Although the Queen Mother told Prince Jin that Jiang Changning had a gentle personality and she did not approve of it, it was not important because her son cared about her more, which was more important.
"It's right not to let her know. No matter what, she is the one in the palace who pointed it out to you. The one in the palace never has good intentions towards the Prince Jin's Mansion."
"Mother is right." Prince Jin picked out some unimportant matters in the court and told them to the Dowager Concubine.
The concubine believed it and helped to give advice.
The Prince of Jin looked very educated, which made the Concubine Dowager satisfied.
The mother and son were chatting when the Qiao mother and daughter arrived and the topic could not continue.
The concubine said unhappily, "What a tactless person."
When Qiao entered the warm room, she saw that only Prince Jin was there and Jiang Changning was not there. A hint of joy flashed across her face. It was great to not have that annoying Jiang Changning around.
The warm scene that Qiao had imagined of a "family of three" dining with the concubine did not happen. The concubine chased them away, "It's snowing, take Kang Ren back to the yard."
"Mother, the weather is cold, you'd better not get up too early. Why not postpone the time of paying respects for two quarters of an hour?" Prince Jin asked with concern.
The concubine was touched by her son's thoughtfulness. "Modify the time of greeting in the morning by two quarters of an hour. You don't have to come in the evening. The roads will be slippery after dark."
"It's okay for them not to come. Son, come and accompany mother." Prince Jin said with a smile.
"Okay." The toffee smiled happily, with fine lines appearing at the corners of her eyes.
After Mrs. Qiao and Princess Kangren left, Prince Jin accompanied the Dowager Concubine for dinner.
After the meal, Prince Jin talked with the Concubine Dowager for a while before leaving Liuxuan Courtyard.
"Your Highness, are we going to Blue Algae Garden tonight?" Chang Youzhong asked.
"Chang Youzhong, did the cakes and pastries that the princess gave you as a reward get fed to the dog?" Prince Jin asked in a deep voice.
Chang Youzhong's heart trembled. The prince valued the princess, and he asked the prince to go to Chen. He was really crazy. "Prince, it's Chen who wants to tell you something."
"Chang Youzhong, are you planning to change your master?" Prince Jin asked coldly.
"Little one." Chang Youzhong slapped himself in the face. Forget it, it's better not to say anything. The more you say, the more mistakes you will make.
The fourth day of the twelfth lunar month was the day when Chen Yi entered Prince Jin's mansion. Prince Jin should have slept with her that night, but the incident with the silver needle happened as soon as she entered the house, so it was understandable that Prince Jin did not sleep with her.
Chen Yi's status was still undecided and her situation was awkward, but early the next morning, she came to Rujingyuan to pay her respects to Jiang Changning.
But she came too early. It was three quarters past the hour of Mao and Jiang Changning had not yet woken up.
"Miss Chen, please go to the warm room and wait." Xiulan said as she lifted the curtain.
"I'm here to serve the princess." Chen Yi said.
"We servants will serve the princess, there is no need to trouble Miss Chen." Xiulan said with a smile on her face.
Chen Yi bit the corner of her lip and said, "It's my duty to serve the princess."
"Miss Chen, please go to the warm room and sit for a while." Xiulan would never let these concubines get close to Jiang Changning.
Chen Yi had no choice but to enter the warm room.
As soon as she entered the warm room, Chen Yi smelled a faint floral scent.
She likes making perfume and is very sensitive to scents, and this scent is very special.
It smells like sunshine and citrus, and it gives you a warm feeling when you smoke it in the winter.
This kind of incense is homemade.
This kind of exquisite incense is not available in any of the major incense shops in Beijing.
Subconsciously, she went looking for the incense burner.
Good incense goes with a good stove.
She saw a green-glazed Suan Ni incense burner.
The furnace body is in the shape of a lotus, with a lion-like figure squatting on the lid.
The body of the furnace is a Sumeru pedestal in the shape of an upturned lotus, with a blooming lotus, half of which is glazed and the other half is not.
The unglazed areas appear yellowish white, which is mainly to show the effect of the lotus under light, which is very exquisite.
Suanni is hollow inside, with white smoke wafting out of its mouth, which fits the legend that Suanni, the fifth son of the dragon, likes to swallow fireworks.
A complicated look flashed across Chen Yi's eyes. She had seen an incense burner that was smaller than this one and was worth a fortune.
The incense burner is treasured by the owner and is only taken out at specific times or when there are special guests.
But here, it is placed in the warm room like an ordinary incense burner and can be used at will.
The palace is really rich, but it's a pity that she is just a lady and cannot enjoy them.
Unless one day, the mother becomes a concubine because of her son's status.
If Jiang Changning knew what Chen Yi was thinking, she would tell her that even if she was a princess, even if she became a concubine in the future, she would not be able to enjoy them, because these were all her dowry.
"Miss Chen, what's wrong?" Xiulan brought in tea and saw Chen Yi staring at the incense burner. "But Miss Chen, you can't get used to the smell of this fragrance?"
"This smells so good." Chen Yi retracted her gaze, not daring to get on the kang, and sat down on a chair covered with a bright red embroidered floral pattern.
Chen Yi waited in the warm room for a long time. When Xiulan came in to change the third cup of tea, Park and Liu came in.
When they saw Chen Yi, who was still dressed as an unmarried girl, Park and Liu immediately knew her identity: Mrs. Chen who had failed to complete the ceremony of taking a concubine.
"Mrs. Park, Aunt Liu, this is Miss Chen." Xiulan introduced dutifully.
"Meet Madam Park and Aunt Liu." Chen Yi's status was not yet determined, so she was inferior to others.
Park accepted her gift and Liu knelt down to return the gift.
The three of them waited in the warm room for a while, and then Jiang Changning came.
When he came in, Jiang Changning said, "Miss Chen has a leg injury, so there's no need to be polite."
Chen Yi froze there. The wound on her leg was not serious. After applying some medicine and spending another night, it was almost healed.
Park and Liu looked at each other quickly, and then greeted Jiang Changning.
"It's cold in winter, so next time you greet me in the morning a quarter of an hour later," said Jiang Changning.
"Thank you, Princess, for thinking of me like this." Park bowed.
Jiang Changning smiled and said, "We live in the same house, so let's be considerate of each other."
Fang Ju brought in breakfast with someone. Just as Chen Yi was about to step forward, she saw that Pu and Liu had stepped aside.
Chen Yi was surprised. Don’t they serve the princess meals
There is indeed no need for Park and Liu. Just as Liu Ye said, Jiang Changning has more than a dozen maids around him, so it is not a turn for these concubines.
Jiang Changning didn't like having concubines watching her eat, but she couldn't chase them away.
The two sides can only get along in this awkward way.
After breakfast, Jiang Changning went to pay his respects to the Concubine Dowager.
The three concubines saw her off to the door and watched her get into the sedan chair.
The strong woman lifted the sedan chair and walked forward. Chen Yi followed and found that Pu and Liu were standing still. "Don't you need to pay respects to the Concubine Dowager?"
Liu replied, "The Concubine rarely sees her concubine."
"Now we can go back to our own yards and rest." Mrs. Park sighed quietly, "The day is so long, and it's really hard to do nothing every day."
After saying this, Park walked away with her waist twisted, like a weak willow holding a flower.
"Miss Chen, do you want to go together?" asked Liu.
"Okay, let's go together." Chen Yi accepted Liu's kindness.
The situation in Prince Jin's Mansion was so complicated that it was hard to imagine. She needed to find someone to get some information from, and it was great that Liu came to her on her own initiative.
(End of this chapter)