Ten days have passed since they arrived in Jiangnan. Except for the second day after their arrival, when Yin took her out once, the rest of the time has been spent in the villa and the imperial palace.
Tonight, Qingyan specially asked the manager of Linglong Pavilion to invite an opera troupe to a banquet in the palace for everyone to enjoy the opera.
"Fourth Brother, why did Mother invite Madam Cao?" Qingyan asked, somewhat puzzled.
Wasn't the opera troupe invited this time intended for the imperial concubines and their sisters-in-law to watch?
The arrangements were made yesterday, but Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong changed their minds and invited some officials and their families from Jiangnan.
After hearing some rumors, she was completely stunned.
This banquet for watching the opera was organized entirely by Qingyan, as if Consort Tong was showing off her abilities.
"They must have heard the rumors. You rarely hold banquets in the capital. Those women think that you are nearsighted and I'm protecting you, so you don't have much ability." Having spent a lot of time with Qingyan, Yin didn't mince words and spoke directly.
Hehe!
Qingyan sneered. In the capital, apart from Lady Yingenjueluo and a few other women, she didn't have a good relationship with the others; they were merely nodding acquaintances.
Every penny of silver in the mansion was Yin's salary, and it was earned very unkindly. She would not spend money to suffer for the sake of face.
In addition, the Fourth Prince's residence has the fewest female relatives. If those women come to attend the banquet, they will constantly promote the noble ladies of their own families. Some even take the air of elders and instruct Qingyan to think about Yin's reputation and find him a concubine as soon as possible.
Therefore, Qingyan directly complained to Yin, and ultimately, Yin decided to hold fewer banquets and not to form factions among the court officials; it would be better for him to behave himself. (Read more - Book 1)
Yin, however, was relentless and would often test him, and would even have the Crown Princess cause trouble for Qingyan.
"Have all the arrangements for the opera been made?" Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong valued Qingyan highly and specially assigned Shu to Qingyan to help her organize the banquet.
Qingyan nodded; she had been incredibly busy these past few days.
From invitations and snacks and meals for the opera to security, Qingyan personally oversaw everything, and Saito fully cooperated with his sister.
"Of course, just watch." Qingyan nodded directly. She always needed his help, but this time, she was independent.
As evening approached, Qingyan changed into a light purple imperial concubine's dress, her hair was styled in two buns, and she wore matching three-inch platform shoes. With each step she took, the purple magnolia tassel gold hairpin tucked into her temples swayed in the air.
"Fourth Brother, hurry up, we're going to be late!" Qingyan stood in the living room and noticed that Yin had not yet come out.
Yin was in his study, frowning as he looked at the note that had been delivered.
Sure enough, someone tried to cause trouble at the banquet held by Qingyan. The people from the Sticky Rod Office were already prepared, and at Yin's command, they dealt with the person directly.
"Have someone discreetly remind Saito and Turichon," Yin ordered.
Qingyan valued this banquet highly, believing that she could host an excellent event without his help.
Seeing that she had been unable to eat or sleep for several days, he decided not to help and let Turichon and Saito handle the situation.
The leader of the Sticky Rod Office was taken aback. Yin had never been lenient towards those who harmed Qingyan; today…
"Don't let anyone find out who leaked the information," Yin instructed repeatedly.
Hearing Yan calling him, he quickly left the study.
When he came to her, he had a gentle smile on his face again.
"All ready?" Yin looked her over. She rarely wore light purple palace attire; it was a rare occurrence, but the occasional glimpse of it made her stand out.
The color, on the contrary, complemented her fair skin, making it impossible to look away.
The two boarded the carriage and slowly drove towards the palace.
At the entrance of the imperial palace, many ministers' carriages were already parked, while the princes' carriages could drive into the palace and stop at the second gate.
The twins remained by Kangxi's side. After the two alighted from the carriage, some officials turned their attention to the people behind them. They had heard that there were twins in the Fourth Prince's residence and were eager to come and see. After all, if a woman could give birth to twins, she would definitely gain a foothold in her husband's family.
"Greetings to the Fourth Prince and to the Fourth Princess Consort." Madam Cao smiled as she watched Qingyan step down from the carriage.
Qingyan was taken aback and noticed that Madam Cao looked somewhat haggard.
In fact, she had only met Madam Cao a few times and they did not have a deep relationship. Behind Madam Cao were two pretty girls.
"Madam Cao, who are these two?" Qingyan looked the two girls over. They didn't seem like young prostitutes; they must be relatives of the Cao family.
"Fourth Princess Consort, these two are distant relatives of the Cao family. They have never seen such a grand occasion before. They are about to be selected for the imperial concubine selection, so this can be considered a test," Madam Cao quickly explained.
Both girls were raised according to Kangxi's preferences. Yin was secretly surprised that the girl to the right of Madam Cao was actually Consort Mi, a highly favored concubine of Kangxi.
Time is running out, but Wang still managed to appear.
"Yes, Madam Cao, we'll take our leave now." Yin didn't like dealing with Madam Cao, so he left directly with Qingyan.
The two walked side by side in the corridor. He turned his head to look at Su Peisheng, and the distance between them and the servants behind them gradually increased. He leaned slightly towards her.
"Little darling, the girl on the right wearing a light blue cheongsam is the future Consort Mi!" Yin said in a low voice.
After he finished speaking, Qingyan looked at him in surprise.
That girl doesn't resemble Consort Tong at all. Not to mention, the reason Consort Mi was favored was because she looked very much like Consort Tong. Could she make up for the regret in Kangxi's heart?
"Don't believe rumors. I'd like to know if Consort Mi can still enter the palace," Yin said coldly.
He used to dislike Consort Mi. In his heart, Consort Tong was like his mother. Why should he compare her to a mere girl? When necessary, Yin often caused trouble for Consort Mi.
"Aren't you afraid of making things worse? Can Father Emperor recruit people in front of Mother?" Qingyan rolled her eyes twice.
Emperor Kangxi valued Consort Tong highly and would never recruit anyone into the palace in her presence.
"Why hasn't the Cao family considered it yet, and instead wants to send someone directly into the palace through the selection process?" Qingyan couldn't understand why these people valued power so much that even girls had to accompany Emperor Kangxi.
There's a difference of several decades between them; in modern terms, it's practically a grandfather-granddaughter relationship.
"For the sake of power," Yin had no choice but to reply.
In fact, Consort Mi's entry into the palace served as a protective shield for the Cao family. During Emperor Kangxi's reign, he never took action against the Cao family because of Consort Mi and the two princes.
Qingyan sighed. There were really too few fathers like Feiyanggu. Most of them sent their daughters to the palace for power.
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