Chapter 90 The time for Kangxi's expedition had already passed...

The date for Kangxi's expedition has been set for half a month. Originally, Wen Shan was worried that Yinzhen would have to go to the battlefield with her and was reluctant to go on the expedition. Now that Yinzhen is staying in the capital to oversee the country, her attitude has changed to urging Kangxi to leave as soon as possible.

With Kangxi gone, the palace became quiet again, and she could finally slack off – it was practically her dream life.

However, during the period before the expedition, Yinzhen was extremely busy. Not only was he in charge of overseeing the country after Kangxi's departure, but he was also now in charge of the Ministry of Revenue.

Before the troops move, the supplies must be delivered.

Therefore, Yinzhen also had a heavy burden on his shoulders.

This resulted in Yinzhen staying up all night for several days in a row, and Wenshan not seeing him even once.

Yinzhi has been busier than usual lately, but he is still more relaxed than Yinzhen. He comes to Wenshan every morning and evening to eat and drink for free and bicker with Yinxiang.

When Yinzhi came over today, he brought Wenshan some good news.

"Mother, that ice machine you mentioned the other day is actually showing some promise," Yinzhi said excitedly as he entered the room.

Wenshan was picking lotus seeds to make a bowl of lotus seed soup to send to Yinzhen and Fucha to cool them off in the summer heat. She was pleasantly surprised when she heard Yinsi's words.

"So fast?"

It's been more than two months since she drew that picture, and it seems that the experts in the villa are becoming more and more proficient in this field.

Pearl brought Yinzhi a bowl of iced cheese. Yinzhi gulped it down in a few mouthfuls, wiped his mouth, and said, "It's still in its early stages. I tried making some ice a couple of days ago."

As the steam engine became more and more perfect, these people began to think about how to apply its power to other machines. The ice maker was the first one they experimented with. Fortunately, Wen Shan was quite knowledgeable about this, and her drawings were the most detailed among all the abstract paintings, which is why they made progress so quickly.

"Unfortunately, the hot summer is almost over, so it seems we won't be able to use ice this year," said Yinzhi.

"What's there to regret? Next year we'll be able to use as much ice as we want." Wen Shan happily imagined her life of ice freedom next year.

Yinzhi thought that even without this ice machine, his mother could use as much as she wanted, so naturally he wouldn't shortchange her.

Wenshan was happy for a while and then asked which master was so skilled that he figured it out in such a short time.

"The one that was made is a girl surnamed Xue, who is only sixteen years old this year." Yinzhi said with great interest, "Many masters say that she is very intelligent and will surely achieve great things in the future."

Wen Shan became even more interested when she heard that it was a little girl, and pressed Yin Si for details about the girl's background, wondering if her parents or elders had done research on this subject, which was why she could have such strong creativity at such a young age.

Yinzhi shook his head and said that Miss Xue must have come from a poor family. She was sold by her biological parents to an official's family as a maid when she was young. Unfortunately, the family's career was not going well and they were dismissed and imprisoned. Naturally, the servants in the family were also sold off. Miss Xue then wandered to a merchant's family. Not long after, the steward, whose son was older than her, took a fancy to her and wanted to marry her as his second wife. When he refused to coerce or entice her, he tortured her in every way and even tried to force himself on her. Later, she was clever enough to find an opportunity to escape. However, her indenture was still with her master's family, so she could only live a secret life under an assumed name.

Wen Shan was amazed when she heard this. Such a contract of servitude for a household slave was a huge burden these days. The court's regulations were very strict, and if someone escaped and was caught, it would be a capital offense. This little girl was bold and courageous; no wonder she was so intelligent.

"And then, how did you find her?" Wen Shan urged.

Yinzhi smiled and said, "She was a runaway slave who couldn't go out to work and support herself, so she could only wander around. She was lucky enough to end up in Wang Chongyu's village. Wang Chongyu's old mother took pity on her, a girl, and since it was freezing cold at the time, she took her in. She originally planned to give her a meal and have her work, and then let her leave when the weather warmed up the following spring."

Wen Shan still remembers Wang Chongyu; he was the one who developed the method of steelmaking back then.

Wang Chongyu's family was just an ordinary farming family and couldn't afford to support another person, so they could only take her in for one winter.

"As a result, during his stay at the Wang family, Wang Chongyu discovered that this girl was quite skilled in these strange and ingenious techniques. Upon asking, he learned that she had once been a maidservant of the young lady of an official family, and had also read some books. The young lady treated her quite well, and seeing that she liked to read, she let her pick and read whatever she wanted, which is why she knew some of these skills."

Wen Shan nodded and sighed, "It's truly a case of 'when you think you've reached the end of the road, a new path opens up before you've reached the end of the road.'"

Yinzhi nodded: "Later, before the spring of the following year, we found Wang Chongyu and invited him to the capital. After much consideration, he brought Miss Xue with him."

