The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

Yinxiang clicked his tongue: "So many questions, I'm not going to do anything to you." Even so, he still patiently answered Qingwan's questions one by one: "We'll arrive at the temporary palace where we're staying in half a day at most. Little Fifteen, Little Sixteen, and my sister are all with Father Khan, so I don't need to be there."

"Furthermore," Yinxiang raised his hand and waved it in front of Qingwan's eyes, "the calluses on my hands are from years of riding, archery, and calligraphy practice. They probably won't go away anytime soon, so please bear with me, my lady, and don't mind how rough they are."

Qingwan looked away guiltily: "You know perfectly well that's not what I meant."

Yinxiang watched her movements with amusement and stopped teasing her: "But you, although this carriage has been specially modified, it is still unstable on the road. How can you still fall asleep? Are you that sleepy?"

Upon hearing this, Qingwan felt a headache coming on and said, "Don't laugh at me, but this is my first time traveling far away in a carriage. The first few days were fine; I was so excited that I didn't feel anything. But after those few days, I started to feel dizzy and nauseous. I only felt better when I closed my eyes and leaned against something."

Yinxiang only occasionally sat in Qingwan's carriage for a moment, and when he saw her again at night, he didn't notice anything wrong with her. Now that he paid attention, he noticed that Qingwan seemed to be without makeup, her face was pale, and her lips were bloodless. He said helplessly, "Are you carsick?"

Qingwan nodded with a wry smile: "That's right, I never expected I would have this problem. I'll never dare to travel far again."

Yinxiang was even more helpless when he heard her say that, and asked, "Has the imperial physician been summoned?"

Qingwan nodded: "It has been reported, but the imperial physician didn't have a definite answer. He only said that when you feel unwell, you should suck on a piece of ginger, and if that doesn't work, you can only drink some calming soup and sleep through the journey. Fortunately, we are almost at the imperial palace, and I will be fine after resting for a day or two."

Yinxiang continued, "Father still has to go on his journey, and he may visit various ministries. Moreover, it will take more than half a month to return to the capital. We can't just endure it like this. I'll go and ask another imperial physician."

By the way, Princess Duanjing will be coming to pay her respects tomorrow. She hasn't been doing well in Mongolia these past few years. If she wants to see you, please have Yihuan talk to her, but don't mention too much about her time in Mongolia. She knows what's going on with Yihuan.

Without waiting for Qingwan to speak again, he got off the carriage.

Qingwan wanted to say that he didn't need to go in person, but seeing Yinxiang's energetic manner, she felt envious. She didn't get a chance to say what she was going to say, and she was also thinking about the bad things that Princess Duanjing had done in Mongolia, which Yinxiang had mentioned in his words.

It was Mu Xiang beside him who dared to catch her breath.

Qingwan laughed at her, "Are you that afraid of the Thirteenth Prince?"

Mu Xiang was a little embarrassed: "After all, he is a prince. He has been dealing with more outsiders these days, unlike in the palace. The Thirteenth Prince's aura is quite intimidating."

Qingwan and Muxiang grew up together, so they talked more easily. Just as she was about to make a joke, she frowned in distress.

Mu Xiang quickly picked up a slice of ginger and held it to her lips: "Princess, rest a bit more and don't talk."

Qingwan nodded somewhat impatiently, still leaning against Muxiang.

When Emperor Kangxi arrived at the imperial palace, officials were waiting to greet him, and Yinxiang, the Crown Prince, and others naturally accompanied him.

But none of this concerned them. She only glanced at it from afar before being led by others to the courtyard assigned to her and Yinxiang. Yi Huan was also somewhat listless. She said goodbye and returned to her own place.

Qingwan got off the carriage and sat for a while before feeling alive again. She was holding a cup of hot tea and watching people pack their things. Even though she wouldn't be staying for long, she still had to sort out the things she used.

Yinxiang never returned after he left, and Qingwan thought he was just saying it for show.

He didn't return until almost sunset, when he had finished packing up and was covered in dust.

