Chapter 3

  The scorching noon was so quiet that even the cicadas' cries were rare. Wang Shi walked into the side hall of Yonghe Palace with extreme unease, and the cool air from the ice blocks hit her face, a stark contrast to the sweltering heat outside, making Wang Shi shiver. Empress De wore a semi-old dress, leaning on the couch covered with a cooling mat, and smiled as she beckoned Wang Shi: "Come over and sit down, you're pregnant."

  The kindness of De Fei made Wang Shi increasingly uneasy, twisting the handkerchief and sitting nervously beside De Fei. She only vaguely saw someone behind the green silk curtain, then heard De Fei ask: "Did you know that the palace maid changed your medicine?"

  Mr. Wang shook his head: "I don't know anything about it."

  The Empress nodded, her expression becoming serious again: "That means someone wants to harm you. You know, now that you're in my palace, if anything happens, I'll take responsibility, but I have my own methods, and it's not good for you to say anything. If someone pretends to play along but actually harms me and you, what can you do?"

  De Fei seemed to be speaking in conjecture, but also seemed to know everything. With a hint of a smile in her eyes, she looked at Wang Shi, who felt as if a thousand arrows had pierced his heart, and was frightened into breaking out in a cold sweat.

  Even in the sweltering summer, Empress De's hands were still cool and delicate, lightly placed on Wang Shi's handback, Wang Shi only felt her heart skip a beat: "You're an intelligent person, I've said so much, you should understand, just be safe and sound."

  Wang did not dare to speak and just nodded, De Fei smiled with satisfaction: "You can go down now."

  "Yes."

  Although it was scorching outside, Wang felt a sense of security and reality. At this moment, she felt that compared to De Fei, she was just a small role, jumping too fiercely, losing herself in the process. Being content with her lot was the right thing to do, and from now on, she wouldn't dare to get involved in other people's grudges.

  Quan Pei walked out from behind the green silk kitchen: "The crown prince's consort invited me, so I left."

  The imperial concubine smiled and said: "Is it going to make a decision again?"

  "Anyway, since we're all idle, it's better to go out and take a walk to clear our minds."

  De Fei handed a box on the couch to Quan Pei: "If you hadn't said so, I wouldn't have been able to catch her handle, scare her, these few rings are good for rewarding people."

  Juan received the ring, didn't even look at it, and handed it over to Xiaoyue. With the passage of time and the change of dynasties, many exquisite skills in the palace had been lost. These few rings might not even meet her standards.

  Quan Pei's pale green figure disappeared at the palace gate, and De Fei lay down halfway, feeling cool and comfortable. Since having Quan Pei, it seemed that her days had become much more carefree. Although her son was not close to her, after all, he had a capable daughter-in-law, which was not bad either...

  The Emperor wants to repair the capital city, and the silver will have to go through the Ministry of Revenue. Yongzheng found the Crown Prince.

  "My younger brother roughly calculated that it's only around 230,000, but they are asking for 400,000 with a straight face. Seeing Gedan also making a big fuss about this, how can we spend silver like this? I think this bill cannot be approved."

  The crown prince's main hall had ice, and the palace maidens on either side were gently fanning with their fans. It was noon, and people who were comfortable almost fell asleep with their eyes closed. The crown prince leaned against his chair, lightly tapping his hands on the table, and only opened his eyes after a while, looking at Yongzheng who still had sweat on his forehead even in this cool main hall, and sighed slightly: "Fourth brother, you're too serious."

  He nodded and said, "In matters of national importance, there can be no sloppiness."

  He has been like this since he was a child, unable to tolerate any sand in his eyes, so he can rest assured. The crown prince thought and got up: "Don't interfere with this matter, I have my own judgment."

  After leaving the grand hall, a minor official followed him and said: "Fourth Master, don't be too serious. You've just arrived and don't know that this is how the Ministry of Revenue works. When you say the water is clear, there are no fish. If you're too strict, others can't get by, and it's not good for you either."

  Yin Zhen wasn't unaware of these principles, he just got used to being this kind of person since he came. After Empress Tong passed away, he lived peacefully until now, so for the time being, he still plans on being this kind of person. He neither nodded nor shook his head, under the bright sunlight, looking at another's firm determination, the minor official could only helplessly shake his head.

