Three days later, news of Kangxi's return to the capital reached Beijing. Suo Xiang did indeed receive the news at the last minute, and he locked himself in his study for two whole days.
Argishan's movements were restricted by Yindu, and even his servants were punished under some pretext.
If Prime Minister Su hadn't made prior arrangements and bribed the guards around Kangxi, he might have been the last to receive the news.
On the other side, Qingyan was preparing a delicious breakfast to feed the family of four.
Along the way, they quickened their pace, with little time to stop. Even the horses for their carriages were changed daily, with four groups of warhorses taking turns to serve.
"Fourth Brother, you don't even rest at night, can your father stand it?" Fei Yanggu is old, and if the march continues at this speed, he won't be able to close his eyes at night.
Can he hold on for a full 72 hours?
"Little darling, your father-in-law should be fine. The new army can rotate shifts." Yin wasn't worried. Fei Yanggu's military discipline was very strict, and even if unexpected situations arose, the new army members could fight alone.
"Just now, I had Sulan deliver coffee to Ama and Ah Hun, at least to keep them awake!" Qingyan said cheerfully.
Yin began to eat refreshing side dishes. Every summer, Qingyan would make some pickled vegetables, which not only made him feel better with rice but also helped him stay away from the painful summer heat.
After getting married, he never experienced the sweltering heat of summer again, and such days were quite good.
"Yes, sending some is fine." Yin nodded. It would be strange if Qingyan didn't send them anything.
After all, Xiao Guai was a filial child, and Kangxi and Fei Yanggu would treat him equally as long as he had some food.
Emperor Kangxi was very happy. Among his daughters-in-law, only Qingyan treated him like an ordinary father-in-law.
"Even the Emperor doesn't like to drink it, so I sent some milk tea over!" Qingyan is a replica of pearl milk tea, but the pearls or grass jelly inside cannot be replicated.
He nodded slightly and said, "Prepare more, Mother will like it too."
After breakfast, Yin began to attend to his official duties. On the other side of the table, she was drawing jewelry designs. The exquisite gemstone patterns on the jewelry made Yin feel that they were a bit too extravagant.
"Little darling, there's no need for such a complicated process," Yin suggested directly.
“No, this is for the Empress Dowager. I’ve noticed that Mongolian women prefer luxurious designs. Every year, I prepare very simple and elegant ones for the Empress Dowager, and she only wears them once and then doesn’t use them again.” Qingyan had been observing for a long time before coming here.
She discovered this and felt guilty.
Emperor Kangxi always said that his granddaughters-in-law had to keep the Empress Dowager happy at all times, as she was all alone in the palace.
"Huh?!" Yin was caught off guard by the question.
He rarely went to Cining Palace and was not very clear about the Empress Dowager's preferences. It turned out that even if the Empress Dowager didn't like the things they prepared, she would still wear them. In fact, she was constantly trying to please them.
"Sigh..." Qingyan sighed. The Empress Dowager rarely spoke ill of Kangxi. How could she feel at ease seeing her family members being punished by Kangxi?
"Then design it according to Mongolian preferences. Remember to show it to Mother at the end, in case it violates Father's taboos." Yin repeatedly instructed Qingyan, still worried. The little girl was still too naive.
Qingyan pouted. How could she not understand? She would try to prepare the design before returning to the capital and have her mother review it. Once she returned, she would immediately have Linglong Pavilion begin production.
In two months, it will be the Golden Offering Festival. She still has a lot to prepare. All these jewelry items need to be sent to the palace a month before the festival.
The concubines used these headdresses to prepare their outfits for the day, and she pondered what kind of headdress she should wear that day.
"I'll design your headdress, you don't need to worry about it!" Yin hadn't done any design work in a long time and was preparing to give Xiao Guai a surprise.
Her eyes lit up. Yin would often design some headwear for her, from hairpins to earrings, all of which were carefully designed by Yin. Several small gifts could make up a whole set.
He made them all by hand. To please Xiao Guai, Yin personally learned how to set jewelry. He didn't think it was a servant's job. Xiao Guai's gifts had to be made by him to show his sincerity.
"Happy now?" He put down the folded document, pinched her cheek, and placed a folded document containing news about the Hesheli clan in front of her. "Take a rest first!"
Yin treated the unimportant memorials as stories, as these were all information that the women in the inner quarters needed to know.
She was too much of a homebody and didn't like going out for social events. Unless invited by her sisters-in-law, she wouldn't even leave the gates of her residence.
He actually prefers Xiaoguai as she is now. Before, she was too dignified, and she couldn't even refuse the invitations from the ladies of the court.
"My God!" Qingyan was not only shocked when she saw the records above.
Kangxi's outer guards were bribed. Fortunately, the bribed people were not from the New Army or Fei Yanggu's subordinates, otherwise Fei Yanggu would certainly have been held accountable.
“I knew this wasn’t over,” Yin said coldly.
In fact, Prime Minister Suo's connections are far deeper than they realize. The palace has been cleaned up many times, but some connections have not been severed. Back then, when Empress Xiaochengren was alive, how many connections did she leave for Hesheli and the Crown Prince?
When the Crown Prince was young, these connections were probably handed over to Prime Minister Suo. Now, the Crown Prince's connections should be part of these connections. Kangxi pretended to be confused, but in reality, he was already well aware of those people.
"Judging from the time, Suo Xiang stayed in the room for two days. What was he planning to do?" Qing Yan didn't want to face assassination attempts again on the way back.
Yin also shook his head. With his mother still alive, the Tong family would not join forces with the other princes. Despite Prime Minister Suo's several olive branches extended to the Tong family, Tong Guogang and Tong Guowei did not extend an offer.
When they went to war against Galdan, Qingyan saved Tong Guogang's life, and the entire Tong family was very grateful to Qingyan.
Although Tong Guogang appears reckless, he actually holds a high position in the Tong family. He pretends to be incompetent because he is following Tong Guolai's instructions, so as not to arouse Kangxi's suspicion.
Emperor Kangxi was very pleased with the Tong family's good attitude.
"Fourth Master, Lord Ulanara is here." Su Peisheng saw Fei Yanggu's anxious face and quickly announced.
"Father?!" Qingyan quickly got up and went to the door. As soon as he lifted the curtain, he saw Fei Yanggu slowing down his horse and following their carriage. "Father, come in quickly!"
Yin put the memorial away, got up and dressed, preparing to greet Fei Yanggu with Xiao Guai.
The carriage paused briefly before Fei Yanggu boarded, and then slowly began to move forward.
"Father-in-law, what's wrong..." Yin noticed that Fei Yanggu was in a bad mood, and it seemed that he had encountered a difficult situation.
Fei Yanggu sighed, "Fourth Master, get ready. Several princes will be on night watch starting tonight. There must be some unusual activity in the capital." (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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