Chapter 1867 Returning to Camp
Two days later, the camp became lively again. Batu Buhe had returned from a distant tribe, and Yinzhen and Qingyan had already sent the primary consorts to Kangxi's camp ahead of time.
"Fourth Prince, we can finally leave tomorrow. The concubines are actually kneeling in front of the tent, saying they want to apologize to the principal wives. Qingyan thinks that the concubines are trying to make a big deal out of this, so that the men in the tribe can see how Fourth Prince and Fourth Princess oppress them." Qingyan was very annoyed with these concubines.
Every day, she had to face the provocations and antics of these concubines, which gave her a headache. The primary wives seemed to have found a home, and they would tell Qingyan about the grievances they had suffered over the years. Every time Qingyan listened, she felt deeply for them.
“Alright, the wives should leave now. Batu Buhe has also made proper arrangements. The leaders and concubines will be traveling with us,” Yinzhen said in advance.
Qingyan heard this and felt relieved. It was enough for Yinzhen to arrange for people to go in advance. It didn't matter much for the leaders to bring their concubines along.
The carriage stopped at the front, and the two children had already boarded it, while Batubhe sat in another carriage.
Yinzhen and Qingyan sat one in front of the other in the carriage, and the caravan began to move slowly, with the leaders following behind.
"Fourth Brother, we can finally leave." Qingyan leaned against the exam center and said with a smile on her face.
Yinzhen chuckled. He had really put her in a difficult position lately.
Batubuhe's carriage was at the very back. Today, he was extremely tired and dared not get on Yinzhen and Qingyan's carriage as he usually did.
"Little darling, I noticed that Batubuhe was in a bad mood, which is why he didn't ride in the same car as us," Qingyan said, holding a cup of warm tea.
Yinzhen shook his head: "They probably didn't want to come because they didn't know how to deal with the problems of you leaders. Besides, all the leaders have come along. If Batu Buhe gets close to us, the leaders might make other demands."
After several days of travel, Yinzhen and his entourage finally stopped at the camp. Qingyan got off the carriage, and the two children headed towards the imperial tent early in the morning.
"You two slow down. You must let Anda announce your arrival before you can go in," Qingyan said from behind.
Yiken stopped, nodded, and left.
"Little darling, let's go see our aunts first. Hopefully, they can adapt to life here," Yinzhen said to Qingyan.
Qingyan looked at Sulan and said directly that after the wives returned, they often stayed in the Empress Dowager's tent.
The two walked one after the other to the entrance of the Empress Dowager's tent. Narentuya stood in front of the tent, waiting for Yinzhen and Qingyan to arrive.
The Empress Dowager had hinted that Yinzhen and his wife would definitely come in advance, and every time they returned from going out, they would come to the Empress Dowager to report in advance.
"Fourth Prince, Fourth Princess, the Empress Dowager requests that you proceed first," Narentuya replied directly.
Yinzhen and Qingyan walked in one after the other. The Empress Dowager sat down in a chair, looked at the two of them, and smiled.
"It's rare to be back so soon," the Empress Dowager said, looking at the two of them. "Why didn't you stay on the grasslands a little longer?" the Empress Dowager asked, looking at Yinzhen and Qingyan.
"Grandma, we've taken care of things, so we've returned ahead of schedule." Yinzhen smiled.
Qingyan nodded in agreement. The Empress Dowager's heart skipped a beat. The leaders on the grasslands must not have treated the wives well. Otherwise, how could someone as gentle as Qingyan be so angry?
When the princesses arrived before the emperor, she understood to some extent that the Mongol leaders must have been using their own concubines as primary wives, thus sidelining these princesses who had come from marriage alliances.
When the Empress Dowager heard the complaints of the wives, she was indignant. These leaders had not followed the methods that the Empress Dowager had instructed them to use when she was alive. Now, Kangxi's methods would definitely not let the leaders get away with it.
"Grandma, the wives have all returned. They must have complained to you, right?" Qingyan looked at the Empress Dowager's expression, afraid that she might say something wrong and make the Empress Dowager really angry.
"They've complained! Your Emperor has been causing a lot of trouble lately. We're still on their territory, and they're already thinking about doing this. Isn't that inappropriate?" The Empress Dowager was very anxious.
"Grandma, in my opinion, you should just ignore it. Father has definitely made up his mind, so even if you plead for him, you'll probably be criticized." The Empress Dowager did indeed heed Yinzhen's advice.
When Kangxi saw the twins, he wore a faint smile, knowing that Yinzhen would understand his thoughts and dissuade the Empress Dowager from pleading for them.
These past few days, Kangxi has been waiting for Yinzhen to return, and he's sure the Empress Dowager will listen to his advice.
"Xuan Ye, do you think the Empress Dowager will listen to you?" Consort Tong asked, looking at Emperor Kangxi.
"Of course you can. You should know that, putting everything else aside, just the fact that Yinzhen came from there allows him to tell the Empress Dowager more directly." Kangxi picked up Yiken'e and asked her in a low voice what they had encountered on the grasslands.
Yiken'e didn't hide anything from these people, and even told them how the concubines would restore the Qingyan banquet.
“Mafa, do I think these leaders don’t like their principal wives?” Yiken’e asked Kangxi.
Kangxi's face darkened. These leaders had definitely gone too far. The princesses sent for marriage alliances had always been under the protection of the guards, and their safety was guaranteed until now. But now their lives were over.
"Your Majesty, are you really planning to let these wives retire in the capital?" Consort Tong asked curiously.
“Of course, they’re old enough to come back now. To be honest, I’d rather they didn’t go back.” Kangxi looked outside the tent. The sunlight shone on the ground, but it couldn’t penetrate his heart.
Every year, he would receive news of the premature deaths of the wives of the princes on the grasslands. Every time he heard such news, he felt heartbroken. The concubines or principal wives of the Mongolians were generally not harmed, but the princesses who were sent to marry foreign rulers could not guarantee their safety.
When the children of the chieftain's concubines grow up, the primary consorts become useless, and they will have bribed people quietly get rid of the primary consorts.
“Actually, I’ve wanted to remind you for a long time, but you rarely say it,” Consort Tong said, looking at Emperor Kangxi.
Emperor Kangxi sighed helplessly: "Now it's all good, at least the princesses who were sent to marry foreign rulers will no longer suffer."
Yiken'e put his hands together and said, "Mafa, we don't need to send any more girls over. We need to be firm. Father and Mother both said that we can't let Sister Songkelierha and her younger sister get married."
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