The three years of mourning passed in the blink of an eye, and when the mourning period ended, it was already the height of summer.
On the first day, the small kitchen received a lot of meat. Without saying a word, Qingyan had a grill set up in the pavilion to prepare for a barbecue.
“Little Darling…” Yin returned from the Ministry of Revenue and saw black smoke rising from the courtyard from afar. His steps faltered, worried that something might happen.
Waaaaah!
Qingyan was happily roasting a leg of lamb, and the taste was absolutely different from the lamb leg made in the imperial kitchen.
"Why are you here in this heat, instead of letting your servant do the work?" Yin asked, exasperated.
Three years have transformed Xiao Guai's chubby little face into a long, narrow oval face.
"Hehe, we got lamb legs today. I didn't let the others roast them; it's more fun to do it yourself. My elder brother and sister-in-law will be here soon!" Yin returned from the military camp early. In a few days, Yin's family will be leaving, and this is a farewell feast prepared by Xiao Guai.
Yin sighed. In the military camp, there was no restriction on the consumption of meat. After all, the soldiers of the Xishan Camp were always ready to go to war, and if their diet was not up to par, it might cause the Qing Dynasty to lose the war.
"Su Peisheng, go to Yuqing Palace and the Third Prince's courtyard and ask if they have come over too!" Qingyan has a good relationship with Lady Yingenjueluo, so the Crown Princess and Lady Dong'e always find excuses to deal with her.
As soon as she finished speaking, she pursed her lips. Logically speaking, the Crown Princess should have organized a gathering for the wives, but they had been staring at her all day and the Crown Princess hadn't made a move. Qingyan thought that she was having a private gathering with Lady Yingenjueluo.
"They definitely won't come!" Qingyan complained.
Over the years, they've had their share of confrontations! The Crown Princess appears to be well-behaved, which makes Kangxi think she's capable of shouldering great responsibilities, but Qingyan probably just scoffs when she hears that.
"You can choose not to come, but you must invite her!" Qingyan said, sticking to her own little temper. "Sulan, go to Chenggan Palace and ask Mother if she's coming too!"
"Stop!" Yin tapped her forehead with his finger, quickly stopping Su Lan from leaving. "No need. Tomorrow, you prepare your things, and we'll go to Mother's for a barbecue!"
As evening fell and a gentle breeze blew, Qingyan turned to continue her work, leaving Yin with only her back to her.
He sighed; the little guy was throwing a tantrum.
“My dear, just because we have a good relationship with Father Emperor doesn’t mean the other princes will accept it. You don’t want to be ostracized among your sisters-in-law, do you?” Yin had been keeping an eye on Yuqing Palace, and the Crown Princess was whispering gossip about Qingyan in the Crown Prince’s ear, setting several traps for the couple.
Half an hour later, the eldest prince and the crown prince arrived one after the other, while the third prince, having heard the news of the crown prince's arrival, came with Lady Dong'e.
"Sister-in-law, there are vegetables, seafood and meat. Sulan has prepared a meal for the eldest princess. Please have the nanny feed the eldest princess first, so the little one doesn't go hungry." After Qingyan bowed to the Crown Princess, she teased the eldest princess in Yin Genjueluo's arms. The little girl's rosy cheeks made one want to pinch them.
The First Princess nodded, handed the child to the nanny behind her, and then walked side by side with Xiao Guai behind the Crown Princess.
At this moment, the Crown Princess was in a particularly bad mood, as Qing Yan completely disregarded her.
"Fourth Princess Consort, Father Emperor really dotes on you, giving you such a big leg of lamb!" the Crown Princess said sarcastically.
Qingyan frowned. What was she implying? That she was colluding with Emperor Kangxi?
Hehe!
If someone with ulterior motives were to overhear this and spread it, it would become a royal scandal.
"Crown Princess, how could I possibly be as favored by the Emperor as you are? Among all the princes' primary wives, you are ranked first, and even your governess was personally trained by His Majesty!" Qingyan said with a smile, but her eyes were filled with icy coldness.
Pfft!
The Crown Prince spat out his tea; Xiao Guai's words were spot on. Even though he was wary of Yin, he was still quite kind to Qingyan.
"My dear, being favored by the Emperor isn't something to be used like this. You should learn Manchu properly!" The Crown Prince shook his head helplessly.
Yin secretly gave Xiao Guai a thumbs up. Everyone knew that when Qing Yan wanted to teach someone a lesson, he would definitely speak Manchu. Qing Yun's Chinese was excellent, but he would occasionally make some funny mistakes in Manchu.
"Second Brother Crown Prince, I promise I will study hard and I won't complain to Father Emperor. You and Grandfather always complain and make me copy scriptures as punishment!" Qingyan looked at the Crown Prince angrily.
"Alright, alright, I understand. The scriptures are unavoidable. If Father Emperor doesn't check them, this task will be assigned to me!" Yin looked at Qingyan with a smile.
ah?!
Qingyan was stunned. After getting married, wouldn't he no longer have to write?
Yin and his wife laughed. When Kangxi found out that Xiao Guai's Manchu writing was not good, he ordered her to copy a book of scriptures every month.
"Cough cough... Father Emperor is afraid I'll go easy on him, so he sent the Crown Prince to check!" She looked to Yin for help, but unfortunately, even her own man gave up.
The Crown Princess stood aside, seemingly excluded by the five. Both Yinzhi and Yinzhi had returned to the palace early, and the three of them enjoyed a carefree period. Yinzhi was left at the residence of Lady Dong'e, unable to fill that void.
Qingyan noticed out of the corner of his eye that the Crown Princess's face had turned pale, which made him even happier, as it meant that no one would ever cause trouble for the Crown Princess.
"Fine, I'll write it tomorrow!" Qingyan said helplessly.
The scriptures sent to the Buddhist hall of Cining Palace were all copied in Chinese. They have rarely been written in Manchu these past few months. Why did she, Anong, bring up Manchu?
"Come, come, we have plenty of ingredients prepared for today!" Qingyan quickly called everyone to the pavilion.
"Why are there no servants to attend to us!" The Crown Princess's sharp voice made everyone frown.
"Barbecuing is no fun if you don't do it yourself!" The Crown Prince looked at the Crown Princess with surprise, finding it strange that she was so dignified in front of him.
The Crown Princess's disdainful look made Yin and the others feel uncomfortable.
"If you don't like it, go back!" The prince looked like he wasn't going to keep him company. "Little darling, do you have the chicken wings from last time?"
Once, the three princes went out of the palace together to play in the greenhouse. Qingyan felt that he should make the three of them understand that wasting things was shameful, so he prepared a barbecue. Since it was something they did themselves, the three brothers found it very interesting and even ate some half-cooked food.
“Yes!” Qingyan pointed to the food placed on both sides of the pavilion.
"That's quite complete, Your Highness. If it's only half-cooked, the Crown Princess won't accept it. You should have Xiao Guai prepare the meal for her instead," Yin said with a sneer.
The Crown Princess's words were so unpleasant that Yin directly placed her on the same level as the First Princess.
Without saying a word, Yin took Xiao Guai's hand and went to the other side, where he started grilling seafood.
Qingyan sat to the side, chatting and laughing with his wife while holding a bowl of sour plums. Yin and Yin walked to the grill to serve his wife.
This was Yin Zhi's first time attending such a gathering. He simply followed Yin's lead, sitting and moving around. He had never grilled anything before; he'd barely started, and the chicken wings were already burnt. (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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