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Inside Changchun Garden, the courtyard fell silent. Jue Luo Shi ran up to Qing Yan. Qing Yan looked at her coldly. This person didn't have a good relationship with her mother, and now, she was appearing before her—something must have happened.
Qingyan held his teacup, took a sip, lowered his eyelids, and didn't say a word. The three ladies of the Jue Luo clan were somewhat apprehensive; it was clear that he wasn't going to pay them any attention.
The officials' wives around them were stunned. It was common knowledge that the Jue Luo clan and the Ulanara clan had a bad relationship. Qingyan was protected in the new house by Fei Yanggu and his two sons and had little contact with these people.
"I rarely see you!" Qingyan didn't say that she had never seen you before, which was considered giving the other person face.
The officials' wives began chatting, but they all kept a sliver of attention on this side, hoping to hear some gossip.
Both families are prominent clans; one is in power, and the other is a family with prestigious titles and privileges.
Qingyan felt disdain. The Jueluo clan was just a title; the money and lanterns for the dances were all sent back by her mother. Even the headwear and jewelry they received were provided by her own family.
"Fourth Princess Consort, after the banquet ends, would you mind not speaking?" Madam Jue Luo asked, glancing at Qingyan.
They had no chance to get close to Qingyan. The real power in the vast Ulanara clan was actually her, not Feiyanggu's legal wife.
"Oh, Mother, if you don't want me to stay, I can talk to you." Qingyan would never say more, after all, in the eyes of outsiders, Qingyan was someone who had to deal with outsiders.
Qingyan did not linger in front of the three of them and turned to leave.
As soon as she turned to leave, the three ladies of the Jue Luo clan breathed a sigh of relief, knowing that Qingyan was sure to keep her promise.
"Little darling, what did you promise them this time? How could you make them so happy that they left without bothering you at all?!" Yin Genjue Luo Shi found it very strange.
Consort Tong also looked at Qingyan with curiosity. The ladies of the Jue Luo clan were definitely not easy to deal with. Every time they attacked, many people did not like to deal with them.
"Little Darling, these people are definitely not easy to deal with." Consort Tong hoped that Little Darling would not give those people too many benefits; these people are insatiable.
"I was just saying that if Mother doesn't want me to stay, I can give them a chance to speak!" Qingyan pouted. Neither of them believed her, which was a very unpleasant feeling.
Pfft!
Consort Tong and Lady Yin Genjue both spat out their tea. Qingyan's words were clearly just empty promises, without a single commitment.
"What if I don't help you?!" Consort Tong grinned mischievously.
"Mother..." Qingyan said coquettishly, "I don't want to get entangled with those three people, they're too annoying!"
Qingyan was about to go back and tell Fei Yanggu, but she couldn't stop him.
"Shu, go and bring the twins over!" Consort Tong glanced at Lady Yingenjueluo. "Have your maidservant bring Songkelierha over as well. Now that all three children are here, the officials' wives should understand what's going on."
Yin Genjue Luo quickly sent her maid to fetch the people. The other officials' wives looked at the three ladies of the Jue Luo clan with sneers. It seemed that these three did not understand that Qing Yan's words contained no promises.
The three ladies of the Jue Luo clan were still dealing with the officials' wives. Everyone was observing Consort Tong's actions. When the maids around Shu and Yin Gen Jue Luo left, they knew that the Jue Luo clan's plans could not come true.
"Your Highness, is the Hundred Flowers Banquet still to be held before the Golden Offering Festival?" Madam Tong Guowei asked coldly.
Now, Consort Tong is no longer following their orders. They must send another person into the palace as a backup force. Tong Guogang and Tong Guowei have disagreed on this, so all of the Tong family's connections have been divided into two parts.
When Tong Guolai was alive, Emperor Kangxi told him that Consort Tong would definitely enter the palace. Therefore, Consort Tong managed all the connections within the Tong family in the palace. Tong Guowei began to want to help his daughter, so he slowly started to develop his connections. Consort Tong did not use them. Later, the relationship between Consort Tong and the Tong family became increasingly strained, and Tong Guowei took back all those connections.
If another illegitimate daughter were to enter the palace, Consort Tong knew that her status within the family might decline, even though Tong Guogang's lineage would provide powerful support, and her true family would become increasingly distant.
"Hold it!" Consort Tong glanced at her mother, who didn't even give her a second look.
"Your Majesty, who will be in charge of next year's election?" The officials' wives were more concerned about next year's election. If the Hundred Flowers Banquet was held in advance, they would prepare the candidates for the selection so that the palace concubines could have a sneak peek.
"It's not decided yet!" Consort Tong understood that the officials' wives would definitely have contacted the person in charge in advance, hoping to get some leniency.
Therefore, after these selections, Emperor Kangxi no longer planned in advance who would be in charge. The wives and children of officials would find various excuses to inquire about the preferences of the person in charge.
In this way, the chances of the girl being selected for the imperial harem would be very high.
"Your Majesty, when will the Hundred Flowers Banquet be held?" The officials' wives looked up, hoping to get more information.
"It will be held at Changchun Garden two days before the Golden Banquet Festival, and invitations will be sent out!" Consort Tong answered the question casually.
As lunchtime approached, everyone took their leave. The three ladies of the Jue Luo clan were saddened to find that Consort Tong had kept Qingyan behind, and they returned empty-handed once again.
Ultimately, they decided to wait until two days before the Golden Festival to discuss the selection of imperial concubines with Qingyan. Having someone to rely on within the royal family would be quite good.
After seeing everyone off, Consort Tong finally breathed a sigh of relief. Before each imperial concubine selection, she was always busy dealing with the inquiries from the wives of officials, who all hoped to get their daughters into the upper class.
"Mother, you should rest for a while." Qingyan noticed Consort Tong's fatigue and quickly looked at Shuzhu, hoping to help Consort Tong go inside to rest first.
“Noble Mother, we can manage on our own. Please go and rest.” Lady Yin Genjueluo, accompanying Consort Tong, felt for the first time that the wives of officials were all somewhat unreasonable and meddlesome.
Consort Tong nodded after listening to their advice: "You wait for the children to come over. At lunchtime, His Majesty, the eldest son, and the fourth son will all come to dine together. I'll go and rest for a while!"
Actually, Consort Tong wanted to just fall asleep, but there was still the issue of feeding the whole family, so she had to take care of the children's feelings.
"My little darling, I'm entrusting this place to you!" Qingyan often takes care of the three meals a day, so she trusts Qingyan to take charge of it.
Yin Genjueluo and Qingyan rose to respectfully see off Consort Tong, and the two relaxed, leaning back in their armchairs.
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