What the Fourth Prince didn't expect came very suddenly. On the eve of the Lunar New Year, the gates of Prince Yong's residence were never closed. People came in an endless stream to deliver New Year's gifts to the Fourth Prince, mostly officials from various parts of the capital, and even some from other places.
The head matriarch had to temporarily send someone to receive the gift-givers, who simply delivered their New Year's gifts into the mansion, the names of whom were already sealed inside the gifts. The head matriarch then ordered people to move all the New Year's gifts blocking the entrance to a temporary gift-giving room and assigned someone to guard them to prevent them from being secretly kept.
The Fourth Prince went to Changchun Garden that day; they were all going to pay their respects to Emperor Kangxi on the eve of the Lunar New Year. Because Emperor Kangxi was not returning to the palace, they all went to Changchun Palace to report on matters.
When Fourth Master returned, he saw that there were even people bringing things in through his door.
"Su Peisheng, go through the side door," Fourth Master said immediately, not wanting to come face to face with those people.
Su Peisheng immediately instructed Gesang to take a detour and urged his horse to go to the back.
Meanwhile, the head nanny was standing in front of Lanqin, reporting on the day's New Year's gifts.
"Consort, the gifts we received today filled two rooms. They're piled up like mountains, and this old servant hasn't even had time to count them all," the head nanny said helplessly. A few days ago, some people had also sent gifts, twice as many as in previous years, but never like today—it was like a deluge. People have been bringing gifts since early this morning.
"Have you accepted all the calling cards?" Lanqin asked.
"We've accepted them all. As for gifts without name cards, I told them we absolutely cannot accept them," said the head nanny.
"Well, it's very late today. Let's send someone to make a list tomorrow to see exactly how many people were brought in," Lanqin said.
After the head nanny left, the Fourth Master quickly arrived at the South Courtyard. Before Lanqin could even catch her breath, she heard voices outside greeting the Fourth Master.
"Sihua, go and instruct them to prepare the meal," Lanqin said, then personally went to the door to greet her.
"Did a lot of people come to give gifts today?" Fourth Master asked as he entered.
"You saw it, Master?" Lanqin asked, taking the hat that Fourth Master had taken off.
"Hmm, none of them came in through the main gate. Who are they?" Fourth Master asked, sitting down abruptly.
"The head nanny just left. She said that the people who came to give gifts to the master today practically broke down the gate," Lanqin said.
"They all immediately sided with you after hearing that Father Emperor had handed over the ancestral worship ceremony to you," said the Fourth Prince.
“Now, you are the most sought-after prince in the capital. Everyone wants to curry favor with you,” Lanqin said. “Your Highness, those gifts from years past have been a bit too much to handle.”
"You think so too?" Fourth Master glanced at Lanqin and asked.
“If Father Emperor were to hear this, he would likely be displeased with the Prince. No emperor has ever seen his subject so obsequious to another person, even if that person is his son,” Lanqin said.
Fourth Prince nodded and said, "I saw Father Emperor at Changchun Palace today. His temper is getting worse and worse. I suspect that it's because that stinky Taoist priest keeps feeding Father Emperor some kind of longevity pills. That Taoist priest Zhou from Wudang hasn't arrived yet. I really want to kill that Zhou Tiangang with one blow."
"Master, don't be impulsive. If you kill him now, you might anger Father Emperor," Lanqin said.
"I know. Once Master Zhou arrives, he'll have nowhere to hide." Fourth Master suppressed his anger and said, "What about those gifts? I don't want to accept their gifts. Who are these people?"
"The gift list hasn't been released yet. Are you worried that someone might use this to their advantage and complain to Father Emperor?" Lanqin said.
"Yes, it's not good news if this gets back to Father Emperor's ears," said the Fourth Prince.
Lanqin nodded. Although the Fourth Prince's status was at its zenith and he was highly regarded by Emperor Kangxi, he was also being watched closely. If he made a wrong move and it reached Emperor Kangxi's ears, it would not end well.
"My lord," Lanqin said, "I have an idea. Why don't we take stock of these gifts, sell them, and then hand them over to the national treasury? You can then personally speak to Father Emperor about it."
The Fourth Prince was taken aback; he hadn't expected to handle these people's New Year's gifts this way. Lanqin's words gave him a flash of insight; he had to admit, this method was simple and effective. Firstly, it showed Emperor Kangxi that the Fourth Prince wouldn't engage in factionalism; secondly, it told those who wanted to take advantage of the situation to curry favor with the Fourth Prince not to try and build relationships in this way.
"Excellent, let's do it that way!" Fourth Prince said with a smile, "My concubine is surprising me more and more."
The next day, Lanqin discussed the matter with the head nanny and had the servants quickly list the gifts. There were forty or fifty antiques alone, dozens of boxes of various rare medicinal herbs, and silver notes, totaling more than 80,000 taels of silver. After looking at the gift list and then at the antiques and medicinal herbs, Lanqin estimated that the total value was 500,000 taels of silver.
Goodness, if the Fourth Prince has accepted these gifts over the years without a word, it's equivalent to receiving a bribe of 500,000 taels of silver. If someone makes a big deal out of this, the Fourth Prince will be in a difficult position to explain himself.
“Grandma, the master has already ordered that all of these things be handed over to the national treasury. How about this, you send someone to take the medicinal herbs to the pharmacy to sell them, and just leave these antiques as they are,” Lanqin said.
"Yes, then this old servant will immediately send someone to sell these medicinal herbs," the head nanny said.
When the Fourth Master returned, he was shocked to learn that the gifts sent just yesterday were worth 500,000 taels of silver.
"Sir, it seems they've all decided to try and get close to you, sparing no expense," Lanqin said.
"Hmph, hand it all over to the national treasury, I won't take a single tael," said the Fourth Master.
"Yes, I have already prepared the gift list. After the medicinal herbs are sold, I will have you hand them over to the master," Lanqin said.
"Yes. Thank you for your trouble, Consort. This year, during the New Year, the Prince will be going to the palace to preside over the ancestral worship ceremony. I'm afraid he'll have to take her with him. You'll have to work a little harder and manage things in the mansion. Let Lady Nian help out." Fourth Prince said.
Lanqin understood that the Fourth Prince naturally needed his primary wife to step in and support him at this time, and she was not unaware of this, but she still felt a little bitter. The Fourth Prince pulled Lanqin into his arms and said, "These are all empty titles. If I had met you earlier, I would never have made you a secondary wife."
“Your Majesty’s primary consorts are all appointed by Father Emperor. I am not qualified to be Your Majesty’s primary consort. However, I am content to receive Your Majesty’s love in this life, even though I am not the principal wife,” Lanqin said.
"Don't say that. In the next life, I will still pamper you." Fourth Master wrapped his arms around Lanqin's waist and pressed his domineering lips down.
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