For several days in a row, Yin and Qingyan would take Hafeng to the imperial palace early in the morning to reduce the possibility of being blocked by others in the villa.
Early in the morning, just as their carriage left the villa, someone came to visit them.
"Master, the women of the Cao family have come to visit again!" The eunuch left behind by Bayan quietly rushed over and reported directly to Yin.
Pfft!
Do the women of the Cao family have nothing better to do?
They were determined to ignore any officials' families. Yin and Qingyan would always arrive at the imperial palace ahead of time, and each day they would arrive earlier than the last. The Cao family always arrived right after them.
Yin read through the memorial without saying a word, but he was thinking about what the Cao family really meant.
The princes' villas accompanying the emperor were all open to the Cao family for a visit, but they did not go. Instead, they visited their own villas every day.
This made many princes envious. Yin was already in a high position, and now, the powerful regional official from the south had appeared at the gate of Yin's villa again.
"Sisi, we're leaving the day after tomorrow. This hectic life is finally coming to an end!" Qingyan said with emotion.
Inside the naval port, everyone was straightforward and spoke their mind without beating around the bush. Since returning, Qingyan had been somewhat unaccustomed to it. Every time he went to pay his respects to Consort Tong, it felt like a war. He had to be extra careful with every word he said to those uninvited female relatives, for fear of stepping into someone's trap.
The carriage slowly came to a stop, and icebergs began to be placed all over the palace. The two pavilions that Consort Tong liked the most had already been decorated with carved icebergs to keep the ladies cool, for fear that they would catch a chill from the heat.
"Little darling, slow down!" Yin stood beside the carriage, holding his son in one arm and helping Qingyan down from the carriage with the other.
"Sisi, let me do it!" Qingyan quickly took over from Hafeng.
Inside the mansion or villa, Qingyan often had Yin take care of her son. He even did things like changing diapers. However, outside, she always adhered to the rules and would never violate the ancestral rules.
Yin didn't mind, quickly handed the child over, and accompanied Qingyan to Consort Tong's courtyard.
Upon entering the courtyard, the two of them heard a lively commotion inside the main hall. They exchanged a glance and quickly went inside, finding something strange about the hall.
Today, it's neither a New Year's Day nor a festival, nor a day that marks the fifth or tenth of a lunar month, so why is Consort Tong's place so lively?
Yin stepped into the palace with Qingyan and found that all those who came were Mongolian wives. Yin quickly bowed to Consort Tong.
"Mother, I've brought Xiao Guai and Ha Feng'a over. I'm going to pay my respects to Father!" Yin quickly made up an excuse and went directly to Kangxi's side.
"Don't worry, Mother is here!" Consort Tong smiled, though Yin was just giving her some words of advice out of concern.
Qingyan held Hafenga in her arms, looking shy and bashful, not at all like a mother of three.
The Mongol wives all stared at Qingyan. They all knew that Qingyan was much older than the noble ladies they had brought. The noble ladies stood beside Qingyan, as if they were peers.
"My dear, these are all the wives of the Mongol tribes!" Consort Tong was surrounded by these wives early in the morning, who wanted to show her the noble ladies they had brought.
Qingyan nodded to the Mongolian wives as a way of greeting them.
The Mongol wives were of much lower rank than the princes' primary wives, so it was understandable that they didn't stand up to pay their respects at the banquet.
"Mother, how are you feeling?" Qingyan would ask every day, after all, Consort Tong had been suffering from insomnia since arriving in the south.
"Since returning from Guangdong and Guangxi, I haven't had insomnia anymore!" Consort Tong said with a smile.
Qingyan was in high spirits. Consort Tong was speaking to the Mongol wives, as many of the leaders wanted firearms and hoped that Emperor Kangxi would provide more.
Most of these wives were betrothed from within the palace, and their lives in Mongolia were not easy. The noble ladies they accompanied were rarely legitimate daughters.
"This is the Fourth Princess Consort." Consort Tong glanced at the Mongolian noble ladies. Just now, when these ladies came over, they didn't even bother to greet her properly.
The Mongolian noblewomen glanced at Qingyan sideways, then lazily stood up and bowed to him.
"Greetings to the Fourth Princess Consort!" They were performing the Mongolian greeting.
When Qingyan saw the Mongolian etiquette in front of them, they were all stunned. What was going on?
After arriving in Beijing, the Mongolian women followed the palace rules in their etiquette. However, once they reached the south, the Mongolian noblewomen became even more precious.
"Start kowtowing." Qingyan waved his hand dismissively, allowing the noble ladies to begin kowtowing.
"Fourth Princess Consort, are you looking down on the Mongols? We are paying our respects to you, you should return the courtesy!" The Mongol noblewoman sitting at the head of the table challenged.
Qingyan smiled slightly: "Before the election, I learned the palace rules, and I learned them very well. Even Granny Su praised my manners!"
As soon as she finished speaking, the noblewoman choked on her words. Qingyan made a point of emphasizing the words "palace rules" and "Granny Su".
"Fourth Princess Consort, it's my daughter's fault for not speaking properly. Please don't take it to heart; she's still young!" The princess consort sitting to the lower right of Consort Tong quickly apologized.
“Ga Lu, that’s quite an interesting thing to say. Your daughter is a year older than Qingyan!” Consort Tong directly challenged.
Ugh!
The atmosphere inside the hall became awkward, and the women were all wondering if they should take their leave.
"Your Highness, we've been out for quite some time. Fourth Princess Consort has come to pay her respects, so we'll be taking our leave now!" The Mongolian princess consorts all stood up, bowed, and quickly took their leave.
After all the Mongolian wives had left, Qingyan took his seat. Shu carried Hafeng'a out of the inner chamber. The little guy saw Consort Tong and immediately stretched out his arms, calling out to her.
“Mother, look, Hafeng is letting you hold him!” Qingyan quickly said.
The Mongolian women are probably coming to cause trouble, which has made Consort Tong somewhat depressed.
Consort Tong reached out and picked up Hafeng'a, then looked at Qingyan: "Luckily you arrived early, otherwise, there would have been more to say."
She was quite surprised by the demands of the Mongolian wives. They all wanted to send their daughters to Yinzhi's residence. Did they think more highly of Yinzhi?
"Little darling, guess whose residence these wives hope their daughter will enter?" Consort Tong asked, holding Hafeng'a.
“It’s definitely not Fourth Prince’s backyard, otherwise you wouldn’t have said it in a joking tone!” Qingyan said that as long as it wasn’t Yin’s backyard, she would treat it as a show.
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