A few days later, Fei Yanggu uncovered many secrets about the area beyond the Great Wall. Seeing that the legitimate sons of those iron-hat princes had all died at the hands of bondservant families, he felt that he was being a bit too careless and quickly told Kangxi about it.
Enraged, Emperor Kangxi also began a thorough investigation into the public situation.
Previously, many royal offspring had died young, so Qingyan was brought into the palace for re-education.
Just as dawn was breaking, Qingyan was woken up by Sulan and began to dress up, preparing to enter the palace. She slumped against the chair, feeling dejected. Her father had been sending messengers at breakneck speed to inform the princes outside the Great Wall of the secret mark of the eldest son. Many of them had imprisoned the women of the bondservant families and even secretly executed several princes.
Kangxi adopted a wait-and-see attitude towards this matter. Qingyan pondered for a long time and gained a new understanding of Kangxi's cold-bloodedness. Those people were also descendants of the Aisin Gioro family, yet they were deprived of their right to live.
Her inner turmoil is still unresolved; today, upon entering the palace, she will likely have to pay her respects to Lady Wuya.
"Princess, the Fourth Prince has secretly sent word that Lady Uya will not appear in Cining Palace. You only need to stay in the Noble Consort's quarters!" The Empress Dowager is unwell, so she should handle this personally.
Qingyan nodded, but his mind was a complete mess, and he was thinking about things very slowly.
I feel so powerless!
She leaned back lazily, thinking it was better that Si Si wasn't around; otherwise, her unruly behavior would definitely get her a good scolding.
"After entering the palace, you will stay by my side every step of the way." Qingyan always felt uneasy, as if something was about to happen. She would never allow herself to fall into a trap.
Su Lan quickly agreed. Qing Yan had an exceptionally strong sixth sense, and she had been able to escape many disasters safely thanks to it.
As soon as the carriage entered the Meridian Gate, Qingyan called for it to stop.
"Princess, His Majesty has granted you permission to travel by carriage to Chenggan Palace." Su Lan was puzzled; why had Qing Yan stopped the carriage?
"No, let's walk!" Qingyan got off the carriage, and Sulan noticed that there were quite a few women getting off the carriages around them.
Qingyan followed the main group, walking into the palace in flowerpot shoes. In a secluded spot near the Meridian Gate, a young eunuch was peeking around. Qingyan spotted him immediately, and a cold smile appeared on her lips.
If she were to be lazy and allow the carriage to enter the public area, many people would surely criticize her.
Early in the morning, Consort Tong specially asked Shu to greet Qingyan at the door. Watching Qingyan's small figure swaying around those people from afar, Shu felt uneasy.
Normally, the noble ladies of the Eight Banners would be brought into the palace by their mothers, but Qingyan had never enjoyed such treatment.
"Princess, the master is waiting for you in Chenggan Palace!" Shu quickly stepped forward and pulled Qingyan out of the crowd. The little guy looked completely confused. What had he done?
“Shu…” Qingyan smiled bitterly. She followed the crowd, listening to the conversation between the mother and daughter. Qingyan felt increasingly uneasy.
"Lady Ulanara did not come!" Lady Jueluo was ill, and Qingya's behavior was disliked by Emperor Kangxi. Therefore, Qingyan was the only one who could represent Lady Ulanara at important occasions.
Following Shu into Chenggan Palace, Qingyan bowed respectfully and paid her respects. Consort Tong looked at her small frame and couldn't help but feel a little sad.
"Little darling, come to me!" Consort Tong and Qingyan had a very good relationship.
Qingyan received a maternal love from Consort Tong that she had never experienced before. Yinchen had told Qingyan that if Consort Tong caused trouble frequently, Qingyan should simply tolerate Consort Tong as her mother.
"Your Majesty, may we let Mother out?" Qingyan felt that since Jue Luo Shi was confined, many people were looking at her with less than friendly eyes.
Consort Tong was stunned. What was Xiao Guai planning to do?
"Why?!" She could get a convincing reason from Xiao Guai's mouth, so she didn't mind helping out.
Qingyan smiled slightly and said that it was not good for the old house to not have a female head of household to socialize, as it would be bad for the face of the father and his children.
Consort Tong agreed, and Qingyan was ostracized by the noble ladies.
"Ignore those court ladies; they're mostly just idle." Consort Tong only had one son, Yin, and she was favored by Emperor Kangxi, which led to many people speaking ill of her behind her back.
Qingyan shook her head helplessly; her status and position were simply not enough to make her look down on everyone else.
"Your Highness, I would like to pay my respects to Lady Wuya first!" Qingyan decided to perform all the proper etiquette after walking all the way.
On the way, some troublesome noblewomen were asking her whether she should go to the Cold Palace to pay her respects to Lady Uya after she entered the palace.
"Little darling, you don't have to do this!" The Imperial Concubine would respect Qingyan's decision and hoped that Qingyan would not be put in a difficult position.
"I know, Your Highness. There are many people in the palace today, and we must not leave any reason for gossip." For the sake of her and Yin's reputation, Qingyan decided to go there in person.
There's still almost an hour before I have to go to Cining Palace to pay my respects, so I'm sure I'll make it in time.
"Alright, Shu, you take Xiao Guai there yourself. Remember to keep an eye on her." Wuya Shi was driven somewhat mad by being locked up in the Cold Palace. In addition, the Iron-Capped Princes outside the pass had been causing a lot of trouble for the Wuya clan.
"Yes!" Shu nodded and led Qingyan, Sulan, and the others toward the Cold Palace.
Some of the court ladies watched Qingyan leave from afar, and couldn't help but feel a surge of admiration for him. Uya hadn't treated Yin well, and in the end, she had only given birth to him. The fact that Qingyan offered to pay his respects was already a fulfillment of his duty.
"Shu, besides Wuya, are there any other people in the Cold Palace?" Qingyan asked.
“There’s no one else here, Princess. You can pay your respects outside. His Majesty is very kind and doesn’t allow anyone to meet with Lady Wuya.” Shu felt that Qingyan was kind-hearted, so she gave her a reminder.
Qingyan nodded. The palace road near the Cold Palace had become extremely desolate. Looking at the mottled palace walls, Qingyan felt a chill run down her spine.
I absolutely must not come here to end my life.
"Miss Shu, what brings you here?" The one who opened the door was Granny Teng, who was the nanny assigned by Emperor Kangxi to guard Lady Wuya.
The eldest son of the Teng family was killed by the Wuya family. The families, who were originally related by marriage, turned into enemies.
"Granny Teng, this is Princess Ulanara. She was summoned by the Cining Palace today. The princess said that Uya is, after all, the Fourth Prince's biological mother, so she came to pay her respects." Shu explained to Granny Teng with a smile. She was going to use Granny Teng's words to let everyone know that Qingyan was a person who followed the rules.
"This servant greets Your Highness!" Madam Teng couldn't help but secretly admire Qingyan's outstanding appearance.
"Please rise, Granny. I apologize for the abruptness of the banquet. Here is a little money for the drinks. Please don't find it offensive!" Su Lan quickly handed over a purse, which Granny squeezed and couldn't help but laugh.
The large, round bead is either a pearl or gold.
"Thank you, Princess!" Granny Teng did not refuse. "Princess, you can just bow at the door. His Majesty does not allow anyone to disturb Lady Uya's quiet contemplation!"
"Thank you, Granny, I won't let you make things difficult for me!" Qingyan walked into the desolate cold palace, her heart filled with a sense of relief. (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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