As dawn broke, the Yuanmingyuan Garden bustled with activity. Today was the day to depart, and carriages lined the garden's entrance, waiting for their owners to leave.
Yin opened his eyes early, quietly left the inner chamber, changed into his everyday clothes, and went directly to the adjacent Changchun Garden. After personally paying his respects to Kangxi and Consort Tong, he returned to his courtyard.
Qingyan was still fast asleep in bed, while Yin sat on the chaise longue by the window reading memorials. He had just gone to Changchun Garden, and only Kangxi had seen Yin.
As six o'clock approached, Yin put down the memorial in his hand, walked to the bedside, lifted the bed curtains, and revealed the little figure inside.
"Little darling... wake up, we're about to head out!" Yin whispered in her ear.
Qingyan's face showed signs of drowsiness, and she rubbed her eyes with her right hand, feeling somewhat uncomfortable.
"Four o'clock... what time is it now?" Qingyan was annoyed. "Why are you waking me up so early?!"
Qingyan glanced at the clock and saw that it was six o'clock. Kangxi and the others were to depart at ten o'clock, and she would have to wait for four hours.
"At six o'clock, get up and get ready. We still need to have breakfast. Take the children to the garden gate to see Father off as he leaves the capital," Yin said softly, pulling Qingyan into his arms.
"Waaah..." Qingyan was disturbed by the sound in his ear. She turned over in his arms, hid her face in Yin's arms, and fell asleep immediately.
"Little darling, we'll stay with Father Emperor's entourage. We'll separate at the Nine Gates." Yin followed Kangxi's instructions, worried that the Crown Prince might intercept people after Kangxi left. Kangxi's intention was to go to the Nine Gates together.
As soon as she finished speaking, Qingyan opened her drowsy eyes. Although she was sleepy, she was still awake.
"What's the Crown Prince doing?" Qingyan had been lectured by the Empress Dowager and Consort Tong, which made her very wary.
"I'm afraid he'll stop me. Get up quickly, I'll go to the twins and Hafeng's room first!" Seeing that Qingyan wouldn't fall asleep again, Yin got up and went to the children's room.
Qingyan beckoned Sulan in and helped her change into a rose-red casual outfit. Her hair was styled in a single bun with a jade sash, adorned with some garnet ornaments, which were pretty but not particularly valuable.
When she goes out, she rarely wears expensive jewelry, worried that she will be targeted.
"Master, we've already received quite a few things, mostly inexpensive but lightweight jewelry!" Su Lan quickly whispered in Qing Yan's ear.
"Bring some of the headdresses from Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen. The little girl will definitely like something more refined. The ones sold outside are just a bit rustic," Qingyan quickly instructed.
"Yes!" Su Lan nodded, preparing to speak with Su Hua.
After Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen grew up, Qingyan gave Suhua to Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen to be her head palace maid, while Sulan and Suzhu returned to her side.
After washing and dressing, Qingyan went to the dining room in her flowerpot-soled shoes. The twins sat obediently in their chairs, while Hafeng sat in his baby high chair, his little face puffing up as he ate meat porridge.
"Mother, will we be able to go south soon?" Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen looked at Qingyan with a happy expression.
"Yes, we'll be there soon!" After starting their breakfast, the twins ate quickly, hoping to leave Beijing as soon as possible.
"Why are you in such a hurry?" Qingyan asked suspiciously.
"Sister Songkri Yierha said that Shulu actually asked if he could stay in the capital to keep her company." Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen said with a look of disgust, "Who doesn't know that Shulu might be targeted by the Mongol crown prince? Keeping him by her side is just a way for some mother to change the person she's sent for a political marriage."
Qing was shocked by what Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen said. Her daughter was so young, yet she was so insightful. No wonder Consort Tong was so at ease letting her go to the south.
“Mother…Mother…” Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen reached out and waved her hand between Qingyan’s eyes, hoping to calm Qingyan down.
"What's wrong?" Qingyan quickly looked at Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen.
"Have you finished eating? We're leaving!" Yin put down his chopsticks and noticed that Qingyan hadn't drunk a drop of porridge from his bowl. He assumed Qingyan didn't have much of an appetite, so he glanced at Su Peisheng and told him to have the cook prepare another breakfast.
When they go out, the children will sit in the carriage at the back, while Yin and Qing will sit in the first carriage. They can have a little breakfast there.
"All done!" Qingyan wiped her mouth with a handkerchief, and the family got into the carriage.
The carriage swayed and bumped its way out of the Yuanmingyuan. Yin and Qingyan got off the carriage and waited at the entrance of the Yuanmingyuan. Yinzhi and the others had already arrived.
The carriages from the two residences were quite far apart, so even if Yin Zhi wanted to say something, it would be impossible for him to get close to Yin's side.
After seeing off Emperor Kangxi's imperial carriage from Changchun Garden, the carriages of the accompanying princes swayed and wobbled along with the imperial carriage.
The Crown Prince noticed that Yin's carriage was lined up inside the caravan. Just as he was about to have his guards stop it, the Crown Princess grabbed him.
"Your Highness, Father Emperor must have made this arrangement on purpose. If you try to stop him now, he will definitely find out!" The Crown Princess used Shulu's name to try to persuade Songkelierha and Hutulifengshengzhalafen to stay, but neither of them stayed. Instead, they left directly.
Consort Hui caused a scene at Changchun Garden. When the Crown Prince found out, he gave his wife a severe scolding and then went to stay with his concubine for a few nights.
"Hmph!" The Crown Prince snorted coldly.
The carriage left the Crown Prince's sight, and Yin and Qingyan breathed a sigh of relief. Even if the Crown Prince glared at Kangxi and left, there was no way to send someone to stop him.
"Little darling, have some more breakfast. I noticed you didn't have much of an appetite this morning!" Yin said to Qingyan.
"Alright!" Qingyan nodded. "Fourth Prince, why do you think the Crown Princess wanted to keep a girl who was on par with Shulu? Could it really be what Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen said?"
Recently, Qingyan has been preparing for an outing and has rarely paid attention to Changchun's news.
"Pretty much. The Crown Prince wants military power in Mongolia, so the first thing he does is arrange a marriage. Although he doesn't care much about his daughter's happiness, the Crown Princess only has this one daughter. Do you think she can be indifferent?" Yin couldn't say that the Crown Princess was wrong.
After he ascended the throne, he took several of his brothers' daughters and married them off to Mongolia, leaving his only daughter in the capital. Everyone looks out for themselves, and the Crown Princess had the same thought.
“It’s right to be concerned. Didn’t Father Emperor say that he would definitely not let the brothers go to Mongolia again? Why are some people going against his wishes?” Qingyan really couldn’t understand. The Crown Prince had fallen into the trap of power.
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