When Yinxiang entered the room and saw her recovered appearance, he smiled and said, "It's clear you're all better."

Qingwan laughed too: "I'm sorry to have made you laugh, sir. I was thinking that I could rest for a few days this time, so I was relaxed and recovered quickly."

Yinxiang sat down beside her: "There's nothing I can do about what I promised you."

As soon as he got off the carriage, he went to find the imperial physician and asked him if there was any way to cure him. The physician talked on and on about his knowledge for a long time, and finally said that there was no way to completely cure him, but only to make him feel better.

Yinxiang had no choice but to instruct the imperial physician to prepare a few pills and send them to him before leaving.

Qingwan felt equally helpless after hearing Yinxiang's explanation. Yinxiang had naturally found a royal physician trusted by Emperor Kangxi, but even he couldn't help. It seemed she could only endure it on her own.

Because of their days of travel, the two only chatted for a few minutes before washing up and resting.

The next day, before dawn, the palace maids and eunuchs in the imperial palace were already performing their duties. Before leaving, Yinxiang instructed Qingwan: "Father has many people to see these days, so he may not have time to summon Yihuan. She will stay with you."

You may wander around if you have nothing else to do. I'll leave Zhang Chun, the little eunuch who always follows Zhang Rui, with you. He's come here with me several times and is familiar with the palace.

If there's anything else, you can go to Consort Wang. Although she's only a concubine, she's the birth mother of my fifteenth and sixteenth brothers. None of the other four consorts came this time, and she's used to coming here; she's familiar with the palace.

"I understand, don't worry, sir."

Seeing this, Yinxiang said no more and hurried to accompany Kangxi. He had a prince and his wife, and a princess, so he wasn't worried about anything. However, he was used to worrying about his two younger sisters, and now that Yi'an was not around, he was even more worried about Yihuan.

Not long after Yinxiang left, Yihuan arrived with her entourage. Today, she was not wearing the qipao she usually wore in the palace, but a lake-green riding outfit, which showed off the figure of a fifteen-year-old girl, making her even more graceful.

Qingwan waited until she sat down next to her before asking, "Have you had breakfast yet?"

Yi Huan shook her head and glanced at the table. Seeing this, Mu Xiang ladled out a bowl of porridge and placed it in front of her. Although Yi Huan frowned, she still lowered her head and drank a few mouthfuls.

Xunmei, the head maid beside her, took over the work from Muxiang and picked out a few dishes that Yihuan liked to eat and put them in Yihuan's bowl. She was relieved to see that Yihuan was willing to eat them.

He added, "The Princess Consort doesn't know, but the princess woke up while it was still dark today and hurriedly asked us to find the riding clothes we had hastily made for this trip."

He was dressed by his servants as soon as it was light, and rushed here; there was no time to wait for his meal.

Yi Huan didn't stop Xun Mei's seemingly complaining behavior. Qing Wan naturally wouldn't spoil Yi Huan's mood, and simply said, "It's better to do it earlier, otherwise it will be bad if the sun is too strong later."

Yi Huan nodded in agreement: "That makes sense. I've already sent someone to the horse farm to give the order. It should be about time for us to go there after we finish our meal."

After the two finished their meal, Qingwan got up to change her clothes. She was still wearing the casual clothes she had worn that morning, but since she was going horseback riding, she naturally needed to change into riding clothes for convenience.

She went into the inner room and changed into a light blue riding outfit. The pattern and style were common and not particularly outstanding.

After the two left, Qingwan thought for a moment and asked Yihuan, "Did you know how to ride a horse before?"

Yi Huan said with some regret: "When I was young, my brother took me to ride a bike once or twice, so I can't really say I know how. Later, I only went out of the palace a few times, and those were always when I accompanied my father to the garden to escape the summer heat, so I had no chance to learn."

Qingwan was worried upon hearing this. Yinxiang was rarely seen, so it was impossible to have the guards teach him. She knew how, but she wasn't sure if she could teach Yihuan, or even the Fifteenth and Sixteenth Princes.