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On the first day of October, Prince Xuan still had lunch in Li Qingping's courtyard at noon, but he came to talk to Li Qingping early in the morning.
The eldest daughter went to the clan school early this morning. At this moment, Qian Guang brought the list of dishes to be sent to the eldest daughter to Li Qingping for review as usual.
Prince Xuan was curious about what his eldest daughter was eating today, so he came over to take a look.
The daily rations delivered to the clan school were the same: four dim sum, two soups, two main dishes, four main courses, and two cold dishes. Compared to a proper meal at the mansion, it was definitely less. After all, the clan school had rules that each person could only carry one food box, and no matter how large the box was, it could only hold a limited amount.
The four dim sums are all the big girls' favorites: jujube and yam cake, sugar-steamed cheese, sesame peach cake, and pickled mustard greens cake;
As for the double soup, the weather was getting a bit cooler today, so Qian Guang specially cooked a bowl of yam and old hen soup for the young lady to warm her up. Another example was the egg white chicken soup and fish soup that the young lady had specifically requested yesterday.
The main dishes were eight-treasure rice and crab roe buns, and the four main dishes were half meat and half vegetable. The two cold dishes were also specifically requested by the eldest girl: Four Happiness Rolls and a dish of tangerine peel pickled duck.
Prince Xuan couldn't help but laugh when he saw it. He also heard that the eldest lady would always finish her meal, so he said, "Yu Jin has a good appetite. It's a blessing to be able to eat. It seems that Qian Guang also cares about her. Let's see the reward."
Qian Guang happily thanked for the reward and naturally worked even harder.
I heard that the eldest girl likes the tangerine peel and fermented duck made by Qian Guang the most, so Prince Xuan also ordered one today.
Qian Guang had been making this tangerine peel duck for twenty or thirty years, meticulously selecting the duck and then meticulously applying the tangerine peel to remove the bitterness and retain the sweetness, achieving the perfect balance of saltiness and freshness. Not only the eldest daughter, but Li Qingping also enjoyed it, and Prince Xuan, delighted in the taste, both of them enjoying it again.
After dinner, Prince Xuan said to Li Qingping, "Yu Jin's birthday is coming soon. Aside from when she was just born, she's never been to the palace before. A few days ago, the Empress Dowager asked me to bring her to the palace to see her on her birthday."
But the next sentence was shocking: "The ladies will be here by then, so it's inconvenient for me to stay for long. The princess had a difficult pregnancy, and the imperial physician said she must get enough rest, so it's not good to ask her to come to the palace early. So, the Empress Dowager, considering Yu Jin's young age and worried that she might feel restrained, specially asked you to come with her."
Li Qingping paused, and even his calm expression began to crack: ...So if older girls feel restrained, I won't be restrained?
No... Now the question is, which prince's wife can enter the palace to meet the Empress Dowager and the concubines? Not to mention the wife, even the concubines may not be able to do so, right?
It was a rare sight to see her panicked expression, so Prince Xuan laughed heartily, hugged her and said, "Are you frightened?"
"Your Highness is still laughing, and my legs are weak." Li Qingping was really surprised.
Prince Xuan hurriedly comforted her, "Don't be afraid. The Empress Dowager knows her limits. She should first call you over for a chat. After asking about Yu Jin, she'll have someone take you to a side hall to rest. You don't have to follow Yu Jin around to meet the other ladies."
Hearing this, Li Qingping breathed a sigh of relief, but his face was still tense: Meeting the Empress Dowager would be terrifying too!
Prince Xuan lowered his eyes to observe her reaction and couldn't help but laugh, deliberately teasing her: "You won't be so nervous that you forget how to perform the ceremony and embarrass me, will you?"
Li Qingping: "..." She raised her head and glanced at Prince Xuan.
The cold expression coupled with the reproachful eyes was really seductive. Prince Xuan couldn't help but bent down and kissed the pink and plump lips, then he took the opportunity to undress both of them and lowered the curtain.
Li Qingping was puzzled and surprised: "???"
Do you want to sleep with me in broad daylight?
Not to mention her, the servants in the courtyard didn't know what was going on when they saw the two Yuns and Liang Pei'an beside the prince hurriedly leaving the room. They only reacted when they heard ambiguous sounds in the room. They were all dumbfounded.
This is... my master is stunned! Including the last few days of September, Li Qingping has been in bed with the emperor for four consecutive days!
The eldest girl came home from school and entered the courtyard to find the two Yuns and Liang Pei'an waiting outside. Prince Xuan was lazily reading a book inside, but Li Qingping was nowhere to be seen. It didn't look like anything serious had happened, so she couldn't help but wonder: "What's going on?"
