Her voice was soft and sweet, but after she finished speaking, she shrank her neck, as if she was a little nervous and afraid that he would be angry. Her eyes were wide open as she looked at Yinzhen, as if waiting for his reaction.
Yinzhen was exasperated by Qian Shengyan's gaze, so he reluctantly reached out and covered her eyes, speaking gently: "You're only allowed to call me that when no one's around... Alright, go to sleep."
"Mmm!" Qian Shengyan pulled Yinzhen's hand away, kissed it, then turned over, hugged his hand, closed her eyes, and fell into a sweet sleep.
Yinzhen couldn't help but find it amusing, but he didn't pull his hand away, letting her hold him as he closed his eyes and fell asleep.
The first day of the month in the fifty-third year of the Kangxi reign.
Qian Shengyan was woken up early in the morning. She had gone to bed late last night and sat up listlessly. Qingxue slapped a cool handkerchief on her face, and she woke up with a hiss.
"Where is the Prince? Has he already gone to meet the Emperor?" Qian Shengyan asked, pulling down her handkerchief.
Qingxue nodded: "He left at the beginning of Yin hour."
Wow, it's four in the morning, so Yinzhen only slept for less than three hours.
Being a prince is really not easy...
Qian Shengyan felt a pang of sympathy, but then she remembered something else: last night, Yinzhen had specifically mentioned that someone wanted to see her today.
"Are there any guests?" Qian Shengyan asked curiously.
Qingxue pondered for a moment and shook her head: "We have sent many New Year's gifts, but apart from the Nian family coming to pay their respects to Consort Nian, no one has come to visit."
Qian Shengyan nodded, but to her surprise, as soon as she got up, a young eunuch came to invite her to the front, saying that someone had come to wish her a Happy New Year.
That's strange, she doesn't even have any family, so who would come to wish her a Happy New Year?
And why did you have to come to pay your respects? Why didn't you come the previous two years? Why did you have to come today?
Qian Shengyan was both confused and curious. After changing her clothes and putting on her cloak, she took Qingxue's hand and went out.
Women could not receive guests in their own courtyards. Yinzhen must have given prior instructions. A pavilion not far from Peach Blossom Village was covered by thick gauze curtains to block the wind. A charcoal stove was lit inside, serving as a warm pavilion for receiving guests.
Qian Shengyan entered with her maids and eunuchs, only to be confronted by a strange couple.
The two men, both around fifty years old, rose somewhat awkwardly to greet Qian Shengyan upon her arrival, saying, "Greetings, Consort Qian..."
"Please rise, this is..." Qian Shengyan looked at Zhang Defu, who was serving her, with a puzzled expression. Zhang Defu bowed and said, "Consort, this is Lord Niohuru, and this is his wife."
Niohuru?
Qian Shengyan's body stiffened almost imperceptibly. She thought of the surname that Hongli should have originally had as his birth mother, and alarm bells immediately went off in her mind.
These two... could they be here to send their daughter to live with them?
...Then there's no point in looking for her. She's just a concubine, and there are other concubines above her. Why would Yinzhen specifically ask her to come and see him?
Could it be because of Hongli?
Would Yinzhen be so ruthless as to simply let any woman in the room into his house and take her child away?
Or... have they already been having an affair outside?
Her inner journey had already taken her from the capital to Lingnan, but the couple in front of her seemed even more awkward than she was, sitting together with their lips moving as they didn't know what to say.
Qian Shengyan pondered for a while, then gave up on using her brain and simply ordered tea and snacks to be served. They chatted casually about the New Year's celebrations. The Niu Hulu couple only stayed for a short while before leaving.
After the guests left, Qian Shengyan sat in the warm pavilion, picking up the thoughts she had just finished. The main thing she was thinking about was—what should she do if Yinzhen really didn't know any better and insisted on raising Hongli with this Niohuru woman?
Before he could figure out what to do, he heard the sound of bowing outside the pavilion; Yinzhen had arrived.
Qian Shengyan slowly stood up, a sudden surge of malice rising within her. She thought, why not just kill Yinzhen right now? What emperor, what Qianlong, her Hongli could do without! As long as Hongli was still her son, how could she and her son not survive?
"I've arrived. What do you think?" Yinzhen entered with a smile, took her hand to prevent her from bowing, and pulled her to sit down. "A fourth-rank official, though not a high-ranking one, is still quite prestigious."
Qian Shengyan looked at him in confusion. What did Lord Niohuru's official position have to do with her?
"Oh, you don't know yet." Yinzhen laughed again, "I want to elevate your banner, how about the Bordered Yellow Banner?"
Qian Shengyan was taken aback, but still didn't understand: "Why?"
"Why what?" Yinzhen continued, "Although Lingzhu is not prominent, he is a close relative of Ebilun and has the common surname Niohuru. It is neither too conspicuous nor too unfair for him to be your father."
"Father?" Qian Shengyan was truly bewildered at this moment, her eyes wide open, completely unaware of what Yinzhen was saying.
But Yinzhen didn't go into details, and instead teased her, "Niohuru Shengyan, how about it, hmm?"
Qian Shengyan looked at Yinzhen in disbelief. "Are you kidding me? Really?"
"Hahahaha..." Yinzhen was amused by her 0_0 expression, but he didn't say anything more. He just took her hand and got up, and the two of them returned to Peach Blossom Village together.
Qian Shengyan was so shocked that she couldn't even walk properly and had to be pulled by Yinzhen. Otherwise, she would just walk straight forward. Yinzhen found it amusing and didn't remind her several times, just watching her try to crash into the tree.
Back in the familiar place, after drinking half a cup of warm tea, Qian Shengyan seemed to finally wake up and grasp a bit of reality.
So, the couple she just met were her... adoptive parents?
The father and mother that Yinzhen found for her?
He seems quite honest and kind, but...
Qian Shengyan felt a mix of emotions and understood why Yinzhen had arranged to meet her today—aside from the wives and concubines who were officially registered in the imperial genealogy, this was the only opportunity a year for anyone else to see their family.
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