These past few days, Yin and Qingyan have been staying in the palace temporarily, so she has to go to Cining Palace and Chenggan Palace to pay her respects. Every time she goes there, the Crown Princess will bring Gegenhas to pay her respects. After things get noisy, it is the Crown Prince's concubine who apologizes.

"Grandma, I specially prepared egg tarts for you, but the ones made by the imperial chef were a bit too sweet!" Qingyan had Sulan serve the prepared desserts.

The Empress Dowager loved this kind of food, but due to her age, she had to control herself. The imperial chefs tried some methods, but they could not meet the Crown Prince's requirements. Therefore, Qingyan had to cook for the Empress Dowager himself.

"Hmm, it tastes excellent, and it's not too sweet. It's Xiao Guai who prepared it to my liking. Those people are no good; they don't care at all." The Empress Dowager was like a child, always talking about the servants.

Consort Tong shook her head helplessly, while the Crown Princess smiled, though her eyes were icy cold.

Qingyan didn't care. The Crown Princess and she didn't get along. During their first gathering in the palace, the Crown Princess made trouble for her, making her feel very uncomfortable.

"This...was this made by the Fourth Princess Consort herself?" Wu Yun asked.

Don't noble ladies generally dislike cooking?

She was able to serve the Third Master well because of her good cooking skills. Yin Zhi had never enjoyed being served by a woman before. Of course, if she cooked a meal for him occasionally, Yin Zhi would think it was quite good.

"Yes, I made it!" Qingyan smiled. "Preparing food for elders by doing it yourself shows sincerity and gives peace of mind!"

The Crown Princess and Consort Dong'e's expressions turned extremely unpleasant. The pastries they prepared for the Empress Dowager according to their master's instructions were all made in the small kitchen, and neither of them would go out of their way to cook.

"The Fourth Princess's cooking is so good, there's nothing we can do about it. We don't even have enough time to learn the proper etiquette!" The Third Princess sneered.

Qingyan immediately felt embarrassed. Among the several wives, only Qingyan was cutting corners in learning the rules, and it was Yin who was backing her up.

"Third Prince's wife, Fourth Prince's wife is doing this for her own good. Even ordinary wives have to cook breakfast for their parents-in-law!" The Crown Princess pointed out that Qingyan's actions were beneath her status. Only ordinary people would cook for themselves. What was their status? They were the revered royal family.

“Even if they’re royalty, so what? Filial piety will never change,” Qingyan retorted.

Normally, she would have kept quiet, but the Crown Princess's words not only mocked her, but also implicated her family and Yin.

As soon as she finished speaking, the Crown Princess paused in her action of holding the short teacup. Qingyan then chuckled. She was certainly no slouch when it came to words. If she hadn't wanted to avoid causing trouble for Yin, she wouldn't have let her off so easily.

The Empress Dowager and Consort Tong smiled as they watched the princes and their wives. The palace concubines were about to come and pay their respects. The Crown Princess and the Third Prince's wife's actions of teasing Qingyan were noticed by the lower-ranking palace concubines.

They spared no effort to please Consort Tong, as the Fourth Prince's wife was everyone's favorite, and even Emperor Kangxi gave her three times the face.

"Ladies, the imperial concubines have arrived!" Su Mo'er heard Xiao Sula say that the imperial concubines had arrived, so she quickly stepped forward to remind them that, apart from the Crown Princess, the remaining ladies-in-waiting should pay their respects.

Qingyan straightened her clothes and followed behind Yingenjueluo Shi, bowing halfway to the imperial concubines and greeting the remaining imperial concubines.

After the ceremony, the imperial concubines and wives took their seats. Dong Eshi and Tatara Shi sat beside Qingyan, but they had long since lost interest in chatting. On the Empress Dowager's kang table, there were still egg tarts. The Empress Dowager listened to the imperial concubines' discussions, occasionally taking a bite of the egg tarts, and her smile deepened.

