"Princess, I have brought you some of the silk threads you requested. Please take a look." Ye Ying was carrying a round winnowing basket filled with colorful silk threads.

"Ye Ying, take the embroidery frame for me and go to the garden outside to admire the flowers. Then you can start embroidering." Madam Yin was wearing a light crimson gown and a milky white ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress). Her hair was styled in a double bun, adorned only with a gilded hairpin and a few pale silk flowers. She wore white crystal earrings.

"Princess, why don't we invite Green Pearl along and have her take the paper umbrella with her?" Ye Ying had long disliked Green Pearl because she rarely served Madam Yin.

"Why call her? You know what she's here for." Madam Yin held a leaf-shaped tribute fan in her hand and wore flowerpot-shaped shoes with blue crows returning to their nests on their feet, and was about to get up.

"Princess, wait a moment, I'll be right there with the paper umbrella." Ye Ying knew Yin Shi's temperament, so she didn't argue with her. She simply picked up the embroidered basket, took the paper umbrella, and followed her out.

Outside, it was a beautiful scene of midsummer. Dense, unidentified trees blocked much of the sunlight, and as people walked beneath them, they could only see dappled sunlight falling on their faces and clothes.

After leaving the west courtyard, Madam Yin and her servant headed towards the nearest small garden. They entered the garden's pavilion, and finding no one around, chose a spot out of the sun. A gentle breeze occasionally blew, making it quite comfortable and pleasant.

"Princess, it's quiet here. Shall I fan you?" Ye Ying helped Madam Yin find a clean spot to sit down and then took the palace fan from Madam Yin's hand.

"No need, it's not hot here. You can thread the needle for me." Madam Yin took out her embroidery needle and cloth from the winnowing basket.

On a piece of black cloth, many fine needles were densely inserted.

Madam Yin picked out several embroidery needles of varying thicknesses from the tree, and examined the eye of the needle against the light filtering through the leaves.

"Princess, your eyes are getting worse and worse. You shouldn't do these things anymore." Ye Ying knew that during the year she was confined, Madam Yin passed the long, seemingly endless days by embroidering. Because the servants had been skimping on their candle oil allowance, Madam Yin had ruined her eyes by embroidering by candlelight at night. Now, her eyes could hardly thread a needle, and they would tear up in the wind.

“That day, Master said the sachets I embroidered were beautiful, so I made a few more while he liked them.” Madam Yin had learned needlework from her mother since she was a child, and as a young lady, she would embroider and play the zither in her spare time. Because she was an illegitimate daughter, her father did not allow her to learn the zither, but her hands were very skilled in Suzhou embroidery.

“It’s one thing to embroider for the master, but you also have to embroider for the Third Prince and the Princess Consort. How can you manage with just your two hands? There are plenty of embroiderers in the mansion!” Ye Ying took the needles from Madam Yin’s hands and picked out a few threads from the silk thread to help Madam Yin thread them.

“It’s rare that the Prince and his wife like my embroidery, so I’ll naturally take better care of the Third Prince’s clothes, shoes and hats. That way, his chances of coming to my side will be greater,” said Madam Yin.

"Princess, yesterday Green Pearl told me again that the lady in the main courtyard threw a tantrum, saying that she sent Doctor Wu from the south courtyard, but he didn't see him. Apparently, it was Eunuch Su who went to fetch him." Green Pearl said in a low voice.

Madam Yin pulled out the silk threads one by one, her voice as faint as the clouds in the sky: "Madam Niu has been favored for a long time, and it's not something that can be done in a day or two without leaving a trace."

Ye Ying sighed softly and followed Madam Yin to begin winding the thread.

"Princess, come over here, it's cool here!" Suddenly, a sweet voice broke the silence between Madam Yin and Ye Ying.

Jinzhi took a few steps ahead, stepped onto the pavilion, and turned to speak to Yan Yu behind her. The latter was being slowly approached by Chun Tao, who was holding a paper umbrella.

Madam Yin frowned slightly, just as Jinzhi turned her head and noticed them, mistress and servant.

"This servant greets Lady Yin." Jinzhi quickly bowed and stood up straight before Lady Yin could say anything.

"Which household's servant are you?" Madam Yin asked with a smile.

"Oh, who do we have here? It's you, sister." Yan Yu naturally heard Madam Yin's question and, supporting Jin Zhi, walked into the pavilion.

"This servant greets Princess Yu." Ye Ying quickly sat up from the chair and bowed to Yan Yu.

"Sister, are you embroidering? I've heard you're very good at embroidering. I wonder if you could give one or two to Yan Yu's two children?" Yan Yu naturally knew that Madam Yin had regained much of the Fourth Prince's favor thanks to the Third Prince and her hands.

"If you don't mind, sister, once I finish embroidering this sachet, I'll make a set of clothes for both the young prince and the princess." Madam Yin noticed that Yan Yu was always avoiding her.

"Sister, not only do you have a good voice, but you're also so skillful with your hands. It's truly enviable. Unlike me, I'm clumsy and can only wear clothes made by embroiderers." Yan Yu, dressed in a plum-red ruqun (a type of traditional Chinese dress) with a light white overcoat, deliberately shook her sleeves and said sarcastically.

"My sister has just arrived, and the summer breeze here is quite refreshing. I just remembered I have something to do, so I won't keep you company any longer." Seeing the barb in her words, Madam Yin put down her embroidery frame and got up to leave.

"I heard that the Third Prince often visits you, Sister, and even said he wants to be raised under your care. That's really strange. I've only ever heard of wives raising illegitimate children, never of a princess raising a child." Yan Yu finally had a chance to make a good sarcastic remark, and Qi Ken let her go easily.

"If you say a princess can't be raised, then what are you doing, sister? Why don't you send your two children to the Fujin?" Madam Yin fiddled with the tourmaline bracelet on her wrist.

"You!" Yan Yu hated people talking about this matter the most, because her failure to be promoted had been the subject of gossip among the servants. At this moment, the smile that had just been playing on her lips instantly froze into an ugly expression.

"Princess Yu, please sit for a while. Your sister is leaving now." Seeing that she was speechless, Madam Yin smiled almost imperceptibly, and then left without waiting for her to speak.

Yan Yu's face instantly turned red, and she rolled her eyes at the backs of the master and servant.

"Princess, please don't be angry. She's just a princess without children, dependent on the Fujin (princess's wife). How can she compare to you, Princess?" Jinzhi said cautiously, glancing at Yan Yu's face.

"You shameless vixen, all you do is use those low-class tricks to seduce me," Yan Yu said bitterly.

As for the Yin family and their servants, after taking a few steps, they could still seem to feel the fierce gaze from behind.

"Ying'er, you see, there are wolves in front and tigers behind. Without the master's favor, it's all for naught," Madam Yin said coolly.