Yuexiang felt stifled and secretly pouted. "So stingy! She's just borrowing a pot to cook a hot meal. She has no manners whatsoever as a concubine."
Nan Yi yawned, got up, and went into the tent.
Yinzhen and the thirteenth prince exchanged a bitter smile.
The next morning, Xiao Shunzi delivered breakfast to Li Dequan, bringing with him an imperial edict from Emperor Kangxi, saying that the Emperor wanted to see Master Tong.
"Why did you suddenly decide to see me? Your Majesty must be very busy with state affairs."
Nan Yi washed and changed her makeup.
Yiren was overjoyed. "Perhaps the Emperor was satisfied with the meals prepared by you, Master. I have eaten two meals of meat, which are oily and greasy. In this hot weather, eating like this every meal is really going to kill me."
Nan sighed, "There's no other way. If we don't eat like this, we won't have the energy to travel."
The entourage consisted mostly of men, with few women, so the kitchen naturally prioritized their tastes.
Of course, the meals for Emperor Kangxi's sons and consorts were prepared separately. She had seen the meals of the Fourth Prince, which were very well-balanced, with meat, vegetables, and soup.
She only brings a few things, and she gets tired of eating them every day.
"How long has Li Yi been gone?"
"It's been a little over half an hour. The nearby towns are exactly half an hour away from here. By the time he gets back, it will be almost lunchtime."
"Okay, let's go."
As she continued on her journey, the nearby towns would become fewer and fewer, and she wouldn't be able to find anything to eat.
Outside the tent, Yinzhen was waiting for her. Nan frowned. It was just to see the Emperor; she didn't think he needed to accompany her.
"Your Highness is going to pay your respects to Father Emperor, shall we go together?" Yinzhen said.
So it was on the way.
Yinzhen made conversation, "Did you sleep well last night? There were a lot of mosquitoes in the wild."
"Are there mosquitoes? I didn't find any. The sky is high and the air is fresh here. It couldn't be more comfortable."
"Didn't they say there weren't enough ingredients?"
"Even if it's not enough, we can't let the Emperor go without. I can eat less."
"That's not what I meant."
"Then what do you mean?"
Yinzhen wanted to say that she could keep the ingredients for herself to eat slowly, but saying this would seem rather disrespectful to her father, the Emperor.
The woman beside him looked resentful and still angry, and he was at his wit's end.
Yinzhen had been thinking of her for two years, and now that she was in front of him, how could he resist? Overwhelmed with emotion, he grabbed her delicate hand and held it tightly. "Yi'er, it's been two years since we last met, and I've missed you terribly. Please stop teasing me, okay?"
"Miss me?" Nan Yi raised an eyebrow, his face showing sarcasm and his eyes filled with coldness. "Your way of missing me is quite unique."
She settled in Tongzhou, and he never visited the manor. His way of missing someone was to leave that person isolated in the manor, refusing to see or see them. Any woman in this era would probably have died of depression.
Yinzhen tightened his grip on her hand, ignoring the veiled sarcasm in her words, and led her forward.
He did want to see her, but they would argue as soon as they met. At that time, he couldn't afford to upset Tong Shi any further.
After walking a few steps, to the side and in front, Lady Nian led her maid to pay her respects to Yinzhen. Lady Tong tried to break free from the hands of the people around her.
Yinzhen did not allow it, saying, "I need to go and pay my respects to Father Emperor. Xuer, go and have breakfast first. We should set off soon."
"I understand," Madam Nian replied softly, her gaze drifting over the clasped hands of the two men. For a fleeting moment, a strange feeling flashed through her mind. It seemed that the master had never held her hand like this before, with their fingers intertwined.
"Are you still coming or not?" Nan Yi was very annoyed by the resentment and jealousy in Nian Shi's eyes. She had the wrong target. Shouldn't she be resentful towards the Fourth Master?
Lady Nian smiled and asked, "Sister Tong, are you also going to pay your respects to the Emperor?"
"Father summoned her, and I took her there. You get ready." Yinzhen nodded to Nian Shi and led Nan Yi away.
