Yinzhen rested at Wanyue Pavilion that night. He got up at four in the morning, and Nan Yi also got up in a daze, casually put on his outer robe and walked to the outer hall.
Yinzhen grabbed her and scolded, "If I find you not dressed properly again and behaving in front of the servants, I will chop up the maid in your courtyard."
"Oh." Nan Yi yawned, her eyes still half-open. She hadn't slept much; Fourth Master had kept her up all night, and she was exhausted.
As he fumbled to button his shirt, Nan Yi yawned repeatedly, saying, "I need your help with something today."
"I know, I will have someone investigate the matter of the small kitchen thoroughly," Yinzhen said irritably.
"It's not about that." Nan Yi wasn't worried about the small kitchen; she figured Fourth Uncle was even more anxious than she was.
If the person behind this mess targeted her small kitchen, they could also target the main kitchen of the mansion, plotting against the royal family. This matter could be very serious if investigated.
"Since many of you are not in the capital for the Dragon Boat Festival, I thought I'd send the gifts in advance. Yesterday, I had Granny Qiu work overtime to make some novel pastries. Could you please take them to the Imperial Concubine De and the Noble Consort in the palace? Oh, and the Emperor and Li Anda will also receive a set. Please have the servants make sure they don't get them mixed up, as the gift boxes are different and the pastries inside are different as well."
"You've thought of everything so thoroughly. I'll take care of it."
The two went to the outer room, where Granny Qiu and Granny Zhao stood to the side. They explained to each other who the gift boxes were for before leaving.
Nan Yi glanced at the sky, picked up a small food box from the table, and handed it to Yinzhen, saying, "This is for you. You'll probably be thirsty after eating it, so remember to have Eunuch Su prepare some tea."
Yinzhen took it, and Su Peisheng wanted to help hold it, but Yinzhen dodged him. He then instructed Peisheng, "Call Quanfu over to help as well."
"twitter."
"Go inside and sleep. Your master is here," Yinzhen urged her into the bedroom.
"Oh, goodnight."
She mumbled two words in a daze and turned to go to sleep.
Yinzhen was speechless. How sleepy was he? It was already dawn. He said goodnight to him, then shook his head. He also blamed himself for not being restrained these past few days. Perhaps he had been abstaining for too long and couldn't control his emotions.
In the palace, early in the morning, Yonghe Palace and Jingren Palace both received greetings from Nan Yi. Consort De glanced at the gift box, but did not open it. She ordered someone to pack it up and casually sent a few items to the Fourth Prince's residence.
The commotion at Consort Tong's place was much greater, with gifts pouring into the Fourth Prince's residence like water. Emperor Kangxi was more discreet, after all, she was only his son's concubine, and he couldn't show off too much, but the gifts he bestowed were still quite valuable.
News of Nan Yi receiving a reward quickly spread throughout the residences of all the royal family members.
When the Ninth Prince returned to the manor, he went straight to Wanqing. Wanqing told him about the Dragon Boat Festival gift that Nan Yi had sent. There were two gift boxes, one red and one blue. She opened the red one and took a few pieces of the pastries inside.
"My lord, I would like to ask if we should also send a return gift to Fourth Prince and Fourth Princess Consort?" Wanqing was considering that sending a return gift only to Nan Yi's side seemed to be against the rules. If she were to send a return gift to Fourth Princess Consort as well, she would have to ask the principal wife to do so, which was not her status.
"No need, you just need to take care of Nan Yi. Come find me later and I'll prepare the gifts. As for Fourth Brother's, leave it to Fujin."
After giving his instructions, the Ninth Prince took the blue box from the table and left.
Wanqing's maid felt a pang of sympathy for her mistress, "Mistress, Master is being too impolite. You finally have some pastries you like."
“It’s okay, I’ll ask Yilan (Nanyi) how to make those kinds of pastries next time, and we can make them ourselves,” Wanqing said with a smile.
"Alright, I'll put the rest away. Someone else will try to take advantage of it later." The maid closed the gift box and prepared to put it away.
Wanqing remained silent this time.
In the afternoon, Wanqing came to see Yintang. When she saw the few small gift boxes on the table, she frowned slightly and said, "Master, isn't this a bit too few?"
The two large boxes they sent were quite eye-catching. Although the contents weren't worth much, the sentiment behind them was much greater than the gift itself.
It is said that Yilan also gave these things to the Imperial Concubine, but the Imperial Concubine rewarded her with many more things.
Yinzhen's eyebrows twitched. Don't be fooled by these few small boxes; the items inside are very precious, and he had gone to great lengths to retrieve them.
Forget it, Wanqing doesn't know either, and he won't bring it up on his own initiative.
“If you think it’s not enough, you can add some,” Yin Tang said.
He pushed two large boxes on the table next to him. "Here, these are for you. Keep them safe. Don't take them to your parents' house. They're a bottomless pit. Be careful they don't eat you up until there's nothing left."
Wanqing's eyes reddened slightly, her heart filled with overwhelming emotion, and her face beamed with joy. "I know, I've kept all the things you gave me carefully."
Yinzhen was in a good mood today and, unusually, didn't shun his concubine's tears. "Don't cry. If we go out later, they'll think I've done something to you."
Since marrying his primary wife, Wanqing has spent all his time in his own courtyard, afraid of displeasing her, which has led to him seeing Wanqing less often.
"If you're bored, please invite Zhenzhen, Nanyi, or Xiao Xi to come to the mansion to talk. Don't you like playing mahjong? Just play, and if you lose any money, it's on me."
Wanqing was an honest person. After the primary wife entered the household, she invited Yilan twice, but was refused both times. The reason was quite speechless: "Yilan said that it was not good for us, a group of young... concubines, to be indulging in playthings under the primary wife's nose."
"Cough~" Yin Tang almost choked. This was the reason why she hadn't come to the manor for so long. Those idiots, they couldn't stand staying in the manor, so they went somewhere else.
The next day, Wanqing's invitation was delivered to Nan Yi. Nan Yi laughed out loud after reading it. She actually invited her to play mahjong at Huikeju. How could she come up with such a thing?
But that's what makes it fun.
Yiren and Qingyun took stock of the gifts sent from the Ninth Prince's residence. When she opened a few exquisite little boxes, she took a deep breath and decisively put the items into the master's room, while the other items were put into the storeroom.
In the past day or two, Nan received so many gifts that she was overwhelmed. Many of them were valuable items, which she carefully hid in places that even Yiren couldn't find.
Qingyun said, "Master, according to the custom of the manor, it is a great joy to receive rewards from the palace. Do you think we should let the other masters share in the joy?"
Nan Yi was still holding Wan Qing's invitation. She wanted to refuse, but then a promise she had made flashed through her mind, something she seemed to have failed to keep.
One must not break one's word.
So he said, "No need. Go and see if the 'Fragrant Cloud Butterfly Playing with a Hundred Flowers' long dress that I promised to make for the sisters in the backyard is finished."
Yiren remembered this incident and her expression immediately turned displeased. "It was completed a long time ago. Why do you still remember that? Why did you let them get away with it? A bunch of people who kick someone when they're down."
Nan Yi pondered for a moment, "If it's said, then it must be done. If I remember correctly, there are eight people participating in the betting. Tell Qingfeng that each of them should get a set based on their size."
Yiren pouted and left looking unhappy.
Nan Yi chuckled, "This girl, she even dares to give her master the cold shoulder."
Qingyun flattered from the side, "It's all because the master spoiled them. Last time the master was demoted, the masters of the various courtyards really didn't act kindly. Didn't they ever think that the master would regain favor?"
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
