The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

In March, the Crown Prince was reinstated, and then Emperor Kangxi bestowed titles upon his sons. His third son, Yinqi, his fourth son, Yinzhen, and his fifth son, Yinqi, were promoted to Prince Cheng, Prince Yong, and Prince Heng, respectively.

The seventh prince, Yin You, and the tenth prince, Yin Yi, were named Prince Chun and Prince Dun, respectively.

The ninth prince, Yin Tang, and the fourteenth prince, Yin Zhen, were both granted the title of Beizi.

Among the older princes, apart from Yinzhi who had already been imprisoned, only Yinsi and Yinxiang did not receive any titles due to their involvement in the deposition of the crown prince. Yinsi was already a Beile before that, and in the end, only Yinxiang was a bald prince without a title.

From a favored prince to a neglected and invisible figure, Yinxiang's situation plummeted.

Then there was the second princess, Princess Rongxian Heshuo. After returning to her hometown to visit her family at the end of the forty-seventh year, Princess Rongxian lived in the capital for a long time and did not return to the Bairin tribe.

Emperor Kangxi was deeply moved by the fact that the Second Princess had been watching over his meals every day during his illness. He then issued an edict to bestow upon her the title of Princess Gulun, making her the only daughter of Emperor Kangxi to be granted this title.

After learning of this news, Yinxiang locked himself in his study for a day and a night, and when he came out, he made sure no one noticed anything amiss.

However, in the days that followed, he developed a new "hobby": drinking.

Fortunately, Yi'an is about to return to the capital, and everyone's attention has turned to the matter of the princess's return to her parents' home.

Who knew that on the day Yi'an returned to the capital, Yinxiang was nowhere to be found. Qingwan couldn't find her anywhere, so she had to go ahead on her own.

Emperor Kangxi held a banquet in the palace for Princess Wenke, who was returning to her parents' home for the first time. When Qingwan arrived, Yi'an was talking to Consort Yi. As soon as she saw Qingwan, she smiled with her eyes crinkling.

After exchanging a few words with Consort Yi, she walked towards Qingwan with the help of her maid, glancing at Qingwan's side and asking, "Isn't my brother here?"

"Your brother..." Qingwan hesitated for a moment, "...he disappeared early this morning."

Yi An smiled and said, "Let's sit down first."

Qingwan nodded, noticing that Yi'an's belly was much larger than when she was pregnant.

After sitting down, Yi'an said, "I know that my brother is probably ashamed to see me and is hiding from me. He can hide for a while, but he can't hide forever. Never mind him, he should be here soon."

“Your brother has been suffering these days, Princess, please don’t blame him.” Qingwan thought of the bond between the siblings and then smiled, “I was just saying something for no reason.”

“That’s what makes you so good,” Yi’an said with a smile.

Seeing that she seemed uncomfortable sitting there, Qingwan said, "Your belly is bigger than most people's. You should have the imperial physician come and take a look when you get back."

Yi An covered her mouth with her handkerchief and smiled. The wet nurse behind her laughed and said, "The imperial physician has already examined her and said that the princess is carrying twins."

Qingwan was somewhat surprised and couldn't help but worry: "Twins are an auspicious sign, but you've been working too hard making them."

Yi'an also felt that pregnancy made her very tired, but she loved children and had people to take care of her every need. Although it was hard work, she was mostly looking forward to it.

"If one of these two children were a princess, I would be satisfied."

Speaking of this, she remembered the child who had spoken to her at the gate of Princess Changlai's residence. She had forgotten to tell the child when she returned to the capital, and had only sent some of her favorite snacks, cloth, and silver. She wondered if she would ever see the child again after returning.

Seeing that Yi'an suddenly fell into deep thought, Qingwan did not disturb her. After Yi'an came back to her senses, she brought up the matter of the child again.

Yi'an asked about Moyaqi again, saying that she was going to see her after the banquet. The Eighth Prince's wife and the Ninth Prince's wife came side by side.

