She was just a palace maid in a small kitchen, but by a stroke of luck, she caught the eye of Emperor Kangxi and was given to his son as a concubine.
He has nothing of value to his name, but he enjoys researching food.
I never imagined that my little hobby would now be seen as 'fawning' by others, which is quite ridiculous.
"Princess? Princess!"
Xinyi called Geng Youran back from his reverie, and then the two of them went to Ulanara's courtyard.
Upon entering the room, Geng Youran and Xinyi respectfully greeted the Fujin (principal wife). Xinyi then handed the food box she was carrying to the Fujin's maid.
Ulanara smiled, pointed to the seat next to her, and said:
"You don't need to be so polite, please sit down."
Although it was called sitting, one couldn't be too casual. Geng Youran sat down carefully and accepted the tea handed to her by the maid.
Ulanara glanced at the several exquisite pastries in the food box, but did not eat them; she simply asked someone to accept them first.
She looked Geng Youran up and down, and indeed she was much more sensible than when she first entered the manor.
"You didn't come here today just to deliver snacks, did you?"
Geng Youran frankly explained her purpose for coming:
“My lady, there is indeed something I need to tell you today.”
Ulanara seemed to know what she was going to say, and instead of letting Geng Youran continue, she stopped her.
"I know what you're going to say. Don't do it again next time."
Geng Youran was taken aback. Normally, the Fourth Prince's residence was quite disciplined. Even if he wasn't fined his monthly allowance, he would at least be punished by copying the "Admonitions for Women" or something similar.
Ulanara had her own considerations; in other words, she wanted to see what the next act of this drama would be like.
Geng Youran also realized that this provocation was not without reason.
Ulanara continued:
"With the end of the year approaching and it being the dead of winter, it's best for my sister to stay home as much as possible."
Is this a warning? Or a reminder?
Geng Youran did not ask any further questions, but simply stood up, bowed, and withdrew.
Only after Geng Youran had completely left did Ulanara's head maidservant approach and inquire:
"My lady, aren't we being too good to Princess Geng?"
She wasn't the only one with this question; everyone in the household had it.
Although Geng Gege is well-mannered, she's being treated too well these days.
The answer is actually quite simple: the Ulanara clan needed wings.
Although things are peaceful between Li Shi and her at the moment, the child will eventually grow up, and new people will enter the household in the future, so she must plan ahead.
Although there were many concubines in the inner courtyard, in her eyes, most of them were foolish and self-righteous, while there were not many as sensible as Geng Youran.
In addition, Geng Youran has no children, which saves her a lot of trouble.
After Geng Youran and Xinyi returned to the courtyard, they suddenly felt that this December was unusually cold.
"Xinyi, tell me, who exactly wants to harm me? And how will they do it?"
For the first time, Geng Youran felt afraid.
Back then, even when she first came into this world, first entered the palace, or even later entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation, she had never been this afraid.
"Princess, for now we can only listen to the Princess Consort and remain still."
During the New Year, the princes had a few days off. The other princesses in the mansion were trying their best to get Yinzhen into their courtyards, but Geng Youran hid in her own little courtyard, eating the roasted sweet potato that Xiao Anzi handed her, looking at the snow outside, and suddenly sighed.
"Princess, why are you sighing like that?"
Xinyi was embroidering a purse for Geng Youran at this moment. Because Geng Youran had a bad throat, she often ate throat lozenges made of loquat and platycodon, and making a purse would make it easy to carry.
Hearing Geng Youran sigh, Xinyi put down her work, carried a cup of hot tea to her side, handed her the tea, and then stood behind her to massage Geng Youran's shoulders.
"Xinyi, do you have someone you like?"
Xinyi smiled, wondering what had gotten into her princess that made her think of this.
But she still answered patiently:
“This servant intends to follow you, Princess, for the rest of my life; you can’t drive me away no matter what.”
Geng Youran patted the hand on her shoulder:
"Don't talk nonsense. We've known each other for so long, how could I bear to confine you to this little courtyard?"
Xinyi felt that her daughter was acting strangely today. She wondered if her daughter was homesick since it was almost Chinese New Year.
However, before she could even ask, Geng Youran dropped a bombshell:
"Guess how many days late my period is?"
As soon as she finished speaking, Geng Youran felt the hand on her shoulder stop abruptly, and then she heard a deafening scream!
"What's wrong? What happened?"
After Xiao Anzi finished roasting the sweet potatoes, he went to the outer room to keep watch, leaving only Geng Youran and Xinyi in the inner room.
Hearing screams coming from inside, Xiao Anzi immediately ran in.
Before Xinyi could speak, Geng Youran quickly grabbed Xinyi's hand and said, feigning nervousness:
"Quickly go find some burn ointment, Xinyi burned her hand with hot tea."
"Yes, sir."
Xiao Anzi didn't suspect anything and quickly went to find the medicine.
Xinyi quickly went to Geng Youran and said happily:
"Princess, why didn't you ask Xiao Anzi to invite the prince? This is a joyous occasion!"
But Geng Youran was somewhat worried.
Since being favored by the emperor, I have been drinking contraceptive soup without fail, so it's impossible for me to have gotten pregnant.
Xin Yi could also tell that Geng Youran didn't seem happy.
"Princess, are you worried that if this gets out, you won't be able to keep the child?"
Geng Youran didn't speak, but Xinyi could tell from her expression that her princess was indeed scared.
Xinyi thought for a moment and gave Geng Youran an idea:
“Princess, since that’s the case, let’s put this matter aside for now and tell the prince once your pregnancy is stable.”
After thinking about it, Geng Youran realized that this was indeed the only option for now.
Seeing that Geng Youran agreed, Xinyi picked up the hot tea on the table and poured it on her hands.
"Xinyi! What are you doing?"
Xinyi gritted her teeth and forced a smile:
"Didn't you say I got burned by hot tea? Luckily, I've already finished embroidering the purse."
Geng Youran held back her tears, her hands trembling as she held Xinyi's hand.
"Xinyi, what have I done to deserve such kindness from you?"
Xinyi shook her head and said:
“Princess, you don’t need to feel guilty. Xinyi just did what she should do.”
Just then, Xiao Anzi ran back.
"Princess, the medicine is here. My master gave it to me after I accidentally burned myself last time. It works really well!"
"Your master?"
Geng Youran and Xinyi were also hearing for the first time that Xiao Anzi had a master.
"Yes, my master is Gao Wuyong, the eunuch who served the Fourth Prince."
When Gao Wuyong was mentioned, Xiao Anzi had a proud expression on his face, while Geng Youran and Xinyi had a bad feeling. It was as if the Fourth Prince had planted a 'spy' here!
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