Fortunately, Qingxue quickly pointed out a way for Qian Shengyan: "If the prince is willing to go to her room, even if Consort Nian is unwell, she can find a maid to gain favor and conceive. Wouldn't a prince raised in that way be better than one born to the master?"
Qian Shengyan was immediately shocked.
She was too naive. She thought that sending Yinzhen to the bed of a concubine was the limit, but she didn't expect that he had such a tactic.
But thinking about it, it makes sense. Even Consort De, Yinzhen's biological mother, was just a palace maid who held up the curtains in Consort Tongjia's palace. She caught Kangxi's attention because of her good looks, and then the Tongjia family took advantage of the situation to make her pregnant and then took her child away to raise.
That was still in the palace, where the emperor's women couldn't be killed at will. But in the inner quarters, if Lady Nian really wanted to, she could just assign any maid to serve Yinzhen. If the maid was pregnant, she could use some means to remove the mother and keep the child, wouldn't that eliminate all worries?
Morality limited her imagination. Qian Shengyan admired her greatly and valued Qingxue even more, asking her how she could subtly get Yinzhen into the Lady's room last year.
Qingxue smiled and said, "In the end, this matter depends on the prince's wishes. If the prince is unwilling, then whatever you say is wrong."
That makes sense, but Qian Shengyan can't really do nothing...
Three days later, Yinzhen finally returned from the Summer Palace, but he did not come to the Hall of Clouds and Clouds. He only sent a eunuch to kneel outside the hall and report that the prince was worried that the epidemic would have a great impact on the children. Because of the fourth prince and his older brother, they would be temporarily staying at the Dongshan Academy in the south.
Qian Shengyan naturally had no objection; what Yinzhen was worried about was exactly what she was worried about.
Moreover... the main hall of Dongshan Academy and Leshan Academy are only separated by a stream. If Lady Nian wanted to, she could naturally wade across the stream to find Yinzhen.
Qian Shengyan felt relieved, but she couldn't stop her actions. She had a bunch of things prepared for the eunuchs to take away, and she personally went to the kitchen to prepare dinner for Yinzhen. She also ordered Doctor Zhou to stay in the back hall of Dongshan Academy and take Yinzhen's pulse three times a day.
The next day, Qian Shengyan took Hongli to the entrance of Dongshan Academy and had him kowtow to Yinzhen from afar.
They are father and son after all; even if they cannot see each other for a while, the proper etiquette cannot be disregarded.
Hongli was still a child after all. After kowtowing, he was a little unhappy when he realized he would never see his father again. His big eyes were filled with tears, and he looked pitifully at Yinzhen standing on the other side of the stream. He had just uttered the word "Father" when tears streamed down his face.
Qian Shengyan looked at Yinzhen who had suddenly come out, and felt a pang of emotion. Her eyes reddened slightly as she said, "Your Highness has lost weight."
"It's alright." Yinzhen looked at the two children, one big and one small, his Adam's apple bobbing slightly. "Hongli, you must listen to your mother recently and don't forget to practice calligraphy."
"Yes, Father." Hongli wiped the tears from his face. "Hongli wants to hug Father."
“…Be obedient,” Yinzhen said hoarsely, then looked at Qian Shengyan, “How is Fuerguochun?”
“Folguochun has grown quite a bit, and she’s waiting for her father to come and see her,” Qian Shengyan said softly.
She placed her hands on Hongli's shoulders, and couldn't help but feel a little tearful: "Take care of yourself, Master."
"Don't worry," Yinzhen sighed.
He hadn't thought that much about it. He just figured that if Prince Cheng's son was sick and Prince Cheng was fine, then he was fine too, but that didn't mean he wouldn't infect the child. He planned to go to Pianyun Shujuan Palace in a while, but who could have imagined that Qian Shengyan and Hongli would be so dependent on him...
There's really no way around it.
He glanced at the two people opposite him, one big and one small, with a mixture of helplessness and indulgence: "Alright, let's go back."
"Hmm." Qian Shengyan quietly wiped her eyes, patted Hongli, and the two of them bowed to Yinzhen together. Hongli said, "Father, Hongli and Mother have gone back. Father is well."
"Alright, Hongli, take good care of your mother." Yinzhen looked deeply at Qian Shengyan and saw that she still had that simple bun hairstyle with a white jade hairpin in it, and he couldn't help but want to laugh again.
That's just how she is; she doesn't like luxury, only children—and him.
Yinzhen smiled and watched the mother and son walk away. Just as he was about to go back, he heard Su Peisheng exclaim "Eh!" When he turned around, he saw Qian Shengyan bowing to the newcomer.
But that person was a bit pretentious and refused to wake her up for a moment, forcing her to perform the curtsy for a long time.
Yinzhen pursed his lips in displeasure, frowned, and asked, "Consort Nian?"
"Probably," Su Peisheng said softly, not daring to say that no one in the garden, except for Consort Nian, would dare to accept Qian Shengyan's courtesy.
Yinzhen snorted lightly: "She doesn't deserve to make Yanyan bow for so long."
Su Peisheng: ...
Su Peisheng didn't dare to speak, but... wasn't it normal for a concubine to greet a secondary consort? Besides, in his opinion, it hadn't been long, so it was just normal.
The prince's favoritism was so obvious that Su Peisheng dared not say anything and could only force a smile.
A moment later, Lady Nian walked to the other side of the stream and saw that Yinzhen was still watching her from outside the courtyard. Her face lit up with joy, and her cheeks flushed pink. She curtsied gracefully and said, "Your Highness, I greet you."
"Hmm," Yinzhen said calmly.
He could see from afar that Madam Nian was dressed in luxurious attire, and as he got closer, he was even more blinded by the kingfisher feather and gold hairpin in her hair. He was slightly annoyed, but he didn't say anything and turned to enter Dongshan Academy.
Nian was helped across the stream by her servants and then went inside.
Su Peisheng, following behind Yinzhen, naturally heard the commotion. He thought to himself that Consort Nian had come at a good time; since the Prince was unable to go to Pianyun Shujuan Palace because of the Fourth Prince and the Little Princess, Consort Nian's arrival was perfect for serving the Prince…
Who knows, the master's exclusive favor might be coming to an end.
After all, Consort Nian was slender, delicate, and beautiful. When she walked over and bowed gracefully to the prince with a shy smile, even the eunuch Su Peisheng felt that she was not much less beautiful than Master Qian.
But, unfortunately, Yinzhen didn't even glance at him.
He picked up his teacup and drank, casually waving his hand. Nian then got up and sat to the side, without saying a word throughout the entire process.
For a moment, Su Peisheng thought of Master Qian again.
He couldn't even remember the last time Master Qian properly bowed to the prince. After all, every time Master Qian said "Greetings to Your Highness," he never bent his knees. The prince, on the other hand, would either help him up immediately if he was close by, or quickly call out "That's enough" if he was far away, and then extend his hand to wait for Master Qian to lead him up.
At this moment, the two would exchange a smile, as if they had said a thousand words in an instant, but Master Qian would never remain silent and would immediately begin chatting with the prince...
Su Peisheng felt that although he had served the prince for thirty years and had seen the prince interact with all the ladies, all of them combined did not speak as much as his master had spoken to the prince in the past year…
Oh, Consort Li also likes to talk to the Prince, but the Prince only responds with "hmm" or "humph," unlike when he talks back to Master Qian, one sentence at a time.
As for the others, like Consort Nian before us, after performing their greetings, they would simply sit silently and drink tea.
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