  The princess was reading a book in front of the window, and on the ironwood marble table behind her were fresh fruits, a celadon bowl filled with iced sour plum soup emitting an enticing aroma, and on the small table beside the couch were a chessboard and pieces. Seeing Guan Pei arrive, she sat down at the table with her: "Try some, freshly made sour plum soup, cool and refreshing."

  Quan Pei smiled and picked it up, lightly sniffing it, and drank two sips: "This kind of flavor can only be found in the Crown Princess's place."

  The crown princess smiled even more brightly and gave him something to eat, does this count as trust?

  The two met and liked to play chess. The crown prince's wife habitually went first, casually chatting with Quan Pei: "I heard that 100,000 bags of disaster relief grain were transported from Ningxia to Xi'an, but halfway through, they couldn't be found. I don't know if it's true or false, anyway, the Shaanxi governor impeached the Gansu governor."

  The black and shiny chess pieces were flipping in Quan Pei's slender fingers, Quan Pei was somewhat absent-minded: "How can 100,000 dan of grain possibly be lost just because it is said to be unaccounted for? As long as one investigates slightly, one would know that during this time the Yellow River area has had a lot of rainstorms, and it's really difficult to proceed. Why did the Shaanxi governor have to rush? If at that time the boat capsizes in the river, wouldn't he lose everything?"

  The crown prince's consort seemed to be thinking of something, and smiled faintly: "You also know that there have been many heavy rains in the Yellow River area recently."

  "I just like reading books. That's what the book says."

  The two of them played chess, the crown prince's consort had never won before, but she didn't lose badly either. She herself wasn't too concerned about it and just praised him with a sentence: "You're still good at chess." Then she put it aside.

  The Empress Dowager bestowed a Western-style music box on the Crown Princess, who took it out and let Guan Pin play with it: "This one is not much different from those sold in the market. Take a closer look, the little man dancing inside the box seems to be staring at you no matter how you look at it, that's what makes it special."

  "Otherwise, such a treasure would not have been taken out for me to see by the Crown Prince's consort."

  Li Ce Fu Jin also rushed over after saying a few words of idle chatter. She was a bright and beautiful woman, exuding a unique freshness: "I heard that the Fourth Mistress had arrived, so I came to join in the fun and chat with her. It feels comfortable in my heart."

  The crown princess fell silent and didn't respond to Li's words. Quan Pei smiled and sized up Li: "It's been a few days since we last met, you're even more beautiful now."

  It's not that the prince is infatuated with her, the prince doesn't lack women, and Li Shi is also not lacking in the prince's favor among these women. Li Shi smiled lightly, but the princess felt it was piercing to her eyes.

  Eunuchs rushed over from outside: "The prince ordered the fourth brother to kneel in the sun for half an hour!"

  Quan Pei turned her head to look outside, the scorching sun had wilted all the flowers and grasses, kneeling for half a time was probably already heatstroke, the Crown Princess looked at Quan Pei and asked the eunuch: "What's going on after all?"

  "It's said that they disagreed on politics, but the Fourth Prince refused to leave, so the Crown Prince got angry and told the Fourth Prince to sober up under the sun!"

  The crown princess frowned and said, "How can the sun shine for so long on a day like this?" She stood up as if she wanted to persuade him, but given her current relationship with Quan Pei, she had to show her attitude.

  Wei Ying's mouth corner flashed a smile: "I heard that Da Ge is most fond of meddling in affairs."

  Even in the Crown Prince's palace, Da A Ge can still get such news quickly. The fourth brother is more honest and not a bad thing, but if it really doesn't look good, Da A Ge will make trouble, and the Emperor will definitely be annoyed, saying that the Crown Prince has no fraternal affection, and it's really unnecessary to provoke the Emperor's displeasure over such things. Bad things are getting more and more numerous already.

  The crown princess's face was somewhat embarrassed, and she called the eunuch beside her, whispered a few words, and the eunuch trotted out of the side hall.

  Yin Zhen was already hot and dizzy, and was half-carried and half-supported by two small eunuchs back to the prince's residence. The usually cool room was not cool at all now, and he panted heavily. He grabbed the hand of Quan Pei beside him, as if only her icy smooth hand made him feel better: "I'm suffocating."

  A warm towel was used to wipe his forehead and cheeks, while Li followed beside him, fanning the wind according to Quan's instructions. Only then did Yin Zhen feel a moment of relief. Quan handed a green pellet to Yin Zhen's mouth and gave him a cup of water to take it down with.

