Yinzhen held Tong Cheng'er's hand tightly, not letting go even when they entered Consort Wuya's room.
As soon as I went in, before I even saw anyone, I heard bursts of laughter and chatter coming from inside.
Yinzhen and Tong Cheng'er both recognized the voice as that of the Fourteenth Prince.
Tong Cheng'er never expected to run into the Fourteenth Prince; this was truly the first time she had ever encountered him.
However, upon hearing the laughter and chatter inside, and seeing Consort Wuya speaking to the Fourteenth Prince with gentleness and tenderness, she felt extremely uncomfortable and saddened, and at the same time, she began to feel pity for Yinzhen.
Tong Cheng'er gripped Yinzhen's hand tightly. Yinzhen was taken aback, but instantly understood her thoughts. In fact, he had long since felt indifferent.
Love breeds fear, and he now only feels an inescapable responsibility towards Consort Wuya, and his heart is no longer disturbed by anything she does.
However, seeing that his little wife was holding his hand tightly, Yinzhen felt that it might be good for her to continue misunderstanding him. Thinking this, Yinzhen's eyes changed, and in an instant, he began to look dejected.
Tong Cheng'er felt a pang of sympathy watching this, thinking that Consort Wuya was truly a "scoundrel," and that the Fourteenth Prince, showing off his maternal love during the New Year was going too far.
And so, Tong Cheng'er went inside, seething with anger.
The moment the two entered, the atmosphere in the room changed instantly, becoming much colder.
Especially Consort Wuya, whose face changed faster than a painted face, leaving Tong Cheng'er in awe.
Yinzhen and Tong Cheng'er bowed: "Your subject and daughter-in-law greet Mother."
Consort Wuya said calmly, without a smile, "Get up."
"Thank you, Mother."
After saying "Get up," Consort Wuya ignored the two of them. Tong Cheng'er was no pushover, and pulled Yinzhen down to sit. Consort Wuya looked very annoyed, but she didn't say anything.
They eventually became more docile, until they couldn't win the fight.
Sofas have evolved into sofa chairs. Although Consort Wuya was not favored and was confined to her quarters for many years, Yinzhen did not mistreat her materially.
Everything inside Yonghe Palace is of high quality.
Tong Cheng'er sat comfortably on the soft sofa chair.
I'm a little thirsty after walking for so long.
She directly instructed the palace maid in the room, "My master and I have been traveling together and are quite thirsty. I remember that Mother should have some excellent Longjing tea here, which our master likes. Go and brew a pot of it."
She didn't stand on ceremony at all and immediately served the teapot.
Consort Wuya became even angrier upon hearing this.
The Fourteenth Prince was stunned. His Fourth Sister-in-law was acting so disrespectfully! She was giving orders to the palace maids who served his mother more casually than she was giving orders to him. And she hadn't even told her to sit down before she sat down. How rude of her!
He looked at his mother sitting at the head of the table, angry but unable to speak out. He couldn't help but feel angry. He was a hot-tempered man. Before the Longjing tea was served, he frowned and said to Yinzhen, "Fourth brother, how did you teach your sister-in-law? She sat down there without being told to by Mother. That's so unruly."
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen frowned and looked at the Fourteenth Prince with displeasure in his eyes: "Are you teaching me how to do things?"
The Fourteenth Prince was already somewhat intimidated by Yinzhen, and upon hearing this, he was startled. However, thinking of his mother's appearance just now, he realized that she had been bullied and dared not speak.
They've gone way too far.
"I didn't say anything wrong. It's just that Fourth Sister-in-law is too unruly."
Yinzhen's expression turned cold. Just as he was about to say something, Tong Cheng'er interrupted him: "Fourteenth Brother, you must have misunderstood. The first time I came to pay my respects to Mother, she hesitated to let me sit down with you. I thought that Mother, being such a kind and benevolent person, would certainly not be the kind of cruel mother-in-law who torments her daughter-in-law like in the stories, so I took it upon myself to sit down. Mother didn't say I did anything wrong. Later, I understood that Mother was just too embarrassed to speak up, so after paying my respects, I didn't bother Mother to say anything and just sat down. After all, Mother, being such a kind-hearted person, would certainly not care about such a small matter."
After saying that, she changed the subject and said, "What you're saying, Fourteenth Brother, makes it seem like Mother isn't kind enough. Anyone who doesn't know better would think Mother deliberately didn't let me sit down with Master!"
"Furthermore, since our fourteenth brother has been sitting the whole time, if we were to stand, it would damage his reputation if word got out."
Upon hearing this, the Fourteenth Prince was stunned and didn't know what to say. If he refuted her, it seemed like there was nothing wrong with what she said. The key issue was that if he refuted her, wouldn't it imply that his mother was unkind?
Can I not refute it?
Her words just made me feel uncomfortable.
Consort Wuya spoke up: "It's been a while since we last met, and Consort Yinzhen has become even more sharp-tongued."
Tong Cheng'er smiled and said, "It's all thanks to my mother's excellent teaching. I learned it from her."
Consort Wuya: "Your fourteenth brother is young and naive, so don't joke with him, or he might take it seriously."
Tong Cheng'er covered her mouth and smiled shyly: "Mother is right. I said too much just now. After all, Fourteenth Brother is indeed young, only one or two years old."
Upon hearing this, the Fourteenth Prince blushed, not out of embarrassment, but out of shame and anger.
He didn't feel young; he was already twelve. At his age, the Ninth Prince had already begun to stand on his own. He didn't want to show his weaknesses in front of people he disliked.
He felt that being told he was young was a weakness.
"Mother, your son is not young anymore."
Yinzhen watched from the side, and was very pleased, as long as his little princess hadn't suffered any loss.
“What Fourteenth Brother says is true. Mother, please stop treating Fourteenth Brother like a child. He’s twelve years old, and he can choose a wife next year.”
He'll be thirteen next year. Once the chosen one is decided, and they get married in a year or two, he'll be fourteen or fifteen. That's quite old for a prince who grew up in the palace.
Consort Wuya felt a lump in her throat and couldn't speak.
This son was born to collect debts; he just can't stand what he says.
She completely forgot that the uncomfortable topic was initially brought up by her youngest son.
Consort Wuya was somewhat restrained in front of the Fourteenth Prince, but she didn't give Yinzhen and Tong Cheng'er a friendly look. The Fourteenth Prince felt very depressed, but he couldn't break the situation, so he was restless.
Consort Wuya was furious when she saw Yinzhen and Tong Cheng'er, so naturally she couldn't be happy.
On the other hand, Yinzhen and Tong Cheng'er seemed very comfortable and didn't act like outsiders at all.
Finally, the Fourteenth Prince could not hold back any longer and said, "Mother, I just remembered that I have an appointment with the Thirteenth Brother today, so I will take my leave now and come to see you another day."
Consort Wuya nodded: "Alright, go ahead. It's cold, so tell the nanny to give you an extra layer of clothing when you go out."
The Fourteenth Prince nodded: "Thank you for your concern, Mother. I will take my leave now."
Then he casually greeted Yinzhen and Tong Cheng'er and left.
After the Fourteenth Prince left, Yinzhen and Tong Cheng'er didn't stay long either and left as well.
After leaving Yonghe Palace, Tong Cheng'er grasped Yinzhen's hand tightly, and Yinzhen returned the grip, everything understood without words.
The two walked slowly for a while before parting ways.
After parting ways, Tong Cheng'er was on her way to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace. On the way, she happened to run into the Third Princess Consort carrying Hongqing. The two greeted each other with smiles and then entered the Cining Palace together.
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