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On the twenty-third day of the twelfth lunar month, just as dawn was breaking, Qingyan was dragged out of bed by Yin. She leaned against him and drifted off to sleep.
"Little darling, we're about to go to Changchun Garden to pay our respects," Yin whispered in her ear.
Qingyan hid her face in his arms, feeling increasingly uneasy. She had just returned yesterday and was extremely tired.
"Fourth Brother, can't we go later?" Qingyan said groggily.
“Mother said you can go an hour later!” Yin tapped her forehead and said, “The children are resting at Changchun Garden. It would be better if the two of us took a carriage to pay our respects.”
Qingyan felt that the room was a bit cold, so Yin pulled the blanket up and let her lean against him to warm her up.
"Are you warm now?" Yin asked, kissing her cheek.
"Well, Fourth Brother, once we get to Changchun Garden, it's going to be another tough battle," Qingyan sighed.
Yin patted her back to help her wake up a bit. Before going to sleep, he had Su Lan heat up Qingyan's clothes so she could put them on as soon as she was awake.
"Sulan, come in." Yin called out directly to the door.
Su Peisheng and Su Lan prepared their things in a moment and carried the two men's clothes to the inner chamber. Qingyan sat with the quilt around him, and Yin got off the bed first. Su Peisheng quickly helped Yin change into a royal blue prince's casual robe.
"Alright, I'll go to the study first. Hurry up and get ready. We'll meet in the dining hall later!" Yin still had some memorials to deal with. After changing his clothes, he left the inner chamber to Qingyan and asked Sulan to help Qingyan put on his court robes quickly.
"Sulan, make sure your headdress is as light as possible, and wear that bright red peony palace dress, with a red coral gold hairpin as your headdress." Qingyan sat down in front of the bronze mirror, saw the bright red palace dress hanging on the wardrobe in the mirror, and after thinking for a moment, decided to wear the light headdress designed by Yin Xin.
At the banquet, the sisters-in-law would compete to see who had the most children. If they were already pregnant, they would compete to see who had the most beautiful headwear. Since she managed the Linglong Pavilion shops, many people said that Qingyan personally selected all the exquisite headwear.
"Master, do we really have to bring that set? Doesn't the noble lady of the Jue Luo clan still want it?" Su Lan reminded Qing Yan.
Qingyan smiled coldly. The noble lady of the Jue Luo clan had become arrogant. Kangxi had only tacitly agreed that Jue Luo would become the Eighth Prince's wife, but Jue Luo had already become conceited and was even showing off in the Linglong Pavilion, insisting on the most gorgeous headdress.
"Ignore them. If they dare to say it openly, I will retaliate directly!" Qingyan snorted. "Mother is too soft-hearted. Since returning to the capital yesterday, she has been harassed by the women of the Jue Luo clan. They even want her to bring a noble lady into the palace."
Qingyan threw the jade hairpin directly onto the dressing table. Sulan dared not speak anymore, understanding that Qingyan was very troubled. Once she was entangled with the Jueluo clan, she would definitely not be able to get rid of them.
"Your Highness has finished dressing up!" Su Lan applied light makeup to Qing Yan, who usually doesn't wear makeup at all.
"No need for lipstick!" Qingyan hadn't intended to wear makeup at all. "This will do!"
Qingyan applied eyeliner and smudged some rouge on her face, making her cheeks look very healthy.
A moment later, Qingyan helped Sulan to the dining room. Yin turned around and glanced at Qingyan, who seemed quite different now.
"Little darling, didn't you say it's bad for pregnant women to wear makeup?" Yin asked worriedly.
"Of course it wouldn't be good. I didn't wear lipstick, so I couldn't eat it. These cosmetics are all plant-based, with no harmful ingredients at all," Qingyan explained. "If I go to the New Year's banquet without makeup, Third Princess Consort will definitely criticize me again!"
Yin Dao didn't speak. He couldn't get involved in the struggles between the women. She was wearing court clothes, and she must be even more tired. He looked down at her feet. She was wearing layered soles, not flowerpot soles.
After breakfast, Yin helped Qingyan into the carriage. She leaned against the cushions; the heavy court robes were indeed quite cumbersome.
"Little darling, if you feel unwell, be sure to tell your mother. I have already instructed the head nanny that if there are too many people, you can go to the inner chamber to rest for a while." After returning to the capital, Yin was worried about Qingyan, so he sent the head nanny to Changchun Garden to tell her.
Qingyan smiled and said, "Mother definitely knows, so don't worry about me!"
The road from Yuanmingyuan to Changchun Garden was decorated with red silk cloth, and the entire palace road was brightly lit. On both sides stood the young servants on duty. When they saw Yin's carriage, they quickly knelt down to pay their respects.
"Fourth Prince, there are quite a few more servants on duty along the palace road," Qingyan said, looking out the window. "Why would Father Emperor send so many people?"
Yin coldly laughed: "Father Emperor must have heard about our setbacks. In addition, there was the attack on the Tianjin naval port. For the safety of the capital, Kangxi sent a secret guard disguised as Xiao Sula to hide on the way the princes entered Changchun Garden."
Qingyan frowned slightly. These eunuchs were actually secret guards? She had been watching them for so long, but she couldn't see anything wrong with them.
"Fourth Brother, are you sure?" Qingyan asked.
“Of course, if I wasn’t sure, why would I tell you?” Yin lowered his voice to communicate with Qingyan. There were already quite a few spies hidden along the palace road. “Remember, you must be careful what you say!”
There are informants everywhere, and Qingyan is a carefree person who is very likely to say something wrong.
"Fourth Prince, don't worry, I know the rules. Who is Father Emperor trying to catch with something?" Qingyan thought that just to ensure safety, he shouldn't be monitoring every prince.
"Crown Prince!" Yin understood that the Crown Prince had really hit Kangxi's weak spot this time, seizing power within the palace. If Kangxi hadn't been living with Consort Tong at Changchun Garden, he might have been in a passive position when he returned to the capital.
OMG!
Qingyan was completely stunned. The Crown Prince's move was truly remarkable, and Yin's Sticky Rod Office was also commendable for investigating the information in such detail.
"Fourth Prince, I think even Father Emperor doesn't have such detailed information!" Qingyan nestled in Yin's arms, flipping through the pages of the struggle in Yuqing Palace. The battle between the Crown Princess and Consort Li Jia had reached a fever pitch, and everyone had started to take sides.
"The infighting between the two factions in the inner court is also a crime that Father Emperor has assigned to the Crown Prince," Yin said, pointing to the message below.
Hongxi is just cannon fodder. With the appearance of Yiken'e, Kangxi will definitely feel sorry for his legitimate son, and his favor towards Hongxi will gradually fade.
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