Upon hearing this, Lanqin realized it was indeed true, so she immediately said to Huanbi, "Go and inquire further. If you find out, this princess will reward you!"
Huanbi happily agreed. After she left, Nianxue had already put the gift that Lanqin had brought to Madam Dong in a small gift box, ready to leave at any time.
“Princess, why don’t we go to Princess Dong’s place today and come back to avoid gossip?” Nianxue had already disagreed with Lanqin’s idea of taking the opportunity to go out for a stroll, and now that she couldn’t predict whether the Fourth Master and the others would return, she took the opportunity to say so.
"Let's wait until Huanbi finds out the details before making a decision," Lanqin said, still reluctant to give up this rare opportunity to go out.
When Nianxue saw that Huanbi was trying to please Lanqin, she disliked her even more, but seeing Lanqin's attitude, she had no choice but to remain silent.
The Fourth Prince specifically instructed the head nanny to prepare a sedan chair for Lanqin. Lanqin learned from Fatty Wang that the Fourth Prince might not be coming today, because he usually spends the night in the palace before returning home.
To make things easier, Lanqin didn't bring many people with her, only Nianxue.
The Seventh Prince's residence was not close to the Fourth Prince's residence. This was probably due to his status. Among the princes who built their own residences outside the palace, his residence was the most remote, almost reaching Xizhimen.
Sigh, this world really is full of equally corrupt people.
The weak are bullied. Although Kangxi may not have intended to neglect the Seventh Prince, from a human perspective, would an emperor with many sons give special care to a disabled son?
The answer is naturally no.
So, those sycophantic servants in the Imperial Household Department, who were adept at reading people's faces and always trying to please the powerful, naturally didn't take the Seventh Prince seriously. Their choice of the Seventh Prince's residence was a misjudgment.
The sedan chair bearers were all carefully selected, and Lanqin could walk without much effort. So, although the Seventh Prince's residence was a bit far, the sedan chair bearers did not slow down at all, and the sedan chair arrived at the gate of the Seventh Prince's residence in no time.
The gate was opened immediately after the gatekeeper announced it, and the gatekeeper said to the sedan chair bearers, "Seventh Master has given special permission; please bring Princess Niu in."
Oh, this is a privilege granted to Lanqin. Normally, sedan chairs are not allowed to move around freely in other people's residences. This is probably because of Fourth Master's influence.
Lanqin raised her hand and lifted the "small window" next to the sedan chair to look at the scenery inside the Seventh Prince's residence.
In fact, the princes' residences were all pretty much the same, with flying eaves and glazed tiles, artificial hills and small gardens, pavilions and waterside terraces, east gardens and west courtyards. Naturally, the princes' concubines lived there.
Lanqin's sedan chair stopped in front of a very elegant courtyard. After she got out of the sedan chair, she walked to the courtyard gate and saw three characters hanging above it: "Liuxian Pavilion"!
Pfft~~~~
Lanqin didn't burst out laughing. It seemed this Seventh Prince was quite the sourpuss, giving all his courtyards ridiculously funny names. Actually, Lanqin had already seen them from the sedan chair—names like "Fanghua Terrace" and "Star-Picking Pavilion," and so on.
When the door opened, Dong's lovely and sunny smiling face was revealed. She was wearing a qipao embroidered with gold thread and female ball flowers, with the collar and cuffs trimmed with white silver fox fur, which made Dong's round little face look bright and fair, and her complexion was also very good, with a rosy glow.
Lanqin immediately noticed her stomach; it was really big!
"Sister~ you've finally arrived, I've missed you so much~" Madam Dong had been waiting at the door for a while, and when she heard the commotion outside, she had someone open the door.
"Are you twins? Your belly is so big!" Lanqin immediately smiled and grabbed Dong's hand, laughing.
"Really? No way, the doctor in the manor didn't say anything. Sister, come inside quickly~" Madam Dong took Lanqin's hand and led her into the room that the Seventh Master had given her.
Lanqin looked around the main room, examining the furnishings and furniture. They were similar to those in her own room, or at least she couldn't quite understand them.
"It seems that Seventh Master treats you quite well, granting you a courtyard to live in alone." Lanqin and Madam Dong sat down on the couch on either side of her.
"Thanks to your guidance, sister, I was able to win the master's favor," Madam Dong said with a smile. She looked completely different from when she was in the Third Prince's residence.
"It's good that Seventh Master treats you well. By the way, have you prepared some baby clothes? Take them out and let me see them." Lanqin winked at Nianxue.
As is customary for Madam Dong, she immediately instructed the maid beside her to go to the inner room and bring out the things she had made for the child.
“Sister, this is a small token of my appreciation for the child, and also some to nourish you,” Lanqin said, as Nianxue opened the brocade box in her hand and presented it to Madam Dong.
"This is a gift from my elder sister, so I won't stand on ceremony. Being too polite would only make us feel distant." Madam Dong noticed that the box contained a pair of gold longevity locks and bracelets, along with nourishing ingredients such as wild ginseng, bird's nest, and white clams.
"Sister, your Seventh Master and his wife went to the palace today. They won't be back tonight, will they?" Lanqin was worried about whether the Fourth Master would return or not, so she inquired about the Seventh Master's situation first.
"It seems they're not going back; it looks like they'll be spending the night in the palace." Madam Dong picked up the little clothes and gestured to Lanqin, saying, "So cute, isn't it?"
Seeing Dong Shi's loving and happy motherly demeanor, Lan Qin couldn't help but envy her, now that she was pregnant and about to become a mother. "So cute, even I envy you for being a mother soon."
Standing to the side, Nianxue's heart tightened upon hearing this. After Gege's miscarriage, Doctor Zhou seemed to have said that her body was weakened and she needed proper care to conceive again. Now, almost half a year has passed since the miscarriage, and Gege still doesn't know she had a miscarriage. Sigh...
"What's there to envy? You're so favored by your Fourth Master, it's only a matter of time before you get pregnant!" Madam Dong then took out a pair of small shoes to show Lanqin.
"So cute! The fabric is so soft, it must be so comfortable for the child to wear!" Lanqin said, taking the little shoes and looking at them in her hands.
"These are made of plain satin, a special gift from the Fujin (wife of the emperor). There were only two bolts in total, and I used them to make clothes and shoes for the children." Madam Dong looked blissful; this was truly the most triumphant moment of her life, and everything she saw was pleasing to her.
Lanqin glanced at Madam Dong, thought for a moment, and finally couldn't help but say, "Sister, from the perspective of the Fujin (Prince's wife), she doesn't want you to give birth to the Seventh Prince's child safely. So you must be careful in everything you do in the future. However, I hope my worries are unnecessary."
Upon hearing this, Madam Dong's expression froze, and she said in a low voice, "Our Fujin Nara is alright; she's usually quite kind to us. However, she gave birth to two children, but both died. We don't know why."
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