The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

Moyaqi happily went to the Fourth Prince's side, and the Fourth Prince's wife had been waiting for her since receiving the letter yesterday.

After watching her change her clothes, he held her close and sat her down beside him, asking, "How has things been at home these days? Are Father and Mother doing well? Is your younger brother doing well?"

They didn't expect her to answer these questions; they were just waiting for the wet nurse beside her to reply.

Unexpectedly, Moyaqi sighed like a little adult and said, "Oh no, my mother said that my father is sick and can't even walk. If my mother takes care of him, she can't take care of me properly, so I have no choice but to come to my fourth aunt's side."

"Oh?" The Fourth Princess's eyes flashed. "Is your father's condition really that serious?"

"That's right, I see him every day, and he's always lying in bed. There's a royal physician named Qi who comes to my house every day, I know him."

Moyaqi rested her chin on her hand, looking quite melancholy.

The Fourth Princess went to see Moyaqi's wet nurse. The wet nurse nodded, indicating that what Moyaqi said was true.

Then someone was sent to invite Yinzhen over.

When Yinzhen arrived, Moyaqi had already played for a while and fallen asleep.

The Fourth Prince's wife fanned her from the side, her expression gentle and loving.

Yinzhen's usually serious expression softened unconsciously. He and his fourth wife were married at a young age and consummated their marriage after reaching the coming-of-age ceremony for Han Chinese. Before they had love, they had developed a familial bond.

The Fourth Princess married him before she even had a chance to be selected in the imperial concubine selection. At that time, they were still living in the palace. Although she was still a child, she had to pretend to be an adult and socialize in the harem for him.

But she was still too young, and the youngest daughter in the family. Before she could learn these things properly, she became the prince's wife in a daze.

Even Consort De sighed upon seeing this. After returning home, she could only helplessly wonder if she had embarrassed herself again.

Yinzhen had no choice but to teach her little by little, how to conduct herself, and how to be a qualified and impeccable prince's wife.

The Fourth Prince's wife also learned very well. Even before she gave birth to Honghui, she was already a very good prince's wife, and even Consort De liked her more and more.

Not only Consort De, but even the ladies of the harem couldn't say a bad word about her.

Even after Honghui died young, before Yinzhen had a chance to comfort her, she only briefly became depressed before picking herself up and supporting the entire mansion with Yinzhen.

The Fourth Prince's wife was personally trained by Yinzhen; she embodied the ideal prince's wife in his mind.

For him, the Fourth Prince Consort was not only his wife but also his ally.

Seeing his fourth wife like this, he couldn't help but feel a little guilty. He made a little noise, and when she turned her head, he pointed outside.

The Fourth Princess Consort handed the fan in her hand to the person next to her before leaving.

Seeing that Yinzhen was sitting in the chair covered in sweat, he hurriedly asked, "Did you ask them to fetch water?"

"Here he comes." As soon as he finished speaking, a maid brought in the washing utensils, and the Fourth Prince Consort used a warm water-soaked handkerchief to wipe Yinzhen's face.

"What has Your Highness been doing? You're covered in dust," the Fourth Princess Consort asked.

"I rode a horse back from paying my respects to my mother at Changchun Garden. Was there something urgent that called me back?"

The Fourth Prince's wife paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "I'm afraid the messenger made a mistake. I only told the Prince to come to my place first after he returns."

Yinzhen thought for a moment and smiled: "It wasn't that they misrepresented the message, but that I misunderstood. When they mentioned you, I thought you might have something urgent to attend to and rushed back."

The Fourth Prince's wife then placed a bowl of chilled mung bean soup in front of Yinzhen and said, "When it comes to relieving summer heat, I think this is the best."

He added, “Yesterday, my thirteenth sister-in-law sent someone to deliver a letter saying that she was sending Moyaqi to escape the summer heat. I didn’t think too much about it. Even if she hadn’t sent her, I would have gone to pick her up anyway. I just asked someone to clean up the house.”

But today, that child, Moyaqi, said that the thirteenth brother is sick and can no longer get out of bed, so they sent her out of the palace.

"Oh? Unable to get out of bed? How much truth is there to that?" Yinzhen asked seriously.

"Your Highness also knows that child, Moyaqi. She is precocious and acts like a little adult. She even knows that the imperial physician who treated the thirteenth brother is Qi Jiazhao."

I also asked her wet nurse, and it's true."

Yinzhen thought for a moment and said, "I'm afraid the thirteenth brother doesn't want Father to know, and the thirteenth sister-in-law has no way to deliver the message to Father."

And since the third brother was in charge in the capital, the thirteenth sister-in-law only thought of having the child deliver the message then. It was truly difficult for her, and it was also difficult for Moyaqi to actually get the message across.

Fourth Princess Consort laughed and said, "You know how thirteenth brother is. I'm afraid he's still holding back his anger in front of the Emperor."

Now that my thirteenth sister-in-law has given the opportunity to you, sir, it's just a matter of whether you're willing to accept it.

Yinzhen shook his head and smiled: "This is difficult for me. Never mind, tomorrow, you and I will go to the palace to take a look. Although my thirteenth brother does not want people to know, his daughter is a chatterbox and spills everything."

"There's another matter. Now that I've taken command of the Bordered White Banner, I'm planning to select some people from the banner to serve me. I've already sent word to the Nian family. I've asked them to send in a daughter. You can keep her by your side to serve you and teach her manners."

"Which Nian family?" The Fourth Prince's wife couldn't remember for a moment. Which Nian family belonged to the Bordered White Banner?

However, Yinzhen led the Bordered White Banner, while Li and Geng, who lived in the back courtyard, were bondservants of the Bordered White Banner, as was Niohuru. They were all chosen from the Bordered White Banner.

Both Niohuru and Geng are pregnant again, so it's normal for him to choose people from the Bordered White Banner again.

“The family of Nian Xialing, who was originally the second-rank governor of Huguang, was transferred to my jurisdiction along with the banner commander of his family when I was enfeoffed as a prince a few years ago. He has already retired and is not much of a figure, except that he has one son who is young and promising and is highly regarded by the Khan.”

You may not know this person by name, but you've probably heard of his father-in-law, Nalan Rongruo, the son of Mingzhu.

The Fourth Princess chuckled. How could she not know? Everyone knows a couple of Nalan Rongruo's poems; even the eldest princess recites a few lines from time to time.

She smiled, and Yinzhen naturally knew that the Fourth Prince Consort understood what he was talking about. He then said, "This Nian Gengyao passed the imperial examination at the age of twenty-two and was appointed as the governor of Sichuan in his early thirties. Even his eldest son, Nian Xi, is going to take the exam this year. He is a person worth winning over."

Although Nian Gengyao was Yinzhen's subordinate, he was already a high-ranking official before this, and did not need to rely solely on Yinzhen. He thus kept his distance from Yinzhen, his "master," which naturally displeased Yinzhen.

"She's just a girl, she might not be able to do anything to Nian Gengyao, let alone just a younger sister. Although I haven't asked yet, I guess the two of them probably don't share the same mother." The Fourth Prince Consort felt that Yinzhen might not get what he wanted.

"She's just a woman. It would be good if she could be put to use, but it doesn't matter if she isn't. Nian Gengyao doesn't only have a sister; he also has a son."

“Indeed, since Your Highness has spoken, I will have someone make the arrangements. However, if Your Highness wishes to take in this girl who is being sent to the manor, her family background is better than that of Madam Li, and her maternal family is also powerful. Fortunately, Your Highness already has a concubine vacant.”

"No rush. Let her come into the mansion to serve you first. You can also tell me whether she is worthy of the position of concubine."