"You flatter me, Madam. These things originally belonged to you. I was only temporarily managing them. Now that you have been released from confinement, these things should naturally be returned." After saying this, Yin Qingyi gestured for Qiuju to place the items on the table.
"Does the Princess Consort wish to investigate?" Yin Qingyi asked, looking at the neatly laid-out account books.
"No need. With Granny Naqi by your side watching over things, I'm at ease." The princess shook her head. She still believed that Yin Qingyi wouldn't do anything. After all, there were timestamps on the records, and any errors could be easily traced. Yin Qingyi wouldn't be so foolish as to do something like that.
"Then I'll take my leave." After saying that, Yin Qingyi turned and left without even giving the Fujin a chance to speak again.
Upon seeing this, the Fujin's face darkened. This Lady Yin really didn't take her room seriously!
As Yin Qingyi walked out of the main courtyard, the anger in her heart finally dissipated. She hadn't even told Yinzhen that she was coming to return the account book today. She knew that Yinzhen would definitely disagree if she did, so what difference did it make whether she told him or not? In any case, she didn't want to deal with these things for even a day longer. They were too much of a waste of time. She could do something else with that time.
It snowed last night. Yin Qingyi was no longer as excited as she had been last year at the sight of snow. Now, looking at the white snow at her feet, she still liked it, but she wouldn't reach out to touch it. This pure white snow was like the women who had just entered the backyard—pure and flawless. But once someone touched it, the snow was no longer pure white; it would be stained with other colors.
It was actually cold today. It snowed last night, but the sun was shining brightly today. They say it's not cold when it snows, but it is when the snow melts, and that's certainly true. Although Yin Qingyi no longer felt the cold, seeing Qiu Ju beside her, who was wearing thick clothes but was still shivering from the cold, Yin Qingyi quickened her pace to go back.
At 9:00 AM, after returning from court, Yinzhen learned that Yin Qingyi had taken the account book and authorization to the Fujin (Prince Consort). He frowned slightly, but quickly relaxed, a helpless smile on his face. These women had long since given up on managing the household. The Fujin had only just been released from confinement, yet she immediately sent it over—truly her style. Fine, he'd kept this woman in charge for months; now that it was gone, so be it. Anyway, the area was under lockdown, and even if this woman wanted to manage things, she wouldn't be able to for long. However, Yinzhen had truly never encountered a woman as powerless as Yin Qingyi. There wasn't a single woman in the inner court who didn't want the right to manage the household, but this woman was different. The power to manage the household was like a hot potato in her hands.
For the past two months, Yinzhen has finally been able to stay overnight at Luoxue Pavilion, but that's all he can do. He can see but not eat. Despite the freezing weather, Yinzhen went to court with blisters on his lips. He was even mocked by some of his brothers for this, but Yinzhen didn't care at all.
Since the end of October, the women in the back courtyard have not seen Yinzhen again. For the past few months, Yinzhen has been going to Luoxue Pavilion every day and has not seen the other women in the back courtyard at all.
This made all the women in the inner quarters extremely envious, and today Yinzhen was kept by Kangxi, which was to say that Yinzhen favored only Yin Qingyi.
"Fourth Prince, I shouldn't normally interfere in your affairs in the inner quarters, but since someone came to me about it, I have to speak with you. You can favor the women in your inner quarters, even favoring just one more than the other, but the inner quarters require equal distribution of affection, and offspring are also very important. I don't want to hear such words again, do you understand?" Kangxi said earnestly to Yinzhen, his tone carrying a hint of warning at the end. Although he wouldn't do anything to his own son, he wouldn't be so lenient with the woman who was exclusively favored.
"Yes, it is my fault for causing Father Emperor such worry." Yinzhen's heart sank, but his face remained unchanged, as if Kangxi was talking about something trivial.
"Yes, go back now. Visit your mother more often when you have time." Kangxi nodded in satisfaction and then released Yinzhen.
"Your subject understands." Yinzhen respectfully withdrew.
---------------- ...
"Go and investigate who in the back courtyard is communicating with the people outside," Yinzhen said, looking at Su Peisheng, who had just returned like him, as he pondered Kangxi's words. His eyes darkened; it seemed he hadn't been controlling the back courtyard enough. Someone had actually sent a message home without his knowledge. Luckily, he had remained calm and hadn't shown anything today, otherwise that little woman would have been remembered by her father, which wouldn't be good for her!
"Yes." Su Peisheng didn't know what had happened, since he wasn't allowed to go in, but looking at his master's dark face, Su Peisheng knew that the messenger was going to be in trouble!
Yinzhen watched Su Peisheng walk away, then glanced in the direction of Luoxue Pavilion. He ultimately decided not to go there again until he found out who it was. If he went back to that little woman, he would only be harming her. But the more he thought about it, the worse Yinzhen's expression became. This was the first time he couldn't go wherever he wanted! As a prince, Yinzhen hadn't had a very smooth childhood, but being threatened by a woman was a first for him. If he did nothing, it wouldn't be in line with his nature of loving someone to the point of wanting them to live or hating them to the point of wanting them to die.
He turned around and went back to his study, spread out a piece of paper, and wrote the four characters "戒急用忍" (jie jin yong ren) on it.
Luoxuexuan
For the past few months, Yinzhen had visited Luoxue Pavilion every single day, so Yin Qingyi had become accustomed to his comings, as had the three little ones. Today, Yinzhen hadn't arrived by lunchtime. The three little ones had frequently looked towards the door in the morning, but hadn't seen Yinzhen and were quite disappointed. Now, at lunchtime, Yinzhen still hadn't come, but Yin Qingyi's expression remained unchanged as she looked at the food on the table. She didn't wait any longer, sat down, and began to eat.
Seeing this, Granny Qi remained silent. She knew in her heart that the master couldn't possibly come every day. But after coming for a month or two, he suddenly stopped. The master didn't send anyone to tell her, which was very intriguing. Could it be that he had lost his mind again because of what happened two or three months ago?
Yin Qingyi was unaware of the old woman's wild imagination; she already knew why Yinzhen hadn't come today. In the past month or so, Yin Qingyi hadn't been idle. Although her cultivation had to stop because of Yinzhen's arrival, she had discovered a shortcut to accelerate it: Yinzhen himself. Every time Yinzhen rested at her place, although he didn't do anything, Yin Qingyi still woke up at midnight. Little Flower didn't appear at midnight every day; it had shrunk to a size that Yin Qingyi could easily hold in her hand because of Yinzhen. Yet, it still provided Yin Qingyi with golden light every midnight.
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