After three days of rest, all the princes entered the temporary palace to pay their respects. Emperor Kangxi waited in the Hall of Diligent Governance, and Consort Tong sat comfortably beside him, openly accepting the greetings from the princes and their primary wives.
The Crown Prince felt a bitter taste in his mouth as he looked at Consort Tong's unabashed manner.
Consort Tong was promoted to Imperial Noble Consort. After conducting important market activities, Emperor Kangxi would take Consort Tong with him, seemingly preparing to officially recognize her status.
"Father, have you been resting well these past few days?" the Crown Prince quickly asked, concerned for Kangxi.
As he spoke, he glanced at Yin. Everyone knew that Kangxi had left the twins and Hafenga in the palace, saying he wanted them to stay a few more days so that he could have some fun.
In reality, everyone knew that this was a reward for the wife of Prince Zheng, who had given birth to a legitimate son, as the manager of the Yuelai Inn.
Prince Zheng has now completely pledged allegiance to Yin. No matter how the other princes try to win him over, none can match Yin's ruthless methods.
"Good, is your villa ready?" Kangxi asked the Crown Prince.
Both Yin and Qingyan understood the Crown Prince's implication: that they should take the three children back. Since Kangxi wouldn't release them, they couldn't very well take the children away.
"It's almost all packed up!" The Crown Prince hadn't expected that Kangxi would allow him to stay outside the capital during this ancestral worship ceremony. This immediately deterred the princes from making any rash moves.
They worried that the Crown Prince might be disliked by Emperor Kangxi. If that were the case, their approach to the Crown Prince would only incur Kangxi's displeasure.
"Fourth Prince, I heard that Prince Zheng was able to give birth to a legitimate son thanks to your sister-in-law and servants?" The Crown Prince exchanged a few words with Kangxi and then directly attacked Yinzhen.
"Your Highness, I really didn't know. I didn't expect that your information was more up-to-date than mine and Xiao Guai's!" Yin looked at the Crown Prince and sneered.
As masters, the two of them were even slower to receive news than the crown prince.
As soon as he finished speaking, everyone looked at the Crown Prince. Yin's words implied that the Crown Prince had planted spies among the princes.
"Hehe, everyone knows that Prince Zheng and his wife, along with the heir apparent, went to your residence yesterday after they arrived." The Crown Prince wasn't about to let it go. "Could it be that your sister-in-law's Yuelai Inn, besides providing accommodation, is also planning to be converted into a commercial space?"
Instantly, the atmosphere in the hall became awkward. Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong sat on the throne, listening to the Crown Prince's accusations, without offering any help whatsoever.
"Your Highness, that's an interesting point. Yuelai Inn specializes in medicinal cuisine, so the managers tailor-make medicinal dishes for the customers in the private rooms. These people have all worked at Minsheng Pharmacy. It's only natural that they have some medical skills!" Qingyan retorted directly, unable to bear Yin's sarcasm.
Yin squeezed Qingyan's small hand, telling her not to say anything more.
In the Crown Prince's eyes, Qingyan's status was inferior to Yin's, so he directly denied the Crown Prince's words, thus embarrassing the Crown Prince.
Sure enough, the Crown Prince narrowed his eyes and directly attacked Yin, but Qingyan jumped out.
"Sister-in-law, I am speaking to my fourth brother. It would be better for women to behave themselves!" The Crown Prince's tone was full of threat.
Qingyan was stunned. When did the Crown Prince suddenly break off all pretense of civility?
"Yes, I misspoke!" Qingyan would also give the Crown Prince a way out.
In front of Emperor Kangxi, Qingyan was very careful about these things. Emperor Kangxi saw that Qingyan knew how to behave and nodded with great satisfaction.
Consort Tong was relieved. Just now, Qingyan had stepped forward to help Yin out of a predicament, and she had been worried. Qingyan couldn't stand anyone bullying Yin.
"Your Highness, is Qingyan wrong?" Yin looked at the Crown Prince.
“Your Highness, no matter who did this, the outcome is good, isn’t that enough?” Yinqi quickly said, seeing the Crown Prince’s persistent attitude.
Kangxi looked at the children below. Although the fifth prince maintained a neutral attitude, his words were biased towards Yinzhi.
"Alright, you've all been exhausted. Fifth Prince, later you take your wife and children to pay your respects to the Empress Dowager!" Kangxi was very satisfied with Qingyan.
The Fifth Prince's wife was drugged, so Yinqi had no legitimate children. Kangxi and Consort Yi were very worried. He went to the Yuelai Inn to eat a medicinal meal, and unexpectedly, he became pregnant by accident. Now, the child is only 4 months old.
"Yes!" Yinqi replied with a smile.
Since the birth of his legitimate son, Yinqi's face was no longer gloomy, and he always felt that there was hope for life.
Seeing that Yinqi had helped Yin change the subject, the Crown Prince was very resentful and pondered how to deal with Yin and Qingyan.
After the greetings were over, both Yin and Qingyan felt that the Crown Prince's behavior was too calm and not quite in line with his "personality".
"Fourth Prince, you must be extra careful. The Crown Prince will definitely not let this go!" Qingyan had a feeling that something was about to happen, but she couldn't be sure what it was.
Yin nodded and returned to the villa. He then ordered all the people in the Sticky Rod Office to be mobilized and keep a close eye on news from Shenyang City and the capital.
After two days of calm, rumors suddenly spread in Shenyang City that Qingyan was a goddess of fertility, that the Fifth Prince's wife, who had been in poor health, had finally conceived a legitimate son, and that the Princess Consort of Prince Zheng, who had been out of contact for many years, had also conceived after being cared for by the innkeeper of Yuelai Inn for a period of time.
This situation was spread and became increasingly bizarre.
Upon receiving the news, Yin and Qingyan's faces turned solemn. Such a reputation being spread was not a good thing.
"Fourth Brother, let's investigate the source first," Qingyan said to Yin. She immediately instructed the people in the Sticky Rod Office to tell the truth and give all the credit to the managers.
"Little darling, your approach is good. As long as the shopkeepers don't get carried away, they should be able to weather this crisis!" Yin said with a sigh.
Qingyan was very worried. If those people didn't understand her thoughts, problems would eventually keep escalating.
"Well, I can only hope that these people can understand my good intentions!" Qingyan said helplessly.
When Kangxi received the news, it was already evening. Li Dequan said it in front of Consort Tong. Consort Tong smiled coldly and did not slow down her actions of changing Kangxi into his ordinary clothes.
"Little darling did a good job!" Kangxi praised.
Consort Tong felt slightly relieved upon hearing this, as Emperor Kangxi did not blame Qingyan.
"Xuan Ye, the Crown Prince's actions are not fair. If Qing Yan hadn't intervened, all the wives outside the Great Wall would have gone to Qing Yan for help. I don't know how the child would have been put in such a difficult position!" Consort Tong looked down on the Crown Prince's methods, which were becoming increasingly unscrupulous. Such actions had already created considerable difficulties for others.
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