On a clear morning after the autumn rain, Su Lan and the others would wake up early and go to the flower garden to collect the morning dew. They would collect dew, frost, and snow from different flowers throughout the year, collecting it in large gulps and burying it under the trees in the corner of the courtyard. This hobby was something they developed after reading Dream of the Red Chamber.
In modern times, she can't learn such refined tastes; it's too corrupted. Even if she collected them, she'd have to test them to see if they were usable.
Qingyan leaned lazily against the bed, her eyes fixed on the leisurely car not far away. Last night, the twins returned to the Old Summer Palace, and Yin put aside his official duties to play with the two little ones until very late.
"Little darling, sleep a little longer!" Yin woke up and saw Qingyan in his arms.
For several days in a row, there were intense court sessions. Even when he came to the Yuanmingyuan to recuperate, Kangxi did not have much time to rest. The court officials gathered in nearby villas, waiting for His Majesty's summons.
She rolled over and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her face in his chest. After the twins returned, they played with them until midnight. The children had only slept for a little over an hour when they started to make a fuss.
When the twins were sleeping, the nannies would attend to them nearby. Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong were aware that the two children would wake up in the middle of the night, and they thought that having the nannies around to help them wouldn't cause too much trouble.
"We need to adjust the sleep schedules of the two children properly; they can't keep waking up in the middle of the night all the time." Yin was starting to feel overwhelmed.
That evening, he not only abandoned his official duties but also spent time with Qingyan playing with the twins.
The two children were happy, but the two of them were exhausted. Today was their day off, otherwise he would have had to get up at 3:45 AM to go to Changchun Garden.
"No, the children are still young. If we make changes now, it might harm their health," Qingyan stopped them.
"Master, the Third Princess Consort has arrived!" Su Lan saw the Third Princess Consort's carriage enter the room and quickly came in to report to her master. She couldn't let the Third Princess Consort block her in bed.
Upon hearing this, Qingyan pushed Yin aside and quickly let Sulan in so she could wash up. She then turned and lowered the bed curtains, as Yin had finally had a chance to rest and couldn't be disturbed.
The young palace maids bowed as they entered, heads bowed, afraid to look around, lest their actions alert their two young mistresses.
Su Lan was cautious and noticed that the bed was still covered with loose sheets, so she knew that her master was not yet awake.
"Why would Lady Dong'e come here?" Qingyan sat in front of the bronze mirror and looked at Sulan through it.
"According to my informant, it's the Crown Princess's idea." Su Lan wouldn't interfere in her masters' affairs, but she would still respectfully report any news from below.
Qingyan pondered for a moment. The Crown Princess probably wanted to see her make a fool of herself by being cornered on the bed by her sister-in-law. To put it nicely, it was a loving relationship between husband and wife; to put it bluntly, it was just her seductive charms.
As the primary consort, it would be somewhat embarrassing for her to have such a title.
"The Xiangyun set of jewelry will do!" Qingyan pointed to the sandalwood box placed to the side, inside which were the jewelry pieces that Yin had rushed to make from Linglong Pavilion.
The twins developed a habit of grabbing shiny objects, so Consort Tong, along with her and even the maids around her, dared not wear sharp headdresses anymore. They even replaced their earrings with round-headed studs to prevent the children from getting hurt.
With Su Lan's help, Qing Yan changed into an ivory-white cheongsam with a light lotus-colored outer layer. The skirt was decorated with a double lotus flower pattern that extended upwards from the bottom, and the cuffs were wrapped with a circle of double lotus flowers. She wore a pale yellow three-inch flowerpot-shaped shoe and a matching double lotus flower embroidered handkerchief pinned to her outer lapel. She stood in front of the mirror, looked herself over, and after making sure there was nothing wrong, she applied some perfume behind her ears, so that she exuded a faint rose fragrance.
After getting ready, Qingyan helped Sulan out of the inner chamber. The inner palace door closed, and her flowerpot-shaped shoes made a clattering sound as she stepped on the bluestone bricks.
"Sulan, have Xiaosula go and tell Suzhu not to add sesame oil when preparing egg custard for the children today. Also, prepare some light breakfast and wait for the master to get up." Qingyan helped Sulan walk in the corridor. As they turned the corner, Surui came out from the front hall, her face extremely pale, and hurried back.
"Your Highness, the Third Princess Consort has been welcomed into the main hall and is throwing a tantrum." Su Rui was a sixteen or seventeen-year-old maid who had just been promoted to the position of second-class palace maid.
"Alright, you can go and prepare some tea." Qingyan nodded, indicating that she understood.
Dong Eshi was an impatient woman who could even run wild in the Yuanmingyuan.
"Sulan, Dong'e's visit is ill-intentioned." Qingyan smiled, seeing that Sulan was favored, Dong'e was displeased.
She helped Sulan appear at the door. Dong Eshi sat upright on the right side of the main seat, not at all like a visiting guest, but rather like a sister-in-law scolding her younger brother and sister-in-law.
"Oh, did you oversleep, sister-in-law?" Dong Eshi looked at Qingyan with a mocking expression.
Lady Dong'e looked up and saw Qingyan dressed in a light lotus-colored outfit, with her hair styled in two small buns, radiating joy and happiness.
"Why did you come to Yuanmingyuan so early, sister-in-law? Have you had breakfast?" Qingyan looked at Dong Eshi, not taking her sarcasm to heart at all. "Today, Master is on leave. I'm waiting in the study. Doesn't Third Sister-in-law need to serve Third Master?"
Qingyan's words seemed to have struck a nerve with Dong'e, and her expression instantly turned sour.
"It must be hard on you, sister-in-law. My master has several women in his harem, and they can serve him. Unlike the Fourth Prince's mansion, where there is only one principal wife, you don't need to have your concubines pay their respects. I don't have the fate to sleep in." The Third Princess felt reassured by Qingyan's barbed words.
The Crown Princess came up with a great idea. None of the wives of the Crown Prince had the leisure to enjoy a quiet time together. The young couple often spent time together, so it would be perfect to find some excuse to disturb them in the early morning.
"Third Sister-in-law, what's the matter? Why did you come over in such a hurry?" Qingyan didn't intend to reply to the Third Princess Consort, so she asked again.
She sensed a slight hostility from the Third Princess Consort. It seemed that the Crown Princess had come up with this wicked idea, a childish act of defiance. It was rather laughable that the Crown Prince's principal wife could come up with such a thing.
"Is your sister-in-law going to hold a chrysanthemum banquet?" Dong Eshi thought for a moment. Her concubine and Yin Zhi were making a fuss and wanted to come to the chrysanthemum banquet together, so she took this opportunity to ask again.
"Yes!" Su Lan placed two cups of different temperatures on the high table, bowed, and withdrew.
"The concubine in the back courtyard is favored and is making a scene in front of the Third Prince, insisting on attending the Chrysanthemum Banquet. Is it possible for your sister-in-law to make an exception?" Dong Eshi directly posed a difficult question to Qingyan. Previously, she had personally refused the Crown Prince's concubine, and now the Third Prince's concubine was starting to cause trouble again.
"Sister-in-law, even the concubines of Yuqing Palace aren't allowed to come. Your concubine certainly has a lot of nerve. Everyone's gathered here with confidence, but isn't it awkward to have just one concubine sitting there?" Qingyan replied coldly. (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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