As lunchtime approached, Qingyan and the others finished their greetings. As soon as she returned to her courtyard, she lay down on the soft couch and did not move for several hours to maintain her royal posture. When she came back, she found that her back was very stiff.
"Sulan, can you massage my back?" Qingyan frowned, feeling a little resentful towards Li Jia.
Yin walked in and, seeing Qingyan's disheveled appearance, couldn't help but shake his head.
She closed her eyes and let Su Lan massage her back; the fatigue of the past few hours made her sleepy.
Yin placed his right index finger on his lips and made a stroke. Su Lan quietly bowed to him and withdrew.
He pressed his large hand against her back, feeling a slight itch as he touched her warm skin.
"Sulan, you're too strong!" Qingyan looked up angrily, saw Yin sitting by the couch, and smiled.
Yin sat down beside her, and she immediately snuggled into his arms, her little mouth pouting, wanting to pour out the grievances she had suffered that morning.
He shifted his body, finding a comfortable position, and let her lean against him.
"Fourth Prince, you have no idea how much trouble Li Jia has caused me," Qingyan said, feeling awkward as she clutched Yin's precious purse in her small hands, recounting her morning's events. "She's the concubine, and she even sits above me!"
Yin pondered, and the more Xiao Guai spoke, the more dissatisfied she became. Her little face turned red with anger, and her little paws kept waving. The pain in her back made her movements a little stiff.
"Lie down properly," Qingyan obediently lay on his lap, massaging her back. "Little darling, don't mess around with Li Jia anymore, okay?"
"Why!" Qingyan rolled her eyes; she had come seeking comfort.
“The court officials in Jiangnan place greater emphasis on the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children. Even though Lady Li is a secondary consort, she is still the woman of the legitimate son, the Crown Prince. In their eyes, the Crown Prince is the only heir.” Illegitimate sons are always paving the way for legitimate sons, and Yin knew this, fearing that Qingyan might be wronged.
Qingyan's eyes widened. Could the eldest son have such a high status?
"Is the eldest son incapable?" Qingyan muttered softly.
Yin's heart skipped a beat. What did Xiao Guai know?
“Some of the aristocratic families in Jiangnan have declined because their legitimate sons are incompetent, they follow the rules, and they are very careful to prevent their illegitimate sons from becoming successful, which is why they have become worse and worse,” Yin said. “During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the positions of the primary consort and the secondary consort were roughly the same, and their sons were all legitimate sons, which caused a lot of trouble.”
Qingyan was held in Yin's arms, and he massaged her back to help her relieve her physical fatigue as quickly as possible.
Having spent a long time with Qingyan, he didn't want anyone to disturb him. He wanted the new house to be more like an ordinary family home. Fei Yanggu and his two sons always did what they could, and the servants didn't wait on them during meals.
"Fourth Brother, isn't Father starting to pay attention to legitimate and illegitimate children? Is it because he doesn't want people to laugh at him?" Qingyan whispered in his ear.
At first, Qingyan thought that Kangxi was being pretentious, making two appointments and two removals of the crown prince, which was unnecessary and caused a lot of trouble for the thirteenth prince and other princes.
Yin smiled helplessly. Kangxi had always wanted his eldest son to succeed to the throne. The two times he established and deposed the eldest son were all opportunities for her. Now, the eldest son hadn't yet acted so recklessly, but Li Jia had already started to deviate from the right path.
"No, the Crown Prince did nothing wrong!" Yin pursed his lips.
snort!
Qingyan snorted. Yin was still trying to save face for Kangxi, suffering for the sake of saving face.
"Those ladies looked at me strangely. After they sat down, they didn't say a single word to Lady Li!" Qingyan felt that the ladies still looked down on the concubine.
The status of a secondary consort is equivalent to that of a concubine, while those who are considered primary wives are all secondary wives. Consort Tong is even more powerful, holding the Phoenix Seal. Everyone knows that Kangxi was unlucky and had killed two empresses. After Empress Niohuru passed away, Kangxi issued an edict that he would not appoint another empress.
Consort Tong became the Empress in the hearts of the court ladies. They did not regard her as a concubine. However, Consort Li was different. With the Crown Princess still in Yuqing Palace, she acted as if she were the only one who mattered, telling the court ladies to think twice. If the Crown Prince could not even control his own harem, how could he possibly control the court?
"Let's not talk about that anymore, little darling. When we get to Hangzhou, is there anything you'd like to eat?" Yin planned to take Qingyan with him and not let him return for at least four days.
Today, the Crown Prince was released, and the look in Kangxi's eyes made Yin feel uneasy.
"Huh?!" Qingyan looked at him in confusion. Where did this question come from?
"We can go out and have some fun for a few days. Father Emperor said we should travel with my eldest brother's family!" Kangxi probably wanted to discipline the Crown Prince but also wanted to save face for him. "We'll be gone for four or five days. Tell me what you want to eat and what you want to do!"
Yin reported Qingyan's suggestion of a restaurant to Kangxi, explaining that such places are often bustling with diverse people and are also where information is most readily available. Kangxi was delighted upon hearing this, agreeing that Qingyan's idea was good, though its implementation would be quite challenging.
Many people have been able to establish themselves in this business for generations. In the future, Jiangnan will become a battleground for several ambitious princes, and at that time, this place will definitely become more and more chaotic.
"If we go for so long, won't we miss paying our respects to Mother several times?" Qingyan was puzzled when he heard the time. It was really rare for Emperor Kangxi to agree to give his two sons such a long vacation!
"Don't worry, Father will definitely talk to Mother!" Yin whispered in her ear, "They'll probably punish Li Jia, otherwise Father wouldn't have let us hide away!"
Qingyan was confused. Did he still need to avoid using the characters "Yin" and "Yin" when dealing with Li Jia?
"The Crown Prince's backyard has been punished, so it's not good for the two of us brothers to be here!" Yin smiled bitterly.
From childhood to adulthood, the brothers had been punished by Emperor Kangxi countless times, with the Crown Prince always watching from a superior position. At that time, their greatest wish was to see the Crown Prince being punished by Kangxi by copying books, so that the princes could feel a little more at ease.
Expectations were always dashed, and the relationship between the princes and the crown prince became even more strained. Later, when the princes played dice and set off firecrackers during the Spring Festival, they were collectively punished by Emperor Kangxi, and the crown prince was not among them.
From that moment on, they understood that no matter how hard they tried, they could never contend with the Crown Prince.
Qingyan turned over and hugged Yin tightly, trying to soothe his dejected mood. The fierce struggle for the throne among the nine princes was mostly caused by Kangxi's favoritism. Now, Yin and others are always treated differently, which will inevitably make them feel unbalanced, ultimately leading to that outcome.
"Fourth Brother, let's go to West Lake. I want to eat West Lake Fish in Vinegar Sauce and go to Hanshan Temple!" Qingyan rambled on, and Yin understood that Qingyan was trying to appease him, so he couldn't help but curl up the corners of his mouth.
"Let's go out with my elder brother's family and ask the little girl if she wants to go. We can even go to some nearby places!" Kangxi will definitely send guards, so their safety isn't a concern. It's good that Qingyan and Lady Yingenjueluo can relax; today, Lady Lijia probably really angered them. (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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