She heard birds chirping outside her window in the early morning. When she woke up, there was a warm wall outside the window, and she found that Yin had returned.
She leaned closer to him, sniffing around with her little nose. There was a faint smell of alcohol on him; he must have been drunk when he came back yesterday. Her face immediately fell.
"Sisi, get up!" Qingyan lay on top of him, her slender index finger poking his chest.
"Little darling, what's wrong?" Yin came back very late, and Qingyan was already fast asleep on her pillow.
He held the little girl in his arms, his deep voice reaching her ears.
"You drank yesterday?" Qingyan pursed her lips. "Didn't we agree to go out together today?"
"No, it's because I'm accompanying officials from Jiangnan. I had no choice but to use them. Don't worry, I remember everything!" Yin reassured Qingyan with a smile.
"Hmph, there must be those skinny horses!" Qingyan suddenly plopped down in his arms.
Yin stared in astonishment at the little guy's disdainful tone. It was said that Li Xu's mansion trained many women every year. When someone came to inspect, some maids would climb onto the officials' beds, and some of them were beaten to death.
Emperor Kangxi mentioned this matter privately, and Yinzhi and he were repeatedly instructed not to make any mistakes.
"Little darling, I don't like that kind of woman!" Yin explained helplessly.
"Fourth Brother, I saw bound feet!" Qingyan sat up with her hair down. "These tiny embroidered shoes look really pretty, but I don't like them. They wobble and hurt so much when I walk!"
Lady Cao led her ladies-in-waiting to greet them. Qingyan observed that several ladies-in-waiting with pointed shoes had walked a long distance and their complexions were not very good.
Yin pinched her little nose; only she would dare to say something like that.
"Don't tell anyone outside. The situation here isn't safe. We've run into a lot of trouble since we came here." Yin was worried about Qingyan; the little girl was being watched by those people.
"You're not stupid, get up quickly, we're going out for morning tea!" Qingyan didn't even want to eat breakfast here. The Cao family's food was exquisite, but it wasn't as good as the original.
Yin watched as the little maid jumped off the bed and, dressed in her thick-soled shoes, beckoned Su Lan to come in and serve him. He sighed helplessly. After Su Peisheng came over, he approached Yin and told him about the maids on the outer perimeter trying to get closer to the courtyard.
"The guards sent by Tulichen, let them watch over these servants!" Yin didn't want to upset Xiaoguai; those "thin horses" were basically trained to seek benefits for their masters.
Clang!
A sound of a copper basin hitting the ground rang out from outside. Yin quickly got up, put on his casual clothes, lifted the curtain, and went out.
Qingyan stared blankly at the woman kneeling on the ground in front of her, tears streaming down her face. This woman was not a servant in the palace, but was sent by the Cao family to serve tea and water.
"Master...you're not burned, are you?" The incident happened so suddenly that Su Lan quickly looked at Qing Yan.
The woman, dressed in pink Hanfu, stood with tears streaming down her face, her cheek slightly raised, as if she wanted to speak but hesitated. Her pink dress was mostly wet, and it looked as if Qingyan had thrown a tantrum and overturned the basin. She was trying to present her best side to Yin, and when he came out and saw her, he knew that she had prepared this on purpose.
Hearing Su Lan's voice, Qing Yan came to her senses and couldn't help but complain inwardly, "I've been caught off guard."
"Go and invite Madam Cao over here!" Yin smiled coldly, stepped forward, took Xiao Guai's hand, and led her back to the inner chamber to change her clothes.
Qingyan was somewhat uneasy. Yin came out later, worried that Yin might be tricked.
"Little darling, I will have Madam Cao teach this servant proper manners!" Yin patted her back to soothe her frightened emotions.
She breathed a huge sigh of relief; Yin hadn't misunderstood. She burst into tears.
She remembered that the novel mentioned women's methods countless times, and when she actually faced it, she understood the difference between women of the past and present.
"Don't cry, be good!" Yin was furious. Kangxi's words of advice were still ringing in his ears, and these women had ruined it. "Su Peisheng, go ask Sulan what happened. Whoever can just come into the inner palace?"
Qingyan was just startled by the sudden fright. After regaining her senses, she felt weak all over.
"Little darling, let's go check the situation first, and I'll get revenge for you later." Yin put his arm around Qingyan and gently comforted her.
Su Lan looked at the woman who came in and felt very strange. Why was this person the one who was arranged to come in?
"Yingtao?" Su Yingtao was arranged by Emperor Kangxi. She was a third-class palace maid who served water for banquets during the Southern Tour.
"Cherry... Sister is sick... that's why she sent me here!" the pink-clad maid whispered.
"She can barely walk straight, yet she's carrying a copper basin?" Su Peisheng immediately understood when he saw the tiny feet on the skirt.
Last night, Li Dequan gathered the three eunuchs who were personal attendants of the princes together and told them about the potential troubles.
Who would have thought that he would run into it on the very first day!
unlucky!
"Fourth Master, Madam Cao is here!" Tu Lichen sent a guard to report to Madam Cao, and Cao Yin angrily smashed his breakfast bowl.
Cao Yin urged his wife to come quickly and see if the Fourth Prince's wife had been frightened.
"Little darling, come out with me." Qingyan wiped away her tears and followed Yin out.
Madam Cao walked through the doorway, quickly looked up, and saw that Jingyan's face was deathly pale. Her heart skipped a beat.
"Fourth Princess Consort, it's all my fault for not training her properly, she was frightened!" Madam Cao felt disgusted when she saw the person kneeling on the ground. "Furong, what are you doing? Who let you in to serve me?"
The "skinny horses" that Li Xu prepared for the princes were named after flowers.
"Madam Cao, please rise. It was my servant who was unruly and sent a shaky maid to bring water. I was also quite frightened just now; I've never seen anything like it. The water for washing my face was spilled before I even used it." After Qingyan Huanshen's words, her tone was inevitably a bit harsh. "However, this maid meant well, worried that the hot water would spill on me, so she went in the opposite direction from usual."
Upon hearing this, Madam Cao felt humiliated, as it was clearly implying that Furong had done it on purpose.
"Fourth Princess Consort, this is because I didn't arrange things properly. I'll replace her when we get back!" Madam Cao sneered. Li Xu's attempt to flatter her had backfired.
Yin sat indifferently to the side, not saying a word. The woman simply knelt obediently, gazing at him with tears in her eyes each time she looked up, hoping that he would stand on her side.
"Madam Cao, Father Emperor is residing in the Cao residence. Some of his ambitions need to be kept in check. Don't let the Court of Judicial Review beat a servant to death, making the Cao family look bad," Yin said with a cold snort.
Madam Cao was secretly anxious. The Fourth Master had already spoken, and it was clear that he was angry.
"Su Peisheng, take the cherry to Mother's courtyard and tell her everything," Yin said, knowing that the servants of the Imperial Household Department had made an agreement, and that the Li family had once been a prominent family within the Imperial Household Department. "Madam Cao, please take this servant back. Let's call this matter closed. There can't be a next time. The Princess Consort is still young; such a scene is best avoided." (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.)
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