After Yihua finished instructing Honghui, she ordered someone to invite Wu and Geng in.
Judging from their appearance and grooming, they are two completely different people.
Wu Gege, dressed in a delicate pink Manchu-style outfit, was truly beautiful and charming, her eyes sparkling with liveliness. Geng Gege stood with her head bowed, her hair meticulously combed, her pale blue dress revealing patterns that required close inspection to discern – she knew how to conceal her true appearance.
Yi Hua looked at Lady Geng with great interest. The famous Prince Yu, Hongzhou, was raised by her. After Emperor Qianlong ascended the throne, he even granted Hongzhou permission to take Lady Geng out of the palace to live with him. This was something that many women in the harem could only envy.
It's hard to imagine that this calm and collected woman actually raised a troublesome devil. You really can't judge a book by its cover.
As for Wu, Yihua pondered for a long time but couldn't recall such a person in Yongzheng's harem. She figured she had probably been swallowed up by the intrigues and schemes in the inner palace long ago, so she was not someone to be feared.
Yi Hua had no intention of doing anything to them. As long as they didn't lay a hand on Hong Hui, they would be peaceful sisters; otherwise, they would be mortal enemies.
As per custom, Yi Hua uttered some nonsense about observing proper etiquette, serving the Fourth Master, and giving birth to a son as soon as possible, before having someone lead them to familiarize themselves with the courtyard.
Seeing that there were no outsiders in the room, Hongxiao spoke up: "Madam, I think Consort Wu is very beautiful. We should be careful."
Yi Hua smiled, gestured for Hong Xiao to massage her shoulders, and turned to ask Granny Chen, "What do you think, Granny?"
Granny Chen said confidently, "In my opinion, Princess Geng has some inner beauty, so we cannot let our guard down."
"We'll have a long time to get along in the future. As long as the two of them behave themselves and don't offend Fourth Master or me, they'll be fine. But if they deliberately cause trouble, then we won't care about Your Highness's feelings." Yi Hua took a sip of tea.
******
When Yinzhen returned to his study, Su Peisheng came to report.
"My lord, according to custom, the Princess Consort is hosting a banquet in the garden today to welcome the two new princesses. Please come and take a look."
Yinzhen nodded upon hearing this. Yihua had given prior notice. Ever since Yinzhen was injured, Kangxi seemed to have realized that he hadn't been paying enough attention to this son.
Where does Lao Tzu's concern for his son manifest itself? By giving him women.
So, even though it wasn't the season for the imperial concubine selection, the mansion welcomed a registered young lady, who stood out among the princes.
"How did the Princess Consort arrange for the two princesses?"
Su Peisheng quickly said, "The Fujin said that the two princesses should not disturb Princess Li's pregnancy, so they were both placed in the South Garden, which is close to the garden and far from the East Garden. The room was arranged by Abao in advance, and all the furnishings were new ones picked from the storeroom. I went to see it, and Granny Chen is very experienced in doing things."
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen wanted to praise the wife for being virtuous, but inexplicably felt somewhat displeased: "Has your wife behaved in any way that is different from usual?"
"This..." Su Peisheng thought to himself, feeling miserable.
He had to serve Yinzhen all day long, and it was already a blessing if he could spare a word for the main wife. He also had to occasionally send someone to inquire about the east courtyard. How could he possibly know the feelings of the Fujin (the future emperor's wife)?
"My lord, this servant is foolish; which aspect are you referring to?"
Yinzhen remained silent for a long while, then tapped the table: "Never mind, how would you know?"
Su Peisheng looked up at his master, whose expression was somewhat unpredictable, and thought to himself, "This servant really does know."
It's just that he felt the Princess Consort wasn't jealous.
To be honest, the master was really hard to please. Before the birth of Prince Honghui, the wife was jealous every day, which made the master more and more annoyed with the main courtyard.
Now that the wife has come to her senses, the master thinks it's better to be jealous. Where can you reason with that?
The emotional entanglements between masters are none of my business. What am I, a eunuch, pretending to know? Even if I get a beating today, I'll still pretend I don't understand.
Seeing that it was almost time, Yinzhen changed into his everyday clothes and went to the garden.
As soon as I entered, I heard a female storyteller inside telling a story with great expression.
The eldest princess and Honghui listened intently to Yihua.
Yinzhen chuckled; she certainly knew how to find amusement for herself.
"Father!" Honghui has been clinging to Yinzhen lately, probably because the injury he suffered before left him with a little psychological trauma.
Therefore, during this period, Yinzhen was very accommodating to Honghui's every request, and the relationship between the father and son improved rapidly.
When Yi Hua saw Yinzhen arrive, she waved to signal that the storyteller could leave. Unable to think of anything to talk about with these nominal sisters, she devised a clever way to pass the time, which even Honghui liked.
"This humble servant greets Your Highness."
Hearing Wu's high-pitched voice, Li glared at her fiercely. "You little hussy, you have two faces, huh? I'll teach you a lesson."
Faced with Wu Shi, who was dressed in more pink and had a younger-looking face, Li Shi was somewhat provoked.
During her pregnancy, she clearly realized a reality: she had fallen out of favor once again.
If it weren't for the child in her belly, Yinzhen probably wouldn't have come to see her even once.
This reality almost drove her crazy, but it also made her cherish the child in her womb even more.
If it's a son, then she'll have a complete turnaround.
Therefore, Li has been very well-behaved these days, staying in the east courtyard and not going out.
However, upon hearing that the Emperor had bestowed two princesses upon her, both of whom were quite extraordinary in appearance and demeanor, she could no longer sit still and ultimately went against Yinzhen's wishes to appear in the garden.
Yi Hua did not stop anyone. After all, Yinzhen had not explicitly forbidden Li Shi from entering the palace. If she were absent from such an occasion, it would be a signal to the two newlyweds that either this princess was in extremely poor health or had incurred the prince's displeasure.
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