Three days later, at dawn, Qingyan changed into a bright red cheongsam and wore an exquisite headdress. She was about to go to the new residence of the Ulanara clan. Three days ago, the wife of a collateral branch of the Ulanara clan had been saying that she would definitely help Qingyan in the selection of concubines.
If the Jue Luo clan goes too far, and if they feel the need to harm Qingyan, she wouldn't hesitate to take action.
(Just got off the plane and got home. Updates will resume tomorrow. I'll update again before noon tomorrow.)
Inside the courtyard of Chengqian Palace, the selected young ladies stood on the bluestone path, while the remaining ladies were gathered on both sides of the corridor.
"Fourth Princess Consort, I am, after all, a daughter of the same family as you. As the Third Princess Consort said, even if we don't care about the monk, we should care about the Buddha. If I am punished, you will definitely lose face." Fang Ning pleaded from the side.
Qingyan remained unmoved. Fang Ning's actions had crossed the line for the royal family, so if she pleaded, she would be reprimanded.
"Fourth Princess Consort, before the selection of concubines, I made a special trip to visit Lord Fei Yanggu. He said that if there was anything, he would ask you to help resolve it!" Upon hearing what the concubines were saying, Qingyan quickly stood up and remained on the ground.
“Mother, I haven’t heard Father mention this. I believe Father wouldn’t be so foolish as to get involved in palace affairs,” Qingyan quickly said.
Consort Tong nodded in satisfaction: "My little darling, you don't need to be so nervous. I know your father better than anyone. We don't need to let these people ruin our mood."
Qingyan was slightly relieved to hear this; it was already quite good that none of the masters in the palace had any objections.
“Fourth Princess Consort, these two are from collateral branches, and they certainly cannot compare to those from the direct line,” Consort Rong said directly.
Dong Eshi and Dong E Gege sat upright to one side, and Jue Rong was talking about them.
Consort Tong sat upright to the side, seemingly unaware of anything.
Within the royal family, they were the only two sisters, born of the same blood.
“Your Highness, Consort Rong, you jest. As women in a family, if there is only one woman with a bad reputation, it will be bad for the families our noble ladies marry into,” Qingyan said directly.
Consort Hui nodded in agreement, agreeing that Qingyan was right.
“The families our daughters marry into are all very good,” Dong E Gege said directly.
A serious expression appeared on Dong E's face. Qing Yan's words were clearly implying that their family's upbringing was poor, and yet Dong E Gege was still chiming in.
"Fourth sister-in-law, you've gone too far with your words. The women in our family are all well-mannered. Today, the nuns of your Ulanara clan have even lost face," Dong E sneered.
The two sisters-in-law seemed to be joking, but Dong E Gege realized that Qing Yan had indirectly insulted her, and she was very indignant.
Consort Rong remained silent. Qingyan's words struck a chord with her. In her eyes, the Dong E sisters were a plague, and whoever they were could bring disaster to Yinzhi.
Yinzhi also favored Dong'e Gege. Every time there was a quarrel or unpleasantness between him and his mother, it was Dong'e Gege who instigated it. The same thing happened with Dong'e Shi.
"What are you doing, meddling in the conversation between the primary wives?" Dong Eshi's face darkened.
Dong Egege looked aggrieved, but dared not say anything more.
"What's wrong now?" Emperor Kangxi stepped in and, seeing everyone's pale faces, quickly asked Consort Tong.
"It's not just Princess Dong'e who thinks Qingyan's words were a bit harsh," Consort Tong said directly. "I think Qingyan is right. Which noble lady doesn't cherish her family's reputation?"
Qingyan lowered his head and quickly stood up to bow to Kangxi.
"Father, it's my fault for not doing well enough. Otherwise, I wouldn't have made things difficult for Mother!" Qingyan said with a mournful face.
After listening to Shu's explanation, Emperor Kangxi believed that her defeat was reasonable and not excessive.
"Alright, you didn't do anything wrong. Third sister, you two didn't do well, and you're still here belittling Xiao Guai?" Kangxi shook his head, "How did Dong E Chunpeng teach you two?"
Emperor Kangxi was furious. Originally, he shouldn't have interfered in the matter of reprimanding the young ladies-in-waiting, and he wanted Consort Tong to handle it directly. It would have been better if he hadn't offered any opinions. However, the matter had dragged on for too long, giving his ministers an opportunity to plead with the princes.
"Daughter-in-law knows she was wrong!" Dong Eshi felt a bitter taste in her mouth. Both the Americans and Russians had their own ideas, which was really a headache.
Back at her parents' home, Dong E Gege complained a lot, making life difficult for Lady Dong E.
Fortunately, Yinzhi was not one to favor his concubine over his wife. Otherwise, if Dong'e Gege had complained, Yinzhi would have definitely scolded his wife without distinguishing right from wrong, just like Dong'e Chunpeng.
Among military generals, Dong E Chunpeng was an exception. While others doted on their wives, he only doted on his concubines.
"Alright, Third Prince's wife, go back and manage the mansion properly. This won't do!" Consort Tong shook her head helplessly. "Consort Rong, there are some things Third Prince's wife can't say. You must constantly remind Yinzhi not to embarrass himself in public."
As soon as the words were spoken, Consort Rong was shocked. Consort Tong was blocking Kangxi's way of speaking, which clearly meant that Kangxi was using her words to warn people.
"Yes, I will keep Yinzhi in check and make sure he doesn't cause trouble for Your Highness." Consort Rong looked as if Consort Tong was in trouble.
"It's not about causing me trouble, I don't care about these things, it's about not tarnishing the royal family's reputation anymore, the royal family can't bear such a shadow!" Consort Tong said directly.
Consort Rong was secretly alarmed. Apart from his infidelity with women, Yin Zhi seemed fine in other aspects.
"Yes, I understand!" Consort Rong quickly replied.
Emperor Kangxi nodded with satisfaction after hearing the arrangements made by Consort Tong.
"In addition, Yinzhi's residence needs to be cleaned up; don't let just anyone cause trouble there," Kangxi said, unusually at the end.
Upon hearing this, Yinzhi blushed slightly. Since their marriage, Kangxi had been careful to save face for his sons and rarely spoke of such matters in front of others.
"Your subject is awake!" Yin Zhi quickly replied.
Recently, the officials from the south took the opportunity of sending New Year's gifts to bring two very beautiful maids from the south, saying that they were to be given to Yinzhi in his study. Everyone understood the meaning behind this.
Qingyan sat to the side, listening to Kangxi's meaning, and understood somewhat that it must be Yinzhi's matter that had offended Kangxi.
"Your Highness, the young ladies have been waiting outside for over an hour," Shu said as she walked in and stood directly beside Consort Tong.
"Alright, have someone read the imperial edict and order the beatings immediately!" Consort Tong didn't give these people a chance to explain and started beating them first.
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess exchanged a glance, deciding to stop pleading. It seemed these people had made a mistake; otherwise, Consort Tong would have at least given the Eastern Palace some face.
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