On the seventh day of the twelfth lunar month, preparations were made for Laba porridge in the garden. In front of Hongluo Temple, Yinzhen and Qingyan, along with several princes who were on good terms with him, jointly set up a place to make porridge. Qingyan specifically asked Bayan to keep an eye on it to prevent his subordinates from causing any trouble.
"Father, shall we go to Hongluo Temple tomorrow?" Yiken'e and Hutulifengshengzhalafen looked at Yinzhen with almond-shaped eyes and asked.
Last year, Yinzhen took the children to Hongluo Temple. There, the twins saw people dressed in rags for the first time. After they returned, a series of questions popped into their minds.
To Qingyan's relief, the two children didn't ask questions like why they didn't use meat to feed themselves.
"Do you want to go?" Yinzhen asked the twins.
"Yes!" the twins and Batubuhe said at the same time.
Batubuhe was moved by Yiken'e's words. Although he had met some herdsmen on the grassland, they were all people who worked for an old prince. In terms of treatment, ordinary people were definitely much richer.
“My dear, tomorrow, prepare cotton clothes for the children, and we’ll go out again!” Yinzhen thought about the timing. “If your Grandfather is going to hold a banquet, we can only wait until the ninth day of the twelfth lunar month to go out.”
According to the custom of offering porridge, Yinzhen's residence would offer porridge for three days. Therefore, the tenth day of the twelfth lunar month was precisely the time when Hongluo Temple was at its most popular with worshippers.
"Alright!" The three children weren't the type to cause trouble; they understood the royal rules and were all well-mannered.
Qingyan stood aside and called the three children to start trying on their palace attire for the next day. Yiken'e and Batubuhe wore the same palace attire, which was the everyday clothes of princes.
"Mother, is this appropriate for me?" Batu Buhe felt somewhat out of place here. If she wore a Mongolian robe inside, she might really be harassed.
"Suitable? Why not?" Qingyan asked suspiciously. "Now, you are a child of the manor."
The banquet on La'anri was only for the royal family; the Mongol wives certainly wouldn't attend. If Batu Buhe wasn't wearing his prince's everyday clothes, it was clear he hadn't integrated himself into the occasion.
Just as dawn was breaking, Yinzhen got up, changed into his princely robes, and personally went to the children's room to wake them up one by one.
Qingyan sat in front of the bronze mirror, dressed in a bright red primary wife's everyday clothes. Her hair was styled in a swallowtail updo, adorned with a five-treasure auspicious headdress. She wore three pearl earrings on each ear, which swayed from side to side with her every move.
After washing up, Qingyan, wearing 5-inch platform shoes, helped Sulan slowly walk to the dining room. Normally, she rarely wore such high platform shoes, but she had to choose such noble shoes for formal occasions.
"Mother, you... have grown so tall!" Yiken tilted her head and looked at Qingyan.
Pfft!
Qingyan immediately burst into laughter. Yiken'e had only ever seen her in her usual attire before, so she rarely saw her in such casual clothes.
"Today is a big day. Your mother's real clothes are what a proper primary consort should wear on formal occasions. Yiken, these shoes are very uncomfortable. In the future, if your consort wears them, you should walk more carefully, understand?" Qingyan instructed her son.
Yinzhen completely ignored Qingyan's instruction and instead ate his meal with Hafeng, spooning it around him.
"Father... I'm full!" Hafeng waved away Yinzhen's spoon and quickly patted his stomach.
"Fourth Prince, it's already used up, no need to give it any more!" Qingyan said to Yinzhen.
Pfft!
"Eat quickly, we'll be going to Changchun Garden soon, and there won't be this much food there," said Yinzhen.
Two days ago, Changchun Garden began preparing for the Golden Festival. On the day of the festival, everyone would first have a meal at their residence before going to Changchun Garden for the banquet.
"Good girl, have all the tributes been sent over?" Yinzhen looked at Qingyan again to confirm.
"Hmm, Fourth Prince, why are you so nervous this year?" Qingyan is getting better; in the past, Yinzhen would never have been this nervous.
Yinzhen glanced at the carriage behind him, where Batu Buhe was. He had to be careful, as Batu Buhe's identity was too special, which made everyone around him wary.
“Since Batubuhe lives here, he needs to be more careful in his dealings within the mansion,” Yinzhen said in a low voice.
He carried Hafeng into the carriage, and Qingyan followed closely behind; the two of them sat together in the carriage.
"My dear, you must be understanding with the women. Father Emperor sent me a message yesterday that the Mongol wives are coming to pay their respects and attend the banquet." Yinzhen smiled wryly.
Emperor Kangxi had no choice but to agree because he couldn't control those people. Although the Empress Dowager could suppress them to some extent, she couldn't be too ruthless.
Later, the carriage stopped in front of the Empress Dowager's courtyard. After Yinzhen and Qingyan got out of the carriage, they led the children into the courtyard. Qingyan could hear laughter coming from inside the main hall.
The Mongolian wives arrived very early. She had instructed the maids around Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen early this morning that anyone who wanted to petition Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen must report to Qingyan.
The Empress Dowager kept smiling obsequiously at the Mongol wives. When Yinzhen and Qingyan arrived, her smile became even more genuine.
"Quickly rise and kowtow!" The Empress Dowager's tone was full of joy.
The Empress Dowager embraced the twins and Batubuhe, and asked the three children in a low voice if they were happy.
The Mongol wives wanted to speak with the Empress Dowager again, but she pretended not to hear them.
"Fourth Princess Consort, why isn't Batubuhe wearing Mongolian everyday clothes today? Instead, he's dressed in a prince's everyday clothes." A princess consort of the Right Wing Prince asked directly.
Qingyan smiled and said, "The Laba Festival banquet is a royal banquet. If Batu Buhe wore Mongolian everyday clothes, wouldn't it be a bit out of place? That's why I insisted on changing into these clothes."
As soon as she finished speaking, the Empress Dowager gave Qingyan a knowing look. These Mongolian wives hadn't even considered the feelings of others; they had actually asked the Mongolian leaders to write letters insisting that they attend the banquet.
"There's another point. Batu Buhe is currently observing mourning, and his princely robes are quite plain, which better suits his current status. The colors of Mongolian robes in the past were too bright," Qingyan quickly explained.
In just a few words, he directly rejected the scheme of the Right Wing Prince's wife, and even explained that the reason Batubuhe changed into this outfit was to help him maintain his status.
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