For several days, Yin's residence was in chaos, and the people around the twins underwent another major reshuffle. On the fifteenth day of the third lunar month, Qingyan took the children to pay their respects, but Consort Tong gave her some happy news.
On March 21, Emperor Kangxi set off for his journey to the south of the Yangtze River. Yinzhi and his family were also part of the entourage. Considering the time allotted for the banquet, there wasn't much time to prepare.
"You'll only be leaving the children with me for seven days. Try your best to prepare everything during these days." After the princes and their wives went to pay their respects to their respective mothers-in-law, Qingyan sat in Chengqian Palace and chatted with Consort Tong.
"Mother, are you going?" Qingyan thought that the twins would definitely accompany the emperor. If they went out alone, Emperor Kangxi would definitely have to pick up the children every few days.
Consort Tong nodded. Without the Empress Dowager above him, Emperor Kangxi preferred to keep Consort Tong by his side.
"In addition, the Empress Dowager will accompany Hongxi on her journey. Whether the Crown Prince and Crown Princess will also accompany her will be decided in the next few days," Consort Tong told Qingyan in advance.
The Crown Princess frequently caused trouble for Qingyan, and even the maids around the twins were bribed by Hesheli, thus creating a complete feud between the two families.
If Consort Tong were to remain an observer, watching the struggle between the two princes, and if she showed even the slightest bias, Emperor Kangxi would never trust her as much as he does now.
"Mother, I won't cause trouble for the Crown Princess. Hongxi is hostile towards Yiken'e. I beg you to help Yiken'e and try to prevent Hongxi and Yiken'e from meeting." Yiken'e is still young. If Hongxi picks on her, the Empress Dowager will definitely not care. In fact, she might even find an excuse to ruin Yiken'e's reputation.
Consort Tong nodded in agreement. Before they even set off, the Empress Dowager kept saying that Yiken'e was too young, and that the twins should be left in the capital to avoid them getting sick on the way.
Emperor Kangxi visited Cining Palace several times, and the Empress Dowager always steered the conversation toward this topic, which greatly annoyed Kangxi.
"Little darling, go and pay your respects to the Empress Dowager. If she does something that makes you uncomfortable, you must suppress your anger." Qingyan's outburst gave the Empress Dowager an excuse to confine Qingyan to her quarters. "The Empress Dowager said she was homesick and brought several Mongolian noble ladies to the palace to be raised. During the seven days before her departure, she asked Yin to take leave to rest."
Consort Tong was unsure who the noble ladies were after, and she was determined not to let Yin take them into her household. These women were arrogant and felt that those raised by the Empress Dowager should be pampered by the princes.
Since they arrived, the princes after the Seventh Prince have stopped going to the Cining Palace to pay their respects. They all made excuses, saying they were too busy with their studies. Emperor Kangxi also helped his sons cover for them when he went there.
The noble ladies seemed to favor the Crown Prince, frequently visiting Yuqing Palace and getting along extremely well with the Crown Princess.
"Mother, I understand. I will tell the master when the time comes!" Qingyan understood Consort Tong's hint.
As soon as he finished speaking, Su Peisheng stood at the entrance of Chengqian Palace. He walked in and first bowed to Consort Tong and Qingyan.
"Your Majesty, His Highness has instructed me to invite the Princess Consort out of the palace." Su Peisheng's helpless tone made Consort Tong smile.
Yin must have heard about it, otherwise he would definitely have come to find Qingyan in person.
"Remember what Mother said!" Consort Tong had the twins and Qingyan say goodbye, and then took them to the Imperial Garden to admire the flowers.
Yin was preparing to leave the palace. Kangxi should have already finished reviewing the memorials. Once the news spread that the twins were staying in the palace, Kangxi would definitely put aside his work and take the two children for a stroll.
On her way out of Chengqian Palace, Qingyan saw two Mongolian noble ladies. She couldn't help but feel a little amused. Yin was quite popular; otherwise, they wouldn't be waiting here.
The noble ladies hid around the corner, watching Qingyan come out. Only Su Peisheng came to invite him, and they couldn't help but feel disappointed. However, they also felt that Yin and Qingyan were probably not that affectionate.
"Su Peisheng, keep an eye on these two noble ladies!" Qingyan noticed a hint of predation in the eyes of those people. It seemed that these noble ladies wanted to take Yin away from her.
Su Peisheng quickly agreed. The conspicuous place in Cining Palace was arranged by Yin himself a few years ago. It often sent out news that was not good for the twins. Yin was very angry about these things.
At the palace gate, Yin stood beside the carriage, watching Qingyan walk out of the palace step by step with a smile on his lips.
The two boarded the carriage. Yin noticed that the children hadn't come out with them, so he knew that Qingyan must have already heard about the inspection tour.
"Fourth Sister, a few beautiful noble ladies have come to the palace. They came out of Chengqian Palace, and two of them were peeking around the corner." Qingyan covered her mouth and giggled.
With a stern face, Yin reached out and pinched the little girl's hand. Whenever a noble lady pursued Yin, they would discuss it with smiles.
“Those women weren’t noble ladies. Only one was the legitimate daughter of the Khorchin Prince, and the rest were just accompanying him.” Yin knew something about the situation in Mongolia.
The next leader has not yet been chosen. The current leader is getting old and may be afraid that Emperor Kangxi will take back his line of succession. So, under the Empress Dowager's command, he sent his daughter to the palace.
"Who is that person staring at?" Qingyan's gossipy nature was piqued upon hearing this. The noblewoman from Mongolia was probably keeping an eye on Emperor Kangxi so that her father and brothers could enter the palace.
Ouch!
A sly smile appeared on her little face; she was clearly having a bad little drama playing out in her mind.
He bent his right index finger and tapped her directly on the head.
"Stop, don't overthink it. That noble lady is ostensibly after the Crown Prince, but in reality, she probably has her eye on Father Emperor." Yin remembered that the Mongol leader said that one must serve the people at the top of power, and besides Kangxi, the other one is the future Crown Prince.
In terms of age, the Crown Prince should have a better chance. The Mongolian leader caught a cold a few days ago and has been feeling increasingly unwell these past few days, urging his daughter to complete the mission as much as possible.
"Hmph, can't I even think about it? Fourth Prince, have we missed a lot of good shows?" Qingyan felt that Qin should pay her respects to Consort Tong.
"We're going to Jiangnan, so we should pack our bags as soon as possible. Try not to bring any servants with the two children; let Suhua and Woxinbi go and take care of them first." Woxinbi was a junior eunuch from the Sticky Rod Office, and he was the most trusted eunuch by Yin.
"Are you planning to have them manage the twins' courtyard?" Qingyan understood that they were the best candidates. They would never betray them, and she could rest assured that the children would have their people by their side.
“Yes, we’ve been waiting for them to get married, and these two have been following them all along. After they went to Jiangnan, the Qing banquet became even more complicated. Yiken’e can already speak now. What if someone has ulterior motives and messes with Yiken’e, causing the little guy to do something irrational? Woxinbi’s martial arts are also extremely strong, and he can control Yiken’e!” Yin had already considered the future, that Yiken’e might encounter a trap in the future.
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