No, more accurately, it should be said that Qian Shengyan was informed of the rules for Yuan Shou entering the palace.
After seeing off Granny Wu, Qingxue turned around and saw Qian Shengyan lying on the table in a sullen and unladylike manner. On the table was a set of golden clothes, the imperial grandson's uniform that Yuanshou was to wear when he entered the palace.
According to Ulanara, since the Fifth Prince was still young and frail, he would not be going to the palace this time. As the eldest son in the household, Hongshi was to be taken by Yinzhen to the banquet in the Taiji Hall. Therefore, Ulanara planned to take Yuanshou to Yonghe Palace to see Consort De.
“Princess…” Qingxue sighed softly and poured her a cup of tea. “The Princess’s actions are also an honor for our Fourth Prince.”
Qian Shengyan nodded sullenly.
She knew that ever since she helped Ulanara secure the Fifth Prince, the attitude of the main court towards her and Yuan Shou had improved considerably. Logically speaking, whether a young prince like Yuan Shou entered the palace or not was entirely up to his masters. Ulanara's willingness to go to the trouble of taking Yuan Shou to see Consort De was a way of giving Yuan Shou a chance to shine and make him somewhat memorable in the palace.
"With your wet nurse and eunuchs by your side, Princess, you don't need to worry," Qingxue reassured her.
Qian Shengyan continued to nod. Since Ulanara had taken Yuanshou out, she naturally had to bring Yuanshou back to her properly, otherwise Yinzhen would not forgive her.
"Then why is the princess still like this?" Qingxue asked helplessly. Seeing Qian Shengyan sigh again, her eyes flickered slightly as she leaned closer and whispered, "Does the princess also want to enter the palace? It's not impossible... after all, there's only one concubine in the manor right now..."
Qian Shengyan: ? ? ?
No, she didn't want to go to the palace, and she didn't want her son to go alone...
Fearing that Qingxue might say something outrageous if she continued, Qian Shengyan quickly said, "He has never left my side since Yuanshou was born... Besides, this is the palace..."
"I see, Princess, don't worry, I'll be back tonight," Qingxue said with a smile.
Qian Shengyan suddenly remembered something: "Qingxue, weren't you in the Empress's palace before?"
Qingxue, hearing the zither's sound, knew the meaning behind it: "Does Your Highness wish for me to accompany the Fourth Prince?"
"Is it okay?" Qian Shengyan looked at her expectantly.
Qingxue pondered for a moment and said, "Alright, the Prince, his wife, and the two princes will all be going to the palace that day, so there shouldn't be any trouble in the manor."
"Alright, alright, with you watching over Yuanshou, I can rest assured." Qian Shengyan finally breathed a sigh of relief.
The Banjin Festival was a grand festival for the Manchus. On the morning of October 13th, Qian Shengyan got up and watched with reluctance as her wet nurse changed Yuanshou's clothes and wrapped him in a pure white fox fur cloak given to her by Yinzhen.
It was still too early. Yuan Shou, who had been through a lot, was not annoyed. After getting dressed, he continued to sleep in the eunuch's arms. Qian Shengyan looked at him worriedly for a few moments, then grabbed Qingxue, who was already dressed, and said, "Take good care of the Fourth Prince."
"Don't worry." These words were not spoken by Qingxue, but by Yinzhen, who strode in. He looked at his son, who was wrapped in white fur, and a smile appeared on his lips. "Yuanshou won't go to the front; he'll just play in the Empress's palace for a day."
"Yes." Qian Shengyan curtsied. "Your Highness."
"Okay, let's go once everything is ready." Yinzhen glanced at the sky, then at Qian Shengyan, and suddenly squeezed her hand. "Wait for us to come back."
"Okay." Qian Shengyan looked at him expectantly, like a pitiful little girl seeing her husband and son off, making Yinzhen both amused and exasperated: "You'll be back tonight, you..."
Unable to utter any words of rebuke, he squeezed her hand again, then turned and left with Yuan Shou and a group of servants.
Qian Shengyan escorted him to the courtyard gate and didn't go any further. He saw Yinzhen take Yuanshou directly to the front courtyard, and wondered how the carriages were assigned. Shouldn't Yuanshou be in the same carriage as the Fujin (Prince Consort)?
And Hongshi, at only seven years old, couldn't possibly ride a horse by himself...
I should have asked earlier, sigh.
Qian Shengyan returned to the main hall with a heavy heart. She sat there trying to tie a knot, but couldn't manage it for a long time. Green Willow came over and broke off a piece of silver ear fungus for her: "Princess, it's still early, why don't you go back to sleep for a while?"
"No, I'm not sleepy anymore," Qian Shengyan refused, but looking at the dark sky outside, she didn't know what to do. After a moment, she asked, "When are we having breakfast?"
"If the princess wants to eat now, this servant will send someone to fetch it," said Green Willow.
Qian Shengyan nodded indifferently. She didn't care much about food, and in her previous life, she had just eaten and drunk her fill when she was in a car accident. Perhaps because of this, she didn't care much about what she ate in this life. She would eat whatever the kitchen prepared for her. Sometimes, when Yinzhen ate with her, the food would be extra better, but she didn't care. It was just to fill her stomach.
But now that her son isn't around to worry about her, Qian Shengyan is starting to wonder about the meals: "What's in the morning?"
"Would you like to order, Princess?" Green Willow wanted to cheer her up. "How about you choose a few things you like to eat?"
Qian Shengyan was also somewhat interested. She asked Lvliu to bring her the breakfast menu and looked through it. She couldn't help but gasp in surprise.
No wonder she hasn't complained about what to eat after being here for so long. Just look at this long list of breakfast dishes, which has more than two hundred different kinds. She... wants to eat every single one of them.
"How much of my allowance can I have?" This was the first time Qian Shengyan had asked this question, which left Lüliu bewildered. She was somewhat puzzled: "It seems that our Prince's Mansion doesn't restrict these things?"
Qian Shengyan was stunned: "No, anything is fine with me?"
"Is that alright?" Green Willow hadn't paid much attention to the question. She glanced at the breakfast menu. "Why don't you order first, Your Highness, and I'll go ask?"
"Alright then." Qian Shengyan knew that there weren't many of each item for breakfast, but she couldn't finish them all even if she wasted them, so she chose eight of the best-looking items and asked Lvliu to go to the kitchen to ask around.
...Green Willow, who had returned with the meal, seemed somewhat dazed. She looked at Qian Shengyan, unsure of what to say, and after a long pause, finally said, "The head of the kitchen said that Steward Su had specifically instructed that the Princess should order whatever she wanted, and if it wasn't enough from the allowance, then...it would come from the Prince's allowance..."
Qian Shengyan paused, her hand still holding the chopsticks, somewhat incredulous: "Huh?"
"Well... when we just got back, Steward Su went there. Even though the Prince wasn't eating here, what was sent to the Princess was... according to the Prince's regulations." Green Willow was also bewildered. It had been more than half a year, and none of them, this group of masters and servants, had noticed that Qian Shengyan had actually eaten quite a lot of the Prince's rations?
Qian Shengyan was also stunned. No wonder she hadn't complained at all after eating it for more than half a year; it turned out that it was genuinely good for her...
The mistress and servant looked at each other for a moment, but Green Willow blushed first. She served Qian Shengyan her meal with a little embarrassment, saying, "Master is so good to the princess."
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