The Qing Palace Never Meets Spring

Qingwan calmed herself down in the courtyard for a while before entering. Muxiang and a few others had brought water and were wiping Yinxiang down. When they saw her, they were about to greet her, but Qingwan waved her hand, signaling them to continue.

When Muxiang was wiping Yinxiang's face, she saw that Yinxiang was about to wake up, so she called out, "Fujin." Qingwan stepped forward and took over the task.

Yinxiang vaguely felt a heat on his face. He forced himself to open his eyes and recognized that the person wiping his face was his newlywed wife before he could finally fall asleep.

Seeing that Yinxiang had fallen asleep again, Qingwan handed the handkerchief to Muxiang and sat down to the side, letting others take care of Yinxiang.

Seeing this, Mu Xiang felt somewhat helpless about her behavior. She thought that if it weren't only the second day of their marriage, the Fujin would probably have sent this drunken man to the concubines to avoid causing her trouble.

Qingwan noticed that this person was quite well-behaved when drunk. Apart from whimpering a couple of times while changing clothes, he was completely at her mercy. She felt much relieved and had the couch by the window set up, preparing to make do for the night.

Because he was thirsty from drinking, Yinxiang woke up in the middle of the night. He remembered being given too much alcohol and getting drunk. His last memory was Qingwan wiping his face.

He rubbed his forehead, which ached from a hangover, and called out, "Someone come here."

Qingwan was not a sound sleeper, and this sound woke her up. She got up, took the candlestick, and walked to the bedside: "Master, you're awake. Are you feeling unwell?"

Yinxiang looked up and saw it was her, and asked, "Why is it you? Where are the others?"

Qingwan put down the candlestick and tied the bed curtains: "Since I'm here, I'll send them to stand guard in the outer room. What does Master want?"

Yinxiang propped himself up and sat up: "Pour me a glass of water."

Qingwan poured him a glass of water and handed it to him. Only then did Yinxiang realize that he had woken up alone and that Qingwan had come from outside the bed. So he asked Qingwan, "Where did you rest?"

Qingwan couldn't very well say that she had only stayed on the couch for one night because she disliked him for being drunk, so she said, "I was afraid of disturbing you, and I was also afraid that you would call for help in the evening, so I just leaned against the couch for a while."

Yinxiang vaguely sensed that something was wrong, but his mind was a little foggy, so he said, "You've worked hard." He then leaned closer to the bed and said, "Go to bed and rest. Anyway, there's nothing to do tomorrow, so you can get some rest."

Qingwan took the cup from his hand and placed it on the table, not saying anything more. The guard outside heard the movement inside and asked, "Madam?"

Seeing that Yinxiang had nothing else to say, Qingwan raised her voice and said, "Nothing's wrong." Then she got into bed and lay down next to Yinxiang.

Just as I was feeling drowsy, I heard Yinxiang ask, "How did I get back yesterday?"

Qingwan suddenly came to her senses: "It was the Fourteenth Prince who brought them back."

"Really? My fourteenth brother drank quite a bit yesterday, yet he still managed to bring me back?"

Qingwan chuckled as she recalled yesterday: "Who says otherwise? Yesterday, the Fourteenth Prince seemed unsteady on his feet, yet he still thought of sending him back."

Yinxiang seemed to remember something and asked hesitantly, "Did Fourteenth Brother show any unusual behavior yesterday?"

“Strange?” Qingwan thought for a moment, then told Yinxiang what had happened before Wanyan left with Yinzhen yesterday, and added, “I noticed that Fourteenth Sister-in-law’s action of covering her mouth was too practiced, as if she did it often.”

Yinxiang chuckled twice: "Fourteenth Brother has a huge capacity for conversation. He's naturally talkative, but when he's drunk, he becomes a chatterbox. I don't know where he gets so much to say."

As you said, your fourteenth sister-in-law probably does this gesture quite often.

"Ha." Qingwan chuckled briefly, quite noticeable in the darkness. She quickly covered her mouth, trying to cover it up, and said, "It's still early, sir, why don't you rest a bit longer?"

Although it was dark, Yinxiang still sensed Qingwan's movements and her embarrassment, but he didn't point it out and went along with her words, saying, "You're right."

Yinxiang felt Qingwan's breathing gradually stabilize. He rubbed his head. He could let it go for others, but he and the Fourteenth Prince lived in the palace and got so drunk. Someone had probably already reported what happened today to Kangxi. He would have to drag the Fourteenth Prince to apologize to Kangxi tomorrow, and he didn't know what kind of punishment he would receive.

The next day, before dawn, the two woke up. Yinxiang had been given a few days off because of the wedding. Although he was supposed to go and apologize, it was too early and Kangxi would probably have to deal with state affairs first, so Yinxiang was not in a hurry to get up.

So the two lay in bed chatting idly until Chenxiang called from outside, at which point Qingwan got up.

After Qingwan got up, she turned around and asked, "Does Your Highness want to get up?" Yinxiang casually picked up a book from the bedside table and waved it in front of Qingwan, saying, "Stealing half a day of leisure from a busy life."

Qingwan nodded: "Then let's call someone when Master gets up." However, she had just finished washing up and was still changing her clothes when a servant came to report that Lady Guarjia had come to pay her respects.

Qingwan was somewhat surprised that she would choose to see her directly outside the bedroom, and after only a moment's thought, she gestured for her to come in.

Upon entering the room and seeing Qingwan's actions, Guarjia took the incense and helped Qingwan dress.

Qingwan and the people around her did not stop Guarjia from doing her thing, and let her help them get dressed.

Qingwan considered that Yinxiang was still in the bedroom, so she did not stay in the main room, but prepared to go to another room.

As soon as he took a step, Yinxiang came out from the inner room, slippers on. He was caught off guard by Guarjia and frowned, saying, "Why are you here so early? How has the eldest princess been these past few days?"

Guarjia curtsied and greeted the prince: "I should have come yesterday, but since you were talking with the Eighth and Tenth Princesses yesterday, I was excused from paying my respects. So I came early today to pay my respects to you."

"The eldest princess is fine, but she hasn't seen her father for several days and has been looking for him."

Guarjia was assigned to Yinxiang by Consort Hui in earlier years. After Yinxiang finished his mourning period, he took her into his household. The eldest princess was her daughter, born in July of the forty-second year of his reign, and was also Yinxiang's only child.

Upon hearing this, Yinxiang simply said, "Bring her over to pay your respects on the other day."

Ever since Yinxiang appeared, Qingwan had been observing Guarjia. Upon hearing this, she looked Guarjia up and down again, finding her quite bold.

Yinxiang's behavior was also interesting; it was unclear whether he didn't understand the meaning behind Guarjia's words or he did but didn't care.

However, because of Yinxiang's behavior, she didn't specifically explain yesterday's events to him, only saying:

"She should have been waiting outside the main room to serve tea, but since she was willing to serve me, I let her be. Now I'm taking her to serve tea, so that it will be acceptable to me. Are you going, sir?"

Yinxiang shook his head: "I won't go. Just follow the rules."

"Yes," Qingwan replied, bowing her head. She then asked, "Then, sir, what are you doing now...?"

Yinxiang replied, "You go with your men. I have people to serve me. I don't need you."

Guarjia looked at Yinxiang with some disappointment upon hearing this, but Yinxiang simply turned around and went into the bedroom on his own.