A few days later, rumors spread in the palace that His Majesty would not choose a high-ranking concubine for the Fourth Prince. When Consort Rong and Consort Yi heard this, they smiled with satisfaction, as Yinzhi had completely fallen out of favor.
They wondered if Consort Tong had done something wrong that angered Emperor Kangxi.
No matter what they think, it doesn't affect the two people living in the prince's residence.
At lunchtime, Yin specially returned from the Ministry of Revenue. Xiao Guai prepared some cooling lunch. These days, in order to make Yin feel comfortable, Qingyan has been cooking for him personally, which makes her little face always rosy.
"Fourth Brother, do you still want some onion and wood ear mushroom salad?" Qingyan picked up a piece of food for Yin, her little face full of anticipation. This onion and wood ear mushroom salad was one of Xiaoguai's proud creations. Not only did the family ship bring back ingredients from the Shu Kingdom of Ryukyu, but none of the family members knew how to use them, so they were all delivered to her.
Yin's eyes turned red from the spiciness of the wasabi, but after eating it, he felt really good.
"The taste is quite different from what the imperial kitchen makes!" Yin Wan exclaimed with great emotion.
During the summer, the imperial kitchen would never prepare such spicy food for the masters, in case they got a sore throat or other internal heat, they would definitely be punished.
Therefore, the chefs in the imperial kitchen were very disciplined.
Xiao Guai was different; she just wanted Si Si to have more things to use, so she came up with all sorts of ways to hope that Yin could eat better.
"You little rascal!"
"Sisi, this is great for mixing with cold buckwheat noodles!" Qingyan thought of the cold noodles she loved to eat most when she was eating noodles.
Yin's eyes lit up. During this time, Xiao Guai had been asking the Imperial Kitchen for cold noodles quite often, and Xiao Guai had personally instructed the people in Xiong's kitchen to make them.
"How about we have cold noodles for dinner again?" Yin asked, looking at Xiao Guai.
"Great!" Qingyan was naturally happy. Cold noodles were the easiest to prepare, and if Sisi liked them, she could prepare a lot of delicious meals for Sisi.
After lunch, Yin went to the Ministry of Revenue under the scorching sun. Xiao Guai lay on the soft couch, using the air conditioning in the room to cool herself down.
To avoid upsetting her visiting sisters-in-law, she had no choice but to use an ice basin; all the ice crystals in the space had been collected by Qingyan.
Just after finishing her afternoon nap and washing up, Su Lan informed Qing Yan that the Third Princess Consort had arrived again!
She frowned. The Third Prince's wife was really not someone to be admired. Ever since Yinzhi was punished by Kangxi, she always came to her to complain. Qingyan had said quite a few times, "Don't come here anymore."
Sometimes, Qingyan would run directly to Consort Tong's place to avoid her, but today, before she could even run away, she was blocked at the door by the Third Prince's wife!
"Go prepare some shaved ice. We'll just wait for the Third Princess to leave on her own." Qingyan shook his head helplessly. The Third Princess showed no sign of feeling well. Qingyan had already said that he wasn't feeling well, but the Third Princess still insisted on sitting there.
"Sister-in-law, it's really not easy to see you today. Why didn't you go to Consort Tong's place today?" The Third Princess Consort looked at Qingyan and saw that he seemed to have just woken up from his afternoon nap.
"Third Sister-in-law, have some iced drinks. Mother has things to do, and I certainly won't go over to cause trouble." Qingyan was eating something wrong, and Yang Jing kept glancing at the Third Princess Consort.
Lady Dong'e frowned, seemingly angered by the women in the inner courtyard once again.
“Sister-in-law, I envy you so much. Father Emperor said that the concubines he bestowed upon Fourth Brother were not of high status, unlike us…” Dong E’s face darkened even more. When the imperial edict from Kangxi was issued, the First Consort didn’t think much of it. If it weren’t for the censor, Xiao Guai would definitely not have suffered the torment of being a concubine.
"There are quite a few women in the back courtyard who aren't calculating. Third Sister-in-law's words clearly imply that my master has fallen out of favor!" Qingyan said sarcastically.
Dong Eshi's desire to show off her power depends on the timing.
"Sister-in-law, you're going too far. I'm just concerned about you. Look at my side, which of those two concubines is well-behaved? Aren't they all thinking about how to scheme against me?" A few days ago, the Third Consort was diagnosed with pregnancy, and she was strutting around for a long time, which made Qingyan feel a bit aggrieved. The Fourth Prince said that she was young and that if she had a child now, her health would definitely suffer. To put the Fourth Prince's mind at ease, she didn't have any such thoughts.
With sufficient space available, even young women can have a safe delivery.
"Third Sister-in-law, you're getting heavier and heavier, and you're still resting in the courtyard. Don't come here anymore, or if something really happens, the Third Prince will really eat me alive!" Qingyan gently touched Dong E's belly. Dong E Wan Ning had a son, and Yin Zhi doted on the child. Dong E's wife finally couldn't sit still and often tried to take action, but Dong E Wan Ning stopped her one by one. The other two concubines were not so lucky; their children were killed by Dong E's wife.
The Third Princess was taken aback, but couldn't help feeling smug. Qingyan was also straightforward and actually told her not to come.
"Hehe, the imperial physician said I should walk around more often so that it will be easier to give birth!" Dong Eshi wasn't afraid that Xiao Guai would refuse.
She always comes to cause trouble for Xiao Guai, and I've already thought of a way to deal with it.
Qingyan's eyes flashed, and Wang Gege's maid from Yinzhi's backyard walked in from outside the door. After respectfully bowing to them, she knelt on the ground with a sorrowful expression.
"Madam, please save the princess! She's about to give birth, and we've been trying to find the imperial physician for an hour, but he hasn't arrived yet!" The maidservant looked timidly at the Third Madam, clearly putting on a show for Qingyan.
"Third Sister-in-law, hurry back and take a look. After all, he is the Third Prince's son," Qingyan said cheerfully.
Dong E sighed. There was no way to hold off Qingyan again today. Alas... Wang Gege was also so oblivious. It seemed that Rongfei's mission would not be accomplished.
With the departure of the Third Princess Consort, Qingyan finally relaxed completely.
"Princess Consort, the Third Princess Consort doesn't look too good!" Su Lan handed Qing Yan a cup of plum juice, her tone laced with sarcasm.
"It would be a miracle if she were pretty. Consort Wang was on guard against Lady Dong'e for nine months. When that maid came to report, she seemed very anxious on the surface, but her eyes were very calm. After Lady Dong'e went back, she probably gave birth." Qingyan muttered.
She wasn't good at backyard politics, but she was very perceptive.
Su Lan slightly opened her mouth. "Is this okay?"
Among the servants, it was said that the Third Princess Consort had the best control over the inner court among all the consorts. She would know about any disturbances among the concubines immediately. However, there were still some who slipped through the net.
At three o'clock, Qingyan changed into casual clothes and went to the small kitchen to prepare meals for Yin. This was a pleasant experience for a normal young couple, and Yin enjoyed it. Qingyan tried her best to keep things fresh for him, since the First Princess Consort always said that princes were all greedy for novelty. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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