The moment the Empress Dowager flew into a rage, Qingyan and the others stood up, not daring to utter a single word, for fear of being implicated.
The atmosphere inside the phoenix tent was unusually tense, and Qingyan was worried that the Empress Dowager would be furious.
"Consort Xin has given you quite a few benefits, making you think that the royal family is easy to deceive?" The Empress Dowager slammed her teacup heavily on the table beside her. Su Mo'er looked at the several wives and couldn't help but sigh. Originally, these women were chosen by the Grand Empress Dowager, who hoped that they would help the Qing Dynasty control Khorchin.
Decades later, these people were the first to oppose the royal decision. After learning about the situation, the Empress Dowager considered whether to retrain these princesses who had been betrothed. It seemed that they still had many areas for improvement.
"Your Majesty, I dare not!" Qi Buchen realized that the Empress Dowager was angry, so he quickly knelt down. None of the chief wives dared to say anything more and immediately admitted their mistakes. The Empress Dowager was their only fortress. If they were to be disliked by the Empress Dowager, they would definitely be punished.
Qingyan sat in the seat closest to the door. When the maidservant prepared tea, Qingyan quickly took the teacup from the tray, walked around the kneeling ladies, and placed it beside the Empress Dowager.
"Little darling, put it down." Qingyan put it down and stood beside the Empress Dowager as she wished. The other wives could only watch helplessly as Qingyan was so favored.
The wives knew in their hearts that their behavior had angered the Empress Dowager.
They all lowered their heads, their husbands doting on their concubines, while the wives, the primary consorts, were left aside.
"Su Mo'er, go and see if the Emperor has come over!" The Empress Dowager intended to let the Emperor handle this matter personally, after all, the grassland policy was not something she could interfere with.
"Your Majesty, are you really... not going to care about us anymore?" Qi Buchen pleaded desperately, disregarding the presence of the palace concubines and princes' wives, only wanting to clear the Khorchin of any wrongdoing.
The Empress Dowager smiled coldly. Consort Xin was the legitimate daughter of the current Prince of Khorchin, and also the sister-in-law of Qi Buchen.
"Is that so? Shouldn't Consort Xin be your biggest backer?" Consort Xin's actions chilled the Empress Dowager's heart.
As soon as she finished speaking, the wives of the chief concubines became worried; the Empress Dowager was clearly angry.
"Lanya, all of you may leave now!" The Empress Dowager calculated that Emperor Kangxi should be arriving soon. Not wanting Consort Tong and the others to be implicated, she dismissed them.
Qingyan was led by Consort Tong to wait inside the imperial tent. As soon as they arrived, they found many officials standing outside. When they saw Consort Tong and her daughter-in-law coming, they quickly bowed their heads to pay their respects.
Among the court officials were Tong Guowei and Fei Yanggu. The two of them dared not delay and quickly told the court officials to stand up. Their fathers were there, and they couldn't very well ask their fathers to bow as well.
Outside the palace, the way their family members bowed to them made them feel uncomfortable. These were the people who had given them life, yet because of their status, a wide chasm had been drawn between them and their families.
"Little darling, you should go back first. His Majesty will be back to receive the court officials." Consort Tong told Qingyan to leave first. As she left, Fei Yanggu was able to exchange a few more words with Qingyan, which was already quite good.
After Qingyan bowed, she walked out through the back door of the imperial tent. As soon as she left the tent, she stopped.
Fei Yanggu knelt at the front. After they left, Tong Guowei chatted with Fei Yanggu. Qingyan looked at her father's tired appearance and felt a pang of sadness.
If she stays home, she will definitely arrange meals for him and use food therapy to help him when he is busy.
"Sulan, how wonderful it would be to see Father!" Qingyan thought of Feiyanggu and hoped to say a few more words to him.
Outside the palace, without the palace walls surrounding her, she talked with E'shuo all night long, feeling incredibly happy, as if she had returned to the past.
When dawn broke, Qingyan was brought back to her original form. She was getting married and was no longer the little girl who was protected by her father and brothers. She had to shoulder the heavy responsibility of being the Fourth Prince's wife.
When Yin was not around, her every move represented his will. When he went hunting, she felt as if she were bound by a tight band, and she walked cautiously with every step, afraid that the imperial censors who followed her would find something wrong.
Fei Yanggu caught a glimpse of that beautiful figure behind the tent out of the corner of his eye, and the corners of his mouth couldn't help but turn up slightly.
"You should go and see her quickly. It would be good if you could spend more time with your daughter. I don't have that kind of luck." Tong Guowei was also a father who doted on his daughter. Of his two legitimate daughters, Lanya was his most precious daughter. If it weren't for Emperor Kangxi personally proposing marriage, he would never have wanted to let Lanya enter the palace.
Fei Yanggu didn't linger. He bowed to Tong Guowei and quickly left.
The court officials present all understood that since the Fourth Princess Consort had just arrived, they would feel uneasy if Fei Yanggu, who was obsessed with his daughter, didn't make a move.
"You two should just pretend you didn't see it. Fei Yanggu hasn't slept well for days since he found out what happened the night before!" Tong Guowei looked at Fei Yanggu and his daughter, feeling a pang of envy.
"Lord Tong, we understand. If the Imperial Concubine summons us, we can simply pretend we didn't see it. After all, what father doesn't have his own child?" The censors were quite reasonable; when faced with something that was perfectly reasonable, they certainly wouldn't nitpick.
Tong Guowei smiled and said, "Lanya wouldn't see me without His Majesty's order."
Upon arriving at the Fourth Prince's tent, Qingyan dismissed all the servants and, just like when they were children, massaged Feiyangu's shoulders.
As soon as she touched him, she felt sorry for her father. His shoulders were very stiff, indicating that he had been busy for a long time without much rest.
"Father, you're not taking care of your health again. I've told you before, you must rest!" Qingyan used some massage techniques to help Fei Yanggu relax under her massage.
"Little darling, are you doing alright?" Fei Yanggu asked, noticing the little guy's pale face and feeling worried.
The night raid the previous night was something Kangxi had deliberately allowed people to enter. As his subjects, they were worried about their daughter and couldn't say a word. He secretly wrote to his two sons, asking them to take care of Xiao Guai in person.
"Father, who am I! With Ah Hun taking care of you, everything will be fine. You need to rest more and take good care of your health. There are many official duties, but you are my only father!" Qingyan often said this to Yin, but he replaced "Father" with his own master.
Now, Yin doesn't have the same fighting spirit as in history. This is partly due to Qingyan's effective persuasion, and partly because Kangxi has changed his perception of Yin. He is no longer just a prince, but has been elevated to the position of heir.
Those in positions of authority need to know all the procedures, but don't need to do them personally.
Kangxi had been subtly teaching Yin how to use the servants around him and how to balance the court officials.
Therefore, Yin was no longer a lone minister; he had many officials appointed by Kangxi under his command. (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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