When the two brothers arrived at Concubine Yi's courtyard, the palace servants who delivered the meal had just left.
"Empress Yi." Yinreng walked into the room happily.
Concubine Yi looked at Yinreng and swallowed subconsciously, then stood up, smiled and nodded, taking it as a greeting.
"Why are His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the eldest prince here?"
"Greetings to Empress Yi."
The crown prince does not need to pay his respects to the concubines, but the eldest prince needs to.
Concubine Yi smiled and nodded, then looked at the two brothers in a daze.
After Yinreng pulled Yinzhi to sit down, he said, "The Emperor is busy having dinner and talking with the lieutenant generals. I and my elder brother are worried that Empress Yi will be lonely, so we came to accompany her for dinner."
Concubine Yi didn't believe it.
She looked outside again and only breathed a sigh of relief after making sure that Doctor Hu was not there.
The people are already here, no matter what the reason is, Concubine Yi must entertain them well.
What's more, it would be better to take this opportunity to make friends with the prince than to make enemies with him.
So, Huanxiang was arranged to serve food to the two young masters.
But as I was eating, something felt wrong.
The two brothers really came here to eat, and they ate all the delicacies on the table, almost gobbling them up in no time, leaving nothing for her.
Just as Concubine Yi was stunned, the two brothers patted their round bellies, stood up, thanked her, and left hand in hand.
Concubine Yi was speechless for a moment as she looked at the brothers' backs. Then she looked at the table full of empty plates and didn't know what to say.
Huanxiang sighed silently and stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, you haven't eaten anything yet. I'll ask the kitchen to prepare some for you."
Concubine Yi waved her hands hurriedly, "A large table was just delivered, and now you want more. If you don't know, you might think I'm being pretentious and difficult to please."
Huanxiang couldn't bear it, "But the Queen hasn't eaten a single bite yet."
"Prepare some cakes to fill your stomach."
Although we are in the imperial palace, it is too close to the capital, so it is better not to make too much noise.
So, in the next few days, Kangxi was busy checking government affairs, and the two brothers went straight to Concubine Yi's place to eat when it was time for dinner.
After the operation, the two brothers' faces became rosy and shiny, while Concubine Yi became thinner and her face became sallow.
In the end, even Kangxi, who was always busy with official duties, heard about the two brothers eating for free.
"You said the Crown Prince and the eldest prince have been eating at Concubine Yi's place?"
Liang Jiugong nodded. "I asked He Yuzhu and he said that he eats at Concubine Yi's place every day at noon and evening. Perhaps he feels happier eating together?"
Kangxi glared at him with a sneer.
What a bullshit.
He didn't feel very happy when that kid plotted against Concubine Yi.
Besides, he didn't think Concubine Yi would be very happy to see the two brats.
That night, Kangxi returned early.
Yinreng was reading a book. When he saw Kangxi coming back at this hour, he jumped up to him happily.
"Father, I haven't seen you for several days."
Kangxi felt touched when he heard this.
He has been busy these days, going out early and coming back late. When he went out in the morning, the brat was still sleeping, and when he came back in the evening, the brat was still sleeping.
"Baocheng, do you miss your father?"
Yinreng nodded obediently, his big eyes fluttering.
"Father Huang, you've been so busy these past few days. Luckily, I have my elder brother to accompany you. Otherwise, Baocheng would feel so lonely."
"Father Emperor, when are we going back to the palace? Baocheng doesn't like it here anymore. He can't even see Father Emperor."
Kangxi was both sad and happy.
I feel sad that my beloved son has been wronged, but I am also happy that my beloved son cares about me so much.
"We can return to the palace the day after tomorrow."
As he spoke, Kangxi carried Baocheng to the bed.
The father and son lay on the bed and began to chat.
"I heard that Baocheng and Baoqing have been eating at Yipin's place. Why is that? Do they feel lonely when eating?"
Yinreng pulled at the small quilt and said in a feigned innocence, "The food at Concubine Yi's place is delicious. Every meal is filled with delicacies from land and sea. It's even better than what we eat in the palace."
Kangxi frowned.
Even though they are outside the palace now, their food, clothing and other expenses are still subject to certain standards.
Given Yipin's position, her food should be pretty good, but it's not like she should be eating delicacies from land and sea every meal.
The people in the kitchen saw that Concubine Yi was the only empress brought out, so they tried every possible way to curry favor with her, even disregarding the ancestral rules.
Even the food that Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia eats isn't necessarily any better than what she's been eating these past few days.
[Concubine Yi knew that these things exceeded the standard, but she did not stop them. Instead, she accepted them every day with peace of mind.]
Kangxi's heart sank.
In his eyes, Concubine Yi has always been a person who knows and abides by the rules, and she had never caused any trouble even when she was in favor before.
It is precisely for this reason that he is willing to give the other party chances again and again.
It seems that there are some things he should take a look at in person tomorrow.
Yinreng didn't know that Kangxi had heard his thoughts clearly, but he thought that based on Kangxi's temper, he would most likely go to Concubine Yi's place tomorrow.
So, at noon the next day, Yinreng asked He Yuzhu to give a large reward to the kitchen manager.
Those people originally had the intention of currying favor, and now that they saw their masters were giving them money, they worked even harder.
I also heard that the emperor will return tomorrow, so I have put a lot of effort into preparing today's meals.
Huanxiang saw that her queen was almost malnourished after this trip, and thought that if she continued like this, she would definitely get sick when she returned.
So he told the stewards in the kitchen to add a few more dishes today. The stewards thought that the dishes they cooked were popular with the masters and happily agreed.
When it was time for lunch, the two brothers appeared in front of Concubine Yi's dining table on time with their bowls and chopsticks.
Yinreng looked at the dishes on the table, which were obviously half more than usual, and couldn't help but curl the corners of his mouth slightly.
"Mrs. Yi, thank you for your care these days."
Yinreng used a serving chopstick to pick up a chicken leg for Concubine Yi, who was shocked and slightly touched.
"Your Highness is very polite. I am honored to have the opportunity to take care of your Highness's food and drink."
Seeing his younger brother's actions, Yinzhen also followed suit and picked up a piece of pork ribs with the serving chopsticks.
"Thank you, Madam Yi, for your care these days."
At this moment, Yipin looked at the two children's attentive appearance and felt uneasy in her heart, as if something was wrong but she couldn't put her finger on it.
"Today's dishes seem to have a lot more variety than the previous few days. What's going on?"
Yinreng asked casually.
Yipin was a little embarrassed, so Huanxi had to step forward and explain, "The Queen was worried that the two masters wouldn't have enough to eat, so she asked the kitchen to serve a few more dishes today."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kangxi walked in with his hands behind his back and a gloomy face.
His eyes first fell on the chicken legs and spare ribs in Yipin's bowl that she had not yet eaten, then he looked at the table full of sumptuous dishes, and then thought of the words he had just heard outside the door, and his anger rose.
"I came to the capital to inspect the surrounding areas, not to enjoy the scenery. I didn't know that Concubine Yi had put on such a grand display in the palace. I am really impressed."
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