The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

Yi Huan noticed her absent-mindedness but didn't urge her. After a long while, Xun Mei asked, "Isn't the princess going to take me with her?"

Yi Huan said, "Mongolia is not a good place compared to the capital."

“Even if it’s a good place, the princess has to go there, so naturally I have to go with her.”

"I don't have a choice, but you can."

“I was born and then died. Now my stepmother and her younger brother are in charge of the household. If I go back, I will be at their mercy. So the only way out is to follow the princess.”

"You're just trying to fool me. With your skills and background in the palace, why should you be at the mercy of others? Besides, you're my personal maid. Given our relationship, why wouldn't I make arrangements for you?"

Xunmei just smiled and got up to carefully find a book that she would no longer let Yihuan read often.

The group stayed in the hunting grounds for quite some time, and in two more days they prepared to return to the palace.

Yi Huan excitedly lifted the curtain and entered, saying, "Sister-in-law, my brother and the others went hunting today. Let's go take a look."

Qingwan wasn't particularly interested in this. She could tell that Yinxiang loved hunting, not only during the day but also at night. He even brought his hunting dogs from the palace with him, and every night when he returned, the dogs would bark and make a racket.

But she couldn't bear to disappoint Yi Huan, so she went along with her.

Countless deer and roe deer roam freely in the Rehe Hunting Grounds. A few days ago, princes and nobles had already entered the hunting grounds.

Today, however, everyone has gathered together because of an imperial decree issued by Emperor Kangxi.

When the two arrived, someone waved to them. Qingwan recognized her as the wife of a Mongolian Taiji, who was also a princess from the capital who had married into Mongolia. By all accounts, she should be considered Yihuan's cousin.

These days, she and Yihuan have met many of the female relatives of Mongolian princes, mostly princesses who married into the capital. They reminisce about the past and inquire about the current situation in the capital.

Previously, she was just the daughter of an official, and the story of Fumeng was merely a topic of conversation for her. Occasionally, she would mention that a princess from a certain family had been granted a rank and married into Mongolia, but she would sigh and lament that it was a pity and wondered when she would be able to see her family again.

It wasn't until she married into the palace, first seeing the princess she already knew about about to marry into Mongolia, and then seeing one after another of the princesses who had already married into Mongolia in front of her, that she truly realized what Yi'an meant by the fate of women of the Aisin Gioro family.

The precedent of the princesses who were deeply saddened when Emperor Taizong married them off is still fresh in everyone's mind, but no one cares about the thoughts of these noble ladies who married into Mongolia.

While Qingwan was lost in thought, Yihuan pulled her to a high platform to sit down. As soon as she sat down, Qingwan was brought back to her senses by shouts from the front.

Looking around, Kangxi was surrounded by Mongol Khans and princes, dukes, beile, and beizi from various mansions, with guards cheering and holding flags around him.

Yi Huan watched from afar as Yinxiang sat upright on his horse, bow in hand. She immediately tugged at Qingwan's sleeve and pointed at Yinxiang, saying, "Look, that's my brother. Even among princes and dukes, my brother doesn't lose his dignity."

Yi Huan became more and more excited as she spoke: "Sister-in-law, do you know that my brother used to hunt tigers? Of course, most of my brothers have hunted tigers, but among all of Father's sons, my brother's riding and archery skills are among the best."

Yinxiang seemed to sense something and glanced in their direction. Yihuan quickly waved her hand, and then pulled Qingwan's hand as well. Qingwan followed Yihuan's movements with a bit of helplessness, not knowing if Yinxiang had noticed.

Kangxi stood on the high platform and waved his hand. Instantly, horns sounded from all directions, and everyone rode out on horseback. Even the soldiers from various sides who were not on the field waved their flags and shouted. Qingwan, who was seeing this scene for the first time, was a little stunned and her eyes unconsciously followed Yinxiang's figure.

