A Crossover of Film and Television: Miao Miao's Life Transmigration

Chapter 265 Fang Nanxi's Transmigration to the Qing Dynasty 19

As soon as Lady Nian entered the mansion, she immediately captured the Fourth Prince's attention. The Fourth Prince was completely powerless against her charming and coquettish manner. In the twenty days since she entered the inner courtyard, apart from visiting the Princess Consort on the first and fifteenth of each month as usual, he only went to Shaoguang Courtyard two or three times a month. The rest of the time he spent with Lady Nian in Shuyu Courtyard.

The women in the back courtyard naturally harbored resentment towards Madam Nian. Back when Fang Nanxi was favored, she never monopolized the Fourth Prince, so at least everyone had a chance to get some benefits.

But as soon as Lady Nian arrived, she subtly and firmly grasped the Fourth Prince's heart, how could she not arouse jealousy and resentment? Some princesses who were not born into bondservant families but whose families held official positions were dissatisfied and secretly spread the news of the Fourth Prince's favoritism towards Lady Nian outside the mansion.

Upon hearing this outside, the Fourth Prince was furious. As soon as he entered the backyard, he went straight to the main courtyard and reprimanded his wife mercilessly for her poor management. Before she could even defend herself, the Fourth Prince turned and left, completely ignoring her.

The Fujin stood there blankly, her eyes dim and lifeless, muttering weakly to herself, "The Fourth Prince dotes on Lady Nian exclusively in this backyard, which makes the other concubines resentful, so naturally they resort to tricks. If the Fourth Prince could treat everyone equally, how could this have happened?"

Previously, when the Fujin was summoned to the palace by Consort De, she was also reprimanded. Consort De asked her to persuade the Fourth Prince not to make a big fuss about it.

Granny Gui looked at the Fujin with heartache. For so many years, the Fujin had devoted herself to managing the inner quarters for the Fourth Prince, but she never expected to be met with his blame.

"Madam, this is not your fault, please don't be too sad," Granny Gui comforted her softly.

“Granny, you don’t understand. Fourth Master has always blamed me. Ever since Honghui passed away, he has felt that I was too strict with Honghui, making the child’s studies too heavy and working day and night, which is why he contracted a serious illness and died.” The Fujin said, her voice trembling with tears.

“How could I not feel guilty? Every time I think of Honghui, I can’t forgive myself. I have nothing to say to the Fourth Prince who blames me,” the Fujin continued.

Granny Gui hugged the Fujin tightly and gently comforted her. A quarter of an hour later, the Fujin gradually calmed down and regained her dignified and virtuous demeanor.

After leaving the main courtyard, the Fourth Prince thought about how his favoritism towards Lady Nian had caused such a stir, and how even Consort De had summoned him to Yonghe Palace to reprimand him. He felt utterly humiliated.

He did not return to the front yard, but went to Shaoguang Courtyard, where his three sons lived. Although Hongxu was only four years old (five by the traditional Chinese age reckoning), he had already started studying in the front yard in the morning. When he turned six, he would officially move to the front yard to live.

Currently, only Hongshi and Hongxu are studying together in the front yard. The two are about the same age, so it's inevitable that they will be compared to each other.

Hongshi wasn't very bright; what Hongxu could remember after reading it once or twice, Hongshi often had to memorize hundreds of times before he could barely remember.

Fourth Master originally wanted to be stricter with Hongshi, but Madam Li doted on her son too much and often brought up the deaths of Hongpan and Hongyun.

The Fourth Prince had reprimanded Li Shi many times, but she continued to do as she pleased. Over time, the Fourth Prince stopped interfering too much with Hongshi's studies and left it to his tutor.

Fang Nanxi didn't care about the disputes outside the mansion and in the backyard. She knew in her heart that she had three sons, and no matter how much the Fourth Prince doted on Nian Shi, he would not neglect her and would definitely come to Shaoguang Courtyard to visit the children.

At this moment, she was playing with the twins, holding building blocks and puzzles. Fang Nanxi was always fair and wouldn't favor Hongchen just because he cried and fussed. Instead, she would seriously reason with him.

When Fourth Master entered Shaoguang Courtyard, this was the scene he saw: Fang Nanxi was speaking to Hongchen with a serious expression, and Hongchen stood there, trying hard to hold back his tears, listening with wide eyes.

