After Lady Fucha understood the current situation in the Fourth Prince's household, she was astonished to find it so different from her memories of her previous life. In her past life, the Fourth Prince's wife was a traditional principal wife, magnanimous and virtuous, much like many other principal wives, allowing the Fourth Prince to manipulate her. Lady Li was favored, bearing the most children for the Fourth Prince, and was arrogant and domineering. Later, due to old age and fading beauty, she was gradually neglected by the Fourth Prince. After Lady Nian arrived, she always occupied a unique position in the Fourth Prince's household. Then there were Lady Song, Lady Wu, Lady Geng, and Lady Niohuru, who were practically invisible. She and Lady Ye were relatively favored by the Fourth Prince, and it was in the struggle with Lady Ye that she was framed by Lady Li. As for Lady Liu, who entered the mansion at the same time as her, she didn't seem to be favored either.
"Master, Consort Liu from across the street is coming over," Hong'er said to Lady Fucha from the doorway.
Lady Fucha had changed out of her bridal gown and was now wearing a light lotus-colored qipao and a headdress adorned with kingfisher feather ornaments.
As Liu walked to the door, she saw Fucha walking towards her and immediately said, "Greetings, Sister Fucha!"
Looking at Liu's demure and unassuming demeanor, dressed in a light green qipao and with her hair in two buns, Fucha couldn't help but look down on her and said, "Hello, Sister Liu!"
"Since we'll be living in the same courtyard as my sister, we might as well get closer. Why don't we go together to pay our respects to the First Lady and the Second Lady?" Liu said with a smile.
This Liu doesn't seem as dull-witted as she was in her previous life; she even knows to come over and actively try to build relationships.
“It’s almost lunchtime now, I think we should wait until after lunch,” said Lady Fucha.
“Sister is right. Then I won’t bother you any longer. How about we go together after lunch?” Liu said obediently.
Fucha nodded immediately and then called Hong'er and Yan'er to come over.
"The kitchen is the place where they really judge people based on their status. Hong'er, take Yan'er and go get the food. Make sure to give that man surnamed Huang a lot of silver; he's the head steward of the kitchen. With his help, our meals won't be too bad from now on," said Madam Fucha.
Yan'er already had a bag of silver in her hand. She nodded and went with Hong'er to fetch the meal.
Ping'er seemed dull and honest. When Fucha asked her to pack her things, she sat on the couch, lost in thought.
Meanwhile, Liu Shi helped her personal maid, Hong Qiao, back home.
“Princess, this Princess Fucha seems to be quite clever. We’ll have plenty of dealings with her in the future!” Hongqiao said.
“Yes, we live in the same courtyard and came in at the same time. Even if we don’t want to compare, people will still compare us,” Liu said.
“Princess, I’ve already learned from those two maids that Consort Niu is now in charge of the household and is the most favored. Why don’t we get to know her better?” Hongqiao said.
"Don't be the first to show yourself, let's wait and see," Liu said.
For the new princess's first lunch, Lanqin specifically instructed the kitchen staff not to make things difficult for them. In addition to the usual four dishes and one soup, two extra dishes were specially added, since it was their first day.
Yan'er and Hong'er carried the food smoothly, but they still slipped some silver to Eunuch Huang. The latter was naturally very pleased and brought them an extra bowl of black-boned chicken soup.
Liu's two maids, Lüzhi and Qiutong, who arrived around the same time as them, noticed that Fucha's two maids received extra chicken soup, and they remembered it.
The two groups of people who had brought the food had almost returned to Chunhui Courtyard.
"Princess, I slipped some silver to that eunuch Huang, and he even gave me extra chicken soup!" Yan'er said to Fucha.
“Of course, how can not giving them money be the same as giving them money!” said Lady Fucha. In her previous life, she had suffered greatly from not giving these servants money.
When they placed the lunch in front of Lady Fucha, she glanced at it and said, "Why are there two extra dishes?"
“They said that since it was Princess’s first day here, they added two extra dishes,” Hong’er immediately replied.
"Who gave the order?" Fucha asked.
“They said it was the concubine of the South Courtyard who gave the order,” Hong’er said.
Fucha became increasingly curious about Lanqin: What kind of person was she? Had Niohuru taken over the household?
After taking a small bite, Lady Fucha instructed her three maids to take it away to eat. She then returned to her bedroom, intending to rest for the afternoon.
Over there, Lady Liu was indeed having her meal. Her two maids told Lady Liu that Lady Fucha across from her had an extra black-boned chicken soup.
"Perhaps they gave me money," Liu said quietly.
“Princess, it seems this neighbor is quite wealthy,” Hongqiao said.
"The Fucha clan has always been very powerful in the capital. Many high-ranking officials have come from their family, so they must be quite wealthy. It is said that this Sister Fucha is the eldest daughter of the main wife. It seems that we should get along well with Sister Fucha in the future," said Madam Liu.
Seeing that Liu was not in a good mood, the maids did not say anything more. After Liu had lunch, they also went to rest.
With the masters asleep, the maids who served them had nothing to do. They stood at the door, glancing at each other, each seemingly comparing themselves to the other.
"Hongqiao, come and wake me up later. Let's go pay our respects to the concubine as soon as possible," said Madam Liu.
"Isn't Master going with Princess Fucha?" Hongqiao asked, watching Liu's retreating figure.
"You should go yourself. How will you know when she'll get up?" Liu said.
As the hottest part of the day was about to pass, Madam Liu, supporting Hongqiao's hand, headed towards the south courtyard. She knew that in the Fourth Prince's mansion, Lanqin was the most favored and held the power of the household.
Liu and her servants walked to the entrance of the South Courtyard, knocked on the door, introduced themselves, and waited for Lan Qinxuan and the others to go in.
Lanqin observed that Liu was elegant and beautiful, and said, "Please sit down. You're not very familiar with the mansion yet, are you? Why did you come here?"
Lady Liu only dared to sit on one side of the chair, and said, "I was taken care of by the concubine when I first entered the mansion, how could I not come to pay my respects to the concubine?"
Lanqin smiled, recalling the Yehe clan of yesteryear, who was also so gentle and docile, but later…
"It's the custom, you don't need to thank me. There's a feast at Sister Song's place tonight, specially prepared for you and Lady Fucha. When Fourth Master returns, you should prepare accordingly." Lanqin had nothing more to say, so she could only say these words.
"Thank you, Consort. Then I will take my leave." Lady Liu naturally understood the meaning behind Lanqin's words; she seemed to be someone not to be trifled with.
After Liu and her servant left, Lanqin said to Cui Niang, "Liu seems gentle, dignified, and very well-behaved. What do you think?"
“I can’t stand anyone else now, I only have eyes for my master,” said Cui Niang.
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