Chapter 38 Moving Matters Cheng Qianyue wasn't the type to cry all the time...

Cheng Qianyue wasn't the type to cry all the time. She would only worry for a day or two, and after pouring everything out in front of Yinreng, she would forget all her worries and anxieties.

She was already pregnant and couldn't abort, so she decided to give birth. She wanted to raise the child well and ensure its healthy development. She felt that as long as she did her best, she would have done right by the child.

Once she figured these things out, she acted as usual. Then, her rationality returned, and she remembered what she had said to Yinreng a few days ago.

Cheng Qianyue broke out in a cold sweat.

No way, she really said those ominous things to Yinreng? And even told him to listen to the Emperor and stay the Crown Prince forever?

Wow, how did she have such courage back then?

But judging from Yinreng's behavior these past few days, it seems he's not angry with her. Now that he's the Crown Prince, besides attending court, he also has to be ready to accompany the Emperor to the capital for state affairs, read and write memorials, and participate in important court matters. But whenever he has free time, he usually comes to Cheng Qianyue's place to talk and chat with her, and sometimes he'll complain to her about how tedious and cheesy the ministers' greetings are.

Cheng Qianyue thought he was incredibly tolerant of her. She thought back to when she was the Princess Consort—oh, now she should be called the Crown Princess. How did he react when she advised him? And look at his temper towards her now—it was like heaven and earth. Thinking about it this way, it seemed his tolerance towards her was almost boundless.

But it was precisely because of this that she was willing to share his joys and sorrows.

Okay, we've gotten a bit off-topic. Now, Cheng Qianyue's western wing is busy again. Because Yinreng has become the crown prince again, their whole family has to move.

Moving to Yuqing Palace? No, no, no. Yuqing Palace is where Yinreng lives alone. As for the Crown Princess and the other princesses, they will be moved to Xiefang Palace.

Cheng Qianyue had assumed that Yuqing Palace and Xiefang Hall were very close, but she only realized they weren't in the same place after moving. Yuqing Palace was east of Qianqing Palace, next to Zhaigong Palace. Xiefang Hall was further south, separated by an arrow pavilion square, at least four or five hundred meters away on foot.

In other words, Yinreng had to travel a long way with his wives and concubines to have sex with them. Emmm, is there really such a thing as a family that doesn't live together? It's hilarious, hahaha.

Well, Cheng Qianyue was still very happy to move here, because she finally had her own little courtyard in the Forbidden City.

Xiefang Palace was much larger than Xian'an Palace. Although it also consisted of three courtyards, it had many smaller courtyards. The first courtyard was a long, narrow structure, serving as the outer courtyard. To the left and right of the outer courtyard were guardhouses and side rooms. The second and third courtyards were for their residences. The central main courtyard housed the Crown Princess and the First Princess, while Lin Jia Shi lived in the main house of the rear courtyard. She and Li Jia Shi lived in the two western courtyards, one in front and one behind. The two eastern courtyards were for the two princes, Hongxi and Hongjin.

Besides having more spacious accommodations, Cheng Qianyue's treatment also improved. Although both were princesses without official titles, the Crown Prince's princess and the bald prince's princess were still different. The day after she moved in, people from the Imperial Household Department came to deliver people and money to her.

First, let's talk about sending people over. Cheng Qianyue had always been short of servants when she was in Xian'an Palace, and now that's all been provided. The Imperial Household Department sent over three palace maids and three eunuchs for her to use. Cheng Qianyue simply told Ruoyun and Lin Quan'an to take care of them.

As for the money, it all started with the annual allowance. Cheng Qianyue's original annual allowance was fifty taels, but now it has been doubled, with the Imperial Household Department directly sending her an additional fifty taels. Logically speaking, even if it were a supplementary allowance, considering the number of months since the Crown Prince was reinstated, it would only amount to twenty or thirty taels at most. Sending fifty taels was an exceptionally flattering gesture from the Imperial Household Department.

This was considered a matter of face in the palace, and Cheng Qianyue couldn't simply return the favor, as that would be tantamount to refusing to acknowledge their kindness. So, she took out twenty taels of silver to reward the people from the Imperial Household Department, as an early New Year's bonus. In this way, both sides were happy.

But moving here wasn't all good; there were downsides too, like the food. It wasn't that the food was worse; in fact, it was better than before. And with the increased portion sizes, the kitchen staff had become more efficient, sending someone every day to ask her what she wanted to eat and how it should be prepared, so she could order without following the menu. So where did the problem lie? It was the distance between the Prince's Kitchen and the Xiefang Palace. Yes, their meals still came from the Prince's Kitchen.

Originally, their residence, Xian'an Palace, was right next to the Western Six Palaces, not far from the Princes' Kitchen. But now that they've moved, the Kitchen and Xiefang Palace are now diagonally opposite each other. So even though the kitchen staff prepares the food and delivers it immediately, using food containers filled with hot water to keep it warm, it's the dead of winter, and the distance between the two places is considerable. There are no bicycles for transporting the food; it all depends on the eunuchs carrying it on foot. Therefore, the food delivered is only moderately warm.

Fortunately, they had a tea stove, and Cheng Qianyue wasn't picky about anything else, as long as the soup was hot. So every time someone from the kitchen came to deliver food, she would ask them to take the soup to the tea stove to heat it up before bringing it over. As for the other dishes, as long as there was no oil clumping on them, they were fine.

Just as they were having their meal today, a eunuch outside announced that Jing Shun, who served Yinreng, had arrived with his men. A short while later, Jing Shun entered, followed by four eunuchs, each carrying a food box.

