The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

After Qingwan left, Yinxiang said, "What? She's only on her first day and she's already caught your eye?"

Yi An, familiar with the place, entered Yinxiang's study and sat down before saying, "I don't know why, but the first time I saw her, I felt that she was easy to get along with."

Yi Huan nodded in agreement, indicating that she thought so too.

Yinxiang mocked the two of them without any politeness: "How old are you two? You've only met so many people, how come you know how to judge people?"

She's been so quiet today, all I can tell is that she's cautious and reserved, yet you're all praising her."

Yi An slammed her hand on the table in frustration: "Thirteenth Brother, you're so annoying. I'm trying to talk to you nicely, but you always have to argue with me."

Before Yinxiang could speak, Yihuan grabbed Yi'an's hand and said disapprovingly, "Sister."

Yi An looked at her hand and realized that she had indeed hit it a little too hard; her palm was a little red. She comforted Yi Huan, saying, "It's okay, it doesn't hurt."

He then said to Yinxiang, "Brother, I hope that my sister and I can see things more clearly. She is your wife, not mine or mine."

If she really is a bad one, well, the palace rules are strict. My sister and I can avoid seeing her again if we're willing. But you'll be spending your whole life with her. There's no precedent for princes of our Great Qing divorcing their wives.”

Seeing this, Yinxiang could only say, "Yes, yes, you are right, I have learned a lot."

Seeing Yinxiang's expression, Yi'an wasn't sure if he had listened to her or not, so she said seriously, "I know that you have some thoughts about this marriage, but since Father has decreed it, you have no choice, and neither do you have a choice for your sister-in-law."

Brother, please don't take my words to heart. I'm not asking you to do anything specific, but because we are both women, and seeing you like this today, I'm just saying a few more words. Please wait a little longer, brother, and don't rush to conclusions."

Yinxiang was somewhat disapproving: "She is just the daughter of a minister, but you are a princess of our Great Qing."

Yi An pursed her lips: "What you're saying is ridiculous. If we go back a bit, Princess Bao'an was the emperor's own sister and the empress dowager's own daughter. Look at the kind of life she lived. And more recently, look at our third sister. If what the empresses said is true, then she has suffered all kinds of grievances."

But you're right. Even if we can't be like our second and fourth sisters, we shouldn't be bullied like our third sister.

She was much older than the Second Princess Rongxian and Princess Heshuo, and they weren't very familiar with each other. However, she and the Fourth Princess were both raised by Consort Yi. She remembered that the Fourth Princess used to be a woman of few words. Who would have thought that after being demoted, she would be able to accomplish such a great feat?

Thinking about it, she looked at Yi Huan again: "You too, don't let anyone bully you in the future."

Yi Huan smiled and said, "Don't worry, sister."

Seeing her like this, Yinxiang shook his head again: "With your worrying nature, you'd be better off not becoming a heroine like your second and fourth sisters."

Upon hearing this, everyone laughed.

After laughing, Yi'an sighed and said, "Father said he was reluctant to let me get married, but we all know that it's only because of my poor health that it's been delayed for so long. Now that I'm getting better, I'm afraid the wedding date will be set soon."

"If my sister-in-law is good, even after I get married, Yihuan will have someone to talk to. After all, she's my sister-in-law, and compared to others, Yihuan and I are always closer."

At this point, the group couldn't help but feel a bit melancholy. This was the scene that Qingwan saw when she changed her clothes and entered the room. Before she could react, the others composed themselves because of the noise of her entering. Qingwan simply pretended not to notice.

Princess Yihuan also stood up and pulled her: "Sister-in-law, you're so quick! Come on, let's talk. I don't know why, even though it's our first time meeting, we feel like we've known each other for ages."

When Yi'an saw Qingwan arrive, she said to Yinxiang, "The main character has arrived, brother can leave now."