Upon seeing the Eighth Prince's wife, Yi An frowned almost imperceptibly, still covering her mouth with her handkerchief, and whispered to Qing Wan,

"Don't interrupt, sister-in-law, I'm holding back my anger."

Before Qingwan could figure out why, the Eighth Princess Consort spoke first: "Eighth Sister, you must be tired from your journey."

Yi An simply said lazily, "I've already rested. Eighth Sister-in-law and Ninth Sister-in-law, please forgive me for not getting up due to my physical condition."

The Eighth Prince's wife quickly replied, "We're family, why are we being so formal?"

The Eighth Princess took another cup of wine from the servant and said, "I heard that my sister submitted a memorial to Father Khan about the matter of Yabuqi and his wife."

Today I offer this drink as an apology. I hope my sister will consider her health and the brotherly bond with Eighth Master, and show leniency. Such a servant is not worth your trouble.

Yi An sneered: "As expected of the Eighth Brother, he even knows about the memorials I submitted to Father Khan."

Since you value sibling affection, why didn't the myna bird come in person, but instead sent you?

"Right now, my brother is thinking about my health, his sister. When this escaped slave fled back to the capital, and my brother covered his tracks, he didn't seem to care about our sibling relationship."

"Your myna bird did not..."

Before the Eighth Princess Consort could finish speaking, Yi'an said, "Eighth Sister-in-law, there's no need to tell me these things that are meant to be kept secret. We all know perfectly well where that runaway slave is."

A runaway slave has appeared in my household. This runaway slave has a close relationship with my brother, so much so that my brother disregards my feelings and tries to cover up his whereabouts.

I only submitted a memorial to the Khan out of consideration for your feelings, yet you two have the audacity to question me directly.

Qingwan finally understood. No wonder Yi'an said she was holding her breath. She put down her wine glass and chuckled, "When an ordinary family's daughter returns to her parents' home, even if there is an elder sister-in-law in the family, she still has to be careful."

Now that the princess has received the Emperor's decree to return to the capital to prepare for childbirth, she is being questioned by her eighth sister-in-law: "Since when did it become my eighth sister-in-law's place to make decisions in the palace?"

"Pfft." The one who laughed was Ninth Prince's wife. I thought she had come with Ninth Prince's wife as a persuader, but I didn't expect her to laugh as soon as she opened her mouth.

The atmosphere between the Eighth Prince's wife and the Ninth Prince's wife was far less harmonious than that between Yinzhi and Yintang.

If we were to ask Ninth Prince Consort Dong'e, she would not have wanted to associate with Eighth Prince Consort if it weren't for Yinzhi following Yinsi around every day.

The Eighth Prince's wife is a strong-willed person. Just because Yinzhi and the others are willing to listen to Yinsi doesn't mean they are willing to listen to the Eighth Prince's wife. In terms of family background, neither she nor the Eighth Prince's wife can be considered superior to the other.

If it's about seniority, she's willing to respect this sister-in-law, but if it's about other things, then forget it. If the Tenth Prince's wife doesn't want to get involved, she can just get up and leave.

Moreover, after the incident of deposing the crown prince, Yinzhi has been completely excluded from the throne. Yintang may be willing to support him, but she is not.

Yinzhen even thought that Kangxi favored him to be the crown prince.

Seeing that everyone was looking at her when she smiled, Ninth Princess Consort laughed and said, "Thirteenth Sister-in-law is usually not talkative and takes her own affairs in stride, but now she has become sharp-tongued for the sake of Eighth Sister."

"I am inferior to my thirteenth sister-in-law. Tomorrow, I will go to my mother to apologize."

Distracted by the Ninth Prince's wife, everyone continued talking to themselves, leaving the Eighth Prince's wife standing aside.

When Kangxi arrived, the two had not yet left. After paying their respects and standing up, Kangxi said, "Why are you all surrounding Wen Ke? She is pregnant and cannot bear it."

Everyone goes back to his place.

Yi'an was about to get up to reply when Kangxi said, "Sit down." He then ordered someone to bring a cushion for Yi'an to lean against.

After Yi'an expressed his gratitude again, Kangxi said, "I have read your memorial."