The imperial summons to enter the palace came suddenly. Qin Yining had originally planned that once she entered the palace, she would find a way to contact her father or have someone around her help deliver messages. However, she hadn’t expected that just as she stepped out of her room with the eunuch, she would run into Qin Huaiyuan, who had just hurried back to the mansion.
Upon seeing Qin Huaiyuan, the eunuch showed the utmost respect and performed a grand bow.
“Greetings to Minister Qin.”
“Please rise, Eunuch.” Qin Huaiyuan smiled and extended his hand to help him up.
The eunuch rose as offered, and when he concealed his sleeve, his arm brushed against Qin Huaiyuan’s sleeve. He immediately felt something heavy drop into his sleeve pocket.
The eunuch squeezed it inconspicuously—it should be a silver ingot!
No wonder they say this is a high-ranking official—truly wealthy and generous!
The eunuch was delighted, barely able to hide his smile, and said softly, “Many thanks to Minister Qin.”
Qin Huaiyuan smiled and said, “No need for such courtesy. I must trouble you to look after my daughter in the palace.”
“I wouldn’t dare, I wouldn’t dare. Serving the Princess Consort is this servant’s duty.”
After the two exchanged pleasantries for a while, Qin Huaiyuan smiled and said, “Could we delay for a moment? I still have some words to instruct my daughter.”
The eunuch squeezed the silver in his sleeve, nodded with a smile, and walked to one side.
Qin Yining approached Qin Huaiyuan and said in a low voice, “Father.”
Qin Huaiyuan stroked his beard and smiled, “His Majesty selecting you to serve Consort Shun is your good fortune and shows his regard for you. After entering the palace, you must carefully observe palace rules and serve wholeheartedly. Do you understand?”
Qin Yining immediately nodded respectfully and replied, “Your daughter will faithfully follow father’s teachings.”
Qin Huaiyuan nodded, pretending to continue instructing Qin Yining on proper conduct, but actually said in a low voice, “There’s a eunuch who serves tea in the Imperial Study, named Jiang Yuan. He’s someone Zhixi and I have cultivated. If you encounter urgent matters that you truly cannot handle, you can seek him out.”
Qin Yining’s pupils constricted, and fearful emotions gradually spread.
She had never known before that Qin Huaiyuan had placed people in the palace. Now, for this one trip to the palace, Qin Huaiyuan was even telling her this secret, which was enough to show that Qin Huaiyuan, like her, was not optimistic about her palace journey.
“I understand.” Qin Yining replied in a low voice, then smiled, “Father, rest assured. I have everything under control. But father must also promise me that no matter what happens, you must remember that you sit in command, guarding the safety of two families. At critical moments, don’t only think of me—I will find ways to handle everything in the palace myself.”
Qin Huaiyuan looked at Qin Yining. When she spoke, her bright eyes were full of sincerity.
This child resembled him from his youth by seventy percent. Having experienced many things, there was an undeniable wisdom and sharpness between her brows that made one immediately feel she was different from others.
This girl was clever—she would surely be able to adapt to circumstances when encountering problems.
Qin Huaiyuan comforted himself this way, but still instructed in a low voice, “No matter what happens, your first priority is to preserve your own life. If your life is gone, everything else is meaningless.”
“Father, rest assured.” Qin Yining nodded again.
Father and daughter looked at each other, and after a long moment, both sighed softly in unison.
Qin Yining said no more. Although entering the palace to face Princess Tana held unknown dangers, Qin Yining didn’t view this trip as anything too serious. At worst, she would meet whatever came with appropriate responses.
Qin Yining boarded the carriage and left the Prince’s mansion.
When Qin Huaiyuan went to see the Old Madam, he only said that Qin Yining had earned the appreciation of a palace noble who wanted her to teach the Tatar princess proper conduct.
The Old Madam was greatly relieved by Qin Huaiyuan’s explanation and kept praising Qin Yining for being accomplished—coming to the Great Zhou and bringing honor to the Qin family, and now even able to teach some Tatar princess proper conduct.
Qin Huaiyuan smiled on the surface but felt bitter in his heart.
Just today, upon hearing the servant’s message that His Majesty had ordered Qin Yining to enter the palace to accompany the Tatar princess, a string of sandalwood prayer beads that Qin Huaiyuan had worn on his wrist for over ten years suddenly broke. The beads scattered and rolled everywhere with crackling sounds. His accompanying servants carefully searched but still came up one bead short—no one knew where it had rolled.
Qin Huaiyuan felt uneasy in his heart, with a persistent sense of foreboding.
Tossing and turning until deep into the night, Qin Huaiyuan still couldn’t sleep from worry. He simply got up, dressed, ground ink himself, and wrote a letter to Pang Xiao, explaining the situation here and commanding it to be delivered to the old capital day and night.
Only after sending the letter did Qin Huaiyuan feel somewhat more at ease.
At this time, Qin Yining was also not resting.
Tonight, Li Qitian had chosen Consort Yun’s tablet.
Princess Tana had dressed up elaborately but worked in vain, and was now sulking alone in her bedchamber.
In the middle of the night, Princess Tana couldn’t sleep and wouldn’t allow the palace servants around her to sleep either.
Qin Yining had originally been settled for the night but was commanded by Princess Tana’s palace servants to be dragged out of bed.
A flickering candle illuminated the hall in dim warmth, with orange light shining upward from Princess Tana’s chin, making her appearance seem somewhat fierce.
