"Alright, it's your business if you don't know. Don't delay your two younger sisters from paying their respects." The Fujin didn't want to argue with Li about this topic, since both of them knew the truth perfectly well.
"This humble servant, Lady Fucha, greets Your Highness." One of the women, with a pure and innocent appearance, stood up and bowed.
"This humble servant, Niohuru, greets the Fujin." The other woman looked much like the Fujin, though rather ordinary-looking, but her figure suggested she was a woman who could bear children easily—broad-shouldered, thick-waisted, and with a pert bottom.
"You're all so beautiful. Did you stay well last night? Is there anything you need?" The princess consort regained her dignified demeanor and asked with a kind smile.
"It's nothing, thank you for your concern, Madam. Nothing is lacking, Madam has arranged everything very well." Madam Fucha answered first, smiling sweetly at Madam Fucha.
Lady Fucha felt no resentment whatsoever about being assigned to the Fourth Prince's residence. She didn't think she was superior just because she was Fucha Maqi's daughter; in Fucha Maqi's heart, she wasn't even as high-ranking as his servants. If it weren't for the fact that she, as a woman, could bring him some benefits, her life would be far from good. Being able to enter the Prince's residence was already an excellent thing. Besides...
Looking at Niohuru beside her, Fucha had a hint of smugness in her eyes. Judging from her appearance, Niohuru was not the type to please men. In this way, when the Prince returned, she would definitely win first place!
The Fujin (wife) at the head of the table and the seated Li Shi (wife) did not miss the smug look in Fucha's eyes. The two women were well aware of Fucha's shallow thoughts and thought that Fucha was nothing special. On the other hand, Niohuru seemed to be much more cunning than Fucha. At least so far, Niohuru had not shown any other emotions besides being quiet and obedient.
"This concubine is the same." Niohuru showed no anger at Fucha's preemptive action, her expression and eyes remaining unchanged.
"That's good. These are for everyone who enters the manor. Take a look and see if you like them?" The Fujin looked at Niohuru with a slight glint in her eyes. Although Niohuru looked the least threatening, her calm and composed nature made people wary. She thought this to herself, but her expression did not change. She pointed to the things that the maids who were already standing to the side were holding.
Four maids stepped forward one after another, two carrying trays of clothes and two carrying jewelry, all ordinary items.
"Thank you for the gift, Madam. This concubine likes it." This time, the two thanked her at the same time. However, whether they truly liked it was unknown. After all, although they were not favored at home, they must still have a few nice things. This was quite different from the shabby appearance of Consort Yin when she first entered the mansion.
After exchanging some pleasantries, the greetings ended. Aside from her initial sarcastic remarks to the Fujin, Li Shi didn't say much afterward. However, the anxiety she felt yesterday upon hearing about the arrival of two princesses from prominent families had completely vanished. One was beautiful but brainless, the other intelligent but unattractive—neither was worth her attention. Besides, even the reasonably beautiful Fucha Shi was only slightly better looking than the Fujin; she was far inferior to Li Shi, not to mention that vixen, Yin Shi! Her biggest rival now was still Yin Shi.
What is Yin Qingyi doing in Luoxue Pavilion?
Yin Qingyi sat at the courtyard gate, her eyes frequently glancing towards the main courtyard of the Fujin (the wife of the deceased). The old nanny behind her wanted to laugh but dared not. Her mistress clearly wanted to see, having gotten up early this morning, but instead just sat there watching, refusing to move. According to the old nanny, since the Fujin had stopped the rumors—there were no more rumors in the mansion today—this was the Fujin's concession, and her mistress should know when to stop. But that wasn't what her mistress thought. Now, she was clearly dying of curiosity, but just couldn't bring herself to go.
"Time is passing so slowly today, why haven't the three little ones woken up yet?" Yin Qingyi looked at the sky, talking about the three little ones, but her eyes didn't look at the west room at all.
"The weather is getting cooler, so it's normal for the young masters to sleep longer." Granny Naqi looked at her master, whose words and actions were inconsistent, and considerately refrained from pointing it out.
"Sigh, never mind, I got up a little early today and I'm a bit sleepy now. I'll go to sleep for a while." Yin Qingyi glanced at the direction of the main courtyard again, but in the end, she didn't continue looking. She didn't want to go, and she couldn't see anything anyway, so she decided not to make things difficult for herself and just do what she had to do.
Time passed day by day, and soon another day for paying respects arrived. Yin Qingyi still did not show up. This time, Fucha and Niohuru also realized that there must be some scandalous affair between Consort Yin and the main wife. Before entering the mansion, they vaguely knew some bad rumors, but they did not take them seriously. But now it seems that it is true. However, the two of them had just entered the mansion and were different from Consort Li, who had a son and was favored. They did not dare to use this matter to ridicule the main wife. They could only quietly watch the verbal battle between the main wife and Consort Li.
"Madam, the master is back!" Just as the struggle between Madam and Lady Li reached its climax, a voice suddenly rang out, and the content of the voice stirred up a storm in the hearts of the four women present.
"Master is back? Where is he? Why so suddenly? Quickly, go to the door to greet him." After a moment of surprise, the princess consort's face immediately lit up with a smile, and she hurriedly led the people out.
"No need." Yinzhen's voice rang out at the doorway, and then he slowly came into everyone's view.
"Greetings, Your Highness!" The princess stopped and bowed with everyone else.
"Hmm." Yinzhen nodded expressionlessly and walked to the seat of honor.
"Why did you suddenly return, Master? Why didn't you send someone back to let me know? I could have taken my sisters out to greet you." The Fujin smiled as she got up and came to Yinzhen's side. She couldn't hide the joy in her eyes. This was the man she loved. How could she not be happy after not seeing him for several months?
"It was a last-minute decision." Yinzhen's expression softened, and his tone became much more relaxed. The past few days of travel had kept him on edge, and he could only relax now that he was back at his residence.
"While you were away, Mother bestowed two princesses upon you. This one is from the Fuca clan, and this one is from the Niohuru clan." The Fujin (Prince's wife) really didn't want to introduce women to Yinzhen at this time, but since the women were right there, she couldn't refuse.
"Hmm. Where is the concubine?" Yinzhen glanced around casually, but that one glance made him realize something was off since he came in. Where was that little woman?
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