The next day, Qingyan was woken up from her dream by Sulan, who said that the Empress Dowager had invited the concubines and princes and their wives to the tent. She looked at Sulan in confusion, still not fully awake from her dream.
"Master, please hurry! Normally, it wouldn't be a big deal if you were late, but today, many Mongolian wives are here. If you're late, you definitely won't get away with it without a good excuse!" Su Lan was very anxious seeing her master's bewildered expression.
The Empress Dowager specifically sent Su Mo'er to inform Qingyan that she must go there as soon as possible. These wives must have come up with a plan, and their targets are only a few princes' wives.
Their female relatives certainly wouldn't be sent into the palace anymore. With the Empress Dowager gone, there was no one in the palace to support the Mongol women. The Empress Dowager made many promises before she summoned the concubines and the primary wives of the princes.
The wives of the princes had discussed this a day in advance, knowing this was their only chance to find something to hold against the princes' wives. If they succeeded, their daughters could enter the princes' harem; if they failed, they would be resented by the princes' wives, and the future of the young ladies sent to the capital for the imperial concubine selection would be hindered.
The potential rewards of success were too tempting, and they were prepared to take the risk and strive for success.
When Qingyan entered the tent, all the Mongol wives had arrived. The Empress Dowager was wearing a pine-colored Mongol robe with a small double-swallowtail headdress on her head. She looked somewhat tired, but her eyes softened when she saw Qingyan approaching.
"Greetings to Imperial Grandmother!" Qingyan greeted her respectfully. "Imperial Grandmother, did you sleep well last night?"
She noticed that the Empress Dowager looked a little unwell, and out of the corner of her eye, she observed the Mongolian wives. As soon as she spoke, two of them looked somewhat embarrassed.
Yesterday, they persuaded the Empress Dowager for a long time before she finally relented and prepared to let the concubines and wives of the emperor come over.
The Empress Dowager's lips curled up slightly. Qingyan was kind-hearted and treated her very well. The Empress Dowager was also someone who reciprocated kindness. Xiao Guai was genuinely good to her, and she would protect Qingyan at times.
The Mongol wives were watching Yin, who had greatly enhanced the royal family's reputation this time. The horse that had been caught in the trap turned out to be the king of the wild horse herd, much to the surprise of the leaders.
The leaders and princes dared not oppose the Wild Horse King. If they were truly angered, the herd of horses would charge at them, causing considerable damage.
"Fourth Princess Consort, you've arrived very early!" The Princess Consort of the Khorchin Prince couldn't contain herself and blurted it out.
Qingyan was slightly taken aback. Did they differentiate between morning and evening when they arrived here?
The Empress Dowager gave a cold smile. The Grand Empress Dowager had mentioned that the matriarch of the Khorchin clan had extremely high standards and had almost schemed against Qingyan back then.
“My lady, I was just closer by. Didn’t you arrive earlier?” Qingyan smiled, but her eyes were icy cold.
Just now, she mentioned that the Empress Dowager was not in good spirits, and also said that the Mongol princesses had arrived too early, clearly implying that their arrival had disturbed the Empress Dowager's rest.
The Mongolian wives were speechless. They all knew that the Fourth Princess was no pushover; she had barely uttered a word before the Empress Dowager used her as a pretext.
They glanced at the Empress Dowager out of the corner of their eye. She was acting as if nothing had happened, taking a sip of tea and waiting for Qingyan to handle the situation herself.
"Fourth Princess Consort, that's not right. The Empress Dowager has finally returned home, and the leaders all say that we must keep her company often. Otherwise, the Empress Dowager's tent will always be occupied by Su Mo'er, and she will feel empty!" The Khorchin Princess Consort retorted directly.
Qingyan ignored it. The Mongolian wives probably meant that Consort Tong and they were unfilial.
"When Xiao Guai and the others came over, who knows what you were doing?" the Empress Dowager said coldly.
The Mongol wives are becoming increasingly reckless, even targeting Lanya and Qingyan. Emperor Kangxi and his son Yinzhen dote on these two, and they will definitely retaliate if they make any moves.
"Empress Dowager, you can't say that. The Fourth Prince's wife has twins to take care of her, but what about the First Prince's wife? Songkri Yirha has grown up, and now she doesn't even take care of the elderly anymore!" The Khorchin Prince's wife wouldn't let the princes' wives get away with it and spoke directly.
"Your Majesty is indeed concerned about Grandmother. Yes, this is your territory, how dare we disobey your orders!" Lady Yingenjueluo looked coldly at the Majesty of the Khorchin Prince. Songkelierha frowned. This woman's words about Mother and the Wokes are unacceptable. If others heard this, they would definitely talk about Mother and the Wokes.
The Empress Dowager covered her mouth with her teacup and laughed. She said that her granddaughters-in-law would definitely not let these people control them.
Yin Genjueluo's rebuttal silenced the Mongolian wives, as none of the princes' wives were easy to provoke.
"Yierha, come to Wukuma Ma!" The Empress Dowager had no intention of giving face to the Mongol wives. Unlike the Grand Empress Dowager, who valued her own family more, she valued her husband's family.
Therefore, the Mongol leaders and their wives all felt that the Empress Dowager looked down on the Mongols and had even forgotten her own family.
"Ukuma Ma..." Songkriyirha's sweet, childlike voice cheered the Empress Dowager up considerably.
Since leaving the grasslands, when she saw her relatives in Horqin again, all they did was plead for their welfare; no one cared whether she was doing well anymore.
Therefore, the Empress Dowager was very depressed. Since her parents passed away, her elder brother had inherited the family business, and her sister-in-law would only complain about being poor in front of her or ask for benefits for her nephews.
The late emperor was still alive, and she had never received his favor, let alone had the right to ask for anything. Her sister-in-law even said that she was useless and didn't need to acknowledge her family anymore.
"Well, you don't need to cause any more trouble. Your mother said she doesn't need to acknowledge her family anymore!" The Empress Dowager smiled coldly. Her sister-in-law was short-sighted, and she wouldn't cause any more trouble for the royal family.
As soon as she finished speaking, the wife of the Prince of Khorchin was speechless. Her mother-in-law and the Empress Dowager did not get along well, and she never expected that the Empress Dowager would say it out loud.
Thus, the family's dirty laundry was exposed.
Qingyan looked at the Empress Dowager in surprise. She thought the Empress Dowager would choose to remain silent, but now she had made a decisive move.
"Your Majesty, you can't say that. Emok must have said it in anger!" The Fujin knew that her mother-in-law had asked the Empress Dowager to seek benefits for her husband.
"In a fit of anger? You only hope to protect the current prince. This old woman has no ability to do that. Now that I'm even older, I have even less ability!" The Empress Dowager refused directly.
The Empress Dowager's words startled the Mongol wives. Today, the Empress Dowager had actually made her stance clear, meaning it was probably impossible for them to gain any benefits from the wives.
"Your Majesty, this servant knows your relationship with Emoke is strained, but so many years have passed!" The Khorchin Prince's wife even brought up the Empress Dowager. (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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