Jing Shun said, "Greetings to the Princess. The Crown Prince has instructed me to bring the meal over first. The Crown Prince will arrive shortly."

There wasn't enough room on her table for all these things, so Cheng Qianyue quickly ordered someone to bring a table from the side hall to place them. Just as she finished tidying up the food, she heard from outside that the Crown Prince had arrived.

Yinreng came from the Crown Princess's residence. After entering, he did not ask her to stand up and bow. After a while, he sat down and asked someone to bring warm water to wash his hands before touching her. He asked gently, "How are you feeling today?"

Cheng Qianyue smiled and said, "Good, this child is not troublesome at all. I heard that women may experience morning sickness when the baby is two or three months old, but I haven't felt any discomfort at all."

Yinreng couldn't help but touch her belly and said gently, "The baby knows you've worked hard, so it's being especially well-behaved." After saying that, he asked someone to serve a bowl of pigeon soup that had just been brought over.

Cheng Qianyue was used to hot soup, so she sighed and said, "Have someone take it to the tea stove to heat it up first. I just had someone heat up some old duck soup, it should be ready by now."

Yinreng ignored her and nodded to the serving eunuch as usual. Soon the pigeon soup was brought to Cheng Qianyue. He said, "No need to take it to the tea room. Try it. The soup is still hot."

It really is true. Cheng Qianyue could see the steam rising from the soup bowl, and she could feel the heat when she placed her hand on the side of the bowl.

Yinreng said, "From now on, we won't have to eat cold food anymore."

"Hmm? What do you mean by that?" Cheng Qianyue tilted her head to look at him.

Yinreng continued, "Today I asked the Emperor for a decree, hoping that from now on our meals will be handled by the people from the outer kitchen. They were originally in charge of the grand banquets for the court officials, which were held in the enclosed room of the Zhonghe Hall. I thought that the Prince's kitchen was too far away, and the outer kitchen was closer to the Yuqing Palace and Xiefang Hall."

Cheng Qianyue asked in surprise, "Then the Emperor agreed?"

"Yes, they not only agreed, but also said that the food in the outer kitchen is not as refined as that in the inner kitchen, and that the storeroom next to the arrow pavilion should be cleared out specifically to cook for the Crown Prince. However, until the Crown Prince's kitchen is completed, our meals will be temporarily prepared by the people in the outer kitchen."

Yinreng picked up a piece of stir-fried loofah with his chopsticks and put it in Cheng Qianyue's bowl, saying, "Now we're enjoying their cooking."

Vegetables are scarce in winter, and the palace mainly eats cabbage and dried vegetables. Things like loofah, cucumber, and leek sprouts are grown in greenhouses and are quite precious, so Cheng Qianyue readily ate the loofah with her chopsticks.

Seeing her eating so diligently, Yinreng's expression relaxed, and he picked up a soup spoon to drink the old duck soup she had just mentioned. As he drank, he couldn't help but think about the matter of the imperial kitchen that he had discussed with the emperor.

He had barely mentioned it when the Emperor interrupted him with a smile, saying, "The Prince's kitchen is indeed too far. From now on, the Eastern Palace should follow the old rules." The old rules meant that the Eastern Palace's meals would still come from the Yangxin Hall kitchen.

What did he do then? He didn't kneel down to beg for forgiveness, saying how ignorant he had been in using the imperial kitchen. Instead, he smiled and said, "Thank you for your kindness, Father Emperor. But I'm all grown up now, with several wives, concubines, and children. I really can't act like a child and forget the rules just because you love me. If it weren't for the fact that the Prince's kitchen is so far away, I wouldn't want to trouble you with this."

He sighed and said, "I had thought of using the kitchen in the south wing of Fengxian Hall, but I felt that would be disrespectful to our ancestors. I also considered using the kitchen of one of my mothers in the harem, but I didn't want to bother them. After thinking it over, I decided to trouble the outer kitchen, since it's closer to Yuqing Palace and Xiefang Hall. Besides, I have an unborn child, so I have to think about him and his mother."

The Emperor's expression immediately softened considerably. He patted his shoulder and said, "For now, let the outer kitchen be in charge of the Crown Prince's meals. But we can't continue like this. As the Crown Prince, you should have your own Crown Prince's kitchen. How about this, I'll have someone repair the storeroom in the Arrow Pavilion and convert it into the Crown Prince's kitchen."

Yinreng then knelt and kowtowed to express his gratitude. But after leaving the Qianqing Palace, the smile on his face faded, and his back was slightly sweaty, feeling cool in the wind. Even as he walked to the Xiefang Palace with someone holding an umbrella for him in the evening, he couldn't help but look towards the Qianqing Palace in the wind and snow.

Although he still wanted to rekindle their father-son bond with the Emperor, upon closer reflection, he realized that their relationship was no longer what it used to be. He seemed increasingly unsure how to face the Emperor.

Cheng Qianyue drank two sips of pigeon soup, then ordered someone to serve her some old duck soup. After finishing, she noticed that Yinreng's expression was a bit off. Not knowing what was happening outside, she didn't dare to ask, so she took a spoon and scooped a piece of steamed egg custard into his bowl.

She said, "I sprinkle soy sauce and sesame oil on top, and I use it to mix with rice. You should try it too, it tastes really good."

Yinreng snapped out of his reverie and noticed a clump of scallions on the table. He picked them all off one by one with his chopsticks. As he ate, he thought to himself that he would eventually find a way, a correct way to smoothly ascend the throne.