On a summer evening, under the grapevines in the courtyard, Yin and Qingyan leaned back in their wicker chairs, leisurely enjoying the sunset.
Just after dinner, the twins had returned to their courtyard to do their homework. Qingyan then told Yin about Kangxi and Consort Tong's visit to the military port in Guangdong and Guangxi.
"It was a task personally requested by Yinzhi, who hoped to gain favor with Father Emperor," Yin said, holding Qingyan's left hand.
After summer arrived, Yin and Qingyan would spend their days enjoying the cool air together, recounting the events of the day, and the two of them would leisurely spend some time together.
"Master, the Third Master has arrived with his Third Consort!" Su Peisheng walked in from outside and reported to Yin.
A gentle evening breeze was blowing, and Qingyan was already a little drowsy. But Su Peisheng's interruption snapped her back to reality. Meeting the Third Princess Consort would definitely be a difficult confrontation.
"Sisi, why are they here again?" Qingyan said, slightly annoyed.
Yin pinched her cheek, telling her to stop complaining and to keep up appearances.
The Third Princess Consort, dressed in a blue high-necked palace gown with a formulaic smile on her face, followed Yin Zhi in. Qing Yan rose to greet her.
She caught a glimpse of Yin's face out of the corner of her eye, and sure enough, he was acting somewhat formulaic. Yin Zhi must have offended Yin somehow.
After everyone exchanged greetings, Qingyan sat down in the seat below Yin.
Su Lan served three glasses of chilled plum juice, one with less ice. Recently, the weather has been too hot, so Qing Yan also used a small amount of ice.
"Fourth Prince, I took a quick look around. If Father Emperor were to come, wouldn't this military port be too rudimentary?" The courtyard that Yin Zhi was taken to was indeed rather simple.
A cold smile appeared on Yin's lips. He thought that everything in the palace was the best. Here, not only was there no best, but even the basics were probably in problem.
"The naval port in Tianjin is even more rudimentary than this one!" Yin Zhi's vision was too narrow, Yin Zhi said nonchalantly. "If you can't accept it, you can tell Father Emperor to return to the capital first!"
Yinzhi stared at Yin in surprise. After the old man went to the capital, his personality changed a lot. In the past, when he encountered similar things, Yin would not have stood up for himself.
"Fourth Prince, those words really sting me. Aren't you just worried that you won't be able to explain yourself to Father Emperor?" Yin Zhi sneered.
Yin Zhi, feigning concern for Yin's well-being, was relentless in his lecturing, launching into a lecture.
As Dong Eshi listened to Yin Zhi speak, she raised her head slightly, acting as if she were the eldest sister-in-law. Qing Yan smiled and pursed her lips. In front of Yin Genjue Luo Shi, Dong Eshi dared not say another word.
"Little Darling, take the Third Prince Consort to the side hall!" Yin drank the plum juice down his throat, feeling a mix of emotions. Yin Zhi had really gone too far.
Qingyan stood up and bowed slightly in the direction of Yinzhi and Yin. However, the Third Princess Consort acted differently. She seemed not to see Yin at all and left immediately.
After taking a careful look, she pondered how to deal with Lady Dong'e.
Dong E entered the side hall and seemed like a different person. She quickly passed Qingyan and took the seat on the upper left, the seat that was originally occupied by the host.
This scene surprised Qingyan slightly. He stood in the center of the side hall and walked to the right side to sit down.
“Little darling, in principle, you are also the legitimate wife. If your sister-in-law says something like that, it would seem like she is overstepping the bounds of propriety.”
“When men are on duty outside, there may be things they can’t think of. You should think more than they do about how to maintain the relationship between the princes.” The Third Princess said with the wisdom of someone who had been through it all. Qingyan didn’t look at her, but gave Sulan a look and told her to go prepare the food.
Inside the side hall, all the maids had gone outside to wait. The only one inside, Sulan, was sent away by Qingyan.
She raised her head and looked coldly at Dong E Shi: "Third Princess Consort, you shouldn't be saying this. If you were the Crown Princess, she would be of noble status and it would be acceptable for you to say a few words about your sister-in-law. But what about you? You're not the eldest sister-in-law. You have your eldest sister-in-law and the Crown Princess above you. You're saying that the Third Prince is of noble status than the Prince. But the status and titles are the same!"
Qingyan had been holding his breath. When Yin left the palace to establish his own residence, he was directly granted the title of Prince. There was no longer the historical title of Beile. The Third Prince was also a Prince. Therefore, everyone was on the same starting line, and no one had to be more glorious than the other.
"My dear, that's going too far!" Dong E's face was very unpleasant. "Besides, I'm doing this for your own good."
The Third Prince's wife firmly refused to believe that she had overstepped her bounds. After all, it would be fine if the Crown Princess said such things, and it would also be acceptable for the future Empress's wife to say such things.
"Heh!" Qingyan snorted coldly.
The atmosphere in the side hall instantly became awkward. Qingyan casually sipped his plum juice without saying a word, looking towards the door. Dong'e was furious with Qingyan and wondered if she should teach him a lesson.
"Sister-in-law, your temper is still so fiery. This is not good. What will you do if Fourth Master brings another woman into the manor in a few years?" Dong Eshi hinted.
The imperial concubine selection was held every three years, during which the princes could be betrothed. However, during both selection periods, Qingyan was giving birth, and Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong would not arrange marriages for the sake of their legitimate son.
After entering the household, Lady Dong'e had two more concubine selections, and the mansion was filled with people. The concubine gave birth to a daughter, but Lady Dong'e did not give birth to a legitimate daughter. This caused the balance of power in the Dong'e family to shift slightly in favor of the concubine.
"Third Princess Consort, you should still worry about the mansion. Even your eldest sister-in-law has given birth to a legitimate son. Your situation is much worse." The Crown Prince's marriage was less recent than theirs, so Dong E Shi and Qing Yan became the objects of comparison.
"You and I are both princesses who need to take care of the concubines. If we have another daughter, we won't be able to manage it all!" Dong E replied awkwardly.
Qingyan sneered inwardly, annoyed. These words, once spoken, would seem outrageous to outsiders.
In front of her, Consort Dong'e actually implied that the concubine was not following the rules, which was why she had no time to give birth to a legitimate son.
If this were said in front of other women, the fact that Consort Dong'e was ignorant of etiquette would quickly spread throughout high society. Consort Dong'e played this trick very well!
Qingyan pursed her lips, as if she hadn't heard what Dong'e had said, which made her very embarrassed.
“Sister-in-law, the concubine is a female member of the Third Master’s household, which is not suitable for me. Besides, the other party is your sister. I can’t say much about the two of you fighting!” Qingyan glanced at Dong Eshi.
Dong E's face turned as purple with anger, her fury reaching its peak. Qing Yan's words clearly implied that she had exposed the family's dirty laundry. Among the sisters-in-law, no one would expose their family's dirty laundry in public.
"Sister-in-law, this one is truly amazing!" Dong Eshi exclaimed.
Qingyan didn't care, wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and looked at her innocently.
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