Yun Su whispered, "Miss, go put the things down first. The meal will be served soon."
The older girl went to her room confused, put down the homework she brought back today, and then returned to the main room.
Li Qingping had already emerged from the bedroom, his face still slightly flushed. The eldest girl was even more surprised when she saw him: "Aunt, why did you take a bath so early today?"
Upon hearing this, Li Qingping tilted her head and coughed. Yun Suyun, who came in to serve her, hurriedly poured her tea and patted her on the back.
Prince Xuan put down his book and waved to his eldest daughter, saying with a smile, "You're back early today." Thinking his daughter wouldn't be back so early, Prince Xuan didn't rush Li Qingping to get up and bathe, letting her sleep in a little longer. Unexpectedly, his daughter almost caught him.
"The teacher finished his lecture early today, but he left some homework for us to study carefully when we get home."
The older girl looked from her father to her aunt, feeling strange. But she was still young and didn't understand. No other family taught children these things so early.
"Do we need to think carefully about what subjects the girls should study?" Prince Xuan raised his eyebrows.
The older girl said, "It's Western arithmetic."
"Girls, are you learning Western arithmetic too? Show it to Daddy."
The older girl ran out again.
Li Qingping took a moment to calm down before he felt his face cool down. He sat there in a daze, still unable to figure out why she had suddenly started acting up during the day. Prince Xuan caught a glimpse of her from the corner of his eye, smiled, and pulled her into his arms, whispering, "If Yujin saw this, would she think I was bullying you?"
"Isn't the prince bullying me?"
Li Qingping's question made Prince Xuan's chest tremble, and he kissed her a few more times.
After all, when the eldest daughter came back, the two of them didn't hug each other. Li Qingping glanced at Prince Xuan with a squint, and the prince seriously read the homework brought by his eldest daughter.
Prince Xuan asked the eldest girl, "Now that you've learned Western arithmetic, can you start learning to do the accounting and read the account books?"
"I've started learning too," the older girl said excitedly. "I think Western arithmetic is interesting. If I learn it, it will make accounting much easier!"
Prince Xuan smiled and said, "It's good that you are interested. There is no harm in learning it."
"There are some things I still need to think about more. The teacher said that I need to grow up a year or two before I can learn them, so he introduced them to us in advance."
"I heard that Madam also learned Western arithmetic in the family school. Come to see if you still remember it." Prince Xuan suddenly turned his head and said to Li Qingping.
Why are you bringing me up again? Li Qingping was completely lazy and reluctant to move, but since Prince Xuan had spoken, she had no choice but to sit down and lower her head to watch for a moment.
"There are five horses and seven cows, totaling 67 taels; there are three horses and five cows, totaling 45 taels. How many taels are a horse and how many taels are an ox?"
Li Qingping was sleepy. He glanced at it casually and said subconsciously, "Five taels for a horse, six taels for an ox."
Prince Xuan was surprised and delighted: "Yes, this is the correct answer."
The older girl immediately looked at her in admiration and said, "Auntie is amazing. Sister Wei Ying is the smartest. It took her a while to figure it out."
“…”
Li Qingping wasn't sure if he was any good, but his grandmother and Princess Xuan had both praised him for being an expert at calculating accounts. However, facing the older woman's sparkling eyes, Li Qingping silently accepted the compliment.
Prince Xuan smiled at his eldest daughter and said, "That's all right now. If you have any questions, you can ask your aunt. Of course, you can also ask father. But you still have to think carefully about it yourself."
The eldest girl responded, and Li Qingping couldn't get a word in. Fortunately, Prince Xuan told the eldest girl about entering the palace on his birthday the next second.
When the girl heard this, she immediately sat up straight with a serious expression.
Prince Xuan was amused when he saw this: "Why do you have the same reaction as your aunt? The palace won't treat you badly, so there's no need to be nervous."
"My daughter is usually very naughty. I'm afraid she'll have to learn some good manners in the next few days."
The older girl frowned, not afraid of being laughed at by her own father.
"What big rules are needed? It's okay for the child to be lively. As long as you don't make any basic mistakes, your father will protect you." Prince Xuan said.
The older girl opened her eyes slightly.
Dad, you are so arrogant, does the palace know?
However, despite saying this, Li Qingping still asked Madam Hu to come to the courtyard to temporarily teach the eldest girl the rules of the palace.
Madam Hu was an old lady who had been with Li Qingping since the time when Madam Wei was still alive. However, she had fallen and injured her waist a while ago, so Li Qingping asked her to go and recuperate before coming back to serve. Now, when Madam Hu felt that she was almost well and was about to be asked to return, Li Qingping sent someone back to do this job.
