Just after midnight on the day of the Golden Festival, Yin woke up Qingyan, who was fast asleep. She sat in front of the dressing mirror, her eyes glazed over. Sulan quickly did Qingyan's makeup.
Today, Qingyan wore a bright red palace dress and her hair was styled in a single bun. Sushu came in from outside carrying a sandalwood box containing hair ornaments. Sulan opened the box, and inside were five precious gold hairpin ornaments. Yin personally designed the peach and bat shapes, which made people happy at first glance.
Qingyan glanced down at the small hairpin that hadn't been inserted and couldn't help but admire the craftsmen.
She had seen the blueprints designed by Yin, and the finished product was far better than she had imagined.
"Little darling, we need to hurry into the palace!" Yin walked into the inner chamber and saw Qingyan's little head nodding, as if she hadn't woken up yet.
Qingyan leaned back, and Yin quickly stepped forward and pulled her into his arms.
"Go prepare breakfast!" It takes an hour to travel from the Fourth Prince's residence to the palace, and if they don't set off now, they'll definitely be too late.
"Yes!" Su Lan quickly went out. Just now, the masters had been behaving unusually intimately, and she should have avoided them.
"Sleep a little longer!" Yin lowered his voice. Qingyan was a little dazed and obediently closed her eyes.
When she regained consciousness, she was leaning against the swaying carriage. Turning her head, she saw Yin sitting upright beside her, resting with his eyes closed.
"Awake?" Yin asked.
"Fourth Brother, what time is it?" Qingyan looked at the still pitch-black sky outside and quickly asked the Fourth Brother beside her.
"We've only gone halfway. Now that you're awake, hurry up and have your breakfast!" Yin pointed to the breakfast on the table. Two sets of bowls and chopsticks were placed on the table. Yin had been waiting by the side, ready to have breakfast with Qingyan.
Since marrying into the royal family, Qingyan has been carried into the carriage while she is asleep whenever she travels, and she even has her breakfast inside the carriage.
"I'm not hungry. In a little while, I'll be meeting those ladies with Mother." Qingyan pouted. She really didn't like talking to those people. Their conversations were mostly about family matters or jewelry and accessories, with absolutely no useful information.
Yin pinched Qingyan's little face; he knew that his little darling hated banquets like this the most.
In the past, my mother would sit awkwardly in the seat of honor, receiving ulterior motives from the court ladies who flattered her. In the end, they were either asking for their own benefit or for the sake of their daughter.
"If you don't like it, don't say anything!" Yin put some bamboo shoot shreds on Qingyan's plate. These were Qingyan's favorites, and they tasted especially refreshing when mixed with chili oil.
After having breakfast, Qingyan leaned on Yin's shoulder, her little face puffed up with anger. If she didn't talk to others, the court ladies would definitely criticize her even more.
"Hmph!" She turned her head to look outside. He always coaxed her, but in the end, she still had to deal with it all by herself.
Yin opened the memorial and looked at the urgent official document sent by the Ministry of Revenue.
"Four... Four..." Qingyan felt bored and automatically moved over.
He pulled Qingyan into his arms and patted her little face.
"What's wrong?" He turned his head and kissed her little face. "You've finished breakfast. Read the conversation book by yourself. In a little while, we'll go to Chenggan Palace first, and then we'll go to worship our ancestors later!"
Yin held Xiao Guai's hand tightly and explained the process to her. After all, she rarely participated in royal sacrificial ceremonies and other activities, and without someone to guide her, there might be some unnecessary trouble.
The nannies would go to the palace a day in advance to make connections. He personally instructed the nannies to have their cushions thickened for Xiao Guai. If he had to kneel for several hours without any protection, what would happen to his knees?
"Do I have to kneel for a long time?" Qingyan pouted, feeling really upset.
Yin nodded. He understood that Xiao Guai hated these kinds of rules the most. Every time there was a sacrifice, she had to kneel for a long time. When they came back, Yin could hear Qing Yan complaining about all sorts of things. It looked very uncomfortable for her. However, judging from her appearance, it should be fine.
"It's a bit shorter than the time for ancestor worship during the Spring Festival!" Yin Zhen was not lying. Qing Yan put down the storybook in her hand, leaned on his shoulder, and began to doze off.
Normally she sleeps until she naturally wakes up, so it's really difficult for her to get up this early these days.
"Little darling, wake up, we've arrived at the palace gate!" Yin smiled slightly as he watched Qingyan drift off to sleep.
Today, the main gate of the palace was wide open, and the princes who had left the palace to establish their own residences entered the palace with their primary wives. Songkri Yierha, dressed in a bright red princess's everyday clothes and wearing soft little boots, ran towards Qingyan.
"Fourth Aunt, Fourth Aunt!" The little girl felt that Qingyan hadn't paid attention to her for a long time, so she quickly came over to make her presence known.
"Huh?!" Qingyan bent down, his gaze level with hers.
"Fourth Aunt, shall we go to Grandma's palace together?" Songkriyirha asked the little girl, holding her hand and acting coquettishly.
"See you at Chenggan Palace, I brought you some delicious food!" After seeing that Qingyan had comforted Songkelierha, Yin nodded to his elder brother and walked towards Chenggan Palace.
Before they even stepped into the gate of Chenggan Palace, they heard strangers greeting them from inside the courtyard, and he couldn't help but narrow his eyes.
Tong Guowei's wife brought her fourth son's daughter to the palace in person, but Yin had refused to see the girl at the Tong residence.
As Qingyan approached, he felt even more uncomfortable, having finally managed to stop associating with Madam Tong Guowei.
"Fourth Prince, why is this woman here?" Qingyan was very puzzled. Among the concubine's daughters who were qualified to enter the palace, this woman was an exception.
Yin shook his head. "It must have been Madam Tong who brought it in."
"Fourth Prince, Little Darling, come in quickly!" Consort Tong saw the two standing outside the door and was relieved that they hadn't heard Madam Tong's words.
Lady Tong desperately tried to wink at Consort Tong, urging her to arrange for Yinzhen to cultivate a relationship with Consort Tong. After the Golden Festival, Tong Guowei would then plead with Emperor Kangxi, hoping that, out of respect for Empress Dowager Tong and Lanya, his illegitimate daughter could become a concubine in Yinzhen's harem.
"Mother, did you sleep well last night?" After Qingyan bowed politely, she completely ignored Madam Tong Guowei, and didn't even pay attention to the concubine's daughter beside her.
"Hmm, not bad. Fourth Prince, go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation. I don't mind leaving Xiao Guai with your mother!" Consort Tong emphasized the last two words.
"Yes, Mother!" Yin gave Qingyan a concerned smile before leaving Chenggan Palace.
Madam Tong frowned upon seeing the situation before her.
"Lanya, what did your mother tell you?!" Consort Tong slammed her teacup down on the table, her face darkening.
“Mother, this is a royal matter. A concubine’s daughter cannot enter a prince’s residence. His Majesty has personally issued an edict. How can our family disobey?” Consort Tong was furious, feeling that her mother was disrespecting her.
Upon hearing this, Qingyan immediately understood what had happened. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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