Yinxiang hadn't even taken two sips of tea when she said that, and he couldn't sit still anymore. But he insisted on staying put: "It's my own courtyard, my second day of marriage. Why should I be the one to avoid it? I'm not leaving."

Yi An glanced at Yinxiang, said "oh" and stopped talking to him, only pulling Qingwan aside to talk about her own things.

Before they could exchange more than a few words, someone came to report that the Fourteenth Prince had invited him, and that several of Yinxiang's brothers above him, as well as his younger brothers who were still studying in the Southern Study, had also taken leave to wait for him.

Yi An looked at him with a "you see" expression before speaking: "If I hadn't expected that the older brothers would bring a few younger ones to call you today, Yi Huan and I wouldn't have bothered to come here today."

Don't you remember how much trouble you two caused when your fourteenth brother got married last year? Do you think they'd let you off the hook just because you're getting married now?

"After all..." Yi'an cleared her throat, mimicking Yinxiang's tone, "This is my brother's courtyard, and today is only the second day of his marriage. We can't just ask him to leave."

When Yi Huan heard Yi An say that, she laughed and leaned on Yi An's shoulder: "Brother, you really have to be told a few things by sister before you're satisfied, right?"

Qingwan couldn't help but chuckle as she watched the siblings interact. She said to Yinxiang, "Your Highness, please change your clothes first. I've already had someone prepare some comfortable clothes for you."

Yinxiang first responded to Qingwan, then got up and slowly straightened his clothes. He then turned and stared at Yi'an without moving until Yi'an felt a little uneasy. Just as Yi'an was about to speak, Yinxiang said, "Your Highness is truly insightful and admirable."

Then, while Yi'an was still in a daze, without asking Qingwan to see her off, he quickly left with Zhang Rui.

Annoyed, Yi'an stared at his departing figure, gritting her teeth.

Yi Huan sat next to Yi An and waited until she had finished laughing before pulling Yi An aside and somewhat insincerely coaxing her, "Sister, don't be angry."

Fortunately, Yi'an was very understanding and was easily coaxed by Yi Huan, and everything was fine.

When the two sisters finished laughing and looked at Qingwan, Qingwan was holding a teacup and smiling with her eyes crinkling.

Qingwan noticed that the room had suddenly become quiet. Turning her head, she saw that the two sisters were looking at her. Feeling a little embarrassed, she turned her head away and tried to cover her face with her cup.

The Yi'an sisters exchanged a glance and suddenly realized that although their sister-in-law was quiet, she must be an interesting person.

Seeing that the two men weren't angry, Qingwan felt relieved. They were probably genuinely curious about her and asked about things outside the palace. Although Qingwan pointed out that she didn't go out much after marriage, she could still tell them a few things.

Fortunately, these two could usually hear some things from their older brothers, and it wasn't that they necessarily wanted to hear what Qingwan had to say; it was more about getting closer to each other.

Then the two of them talked to her about all sorts of things, including some interesting stories from the palace and other princes' wives.

For example, Consort Yi had been favored for many years, so she was somewhat arrogant. Consort De and Consort Liang entered the palace on the same day, so the two had a very good relationship.

For example, the Fourth Prince Yinzhen and the Eighth Prince Yinsi both lived in Jingren Palace, the residence of Empress Xiaoyi, when they were young. Even after Empress Xiaoyi passed away, the two continued to live together in Jingren Palace for several years until the Fourth Prince moved to Nanxun Palace at the age of eighteen, which ended their cohabitation.

Later, after the two left the palace and established their own residences, which were close to each other, they even "chased" away Yinzhi, who lived next door. Therefore, the Fourth Prince's wife and the Eighth Prince's wife often went to the palace together to pay their respects.

It was also said that Consort Min was a gentle person who had never had any conflicts with anyone and was on good terms with everyone in the palace. That was why Consort Hui did not complain when Yinxiang suggested going to the back hall of Yanxi Palace and dismissed everyone in advance.

Most of the time, it was the two princesses who were talking, and Qingwan was listening.