After the meal that day, Yinzhen sat down behind Tongshi, gently stroking her loose hair. Remembering the gossip he had overheard in the corridor, he sat up straight, pulled Tongshi into his arms, stroked her chin, and asked, "What are the effects of the snow ginseng soup?"
He couldn't understand why Li kept asking for it. Was she trying to compete with Tong, or something else?
Nan Yi was overjoyed. He had arrived. He calmly said, "There's nothing special about it, but it has a very good beauty and skin-nourishing effect. Look how beautiful I am; it's the result of long-term consumption of this soup."
Nan Yi touched his face and added smugly.
Yinzhen thought to himself, "So that's how it is. Li Shi's complexion has become increasingly haggard due to her pregnancy. She must have been very anxious to resort to this drastic measure. She didn't mean any harm." He smiled and, knowing that Tong Shi was taking care of her health, comforted her, "In that case, just make an extra portion each time from now on."
That way, you don't have to steal from others.
"What?!" Nan Yi was furious. She pushed him away and said, "I'm too capable. Go and prepare the medicinal herbs yourself. I can't promise you that. Humph."
She hid in her inner room, ignoring him. He wanted to spend her money on his concubine; he was shameless.
On the third day, Yinzhen had nothing to do. Lunch was still served in the Orchid Courtyard. Li Shi once again took away Nan Yi's snow ginseng soup. She still didn't see the soup she wanted on the table, so she slammed her chopsticks on the table.
Yinzhen frowned, looking at her with great displeasure. No one had ever dared to make such a fuss while he was eating.
Nan Yi ignored everything and said indignantly, "I have nothing to say." Her self-righteous manner made Yinzhen pause slightly and cough awkwardly twice. Yesterday, he originally intended to give Li a word of advice, but then Thirteen came to the mansion to discuss matters, and he forgot about it the next day. It was a trivial matter, and he didn't take it to heart.
"I'll talk to you later. She's pregnant and close to giving birth, so please be a little more lenient with her."
It's not worth getting upset over such a small thing, and it's understandable anyway.
Nan Yi was even angrier when he heard this. He was clearly protecting Li Shi just because she was pregnant. He said, "Since you don't want to get involved, then so be it. If I say that I want to prepare food in the small kitchen starting tomorrow, would you agree?"
Although she spoke softly, the underlying meaning was that she didn't want Li to take advantage of her anymore. She couldn't have a large kitchen, and she couldn't let someone else take advantage of her small kitchen.
Yinzhen waved his hand and said, "This is an internal matter. Just discuss it with the Fujin. I don't care about this."
Nan Yi rolled his eyes. "If it's an internal affair, why doesn't the Fujin (principal wife) manage it? Don't tell me the Fujin doesn't know about this."
Nara, she wouldn't discuss it with her; watching the tigers fight from the sidelines was her best trick.
Yinzhen's face turned cold. "How can you make up stories about the Fujin? Mind your place." His concubines have no right to question his principal wife's character, right or wrong.
"Someone, take the food away!" Nan Yi roared.
Yinzhen frowned, surprised, and said, "Didn't you say you were starving? Why aren't you eating?"
"What do you want to eat? Is there anything I want to eat?" she demanded angrily.
This man protects his pregnant concubine and his legal wife, and he still eats at the Lan Courtyard every day. The food in the Lan Courtyard isn't bought with money. It's one thing for him to take advantage of others, but how can he take advantage of others along with his concubine?
Yinzhen suddenly stood up, his face terribly gloomy. "Stop making a fuss. If you don't want to eat, then don't eat," he said, and walked out like a gust of wind.
Nan made a face at his back, then smiled at her lover who was peeking out the door to check on things. She was really going all out for the little kitchen.
In the study, Xiao Shunzi brought in the evening meal. Yinzhen picked it up, then put it down again. He suddenly remembered Tongshi and wondered if she had eaten. She hadn't eaten lunch, but she must have eaten dinner.
"Xiao Shunzi"
"Master?"
"Go to the Orchid Courtyard and see if Consort Tong has eaten yet?"
"Master, the Lan Courtyard is closed."
Yinzhen was taken aback. So early? "Then go to the kitchen and ask if the maid has received any meals?"
"Yes, sir."
Half an hour later, "Master, the kitchen manager said that Lan Yuan did not receive his dinner, not even the servants."
Yinzhen frowned, put down the official document. She was using her health to spite him. She was already in poor health, yet she still acted recklessly. Fine, let her go hungry. She should at least learn her lesson. In any case, it's her who's going hungry.
After a long while, not seeing a single word of the official document, he couldn't sit still any longer. He kept thinking about how pale and lifeless Tong Shi's face had been when she was sick. He had no choice but to put down the booklet and lie back in his chair.
"Back up the food, let's go to the Orchid Pavilion."
******
"Are you trying to spite me?" he said to the slender figure lying on the carpet.
Nan Yi glanced at him, slowly rolled to the side and ignored him. Yinzhen, on the other hand, was deeply moved by the weak and delicate Tong Shi, and his heart softened.
He walked over, picked her up, and placed her on the edge of the bed. He then sat down himself. "Let's eat first. I'll think about it."
Nan was overjoyed and sat up straight with excitement. She hurriedly sat down and said, "Really? I can use my own little kitchen?"
“Then I want the small kitchen to operate on its own, paying for the purchases itself,” she said, seizing the opportunity to strike while the iron was hot.
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen became truly enraged. His wife was ill, and Tongshi had encountered one misfortune after another. He was already feeling gloomy and had come to coax her, which was already a concession. Yet she was still not satisfied. He then became angry and said, "I can't afford to support you, or is it your wife who is mistreating you?"
If she pays for it herself, and word gets out that he can't even afford to support his wives and concubines, he'll be laughed at for that.
Nan Yi was slightly taken aback, then lowered her head and said softly, "Why are you getting angry? I just want to be in charge of the kitchen. If you don't like it, just add some money."
"If the government were to act in this way, wouldn't things fall into chaos?"
I really don't know what's wrong with her head. She's really thinking wildly. There are always rules for the procurement of ingredients in the manor. How can she procure them on her own? Besides, she has enough money.
"That's great, it saves the household money. Besides, I'm willing to pay for it myself, so why would I object?"
She has money but nowhere to spend it.
Yinzhen's face darkened. "You have a lot of money, so give it to me for safekeeping. I'll give it back to you when you need it."
She seems to have a lot of money; what a spendthrift woman.
He argued with the Six Ministries over money every day, and the Ministry of Revenue was so frugal that he wanted to split every penny of the treasury in half. Knowing that money was hard to come by, he always lived a simple life and did not allow his wives and concubines to be extravagant.
She was startled and exclaimed, "You want to take my dowry money? How shameless!"
Yinzhen gritted his teeth, his voice bursting from his throat, "Do you know my identity?"
"The Emperor!" She knew very well, and that's why she was so shocked.
“The Emperor needs your dowry money,” he said sarcastically, raising an eyebrow. “It’s just a drop in the ocean.”
"Therefore, it's best for me to keep my own money safe, don't you think?"
Nan Yi chuckled lightly. "Little brat, you underestimate her. She admits she's stupid in other areas, but when it comes to money, she's anything but."
Yinzhen chuckled softly. This woman had dug a pit for him to fall into, making an exception to let him interfere in internal affairs, afraid that he would covet her money. What did she take him for? It would be beneath him to argue with her.
"We'll discuss the matter of the small kitchen tomorrow morning," Yinzhen said, then turned and left with a sullen face.
He was afraid of Madam Tong. If he stayed any longer, she might bring up some outrageous things, putting him in a difficult position.
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