Hongxi, on the other hand, listened attentively to his mother's teachings with a stern face. The two children's sensible appearance made the Fourth Prince chuckle.

The laughter revealed Fourth Master's location. The three turned around and saw him.

The twins couldn't contain themselves any longer and ran towards Fourth Master with their short legs, calling out, "Father, hug me, hug me!" Hongchen jumped around while reaching out to Fourth Master for a hug.

Although Hongxi didn't say anything, he raised his little hand high, his eyes full of expectation.

Fourth Master happily picked up one child in each arm. Fang Nanxi stepped forward and bowed respectfully: "Greetings to Fourth Master, may you be blessed."

"Get up." Fourth Master was in an exceptionally good mood; the twins were just too adorable, making one want to dote on them.

Fang Nanxi smiled brightly and asked gently, "Fourth Master, would you like to stay for dinner tonight? Hongxu is doing his homework in the small study. The three brothers haven't eaten with Fourth Master for a long time."

Hearing this, the Fourth Prince felt a little embarrassed and subconsciously touched his nose. He had been spoiling Lady Nian too much lately and hadn't eaten at Shaoguang Courtyard for half a month.

Hongchen tugged at Fourth Master's arm and said in a childish voice, "Father, why don't you come to see Hongchen? Father, you should play with us today."

"Ahem, alright, Su Peisheng, go and make the arrangements." Fourth Master coughed awkwardly and agreed. Afterwards, he played with Hongxi and Hongchen.

After finishing his homework, Hongxu came to find his mother. Seeing his father in the room, a look of filial piety flashed in his eyes. He quickly ran to his father's side and called out, "Father!"

Fourth Master had high hopes for Hongxu; the child was intelligent and persevering. He patted Hongxu's head and nodded in acknowledgment, and the father and son played with the twins together.

That night, after the family had dinner, Fourth Master and Fang Nanxi took a bath, and then the children were taken away to rest.

Suddenly, a commotion arose outside Shaoguang Courtyard. A maidservant, ignoring any attempts to stop her, forced her way into the courtyard, shouting, "Consort Nian is unwell and suffering from severe abdominal pain!"

A hint of coldness flashed in Fang Nanxi's eyes, but she quickly concealed it. She turned her head to look at the Fourth Master, and seeing that his brows were slightly furrowed, she said softly, "Fourth Master, I don't know what happened outside. Let her come in and report."

The Fourth Prince nodded, signaling Su Peisheng to bring the person in. The one who entered was Yanliu, Nian Shi's personal maid. As soon as she saw the Fourth Prince, she immediately knelt down with a thud and said anxiously, "Fourth Prince, Consort Nian is unwell and has unbearable abdominal pain. Please go to Shuyu Courtyard to take a look."

Fang Nanxi stared at the Fourth Prince, wanting to see how he would react. In the two months since Nian Shi entered the manor, she had used countless tricks to win his favor. Every time the Fourth Prince came to Shuyu Courtyard, she acted as if nothing had happened.

The Fourth Master felt somewhat uncomfortable under Fang Nanxi's gaze. He coughed and sternly rebuked Yanliu: "Insolence! Madam Nian is ill. Call the imperial physician to treat her. What are you doing here with me?"

The Fourth Prince knew that Fang Nanxi had been with him for many years and had given birth to three princes. If he were to leave Shaoguang Courtyard tonight for the sake of Lady Nian, it would not only break Fang Nanxi's heart but also disappoint the three children.

In comparison, Nian Shi had only been in the household for a short time, and her importance in his heart was far less than that of Fang Nanxi.

Yanliu was indignant. This trick had always worked before; as long as she said the concubine was ill, the Fourth Prince would rush over immediately. She wanted to argue a bit more, but Su Peisheng pulled her away.

When the other princesses in the backyard learned that the maid from Shuyu Courtyard had gone to Shaoguang Courtyard, they were all waiting to see if Fang Nanxi would be humiliated by Madam Nian.

Half an hour later, when they saw the maid from Shuyu Courtyard come out alone, and the Fourth Prince did not follow her, everyone realized that in the Fourth Prince's heart, Fang Nanxi was still more important.