With no proper duties to perform and spending his days "fishing in troubled waters," Yinzhen turned his attention more to the backyard and his children.

As for the inner quarters, apart from Yihua and the child in her womb, he only cared about whether Li Shi was behaving herself recently. Apart from that, they were as good as non-existent in Yinzhen's eyes.

As for the children, Honghui was someone he saw every day, and Hongyun was someone he urged to study every day. Only the eldest princess was someone he realized he had neglected.

After dinner that evening, having enjoyed a relaxing prenatal education session, Yihua felt a little sleepy and heard Yinzhen mention the eldest princess.

“My lady, the eldest princess is seven years old now. According to custom, she should move to the front courtyard at the age of six. I didn’t take care of this last year, but it’s not too late now.”

Yi Hua secretly rolled her eyes. A six-year-old child not living with his own mother, but living alone under the supervision of a bunch of maids and nannies, this perverted rule was too much to bear.

Last year, Granny Chen reminded Yihua, but she changed the subject. The eldest princess wasn't a key figure, so who cared whether she slept alone or with her mother at night?

I never imagined that Yinzhen was so meticulous.

“Master, tomorrow I will talk to Madam Li and the eldest princess. The courtyard prepared for the eldest princess in the front yard has been ready for a long time.” Yi Hua still wanted to try to persuade the stubborn little girl. “But she is only seven years old and a girl. I think it would be good for her to spend more time with her mother.”

Yinzhen admired Yihua's maternal heart: "The Fujin has considered everything very thoroughly. However, the ancestral rules cannot be abolished. This matter may seem like a small thing, but a thousand-mile dike can be destroyed by an ant hole. The superiors set an example for the inferiors. We, as masters, must set an example."

"I misunderstood." Yi Hua rubbed against Yin Zhen's arm, her words already somewhat slurred.

Yinzhen covered Yihua with a blanket: "Go to sleep. Just remember that I'm here for you."

The next day, after breakfast, Yi Hua, having had a good night's sleep, began to think and signaled Yu Xiao to send someone to the East Courtyard to summon Li Shi and the eldest princess.

The two women came together, with the eldest princess placing her hand lightly on Li's arm. There was enough space between the mother and daughter to fit another person inside.

"Greetings to the Princess Consort."

"Greetings to my stepmother."

Sitting at the lower end, Lady Li first glanced impatiently at Yihua's belly, then suddenly said, "I wonder why the Fujin summoned me here. Yesterday, the master taught Hongyun a poem, and I have to watch him recite it."

Yi Hua raised an eyebrow, somewhat amused. Was she showing off?

“This is a good thing. Once he has memorized it, he can come and show it to me.” Yi Hua replied, “I called you and your daughter here today to convey the Master’s message. The eldest princess has turned seven this year. According to the palace rules, she should go to the front courtyard at the age of six. The Master didn’t mention it last year because the eldest princess is still young, but now he has spoken. Pack your bags and move there in the next few days.”

"Eldest Princess, Fenghe Courtyard is reserved for you. Take your maids and go take a look when you have time. If there's anything you don't like and you want to add, come and tell your mother." Yihua's tone softened considerably when she spoke to the Eldest Princess.

Seeing that Li Shi had no reaction, the eldest princess bit her lip, suppressing the sadness in her eyes: "The eldest princess will listen to her father and stepmother."

"Good children, go back and pack your things. There's no rush. You can move over gradually." In her previous life, even weaning a child took time. Now, a seven-year-old child was to manage a courtyard on her own. Yi Hua wanted the eldest princess to have ample time to prepare.

Back in the East Courtyard, the eldest princess went to tidy up.

Seeing that Madam Li showed no sign of reluctance, Granny Jin tentatively asked, "Princess, the eldest princess is young, won't you go and give her some advice?"

Madam Li stared at Hongyun, completely unconcerned: "The nanny beside her was sent by a concubine from the palace, and she's much more experienced than me. Besides, I'm happy to have some peace and quiet as long as that girl isn't around me."

Granny Jin dared not offer further advice. She felt that her master had to feign reluctance, after all, the master had a grudge about the mother-son relationship, and if the princess acted so coldly, it would be a sin if the master found out.

However, she couldn't figure out what her master was thinking lately, so she didn't dare to offer any advice.

"I asked you to keep an eye on Niohuru, did you get anything?" Li asked again.

Granny Jin replied, "It's strange, but since Princess Niohuru was kept in quiet and guarded by female guards at the door, she has been constantly clamoring to see her master ever since she was able to get out of bed. But we haven't heard her shouting these past few days."

"Is it still Geng who enjoys the master's favor lately?" Li asked another seemingly unrelated question.

“Well… Master spends most of his time resting with his wife, and Lady Geng only occasionally shows him affection,” Granny Jin carefully chose her words.

"A hen that can't lay eggs is useless." After a moment of silence, Madam Li suddenly uttered a folk saying, then stopped talking and focused on coaxing the Third Prince to recite the poem.

******

Granny Chen came in carrying a box: "Madam, are you still dizzy?"

Perhaps she had slept too much that day, because she felt dizzy and lightheaded when she got up. The doctor came to take a look and said it was a normal phenomenon and would subside on its own, so Yihua sat in the rocking chair to enjoy the breeze.

"It's nothing. What did you bring over?"

Granny Chen opened the box, inside which was a pair of exquisite embroidered shoes: "Madam, today I am on your orders to go to the East Courtyard to check on the progress of the eldest princess's move."

"Who would have thought that I would see this filthy thing?"

Yi Hua saw that the embroidered shoes were exquisitely made with intricate patterns, but a little small in size. She didn't understand what Chen Mama meant: "Dirty things? Is there any explanation for that?"

Granny Chen continued, "Your Highness, where have you ever seen such an item? Our Lady Ulanara loves you the most and would never let you use this. This is something Han people used for foot binding, and these servants have actually been coaxing the eldest princess to use it for years."

Yi Hua was shocked to hear this: "Since the establishment of our Great Qing Dynasty, these outdated customs and rules have been abolished. Who would dare to violate the ancestral rules?"

Granny Chen sighed, "Your Highness, you may not know this, but nowadays extravagance is rampant in the capital, and even young ladies from noble families consider gentleness and quietness to be beautiful. The men like these three-inch golden lotuses, and many daughters of officials have also started to secretly bind their feet."

"This is absurd. Let's go take a look." Yi Hua sneered. This was the first time she had ever heard of a princess from a prince's family having to learn how to flatter men!

"Please don't be angry, think of yourself first," Chen Mama advised. She couldn't pretend she hadn't seen this, because if anything happened in the future, their mistress, as the Fujin (princess's wife), would be implicated.

Yihua arrived at the East Courtyard escorted by Granny Chen and her entourage.

She went straight to the eldest princess's residence and saw the eldest princess sitting on the bed in a flustered manner. There were boxes of gifts that had already been packed on the floor. One of the boxes was open on top and contained embroidered shoes for foot binding.

The governess sent by Consort De last time was somewhat indignant. "The princesses in the palace do it too, so why can't the princesses in the Prince's mansion do it?"

Yi Hua harbored resentment. No wonder Yinzhen and Consort De had always had a distant relationship. The two governesses that Consort De had assigned to the eldest princess were clearly not doing their jobs properly, and their perfunctory attitude was obvious.

She didn't believe that the Fourteenth Prince's household would need a governess in the future, and that Consort De had chosen one so casually.

Sometimes, the subtle difference in attitude between doing one's best and not doing one's best can only be understood by the person involved, and cannot be explained to outsiders.