CH 13

“Cousin, why did you come back so late? You’ve been busy for half a day, so you must be hungry,” Concubine Li greeted him courteously, and took Prince Yan’s arm affectionately. 

It didn’t matter that Princess Xu’s natal family was prominent. So what if she was the daughter-in-law appointed by Emperor Jianlong? She was also Prince Yan’s cousin, and they had known each other since they were young, and had established a relationship long ago. 

Concubine Li was very sure that she was the first woman Prince Yan liked, as the affection of her childhood sweetheart was unmatched by others. 

“Cousin, I made you braised trotters, steamed eggplant, and sauerkraut stewed meat, all of which you like to eat,” Concubine Li smiled authentically as she walked in with Prince Yan.

Prince Yan salivated. The cousin may be pampered, but those three dishes were the most suitable for his taste, even the chefs in the palace couldn’t make them that well. 

“Thank you,” Prince Yan smiled and patted her hand. 

Concubine Li was overjoyed, as she was more sure about the next thing. 

After eating enough, Concubine Li served Prince Yan again at night. When he was lying flat and enjoying the aftertaste, Concubine Li lay on his chest charmingly, her beautiful fingers twirling around, “Cousin, Er Lang should be disciplined, but the second son still has work to do, and his wife is pregnant. You ground Er Lang for a month, but let them go?”

Yan Wang squinted his eyes and pressed her hand, not very concerned, and said, “The second son’s work is not serious. It’s okay to let him miss it for a month. Let him just use this month to take care of Er Lang with his wife. If the child is not taught well when they are young, it will be difficult to discipline him when he grows up. And the second daughter-in-law, who praised the capital so much, did she regret that she married far away, or did she want to go back, blaming me for not arranging them to celebrate her birthday?” 

Concubine Li’s heart skipped a beat, and she hurriedly said, “She just likes to show off, she has no other intentions, don’t think about it.” 

Prince Yan snorted, “She likes to show off? The third daughter-in-law in the palace has never been to the capital. She dared to bully the third daughter-in-law in the presence of the third son, tell me, should I not punish her?” 

Concubine Li couldn’t even utter a single word of objection. 

Prince Yan became sleepy, so he pushed the woman in his arms down, turned over and lay on his side, pulled the quilt, and said vaguely, “There are a lot of things and I still have to worry about the inner house. I would have punished you for it.” 

Not long after he finished speaking, Prince Yan fell asleep, and his breathing became long and regular. 

Concubine Li gritted her teeth against his back. 

He gave so many reasons. In fact, he just refused to spare her son’s family. If she had known that would be the result, why would she have been busy in the kitchen for a long time? 

She really didn’t get any benefits. 

The punishment of the second daughter-in-law was somewhat related to Yin Hui, and that was the first time in two lifetimes that she was involved in such a big disturbance in the Yan Palace. 

Although Ji Xianxian was grounded and couldn’t come out for the time being, the second master’s biological mother, Concubine Li, was also domineering. But even so, she didn’t dare to stab Princess Xu with words, nor make jokes about her in front of Prince Yan. 

After Wei Shan left, Yin Hui was a little worried whether Concubine Li would cause trouble for her.

The uneasy mood lasted until the evening, and Yin Hui was relieved when she was sure that no one would come. 

After falling asleep alone, Yin Hui thought about the matter again. 

From Prince Yan’s punishment of the second daughter-in-law to Wei Luo allowing her to go home to visit her relatives, to Concubine Li’s silence, Yin Hui suddenly understood one thing. 

Although her background was humble and not as good as other women in the palace, she was the legitimate daughter-in-law of Prince Yan. As long as she did not make mistakes, Prince Yan would not punish her, and Concubine Li would not dare to trouble her openly. As long as she abided by the rules that should be followed, then she could do things that do not violate the rules in an open and honest manner, and she didn’t have to follow Xu Qingwan and Ji Xianxian in everything. 

She was the daughter-in-law picked by Prince Yan, not a maid. So she didn’t have to care about other people’s faces. 

Such a simple truth, why didn’t she figure it out in the past ten years? 

Was it because of her grandfather’s exhortations to her before she got married, which made her full of fear of the Yan Palace, or because of the thick walls of the Yan Palace, which she had seen from afar when she was young, made her regard it as the sky, and herself as just the daughter of a commoner merchant. In addition, was it because Wi Luo was stingy with words and never took the initiative to give her advice that she behaved that way? 

There must be some external factors, but the key was that she was stupid, confused, and always kept herself in an inferior position. 

In the darkness, Yin Hui let out a long sigh. 

Fortunately, she figured it out. Fortunately, she got a chance to start over. 

That night Yin Hui slept very soundly and well, and when she woke up naturally in the morning, it was just dawn.

“Madam, how about wearing this today?” When Yinzhan was combing Yin Hui’s hair, Jinzhan came over and asked, holding a willow-colored beanie in one hand and a plain white skirt in the other.

In fact, those colors were too light. It was okay to wear them occasionally, but wearing them all the time was not in line with Yin Hui’s age and identity as a bride. Not to mention that she was only sixteen years old. Even Concubine Li, who had a grandson, still dressed in a gorgeous way. Why did she always dress up in an old-fashioned way?