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Upon arriving at the entrance of Linglong Pavilion, Shu Lu suddenly froze. Qing Yan looked into the restaurant and saw three people and a middle-aged couple sitting in a private room on the first floor. Shu Lu lingered and went over to the middle-aged couple, bowing to them.

"Greetings, Guo Luo Ma Fa, Guo Luo Ma Ma!" Shu Lu said respectfully.

Qingyan stared at the people in front of her. It turned out to be Shi Wenbing and Madam Guarjia. Neither of them seemed inclined to get up and bow to Qingyan.

"Fourth Brother, who are these two...?" Qingyan asked knowingly.

Shi Wenbing's face darkened. How could the Fourth Princess Consort be so unreasonable, actually wanting the two of them to bow?

Yin laughed. In Qingyan's shop, he still wanted to act big. It would be strange if he didn't provoke people.

"Sister-in-law, these are my parents," the Crown Princess quickly explained.

Qingyan sat down and leaned slightly towards Yin. He used the table as cover to gently squeeze Qingyan's small hand.

"They came to place an order, but the manager of Linglong Pavilion insisted on following the rules!" Yin transmitted his voice through the space.

The group of people sat in silence, while Shulu began to play with the sugar figurine in his hand.

"Fourth Princess Consort, I've come here today because I have something to ask of you!" Lady Guarjia said, but her tone was anything but pleading.

Qingyan took a sip of warm water from her cup and glanced at Yin with a hint of resentment.

"After I became pregnant, I temporarily handed over all the affairs to the shopkeepers. I don't know the specific order situation of the shop. If the orders are too many, we definitely can't increase them!" Qingyan gave a vague answer.

She was unhappy that anyone would use connections to get ahead. Even Consort Tong's headdress was chosen according to the rules. How much face did the Guarjia clan want?

Upon hearing this, Lady Guarjia's face immediately fell. She believed that Qingyan's refusal was disrespectful to the Crown Princess and clearly showed that she did not take Taizhi seriously.

"Fourth Princess Consort, can't you make an exception? It's rare for the Crown Princess to ask you for such a favor!" Lady Guarjia always relied on her daughter being the Crown Princess to make impolite demands on those who didn't speak up.

As soon as she finished speaking, the Crown Prince and Yinzhen both frowned, feeling that Lady Guarjia's manners were improper, daring to talk back to the prince's wife.

"Sulan, go and call the shopkeeper over, and bring over the order booklets!" Qingyan ignored her and gave the order directly.

Yin's face was very pale, and he was even more furious at the Guarjia clan's lack of respect for propriety.

A quarter of an hour later, the shopkeeper came over with a three-month order booklet. He bowed to everyone and placed the booklet in front of Qingyan, waiting for her to ask questions.

Qingyan opened the booklet, which was filled with densely packed records of items that needed to be ordered. The dates for the jewelry items to be ordered were already booked until the end of the year.

"Fourth Princess Consort, the headdresses need to be finished before the New Year." Lady Guarjia quickly made the request as she watched Qingyan looking at the booklet.

Qingyan gave the other person a cold look, then looked down and calculated the time.

"Your Highness, it's not that I'm disrespecting you, but as you can see, all of these need to be delivered before the New Year. There's no time to add any more," Qingyan said, glancing at the Crown Princess.

According to the rules of Linglong Pavilion, if you want to order jewelry for the New Year, you must make a reservation before the Golden Festival. Since Lady Guarjia wanted to increase the amount, it was definitely not allowed.

"This... Sister-in-law, could you perhaps spare some time? The Empress Dowager said she wishes to summon my sister for an audience." The Crown Princess glanced at Qingyan. "The Empress Dowager's decree was only issued a couple of days ago, so Mother has been very anxious."

Qingyan shook her head and said, "There's really no way to finish it in time. To avoid delays, it's better not to take the order!"

Lady Guarjia sneered, "Fourth Princess Consort, my daughter's visit to the palace will not hinder you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the three men in the room stood up, looking slightly embarrassed. It was rather inappropriate for them to be discussing politics here.

After watching the three leave, Qingyan turned to look at Lady Guarjia.

“Madam, after I became pregnant, Mother said that she would not assign anyone to the Fourth Prince’s courtyard. Your threats are ineffective!” Qingyan snorted coldly, “Linglong Pavilion never breaks the rules, so if you insist, I can only follow the rules.”

After saying this, Lady Guarjia's face darkened, and she stood up and stormed off.

The Crown Princess watched her retreating figure and breathed a sigh of relief. She was uncertain; the Empress Dowager would summon her half-sister, and it was hard to guarantee that she wouldn't end up like Princess Guarjia in the Fifth Prince's residence.

"Sister-in-law, thank you!" The Crown Princess could not refuse her mother's request. Since she had not given birth to a legitimate son for the Crown Prince, her family would continue to send illegitimate daughters into the palace.

Qingyan was taken aback. When had the high and mighty Crown Princess ever been weak?

"Shulu is very happy!" the Crown Princess said gratefully.

On one hand, Qingyan helped the Crown Princess resolve the entanglement with the Guarjia clan; on the other hand, Shulu went out with Qingyan and was in a good mood, no longer feeling depressed.

"Your Highness, spend more time with Shulu and take her out for walks. It will do her a good job!" Qingyan had her own opinion.

Qingyan will not force the other party to comply, but will only offer some suggestions, as long as they can do so with a clear conscience.

"Okay, I will take good care of her." The Crown Princess noticed that Shulu's smile had changed, and she was genuinely happy.

The Crown Princess longed to keep that smile, and even the Crown Prince was deeply moved by Shulu's smile.

"Mother, will Granny Guoluo not scold Shulu anymore?" Shulu asked, tilting her little head up.

Upon hearing this, the Crown Princess felt a pang of sadness and nodded, stroking her daughter's little head.

At this moment, the Crown Prince stood at the door, heard his daughter's words, and frowned.

"Why is my mother-in-law talking about Shulu again?" The Crown Prince was a little annoyed. Even if Shulu was his daughter, she was still his legitimate daughter.

"Sulan, have the shopkeeper bring over that little rosewood box!" Qingyan couldn't return to the capital before the Lunar New Year, so he would send some things to the children every year on the Laba Festival.

Su Lan quickly went out to get it, while Shu Lu blinked her big eyes and looked at Qing Yan with anticipation.

"Sister-in-law, you didn't make jewelry for Shulu again, did you?" the Crown Princess asked helplessly. Qingyan loved making things for the children; whatever Hutu Lifengsheng Zhalafen had, her three legitimate daughters would have plenty of as well.

Qingyan smiled and said, "Girls should change their hair and makeup often!"

After he finished speaking, Yin stopped the Crown Prince from speaking. He supported Qingyan's good intentions towards the children. After all, they were still young, and the direct descendants were already few in number. It was good for Qingyan to take care of them. At the very least, Shulu was more disciplined and polite than Hongxi.

"Sister-in-law, you've gone to so much trouble!" the Crown Princess said.

The Crown Prince sensed that Qingyan disliked Hongxi and wanted to explain himself to her, but Yin, who understood the Crown Prince, stopped him from saying anything more.

"There are fewer children in the direct line, so it's good to take better care of them and prevent them from being bullied by illegitimate children!" Yin had kept the fact that Hongxi was bullying Yiken'e a secret for a long time, but Qingyan was still very angry when she found out.