Especially after seeing this otherworldly beauty and the two identical people, everyone who saw Yinzhen for the first time turned to Qingyin and Aluna. The image of the man who had just been secretly praised by the people was instantly degraded to the bottom in comparison with them.
On his own, Yinzhen is alright; he is excellent in every aspect. However, when he is placed next to the other young men, he instantly becomes an eyesore.
At this moment, the young ladies and commoners who had come to their senses threw the flowers and handkerchiefs in their hands at Qingyin and the others. The young ladies who had already finished throwing could only look at the flowers of others with secret regret, while a few clever ones secretly picked up the flowers they had thrown and threw them at Qingyin and the others.
Qingyin and Aluna skillfully dodged some overly heavy expressions of affection, which amused Yinzhen. On the way, he teased the popular Qingyin a few more times. Since the two of them did not have a residence in the capital, Yinzhen secretly took them to his residence.
Qingyin had a slight headache. She had originally planned to become a general and stay in Tibet, but now the Fourteenth Prince's attitude showed that he didn't want to just be her superior. Helplessly, she thought she would just give up and take it one step at a time.
Night fell, the black curtain of the palace was dotted with countless stars, and the bright moon was half-obscured by a cloud of white mist, bringing a faint light into the pitch-black palace.
In the master bedroom of the Fourteenth Prince's residence, two lamps, long since extinguished, remained lit. Yinzhen, who should have been fast asleep, lay awake, his eyes wide with excitement, as if he could see through the wall to the other side of the room. He had arranged for Qingyin and Aluna to stay in the courtyard closest to him—Qinghua Courtyard, the courtyard where the primary consort should reside. It shouldn't be there, yet in this prince's residence, besides his own courtyard, Qinghua Courtyard was the best place to live. Even if his father, the Emperor, wouldn't agree to him marrying a man, this very fantasy filled him with immense joy. Thinking of Qingyin, Yinzhen felt both sweetness and pain, but soon a resolute look returned to his eyes. Amidst this strange mix of excitement and melancholy, Yinzhen finally fell asleep.
The next day, amidst the servants' unusual enthusiasm, Qingyin refused their service and changed into the clothes prepared by Yinzhen. However, the maids still did her hair. Unfortunately, Qingyin only knew how to do a ponytail after all these years, so she could only ask the maids for help with any slightly more demanding hairstyle. The maids blushed and shyly prepared Qingyin's hairstyle, and the same was true for Aluna on the other side.
This time when they entered the palace, Yinzhen prepared clothes of the same color for Qingyin and Aluna. Both of them wore a pure green robe with bamboo patterns embroidered on the edge. Even though it was just a court robe, Qingyin and Aluna, who were dressed formally for the first time, still caught Yinzhen's eye. There was an imperceptible tenderness in his eyes when he looked at Qingyin.
Aruna looked at Yinzhen, who had returned to the capital and was much more refined, and felt somewhat restrained. He didn't treat him like he used to.
Yinzhen keenly sensed this, and he laughed as he used to, saying, "Alright, Brother Ana and your younger brother, come with me."
Seeing that Yinzhen was just like before, Aluna relaxed and got into the carriage with the calm Qingyin.
The distance from the Prince's residence to the palace wasn't far, and they soon arrived at the city gate. Upon reaching the palace gate, Qingyin and the others disembarked from the Prince's carriage and turned onto a palace carriage heading towards the court, leaving amidst the astonished gazes of the guards at the palace gate.
Qingyin followed Yinzhen into the court. Since they did not yet have a rank, Qingyin and Aluna could not follow behind Yinzhen and could only stand at the very back of the military officers. Even if the people in the court were shocked, they had to pay attention to their facial expressions and actions at all times. Only the military officers in this area noticed Qingyin and Aluna. The most familiar ones among them were undoubtedly Chen Qingyue and Lin Cheng'an. The two looked over with excited eyes. Qingyin and Aluna nodded and stood behind them, while Yinzhen could only stand in front.
"The Emperor has arrived—" came the sharp announcement from the eunuch.
In the imperial court, officials dressed in various official robes stood solemnly and respectfully in the main hall, bowing. Qingyin and Aluna naturally followed suit and bowed as well. A figure that all the officials were very familiar with landed on the golden dragon throne. The middle-aged man was slightly overweight, but his features were still distinct. His imposing features still showed signs of his youthful handsomeness. However, none of the officials present dared to scrutinize the emperor's appearance as he sat on the dragon throne.
Emperor Kangxi rested his hands on the dragon throne, looking at the officials below with a sense of ease. Having devoted half his life to governing the country, every move he made exuded a sense of superiority and solemnity. However, his eyes, with a slight smile, looked down at the handsome young man standing below who bore some resemblance to him and was somewhat tanned.
"Get up, all of you!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty. Long live the Emperor!"
After the ceremony, everyone stood up respectfully.
Yinzhen wore a jade crown and a dark blue python robe with a gold thread embroidered along the edges. His black waist sash was adorned with two jade ornaments as white as mutton fat, making him both magnificent and imposing. Standing among the assembled civil and military officials, he was quite conspicuous, and several princes were secretly watching their fourteenth brother, who had rendered such great service.
Emperor Kangxi observed Yinzhen openly and secretly for half a day and found that he was much more composed than usual, like a sword that had been drawn from its sheath, gleaming with a sharp and dangerous light. He was satisfied and raised his rating of this son in his heart.
"My fourteenth son, Yinzhen, has rendered meritorious service in protecting Tibet and is indeed a fine general. I am greatly pleased and hereby bestow upon him the title of Gushan Beizi."
Yinzhen took two steps forward and kowtowed to Emperor Kangxi, saying, "Your subject thanks Your Majesty for the reward."
The princes and the crown prince looked at Yinzhen, who had been directly granted a title, with different expressions. Their eyes darkened. It seemed that the Fourteenth Prince's victory over the Mongols this time had indeed pleased their father, the Emperor.
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