After a few days of peace, the wives seemed to be unable to contain themselves any longer and wanted to pay their respects to the Empress Dowager.
That morning, Qingyan led Sulan into the Empress Dowager's tent with freshly baked crab roe soup dumplings, only to be startled by the people inside.
On the grassland, the prominent wives of the emperor gathered together, waiting inside the Empress Dowager's tent.
Seeing Qingyan standing somewhat dazed at the door, Su Mo'er quickly went forward to greet her.
"Fourth Princess Consort, why are you here to pay your respects at this hour? The Empress Dowager hasn't gotten up yet." Su Mo'er wanted to find an excuse for Qingyan to leave quickly, as none of these Xiren were easy to deal with.
"Granny, I've prepared some crab roe soup dumplings. I was thinking that if Granny Ma gets up, she can have a lot." Qingyan likes to cook delicious food, and the Empress Dowager and Emperor Kangxi have had their share of these.
"Give these to me first. You go and pay your respects to the Imperial Concubine. Once the mistress wakes up, I'll have someone summon you!" Su Mo'er had the maid take the soup dumplings and then wanted Qingyan to leave.
The wives of those leaders were unwilling and quickly spoke up to obstruct them from behind.
"Granny, since Fourth Princess Consort is so filial, let her wait for the Empress Dowager to get up. Aren't we also going to pay our respects to Consort Tong?" Qi Buchen had no intention of letting Qingyan off the hook.
Previously, Qingyan managed to get away with it by saying she wasn't good at Mongolian, but this time they have maids who are fluent in Manchu with them, so they definitely won't let Qingyan escape again.
Qingyan coldly observed the wives present, realizing that today's fierce battle was unavoidable.
"Granny, why don't you go and take care of Grandmother?" Qingyan noticed that none of the other wives intended to let her sit down. Apart from the Phoenix Throne, the remaining seats were all being suppressed by these wives.
She had to admit, these people were all incredibly shrewd.
"Fourth Princess Consort, please take a seat!" Su Mo'er's face darkened, and she instructed the servants to bring a chair over so that Qingyan could sit in the seat of honor. The Phoenix Throne was not occupied, and the first attempt by the other princess consorts to frame her was completely thwarted.
Qingyan helped Sulan sit in the seat of honor and stole a grateful smile from Granny Su.
"Granny, you should go and take care of Granny Ma." Qingyan was confident that she could handle everything with the wives; this little matter was no challenge for her.
Su Mo'er was still worried, but she couldn't stay any longer, so she went into the inner tent first, leaving a maid behind to keep watch and inform her immediately if anything happened.
Qingyan looked down at Consort Tong, who wore a triumphant smile. Consort Tong had been protecting Qingyan in private, and whenever they tried to see her, Consort Tong would block them.
"Fourth Princess Consort, it is very difficult for us women to see you. The Empress Dowager is unwell, so we rarely come to pay our respects. What are you busy with?" Qi Buchen looked coldly at Qingyan. Kangxi had ordered the Crown Prince to be reprimanded, so she was scolded by him.
Qi Buchen's life has been too smooth. How can she feel good when someone doesn't do things her way?
Qingyan took a sip of the plum juice brought by the maid. It didn't taste as good as the chilled kind. Since the Empress Dowager couldn't drink it, she had no choice but to make do.
"Hasn't the Crown Prince's wife already seen me? These past few days, the Prince has been reading at the residence, so of course I've been by his side." Qingyan didn't mind; her good relationship with Yin was common knowledge.
Qi Buchen was speechless. Did Qingyan know what they were thinking?
wrong!
There were no servants present when the young master discussed the matter with her.
“The Princess Consort has a very good relationship with the Fourth Prince, and you probably don’t want to embarrass him,” Princess Consort Jia asked under Qi Buchen’s gaze.
Jiya Fujin was the half-sister of the Khorchin Prince. She was married off to a minor prince in the northern desert as his primary wife and was always suppressed by Qibuchen.
Jiya = Karma!
It was originally a name with a very auspicious meaning, but it was ruined by such a sharp-tongued personality.
"Oh, so you've embarrassed Fourth Master?" Qingyan asked, puzzled. "My master didn't mention that!"
Qingyan denied everything, which gave the wives a headache.
All their explicit and implicit suggestions were blocked by Qingyan, and even Consort Tong intervened, firmly standing on Qingyan and Yin's side.
The wives had long understood the intentions of Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong. In order to complete the task assigned by their husbands, and hoping to gain even a little bit of their husbands' favor, they could only make things difficult for Qingyan.
"Madam, the Fourth Prince certainly won't mention this to you. These things concern a man's reputation. If he does, he'll lose all his manly dignity in front of you," Qi Buchen quickly said. She watched the time slip by and couldn't help but feel extremely anxious. If Yin returned, their plan would definitely be thwarted.
Qingyan remained firmly seated in her superior position, showing them no respect whatsoever.
At this moment, Yin had already received the news and hurriedly rushed to his tent. He was very anxious, fearing that Xiao Guai would be fooled by those wives.
Su Peisheng followed closely behind Yin and ran quickly toward the tent. The guards brought by the wives of the princes arrived and, upon seeing the fourth prince approaching, were about to report the news when Yin's guards covered their mouths and dragged them aside, putting Yin at ease.
"You've already made your point clear. If you want to send someone to the Prince's residence, discuss it with Father Emperor and Mother. There's no point in talking to me!" Qingyan's face was tense. When she saw a golden figure appear at the tent entrance, she knew that Sisi had returned. "Before Father Emperor issues the imperial decree, this residence is my and Master's home!"
Qingyan took the opportunity to show her loyalty. Recently, these wives had been causing her a lot of trouble, resulting in her being punished by Yin for not knowing how to openly express her stance. Today, she reassured Yin.
The wives had their backs to the door, so they couldn't see what was happening outside, nor did they hear the guards' reports. They assumed that Yin wouldn't come in, and they were at ease denouncing Qingyan from their seats.
“What the Princess Consort says makes sense. If you don’t agree, His Majesty won’t issue an edict!” Qi Buchen’s words made it seem as if even Kangxi was afraid of Qingyan’s family, which made Qingyan frown.
"Hehe, the Crown Prince's wife is overthinking it. The Qing Dynasty is His Majesty's territory, and His Majesty's edicts are what all officials must obey. Who would dare to disobey? No, the princes of Khorchin obey the Empress Dowager's orders." Qingyan remembered that Consort Tong had mentioned that these leaders of the grasslands had caused Kangxi a lot of trouble. If it weren't for the efforts made behind the scenes by Fei Yanggu and his two sons, their appetites would have been even greater.
Qi Buchen frowned. What Qingyan said was true, but he couldn't let anyone spread these words, otherwise, it would really cause a big problem.
(To be continued. If you enjoy this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com with recommendation tickets and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please visit m.qidian.com to read.)
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