Inside the inner palace, Qingyan sat on the bed and noticed that Madam Tong Guogang was standing next to the carriage, looking at the sleeping faces of the two children inside. A smile appeared on her lips. Tong Guogang's family had grandchildren, but they were all boys and there wasn't a single girl. However, the girl in the twins was very favored.
"Fourth Princess Consort, the little princess is very pretty, definitely the best in the royal family." Madam Tong Guogang found Qingyan easy to get along with and spoke more freely.
"Thank you for your kind words, Granny Guo." As soon as Qingyan finished speaking, Sulan came in to report that Madam Tong Guowei had arrived.
The atmosphere in the inner chamber was somewhat awkward. The three of them exchanged glances, and Qingyan nodded to Sulan.
At the doorway, Madam Tong Guowei heard laughter and chatter coming from inside the bedroom, and Madam Tong Guogang's voice came from within.
Previously, Madam Tong Guowei hadn't paid much attention to these things, but in the past few days, she noticed that many of the women in the palace were only going to avoid her invitations, and she realized something was amiss.
"Greetings to the wife of Prince Zhi, greetings to the wife of the Fourth Prince, what brings you here, sister-in-law?" Madam Tong Guowei stood up, holding the baby bath supplies for the twins in Madam Tong Guogang's hand.
"Sister-in-law, Her Highness the Consort has sent me here to celebrate the third-day celebration for the two young masters. This is truly an honor." The two sisters-in-law from the Tong family were talking, and the Consort Tong had even sent someone to Tong Guogang's residence to deliver the imperial decree.
Lady Tong Guowei had heard a little about it, but she was busy with Longkodo and rarely cared about Consort Tong anymore.
"Sister-in-law, what you're saying is a bit strange. The Imperial Concubine is my daughter. Even if it's the responsibility of my grandmother, Guo Luoma, to give the twins a third-day celebration." Madam Tong Guowei understood that since Madam Tong Guogang had taken over the third-day celebration, Tong Guowei's lineage had completely fallen to the status of a second-rate family.
Tong Guogang's lineage was elevated to the Plain Yellow Banner by Emperor Kangxi; they were descendants of imperial relatives and nobles.
Yin Genjue Luo squeezed Qingyan's small hand, telling her to calm down and not get involved in the fight between the sisters-in-law of the Tong family.
Tong Guogang and Tong Guowei's wife are about the same age, which is a headache for Tong Guolai's wife. Tong Guowei's wife has always had the upper hand, after all, the Tong family needs the favor of Consort Tong.
Now, Kangxi has hinted to Tong Guogang that Consort Tong will acknowledge their kinship, since Tong Guowei's branch of the family has separated and lived independently due to Longkodo's problem.
"Fourth Princess Consort, what did the Imperial Concubine say to you?" Seeing that she was not in a favorable position, Madam Tong Guowei directly turned her attention to Qingyan.
On the bed, Qingyan was stunned. What did this have to do with her?
"Master came back and said that Father Emperor sent Grandma Guo Luoma to perform the third-day bath for the lions. I'm not very clear about Grandma Guo Luoma either." Qingyan still respected the Tong family. She had to give Consort Tong some face, even if she didn't care about strangers.
Immediately, Mrs. Tong Guowei's face darkened; her daughter and son-in-law had shown her no respect.
"Did His Majesty say the same thing?" Madam Tong Guowei was startled. How could His Majesty concern himself with something as trivial as the baby's third-day celebration?
Mrs. Tong Guogang was delighted; she was happy to receive such an honor.
The birth of the fourth prince's twins was a first for the royal family, a blessing for the fourth prince and his wife, and also for the Tong family.
Qingyan nodded. For the last two months, she was exempted from paying her respects, except for preparing some things for Consort Tong to take back to her.
Madam Tong Guowei took a few steps and sat by the window. Since she couldn't attend the baby's third-day celebration, staying in the inner chamber and helping Qingyan entertain guests was a good alternative.
"Little darling, when is Lady Ulanara coming?" asked Lady Yingenjueluo.
The officials' wives who came to visit Qingyan were to be received by the heads of their husband's and wife's families. Since Consort Tong was unable to leave the palace, she entrusted this task to Lady Yin Genjueluo. As Qingyan's wife's family, Lady Yin Genjueluo should have arrived earlier.
Qingyan checked the time; the time she had agreed upon with Fei Yanggu was almost up.
"Mother should be arriving soon, sister-in-law. The officials' wives should be coming in one after another, right?" Qingyan quickly asked.
Yin Genjue Luo nodded, calculating the time. There was still an hour left before the third-day celebration banquet, and the officials' wives should be arriving one after another.
"Madam has arrived." Su Lan walked in from outside and informed Qingyan Jueluo that she had come.
Qingyan sat up straight. Jueluo Shi quickly came out from the doorway. Qingyan was very happy to see her mother coming.
Today, Lady Jue Luo was dressed in a festive dark red palace gown, her face beaming with smiles.
Qingyan gave birth to twins, a boy and a girl. Girls from the Ulanara clan received a lot of attention, and even illegitimate daughters could marry into good families.
"Little darling, are you feeling better?" Jue Luo asked with a smile. Her daughter was the most blessed.
"Mother, I'm much better. Why did you come so late?" Qingyan asked.
In the past few days, some officials' wives brought their illegitimate daughters over. Qingyan had just given birth, and Yin personally handled all the reception work. Those people wished that Yin would take a liking to those illegitimate daughters directly.
Even becoming a concubine in the Fourth Prince's mansion is better than being the principal wife of an ordinary family.
"Little darlings, the two children are really lovely." Jue Luo looked at the children; inside the carriage, two exquisitely beautiful babies were blowing bubbles.
Qingyan found the two babies very attractive. The elders came over and the first thing they saw were the babies. Several of them even exchanged their thoughts with Yin.
"Mother, taking care of two children is a bit tiring." Qingyan didn't like leaving her children with the nannies. Except when they were breastfeeding, Qingyan would keep the children in front of her all the time.
During the day, Qingyan would still breastfeed, but at night, the wet nurse would feed both children.
Jue Luo smiled, the little girl was being coquettish.
Before the family could even chat, the invited officials' wives arrived one after another, including several of Qingyan's acquaintances and the wives of court officials whom Yin valued.
Some of them came purely to curry favor with the princes; they would attend any banquet invited by any of the royal princes.
Those who were close to the Tong family arrived early.
These twins are considered Consort Tong's grandsons, and all the women of the Tong family should have come. However, Lady Tong Guowei did not take Yin and Qingyan seriously.
Tong Guogang's daughters-in-law were entertaining the wives of officials in the front hall. When outsiders noticed that Tong Guogang's daughters-in-law were handling the matter, they took it to heart and planned to have a good talk with their master when they got back.
At this moment, Madam Tong Guowei still looked down on Madam Tong Guogang's flattery. If it weren't for Consort Tong, would Yin have achieved his current status?
It is only right that Yin Xiaoshun be devoted to the Tong Guowei lineage.
"Fourth Princess Consort, wake the children. It's almost time for their third-day bath. Suddenly waking them from their sleep might frighten them." Madam Tong Guogang, having given birth to several children and helped with many of his illegitimate children's third-day bath ceremonies, knew perfectly well what problems might arise with the children. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please read at m.qidian.com.)
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