That evening, when Yinzhen returned, Qingyan told him the purpose of Dong'e's visit, and he laughed coldly after hearing it.
Yinzhi's sarcastic remarks stemmed from this, but Yinzhen and Qingyan cooperated well and directly thwarted Yinzhi and his wife's plans.
"My little darling, the New Year is coming soon. Those officials' wives are bound to go astray. Don't worry about anyone, including your mother!" Yinzhen didn't trust Lady Jueluo. Lady Jueluo was wavering between her married daughter and her maternal family.
Qingyan nodded, leaning on Yinzhen's shoulder to relax her mind and body. From breakfast onwards, Qingyan had been on the battlefield, engaging in a battle of wits and courage with the women.
Besides the Third Prince's wife, there were several other invitations, but the banquet was postponed due to the approaching New Year and the busy affairs of the mansion.
"Here's the list. See if you want to add anything!" Qingyan handed the list she had prepared to Yinzhen.
When writing the list of tributes, Qingyan only had Sulan and Suzhu serve him carefully, and this list would never be leaked.
"Purple South Sea pearls?" Yinzhen looked at the South Sea pearls written on the label. These were clearly the most valuable ones. However, Yinzhen did not intend to let Qingyan present them. "What if someone needs them next year? Can you get them?"
Qingyan shook her head. This quality of South Sea pearl is definitely rare and hard to come by. Aren't some tribute items made with novelty in mind?
"Design it into a headdress for Mother to wear, and make a headdress for yourself too. Seal the rest away!" Yinzhen didn't want the mansion to be too conspicuous, so he simply used some of the South Sea pearls.
He has become much more financially secure in his life. Xiao Guai is a true golden boy, and all his ideas are very profitable, which allows him to be more flexible in training the sticky rod department.
For several days in a row, Qingyan received two or three people who were trying to use connections during the day, but Qingyan politely declined them all. The Jue Luo clan member whom Yinzhen had been suspecting only sent people from the old residence to the shop to make purchases and did not meet with Qingyan.
Last night, Qingyan felt relieved after receiving the news, but this morning, her maternal family from the Jueluo clan directly embarrassed her.
"Master, the Second Madam has arrived. She's been waiting outside, saying she'll only leave after you've finished your work and seen her!" Su Lan had no choice but to refuse her with the previous excuse; she simply wouldn't leave.
Damn it!
Qingyan was annoyed. Just when the Jueluo clan stopped causing trouble, these people, relying on being her maternal relatives, would frequently come to Linglong Pavilion to ask for things. The Jueluo clan had personally sent people to appease them for a long time. In addition, there was the unpleasantness caused by the last incident involving the headdresses.
"Let them in," Qingyan sneered.
Has she not yet recovered from the embarrassment she made during the Golden Week celebrations?
"Fourth Madam, I've been looking all over for you. It's one thing for you not to go out and greet our elders, but you even dare to use an excuse to refuse them." The Second Madam looked at Qingyan, her sharp and sarcastic words flying out one after another.
"Is the Second Madam forgetful? Mother already said that she would no longer have any dealings with your family." Qingyan smiled coldly. Compared to her mother, her maternal family was far more hostile than Qingyan.
The second wife was speechless. The outrageous jewelry had already been replaced, causing her to lose tens of thousands of taels of her private savings, and her master no longer visited her courtyard.
Qingyan further provoked her by inserting a needle into her lung tube.
"Someone, have Erlu send someone to take her to Mother so she can deal with her." Qingyan saw that the Second Madam had come to visit again. Not wanting people to speak ill of her, she had no choice but to hand her elder over to her mother.
Qingyan got up and walked towards the study. The Second Madam called out behind her, "I have someone backing me up. Even your mother has to be given a position. Fourth Princess Consort, I respect you and call you Princess Consort. In the future, if the future master reaches that position, I want to see what your fate will be."
Qingyan did not stop, and the Second Madam actually gained the support of people in Yuqing Palace.
This is somewhat unusual. The Second Madam's family background is not high, and it is not something that the Guarjia clan would try to win over. Moreover, even if the Crown Prince were to reach that position, apart from an arranged marriage, there is no way to make Yinzhen neglect her.
Hehe!
Looking at the account book in her hand, Qingyan realized that some people in the Eastern Palace had gone too far and crossed her bottom line.
She picked up a piece of paper from the side, wrote to the shopkeepers of several shops to express her displeasure, intending to cause trouble for the families of the Crown Prince and several of his female relatives.
It's better not to do business with these companies anymore. Linglong Pavilion's reputation has been established, so there's no need to worry about so many things.
"Sulan, send these letters to the people who are conducting the imperial examinations, and make sure they don't leak the news!" Yinzhen had left many people in the Yuanmingyuan who were conducting the imperial examinations, and as the end of the year approached, these secret contacts would become more and more frequent.
"Yes!" Su Lan quickly went out to find Erlu and asked his men to handle it.
At lunchtime, Yinzhen returned from Changchun Garden and saw that she was in a bad mood, staring blankly at the twins. Erluhou was at the door and told Qingyan what the Second Madam had said, as well as the letter that Qingyan had sent.
He didn't care; those were just minor squabbles. Yuqing Palace was probably really short of money.
"Prepare some of the things that the Princess Consort likes and send them over quickly!" When Qingyan was in a bad mood, Yinzhen was very considerate and instructed Su Peisheng to prepare lunch as soon as possible.
The two were always considerate of each other, and would make changes before the meal was served.
After washing up, he changed into plain-colored everyday clothes, trying his best to take care of the twins' delicate skin and not want to hurt them.
"Little darlings!" Yinzhen walked in, sat cross-legged on the carpet, and let the two children crawl to his side.
"Fourth Prince, you're back?" Qingyan regained her composure and saw that Yinzhen was all dressed up and already sitting beside her.
When Yiken'e and Hutulifengshengzhalafen saw that their mother was finally willing to look at them, their little mouths twitched. Just now, they had tried so hard to bring their mother back to her senses, but all their efforts had ended in failure.
"Well, if it's a celebratory occasion, then we shouldn't worry about it anymore." Yinzhen noticed that the business of several shops was getting better and better. Some of them not doing business actually relieved the pressure on Linglong Pavilion.
Three days later, Linglong Pavilion refused the Crown Princess's family's order for jewelry, supposedly because there wasn't enough time and they were worried it would delay the Crown Princess's use during the festival. Everyone took it for granted and even thought Linglong Pavilion had done a great job, not treating guests based on their official rank. Only a few people involved knew that this was Qingyan's way of starting a fight.
Upon receiving the news at Yuqing Palace, the Crown Princess smashed the famille rose teacup she was holding and remarked from within her palace that Qingyan was ungrateful.
The Crown Princess's gentle image was completely shattered. Emperor Kangxi sent people to investigate, and the manager of Linglong Pavilion personally presented the order documents for the jewelry, confirming the situation and stating that it was impossible to rush the production.
He spent the night at Chengqian Palace, and the next day, Consort Tong presented Qingyan with a jade ruyi from the palace.
With the matter settled, the Crown Princess was left with a stain of abusing her power, and Qingyan's Linglong Pavilion received a free advertisement.
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