"Your Majesty is in a very good mood today!" Consort Rong carefully observed the Empress Dowager's expression; her face was rosy, and her eyes were full of smiles.

Spending a long time in the palace, one inevitably learns to read between the lines.

"Yes, my little darling is so filial. I said I didn't have a good appetite and wanted egg tarts, and here they are, they've brought them over right away!" The Empress Dowager smiled as she looked at the plate of egg tarts. "They're even better made than the imperial chefs'. I don't have to watch my diet anymore."

Consort Rong gave an awkward smile, turned her head and glared at Lady Dong'e, blaming her for being tactless.

She felt uncomfortable. Mingming Qingyan had returned with Dong Eshi, and she had started to fawn over the Empress Dowager's thighs again, while Dong Eshi sat there like a doll.

"The Fourth Prince's wife is quite young, but the Third Prince's wife has been unwell since she returned." Consort Rong smiled wryly, making excuses for her daughter-in-law.

Consort Tong noticed out of the corner of her eye that Consort Rong's expression changed swiftly, and couldn't help but give Qingyan an admiring look.

"Your Highness, is the Third Prince's wife feeling unwell?" Qingyan asked, looking puzzled. "I've been in the carriage the whole time and haven't been paying much attention to what's happening outside. Didn't the Third Prince's wife say that someone was helping her take care of the Third Prince? How could she not get a good rest on the way back?"

Ugh!

The Empress Dowager and Consort Tong were taken aback; this girl was definitely going to get away with anything with her words.

"That's what the third son's family says?!" The Empress Dowager was also intrigued.

"Yes, the Third Princess Consort also said that if I get tired of serving the master, she can help me find a sister to share the burden." Qingyan looked at the Empress Dowager and the Imperial Concubine with a blank expression.

The little voice inside her was clapping, telling her that the Third Prince's wife was always causing her trouble, making her feel very uncomfortable.

"What?!"

The Empress Dowager and Consort Tong exchanged a glance, and the Empress Dowager asked sternly.

Dong Eshi shuddered and glared angrily at Qingyan when no one was looking. Among the sisters-in-law, only Qingyan was without any annoying women around him, and both the Crown Princess and she were jealous of him.

"Third brother's wife!" Consort Tong slammed her hand on the armrest. How could a sister-in-law interfere in her brother-in-law's affairs? Where is the proper etiquette?

Consort Rong was extremely resentful. Her status was not as high as Consort Tong's, so it was obvious that the Third Princess Consort's actions were improper.

"Your Highness, please calm down. I think the Third Prince's family meant well." Consort Rong quickly interrupted Consort Tong. "Among the princes' harems, only the Fourth Prince's harem has only one woman, the Fourth Princess Consort. The other wives are also concerned about her."

Consort Rong's words implied that Qingyan was jealous, therefore, the Fourth Prince's harem could only contain her.

"Sister Rongfei is quite concerned. His Majesty and I can't go against the Fourth Prince. Xiaoguai has been taken care of by Yin since she was a child, and she does everything according to Yin's wishes. She has done an excellent job in the women's precepts!" Consort Tong's lips curled up slightly, her voice carrying a soft and gentle tone of Jiangnan, but her words were like sharp knives.

"Your Majesty, please calm down!" Consort Rong dared not remain seated any longer and immediately knelt down.

Women's Precepts!

The imperial concubines also had to follow Emperor Kangxi's instructions. Consort Tong said she was unruly, but who dared to guess what Emperor Kangxi meant?

Qingyan was secretly shocked. Consort Tong's words had put Consort Rong in a dilemma. She was truly amazing.

“Mother, I think Consort Rong is probably doing this for my own good. After all… Yin has no one by his side, and those censors have been gossiping a lot,” Qingyan smiled at Consort Tong. “However, I must listen to my master after all. When the matrons were teaching me manners, they said that after marriage I must listen to my master.” (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)