After Chen Shou finished explaining the special effects of the hibiscus flower to Song and Geng, Lanqin summoned him to the inner room to talk.
"Chen Shou, how many years have you been working in the greenhouse?" Lan Qin asked. Actually, ever since Li Shubao went to work in the front yard, Lan Qin's place had lacked a male manager. With the whole courtyard full of women, it was sometimes inconvenient to get things done.
"Replying to Your Highness, since I was sold into this household, I first did some odd jobs for the head nanny, and later I was assigned to the flower room, where I have been working for three years now," Chen Shou said, suppressing the joy in his heart, thinking to himself that this was intentionally arranged for him to do the work.
“Oh, they weren’t assigned from the Imperial Household Department. They’re more reliable than those old foxes,” Geng said to Lanqin.
Madam Song understood that Lanqin had taken a liking to the gardener named Chen Shou and wanted to bring him into the South Courtyard.
"How did you get this on your face? Which master from which courtyard punished you?" Madam Song asked.
"Replying to Consort Song, this servant delivered two pots of gardenias to Consort Yu this morning, but they didn't quite suit her taste, so she was punished for it," Chen Shou replied honestly.
"Oh, what happened that didn't suit her?" Geng asked, glancing at Lanqin after hearing that Yan Yu had made the call.
“Princess Yu wanted peonies, but the peonies in the garden aren’t in bloom yet, so this servant took the liberty of sending two pots of gardenias instead. Gardenias are actually quite nice; their fragrance is delicate and very suitable for children.” Chen Shou stood there upright, looking quite self-important.
Pfft~~~
Madam Geng covered her mouth with a handkerchief and laughed, "She wanted peonies, but you gave her gardenias. No wonder she was beaten like this."
Seeing that she had gotten the question close enough, Lanqin said, "Would you be willing to come and work in my South Courtyard? We're short of someone clever here; we're all women."
Upon hearing this, Chen Shou quickly patted Lanqin's sleeves a few times, bowed deeply, and said, "This servant is willing. In fact, this servant didn't want to work in the flower room anymore. It is truly a blessing for this servant to be favored by the princess. This servant is willing to work for the princess and will never do anything to harm her. If I fail to do so, may I die a terrible death."
"Just do your job well, no need to swear any oaths. If you're loyal, I won't treat you unfairly; if you're disloyal, I won't be easily fooled. Go back now and wait for the head nanny's instructions before proceeding," Lanqin said. This was the first person she had actively wanted to serve since entering the Fourth Prince's residence.
After Chen Shou left, Lanqin instructed the kitchen to have Song Shi and Geng Shi have lunch together. The three of them discussed the coming-of-age ceremony of the eldest princess in a few days.
As Lanqin listened to Madam Song recount the events of her coming-of-age ceremony, she pondered how to bring Que'er to the South Courtyard that day.
"Lan'er, I'm afraid that Que'er isn't so easy to talk to. She's in that kind of place now, she might try to extort money from you." Geng Shi watched Lan Qin eat while smiling faintly, not saying much, and knew that she was thinking about something else.
"That's why I took Chen Shou in," Lan Qin said, narrowing her eyes.
"People say that pregnant women become silly and stupid, but I think my sister is getting smarter and smarter, just like a cute little fox." Madam Geng smiled, noticing that Lanqin's personality had changed a bit since she became pregnant.
"The fate of Lady Dong makes me think more deeply. Now, the Third Prince is clearly being instigated by someone. Fortunately, although he is young, he can see right from wrong. Otherwise, this time, Lanqin might not have been able to avoid the schemes of a seven-year-old child." Lanqin picked up the handkerchief to wipe her mouth, then put down her chopsticks.
Neither Lady Geng nor Lady Song recognized Lady Dong, but they had heard some of what had happened, and both remained silent, perhaps out of empathy as concubines.
After lunch, Madam Song and Madam Geng sat for a while longer before going back to rest.
Because of her large belly, Lanqin was not very comfortable sleeping, so she rested on a chaise lounge placed next to the bed.
Gradually, Lanqin fell into a deep sleep.
When the Fourth Prince returned from the palace, he didn't rest in the front courtyard but went straight to the south courtyard.
"What kind of dream is she having? Why is her brow furrowed so deeply!" The Fourth Master did not let the maids wake Lanqin. He walked over to Lanqin's side and saw that her brows were furrowed into a deep frown.
Waaaaah~~~
Suddenly, Lanqin started crying in her dream.
Fourth Master was taken aback. This was the first time he had ever seen the little princess cry, and she was even crying in her dream. He saw her pout, whimper a few times in grievance, then turn her head away, showing no sign of waking up.
"What wronged you?" Fourth Master raised his hand and gently brushed the stray hairs that fell beside Lanqin's ear.
Waaaaah... No~~~~
Lanqin suddenly started crying and frowning, shouting, "No, no..."
"Lan'er, Lan'er, wake up quickly..." When Fourth Master saw the pain on Lan Qin's face, he knew she was having a nightmare.
Fourth Master grabbed Lanqin's hand and shook it a few times, then called her name several times by the side of her head, but Lanqin still didn't wake up.
Strangely, Lanqin seemed unable to wake up. No matter how much the Fourth Master shook her hand, she remained with her eyes tightly closed, unable to regain consciousness.
Fourth Master grabbed Lanqin by the neck and called her name loudly, but she still didn't wake up.
“My lord, I remember when the princess first entered the manor last year, she was also unresponsive once. It was only after Doctor Bai performed acupuncture that she was awakened,” Nianxue said hurriedly.
"What did she do today? Why can't I wake her up again, just like last time?" Fourth Master glanced towards the door and saw Su Peisheng understand. He immediately turned around and ran to fetch Doctor Wu.
"Reporting to Your Highness, the Princess only went to the flower room today, and then Princess Song and Princess Geng accompanied her for lunch. Everything was normal, and nothing happened. After finishing her meal, the Princess rested on the couch for the afternoon." Nianxue hurriedly knelt down and said, feeling a wave of fear: Perhaps the Princess had already fainted, but she just thought she was still asleep.
"She should have woken up long ago, how come you're all still asleep?" Fourth Master couldn't help but roar.
"Why are you yelling at my maid? I was just sleeping in for a while." Lanqin suddenly opened her eyes and smiled.
The Fourth Prince felt himself almost losing control in his anxiety, fearing that he would lose control of the little princess in his arms again, just like last time. That feeling of not being able to control the life and death of someone you care about is truly awful.
"You were awake a long time ago?" Fourth Master stared coldly at Lanqin.
Lanqin woke up after the Fourth Master called her several times, but her eyelids felt heavy, so she simply didn't open her eyes, wanting to see how anxious the Fourth Master was.
"Master, I won't dare to do it again next time. Please don't scare me like that, okay?" Lanqin naturally saw that the Fourth Master was really angry because of her nonsense and looked a little scary, so she pouted, blinked her eyes, and took the Fourth Master's hand and whispered.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com