As dinner was about to begin, the boat slowly set sail. Qingyan sat at the table by the window on the right, watching the steaming stew in the casserole while admiring the beautiful scenery outside. Yin shook his head helplessly; the beautiful lake and mountain scenery had been ruined by this gluttonous Qingyan.
A plate of steamed river crabs, a plate of crispy fried shrimp cakes, and dinner prepared according to Emperor Kangxi's wishes were all placed on the table. Qingyan picked up the Rouge Rice and began to swallow her saliva.
On the road, there were few opportunities to eat such delicious food, and Qingyan always felt that she had no appetite.
"Use it!" Under her gaze, Yin forced himself to eat a mouthful of green beans, the rich flavor of the pork belly making his eyes light up.
Unlike the greasy green beans served in the palace, this dish features tender stewed pork belly, flavorful dried bamboo shoots, and green beans, making it incredibly appetizing. Even Prince Yin, who doesn't usually eat meat, ate quite a bit of it.
After dinner, Qingyan was sitting to the side, eating Green Willow Spring wine. Li Dequan respectfully came to the door of the cabin. She tilted her head and quickly got off the soft couch.
"Anda, what brings you here?" Qingyan's face was a little confused. Shouldn't Li Dequan be by Kangxi's side?
"Fourth Princess Consort, this is a gift from His Majesty. He said the casserole today was excellent!" Li Dequan quickly and respectfully presented a pomegranate-shaped gold hairpin made by the Imperial Workshop.
"Thank you for the gift, Your Majesty," Su Lan said as she accepted the gift. "Anda, I also had Su Peisheng send you a small casserole dish to keep warm over a low flame."
When Qingyan presented gifts to Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong, he would also send a portion to Li Dequan. Yinzhi once said that with Li Dequan's help, he had never suffered any grievances from the gifts sent by the princes.
"Thank you for your kindness last time, Fourth Princess!" Li Dequan laughed. Despite Qingyan's young age, she was a grateful person.
Li Dequan understood her gratitude. As the chief eunuch by Kangxi's side, gold and silver jewelry were not of interest to him. But Qingyan was different. The things she prepared did not cost much, but they were the most heartfelt.
Back on the imperial ship, Li Dequan reported to Kangxi about the banquet to express his gratitude, and did not hide the small casserole she had prepared.
"You old man, what don't you have? This little bit of food has won you over. Hurry up and eat it, or you won't be able to eat when Fei Yanggu comes over!" Kangxi knew Li Dequan's loyalty, which was why he didn't stop him from interacting with Yin.
He was very satisfied with Qingyan's actions.
"Little Darling's actions are so thoughtful. She must have sent it to Fei Yanggu. However, that guy is very protective of his own. If he knew that so many things had been prepared, he wouldn't be happy!" Consort Tong laughed. Qingyan is a good girl, much better than Dong Eshi.
"This is how everyone should eat. I saw the third prince's wife; it's time to have a serious talk with her." Kangxi had been observing the affairs of the several princesses. Fortunately, Qingyan's meal was the best; otherwise, Consort Tong would have been implicated as well.
"Children and grandchildren have their own blessings. Consort Rong is still alive. If you speak out, she might think I'm the one stirring up trouble behind your back!" Consort Tong also has her difficulties. She has a son named Yin, and Consort Rong is still alive. The teachings of Consort Dong'e must be entrusted to Consort Rong.
Kangxi snorted coldly. He wondered what Consort Rong was thinking. Back then, she insisted on having Consort Dong'e help Yinzhi. She was well aware of the Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager's attitude towards Consort Dong'e, yet she still insisted on making a fuss.
"Who can sow discord? Dong E's behavior has caused a lot of gossip, and now who knows how many people are talking behind her back!" Kangxi was furious. Consort Rong and Yinzhi simply couldn't understand his good intentions.
Oh well, out of sight, out of mind.
At this moment, Qingyan was looking at the set of headdresses. Just after one set was sent out, Kangxi sent over the exquisite set made in the palace.
"Sisi, won't some people be jealous?" Qingyan disliked being teased.
“Of course there’s envy. The Emperor personally made up for the things you sent out. How could that be wrong?” Yin looked up from the memorials. He had brought quite a few memorials from the Ministry of Revenue.
With the memories of his past life, he handled many things with ease. However, he was a perfectionist and hoped to do his best in everything this time.
As midnight approached, Qingyan leaned against the window, gazing at the brightly lit guard boats on the outside. He couldn't help but wonder, was the lake really as calm as it seemed beneath the dark surface?
Previously, some novels mentioned that there would be water ghosts on the way to Jiangnan.
"Fourth Brother, do you think there might be water ghosts!" Qingyan was holding a storybook, and Yin couldn't help but glance at her.
It's best to let Qingyan read fewer of these messy books.
"The water ghosts won't come out!" The guard ships were very close to their master's ship, especially the imperial ship, which was almost entirely illuminated by the lanterns of the guard ships on both sides.
She pursed her lips. "Isn't that how it's always acted?"
"You're not allowed to look at the storybook anymore!" Yin pulled it out. "Look at the plays in there, and Old Hu will tell you!"
The storybook landed heavily on her forehead, and instantly her little face puffed up, looking very unhappy.
snort!
She turned to look outside, feeling very uneasy, as if something was about to appear.
As soon as she finished speaking, the sound of splashing in the distance alerted her.
"Fourth Brother, have someone check if there's any commotion outside." Qingyan had excellent hearing, as Yin knew, and without a word, he went to find Saito.
The waiting time was the hardest to endure. Qingyan paced back and forth anxiously, wondering what she should do now that someone had uploaded it.
"Little darling, the ships need to be moored together, don't go out!" Yin frowned, hearing news of Saito and the others' return, and that there were some unidentified dark figures outside the ships.
They dared not conceal the situation and quickly sent someone to report it to Emperor Kangxi. Emperor Kangxi had encountered similar situations many times during his previous trips to the south of the Yangtze River, and the imperial entourage already had a series of solutions in place.
"What?!" Qingyan stared at him in confusion. Everything was connected? "What if there's a fire?!"
If those people set the fire, there won't even be a chance to fix it.
"The ships are fireproof!" Emperor Kangxi had encountered many such situations before, and thus, he had long ago prepared strategies to deal with them.
As soon as Yin finished speaking, Qingyan felt at ease.
"Hehe, I didn't know!" Qingyan buried herself in his chest, determined not to admit that she was at fault!
Hearing the sound of chains outside, Qingyan knew that the guards had already made their move.
"Little darling..." Seto's voice rang out from outside, "Don't go out!"
"Understood, Ah Hun!" Qingyan replied crisply.
"Don't show your face!" Qingyan patted Yin on the back to calm her down. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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