The next day, Lanqin went to bed a little late because she had spent half the night reading in the study.
But early in the morning, the door of the South Courtyard was pounded on loudly.
When Granny Wang heard the knocking, she was quite surprised, as there had never been such knocking in the South Courtyard before.
"Who is it? What's the rush so early in the morning?" Granny Wang walked towards the main gate with a hint of impatience. Because Lanqin got up late, the people in the South Courtyard also got up a little later than the people in the other courtyards.
"Granny, it's me, Xiao Shouzi. Open the door quickly!" the person outside called out hurriedly.
Upon hearing that it was Chen Shou, Granny Wang immediately sprang to attention, quickly unlatched the door, and opened the red-lacquered gate. She immediately saw Chen Shou standing outside. He looked thinner and darker. He had been gone for almost twenty days.
"Granny, is Consort Consort getting up?" Chen Shou strode across the high threshold and saw the familiar South Courtyard, at which point he finally relaxed.
"Go wash up quickly, look at you, you monkey! Don't offend the concubine," Granny Wang said with a laugh.
Chen Shou smiled sheepishly, thinking that it was true, and it wouldn't be too late to tidy up before seeing his master. Granny Wang didn't dare to delay and quickly walked across the courtyard to Lanqin's main house, saying to Nianxue inside, "Miss Nianxue, Chen Shou is back."
Nianxue was dusting the porcelain with a feather duster when she heard what was being said outside. She put down the duster and quietly walked to the door of the inner room. She saw Cui Niang inside and said softly, "Aunt Cui, has the master woken up? Chen Shou has returned."
Upon hearing this, Cui Niang's previously calm expression suddenly became excited. She quickly went to the door, grabbed Nianxue's hand, and said, "You're really back?"
Nianxue knew what Chen Shou was doing outside, so she nodded and said, "Master hasn't woken up yet. Why don't you go out and ask Chen Shou? He's outside."
Cui Niang looked back at the water chestnut-colored gauze curtain, but there was no movement. She then turned back to Nian Xue and said, "Then I'll go ask. Keep an eye on things here, Master."
Chen Shou returned to his room, washed his face, changed his clothes, and came out. There he saw a woman in her twenties coming towards him.
He guessed her identity and quickly bowed to greet her, saying, "Greetings, Aunt Cui. I am Chen Shou."
Without even returning the courtesy, Cui Niang hurriedly asked, "How is my family? Are they alright?"
Chen Shou quickly smiled and said, "Aunt Cui, Aunt Cui, Brother Cui, and Second Brother Cui have all come to the capital with me. As for the rest..." At this point, Chen Shou couldn't help but stop smiling and looked at Aunt Cui with some difficulty.
When Cui Niang came out, her two brothers were still unmarried, and her little sister was only a few years old. Her family had never written to her, and she was illiterate. So when Chen Shou mentioned those people, she quickly asked, "Where is my father? And my little sister?"
Chen Shou then recounted in detail how he arrived at the small mountain village, how he spoke with Brother Cui, how he encountered the attack by the men in black, how he entered the forest, how he killed those men, how he later escaped the forest, and the arduous journey back. Of course, Chen Shou also specifically mentioned that he had already settled Aunt Cui and the others in the house he had bought.
Cui Niang was surprised to find that her eldest brother and second brother were already married and had children. However, when she heard that they had all been murdered, she felt a pang of heartache. Fortunately, she had never met them, so she was not too sad. In the end, she was relieved to hear that her father had died of illness a few years earlier and that her younger sister had married far away.
When Lanqin woke up, Cui Niang outside the gauze curtain immediately said softly, "Consort, only by swearing to serve my master to the death can I repay my master's kindness to me." After saying that, she knelt down.
Lanqin was stunned, not understanding why Cui Niang was so agitated. She rubbed her eyes and said, "Cui Niang, get up quickly, what are you doing?"
Cui Niang prostrated herself on the ground and said excitedly, "Master, Chen Shou has returned and has told me everything that has happened in my household."
Lanqin then understood and gave a bright smile, saying, "Did you receive them all?"
Cui Niang then recounted everything Chen Shou had told her to Lan Qin in detail.
"That was close! I didn't expect her to actually send people to look for your family!" Lanqin said, frowning.
“The Fujin has always been like this, which is why I left her under some pretext. I never expected that she would still not let me go, and even sent people to my hometown to kill my family.” Cui Niang said hatefully.
“Luckily, Chen Shou arrived in time. Your brothers should keep a low profile to avoid attracting attention. See what they can do, and bring them out anyway. Give them some money to do some work,” Lan Qin said.
“My master has already gone to great lengths for me, how can I take his money to help them make a living? I absolutely cannot accept your favors again,” Cui Niang said anxiously.
Lanqin smiled slyly and said, "If you keep kneeling like this, are you going to serve me when I change clothes or comb my hair?"
Upon hearing this, Cui Niang quickly got up, helped Lanqin get out of bed, and personally helped her change her clothes.
“Cui Niang, I’ve thought it over. The Fujin’s family is the illustrious Ulanara family. With such a powerful maternal clan as her backing, it’s much easier for her to act than for us. Take this time, for example. Those people definitely weren’t from our household. Who do you think they could be? As for me, although I come from the Niohuru family, my father is no longer part of the main branch of the Niohuru family. If something happens to me, I’m afraid I can’t rely on my maternal clan. Therefore, we need to cultivate some people outside. In case of any trouble, it will be easier for us to act outside. But to cultivate our own people, the first thing we need is money. Relying on my allowance is probably not enough. Cui Niang, I think you should have your brothers open a few shops outside for me, do some business, so that we can have more income. It will also be more convenient to do whatever we want.” For the first time, Lanqin revealed her plan to contend with the Fujin for a long time to Cui Niang. Just last night, after deliberately angering the Fourth Prince and leaving the study alone, Lanqin thought carefully about how she could continue to contend with Ulanara Xiayu.
In terms of status, she was the principal wife, while he was a concubine; in terms of family background, her maternal family was the Duke, while he was merely a member of a collateral branch of the Niohuru clan; in terms of cunning, she had been navigating the inner quarters of the household for decades, while he was a complete newcomer…
Looking at this concubine who was only sixteen years old, Cui Niang inexplicably began to truly realize that she had chosen the right person to follow. None of the princesses who had competed with the main wife for favor had such magnanimity and courage, nor could they have thought so far ahead.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com