After the wedding ceremony, Yin led Qingyan to pay respects to the Empress Dowager and the palace concubines. The two then began their mourning period. The wedding brought two days of excitement, after which things returned to tranquility.
On the tenth day of the month, Qingyan had breakfast and prepared to pay her respects to Consort Tong. It was the first time she had seen the imperial concubines on a formal occasion since her wedding.
After breakfast, Consort Tong specifically instructed Qingyan that Consort Rong and Consort Yi might say some unpleasant things, and that Xiaoguai should not take it too seriously.
“Mother…” Qingyan heard the Fourth Prince talk about the affair between Consort Rong and Consort Yi, and how Kangxi arranged for Yinqi to marry a woman from the Tatara clan, which was partly due to some scheming born of his anger. “I’m awake.”
Consort Tong gave Qingyan a thorough look. She was dressed in a sky-blue palace gown with silver thread embroidery of auspicious and longevity patterns. Her hair was styled in a ruyi-shaped updo, adorned with two blue jade and white gold ruyi hairpins. She also wore three white pearls on each ear. She looked extremely plain and simple, without a trace of the atmosphere of a newlywed.
"My little darling, I'm so sorry to have wronged you!" Consort Tong said regretfully.
Originally, Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong were considering letting Xiao Guai observe mourning before getting married. Consort Rong and Consort Yi informed their maternal families, thinking that three years was a long time and they couldn't possibly guard against it.
Kangxi was a man of secret letters. Master Yuanyi had said beforehand that it would be a blessing for the Qing Dynasty for Yinzhi to be accompanied by Qingyan.
"Mother, I'm not wronged!" Qingyan said with a smile.
Outsiders thought that there was no grand wedding, and that even the Jiuzhao Return Home ceremony had to be held after the mourning period, but Qingyan felt it was very peaceful. At present, she and Yin had not yet consummated their marriage, and her whole demeanor still had the delicate charm of a young girl.
Consort Tong sighed heavily. Fei Yanggu felt uneasy. Yesterday, Emperor Kangxi said that Fei Yanggu and his two sons would soon return to the Northwest. For the next two years, except for returning to the capital during festivals, they would have to stay on the frontier. This was also the reason why Fei Yanggu agreed to the marriage within 100 days.
Qingyan helped Consort Tong walk towards the main hall. At this moment, apart from Consort Yi and Consort Rong, the remaining concubines were already sitting in the hall waiting. Consort Hui specially brought Lady Yingenjueluo over. On the first day after Xiao Guai's wedding, she had to pay her respects to the concubines. Consort Hui hoped that Lady Yingenjueluo could take on the responsibility of the eldest sister-in-law and help Qingyan.
At the Xishan camp, E'shuo privately helped Yin quite a bit. Consort Hui had a very good impression of Qingyan's family. In addition, before the First Princess Consort got married, she and Qingyan were best friends, and after her marriage, she also spoke well of Qingyan.
“Sister Huifei, the First Princess’s headdress is quite interesting.” Consort Ping noticed the platinum plum blossom hairpin on Lady Yingenjueluo’s head. The pale blue petals were all made of blue diamonds. This was a special adornment prepared by Qing for the First Princess.
"The plum blossoms are indeed exquisite; even the palace jewelry isn't as refined as the Grand Consort's." Consort Ping was the Empress Yuan's own sister, and many of the Empress Yuan's henchmen had sided with her. Noble Lady Nara was personally groomed by the Empress Yuan; both of her sons died young, and now, she was getting on in years and had given up hope of regaining favor.
Consort Hui frowned. The two women were from the Nara clan. She was the legitimate daughter of the main branch, while Noble Lady Nara was a concubine's daughter from a collateral branch. Because of this, the Nara clan had focused their attention on her. Noble Lady Nara had been favored. The family's ambiguous attitude angered Consort Hui.
Back then, she was young and impetuous. The early deaths of her two sons were largely due to the concubines in the harem. When the Empress Yuan took action, Consort Hui knew but did not stop her. Instead, she fueled the flames from behind. When Consort Nara found out, the two became complete adversaries.
"Look at what you're saying! Yesterday, Xiao Guai went to pay her respects to each palace, and she didn't show any favoritism. You all received Xiao Guai's jewelry." Consort Tong dared not do it anymore. Noble Lady Nara was also a fool. She didn't dare to accept Xiao Guai's things and even caused trouble, which made many people feel disgusted.
Instantly, the hall fell silent. Everyone seemed to have forgotten that Yin had led Qingyan to pay respects to each of the palaces, giving each person two sets of exquisite jewelry. Everyone knew that Qingyan was wealthy, and this round of visits must have cost a considerable amount of money.
"The eldest daughter-in-law and Xiao Guai have a good relationship. Some of the better relationships are between sisters-in-law." Consort Tong smiled coldly, and those without brains didn't say anything more.
Consort Hui took a sip of tea. After Empress Yuan's passing, Kangxi poured all his affection into Consort Tong, and Yin's status was no longer as high as Yin's.
“Nara is also concerned about the Fourth Prince’s wife.” Consort Xin looked very haggard. During this time, she finally understood that with the Empress Dowager gone, Consort Meng’s days in the palace were really not easy.
Everyone pretended not to hear Consort Xin's words. The Empress Dowager's deteriorating health was largely due to the Khorchin's desire to elevate Consort Xin to the throne. Even though Emperor Kangxi disliked the Empress Dowager, she was still his elder.
After the Empress Dowager passed away, Consort Xin was completely abandoned by Emperor Kangxi.
"Mother, my sister-in-law and I are going to Cining Palace to keep the Empress Dowager company!" Qingyan and Yingenjueluo exchanged a glance. It was best for them to stay out of the palace concubines' infighting.
Consort Tong nodded; this girl was quite clever.
"Go ahead, have breakfast with the Empress Dowager first." Consort Tong and Consort Rong nodded, and the Grand Princess and Qingyan left immediately afterward.
Leaving Chenggan Palace, the two breathed a sigh of relief. Xiao Guai noticed that the First Princess Consort's appearance had become increasingly feminine. She also secretly examined her own figure. Although, thanks to the space's conditioning, her figure was excellent for a teenager, it was still somewhat inferior to the First Princess Consort's.
“Little darling, if you’re bored, you can come to me. For the next three years, Yin and I will be living in the Prince’s residence.” Yin Genjue Luo Shi treated Qing Yan like her own sister, and Yin had often mentioned the help that E Shuo and others had given him.
"Okay, but not recently." Qingyan has entered the palace, but now she lives under the public eye.
The First Princess looked at Qingyan with sympathy. The Crown Princess and the Third Princess both wanted to see Qingyan make a fool of himself, since the Crown Prince always said how good this little fellow Qingyan was.
"Alright, go and pay your respects to the Empress Dowager, and also to Duofang, who is now the Crown Princess!" The First Consort whispered to her, leaving Qingyan puzzled.
She's already married, so she shouldn't be of much appeal to the Crown Prince anymore.
"A woman's jealousy cannot be controlled by reason." The First Princess Consort is jealous again. The princes are all careless. When they praise someone else's wife, aren't they just causing trouble for that person?
Qingyan stuck out her tongue. Wasn't the Crown Princess supposed to be very dignified? How come the one in front of her is so repulsive?
When they arrived at the entrance of Cining Palace, the Crown Princess had already arrived.
"Doesn't the Crown Princess need to pay her respects to Mother?" Qingyan wondered. Shouldn't the wives of princes go to Chenggan Palace to pay their respects before they can come over?
"Heh heh, the Crown Princess is the Crown Prince's primary consort; she has no connection with us!" the First Consort said sarcastically. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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