Because of the severe drought, the Fourth Prince decided to temporarily stay away from his residence. He planned to find a drinking water source for all the people of Beijing within three days. He sent Su Peisheng back to the residence to fetch him some clean clothes, as he preferred to wear his own, even though there were some in the palace. He also asked Su Peisheng to deliver messages to his wife and Lanqin.
Su Peisheng drove the carriage back to the mansion. He first went to the front yard to have someone pack up the Fourth Master's clothes and some daily necessities, as well as his own clothes. Then he thought about going to deliver a message to the women in the inner quarters.
First, he went to the main courtyard of the Fujin (principal wife).
"Eunuch Su, is there something you need from the master?" The princess asked gently after Su Peisheng bowed.
"My lord said he won't be returning for the next few days because of the severe drought outside. Please don't worry, Madam," Su Peisheng said respectfully.
The princess lowered her gaze slightly and asked again, "Is that all?"
Su Peisheng glanced at the Fujin carefully, and said respectfully, "Yes, that's all the master has to say, nothing else."
The princess waved slightly disappointedly at Su Peisheng, who then bowed and took a few steps back before turning and leaving the main courtyard.
After Su Peisheng left, the Fujin rose, stepped onto her flowerpot-soled shoes, and walked slowly to the window, murmuring, "Granny, what you said the other day wasn't without reason. However, I'm still not entirely at ease with Yan Yu. She's only fifteen or sixteen now, and if she gains the Fourth Prince's favor, she might become disloyal, perhaps even having his own child. In that case, I'd be using a tiger to drive away a wolf, only to be hurt by the tiger in the end!"
Granny Li slowly walked behind the Princess Consort, tucked her sleeves in, and said coldly, "This old servant has also thought of that. If the Princess Consort can harden her heart, there might be a way."
The princess picked up the scissors from the potted plant by the window, raised her exquisitely elegant hands, and calmly said, "Granny, please speak freely, there's nothing to hold back!"
Granny Li curtsied behind her and replied, "We can prevent Ninth Princess from conceiving for the time being. Of course, we can't give her contraceptive soup; we can only do it without her knowledge."
The princess was pruning a branch that was growing quite lushly when she heard what Granny Li said. Startled, she cut off a branch that she shouldn't have.
“This old servant is doing this for the sake of the Fujin (Prince Consort). Ninth Princess is lively and cheerful, and should be able to win the master’s favor. However, the master has always doted on Ninth Princess, which has made her somewhat eccentric. If the Fujin finds her a husband, who knows if she will be comfortable? It’s better for her to stay by the Fujin’s side and serve the Fujin. Of course, once our eldest prince is made heir apparent, it wouldn’t be impossible for Ninth Princess to give birth to a son or daughter. Moreover, Ninth Princess herself has already secretly fallen for the master. Even if the Fujin really finds her a husband now, based on this old servant’s understanding of Ninth Princess, she might not be truly happy. On the contrary, if the Fujin grants her wish, then Ninth Princess will regard the Fujin as a benefactor,” said Granny Li.
The princess consort had already returned to her normal posture and was skillfully picking out the excess branches and leaves from the lush foliage, then expertly and without hesitation snipping them off.
“You’re right. This girl has always been proud and arrogant. Even if she gets married, she might not be any better off. It’s better to keep her by my side.” The Fujin finally seemed to have made up her mind. She put down the scissors in her hand and said to Chunliu outside the house, “Chunliu, go and call Yanyu here. I have something to say to her.”
Chunliu responded and went to the room where the Fujin had arranged for Yanyu to stay.
After Su Peisheng came out of the Fujin's courtyard, he changed direction and headed towards the South Courtyard.
Just as he reached the entrance of the South Courtyard, he happened to run into Madam Geng. As Lanqin had said, Madam Geng came to talk to Lanqin almost every day, and the two gradually became closer.
"This servant greets Princess Geng!" Su Peisheng nodded in greeting.
"No need for formalities, Eunuch Su!" Geng Shi said immediately, somewhat surprised. For a princess like her, who was not favored, to receive the respect of the Fourth Prince's personal eunuch meant that she still held some status. Su Peisheng naturally thought so too. Although Geng Shi was not as favored as Niu Shi, she had not been completely out of favor since accompanying him on that trip. The Fourth Prince would think of her from time to time, so Su Peisheng was quite polite to her.
The two entered the south courtyard together. Lanqin was playing cards with the maids when she saw Gengshi and Su Peisheng come in together. She immediately asked Nianxue to bring each of them a cup of cold tea.
If Su Peisheng had been so busy and overwhelmed since he started working in the palace, this cup of cool tea was a real lifesaver. He thanked the teacup and then drank it all down. Seeing that Su Peisheng was completely at ease with Lanqin, Geng was secretly amazed.
"Princess Niu, the master asked me to pass on a message to you, saying that you should rest well, eat and sleep properly, and he will come to see you when he returns." Su Peisheng was a little awkward when he said this because Madam Geng was present. If she weren't there, he wouldn't be so embarrassed. After all, the way the Fourth Master treated Princess Niu was completely different from how he treated others.
Upon hearing this, Geng's astonishment deepened.
Lanqin smiled slightly and said to Nianxue, "Go get some more pastries for the eunuch, and then take the large pot of chilled tea we've prepared to him. The master is probably too busy in the palace to eat or drink, so please take some with you."
After drinking the herbal tea, Su Peisheng felt much more energetic and immediately replied, "I was just here to fetch something for my master, there's no need for such trouble. You're too kind, Your Highness. Please, both of you, have a seat. I'll return to the palace to serve my master now." With that, Su Peisheng bowed and followed Nianxue out.
"Sister, I really envy you, sister, for receiving such favor from the Fourth Prince. I'm afraid only you and the Fujin in this entire household can receive such a reply from the Fourth Prince," Geng said, looking at Lanqin with a mix of joking and jealousy.
"Sister! You're always teasing your younger sister!" Lanqin glanced shyly at Gengshi, and then the two leaned together to talk about things in the manor. Gengshi mentioned the severe drought outside, and how the Fourth Prince was so busy in the palace that he couldn't come back.
Because of the Fourth Prince's favor, Lanqin hasn't felt any water shortage yet; perhaps Nianxue and the others just haven't told her.
"Oh. It really hasn't rained much these past few months. Sigh, it's so tough. In the middle of summer, we have no water." Lanqin thought about the ice she had here, and wondered what the situation was like with the people outside. She thought for a moment and then said, "Sister, isn't there a big lake in our garden? The water there looks quite clean. I wonder if it's drinkable?"
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