Following Ulanara's request, Qian Shengyan sat in the seat to the left of the main seat. She smiled slightly at Ulanara across the empty seat and asked, "Your Highness, who is this?"
“This is Xinrui, the younger sister of Angbang Ama (elder brother's wife).” Ulanara’s main purpose today was to introduce Xinrui to the outside world. Qian Shengyan’s question gave her a way out. She gently patted Ulanara Xinrui’s shoulder and said, “This is Qian Shufujin. Hurry up and pay your respects to Shufujin.”
Xinrui, her face pale, forced a smile as she rose and curtsied, saying, "Greetings, Consort."
"Good, good, what a lovely girl." Qian Shengyan reached out to the back of her, and Qingxue placed the box she had brought in her hand. She smiled and handed it to Xinrui, "I prepared some little trinkets for you since it's our first meeting. Don't mind them."
Xinrui glanced nervously at Ulanara, and only accepted the box after seeing her nod, then thanked her again.
"As expected of the Fujin's sister, she looks different from ordinary young ladies," Liu Shi praised.
Ulanara chuckled and turned to look at Xinrui, but Xinrui's complexion was clearly worse, and she could only manage a weak smile.
When several women are together, they have a lot to talk about, especially since Ulanara was in a visibly good mood today, so the three princesses dared to say a few more words.
A short while later, an announcement came from outside that Yinzhen had arrived.
The women at the table all stood up at once. Yinzhen walked in, raised his hand to call them to stand up, but did not sit down. He said, "Something urgent has come up, and I cannot stay long. I will add some more dishes for you."
After saying that, he looked at Ulanara and smiled as he took her hand and patted it: "My lady, you've worked hard. It's my fault."
"Your Highness is preoccupied with many matters; it is my fault for not arranging things properly." Ulanara had not been treated so intimately in a long time, and she was furious but could not vent her anger. Fortunately, she remembered the most important thing today, and quickly grabbed Xinrui with her other hand. "This is my Angbang father's younger sister. Little sister, why don't you greet Your Highness?"
Xinrui's face turned red and white, and she didn't dare to look directly at Yinzhen. She quickly bowed and greeted him.
"Alright, if you like, let my little sister stay with you for a few more days." Yinzhen didn't even glance at Xinrui, just nodded lightly, and then said, "I must go now, you all have a good time."
After saying that, he released Ulanara's hand, his gaze swept over everyone at the table, and finally landed on Qian Shengyan.
Yinzhen walked over and said in a low voice, "I may not be back tonight, so there's no need to wait for me."
"Yes," Qian Shengyan replied, curtsying. Yinzhen took her hand and helped her to her feet. He then nodded to the others and left.
Ulanara seemed to be deep in thought, while Xinrui curiously peeked at Qian Shengyan before quickly looking away.
Leaving aside what the others at the table were saying, Geng was the first to jump out.
She immediately spoke sarcastically to Qian Shengyan: "Oh, the concubine spends every night with the prince, I'm so envious. Doesn't the concubine ever think of her sisters?"
Qian Shengyan smiled slightly: "I never thought of that."
Geng: "..."
“Serving the Prince requires diligence and focus. Do you expect me to be thinking of others while serving the Prince? Or perhaps…” Qian Shengyan’s red lips curved slightly, “When you are with the Prince, you are thinking of other people?”
Her eyes widened in surprise, she covered her lips with her fingers, and exclaimed, "No way? Who... is that?"
All eyes turned to them, and Madam Geng immediately flew into a rage: "You..."
"Gege Geng," Ulanara said, tapping her fingers lightly on the table, "speak properly."
Geng choked for a moment, and when she spoke again, she was a little more restrained, but she was still very provocative: "What the concubine said is strange. How could this servant have the good fortune to be able to stay by the prince's side all the time?"
“Then you certainly don’t have that good fortune,” Qian Shengyan said calmly.
Geng froze for a moment, probably feeling that talking to Qian Shengyan was just asking for trouble, so she changed her target and looked at Ulanara: "What do you think, Your Highness? Am I right?"
Ulanara slowly picked up her teacup, took a sip, and instead of answering her, asked Qian Shengyan, "The Fourth Princess and the Fourth Prince's birthdays are coming soon. Have you thought about what to do, little sister?"
"I think the children are still young, so it's not advisable to have too many of them. Let's just have some fun as sisters," Qian Shengyan said with a smile.
However, Ulanara disagreed: "The Fourth Princess's first birthday celebration should be a grand affair."
"After all, it's February, and the weather isn't very warm yet. I was thinking of having her choose her first birthday present," Qian Shengyan insisted.
It's not that she had to, but mainly... the situation these past few years has really not been suitable for Yinzhen to make too much of a fuss in the capital. Like the Eighth Prince, he's been jumping around and acting like he knows everyone, only to be reprimanded by Kangxi time and time again. How amusing!
Besides, since Yinzhen has been proven to be the ultimate victor in the struggle for the throne among the nine princes, she might as well listen to him.
However, Qian Shengyan couldn't say that this was the prince's intention, so she had to take full responsibility herself.
Ulanara seemed to understand, nodded, and smiled, "It's been a long time since I've seen Fourth Princess. Why didn't you bring her today, little sister?"
"When I arrived, Folgochun was still taking a nap..."
Before Qian Shengyan could finish speaking, Ulanara interrupted her: "Hey, I'm really thinking about Fourth Princess. I wonder if she's grown up a bit?"
"Well... then I'll send someone back to check. If Fourth Princess wakes up, we'll bring her over." Having said that, Qian Shengyan had no choice but to agree, but...
She glanced subtly at Liu, whose hands were tightly twisting a handkerchief, and frowned slightly as she turned away. She whispered a few words to Qingxue, who nodded but did not leave herself. Instead, she called for Lüliu and asked her to go back and check if the Fourth Princess had woken up.
To those unaware of the situation, the atmosphere at the flower-viewing banquet seemed quite pleasant. Several beautiful women of different styles were chatting casually, and the table was laden with various snacks and pastries, as well as a variety of fresh fruits that were hard to find at this time of year.
But in Qian Shengyan's eyes, Liu had already looked at Ulanara eight times and Xinrui seven times, and she was getting a little anxious—what exactly are you going to do? Hurry up and start!
Unfortunately, after Folgochun was brought over, and Ulanara and Xinrui played with the child for a while, the banquet was about to end, but Liu still didn't make a move.
Not only Qian Shengyan, but also Guo and Geng were waiting, but Liu remained seated, twisting a handkerchief until it was almost torn to shreds, yet she did not make a move.
Finally, Ulanara said she was a little tired and got up to leave. Everyone thought that was the end of it and that there would be nothing more to do today. But unexpectedly, Liu suddenly stood up and stammered, "This servant, this servant felt that I was friendly when I first met Miss Xinrui. I wanted to give Miss a gift."
Ulanara stopped and turned around, raising her eyebrows slightly.
Liu clenched her fist and tried to speak: "This servant knows that I am not qualified, but... I only ask that you, Madam and Miss, accept this humble offering."
Refusing would be too disrespectful to Lady Liu, so Lady Ulanara glanced at Xinrui and nodded, ordering someone to take her away.
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