Inside the campsite, the number of patrolling guards increased, and the Imperial Guards even surrounded the tents of the Imperial Kitchen. Earlier, after Imperial Physician Yuan discovered the problem, Kangxi ordered Li Dequan to personally go to the small kitchens of the Crown Prince and several princes to check.
Inside the imperial tent, Qiu Mi's princes gathered together, while the princesses sat respectfully to one side. Songkelierha and the twins were sent to the inner tent, where the three little ones played.
Qingyan looked up and saw the Crown Princess dressed in a palace gown with a pale yellow base and fluttering pink butterflies. She wore a five-colored gemstone hairpin and two exquisite jade magnolia hairpins on her head.
The Third Princess Consort wore a palace dress with a grass-green base and embroidered bamboo patterns, and her hair was simply adorned with two or three jade hair ornaments.
The Grand Consort and Qingyan both have children. Their headdresses are short hairpins without sharp edges. Qingyan's headdress features small jasmine hairpins carved from gold pieces, each flower hidden in the dark black hair.
The Crown Princess and the Third Prince's wife looked at Qingyan, who was dressed in a light blue palace gown embroidered with jasmine flowers in gold thread. She held a small handkerchief of the same color in her hand and draped it over her knees. She wore three jasmine flower earrings on each ear, which were small and exquisite, yet not ostentatious.
"Didn't any of you find any problems in your own private kitchens?" Consort Tong looked at the princes' wives below, who were only concerned with their own interests.
In particular, the Crown Princess and the Third Prince's wife were annoyed by the competitive looks in Qingyan's eyes as she looked at his exquisite palace attire.
Snap!
Consort Tong slammed her hand on the armrest, and the other wives stared at her in surprise.
"Your Majesty, our small kitchen doesn't cook often; we mostly get our meals from the Imperial Kitchen. It shouldn't be a problem if we cook regularly," the Crown Princess quickly replied.
The Third Princess Consort chimed in, seemingly saying that there was nothing wrong with the ingredients in the small kitchen, but in reality, she was implying that Lady Yin Genjueluo and Qingyan were living too extravagantly.
The imperial kitchen also provided meals for the princes. Qingyan trusted no one, and whenever he went out, everything he ate was prepared by the small kitchen.
Qingyan's face stiffened; the Crown Princess was blatantly slapping the Imperial Concubine in the face.
Before the autumn festival, Consort Tong specially obtained an imperial edict from Emperor Kangxi to prepare to open a small kitchen for the twins. This news was immediately suppressed, but the Crown Princess should have heard about it.
“The Crown Princess is absolutely right. If he hadn’t brought two children, the Prince wouldn’t have allowed the private kitchen to be opened. After all, the Prince is very self-disciplined. He doesn’t eat hot food after noon, and his late-night snacks are mostly cold dishes. He rarely drinks alcohol,” Qingyan retorted directly.
For the children's own good, no one can argue with that. And the late-night snacks won't be prepared lavishly; the Crown Prince's side is a place of constant revelry, it's never quiet for ten thousand men.
As soon as he finished speaking, the Crown Prince glared at the Crown Princess, clearly mocking Xiao Guai.
Kangxi smiled inwardly. His little darling wouldn't let anyone talk about the fourth prince; her ability to protect her own was quite admirable.
"Alright, Li Dequan, take Imperial Physician Yuan to their respective tents to check them out. If there are any problems, bring them all over." Kangxi stopped the imperial clansmen from arguing.
Qingyan lowered her head and resumed her obedient demeanor.
The Crown Princess across from her bit back her sarcastic remark, her eyes blazing with fury.
Wasn't Qingyan implying that she didn't care about her daughter?
Before the autumn festival, she hoped to conceive a child on the way. Yiken'e became the eldest son of the legitimate wife, which increased the pressure on the crown prince.
"You must also pay attention to the eldest daughter-in-law. Songkelierha is also growing. We can't let the child go hungry just because of the rules!" Consort Tong glanced coldly at the Crown Princess. Compared to the child's health, she valued Xiaoguai's behavior more.
"Yes, my dear mother, Songkelierha is a little glutton. But by following the three meals a day provided by my fourth sister-in-law, she has become much healthier. She hasn't been sick again this time when the seasons changed." Yingenjueluo was very grateful to Qingyan. Her eldest daughter was born prematurely and was weak and sickly. Ever since Qingyan married into the royal family, she had been preparing small recipes for Songkelierha to treat her illness.
As time went by, the child's body became much stronger.
"What child doesn't have a sweet tooth? Back then, the eldest son also loved to eat and would often hide food from the nanny. Consort Hui had a lot of headaches back then." Kangxi shook his head and said, "Being able to eat is a blessing. A child's good health is more important than anything else."
Yin couldn't help but feel a little shy, and he talked about his childhood in front of everyone.
"What's there to be shy about? Crown Prince, Third Prince, Fourth Prince, which one of them didn't hide food? I told the nanny to turn a blind eye. Do you think she doesn't know about your little tricks?" Kangxi took a sip of tea. These children have all grown up and are very different from before.
"Father, your son..." The Crown Prince wanted to object, but then he thought of his eldest daughter, who was ill again. She was about the same age as Songkriyirha. In the past, the two little girls were equally sick, but now, Songkriyirha's health was improving day by day.
Qingyan noticed that Kangxi did not allow the Crown Prince to speak, but instead turned to inquire about Songkelierha. She noticed that the Crown Prince's face was growing increasingly dark.
She chuckled inwardly. The Crown Prince was far too arrogant, and his attitude toward his brothers was even more unacceptable.
As dinner time approached, Kangxi finally released the princes and their wives, leaving the twins to spend the night in the imperial tent once again. When Qingyan arrived at the tent, he immediately collapsed onto the soft couch, his jasmine-shaped gold hairpin swaying with his movements.
"Fourth Prince, seeing how embarrassed they are over there, I'm about to burst out laughing." When Kangxi spoke without regard for the Crown Prince's dignity, Qingyan couldn't suppress his emotions and had to hide his soul in his spatial dimension to laugh loudly.
He changed his clothes, pinched her little nose. The crown prince was a man of pride; their lives would surely be difficult from now on.
"My dear, watch your words in the future. Even though the Crown Princess doesn't win the Crown Prince's favor, in some ways they are husband and wife." Husband and wife are bound to suffer together if one is harmed.
Fortunately, before Xiao Guai got married, she often went to the palace, and the Crown Prince knew how she spoke. Therefore, the Crown Prince didn't say much, but it was different with the Crown Princess.
"Hmph!" Qingyan was taken aback, and the nine heads moved to the other side.
"Listen to me, things will return to normal after we return to the capital!" Yin laughed.
She got up angrily and walked out of the inner tent, talking to Su Lan about the ingredients needed for dinner.
"Bring out slices of three-month-old lamb, a plate of calves, round potato noodles, and a variety of seasonal vegetables, with plenty of cabbage and freshly soaked wood ear mushrooms," Qingyan said directly. "Also, prepare a sauce made by mixing sesame paste, peanut butter, and fermented bean curd, and a sauce made with soy sauce and small chili peppers."
After returning from the imperial tent, Qingyan really wanted to eat hot pot. We had just said that it wouldn't be too hot after noon, so hot pot should be fine. There was no meeting either, so they ate their meal in the tent by themselves!
"Little darling, don't prepare too much." He came out just in time to hear Qingyan preparing dinner. "Bring in more plates of meat, some cilantro and scallions. And some hand-pulled noodles!"
Yin glared at her. "Can potato noodles fill you up?" (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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