  He only felt a cool sensation spreading throughout his body from the medicine, and he didn't feel so hot anymore, and his headache wasn't so severe either. The maidservants helped him take a warm bath, changed into dry clothes, drank half a bowl of light salt water, and he felt much more comfortable, drowsy and fell asleep on the couch.

  The crown prince sat in the Crown Princess's quarters, somewhat annoyed: "I'm not afraid of that eldest brother of mine."

  The crown prince's consort sighed: "This is not about being afraid or not, it's just that there are many eyes watching us, we must be extremely careful."

  The crown prince hummed, the crown princess paused for a moment, and then said: "You don't have to worry about those 100,000 dan of grain either. It's likely that they are stuck halfway and haven't been lost. Have you forgotten that the Yellow River area is experiencing heavy rainfall recently? Send someone to investigate, and so much grain will be found with just one search."

  The crown prince furrowed his brow in thought, then suddenly smiled: "You're still so perceptive, your words are like a wake-up call to someone dreaming. Alright, let's have someone investigate this!"

  The Crown Princess smiled lightly: "As long as I can help you."

  Just thinking of Li's family, the smile at the corner of her mouth faded away again, guessing that she was pregnant this time and couldn't afford to lose again...

  The cool breeze of the late afternoon gently blew in, and on the table were several pieces of fruit still dripping with water droplets. On the kang sat Quan Pei wearing casual clothes, her fingers moving along her line of sight on the yellowed pages, focused and reverent. Yi Zhen took one look and knew she was reading about Song Dynasty history again, he had no idea why this woman liked history so much, it seemed like she could become completely absorbed in it. He lightly cleared his throat, and it was Xiao Yue who heard him first, hastily coming over to ask: "Master, you're awake, are you still feeling unwell?"

  Yin Zhen shook his head: "Prepare some hot water, I'll take a bath first."

  Yuan Jin entered the clean room, Quan Pei just reacted, gently rubbing her neck, and Ya Tou hurried over to help her massage her back. Xiao Rong brought in a bowl of simmered lotus flower soup, Quan Pei took it and tasted a mouthful, slightly furrowing her brow: "I said I wanted to get up early before the sun rises, but this untouched water lily leaf is still so coarse?"

  Xiao Rong was startled and quickly lowered her head: "The eunuchs below are probably not paying attention, tomorrow I will personally go pick some."

  The lady was picky about food, and the dishes sent from the kitchen were only slightly touched, usually she would use her own small stove to simmer some soup and drink a little, the lady could drink more, but if there was anything slightly wrong, the lady would definitely be able to taste it.

  Yin Zan had one hand on the door handle and with the other he walked out of the clean room, saw Xiao Rong holding a bowl of soup in his hand, he could almost smell the fragrance of lotus leaves, took it over and tasted a mouthful, finished drinking it all at once, turned his head to look at Quan Pei: "It's so delicious, you're still complaining?"

  Quan Peishu stretched out her body, leaning against the windowsill with a gentle smile: "As long as you like it." She smiled and revealed a different kind of charm, like a slowly blooming peony.

  Yongzheng sat down beside her, holding her cool and comfortable hand. Quan Pei looked at Yongzheng's slightly cold profile and finally spoke up: "Why did you have a run-in with the Crown Prince today, on such a hot day?"

  Yin Zuan turned his head and looked at Quan Pei's jet-black eyes that sparkled brightly: "How did you know?"

  "Was I just at the Crown Princess's place for the sake of repairing the Shengjing?"

  He nodded and looked out of the window: "Yes."

  Ruan Wan stretched out her scallion-like fingers and lightly poked his shoulder, Xian Yan chuckled and turned to look at her: "What are you poking me for?"

  "Are you really planning on doing it this way?"

  "Yes, let's just leave it like this for now, here... or maybe it'll be fine later on."

  The girls couldn't understand what the two masters were saying, but the two masters seemed to have a tacit understanding and completely understood each other.

  To stand firm in the imperial court, one must gain the trust of both the Crown Prince and the Emperor. For a fifteen-year-old youth, it's indeed quite difficult. Quan Pei leaned on Yongzheng's shoulder: "It will definitely be alright."

  The sunset dyed everything in the small courtyard red, peaceful and beautiful...