"Thank you for the reward, Master!" Qiu Ju, Ming Yue, and Feng Qing happily accepted the gold leaves, not feeling that there was anything wrong with it at all. Seeing this, Granny Qi didn't say anything either. It was a rare Spring Festival in a year, so let them have a few days of fun and celebration.
For fifteen days in a row, Yin Qingyi went crazy at Luoxuexuan. She kept losing after she woke up on New Year's Eve, but after that day, her luck suddenly improved and she won every day. At first, Qiuju and the others were mostly smiling even though they lost. But after losing for three days in a row, they all looked miserable, and their savings were about to be gone.
With a wave of her hand, Yin Qingyi reimbursed everyone for their daily losses, which allowed Qiu Ju and the others to continue playing with her. Otherwise, they probably wouldn't have dared to play with her long ago.
So when Yinzhen returned to Luoxue Pavilion, he wasn't greeted by the sounds of soft fragrance and gentle touches of a woman playing cards. Yinzhen simply watched quietly from the doorway, not going in to disturb her. It was rare to see this young woman with such a happy expression, and Yinzhen wanted to see her a little longer. Yinzhen didn't think there was anything wrong with Yin Qingyi playing cards. There wasn't much to do in the backyard anyway; if she couldn't do this or that, how much fun would she miss out on?
"Master? Why aren't you coming in? It's so cold outside." It was Granny Naqi who first saw Yinzhen's figure. Looking at her master who was still playing cards, Granny Naqi said softly.
"Hmm, just came to check on things. It seems this little woman has been living quite comfortably these past ten days or so." Yinzhen entered after being discovered, and whispered with Granny Qi.
"Yes, Master has been quite happy these past ten days. So this old servant hasn't interfered. I hope Master won't blame me?" Granny Qi was still a little worried. Playing cards in the backyard was just a pastime, but if the master didn't want the people in the mansion to play these games, then they couldn't play them. Master is usually very rigid, so she didn't know if he would get angry.
"Why blame her? As long as she's happy, that's all that matters. She's already bored being alone in this backyard, and now that she finally has something to do, let her play. Just make sure she doesn't play for too long each day, and that she gets up and walks around after playing for a while," Yinzhen said gently.
"Of course, even if Master doesn't say it, he knows it himself." Granny Qi breathed a sigh of relief, and her tone became lighter.
"Eh? What brings you here? Weren't you supposed to be going to the palace?" Yin Qingyi saw Yinzhen at this moment and asked with some confusion.
"...It seems she's really having too much fun to remember the day. Today is already sixteen, what would I do in the palace?" Yinzhen was both amused and exasperated by Yin Qingyi's question. It seemed this little woman had forgotten the days because she had been having so much fun for the past two weeks.
"...Really? Hehe." Yin Qingyi's smile froze for a moment before she gave an awkward laugh.
"Greetings, Master." Qiu Ju and the others' expressions changed drastically upon seeing Yinzhen, and they knelt on the ground awaiting punishment.
"You can't punish them. I'm the one who let them play with me. You can punish me instead." Yin Qingyi suddenly remembered this and quickly stood up to say.
"Oh? Then tell me how I should punish you?" Yinzhen originally wanted to get Qiuju and the other two up directly, but after hearing what Yin Qingyi said, he couldn't help but want to tease her.
"...Are you really going to punish me?" Yin Qingyi was just saying it casually, but she didn't expect Yinzhen to actually think that way. She stared at Yinzhen with wide eyes in disbelief.
"Didn't you say you couldn't punish them but you should? I just did what you wanted, why are you angry?" Yinzhen suppressed the urge to laugh and said with a straight face.
"Then, then tell me, how do you want to punish me?" Yin Qingyi was speechless, then put her hands on her hips, raised her head, and asked angrily.
"Hmm~ I'll punish you - make sure you eat your fill every day and are happy every day. I'll also punish you - you must tell me anything that's on your mind and not keep it bottled up inside." Yinzhen looked at Yin Qingyi seriously after seemingly thinking for a while.
"..." Yin Qingyi's face was still angry. After hearing Yinzhen's first sentence, Yin Qingyi's eyes widened even more in disbelief. After Yinzhen finished speaking, Yin Qingyi didn't know what expression to make. She just stared blankly at Yinzhen without saying a word.
"What's wrong? You don't accept this punishment?" Yinzhen's expression softened upon seeing this. This little fox could be so silly; it was truly adorable.
"You did that on purpose! You weren't angry at all, you were just teasing me!" Yin Qingyi blinked, finally realizing that this person was actually teasing her!
"No, I'm angry, so are you going to accept the punishment or not?" Yinzhen looked at Yin Qingyi very seriously. He hadn't thought of this before, but now that he had brought it up, he felt that the punishment was indeed necessary.
"Your punishment is quite unique, but it's useless. I'm just like this, why would I need you to punish me?" Yin Qingyi pouted and turned back to sit on the couch.
"Then I'll take that as your admission. Have the two babies in your belly been bothering you these past two weeks?" Seeing this, Yinzhen also sat on the couch and gently placed his hand on Yin Qingyi's belly.
"No, she's been very good. She hasn't even been picky about food these days. She eats whatever is offered." Yin Qingyi shook her head, her face glowing with a gentle light.
"Okay, eat whatever you want. If you don't have it, I'll have Su Xiaobao go outside and buy it for you." Yinzhen's hands softened even more upon hearing this. These two little ones were more sensible than their older brothers and sisters.
"I don't really crave anything. Right now, everything tastes delicious. I've gained a lot of weight in the last two weeks." Yin Qingyi touched her noticeably plumper face, feeling troubled. She really wasn't sure if Yinzhen would still dote on her like this if she became ugly? Would he still leave the backyard empty with just her by his side?
"You've definitely gained weight, but you look even better." Yinzhen was glared at by Yin Qingyi when he said the first part, but she laughed as soon as he finished the second part. Yinzhen found it amusing to see Yin Qingyi's emotions so open; it seemed this little woman's emotions had changed a lot during this pregnancy.
"I remember that we should have gone to court after the fifteenth day of the first lunar month. Why didn't we go to court today?" Yin Qingyi was satisfied, and her voice became gentler. She looked at Yinzhen with some doubt.
"Yes, Father Emperor said that court will resume tomorrow." Yinzhen nodded. He was also puzzled, but it was Father Emperor's decision, and no one dared to say anything. Father Emperor had given the court a complete overhaul before the New Year, and now no one in the court dared to offend Father Emperor.
Meanwhile, Emperor Kangxi, who was the subject of much discussion, was currently writing an imperial edict. As for the content of the edict, it was likely to be something that would turn the court upside down.
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