Qin Yining stood with her hands hanging at her sides, listening to Princess Tana curse Consort Yun in the Tatar language.
Qin Yining’s Tatar wasn’t fluent—she could only speak some simple conversations. Her listening was better than her speaking, but if the other person spoke too quickly, she couldn’t keep up.
However, this didn’t prevent Qin Yining from serving as a “pillar” here.
Princess Tana cursed while secretly observing Qin Yining’s reactions, waiting to catch any sign of impatience from Qin Yining so she could seize the opportunity to give her a show of power.
But who knew that after enduring until the third watch of the night, when she herself was so tired she could barely keep her eyes open, Qin Yining still maintained that same composure.
“Princess Consort Zhongshun, what do you think?” Princess Tana asked in Tatar.
Qin Yining had actually understood but only showed a confused expression.
Seeing this, Princess Tana knew Qin Yining hadn’t understood what she said.
With a cold laugh, she continued cursing in Tatar: “Bitch, seducing Khan Si Qin, causing Khan A’na Ri’s death, yet still having the nerve to stand before this princess.”
Qin Yining understood most of it and could guess the meaning, but still pretended not to understand.
After enduring Princess Tana’s cursing for a while longer, Princess Tana finally couldn’t bear her own exhaustion, and everyone finally dispersed.
Returning to the temporary side hall, Qin Yining let down her long hair and lay down fully clothed.
Ji Yun and Bingtang sat on either side of the bed. “Princess Consort, how can we endure these days? She’s too much trouble—I think she’s ten thousand times worse than Consort Yun!”
“She has a noble status, so naturally she’s different from others. In all matters, guard against arrogance and impatience, and endure more.”
Bingtang was again thinking of slipping someone itching powder.
But this was the imperial palace, and those bottles and jars that Bingtang carried had been forced to remain outside the palace before entering.
“Princess Consort, please rest well. Tomorrow, who knows what she’ll think up.”
“Mm, you should all sleep quickly too, but don’t undress—she might summon us in the middle of the night.”
Qin Yining had indeed guessed correctly. She had just fallen asleep for less than an hour when palace servants came to request her. That palace servant was obviously exhausted, covering her mouth while yawning, and when she saw Qin Yining, her eyes were full of tears.
Qin Yining was too lazy to argue with anyone. Even if she argued, this was still Li Qitian’s inner palace, and moreover, it was Princess Tana’s territory.
The more she did, the more mistakes; the more she spoke, the more errors. It was better to follow proper conduct and endure until she could leave the palace.
Therefore, Qin Yining asked no questions and directly followed that palace servant to Princess Tana’s bedchamber. However, Qin Yining only stood at the entrance of the bedchamber, speaking through the latticed door.
“If Consort Shun has any instructions, please speak freely. This subject’s wife, Princess Consort Zhongshun of the Qin family, listens respectfully.”
Princess Tana had her long hair braided into two long plaits and stood at the door in her sleeping clothes. She only needed to take one step forward to see the person outside through the door crack.
She looked outside, then gestured to the eunuch inside, moved further away, and said softly, “Come in to speak.”
But Qin Yining didn’t move.
“Consort Shun, please think carefully. It’s the middle of the night now. Although we are both women, rumors are fiercer than tigers. If this subject’s wife enters your bedchamber at this hour to speak with you, someone might very well use this incident to attack you. Not to mention anything else, just the accusation of being overly intimate with an external noblewoman could cause you to lose the Emperor’s favor. Please reconsider.”
Princess Tana hadn’t thought that far ahead, nor did she want to directly take Qin Yining’s life. She wasn’t mad—if she killed Qin Yining like this, wouldn’t all the blame fall on her?
But she also couldn’t stand watching Qin Yining be so arrogant. If she couldn’t kill her, making her wish she were dead would be good too.
There were so many punishments in the palace, many of which left no visible scars.
As long as she entered this door!
She didn’t believe that Qin Yining, a dignified Princess Consort, would spread word everywhere if she suffered such treatment. Wouldn’t she still have to swallow her grievances in silence?
But Qin Yining refused to enter from beginning to end.
Princess Tana said sternly, “You’ve just entered the palace and are already disobeying this princess’s orders.”
Qin Yining was also annoyed by Princess Tana’s pestering and sneered, “It seems Princess Tana’s Great Zhou language needs much more study. This subject’s wife came by imperial decree merely to teach you proper conduct. This subject’s wife is, after all, a noblewoman, not a maid for anyone to order around at will.
“You refuse to settle down properly in the middle of the night and instead summon this subject’s wife to enter your bedchamber. This subject’s wife feels we haven’t become so familiar, certainly not to the point of intimate conversations.
“This subject’s wife advises you to be more peaceful. Always jumping around—be careful of becoming the rafter that sticks out first.”
“You!”
Princess Tana was furious, and with a sudden motion, she pulled open the palace door.
Qin Yining only saw Princess Tana with knitted brows and glaring eyes, angrily striding out and pointing at Qin Yining: “How dare you show disrespect to this princess!”
Qin Yining bowed her head and said, “Though Your Ladyship holds the rank of consort, this subject’s wife is a Super First Rank external noblewoman. This subject’s wife is not your palace servant, nor your maid. If you wish to learn etiquette and proper conduct, then please assume the posture of a student. If you wish to treat this subject’s wife as entertainment, then naturally tomorrow this subject’s wife will report to His Majesty and Her Majesty the Empress, requesting to leave the palace and return home. This subject’s wife also has a household of old and young waiting for her to handle many matters.”