During the days of Emperor Kangxi's sacrificial ceremony, Qingyan kept a close eye on the events in the palace. She had to admit that Consort Tong was often scolded by the maids in Cining Palace, making her life even more difficult. However, she dared not say anything more, for fear that Yin would get angry.
In the morning, Qingyan was writing invitations to various households at her desk, and couldn't help but think about sending one to the palace.
This gathering is the last one before Qingyan's wedding, and no one, no matter who it is, will want to embarrass Qingyan.
"Sulan, go get the plaque for the new residence, go to the palace and deliver this invitation to Chenggan Palace. Just bring some fresh fruit from the estate!" The Empress Dowager was focused on Chenggan Palace, and she wouldn't fall for the trick of revealing her family's wealth.
She wouldn't meddle in other people's business until the Emperor returned.
Su Lan prepared the items, showed them to Qing Yan, and then turned to leave.
Qingyan put down her brush, tapped her right index finger on the desk, and pondered how she could escape the Empress Dowager's surveillance.
There must be spies of the Empress Dowager inside the mansion. Originally, Qingyan didn't care much, but a sentence Fei Yang said at breakfast terrified her.
"Sulan, you must restrain the servants in the courtyard. If anyone dares to ask for leave without permission, they can be beaten to death without asking me." Qingyan secretly regretted not having investigated everyone's background earlier.
After Consort Tong was confined to her quarters, Yin became increasingly worried about Qingyan. After the morning court session, he would spend an hour handling urgent official business at the Ministry of Revenue, and then bring unimportant memorials to the new residence to oversee things.
Qingyan felt incredibly happy, being pampered and protected by Yin.
"Brother, Qingya is here!" Suxin arrived just as Qingyan picked up his calligraphy brush.
Her face immediately darkened. What was this all about?
"Who brought her here?" Qingyan didn't like being with Qingya. Soon, Sisi would be arriving, and it was hard to say who Qingya's true intentions were.
"It's the old house's housekeeper, he said..." Before Su Xin could finish speaking, Yin walked in from outside.
"No need, I've already sent them away!" Yin walked in with a stern face. At the door, he bumped into Qingya. Someone wanted to show Yin their best side, which made him even more unwilling.
Qingyan pouted, her face full of dissatisfaction.
These past few days, Qingya has frequently appeared at the entrance of the new house, only to be either bumped into by her father or chased away by her friends.
She finally understood that Qingya wanted Yin to see this.
"Sulan, give the order that woman must not be allowed to enter again." Yin was furious. News kept coming from Cining Palace. The Empress Dowager had agreed to Qingya's request. If the latter could obtain rare medicinal herbs, she would let Qingya fulfill her dream.
Qingyan got up and poured Yin a glass of iced tea, then instructed Suxin to have the small kitchen prepare a bowl of chilled yogurt.
It was made according to the cheese commonly eaten by Mongolians, and with Qingyan's modifications, it was very popular with the three big men, including Feiyanggu, who did not like sweets.
"Fourth Prince, I've prepared a simple dish. Go back and tell the kitchen at the Prince's residence to make it." She looked at Yin, who had become much thinner in the summer, and felt extremely distressed.
He looked up at her. The atmosphere in the palace was tense, and even the newlywed Yin Zhi dared not be arrogant.
"We'll talk about it after our wedding." Yin immediately drank a cup of iced tea.
"Don't drink so much." Qingyan poked his shoulder, telling him to listen.
There were many invitations to fill out on the desk, and the ones laid out open were the ones Qingyan had prepared for Consort Tong.
“Little darling…are you planning to let your mother out?” Yin looked at the beginning Qingyan had written and his heart stirred.
This was a good opportunity, as the Empress Dowager hoped to conceal her actions.
Now, Emperor Kangxi has learned that the Empress Dowager's control over Consort Tong is nothing but self-deception.
"Of course, I inquired and found out that Consort Rong took a day off that day. She left the palace at seven in the morning and returned at three in the afternoon." Qingyan and Yin were used to using Western timekeeping when they spoke.
Yin's stern face brightened, and he immediately burst into laughter.
Qingyan always came up with a lot of clever ideas, and he agreed with Qingyan's approach.
Su Peisheng stood at the door, letting out a sigh of relief. Ever since Consort Tong was confined to her quarters by the Empress Dowager, his brothers, who were servants, had been extremely cautious, never daring to make a mistake while on duty. In Yin's courtyard, more servants were being punished, so even if the Empress Dowager wanted to cause trouble, she couldn't find a way to do so.
These people were basically spies planted in the Princes' quarters by the Cining Palace. They were punished according to the mistakes they made, and Yinzhi had cleared them out.
"Little Darling, write two more invitations, one for the Empress Dowager and the other for the Empress Dowager." Yin stroked her hair. The list of people Little Darling had compiled was almost complete, including most of the noblewomen and socialites associated with Fei Yanggu and his two sons.
Perhaps, Xiao Guai was born to be a Fujin (princess). Although she did not receive proper training from the Jue Luo clan, she was still so outstanding, which naturally made him very happy.
"Fourth Sister, give it to them? They definitely won't come!" Qingyan didn't want to give it to those two old ladies; she was just making trouble for no reason.
Yin poked her forehead, his face full of helplessness.
"It's the rule to let them have it, and it's not your fault if they don't tell anyone. If you don't deliver it on time, then it's your fault for not being considerate!" Yin believed that the Empress Dowager had always wanted to find something to hold against Qingyan, so Yin would never let anyone wrong Xiaoguai.
Yin sat in the chair behind the desk, placed her on his lap, and watched her write the invitations.
The pent-up frustration of the past few days vanished completely.
"Fourth Sister, take a look at the list on your right. This is the first time I'm preparing for a gathering, and I don't know if all these things are included?" Qingyan wasn't distrustful of Granny Liao, but she really had no idea.
The people in the palace are too fickle.
"Little darling, you've prepared so well! You only invited less than 30 people. Even with your daughter, it won't exceed 40. No one here will want to recommend their illegitimate daughter to you!" Yin squeezed her little chubby hand. The little one was so lazy; she placed the paperweight on the invitation, but her left hand was under the table holding his.
Qingyan expressed her dissatisfaction, saying, "How could this be?"
"It's not like we can have a surplus of one or two yuan from each household. What if we end up struggling financially and people say I'm too stingy? That won't do me any good!" Qingyan was a bit annoyed. These wealthy women were quite gossipy. If they were too rich, they'd say I was wasteful; if they were struggling, they'd say I was stingy.
Qingyan's face was always puffed up with anger, which really gave her a headache.
She muttered under her breath about how those people were bullying others. Yin listened attentively. Some of them were people he had his eye on. If the primary wife of the head of the household didn't perform well, it would cause trouble if she were given too much responsibility.
"There's no need to invite this person." Yin looked at the list and saw that one of the men was a general who had been highly valued by Nian Gengyao in his previous life. This man had climbed the ranks and caused Yin a lot of trouble.
Qingyan was stunned; that person and E'shuo had an extremely good relationship. (To be continued. If you like this work, please vote for it on Qidian.com. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please go to m.qidian.com to read.)
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