Chapter 55: The eldest princess's foot binding

Without a proper job, Yinzhen, who was "fishing in troubled waters" every day, paid more attention to the backyard and his children.

As for the backyard, apart from Yihuan and the baby in her belly, he would only pay attention to whether Li, the other concubines, had behaved well recently. Other than that, they did not exist in Yinzhen's eyes.

As for the children, he kept an eye on Honghui every day, and also urged Hongyun to study every day. Only the eldest princess was neglected.

After dinner that day, Yihuan spent a relaxing time doing prenatal education. She felt a little sleepy when she heard Yinzhen mention the eldest princess.

"Fujin, the eldest princess is now seven years old. According to convention, she should have moved to the front yard when she was six years old. I didn't take care of it last year, but it's not too late now."

Yihuan rolled her eyes secretly. A six-year-old child did not live with her biological mother, but lived alone under the supervision of a bunch of maids and nannies. This perverted rule was very annoying.

Last year, Nanny Chen reminded Yihuan, but she changed the subject. The eldest princess was not a key figure, so who would care whether she slept alone or with her mother at night.

I didn't expect Yinzhen to be so meticulous.

"Master, I will talk to Li and the eldest princess tomorrow. The yard in the front yard for the eldest princess has been prepared a long time ago." Yihua still wanted to fight for the stubborn little girl, "But she is only seven years old after all, and she is a girl. I think it would be good for her to spend more time with her mother."

Yinzhen sighed at Yihuan's motherly heart: "Fujin has considered everything, but the ancestral rules cannot be abolished. This matter is just a small matter, but a thousand-mile dam is destroyed by an ant hole. As masters, we must set an example."

"I was wrong." Yihuan hugged Yinzhen's arm and rubbed it, her words a little unclear.

Yinzhen covered Yihuan with a blanket and said, "Go to sleep. Just remember that I am here for you."

After breakfast the next day, Yihuan, who had slept well, started to think. She signaled Yuxiao to send someone to the East Courtyard to call Li and the eldest princess.

The two of them came together. The eldest princess put her hand on Li's arm, and the distance between the mother and daughter was enough for another person.

"Greetings to Fujin."

"Greetings to my mother."

Li sat at the bottom, first glanced at Yihuan's belly impatiently, then suddenly said: "I don't know why the lady sent me here. The master taught Hongyun a poem yesterday, and I have to watch him recite it."

Yihuan raised her eyebrows, feeling a little amused. Was she showing off?

"That's a good thing. When he has memorized it, come and show it to me." Yihuan replied, "I called you and your daughter here today because I want to convey something to you. The eldest princess turned seven this year. According to the palace rules, you should move to the front yard when you are six. The master didn't mention it last year because he thought the eldest princess was still young. Now he has said that you should pack your bags and move in these few days."

"Big Princess, Fengheyuan is reserved for you. Take your maid to have a look when you have time. If there's anything you don't like or want to have an additional one, tell your mother." Yihuan spoke to the Big Princess in a much softer tone.

Seeing that Li had no reaction, the eldest princess bit her lip and suppressed the sadness in her eyes: "The eldest princess listens to father and mother."

"Good children, go back and pack up. There is no need to rush today. You can move there slowly." In the previous life, even children needed time to be weaned. Now a seven-year-old child was to be in charge of a yard alone. Yihuan wanted the eldest princess to have enough time to prepare.

After returning to the East Courtyard, the eldest princess went to clean up by herself.

Nanny Jin saw that Li had no expression of reluctance at all, so she asked tentatively, "Princess, the eldest princess is young, why don't you go and give her some advice?"

Li stared at Hongyun, not caring at all: "The nanny beside her was sent by the empress in the palace, and she has much more experience than me. Besides, I'm happy that the girl is not hanging around in front of me." Nanny Jin didn't dare to persuade her too much. She felt that her master had to pretend to be reluctant. After all, the master had a knot in his heart about the mother-son relationship. The princess acted so indifferent, it would be a sin if the master knew.

However, she had no idea what her master was thinking recently and did not dare to remind him.

"I asked you to keep an eye on the Niuhulu clan, but did you gain anything?" Li continued to ask.

Nanny Jin replied, "It's strange. Princess Niuhulu was in convalescence, and there were female guards guarding the door. After she was able to get out of bed, she kept clamoring to see the master, and she was restless every day. I haven't heard her shouting in the past few days."

"Is Geng the only one who has received the master's favor recently?" Li asked another unrelated question.

"Well... the master spends most of his time resting with the concubine, and Geng only comes occasionally for him." Nanny Jin said carefully.

"A hen that can't lay eggs is useless." Li was silent for a while and suddenly said a folk slang. She said no more and concentrated on coaxing the third prince to recite poetry.

******
Nanny Chen came in carrying a box: "Fujin, are you still dizzy?"

Maybe she slept too much that day, and she felt dizzy and headache when she got up. The court doctor came to see her and said it was normal and would go away on its own, so Yihuan lay in the rocking chair and enjoyed the breeze.

"Nothing, what did you bring?"

Nanny Chen opened the box, revealing a pair of exquisite embroidered shoes. "Fujin, today I am following your orders to go to the East Courtyard to check on the progress of the eldest princess' move."

"Who would have thought that I would see this dirty thing."

Yihuan saw that the embroidered shoes were exquisitely made and had intricate patterns, but the size was a little small. She didn't understand what Nanny Chen meant: "Dirty things? What's the explanation?"

Nanny Chen continued, "Fujin, where have you seen such an item? Our Lady Ulanara loves you the most and would never let you use this. This is what the Han people used to bind their feet, and these servants actually coaxed the eldest princess into using it for several years."

Yihua was shocked when she heard this: "Since the establishment of our Qing Dynasty, these bad habits and old rules have been abolished. Who dares to violate the ancestral system?"

Nanny Chen sighed, "Madam Fu-jin, you don't know that the extravagant lifestyle is prevalent in the capital now, and gentleness and quietness are also considered beautiful by ladies from noble families. Men like these three-inch golden lotus feet, and many young ladies from official families have also started to bind their feet secretly."

"How ridiculous! Let's go and take a look." Yihuan sneered. It was the first time she heard that the princesses of the prince's family also had to learn how to flatter men!
"Don't be angry, just take care of yourself." Nanny Chen advised. She couldn't pretend she didn't see this matter. If anything happened in the future, their master, as the wife, would be involved.

Yihuan arrived at the East Courtyard under the escort of Nanny Chen and her group.

She went straight to the eldest princess's residence, and saw her sitting on the bed in a panic. Boxes of gift items were placed on the floor. One box was open on the top, and inside were embroidered shoes for foot binding.

The governess nanny that Concubine De sent last time was a little dissatisfied. The princesses in the palace did the same, so why couldn't the princesses in the Prince's Mansion do the same?

Yihuan was angry. No wonder Yinzhen and Concubine De had such a cold relationship. The two nannies that Concubine De assigned to the eldest princess were obviously not attentive and their perfunctory attitude was obvious.

She didn't believe that the Fourteenth Prince's family would need a nanny in the future, and that Concubine De would choose one so casually.

Sometimes, the subtle difference in attitude between being dedicated and not being dedicated can only be understood by the person involved, and it cannot be explained to outsiders.