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As evening fell, the glazed tiles of Changchun Garden were shrouded in the sunset. Consort Tong, along with the imperial concubines, wives of princes, and officials' wives, made a grand procession to Zhanhuaitang in Changchun Garden. The officials' wives all lowered their heads and followed behind the imperial concubines and wives' palanquins. Qingyan sat in the sedan chair and then pulled Jue Luo Shi into the palanquin.

"Little darling, what you're doing is wrong. Even the concubines don't dare to pull their own mothers!" After realizing her mistake, Lady Jue Luo changed her attitude towards Qing Yan. Qing Yan was someone who would be more considerate of others if they treated her well.

The distance between Haiyan Hall, where the guests were entertained, and Zhanhuai Hall was not short. The ladies-in-waiting wore three-inch-high flowerpot shoes to match their Manchu dresses for entering the palace. The ladies-in-waiting wore even higher flowerpot shoes, hoping to catch the eye of Consort Tong and others.

The young women had only been gone for less than a quarter of an hour when their faces turned pale.

In accordance with Emperor Kangxi's wishes, Changchun Garden utilized a large number of rocks and earthen slopes to create a landscape more in line with the southern style, making it quite strenuous to walk on.

Before the Golden Offering Festival, the officials' wives began to train their physical strength. They saw that Qingyan had taken Jue Luo Shi directly to the carriage, so that neither mother nor daughter had to work hard.

“Mother, what’s wrong with that? Just because they’re not going to do it doesn’t mean it’s not allowed. Who says people can’t come over?” Qingyan retorted, unconvinced.

The mother and daughter chatted the whole time. Qingyan could imagine that the ladies-in-waiting following behind would be tired. They would have half an hour to rest after arriving at Zhan Huaitang.

"Little darling, did Linglong Pavilion order very few headdresses this time?" Wujueluo rarely cared about Linglong Pavilion's business, but being teased by the court ladies made her pay attention instead.

Qingyan quickly shook her head. How could it possibly be reduced?

"I've been staying near the southern naval port, and business at Linglong Pavilion in the capital has improved considerably. With the Dragon Boat Festival approaching, all the ladies of the court want a decent set of jewelry, and the available mansions were all ordered right after the Dragon Boat Festival," Qingyan said. Regardless of the mansion's background, everyone sat in order of arrival.

Today, she carefully observed the headwear of the officials' wives and daughters, and sure enough, some of the women from prominent families and the women to be selected for the imperial concubines were wearing the old styles from before the Dragon Boat Festival.

Linglong Pavilion releases some exquisite limited-edition headdresses every quarter. Those Anu fans focus all their attention on the headdresses early on and rarely go to the palace to cause trouble for Consort Tong. Yin was very happy that his mother could have some peace of mind, which was good.

Upon arriving at Zhan Huaitang, Qingyan helped Sulan down from the palanquin. Out of the corner of her eye, she paid special attention to the women who were walking over. Their makeup was a little smudged, but they still kept their heads down, waiting for Consort Tong's order to enter the hall to freshen up.

"Alright, everyone must be tired from the journey. Go and freshen up." Consort Tong stood on the stone steps of Zhan Huaitang. "Xiao Guai, come and take care of Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen."

Qingyan found that her daughter had fallen asleep on Shuzhu's shoulder. She had been making a fuss all day, and the little girl's spirits were not good.

"Yes!" Qingyan helped Sulan into the palace with Consort Tong, but Jueluo was besieged by her two best friends.

"You've come to your senses, isn't that a good thing? Let's go change our clothes first. We're not as comfortable as you; we're covered in sweat!" Both of the women were wives of the Vice Minister of War. Consort Yi had directly set a trap for them, so of course they needed to stick together and didn't want anyone to bother them.

Jue Luo smiled, realizing that her profound understanding was also due to the persuasion of her two close friends.

"You were laughed at by those people last time, and now they want to curry favor with you!" Lady Wang sneered. "My wives are very pragmatic. The girls they brought to be selected for the imperial concubine selection are basically the best in their families. They hope to make their families stronger by relying on these girls."

Jue Luo shook her head: "Your two legitimate daughters are also participating in the selection this year, why didn't you bring them? Xiao Guai's side is no good, she just got pregnant, even the Fourth Prince is trying to make her happy."

As soon as he finished speaking, the two wives of the vice ministers laughed, and Lady Jue Luo immediately protected Qingyan.

“We don’t plan to let our child enter the royal family. Xiao Guai is lucky to have met the Fourth Prince. If it were any other prince, Xiao Guai would definitely suffer.” The two wives of the vice ministers saw it very clearly. In such a large royal family, which of the many princes could do what Yinzhen did?

"Who says otherwise? The Dong E clan is so arrogant. They boast that their daughter has a powerful backer and start showing off. Aren't they afraid of bringing trouble upon their daughter?" The two vice ministers couldn't stand Dong E's wife showing off whenever she went out. They both hoped that Dong E's wife could restrain herself as much as possible.

"Trouble?! Dong'e Gege and her daughter have similar methods. Dong'e Qishi and the Third Master both like this mother and daughter." Jue Luo Shi was also very gossipy. Hearing about what happened in the Third Master's backyard, she was somewhat concerned. Who would have thought that she would discover some strange phenomena.

Favoring a concubine at the expense of the wife?

As the saying goes, birds of a feather flock together; the two fathers-in-law and sons-in-law of the Dong'e Mansion are truly remarkable.

“We can talk about this in private, but she’s very concerned about her reputation. If we say too much, it might hurt her feelings.” The wives of the vice ministers sneered. If they didn’t know that the other party wouldn’t speak carelessly, they wouldn’t have said a word.

Lady Jue Luo was relieved; it turned out that the Third Princess Consort was the most troublesome one.

In a side room of the main hall, Consort Tong was talking about the Qingyan banquet. Today, her actions had gone a bit too far.

"Mother's health is not good. If I don't let her ride in the palanquin, she might not even be able to complete half the journey!" Qingyan meant well, but took on the unreliable suggestion.

Consort Tong nodded; Qingyan's explanation was acceptable.

"This will not happen again!" Lady Jue Luo is currently recuperating from an illness, and the women of the household will surely understand.

At this time, the officials' wives had entered the main hall one after another, and everyone sat according to the men's official positions.

"The banquet is about to begin. Let Hutulifengshengzhalafen rest here. We'll have the little maid go over during dinner!" Consort Tong felt sorry for the children, but because of the royal rules, she couldn't stop them. She could only trouble the young children.

The mother-in-law and daughter-in-law entered the hall, and everyone quieted down. The officials' wives stood up and bowed.

"Your Majesty, His Majesty says the banquet will begin in an hour!" Shu Zhu came out from outside. "Also, Madam Tong the Second will accompany Madam Tong the First to the palace."

Mrs. Tong Guowei was taken aback. Could it be that Tong Guowei hadn't come over?

"Yes!" Mrs. Tong Guowei replied.

She had to obey the emperor's orders, but she could rely on her age to act superior if it was Consort Tong's order.