"Since the concubine has spoken, Dachun, you will enter the household after you turn fifteen." The Fourth Prince was happy to promote someone from the Niohuru family, who could serve as Lanqin's right-hand man in the future. She was all alone in the inner quarters, and even with his protection, she couldn't escape the schemes from all sides. Now that he had promoted her own brother to the position of Grand Secretary, promoting a clever and shrewd brother would also be helpful to her.
Seeing that these cousins who had suddenly come to visit were all being protected by Lanqin, Yang felt even more resentful.
After Da Chun's Kung Fu tea performance, both Fourth Master and Lan Qin picked up a cup of tea to taste. It was indeed fragrant and lingering, as if they were really standing on a mountain full of tea leaves, with the mountain breeze blowing away all their worries.
After lunch, Anjia, with great shrewdness, instructed her maid to tell Lanqin that the Fourth Prince should go to Lanqin's room for a rest. Naturally, when the Fourth Prince arrived, Lingzhu had already instructed Anjia to send someone to clean the room again and replace the bedding and pillows.
Xinyi and Shuhui got along well, so she naturally took her to her boudoir to whisper secrets.
Yang left angrily with her sons. Zhang and Wang naturally withdrew; they were just guests, and having done their duty, they obediently returned to their own rooms.
Shi and Zheng also took their leave. During the New Year, they were busy taking care of people, which was really tiring, especially Shi, who felt wronged because Anjia had mentioned the fact that she didn't have children.
Finally, only Xiao Anjia remained. Seeing that everyone had left, she took Anjia's hand and said, "Sister, Xiuzhu admires the concubine very much. Could you let her stay and keep Xinyi and the others company?"
Anjia said in confusion, "Your family has hired a governess, but I haven't hired one for Xinyi and Shuhui yet. They'll go to the manor with the concubine to learn from her."
Suppressing her inner joy, Anjia took her daughter's hand and said, "Sister, look at this girl, she's smart, lively, and beautiful. To be honest, your brother-in-law and I are hoping that she can enter the harem of some grandmaster prince and become a princess."
Anjia was startled. She hadn't expected her sister to actually be willing to let her daughter be a concubine. She herself would not have agreed.
“Sister, there’s no need to worry too much. I think Xiuzhu is quite good. The imperial concubine selection is coming up soon, and Brother Shaofeng is the Vice Minister of the Court of State Ceremonial, with a very clean family background. The chances of her being selected are quite high,” Lingzhu said perfunctorily. He knew in his heart that Xiao Anjia was just envious of Lanqin’s favor and wanted to send her own daughter to the selection as well.
“Brother-in-law knows that our Xiuzhu is a Han Bannerman, which is definitely not as good as the Manchu Bannerman. If Third Sister can help her out, Xiuzhu’s chances will be better. Sister, brother-in-law, do you think it would be possible to bring Third Sister into the manor to learn etiquette as well?” Xiao Anjia said shamelessly.
Anjia was a person with little opinion of her own, except when it came to her own children. She was willing to help others as much as she could. Since her younger sister had already spoken up, and Lanqin had just let Shuhui go in as well, adding one more person wouldn't make a difference.
"I'll have to ask Qin'er about that. Sister, why don't you take Xiuzhu back first? I'll ask her and get back to you." Although Anjia wasn't very shrewd, she could only agree to Lingzhu's reluctance when she saw his expression.
Seeing that things had come to this point, Xiao Anjia couldn't bring herself to say anything more, so she and Xiuzhu said a few more words to Lingzhu and his wife before reluctantly leaving.
“What you just said is at least somewhat reasonable. In a few days, just send someone to tell your sister that Qin’er won’t give it to you. I don’t think we need to even talk to her,” Lingzhu said, frowning.
"Why can you take care of your distant cousin's daughter, but Xiuzhu is my own niece? Why can't you take care of her?" Although Anjia knew that her sister had come to seek favors, she was still unhappy with Lingzhu's poor treatment of her family.
"Can't you see? Xiuzhu kept staring at the Fourth Prince today. That girl has a lot on her mind. If you send her to the Fourth Prince's residence, she might bring trouble to your daughter." Lingzhu had been keeping an eye on the people around the Fourth Prince ever since he entered the residence, and he naturally noticed Chen Xiuzhu's lingering gaze on the Fourth Prince's face at the family banquet.
Anjia was startled, and subconsciously thought about what Chen Xiuzhu had said. It seemed that she was indeed somewhat jealous of Lanqin's favor with the emperor.
Then Lanqin led the Fourth Master to her boudoir, and the maids tactfully withdrew to the outside. A brazier had been lit inside, and the furnishings seemed to have been replaced with some new items; the bed was brand new.
Fourth Master hugged Lanqin from behind, and a masculine scent rushed up and filled Lanqin's nose.
"You've been ignoring me for days. Today, in front of your relatives, I've given you plenty of face. And you still won't serve me?" Fourth Master's domineering voice came from behind.
Lanqin felt a slight resistance in her heart, but still said unhappily, "Isn't what you're doing what you should do? As a man, you should naturally protect your woman in front of outsiders."
Fourth Master suddenly turned Lanqin around, staring into her eyes and said, "What are you thinking in your little head? You know, I can have any kind of woman I want, like your cousin Chen Xiuzhu, who is young and beautiful and has given me countless flirtatious glances. But I only really like you."
The Fourth Prince, panting heavily, said, "Heaven knows how much I cared and how afraid I was of losing Lanqin's sincere heart after those words she spoke to me that day. Because during those years in the palace, I saw clearly that even someone as noble as Consort Tong's feelings for her father, the Emperor, had changed from initial infatuation to later obedience and reverence. And even his own mother, Consort De, couldn't distinguish between genuine affection and mere obedience towards Kangxi. He didn't want women like that. He wanted a woman who was truly devoted to him, who could speak the truth to him, and who dared to speak the truth."
"Yes, my cousin is so naive and romantic. Should I ask Mother to betroth her to you directly? But we'll have to wait three months, you know," Lanqin said deliberately, feigning annoyance.
"You dare? I'll teach you a lesson right now." Fourth Master couldn't help but growl, and suddenly picked Lanqin up by the waist and carried her towards the bed.
After the two took off their clothes, they were both exhausted and covered in sweat. Fourth Master had been refusing to eat for several days, and now he was like someone who hadn't eaten meat in a long time, so he ate a little too much all at once.
Lanqin angrily left two small marks on Fourth Master's shoulder, which stopped him from further ravaging.
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