Consort Hui was overjoyed that her eldest grandson hadn't been tricked, and she didn't care about her brother and sister-in-law's attitude. Pointing at Lin Yin, she scolded, "You little slut, how dare you do such a scandalous thing in the palace! Now you even want to curry favor with my grandson? You're all delusional! Guards, throw Lady Nalan out of the palace! She's not allowed to enter the palace without being summoned."

Then, when he looked at Lin Yin, he was at a loss.

She's a junior member of the family, and ultimately it was all due to her grandmother's instigation; otherwise, how could a perfectly good girl have ended up like this?

Consort Yi rolled her eyes. "Since the Nalan family can't raise their daughter properly, let Lin Yin be educated in Cining Palace as well. She and Zhuo Ling will have each other's company. Once you've learned the rules, we'll ask the Empress Dowager for mercy."

Upon hearing this, Madam Nalan blushed and wanted to say something more, but Mingzhu slapped her across the face, saying, "Shut up, I'll settle the score with you when we get home."

The farce was quickly reported back to Cining Palace and Emperor Kangxi, who were satisfied with the handling of Consort Yi and Consort Hui.

However, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was genuinely unhappy that she was now forced to take in two immature young girls.

"Su Ma, how is Zhuo Ling doing now?"

It was said that she was to be a palace maid by the side of the matriarch to learn etiquette, but after all, she was the legitimate daughter of a prominent family, so how could she really be treated so poorly?

"She spends two hours a day studying the rules and two hours copying scriptures, and the rest of the time is free. I think that girl is still ambitious and needs more training."

As the legitimate daughter of the Guoluo family, she naturally had high aspirations.

They probably thought that learning etiquette and copying Buddhist scriptures at the Cining Palace was just a joke.

"Once Lin Yin comes in, arrange for her to live with Zhuo Ling. Don't worry about their status; let them live together in their daily lives."

Sumalagu suppressed a laugh, "Then those two will definitely fight. In the end, they're both after the First Prince."

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang also smiled wryly.

"It's one thing for Zhuo Ling to have a brain fart, but how could Madam Nalan, at her age, do such a thing? Isn't this just making her granddaughter lose face for no reason? Even if she succeeds, a marriage bestowed in this way can't possibly make her the primary consort."

While serving milk tea to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, Su Mala Gu shared the information she had gathered: "I heard that Lady Nalan had spoken to Consort Hui about this matter before, but Consort Hui refused. I guess she values ​​Prince Zhi's military achievements and also covets the favor the First Prince enjoys with the Emperor and the Crown Prince."

Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang was furious. "They're so good at seeing things, aren't they? If Hongxi weren't so young, would they have schemed against him too?"

Su Ma La Gu nodded secretly, noticing that Madam Nalan's behavior was indeed just like that.

"Consort Hui handled this matter well today. You will personally deliver some rewards to her later."

Sumalagu accepted the order and withdrew.

Inside Yuqing Palace, Hongyu had just woken up, rubbing his aching neck and looking around blankly at everything in front of him.

"What's wrong with me? Wasn't I admiring the flowers?"

Hongxi ate sunflower seeds on the side and snorted, "Who goes to the artificial hill to admire flowers?"

Upon hearing Hongxi's reminder, Hongyu immediately remembered the important matter and hurriedly tried to get out of bed, but was stopped by Lin Dehai, who said, "Master, everything has already been dealt with over there."

Hongyu was taken aback at first, then looked at Hongxi and asked, "What do you mean by 'disposal'?"

As soon as Hongxi raised his hand, Zhang Quan said with a stiff upper lip, "Madam Nalan has been expelled from the palace and is not allowed to enter the palace without being summoned. Her granddaughter Lin Yin has been sent to Cining Palace to accompany Zhuo Ling and learn etiquette together."

The Nalan family?

Hongyu could hardly believe his ears. "Mingzhu arranged this?"

Hongxi shook his head. "Mingzhu wouldn't do something so stupid. It's said that Lady Nalan mentioned this to Consort Hui before, but Consort Hui rejected it. Today's actions are probably just an attempt to pin the blame on you."

Hongyu closed his eyes; he never imagined it would be someone from the Nalan family.

Why go down this path when we're family? Even if we can't get through to Grandmother, we can still try to get through to Father.

Seriously.

Seeing that Hongyu's face showed frustration at his lack of progress rather than shame and indignation at being tricked, Hongxi felt some sympathy for him.

What he really wanted to say was, "Your future wife will be from the Hesheli family; she has no chance with a girl from the Nalan family."

But he really doesn't dare say that now.

After the flower-viewing banquet, the Fucha family forbade Chuxue from entering the palace, ultimately fearing gossip.

Before long, the sweltering summer arrived, and as was customary, Emperor Kangxi would take his entourage to the summer palace to escape the heat.

But he had just recovered from a serious illness today, and in order to show everyone that he was in good health, he actually waved his hand and said he was going to the Mulan Hunting Grounds for a hunt.

The princes and nobles in the palace were overjoyed.

Anyway, Mulan Weichang isn't too hot. Apart from having a lot of mosquitoes, everything else is pretty good.

Hongxi and Wenxi got together to plan what to bring and what to do when they got there.

Because Guanyin also wanted to have classmates, the siblings brought their whips and bows and arrows as well.

Some time ago, Guanyinbao was appointed by Yinreng as the martial arts instructor for Hongxi and Wenxi. This trip of two or three months will not only allow him to have fun, but he may also take the opportunity to teach them according to their individual abilities.

After Hongxi finished packing, he went to Yinreng's study and saw that he was also arranging his things.

"Hongxi, have you packed all your things?"

Hongxi skipped into the house. "My clothes are all taken care of by Mother. My toys were just packed up with my sister."

Yinreng smiled slightly, "You are seven years old now. When you arrive at the hunting grounds, you can hunt some small things, such as pheasants and rabbits. But you must have guards with you and do not go too deep into the area, so as not to encounter large animals."

"Son, I've remembered."

The father and son were chatting happily when He Yuzhu walked in with a worried look on his face. "Master, I heard that the Empress Dowager is ill, and that it is not serious enough to be told to spread the word."

Yinreng immediately stopped what he was doing.

"Does Father Emperor know?"

He Yuzhu nodded. "Now I roughly know."

Yinreng understood Kangxi's temperament. If he knew that the Empress Dowager was ill, he would put aside whatever important matters he had to visit her.

So, Yinreng took Hongxi's hand and walked towards Cining Palace, and also sent someone to call Hongyu.

Hongxi hadn't thought anything of it at first, but when he saw the Empress Dowager's pale, bloodless face, it was as if some image flashed through his mind.

[Oh no, I seem to remember that in my previous life, my ancestor suddenly passed away while my grandfather was leading his entourage to the Mulan Hunting Grounds. At that time, my father was left in the palace to handle state affairs, and because he didn't notice my ancestor's illness in time, he was severely scolded by my grandfather, and the relationship between father and son plummeted to its lowest point.]