That evening, a long-awaited downpour dissipated the heat that had accumulated over the past few days, and everyone felt much cooler.
The next day, Lanqin got up at the time of paying her respects to the Fujin after Nianxue reminded her. After Xicha finished dressing and grooming herself, Lanqin took Nianxue's arm and went to pay her respects to the Fujin.
This time, Lanqin wasn't the last to arrive.
On the contrary, she was the first to arrive. Perhaps because the Fourth Prince was not in the mansion, and because the Princess Consort was quite lenient about the rules of greeting, she probably didn't really want to see her husband's concubines. In any case, she wasn't particularly strict about it.
The Fujin (principal wife) gets up at roughly the same time as the Fourth Prince every day, a rule that has been upheld since their wedding. Regardless of whether the Fourth Prince spends the night in the main courtyard, the Fujin always gets up around 3 AM.
After finishing the breakfast brought by Chunliu, the Fujin brought a cup of Biluochun tea that Xiahe had just served. She then noticed that the butterfly hairpin on Lanqin's head was shining brightly in the morning sunlight.
Lanqin stepped across the threshold, walked up to the Fujin, and performed a perfectly proper bow, saying softly, "This servant greets the Fujin, may the Fujin be blessed with ten thousand years of happiness and peace."
As Lanqin and Nianxue bowed their heads in greeting, a fleeting, cold glint flashed in the Fujin's eyes, but it vanished in an instant. She immediately spoke in a calm and kind tone, "Get up quickly, my sister, you're up so early today."
Lanqin was helped up by Nianxue and walked to the side seat on the left side of the main room, where she sat down at an angle.
Lanqin slightly curled her lips and said, "This servant has not come to pay her respects to the Princess for several days, and I feel uneasy about it."
As Lanqin finished speaking, she felt incredibly hypocritical. She clearly longed to avoid seeing the First Wife, and she had come to ask for leave from her first wife, yet she spoke so eloquently and respectably. She realized that she had slowly begun to change.
The princess's face immediately lit up with a look of satisfaction at Lanqin's words, and she said softly, "I understand Princess Niu's intentions. The finger guard that Honghui brought back yesterday was supposedly made for him by Princess Niu. I really want to thank you for your kindness to the eldest prince."
Lanqin's heart tightened immediately. Although the Fujin was thanking her, her intuition told her that the focus of the Fujin's words was not on the finger guard, but on the fact that she was allowed to go to the front courtyard.
"A while ago, the First Prince stayed at the estate with me for a period of time, and since then, I've gotten along quite well with him. Seeing how heavy his studies and archery practice are every day, I know it's very hard on him. There's not much I can do, so I've made some small trinkets for them, hoping to ease their burden a little," Lanqin said, trying her best to be tactful and sincere. If it weren't for the Fourth Prince's instructions, she wouldn't have risked incurring the jealousy of his wife and concubines by approaching the two princes. Alas, with so many women in the inner quarters, there's bound to be a lot of gossip.
"It's all thanks to my sister for thinking so thoroughly. Even I, as their mother, never thought of protecting their fingers. Drawing a bow and shooting arrows every day must injure their fingers," the Fujin said thoughtfully, glancing down at her cuffs embroidered with a hundred flowers and gold thread trim.
"With the Fourth Prince managing such a large residence, it's inevitable that some small matters will be overlooked. This servant is happy to help... This servant is willing to do what I can." Lanqin originally wanted to say, "Let's share the burden," but after thinking about it, she immediately changed her mind. Why should a concubine interfere in the affairs of the First Wife? If it weren't for the Fourth Prince's wishes, Lanqin wouldn't have wanted to get involved in this mess.
The Fujin glanced at Lanqin, her small, fair face revealing no hidden meaning, yet her words just now clearly carried a meaning! No one had ever dared to speak to her like that before.
"I understand my sister's heart," the Fujin said with a slight smile. She only learned about Lanqin's free access to the front courtyard last night from Honghui, Da, and A'er. The shock at the time made the Fujin feel uneasy all night, and she sent someone to ask Zhao Quan in the front courtyard that very night, only to find out that it was indeed the Fourth Prince's intention.
"Your Highness, I... I would like to ask for a few days' leave. I have nothing to do these few days, so may I return to the Ling residence? Although Mother visited not long ago, I haven't seen Father and other relatives for a long time, and I miss them quite a bit. Please grant me permission, Your Highness," Lanqin said cautiously.
The princess picked up her teacup but did not answer Lanqin's question. She took a sip of tea before slowly saying, "Sister, a woman who marries into the royal family is not allowed to return to her parents' home without the master's permission or for special reasons. Although I can understand this, it is the rule of the royal family. If you cannot break the rule, then you naturally cannot break the rule either, or you will be punished by the master in the future."
Lanqin's expression shifted, genuinely believing that the Fujin was afraid the Fourth Prince would punish her upon his return. She immediately said, "Thank you for reminding me, sister. You don't need to worry. The Fourth Prince granted me permission to return to my parents' home before he left."
Upon hearing this, the Fujin's Ru kiln teacup, entwined with blue branches, trembled slightly. At the opportune moment, Li Mama, standing beside her, took the teacup from her hand and intentionally or unintentionally touched the Fujin's arm.
"Oh? Sister, why didn't the Master mention this? But since I've already received his permission, I'll go back to my parents' home." The Fujin quickly calmed down, seemingly realizing that her earlier words were indeed due to her unawareness of the Fourth Prince's approval. In fact, before the Fourth Prince left, he had sent someone to mention this matter to the Fujin. At the time, she had argued with him about it, but after more than half a month had passed and Lanqin hadn't brought it up, she had temporarily put it out of her mind. Hearing Lanqin mention it just now, her anger was reignited.
Lanqin was completely unaware of what the Fujin was thinking. "Thank you, Fujin," Lanqin said happily.
Just then, Lady Song, Lady Wu, and others came to pay their respects. Consort Li only sent a maid to say that she had caught a cold and was afraid of spreading her illness to everyone, asking for the consort's understanding. Lady Yin, however, was pregnant, so the consort specially excused her from paying her respects.
"Oh, Sister Niu, you've arrived quite early today." As Madam Wu entered the room, she curtsied to the Fujin and sat down, unable to resist making a sarcastic remark.
“You mustn’t be negligent in paying your respects to the Princess Consort. I have kept your reminder in mind, elder sister.” Lanqin couldn’t hold back her temper any longer after seeing her sister’s repeated provocations and retorted.
Wu was speechless for a moment, then turned her head away and ignored him.
Lanqin ignored her, only gave a polite greeting to Song Shi beside her, and then chatted with the Fujin for a while before taking their leave.
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