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The afternoon sun shone into the main hall. Qingyan sat upright to one side, listening to the women's words, which were barbed and made him feel particularly uncomfortable.
Consort Tong had long been trained to face even the harshest words with a smile.
When it was time to rest, Qingyan helped Consort Tong into the inner chamber.
"Little darling, don't overthink what they said. They're just jealous," Consort Tong said helplessly.
For their own benefit, the officials' wives would try to extract information from the concubines and wives of the emperor. After Qingyan became pregnant, he was in poor spirits and would definitely become everyone's target.
The courtyard was divided into several rooms, prepared according to the officials' families' ranks.
When Lady Jue Luo came this time, she brought two sets of precious headdresses, and her palace dress was also designed according to the headdresses. When the other officials' wives saw her come out, they were all surprised.
Before the Southern Tour, Qingyan and the Gioro clan had a loud argument, and the Gioro clan used the old headdresses for the Mid-Autumn Festival banquet.
The patterns on the jewelry that Jue Luo is wearing today are mostly produced by Linglong Pavilion.
On the eve of the Golden Festival, everyone went to Linglong Pavilion to buy jewelry. All the orders were backed up, so they could only be made in the order of arrival. Some items were not even made in time. Jue Luo Shi had not made any moves, and everyone thought she would repeat the situation of the Mid-Autumn Festival.
After everyone returned to the main hall and took their seats, the officials' wives praised the exquisite headdress of the Jue Luo clan. Consort Tong glanced at the Jue Luo clan's headdress and thought it was just a bit more exquisite, but it did not exceed the rules.
"Fourth Princess Consort, it's getting harder and harder to book jewelry at Linglong Pavilion. After all, Lady Ulanara is family." Madam Tong Guowei sneered.
After Consort Tong issued her order, Qingyan truly failed to appreciate the favor and stopped preparing any jewelry for the Tong family. However, Consort Tong Guogang's wife received her jewelry from Akdun a day in advance.
Qingyan didn't say anything, but Madam Tong was clearly looking for trouble, and Consort Tong's face instantly became uncomfortable.
"Grandma, do you think Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen's clothes are pretty?" The little girl noticed Grandma's embarrassment and quickly stepped in to help her out.
Consort Tong chuckled as the little maid changed into a golden palace dress. This dress was one that Qingyan had worn before. At that time, Emperor Kangxi specially commissioned the Imperial Wardrobe to prepare clothes for Qingyan, and it looked like the same dress from before.
"Jueluo clan, if I'm not mistaken, this outfit should belong to Xiaoguai, right?" Consort Yi asked with a smile.
Consort Yi is a pragmatic person. Emperor Kangxi values the twins highly, so she will stand on their side. Lady Tong is too insignificant. If the officials' wives didn't consider her to be Consort Tong's biological daughter, they wouldn't flatter her so much.
“Isn’t that right?” Consort Yi smiled. “Back then, Xiao Guai was the envy of all the princesses in the palace. His Majesty, to reward Fei Yanggu and his two sons, prepared a palace dress for Qingyan, which was specially designed.”
Qingyan blushed; she had never heard of what Consort Yi had mentioned.
“Mother Yi, Father didn’t tell me either!” Qingyan quickly said.
"I definitely won't tell. I heard it was a covert operation, and my Ah Hun was killed in that battle." Consort Yi smiled bitterly.
If Ah Hun were still here, she would be much more relaxed now.
"Consort Yi, on such a joyous day, don't be too sentimental!" Consort Tong glanced at Consort Yi.
During the Golden Banquet, everyone was immersed in joy when Consort Yi's inappropriate remark silenced everyone.
"Yes, Consort Yi is absolutely right. I was just speaking in a moment of inspiration. Today, seeing so many of the candidates bringing their own concubines to the selection process, I couldn't help but feel happy. The royal princes have really grown up; even Yinzhen can go out on official business now." Consort Yi chuckled.
Consort Yi's ultimate goal was to flaunt Yin's military power. She knew best that the Qing Dynasty valued military merit, so having this position would greatly benefit Yin's marriage and career development.
Qingyan smiled coldly to himself. If Kangxi thought highly of them, he wouldn't have issued a decree to reprimand them directly. They were training at the Guangzhou naval port, imitating the Shandong naval port. However, they were a bit too hasty. They hadn't even mastered swimming skills before boarding the ship. As soon as they entered the training pond, they started vomiting.
Yinqi, Yinsi, and Yin all started vomiting a lot, and their training gradually became less rigorous. Unlike Yin and Yin, they didn't train as hard and always charged ahead. The soldiers all had a plan in mind, which allowed them to train and go to war with one heart and one mind.
As soon as she finished speaking, the officials' wives kept Consort Yi's words in mind and prepared to go back and tell their husbands that the destination of their family's chosen concubines was of utmost importance to every family.
"Consort Yi, how many times have you shown off already?" Consort Hui said with a smile. "The fifth, eighth, and ninth princes are all quite good, able to go out and serve directly. Yin and the fourth prince even set a precedent, creating better conditions for their younger brothers. The fourth prince prepared quite a lot for the three of them, and even tricked them."
Yin didn't hide the fact that he and Yin had been plotted against by the three people; he told Consort Hui about it directly.
Consort Yi was taken aback. What were the three children doing? They actually got Consort Tong and Consort Hui to take action.
The officials' wives sat on the stools, looking somewhat embarrassed. This was a fight among the officials' wives; how could they possibly explain it?
"Sister Huifei, this is no joke. The three children are risking their lives in front of us. What you're saying will break their hearts!" Consort Yi tried to salvage the situation, not wanting to damage the children's reputation.
"Heh, those of you working in the Ministry of War should understand what I'm talking about." Consort Hui coldly looked at the ladies of the Ministry of War.
The wives of the Vice Minister of War all smiled bitterly. They had become entangled in the power struggles among the imperial concubines, which was quite a problem!
The officials' wives and relatives around them were very curious, but they managed to remain calm.
"Sister Consort Yi, I think the children have just gone out and must have done some things poorly. As their elder brother, Yin and Yin should be helped as much as possible. It's good to point out their mistakes." Consort Yi directly implied that Yin and Yin were being a little petty.
Consort Tong took a sip of her tea: "My little darling, this Longjing tea is quite good. You've been living comfortably in the south, haven't you?"
Qingyan is located near Jiangnan, and Yuelai Inn sent a lot of things to the military port, including this tea. The food served in the palace was not of good quality, so the dragon and phoenix teas that Consort Tong ate were all purchased by Qingyan at great expense.
"Hehe, as long as Mother likes it!" The women below began to ask curiously, and Qingyan chuckled.
"Next time, you can send more!" Consort Tong didn't care, and Qingyan didn't care about these small things either.
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