The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

Qingwan looked up at him with some surprise: "Can I go too?"

This was an expression that Yinxiang had never seen on Qingwan's face before, making her seem more vibrant.

Yinxiang regretted his words as soon as they left his mouth, but seeing Qingwan's surprise, he thought, "Oh well, let it be."

But she still raised an eyebrow at Qingwan with some doubt, and chuckled, "Why can't I go? If I want to go, I can go."

“But…” Qingwan hesitated, “Fuling just found out she’s pregnant, I should stay and take care of her.”

"What does her pregnancy have to do with you?"

Qingwan really wanted to say that what you said was right, but she still said, "I am not only the master's wife, but also the wife of his concubines. It is only right that I take care of Fuling's pregnancy."

Yinxiang stared at her intently until Qingwan looked puzzled by his gaze before he said, "Before you married into the palace, didn't she give birth to the eldest princess just fine? There's no shortage of people in the palace to take care of her."

Furthermore, after what happened today, I feel that if you weren't there, she would probably be able to focus on her pregnancy more peacefully.

Qingwan looked at Yinxiang and suddenly felt a little annoyed.

Yinxiang's words show that he had witnessed the entire conflict between Qingwan and Fuling today, and also show that his departures were always opportunistic.

But when Yinxiang said it so casually, she felt both relieved and a little self-deprecating, realizing that her feeling was right.

Fortunately, Yinxiang was able to see things clearly in the inner quarters, which made her feel much more at ease. However, she also felt self-deprecating because if nothing unexpected happened, such things would not be uncommon in the future. So, how did Yinxiang, who saw everything, view them?

A joke? A farce? Or is he enjoying a group of women fighting endlessly for his little bit of favor?

When Yinxiang saw that Qingwan had suddenly fallen silent, he asked in confusion, "Why aren't you saying anything?"

Qingwan gritted her teeth and said, "Go!" She didn't know if she would have such an opportunity again in the future.

Her trip to the border with Yinxiang did not cause any ripples in the palace. Although Consort Hui disapproved of her going out while her concubine was pregnant, she only mentioned it briefly, and she pretended not to understand. Consort Hui did not bring it up again.

However, whether it was for Yinxiang's own good or for some other reason, Consort Hui mentioned at the end: "The thirteenth prince has few people around him, and now that concubine is pregnant."

If things continue like this, I'm afraid there will be bad rumors about you. I did raise the thirteenth prince for a while, so I'll worry about you this once and pick out two people for you to take back with you."

If Consort Min were still alive and had brought it up again, Qingwan would have agreed. However, Consort Hui had clearly shown no interest in interfering before, and now that she had brought it up again, Qingwan hesitated to agree. After a moment's thought, she said:

"It was originally my and the Thirteenth Prince's fault that you had to worry about this matter for us. But everyone in the palace knows the Thirteenth Prince's personality. He is the most filial. If I just take him back like this, he will probably resent me for bothering you again."

Besides, this is already Guarjia's second child. I've been married into the family for so long and there's still no news. The Thirteenth Prince is also indifferent to me.

And so, he has already chosen his successor, just waiting for his return to bring him to serve him.

At this point, Qingwan also showed a wronged expression and covered her eyes with the handkerchief in her hand: "It's only because my father treats us all like his own children that I dare to say this to him."

As for the Thirteenth Prince, things have come to this point between us. I finally managed to get him to take me with him, but if he suspects me and gossips about me to his mother, I'm afraid the Thirteenth Prince will dislike me even more in the future.”

Mu Xiang also knelt down and said, "Your Highness, please understand. Our Fujin has also mentioned this matter, but the Thirteenth Prince doesn't think much of the person our Fujin has her eye on, which is why it has been delayed for so long. It's really not that our Fujin is jealous."

Seeing this, Consort Hui could only say, "His Majesty has also said that the thirteenth prince is picky, so it's not your fault. Never mind, I'll bring it up with him myself later."

She wasn't even his biological son. If it weren't for Yinzhi mentioning it, she wouldn't have wanted to do such a thankless task. She would have waited for the Imperial Household Department to hold a selection of candidates and see if she could make things work out.

Qingwan quickly got up to thank Consort Hui before leaving.

After Qingwan left, the head maidservant beside Consort Hui said to Consort Hui, "The Thirteenth Princess Consort usually seems so composed, but why does she become so petty when it comes to the Thirteenth Prince? I heard that she even sent one of Fuling's rather pretty maidservants out of the palace a few days ago."

Consort Hui sneered, "She's young and inexperienced. This is already her second pregnancy. If it's a prince, then both the eldest son and the eldest daughter will come from Fuling's womb. She'll definitely be anxious."

Besides, even if the thirteenth prince wasn't my son, I have to admit he's truly outstanding, and it's inevitable that the child will have some thoughts about him.

The head maid beside her said, "It's a pity. Although Fuling was also sent from our palace to the Thirteenth Prince's side, she hasn't been trained much."

However, the Prince is likely to be disappointed.

Consort Hui looked towards the door: "It was sent from our palace, but Consort Min chose it. Besides, no one expected that she would be in this situation today."

As for the eldest brother, we'll see. Today was just a test. If we force her to take the person away, she'll definitely be on guard, and it won't be of much use. If people see her crying as she walks out of my Yanxi Palace, it'll be a laughing stock."

Then he sighed and said, "I misjudged them. These young girls nowadays are all cunning and scheming."

The palace maid said meaningfully, "It's just that our master is kind-hearted and doesn't hold it against them."

Consort Hui said, "I'm already a grandmother, why should I argue with them? It's not even certain whether these young girls will live to be my age."

As for Fuling, since the imperial physician said she was fine, she couldn't be presumptuous and continued to pay her respects to Qingwan every ten days. Qingwan naturally told her about this as well.

"His Majesty will go on an inspection tour beyond the Great Wall in June. I will go with him. You should take good care of yourself in the palace. The child is yours, so you should decide what to do with him."

The fact that Qingwan would leave the palace with Yinxiang was somewhat unexpected for Fuling, but as Yinxiang said, she felt more at ease with this arrangement, so she calmly accepted Qingwan's arrangement.

Seeing this, Qingwan felt relieved and continued, "You've been in the palace longer than me and have even given birth to the eldest princess. I'm just giving you a word of advice: during the time that the master and I are away, just do what you were doing before."

I will make the arrangements. You will be provided with everything you need. I have also taken care of the imperial physician.

Based on our usual schedule, we should be back before you give birth.

"Yes, this slave knows."

After Qingwan sent her back, she felt rather bored, so she started looking at the things she needed to bring again, while Chenxiang was a little resentful:

"This Guarjia concubine looks really infuriating. She acts like our Fujin (principal wife) would watch over her child. Doesn't she remember how good the Fujin was to the eldest princess when she left with the master?"

Mu Xiang stood up and poked her forehead hard before saying, "You're so good at talking. All this time I've been teaching you for nothing, haven't I?"

Chenxiang looked at Qingwan and, seeing that she was not angry, explained, "This servant deserves to die. This servant was just angry for a moment. This servant would never dare to say such a thing even if I die ten thousand times."

Qingwan simply waved her hand: "Whether it's the harem or the inner courtyard, for us women trapped in our homes, the support our children can provide is actually much greater than the man we entrust our lives to. So it's no wonder she's so cautious."

"That's good, though. By the time we get back, her pregnancy will be stable, and she won't be able to pin this on us. During this time, keep a close eye on the people around you and make sure nothing else goes wrong."

"Yes," Mu Xiang and Chen Xiang replied together.