"Let's put this screen up now. We'll leave the old one in the storeroom." Yin Qingyi stroked the peach blossom screen with obvious affection.
"Yes." Xiao Jinzi quickly agreed, then went out to find two rough eunuchs. After all, they were still injured and it was good enough that they could serve the princess normally. Moving things was really not an option, and they didn't want to break the princess's beloved screen.
After the eunuch finished setting up the screen, Chunlan returned with the meal. Yin Qingyi sat at the table, somewhat bewildered by the sumptuous feast.
"Chunlan, even though we have some money now, we can't go on such a lavish feast." Yin Qingyi felt sorry for her; how much silver must have been spent to prepare such a sumptuous meal?
"???" Chunlan was completely confused. What did that mean?
"How much money did you spend on these dishes?" Qiuju asked in a low voice.
"I didn't use any money," Chunlan said innocently, looking at Qiuju.
"Then why is it so lavish today?" Qiuju was also puzzled.
"I don't know, they brought it up for me after I went to the kitchen." Chunlan shook her head again.
"Oh well, it's a good thing, isn't it?" Yin Qingyi couldn't figure it out, so she stopped thinking about it. As long as it was free, that was fine. She sat down and happily started eating. Mmm, delicious!
Having eaten and drunk her fill, Yin Qingyi wanted to take a walk to digest her food, but after glancing at her legs, she decided against it and decided to continue admiring her screen.
However, a screen is an inanimate object, and no matter how much you like it, you can't stare at it for too long. Before long, Yin Qingyi got bored.
"Qiuju, go and fetch the Three Character Classic that the master sent yesterday." Finally, Yin Qingyi remembered the Three Character Classic that Yinzhen had bestowed upon her. Let's take a look at the book.
Holding the Three Character Classic handed to her by Qiuju, Yin Qingyi tried to read the characters according to her memory. She had to admit that the characters in ancient times were difficult to recognize. If she hadn't known the Three Character Classic, she probably wouldn't have been able to recognize many characters.
"Princess, you actually recognize the characters above! That's amazing! I get dizzy just looking at characters." Chunlan looked at Yin Qingyi with admiration.
"She only knows a few characters." Yin Qingyi shook her head with amusement. Even as an undergraduate, she was illiterate in the Qing Dynasty.
Yin Qingyi was engrossed in reading the Three Character Classic when Yinzhen returned to the front courtyard.
"Has the screen been sent?" Yinzhen asked as soon as he returned.
"...This servant will go and fetch someone to report back." Su Peisheng thought to himself, "This servant went to court with you all morning and did errands with you. How would I know if the screen has been delivered or not?"
"This servant Su Xiaobao greets Your Highness. The screen was delivered early this morning." Su Xiaobao and Su Peisheng entered together and knelt down to reply.
"Does Lady Yin like it?" Yinzhen asked in a low voice.
"Princess Yin liked it very much. After I brought out the screen, her eyes couldn't leave it. She even rewarded me handsomely." Su Xiaobao had received so much silver from Consort Yin, so naturally he wouldn't say anything bad about her.
"Hmm, you may leave." Yinzhen's expression was unreadable, but only Su Peisheng, who knew him well, knew that his master was very satisfied with the answer.
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Half a month passed quickly. During this period, things were peaceful. Every two or three days, Yinzhen would come to Luoxue Pavilion to dine with Yin Qingyi. However, he wouldn't stay there. He would either go to Li Shi, or to the Fujin (the Prince Consort) or Geng Shi. It's worth mentioning, though, that Geng Shi somehow offended Li Shi. For the past half month, whenever Yinzhen went to Geng Shi's place, nine times out of ten, Li Shi would intercept him. Yin Qingyi was happy to have some peace and quiet, watching the drama unfold with great amusement.
"We were originally going to visit Lady Geng today, but then someone from Lady Li's side came. Master was about to step into Lady Geng's courtyard but couldn't, and instead went to Lady Li's Luoying Courtyard instead," Xiao Jinzi said to Yin Qingyi while fanning her.
"I'm so curious! How did Geng offend Li? In the past two weeks, Master has visited Geng three times, and Li intercepted him each time." Yin Qingyi was dying of curiosity.
"I heard that when you paid your respects on the second day after your leg injury, Lady Geng said that your words contained references to the prince, which is why Lady Li held a grudge against you." Xiao Jinzi had been investigating how Lady Geng had offended Lady Li for the past few days, and today he finally figured it out. He could only say that Lady Geng deserved it!
"Oh? How did talking about me lead to the prince?" Yin Qingyi asked, puzzled. Did they think she was pregnant after only serving the emperor once?
"Because you didn't go, Geng Gege mocked you, saying that you didn't have any princes to take care of, so why were you late? Doesn't that mean that Li Gege is always late because she has to take care of princes? That's why Li Gege has been using the excuse of princes to intercept the master every time for the past half month." Xiao Jinzi told Yin Qingyi the whole story.
"...Is...is Lady Geng not quite right in the head?" Yin Qingyi was stunned. Even if it was true, how could she say it out loud? How could she so blatantly say that Lady Li deliberately used taking care of the prince as an excuse to arrive late?
At this moment, Madam Geng was so angry that she was about to go crazy. After smashing and destroying things in the mansion, she sat on the edge of the bed, panting heavily.
"Princess, please calm down," Xiao Cui, who was beside Madam Geng, said cautiously.
"Li Shi is going too far!" Geng Shi said through gritted teeth. All she did was say one wrong thing! She'd intercepted her master three times! She was seething with hatred. Tomorrow, during the morning greetings, she'd likely be mocked by that vile woman Li again. So what if she had a prince? Without a prince, what was Li Shi anyway!
The next morning, Yin Qingyi got up early. She hadn't originally planned to go to pay her respects today, since there were still a day or two left before her half-month recovery period. However, she really wanted to see a play, so going out a day or two early wouldn't hurt. She felt her knee was already healed, just a little bruised, which looked alarming on her fair skin, but it was actually painless and didn't itch anymore. But she still had to put on an act, so with Qiuju's support, Yin Qingyi slowly walked to the main courtyard.
"Is Princess Yin all better?" Granny Li asked, somewhat surprised to see Yin Qingyi.
"I'm almost done. I just happened to come to pay my respects today," Yin Qingyi replied with a slight smile.
"Quickly help your princess inside to sit down. Her leg has just healed, so she can't stand for long," said Granny Li hurriedly.
When Yin Qingyi went inside, she found that she had arrived quite early. Only Song was there; Geng and Li had not yet arrived.
"Sister Song." Yin Qingyi gave a slight bow.
"Sister Yin." Song Gege quickly stood up to return the greeting.
"Is Sister Yin's leg all better?" Song Gege asked softly.
"Yes, it's almost done," Yin Qingyi replied softly.
The two weren't very familiar with each other, and after exchanging a few words, they fell silent. Fortunately, the silence didn't last long, as Madam Geng arrived. However, Madam Geng had just had her master intercepted by Madam Li the night before, and she didn't want to talk either. Even when she saw Yin Qingyi, she merely glared at her before sitting down.
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