Two days later, at dawn, the palace, the residences of princes, members of the imperial family, and powerful officials in the capital were bustling with activity as servants began preparing for their journey.
The masters of the mansion, dressed in court robes, sat upright in the dining hall and continued their meal.
At the Fourth Prince's residence, the twins, dressed in their official robes, sat at the dining table. Even Hafenga was wearing a light blue casual robe, and next to him was a golden official robe.
“Little one, you can take the children in the carriage. There’s a mobile kitchen in the smaller carriage at the back. There are quite a few children in our household, so Father Emperor specially approved that we have a carriage to prepare meals,” Yin said directly.
This time, the travel time to the area outside the Great Wall will be shortened, so we will spend most of our time sleeping outdoors.
"Fourth Brother, we have ten days left before we can request permission to go. Should we travel day and night?" Qingyan asked, looking at Yin.
Yin smiled wryly: "That's for sure, and besides, I've looked at the places we've stayed, and most of them are in the middle of nowhere!"
In fact, the princes all advised Kangxi that the places where he was stationed were relatively vulnerable to attack. Therefore, everyone was worried that if outsiders obtained information about Kangxi's itinerary, he might be attacked.
"The entire route was planned out in advance? Won't it be changed halfway through?" Qingyan was stunned. Was Kangxi planning to use everyone as bait?
She received a definite answer and sighed inwardly, thinking that Kangxi had gone a bit too far.
"Is it because things are not peaceful in the south that Father Emperor did this?" Qingyan did not want the children to take any risks.
"The children can't go directly there; it's best if they follow the main group!" Yin said helplessly.
"Did Father Emperor give you these instructions beforehand?" Qingyan asked, puzzled.
Yin nodded: "I told you in advance, and everyone from Cining Palace left the capital alone. They left yesterday!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qingyan sighed at Kangxi's vigilance. If it were a matter between the two groups, there would be no problem with the Empress Dowager's side, but if Kangxi and his entourage encountered trouble, the Empress Dowager would have to protect herself and would have sided with Kangxi instead of the Mongol tribes.
"That's quite a deep scheme," Qingyan muttered directly.
Yin's face showed helplessness. If he could, he would have preferred not to be separated like this.
Everyone in the group was at risk. Seto led the new army to protect their caravan, and the twins' carriage was heavily guarded.
"Yiken'e, you are the oldest in the carriage. When Father is not in the carriage, can you shoulder the responsibility of protecting Mother, Brother, and Sister?" Yin needed to ride a horse to follow the imperial carriage, so he had to make more arrangements for the safety of Qingyan and the children.
“Okay!” Yiken’e nodded immediately.
"Alright, Father trusts you. I will leave Bayan here, and some of the servants in the manor will also be left for you!" Yin said, looking at Yiken'e.
This was Yiken'e's first time taking on the responsibilities of the eldest son, and his eyes shone with joy, knowing that Yin trusted him greatly.
"Father, can I really do this well?" Yiken asked with some worry.
"Yes, Father believes in you!" Yin said directly.
Yiken was happy, as long as Yinneng believed him.
After breakfast, the family of five sat in the carriage, and Yin's warhorse followed the carriage as they headed towards the meeting point.
Before the arrival of Emperor Kangxi's imperial carriage at Xuanwu Gate, the carriages of Prince Yin and others were parked on the left side of the city gate. The princes were all inside their carriages, waiting for the imperial carriage to come out before they got off and knelt down to wait.
To the right of the city gate are the carriages of the court officials, who are already standing there, waiting.
A quarter of an hour later, the whip cracked, and Yin and Qingyan got off the carriage, leaving the children to stay obediently in the carriage.
"Little darling, you're here?" Yin Genjue Luo Shi looked at Qing Yan, who was dressed in a royal blue court robe and wearing three-inch flowerpot shoes, as he slowly walked over.
Qingyan smiled, her attention drawn to the Crown Princess's words.
“We are all primary wives, but only the Third Prince’s side has a princess who came along!” The Crown Princess looked coldly at Princess Dong’e.
Qingyan followed the Crown Princess's gaze and saw that Dong'e Gege was standing behind Yinzhi, but the Third Prince's wife was nowhere to be seen.
The wives frowned slightly; it seemed that Yinzhi did not take them seriously.
Even if the Third Prince's wife was wrong, she still had to save face on such an important occasion.
"There's a huge commotion at the mansion over there. I heard that the Third Princess Consort was confined to her quarters, which is why they sent Dong'e Gege over!" the Seventh Princess Consort whispered.
The previous sisters-in-law rarely paid attention to the Third Master's mansion; she was forced to do so.
"Seventh sister-in-law, it must have been hard on you!" Yin's legs were not good, and in recent years, apart from practicing martial arts, he had spent most of his time studying calligraphy and painting. Yin Zhi saw that Yin's calligraphy and painting had improved very quickly, so he often went to his residence to prepare for a skill exchange.
"Your Highness, you are joking. I will only support the Prince's love for calligraphy and painting. The Third Prince's visit is a sign of respect for us!" Yin's leg problems often made him a target of harassment by the servants of the Imperial Household Department.
Later, Kangxi handed over the power of the Xishan Camp to Yin, and life at the mansion improved.
Initially, when the Seventh Prince's wife was preparing to marry Yinzhi, the elders in the family said that the Seventh Prince's wife was the most stable, and that as long as she could live a good life with the Seventh Prince, that would be fine.
"Seventh sister-in-law, how can you say such a thing?" The Crown Princess immediately stopped her, saying, "Seventh brother is a prince, and you are his primary consort. You absolutely cannot belittle yourself!"
The Seventh Princess smiled, not caring what others thought of them. The two of them lived their lives confined to the mansion, and as long as they were happy, that was enough.
“Although my seventh brother likes calligraphy and painting, he is different from that other one!” the Crown Princess said directly.
The other wives all agreed, saying that the Crown Princess was right. The Third Prince considered himself the most knowledgeable in Chinese studies among the princes, but he was actually the worst in terms of manners!
"The Crown Princess said that the Third Prince is the most learned among the princes, and is most proficient in calligraphy and painting," the Seventh Prince's wife said directly.
The Seventh Prince's wife's words were somewhat awkward, but they did manage to smooth things over.
"Father is coming! Let's line up quickly!" Fifth Princess Consort looked towards the city and saw the bright yellow flags fluttering in the wind, and said hastily.
Her words saved the Seventh Prince's wife from an awkward situation. If the conversation had continued, the Seventh Prince's wife and the other prince's wives would have been dragged into the same boat by the Crown Princess.
They were all very well-behaved and did not gossip about other people's residences.
Dong E Gege stood not far away, feeling quite embarrassed. The Third Prince's wife had been confined to her quarters, and she was now in charge of handling all matters in the mansion. In fact, she was even in charge of some occasions that should have been attended by the primary wife. This caused many of the primary wives to have complaints about her.
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