The Crown Prince, confident in his status, naturally wouldn't get involved. Yinwu was alright, but Yinlu was too young. So, among the princes, it became Prince Zhi and Yinxiang vying for the top spot.

As the group entered the forest, the animals there were startled and gradually disappeared from sight. Yi Huan then pulled Qing Wan to sit down, saying, "We still have a while, let's sit down and rest."

Qingwan sat down and said, "It will probably take most of the day. Why don't you go back and wait for a while?"

Yi Huan shook her head. Seeing her like this, other women came over to chat and tease her. However, not everyone brought their wives. For example, the Prince Zhi and the Crown Prince only brought their concubines and maids. Naturally, these people couldn't get close to the two of them.

After what seemed like an eternity, there was finally some movement. Yi Huan saw someone returning from afar and finally perked up. She got up, glanced at them, and then sat down to talk to Qing Wan: "It looks like Haha Zhuzi, who's with Brother. He's dragging quite a bit of prey. I wonder who will win between Brother and Big Brother."

Qingwan smiled and said, "I was a little worried about whether the Thirteenth Prince could win the competition since the princess brought it."

Yi Huan laughed and said, "It would be best if we could, but even if we can't, we can still have some options. Let's try some wild food tonight."

More and more people returned as they spoke, and soon Yinxiang appeared as well. The two of them watched nervously as he and Yinzhi knelt before Kangxi, seemingly saying something.

Perhaps while they were counting their prey, Kangxi did not move after the two got up. After a long while, he took the bow from Liang Jiugong beside him and handed it to Yinxiang. The guards on the other side cheered again.

Yinxiang was surrounded by guards and princes who had come down from the stage, and he raised his bow high.

Yi Huan was delighted by what she saw and turned to talk to Qing Wan, only to find Qing Wan staring intently in the direction where Yin Xiang was.

She called out softly, "Sister-in-law."

Qingwan snapped out of her daze: "Hmm? What's wrong?"

Yi Huan said, "It's nothing, I just noticed you seemed a little lost in thought."

Qingwan felt somewhat embarrassed; she had indeed lost her composure.

Yi Huan asked again, "Has something come to mind, sister-in-law?"

Qingwan nodded: "This phrase sounds a bit cliché, but today's Thirteenth Prince truly showed me what it means to be full of vigor and high spirits."

Those standing there were all the pride of heaven, carefully trained by their families, including Prince Zhi who had been on the battlefield several times. But in Qingwan's eyes, the most dazzling one was still Yinxiang.

Yinxiang was brought to Kangxi's side at the age of thirteen. He was Kangxi's personal assistant chosen for Crown Prince Yinreng. The Crown Prince was very capable, but he was violent and did not restrain himself from princes and ministers. However, he showed some pity for Yinxiang, perhaps because they were both motherless, and was even better to him than to the third prince, who had become a member of the Crown Prince's faction earlier.

Even Yinxiang's wife's family was formed around the Crown Prince's power. For this reason, when arranging the marriage, Kangxi gave up the daughters of noble families with better backgrounds and specially chose the daughter of Marhan, who had deep ties with Suo'etu and the Crown Prince's faction.

He himself was skilled in riding and archery, and was proficient in both literature and martial arts.

If the Crown Prince can successfully ascend the throne, Yinxiang's status in the new dynasty might very well be that of the second Prince Yu, Fuquan.

But... Qingwan immediately stopped thinking.

"So spirited," Yi Huan murmured, repeating the phrase. Indeed, it was easy to win Kangxi's favor. He would remember the little things about his children, so it didn't seem difficult to gain Kangxi's favor.

However, the only child that Emperor Kangxi truly loved and cherished was the Crown Prince. Kangxi had too many children, so he kept the Crown Prince by his side and personally raised him. In order to prevent the growth of maternal relatives, he did not allow the other princes to grow up with their biological mothers.

Yinxiang was able to catch Kangxi's eye through the death of Consort Min and scheme his way to his current position. How could he not be proud and elated? This is what he deserves.