The next day was the first day of the Lunar New Year.
When Qian Shengyan woke up, she was still dazed. She sat blankly for a long time, clutching the blanket, before Green Willow and Green Smoke helped her up and she remembered to ask, "What time is it?"
"It's already past 7:45 AM, Princess," Green Willow said with a smile.
I slept straight through until 8:30!
Qian Shengyan was startled and quickly got out of bed: "What's going on today...?"
"Princess, there's no need to worry. Before the Prince left, he specifically instructed us not to wake you up," Qingxue said with a smile as she walked in. "Princess, you don't need to worry about the Fourth Prince either. The Prince has taken him to the palace."
Qian Shengyan was startled again. Qingxue continued, "The Fifth Prince is too young and remains in the main courtyard. The other two princes have gone to the palace."
Qian Shengyan frowned, but quickly relaxed. Yuan Shou is not even a year old yet, neither the eldest nor the legitimate daughter, so there's no way she could be placed in the front. Moreover, Ulanara and Li should be focusing their attention on Nian, who is about to enter the family, so they probably don't have the mood to care about this "loser".
Qingxue continued, "This servant originally wanted to go with them, but the prince asked Lin Mama to take the Fourth Prince, so this servant did not go with them."
“Granny Lin?” Qian Shengyan was a little surprised. Qingxue nodded and smiled, “Granny Lin has some connections with Granny Li from Chuxiu Palace. Granny Li was in Chuxiu Palace during the imperial concubine selection in the 49th year of Kangxi’s reign.”
Qian Shengyan understood; they wanted to inquire about the Nian family. But she was a little confused: "In the forty-nine years since the imperial concubine selection, are there still women who haven't been betrothed?"
“The Nian family belongs to the Han Banner Army, and no marriage has been arranged since the records were kept,” Qingxue explained softly. “Ms. Nian is only sixteen this year…”
Qian Shengyan understood, and Qingxue continued to talk about the Nian family's situation: "Since the Prince was conferred the title of Prince two years ago and took charge of the Bordered White Banner, the Nian family has submitted to the Prince's patronage... During the imperial concubine selection last year, the Nian family was selected, which also seems to be the Empress's choice."
Qian Shengyan understood. This was a nameplate left by her own servant, and it was definitely not going to be assigned to any other member of the imperial clan. It was something that had been prepared long ago for Yinzhen.
Since it was a matter that had been decided long ago, everyone in the manor must have made preparations. Qingxue also said that the Chunhua Courtyard on the west side of the main courtyard would be prepared soon. Moreover, the arrival of the concubine was no small matter, and the manor would probably hold a ceremony. Now they were just waiting for the Imperial Observatory to select a time to welcome Lady Nian into the manor.
Qingxue was probably afraid that Qian Shengyan would be sad, and it was also the first day of the Lunar New Year, so she only said a few words and then stopped. After serving Qian Shengyan breakfast, she summoned all the servants in Dongyou Courtyard to wish her a Happy New Year.
Qian Shengyan sat at the head of the table, smiling happily. She told everyone to stand up and gave each person a silver melon seed to play with.
After being at Prince Yong's residence for more than half a year, she was no longer penniless and had even saved up some valuables. Didn't you see that Yinzhen was even going to build her a storeroom?
Because it was an auspicious day, Qian Shengyan gave Qingxue an extra pearl hairpin, and gave Lüliu and Lüyan a pure silver hairpin each. She also prepared year-end rewards for Yuanshou's wet nurse and eunuch.
In the early morning, Qian Shengyan was sitting in the warm pavilion, eating nuts and discussing with Qingxue how to reduce the workload of Yuanshou's wet nurses. Yuanshou, who will soon be one year old, has been weaned, and there are too many wet nurses for him. In the east wing, there are too many wet nurses, four maids, and eight eunuchs to stand in.
She wanted to discuss it with Yinzhen, wondering if two maids and two eunuchs would be enough for such a young child as Yuanshou...
"No, Princess," Qingxue earnestly advised her, "all the young princes in our palace are assigned this arrangement. However, we can keep a wet nurse that the Fourth Prince prefers."
Qian Shengyan understood what she meant. The wet nurse who stayed behind would be equivalent to Yuan Shou's wet nurse, similar to the relationship between Lin Mama and Yinzhen. She would be the wet nurse who watched the prince grow up from childhood, and no matter how old the prince grew, the wet nurse would still be very important to him.
“Ge is good. I think she’s a good person. Yuan Shou likes to be held by her.” Qian Shengyan looked at the names, circled one at random, and then looked at the names of the maids and eunuchs next to her. She also felt a bit of a headache.
She rarely interfered with the servants' affairs; the only thing she did was to keep them from leaving Dongyou Courtyard.
Dongyou Courtyard rarely interacted with the outside world. The only occasion for meals was when Qian Shengyan would send Wang Baoen or Xiao Shunzi, along with Luyun or Lushui, to the kitchen to bring back the meals for everyone in the courtyard. Apart from that, she forbade anyone from leaving.
Qian Shengyan's side is relatively easy to deal with. The two eunuchs live in the side room by the entrance, so they don't have much contact with the main house. Moreover, she has Qingxue, who comes from Yonghe Palace and serves by Yinzhen's side. As long as Qian Shengyan can ensure Qingxue's loyalty, Qingxue can help her control the subordinates. But Yuanshou's side...
Qian Shengyan looked at those completely unfamiliar names and couldn't even match their faces to the names.
Qingxue found it amusing. She knew that Qian Shengyan was rather lax in disciplining her servants, but fortunately, the Prince was there to keep an eye on things, so the entire Dongyou Courtyard remained relatively peaceful. She simply tore off the paper in front of Qian Shengyan and gently advised, "It's the first day of the lunar new year, Princess, you should do something else."
“That’s right, we should have fun today!” Qian Shengyan suddenly remembered that she had talked to Yinzhen about making toys for Yuanshou last night. She took another piece of paper and began to draw pictures of a stroller and a swing.
She had only been drawing for a short while when someone came to report that Geng Gege was feeling unwell and wanted to ask Qian Shengyan to come and take a look.
Qian Shengyan was completely bewildered: "I don't know how to treat illnesses. If I go to see her, she'll get better?"
The visitor remained silent with his head down. Qian Shengyan frowned and said, "The Prince, his wife, and his concubine will treat him when they return. I'm afraid I can't help you."
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