Before lunch, Qingyan returned to the prince's residence. Yin was already sitting in the main hall waiting for her. Her face was pale. Yin quickly stepped forward, picked her up, and walked briskly to the soft couch. He unbuttoned the top two buttons of her clothes and brought more than a dozen cups of warm water from the kang table.
"Little darling, are you feeling better?" Yin heard the news coming from the Chengqian Palace that it was someone from the Criminal Division who was in charge of criminal law.
"Four...Four..." Qingyan came to her senses, the scene of being beaten to death making her tremble all over.
"Su Peisheng, go and invite Physician Yuan here!" Yin looked at the little boy's listless appearance and was worried that the little guy would be traumatized.
Outside the door, Su Peisheng, having received Yin's order, quickly ran out.
Xiao Guai clung tightly to Yin's neck, not daring to move an inch, her almond-shaped eyes lifeless.
"Little darling, don't be afraid!" Yin Yi said, noticing Qing Yan's expression.
Qingyan rested her little face on his shoulder, her eyes starting to wander.
I've never seen so many people die right in front of me in either of my two lives; the visual impact is far more stimulating than anything else.
"Sisi, why did you have to be beaten to death?! And you even let us see it!" Qingyan had seen in novels that those in power always mentioned being beaten to death.
Those two short words made her tremble all over.
A full zhang of red!
Her little head started to wander into random thoughts, and he patted her back.
"Little darling, nothing will happen again, don't be afraid, okay?" Yin was conflicted. This was the first time she had seen someone die from being beaten with sticks, and it left such a psychological scar.
Qingyan nestled in his arms, her little face deathly pale.
"Your Majesty, the imperial physician has arrived!" Su Peisheng looked at the situation in the hall and felt somewhat embarrassed, unsure whether to go in or back out.
"Come in!" Yin said to the outside.
After watching Physician Yuan bow, Yin looked up at Qingyan's small face and couldn't help but sigh.
After returning from Chenggan Palace, both the First and Third Princess Consorts summoned the imperial physicians, and Physician Yuan had been waiting for the Fourth Prince's summons.
"Let the Fujin see her first!" Yin frowned. Xiao Guai was in a bad mood. It was almost lunchtime, but she didn't eat as usual.
Yin was worried, fearing that the little guy might die young.
After taking her pulse, Physician Yuan sighed helplessly; the Fourth Princess Consort was terrified.
"Fourth Prince, this servant will prescribe some medicinal food to calm the nerves of Fourth Princess Consort. This servant doesn't have much else to do," the imperial physician explained. "In the next few days, Fourth Prince, you should spend more time with Fourth Princess Consort."
After saying this, Yin accepted the offer from Physician Yuan and left.
"Little darling, did you hear that?!" Yin looked down at the little guy. "The servants that your mother beat to death all deserved to die!"
Yin had never advised anyone in either of his two lives, so his advice to Xiao Guai was nothing but dry rhetoric.
"Mmm!" Qingyan agreed, but her small body was still trembling. "Fourth Brother, can I skip going to Mother's to pay my respects these next few days?"
As soon as Qingyan entered Chenggan Palace, that mournful sound echoed in her ears.
He sighed heavily. He needed to train.
"Alright, I'll talk to Mother. Little darling, let's go have lunch first, okay?" Yin showed his utmost patience, trying to make Qingyan forget about what had just happened.
"Waaah, no!" Qingyan shook her head.
Her little paws tugged at the back of his collar, and her little face rubbed against him.
"Come, let's go have lunch," Yin said, lifting her up by the waist as he walked, while instructing the people outside, "Sulan, have someone set out lunch!"
The little girl shyly leaned closer to his shoulder, and finally stuck her head out.
"Hmph, don't let me see anything red!" Qingyan loves spicy food, and right now, she doesn't want to see that color.
She would remember that red color. He nodded, which was his way of agreeing.
"Okay, I've given the instructions!" Yin glanced at Su Peisheng, who quickly went out to check on the lunch prepared in the small kitchen. He removed all the red-colored dishes.
When lunch was served, Qingyan pouted again. The dishes were mostly bland vegetables, which made Xiaoguai, who loves meat, look quite unhappy.
"Fourth Brother, I want to eat meat!" Qingyan muttered softly, her little face drooping.
"Okay!" Yin kissed her little face. "Su Peisheng, have the kitchen make some Dongpo pork!"
Dongpo pork isn't exactly red, but it's Xiaoguai's favorite ingredient.
"Let's have a bigger lunch later, and then we'll go shopping at Mei'ai this afternoon!" Yin thought to himself. It had been three years since she had gone out of the palace to go shopping. When she heard Yin's words, her eyes lit up.
Aside from the New Year's gatherings, she rarely saw Fei Yanggu and his two sons. Each time, it was Yin who brought letters from her father and sons to comfort her homesickness.
After lunch, Qingyan gave up her habit of taking a nap, changed into a sky-blue cheongsam, and combed her hair back into a single bun, only wearing two gilded cloisonné bat and peach hairpins. In the upper right corner of her single bun, she clipped two small butterflies with fluttering wings, and on her ears, she wore a cloisonné openwork teardrop-shaped longevity earring.
This outfit isn't too formal, but it's not as plain as it was a couple of years ago.
"Fourth Prince, let's go!" Yin changed into his casual clothes for leaving the palace, with a yellow sash tied around his waist.
The two stepped into the carriage together and slowly left the palace.
At lunchtime, seeing the little guy's sullen appearance, Yin asked Su Peisheng to find a guard to inform Fei Yanggu and his two sons to go to the Yuelai Inn for dinner, so that the little guy could meet his family.
"Fourth Prince, look, people are out shopping!" Yin recalled that Saito had said in his letter that during the Empress Dowager's mourning period, even tomatoes were wrapped in cotton bags.
The small vendors were afraid that the government would use this as an excuse to arrest them, so they came up with a lot of ways to avoid affecting people's lives.
"Yes, the mourning period is over, and people should be out and about!" Yin said, holding her little hand.
This time, leaving the palace felt like a bird being released. Looking at the bustling street scene outside, her mind was no longer on the matter of being beaten to death on the city wall. Her attention was completely diverted, and Yin hoped that Xiao Guai could forget those unpleasant things.
Tonight is going to be the most difficult night. If she can get through it safely, her emotions will be completely calm.
"Hehe, Mei'ai has several new jewelry pieces. I'll send them to Mother later!" Qingyan is always thinking about Consort Tong. No wonder Consort Tong likes her.
Yin remained silent, listening as she listed what she needed to prepare, including some snacks for Yinxiang.
She didn't abandon anyone who was good to Yin, which warmed his heart.
"What about mine!" Yin said sternly, looking at her.
"Hehe, of course I can't forget Sisi, I've prepared it for you!" Qingyan proudly raised her little face. She could forget anyone else but Sisi.
She took out a jade Buddha head carving from her purse, with a cute cartoon version of the character "四四" (fourth brother/fourth brother). Qingyan had been holding onto those "四四" paintings she had collected in modern times, and the thought of them made her itch with desire. Finally, she used meticulous brushwork to create her most satisfying painting. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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