Let's leave aside what Nian is feeling at this moment.
After walking a short distance, Nan Yi shook the two clasped hands and said, "Isn't Master afraid that Madam Nian will be jealous?"
Yinzhen deliberately downplayed the seriousness of the matter, saying, "As a son, I dare not disobey my father's decree."
"Tch, pretending to be stupid with her," Nan Yi couldn't help but spit on him. She was talking about Lady Nian being jealous, not about the Emperor summoning her.
Nan Yi met with Kangxi and thought that was the end of it.
Kangxi kept Yinzhen and the thirteenth prince behind to talk. When she returned, the order came from the front to break camp and set off. When Nan Yi walked to her carriage, she saw Lady Nian and her maid Yuexiang standing beside her small carriage, while Yiren and Xiaoshunzi had an expression of anger that dared not be expressed.
Madam Tong showed no respect to Madam Nian, pretending not to see the two women. "Yiren, is everything packed?"
Yi Ren's eyes held a hint of resentment as she replied, "Reporting to Master, it has been tidied up."
"Let's go then." Nan Yi climbed onto the carriage from the other side, pulled Yi Ren up, and then called Xiao Shunzi to drive.
She completely disregarded the Nian family and their servants.
Seeing that Tong was chatting and laughing with her maid as if no one else was around, and that she didn't take her seriously at all, Nian Shi looked extremely embarrassed.
The servants coming and going were all watching; everyone knew they were the Fourth Master's women. Even if they had a falling out in private, she shouldn't have brought it up in public, not even bothering to cover it up.
That's really going too far.
“Sister, you are far too arrogant,” said Madam Nian with a stern face.
Nan Yi took the candied fruit from Yi Ren's hand, put it in her mouth, glanced indifferently at Nian Shi under the carriage, raised her eyebrows and said, "So what if I'm arrogant? Am I bothering you? Are we on good terms?"
Nan Yi curled her lips, wanting to pretend to be good friends with her, without even considering what kind of shady things she had been doing behind her back.
She wouldn't even give face to the Fourth Master, let alone to the Nian family, with whom she had a grudge.
Upon hearing this, Madam Nian choked, feeling extremely annoyed, but she had no words to refute it. She had been too presumptuous and misjudged Madam Tong's temperament.
"Don't look so wronged. I don't think I did anything to you. Hurry up and get out of the way, the convoy is leaving." Nan Yi pulled down the curtain from Yi Ren's hand, crossed his legs, and leisurely ate dried fruit and candied fruit.
"Master, you are this one." Yiren smiled and gave Nan a thumbs up.
Nan Yi curled her lip and snorted, "She thinks everyone is willing to play along with her act. How boring."
"That is to say, Your Majesty. Consort Nian clearly does not like you, yet she always tries to make things difficult for you. She deserves it."
"I've just been living too leisurely a life," Nan Yi said speechlessly.
Outside, Tong Shi had embarrassed her, which made Nian Shi very angry. Being humiliated time and time again made her extremely depressed.
“How could you do this, Master Tong? We’re from the same household. You’ve condescended to speak to her, and she not only doesn’t appreciate it but also makes things difficult for you. That’s going too far,” Yuexiang said, feeling indignant on behalf of her mistress.
Yuexiang never imagined that this unsightly situation was entirely their own doing.
"Yes, she went too far," Madam Nian murmured, rubbing her eyes with a handkerchief in her hand. Instead of returning to the carriage, she circled the camp looking for her master.
Yinzhen also rode his horse towards his own carriage and saw that her eyes were red and her brows were slightly furrowed. "What happened? Did sand get in your eyes?"
Ms. Nian's expression froze for a moment, then she forced a faint smile, her fingers rubbing her handkerchief as if she wanted to say something but hesitated.
She had originally planned to file a complaint against Madam Tong, but since her master was unpredictable, if she brought it up herself, it would only make her seem petty and calculating with Madam Tong.
"We're about to set off. Hurry back to the carriage and have the maid check your eyes," Yinzhen said gently, then rode off to urge the guards to hurry on their way.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
