Around noon, the Empress Dowager released the concubines and wives of the princes, but Consort Tong and her daughter-in-law, as well as Consort Hui and her daughter-in-law, were kept by the Empress Dowager. Qingyan caught a glimpse of Dong E's resentful eyes and became increasingly worried that she would be plotted against.
"Little darling, what are you panicking about?" The Empress Dowager was intrigued by Qingyan's anxious expression.
Qingyan smiled shyly and happily had lunch with the Empress Dowager. Qingyan then left the palace in a carriage, her last look at Dong Eshi filled with worry.
Su Lan found out that when the Third Princess Consort left the palace, she was followed by two palace maids dressed in green palace attire.
"Your Highness, I've found out everything. Those two palace maids were newly selected for the palace. Consort Rong thought they were very beautiful, so she kept them by her side." Su Lan told Qing Yan everything she knew.
Qingyan felt sorry for Dong Eshi. She was clearly in the wrong, but in the end, she had to bear all the consequences.
She leaned against the carriage cushions, waiting for Yin to return together. Since having children, Yin would go straight home before lunch so that he could spend more time with the children in the afternoon.
Yin sat cross-legged as the carriage slowly moved forward, but she was lost in thought.
"Little darling, did Dong E make things difficult for you again?" Yin pinched Qingyan's little nose and asked with some curiosity.
Today, all the women are going to Chengqian Palace to pay their respects, and the struggle between the sisters-in-law should begin soon.
Qingyan shook her head, feeling that Dong Eshi was truly tragic. Not only did she have to endure her mother-in-law's difficult behavior, but she also had to take two palace maids back with her, which was clearly an attempt to silence the Empress Dowager.
Inside the Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager clearly didn't give anyone a hard time.
"Something else happened?" Yin was puzzled. Qingyan had just finished her postpartum confinement, and the imperial physician had told Yin to pay close attention to Qingyan's emotions at all times, and if anything went wrong, he should ask Imperial Physician Yuan to come and take a look.
Qingyan whispered about Dong Eshi bringing people back to the mansion. Yin smiled coldly. Consort Rong must have been provoked by her mother's words. Recently, Consort Tong has been content with her grandson and has even become quite indifferent to Kangxi's favor.
Consort Rong noticed that she prepared small gifts for the twins every day, and it was no wonder she was jealous. Yinzhi's household had several illegitimate sons and daughters, none of whom were in good health. As a high-ranking concubine in the harem, she witnessed much more of the power struggles among the women of the inner palace. Yinzhi's bad mood was also related to this; his primary wife was targeting his illegitimate sons and daughters, and other concubines had exposed it—wasn't this just making fun of them?
"Four... I actually feel a sense of desolation!" Qingyan pouted, feeling even more dissatisfied.
In the future, she might end up like Dong Eshi.
"No, I won't let you be so sad!" Yin kissed her forehead. Before the wedding, he made a promise in his heart that he would never let Qingyan be sad again in this lifetime.
Qingyan's lips curled up slightly. Was what Yin said true?
"As for Lady Dong'e, don't worry about it. She made a move against the concubines' sons and daughters in the inner palace. When the other concubines found out, they complained to Mother. If she isn't dealt with, Mother won't be able to handle the palace affairs at all," Yin said to Qingyan in a low voice.
People inside and outside the palace were watching Consort Tong's actions closely. If she didn't even care about the princes' offspring, they would have even more reason to inform Emperor Kangxi.
She was slightly taken aback. Did Yinzhi's residence have any concubines?
"There's no one in the mansion!" Yin could still give this assurance. Every two or three days, Yin would go through all the servants in the mansion to make sure that the incident involving Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen, the wet nurse, did not happen again. The birth of twins was not easy, and they could not be allowed to die tragically in the schemes of the palace concubines.
Many people were watching the twins closely. The Empress Dowager and Emperor Kangxi hoped that the children could live healthy lives, which was considered a blessing for the Qing Dynasty.
"Are you so sure?!" Qingyan looked up at Yin. Could Yin really control the thoughts of these servants?
"You must know, our two darlings are Father Emperor's favorites. He would rather let anyone else get into trouble than let the two children suffer," Yin explained softly. The Emperor's high regard for the children made the princes very jealous.
Even the Crown Prince said that he truly has a good wife and two good children.
After the arrival of the twins, the atmosphere in Yuqing Palace was tense for several days, and even the Crown Princess was ostracized by the Crown Prince.
She leaned on his shoulder, looking at the bustling street scene outside the window. If they went shopping, would Dong Eshi think they were showing off their affection?
"Want to go out?" Yin pondered. It was rare for him to take Qingyan out. Since the children were born, all her attention had been focused on them, and she had paid much less attention to him, which annoyed Yin a lot.
"Mmm!" Qingyan quickly looked at him obsequiously.
Let us have some fresh air!
During her postpartum period, she kept thinking about these two words. After the postpartum period, a series of banquets left Qingyan with no time to go out. Not only did the children want to show off in the palace, but she also had to attend gatherings with her sisters-in-law from time to time, which gave her a lot of headaches.
"Su Peisheng, let's go to Dashilan!" Yin smiled and decided to stay with Qingyan to go shopping.
Yay!
Qingyan cheered inwardly, thinking, "Dashilan... the Third Princess Consort will probably be there."
In fact, the wives all had their own ways of venting their frustrations. As Yingenjueluo mentioned, when Dong'e suffered grievances in the palace, she would take her dowry maids to Dashilan to buy things.
Fortunately, their dowries as primary wives were quite generous; otherwise, with their formidable purchasing power, they would definitely be struggling to make ends meet.
"Fourth Brother, we need to buy some things for the two little ones!" Qingyan noticed that the children's things were all specially made by Yin, and they didn't need anything from outside.
As soon as he finished speaking, Yin frowned and said, "I can only feel at ease if all the children's things are made by the master craftsmen of the mansion."
She pursed her lips. Folk things only have a touch of rustic charm.
"Fourth Brother, I think some folk things are very interesting, and it's not necessary for the two children to carry them around all the time." Longevity locks and such things were basically prepared by Emperor Kangxi. As father and mother, they had no opportunity to prepare things for the children.
Yin laughed. Qingyan wanted to go shopping, but couldn't find a reason.
Oh well, just keep her happy.
"Okay, let's go buy them some things later!" Yin agreed.
Soon, the carriage stopped at the entrance of Dashilan. The two changed into their travel clothes inside the carriage, leaving their palace attire inside. She looked like a wealthy lady accompanying her husband on a shopping trip.
Walking on the bustling streets, Qingyan felt as if she had stepped into another world.
Before giving birth, Qingyan often came over, but in just over a month, she suddenly felt like a stranger.
"Next time, just bring the servants with you." Yin's eyes lit up as he saw Qingyan's eyes light up, and his mood lifted accordingly.
The way to deal with Qingyan is not to pay too much attention to her, otherwise the little guy will definitely rebel.
"Mmm!" Qingyan nodded quickly; Yin had already agreed. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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