"I'm not joking." Yin Qingyi frowned at Yinzhen. Did this bastard even know what it meant for Honghui to be living there?
"Qingqing, I'm not joking. In my heart, you are my wife, Yinzhen's wife! What's wrong with my legitimate son living in my wife's courtyard?" Yinzhen put his arm around Yin Qingyi's shoulder, his eyes full of seriousness.
"...But I'm just a concubine. No matter what you think, it's unreasonable for Honghui to live here. If outsiders find out, they'll just say I'm audacious and covetous of a position I shouldn't be thinking about." Yin Qingyi wasn't going to be brainwashed by Yinzhen's sweet talk. This was about her reputation. She couldn't stand being accused of something she hadn't done. So, it was better for Honghui to go back to the front courtyard.
"...Let's not talk about that for now, let me see Honghui first." Yinzhen looked at this stubborn little woman and sighed inwardly, but he couldn't deny that what she said was true, so he could only change the subject for now.
"Go see for yourself. Honghui is playing with the three little ones in the west room right now." Yin Qingyi knew that Yinzhen was changing the subject. After thinking for a moment, she didn't force Yinzhen to take Honghui away now. To be honest, she felt quite sorry for Honghui after spending ten days with him. During these ten days, she had often channeled spiritual energy into Honghui, and he was no longer in a state of constant silly smiling. However, he would only say a few words when he was talking to the three little ones and her. He still ignored everyone else. What Yin Qingyi couldn't understand was that Honghui talked to her because of spiritual energy, so what about with the three little ones? She had asked Xiaohua, and the three little ones didn't have any spiritual energy on them.
Yinzhen released Yin Qingyi's shoulder and walked towards the west room, but did not go in; he just looked around from outside the door.
Inside, Honghui awkwardly held a plush toy, trying to amuse Xiaoyue'er with a serious expression, as if he were doing something very important. But Honghui's serious face wasn't scary at all in Xiaoyue'er's eyes; didn't you see her giggling? Seeing this scene, Yinzhen's eyes stung with tears. His legitimate son, the legitimate son he had carefully nurtured for two or three years—how could he not feel heartache?
As if sensing something, Honghui looked over and saw Yinzhen standing at the door. For some reason, a smile appeared on Honghui's face—a pure, innocent smile that only a child could have, unlike the forced, mature smile he had shown before. Despite being only five years old, he had been taught to be so mature. Yinzhen even felt a pang of regret, wondering if he had made a mistake before. Honghui was only five years old.
"Why isn't Your Highness going in?" Yin Qingyi couldn't help but ask as she saw Yinzhen standing at the door staring blankly into the room.
“I won’t go in. They’re having a good time, so I won’t disturb them. Qingqing, why don’t Honghui stay with you for a while longer? I can tell he really likes Yue’er and the others. And don’t you think staying with you might be helping his recovery? Look, he can control his expressions now, and he can even talk to the three little ones.” Yinzhen shook his head and left with Yin Qingyi, talking to her as they walked.
"Don't worry about what's going on outside, I'll handle it." Seeing that Yin Qingyi looked like she was about to refuse, Yinzhen immediately stopped her from speaking.
"...Can you handle things with the Emperor and Mother too?" Yin Qingyi was still somewhat reluctant to let Honghui stay at Luoxue Pavilion.
"Father already knows about this matter and agrees to Honghui staying with you. However, Father wants me to divorce Ulanara and find him a new wife." Yinzhen nodded, then pursed his lips and looked at Yin Qingyi, his expression turning somewhat unpleasant.
"...This is a good thing, have you agreed?" Yin Qingyi was displeased but showed no displeasure on her face.
"Do you want me to agree?" Yinzhen stared intently at Yin Qingyi, as if trying to discern something different in her eyes.
"What does this have to do with me? Why should I object?" Yin Qingyi looked at Yinzhen with incomprehension, as if she really didn't understand why Yinzhen would ask such a question.
"...I did not agree." Looking at Yin Qingyi like this, Yinzhen didn't know whether he was angry or disappointed. He pursed his lips and looked at Yin Qingyi for a long time before finally speaking.
"Well, you don't really need to tell me these things, Master." Yin Qingyi's somewhat gloomy mood instantly brightened, but her expression remained largely unchanged.
"Yin Qingyi, do you know why I'm telling you this? Don't you want to..." For the first time, Yinzhen addressed Yin Qingyi by her full name with such seriousness.
"Your Majesty, some things should be thought through before spoken. And some things are not things I can obtain simply by wishing for them; I am aware of this." Yin Qingyi interrupted Yinzhen's next words. She knew her own family background. His, Yinzhen's, principal wife could only be a woman from a prominent Manchu family! This was unchangeable, at least during Kangxi's reign. Kangxi would never allow a woman from a Han Bannerman family with such a low official rank to become Yinzhen's principal wife.
"That's why I didn't agree. Qingqing, your brother's literary talent is quite good. He's made great progress this year. Before the new year, he passed the examination for a seventh-rank scribe, and today he's been promoted to a sixth-rank official in the Court of Imperial Sacrifices. I believe that in a few years, your brother will definitely be among the third-rank officials, and then your status will be worthy of being his principal wife." Yinzhen held Yin Qingyi's hand, his voice low but revealing his excitement and satisfaction with Yin Qingyi's brother. His brother-in-law was indeed impressive, supporting his wife.
"???? Such a big thing and no one in the family told me?" Yin Qingyi hadn't expected her brother to pass the exam so quietly, and now even have a higher official position than their father. Although she had never met this adoptive father and adoptive brother, Yin Qingyi knew that family was highly valued in this era. Whether she wanted to be related to these two or not, their relationship with her was obvious—they shared both prosperity and adversity. Therefore, Yin Qingyi was still happy about this good news.
"Ahem, maybe your family thought I would tell you, so they didn't write. But anyway, this is a good thing, isn't it? I'll take you back to meet your family in a while." Yinzhen coughed awkwardly. At that time, he was out of sorts, wasn't he? He hadn't even come to Luoxue Pavilion, so how could he talk to this little woman about this? By the time he came to his senses, he had long forgotten about it.
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