The eldest daughter was easy to teach. After all, she was born in a royal palace, so she must have learned the rules. However, there were more eyes watching her in the palace, so she had to do better.
Li Qingping, seeing the urgency, also learned for a while. In his free time, he called in the embroiderers and had them make a few new dresses for the young lady. He also called in the craftsmen to make a few sets of matching jewelry. The clothes could still be made if he worked day and night, but the jewelry couldn't be made in time for the palace entrance, so Li Qingping had someone select two ready-made sets from the storeroom.
The eldest lady couldn't be careless when entering the palace for the first time since she could remember things. She had to be well-mannered both inside and outside. Li Qingping herself didn't care. A wife of a prince didn't need to stand out in the palace.
Knowing that she was going to enter the palace with the eldest daughter, Princess Xuan specially called her to the main courtyard to talk.
"If I hadn't been in poor health, this wouldn't have happened to you. But now it's you who's supporting Yu Jin."
Princess Xuan had a difficult pregnancy, suffering from severe morning sickness even at almost six months old. She'd even managed to force herself to attend the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet. The imperial physician was helpless, advising her to eat smaller, more frequent meals and serving only a few succulent soups and water. Seeing Princess Xuan's pale face every day, she worried that Prince Xuan would get angry and kill her.
"Don't worry, your majesty. The palace is mainly looking after Yu Jin. Who would care about me?"
Princess Xuan held Li Qingping's hand and said, "I trust your temper, but I still need to remind you of what needs to be said."
Fortunately, the Empress Dowager and the Empress were both kind. Although Concubine Xian always received a bad reception, they would definitely not let her do anything wrong when the day came. Besides Concubine Xian, there were three other concubines: Concubine De, Concubine Ying, and Concubine Qing. It was unknown whether these three would arrive when the time came. However, the princes and princesses under these three concubines were all grown up, and they no longer cared to embarrass those who were not related to them. They only cared about finding a better future for their sons and daughters, so it didn't matter to them.
"Qingyan didn't have her period this month, but I'm not sure. I asked her to be careful every day and wait until she's a month or so ahead and it's easier to tell, then ask a doctor to check her pulse."
After giving the necessary instructions, Princess Xuan couldn't help but whisper the news to Li Qingping.
Concubine Li was suspected to be pregnant, and Li Qingping was naturally happy for her.
Princess Xuan was in good spirits today and could say with a smile, "If it's true, whether it's a man or a woman, Qingyan will have someone to rely on in the future."
Li Qingping also said: "As a concubine who is favored, it is only a matter of time for her to have children. But with her personality, I am afraid that even if she becomes a mother, she will still be confused."
"I'm worried too. But it's hard to take any action now since we're not sure. Once we're sure, I'll definitely find two experienced maids to help out in her courtyard."
Princess Xuan couldn't help but glance at Li Qingping's belly as she spoke. "Your Highness has been visiting your courtyard quite often lately. When Yang and the others came into the mansion, you guessed why I gave Yu Jin to you to raise, right?"
Li Qingping nodded slightly.
"I hope that even if we sisters are gone in the future, you can still live a good life in this mansion." Princess Xuan was now on the verge of tears. "You are like a lazy cat all day long, not even doing anything good. But in this world, people look down on others. You must have someone to rely on. Yu Jin is a good person, but in the end, you still need to get pregnant with a biological child as soon as possible."
Li Qingping tilted her head and said, "What nonsense are you talking about, Madam? We three sisters must be fine."
He raised his hand again, pinched his handkerchief, and wiped the tears from Princess Xuan's eyes, saying, "I know your majesty is doing this for my own good. I've done my best to look after the eldest daughter, and it's a blessing. It's not necessarily better than a biological child. A biological child depends on fate. It's not the right time, so I can't rush him to come."
"Besides, now that we have both the Empress and the Concubine, what's the difference between us sisters and biological children?"
Princess Xuan tapped her nose and smiled slightly, saying, "That seems to be true. You're really good at comforting people. My thoughts have been so fluctuating since I became pregnant, and I'm sorry to make you laugh."
Li Qingping asked someone to bring a hot water handkerchief to apply to the eyes of Princess Xuan. Hearing this, he said with concern: "Pregnancy is hard, how can this be a joke."
After Li Qingping left, Princess Xuan sighed to Huixin, "Only people like Qingping can live transparently."
"The master actually likes her personality the most."
Huixin lowered her head and didn't want to talk about her master.
Fortunately, Princess Xuan didn't need her to answer and ordered, "Go to the warehouse and send a box of bird's nest and other supplements to Qingyan. I remember there's a set of pearl head ornaments from the South China Sea in there. Send them to Qingping."
Huixin agreed and hurried away.
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