The road to the palace wasn't long to begin with, and the two of them arrived at the palace gate in the time it took to chat for a while. Once they arrived at the gate, they had to get off the carriage. In the palace, unless there was an entourage, everyone had to walk on the ground. The distance from the palace gate to Yonghe Palace was quite a distance.
"Wrap the three little ones up tightly, so they don't catch a chill." Yin Qingyi looked at the three little ones sleeping soundly in the arms of the three wet nurses with concern.
"Yes, Consort, please rest assured," the three wet nurses replied respectfully.
"You should also be careful," Yinzhen couldn't help but remind Yin Qingyi, who was only concerned about the child.
"Yes, Your Highness too." Yin Qingyi nodded. Although she didn't feel cold, she still accepted Yinzhen's concern.
Meanwhile, the Fujin, who had only brought Honghui with her, had already gotten off the carriage and was waiting. Seeing that the carriage hadn't moved for a long time, the Fujin's face was as black as the bottom of a pot. If it weren't for the inappropriate occasion, the Fujin would probably have turned away and left to avoid seeing it. Fortunately, it was still dark, so it wasn't noticeable unless you looked closely.
Yinzhen lifted the carriage curtain and looked at his consort waiting below. He paused slightly before getting off the carriage and waiting below. Next was Consort Yin, followed by three wet nurses carrying children.
After everyone came down, Yinzhen turned and walked towards the palace. His wife followed beside him, while Yin Qingyi lagged behind on his left rear side. This was Yin Qingyi's disadvantage in formal occasions. In the end, a secondary wife was not suitable to be a primary wife. She could never stand by Yinzhen's side. Only his wife could stand by his side!
Yinzhen naturally reached out to hold Yin Qingyi's hand, but grasped only empty air. Looking to his side, he only saw his wife. His wife always kept her hands in front of her when she walked, so Yinzhen's outstretched hand did not reach hers.
Yinzhen turned to the left and saw Yin Qingyi following him respectfully, half a step behind him with her head bowed. Yinzhen couldn't help but purse his lips, feeling a pang of guilt. This was the first time Yinzhen felt he had wronged Yin Qingyi by not giving her the position of his principal wife.
Meanwhile, the Fujin beside Yinzhen, watching his movements and Yin Qingyi's half-step-behind posture, felt all the resentment that had been building up in her heart for so long suddenly dissipate. So what if he's favored? Only she will stand by his side! And in formal occasions, only she will be allowed to appear beside him!
Walking behind, Yin Qingyi didn't share the complicated thoughts of the other two. She was only worried about whether the three children would get cold; she didn't care about anything else. She was a concubine; wasn't this normal? She didn't think she could ever reach Yinzhen's side under such circumstances; she was certain she wouldn't survive the day. Emperor Kangxi would be the first to not forgive her.
The three walked along with different thoughts, and soon reached the place where they parted ways.
"I'm going to pay my respects to Father Emperor. You all go to Mother's palace. Consort, you must take good care of them and the children, understand?" Yinzhen instructed from the crossroads, glancing at Consort with a hint of warning in his eyes.
"I understand, Your Highness, please go quickly." The Fujin was in a good mood at the moment and didn't mind Yinzhen's attitude.
Yinzhen glanced at Yin Qingyi again, and seeing that the young woman still had her head down, he regretted for the first time bringing her into the palace. Her status was still too low; anyone in the palace could be of higher status than her. After pursing his lips, Yinzhen turned and left.
After Yinzhen left, the Fujin glanced at Yin Qingyi, who had become well-behaved since entering the palace, and a mocking look flashed in her eyes. How arrogant this woman was in the mansion, but she became well-behaved after entering the palace.
The Fujin (principal wife) led Honghui ahead, walking slowly. Firstly, it was only just dawn, and she was afraid of falling if she walked too fast because she couldn't see the road ahead clearly. Secondly, she was holding Honghui's hand, and since Honghui was small and had small steps, he couldn't keep up if she walked too fast.
Even before they reached Yonghe Palace, palace servants immediately rushed forward and handed them hot water bottles. This action stunned not only the Princess Consort but also Consort Yin! What happened to the supposed discord between mother and son and the mistreatment of her daughter-in-law? Something seems off here.
"Her Majesty got up early to wait for you. Please come in quickly." Zhang Mama's face was full of smiles, especially when she saw the swaddled babies in the hands of the three old women behind Yin Qingyi. Her smile was so wide that her eyes disappeared.
One glance was enough to tell everyone why she was being treated this way. The once pretty face of the Fujin immediately turned pale. She had said that she had never been treated like this before. What was the meaning of this today? It turned out to be because of this Yin Shi! She was clearly a concubine, yet she was being treated much better than the principal wife. No wonder the Fujin looked so unhappy. However, the Fujin knew that even if she was upset, she couldn't show her displeasure to the Consort De. She suppressed her anger and her face returned to normal.
A group of more than ten people walked into Yonghe Palace one after the other. The main reason was that Yin Qingyi's group was the large number of people. There were three children and three wet nurses, so the wet nurses and Yin Qingyi alone made up eight people, which directly accounted for more than half of the group.
"Daughter-in-law greets Mother." The Fujin stepped forward and bowed.
"Greetings, Consort De." Yin Qingyi then greeted her with a bow.
"Rise, all of you. You must be Lady Yin? Just call me Mother. I've wanted to meet you for a long time, but I've always been busy. Seeing you today, I can see you are indeed a beauty. No wonder the Fourth Prince dotes on you. Please sit down and have some hot tea to ward off the chill." Consort De looked at Lady Yin's face with a slight glint in her eyes. She was indeed very beautiful, but why did she not recognize this Lady Yin? Logically speaking, she should remember someone so beautiful. Moreover, in her previous life, Lady Yin was just an unknown concubine in the Fourth Prince's harem. It was Lady Li who was made a secondary consort. It seems that many things are different in this life.
"Thank you, Mother." Yin Qingyi did not refuse. Although she kept her head down, Yin Qingyi could see Defei's expression clearly. Defei was indeed problematic. She wondered if she was reborn or transmigrated. But no matter which one it was, she was a hidden bomb for Defei. They all knew about Yinzhen's inner court arrangements, and her sudden rise to the position of concubine was very eye-catching.
However, seeing that Consort De seemed to have no intention of doing anything to her, Consort Yin could only wait and see.
"Are the children still sleeping? Did they catch a chill on the journey?" Consort De nodded in satisfaction. She was neither humble nor arrogant, which was very good. Then she looked at the three infants in their swaddling clothes.
"She's still asleep. She hasn't woken up the whole way. I had the wet nurses wrap her up very carefully. She hasn't been exposed to any wind. Thank you for your concern, Mother," Yin Qingyi replied with a light laugh. She seemed oblivious to the slightly pale complexion of the Fujin beside her.
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