The swaying umbrellas were quickly put away, and the chaos in the garden immediately disappeared.
'This bunch of women!' Murong Xinghua thought to herself. She was both annoyed and amused at the same time. She hurried over to Miao Yi and heaved a sigh of relief. 'He's finally here. Otherwise, if I followed Princess Consort's orders, I'm afraid something bad will happen.'
Miao Yi wasn't blind. He saw the chaos just now. 'Are these the so-called daughters of a noble family? With that sloppy look, outsiders who didn't know what was going on would think he was a prostitute? What a scandal! '
Miao Yi's expression darkened and his gaze darkened when he saw how they turned into virtuous ladies in the blink of an eye. He felt disgusted with these women.
He was not in the mood to distinguish whether these people had always been virtuous or not. In short, this was the first time he had met these people together, and they gave him a very bad impression. Moreover, Yang Zhaoqing had hinted to him before, asking him to support Fei Hong if necessary. At that time, he had already realized something about this group of women, and this time, it was equivalent to confirming his guess.
Many women noticed the change in Miao Yi's expression and grumbled inwardly. No one had informed him of His Highness's arrival. They cursed Yun Zhiqiu for being too vicious and purposely humiliating them in front of His Highness.
However, some women didn't care. They disliked their families doing this to begin with. They didn't care if they could win Miao Yi's favor or not.
Yang Zhaoqing, who came with them, saw everyone's reaction and sighed. Three women were like a drama. With such a group of women, plus they came from influential families and grew up in such an environment, it was inevitable that the harem would start to compete for favor. He only hoped that these women would know their place and not provoke Yun Zhiqiu. Yun Zhiqiu actually held a lot of power on His Highness's side that outsiders didn't know about. Some of her roles were irreplaceable. She had influence on His Highness in many aspects, and was the only person who could make His Highness submit. She wasn't someone anyone could replace. Hopefully, these women wouldn't go looking for trouble.
Murong Xinghua stepped forward and bowed. Miao Yi asked calmly, "Where's Princess Consort?"
Murong Xinghua replied, "She's waiting for His Highness in the main hall of the inner residence!"
Miao Yi didn't greet the group of concubines. He turned around and headed straight for the inner residence.
The group of women who were ready to greet their lord when he came were speechless. They looked at the sun in the sky. At this time, no one dared to be lazy and stay in the sun. Otherwise, who knew when their lord would appear again.
Walking out of the main hall, Miao Yi heard Yun Zhiqiu chatting happily. It seemed like he was in a good mood, so he quickly walked in with a smile on his face.
As soon as he arrived, everyone stood up and bowed. "Your Highness!"
Gong Nichang and Yuwen Ruyu were obviously a little fearful, but the smile on Yun Zhiqiu's face disappeared. She got up and half-knelt in greeting. "Greetings, Your Highness!"
Seeing her reaction, Miao Yi felt a little uneasy. He laughed dryly and said, "No need to be so polite."
"My sisters have been waiting outside for a long time. Since Your Highness is here, let's go take a look together," Yun Zhiqiu said expressionlessly.
Miao Yi chuckled and said, "This is a matter between you women. I'll just …" However, when he saw the strange look in Yun Zhiqiu's eyes, he coughed dryly and corrected himself, "Fine. Let's go and join in the fun."
The group walked out of the main hall and the inner residence, heading straight for the grand garden.
His Highness appeared once again, accompanied by a charming and dignified woman. Some had seen her before, while others hadn't, but they all guessed that there was no one else other than Consort Yun Zhiqiu who could come together with His Highness.
"Your Highness, Consort."
Now that they were up close, the ladies all bowed in greeting.
Yun Zhiqiu smiled. She would exchange a few words with each lady she met, while Miao Yi forced a smile and nodded slightly.
"Your Highness." A coquettish voice came from beside him. Yun Zhiqiu cast a sidelong glance and realized that this person was also very charming. The way she looked at Miao Yi was also coquettish and charming. It was very seductive.
Miao Yi couldn't help but take a few more glances at her. She was beautiful, after all. There was no helping it. He would subconsciously be drawn in a few more glances.
Yun Zhiqiu giggled, "This little sister is very beautiful. May I know your name?"
The woman replied coquettishly, "In reply to Your Highness, my name is Du Yinjiao."
"…" Yun Zhiqiu was taken aback. She recalled seeing this name on the list before. This name left a deep impression on her. Why did it leave a deep impression? Because this woman was the type who had quickly divorced her husband before marrying over. Before marrying over, she had already given birth to a daughter. She quickly nodded and said, "Good name. You do live up to your name." She then cast a sidelong glance at Miao Yi, guessing that Miao Yi still didn't know about this woman's background.
She had been paying attention to this from the small world, wondering what would happen between Miao Yi and this group of women. In the end, Miao Yi's performance was quite satisfactory. He hadn't even officially met this group of women yet.
Little did she know that Miao Yi was also worried that he would upset the vinegar jar, so he didn't dare to act rashly. How could he not know that Yun Zhiqiu had eyes and ears over here?
Most of the ladies who took the initiative to approach him were naturally the type who were confident in their beauty. The further they went, the more obvious the division of beauty became. It was one thing to have average looks, but there were actually quite a few who were ugly.
Beauty and ugliness were innate, and for many people, it was something they had no choice in the matter. For some of the surrendered generals who wanted to marry off their daughters, there was nothing they could do about it. Their bloodline was poor, so even if they gave birth to daughters who would inherit their status, they wouldn't have any daughters who were good looking. In any case, everyone knew the purpose of the marriage, and both sides could make do with it. As long as they could use the title of His Highness's relative to protect their families from danger, they would be satisfied. As for fighting for His Highness's favor, they didn't have much of a hope. Of course, His Highness might be interested in their inner beauty, or perhaps they had a special appetite.
