqin rolled her eyes and said, "Eunuch Su, where did you come from? Why are your hands so cold?"
Su Peisheng said aggrievedly, "Today, the master's carriage broke down on the way. The master said he had to come back to have dinner with his concubine, so he rode back first."
Lanqin felt a warmth in her heart, took Fourth Master's hand, cupped it to her lips, and breathed hot air on it, saying, "Master, let me warm you up."
Fourth Master looked at the little woman's nose, which was fair with a hint of red, and knew it was a little cold. He said with pity, "I'll go wash my hands. I'm afraid my Qin'er will get cold."
Lanqin shyly let go of Fourth Master's hand and went to get him the copper bowl herself.
After Fourth Master washed his hands, the beef and mutton hot pot was served, along with vegetables such as tofu, spinach, yam, and mung bean noodles. It looked so appetizing that it made one's mouth water.
"Come, give Wuxiha to me. She will be going to the palace with her father tomorrow. This will be my little princess's first time in the palace." The Fourth Prince said affectionately, taking the child from the wet nurse and placing her in his lap.
Lanqin looked at the Fourth Master's loving fatherly expression, then at Xichen, who was being held by the wet nurse and looked rather pitiful. She quickly said, "Come, put Xichen down next to me. He's almost a year old, so he can eat some tofu or something."
Although Fourth Master still maintained a distant attitude towards Xi Chen, he no longer disliked her. This wasn't the first time the family of four had dined together like this.
"My lord, I had Cui Niang make a few cushions for you to use tomorrow," Lanqin said, seeing that the Fourth Prince was in a good mood. She was afraid that the Fourth Prince would blame her for attending a royal event for the first time, so she was thinking of being lazy and not kneeling properly.
"I don't need it, you can use it. I originally planned to have the nanny from Mother's side prepare it for you, but I didn't expect you to prepare it yourself first," the Fourth Prince said with a smile, but there was no hint of reproach in his eyes.
Seeing his reaction, Lanqin breathed a sigh of relief, but insisted, "Master, it's so cold. How can your knees take it to kneel on the ground like that? You should use something underneath. You're strong now, but it won't be good for you when you get old. Have you ever heard of rheumatism?"
Fourth Master was just dipping a little vegetable soup into his bamboo chopsticks and holding it to Wuxiha's lips when he heard Lanqin say this. He raised his eyebrows and said, "You dare to look down on me now?"
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