While everyone in the courtyard was restless, the Fourth Prince had already finished his meal and was resting in the main courtyard. He was exhausted from running around outside during this period, and when he returned to the mansion, he was too tired to do anything and just wanted to sleep.
The Fujin watched Yinzhen fall asleep, a bitter look flashing across her eyes. She knew that she was plain-looking and didn't know how to coax her master. So, although her master came to the main courtyard the most often each month, he only slept seven times out of ten. Even when he did have sex, it was just a quick and perfunctory affair.
A tear slid down her cheek and landed on the pillow, where it was absorbed, appearing as if it had never been there. The Fujin closed her eyes, her heart filled with bitterness from which she had no outlet. She had married the Fourth Prince at thirteen, and was only twenty-two now. She should have been in the prime of her life, yet she lived like a withered flower. Meanwhile, Li Shi, two years older than her, enjoyed the master's favor, solely because of her beautiful face. She thought of Consort Yin again; it seemed she needed to devise a plan, at least to get someone to share Li Shi's affections.
The next morning, Lin Wanqing got up early. It happened to be the fifth day of the month, and she was going to pay her respects.
"What will Princess wear today?" Chunlan dared not decide for Yin Qingyi's daily attire on her own.
"The light blue one will do," Yin Qingyi pointed to another one beside her. "The master is here today, so it's not good to be too flashy. Besides, I think it'll be quite lively today." As for her hair, she still wore those two plum blossom hairpins. She couldn't help it; she was poor. After changing into embroidered shoes, she headed towards the main courtyard. She was mainly worried about wearing platform shoes yesterday, as her feet still hurt terribly today. If she had to wear them again, her feet would probably be ruined.
When Yin Qingyi arrived, only Li Shi was not yet there; Geng Shi and Song Shi were already there.
Song Gege was still dressed in plain clothes, just like usual. However, Geng Shi was dressed very beautifully today. The jade hairpin in her hair, the jade earrings on her ears, and the bracelet on her wrist were really dazzlingly green. Of course, compared to her, they were not particularly dazzling compared to others.
When Madam Geng saw Yin Qingyi enter, her expression was not good. She had dressed up so formally today to avoid being overshadowed by Yin Qingyi, but when she saw that even in plain clothes and without any hair ornaments, Yin Qingyi still managed to overshadow her, she felt a surge of anger in her heart, which made her feel extremely uncomfortable, and her expression naturally turned sour.
Yin Qingyi naturally saw Geng's unpleasant face, but she didn't understand why. She didn't seem to have offended this Geng Gege, did she?
Before Yin Qingyi could figure it out, Song Gege arrived. After exchanging pleasantries, the three sat down. Song Gege was a quiet, reserved person, and Geng Gege seemed to dislike her, so Yin Qingyi remained silent after exchanging greetings with them. A short while later, Li Gege arrived right on time. The three stood up to greet her, and Li Gege gave them a cold snort. Knowing that the Fourth Prince was here, she still gave them a perfunctory polite greeting, though it wasn't perfect, but the three were used to it.
Not long after Lady Li sat down, the Fourth Prince and his wife came out from behind the screen and sat upright at the head of the table.
"Greetings to Master and Princess!" The four rose and bowed, with Madam Li even giving the Fourth Master a flirtatious look.
"Rise," the Fourth Prince said. The Princess Consort, watching Li's seductive appearance, nearly ground her teeth to powder. This vixen dared to seduce the Prince right in front of her! She simply didn't respect her, her Princess Consort!
"My lord, while you were away from the manor, two younger sisters came into the household. This Lady Geng came in June, and this Lady Yin came in July." The Fujin (principal wife) gathered her anger and forced a smile as she introduced Lady Yin and Lady Yin to the Fourth Prince.
"Hmm." The Fourth Prince simply hummed indifferently, seemingly unconcerned. However, the Princess Consort noticed that the Fourth Prince's gaze towards Consort Yin was noticeably different. Indeed, Consort Yin seemed to have blossomed recently. Before, her face was at most similar to Consort Li's, but lately, her face had become increasingly beautiful, sometimes even making the Princess Consort's heart race. It was impossible for the Fourth Prince, a man, to remain unmoved.
"I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be leaving now." Fourth Master was only out to support his wife; otherwise, the servants in the mansion would be difficult for her to manage. Now that he's done his job, he doesn't need to be here anymore.
"Respectfully seeing you off, sir." He rose to see him off, though he was in a hurry.
After the Fourth Master left, Madam Li sneered at Yin Qingyi. She had seen the way the Fourth Master looked at Yin Qingyi, and she wished she could tear Yin Qingyi's face off.
"..." Yin Qingyi was helpless; she had already been very low-key.
"Geng Gege is dressed quite beautifully today, but alas, compared to Yin Gege... huh." Madam Li harbored resentment towards Yin Qingyi, but she was equally displeased with Geng Gege. "Dressed up so beautifully today, isn't it just to seduce the master! Shameless!"
I don't understand how someone like Li, who is also a princess and seduced the Fourth Prince, can so readily accuse others of being shameless.
“Sister Li is right. How can I compare to Sister Yin? Sister Yin’s appearance is unparalleled in the world.” Geng Gege’s face turned pale after Li’s words. She spoke hesitantly. She was not a scheming person and could not hide her feelings. Everyone present could see the jealousy on her face.
"..." Yin Qingyi stood aside, seemingly oblivious to the situation, not participating at all, as if they weren't talking about her.
"Alright, Li, stop talking. Nobody will think you're mute. I'm tired too. Go back now." The Fujin disliked Li and naturally wouldn't let her talk about others in front of her.
Li's face darkened. She had been pampered by the Fourth Prince for so many years, so who would believe that she didn't have a temper? She had never had any respect for the Fujin, so after the Fujin finished speaking, she snorted coldly and got up to leave. However, she still had some sense of reason and knew to bow to the Fujin before leaving, otherwise she probably wouldn't be able to leave the Fujin's main courtyard safely today.
"This concubine takes her leave." Compared to Li's assertiveness, Song Gege lacked that confidence and respectfully bowed to the Fujin before withdrawing.
Geng hurriedly bowed and withdrew, just like the Fujin. At this moment, the Fujin's face was as black as the bottom of a pot, so they were better off not getting in the way.
"Mrs. Yin, stay here. I have a few words to say to you." Yin Qingyi was the last to leave. There was nothing she could do; she was the last to enter the mansion, so naturally she was the last to leave.
"Yes." Yin Qingyi was suspicious, but she couldn't refuse, after all, a higher rank could have a significant advantage.
The Fujin remained silent, looking at Chunlan beside Yin Qingyi.
"Chunlan, go outside and wait for me." Yin Qingyi immediately understood and turned to Chunlan beside her.
"Have you settled in well this past month?" the Fujin asked softly after Chunlan left.
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