This was also Yun Zhiqiu's first official meeting with this group of women. She wouldn't have known if she hadn't met them, but now she was a little shocked.
Before this, she had thought that those who could marry off their daughters would definitely be handpicked from their families, and that they would definitely be good-looking. However, she had underestimated their bloodline. Not everyone could give birth to a beautiful daughter, and those who were willing to show their faces in public at the various gatherings she had attended in the past were actually quite good-looking as well. How many of those who weren't good-looking would be willing to flaunt their beauty? And when her subordinates reported the situation here to her, they wouldn't be so bored as to comment on the beauty of His Highness's concubines. That was why Yun Zhiqiu was so shocked when she met them.
Only now could Yun Zhiqiu imagine what it would be like for the surrendered generals to send their daughters to the Prince's residence for the sake of marriage.
Yun Zhiqiu finally understood what it meant to be tall, short, fat, and skinny. Some of the concubines were indeed a little too fat. She reckoned that Miao Yi was the first person in the world who could take in such a concubine at the same level as the Heavenly Kings. If the other Princes took in concubines, who would dare to send them to the Prince's residence if they didn't have a stunning beauty?
This was also Miao Yi's first official meeting with his concubines. After seeing them for himself, Miao Yi couldn't even force a smile out of his face. In short, he had become very calm and collected!
After walking around the crowd, Yun Zhiqiu said to Miao Yi under everyone's gaze, "Your Highness, in the past, I didn't have many sisters in the house. If there was anything, I could discuss it with them one by one. But now that there are so many of us, I'm afraid that won't be possible. It's about time we set some rules. What do you think, Your Highness?"
Miao Yi calmly replied, "The rules of the inner residence are up to the Princess Consort. You shall decide!"
This was exactly what Yun Zhiqiu wanted him to say in front of everyone. At least he knew his place. He immediately bowed and said, "Your Highness, I understand."
After lingering for a while longer, the two of them bid their farewells to the ladies. Just as they were about to leave, someone suddenly shouted, "Your Highness!"
A sturdy figure blocked their way. Miao Yi stared blankly at this concubine. Since he couldn't see her, he thought it was another man who had spoken.
The concubine before him was truly a stocky figure. She was even bigger than Miao Yi, or rather, much bigger. She was also half a head taller than Miao Yi. Her eyes were as big as copper bells, and her nostrils were pointed upwards. Her lower jaw was very wide, and she had a very distinctive appearance. Her eyebrows were drawn like willow leaves, and she wore an elegant white muslin dress. Her breasts were very full, and she gave off an oppressive feeling just by looking at her.
Miao Yi quickly glanced at Yang Zhaoqing. When he saw that Yang Zhaoqing didn't show any reaction, he understood that she must be his concubine. But why didn't he see her just now? Where did she hide? And where did she come from? In any case, her sudden appearance truly took Miao Yi's breath away.
Yun Zhiqiu tilted her head to look at Miao Yi, who seemed to be swallowing his saliva. She then asked the big fellow, "May I know your name, Little Sister?"
"Nie Wuyan!" The newcomer's voice was loud and clear. She stared at Miao Yi and asked, "May I ask Your Highness, what is the meaning of your house arrest?"
Miao Yi calmly replied, "What house arrest?"
Nie Wuyan waved her hand and pointed in the direction of the Prince Manor. She loudly reprimanded, "There are countless courtyards in the Prince Manor. Why can some concubines enter, and others not? Is it because we don't look good enough?"
The other concubines didn't dare to agree with the excuse of not looking good enough. However, they had been wondering why they weren't allowed to move into the Prince Manor, and instead had to be squeezed in here.
How could this kind of reprimand stop Miao Yi? He was someone who had been through a lot, so he could handle it with ease. "You're thinking too much. This Prince has received a secret report that there might be a spy among you. The Prince Manor is an important place, so how could a spy be allowed to enter? We are currently investigating them one by one. If there are no problems, they will naturally be moved into the Prince Manor. Do you think there's a problem?"
Nie Wuyan was speechless. She nodded to show that she understood, then retreated into the crowd and disappeared again.
After leaving the side courtyard and returning to the Prince Manor, Yun Zhiqiu naturally looked around her new home. Miao Yi's calm expression hadn't changed since he saw the group of concubines.
When they arrived at the main house of the inner compound, Yun Zhiqiu looked at the furnishings inside and suddenly remarked, "Your Highness's concubines are indeed extraordinary. What a heavy appetite!"
Miao Yi's expression finally twitched.
"Hehe …" Yun Zhiqiu had been holding it in for the entire journey. Now that there were no outsiders around, she finally couldn't hold it in any longer. She laughed so hard that she was rocking back and forth. When she thought of Nie Wuyan blocking the way, and Miao Yi's dumbfounded look, she held onto the tea table and almost laughed until tears came out.
She looked around and estimated that among the thousand people, only a few could be considered stunning. Twenty percent of them were good-looking, while the rest were mostly mediocre. There was also a small portion who were truly unattractive, and Nie Wuyan was one of them.
Miao Yi stared at her coldly and said, "Sister Qiu 'er, why are you judging a book by its cover? As the Celestial Emperor, has Master Qing ever looked down on the Empress because of her appearance?"
"I was wrong. I was wrong." Yun Zhiqiu laughed so hard that she couldn't even catch her breath.
When she finally calmed down, Miao Yi asked expressionlessly, "What did Su Yun say?"
Select text and click 'Report' to let us know about any bad translation.