This brought about a huge change in Miss Xue's life.

The status of a runaway slave, with her indenture held by her master, would have meant a life of constant fear and hiding. However, in the eyes of Yinzhen and Yinsi, this was nothing more than a sesame seed, and was resolved with a single sentence.

Moreover, this girl did not disappoint Wang Chongyu's strong recommendation. Since arriving in the capital, she has been more outstanding than many master craftsmen who have studied for many years. The steam engine was able to be made thanks to her efforts.

Wenshan listened as if she had heard an inspirational story, repeatedly marveling at how fate brought them together from afar.

Yinzhi: "..."

When will Mother get rid of this habit of misusing idioms and proverbs?

But upon closer inspection, it seems to be quite suitable.

"When will you take your mother to visit your villa?" Wenshan said with a smile, "I've been interested in it for a long time."

"After Father Emperor goes on his campaign, I will find an opportunity to take you there," Yinzhi said with a smile.

Wen Shan counted on her fingers: "Your imperial father will be leaving in ten days, right?"

Emperor Kangxi had returned to the palace a few days ago to facilitate discussions with his ministers regarding the military campaign. Wen Shan found the palace stuffy and, although it was almost autumn, the weather hadn't cooled down much, so Emperor Kangxi allowed her to stay at Changchun Garden for a few more days.

Naturally, Wen Shan was not an exception; other concubines who wanted to stay here for a few more days to escape the summer heat could also join her.

However, when Kangxi returned to the palace, most of the concubines left with him. Only Wen Shan, Min Pin, Liang Pin, and Mi Pin remained in Changchun Garden, along with a few low-ranking concubines who were not particularly prominent to begin with. They were quite open-minded; they figured that they wouldn't have much of a chance to accompany the emperor back to the palace and would have to endure the heat anyway, so they might as well relax in Changchun Garden for a few more days.

Wen Shan was somewhat surprised that Consort Mi, who had remained in the palace and enjoyed constant favor, was also allowed to stay in Changchun Garden. However, she understood why Consort Mi's relationship with Consort Min had become increasingly better since she gave birth to the Sixteenth Prince.

It's perfectly normal that she wanted to be with her sisters and didn't want to return to the palace to serve Emperor Kangxi.

Thinking of this, Wen Shan chatted with Yin Si about how Yin Xiang had been frequently visiting Consort Min recently.

“I’ve never seen him run around like this three times a day before, it’s really strange,” Wen Shan said.

She wasn't jealous of Yinxiang's intimacy with Consort Min, but she found it a bit strange. Usually, Yinxiang would visit Consort Min often, but mostly only once a day. Sometimes he would be so busy that he would forget and Wenshan would have to urge him to go and check on her. But recently, he's been going there very frequently.

Something unusual must be going on.

"Did Thirteenth Brother go to Consort Min's place again?" Yinzhi asked.

“Yes, I brought a bunch of food with me before I left,” Wen Shan said with a smile. “It was like sneaking around like a thief.”

Yinzhi found it amusing that his subordinates had reported to him a few days ago that Yinxiang was getting along better and better with the Fifth Princess while staying with Consort Min. Not long ago, he had been annoyed by the Fifth Princess.

After talking with Wen Shan for a while, Xiao Shunzi came in and whispered something in his ear. Yin Si then looked helpless and had no choice but to leave.

After Wen Shan finished making the lotus seed soup, she felt a little bored, so she took the soup to Yin Zhen's residence.

Empress Fucha was pregnant and could not stand the heat, so she stayed at Changchun Garden for the time being.

When Wen Shan arrived, Lady Ma Jia and Lady Ulanara came to pay their respects to Lady Fucha. They had some lotus seed soup together, and then the two tactfully took their leave, leaving Lady Fucha and Wen Shan to talk alone.

"Although it's not as hot as before, it's still not cool. Mother is really making her daughter-in-law suffer by cooking herself," said Lady Fucha.

My fourth uncle is an extremely filial son, and if I were disrespectful to my mother, I would truly have offended him.

"I was just bored, so I made something."

Wenshan instructed the palace servants to freeze the remaining lotus seed soup in ice so that Yinzhen could enjoy it and cool off when he returned.

Fucha is now just three months pregnant, and her lower abdomen is still flat and nothing is visible. However, at least she has passed the most unstable period of the first three months.

Wenshan had never been pregnant and didn't know much about this, so she could only ask if the morning sickness was severe and if she felt any discomfort.

"Thank you for your concern, Mother. This child is very well-behaved and hasn't had any problems so far." Fucha smiled, pursing her lips.

With this child, she can finally put her mind at ease.

"That's good," Wen Shan said. "I think Ma Jia and Ulanara are both good-natured, which will surely save you a lot of trouble."

It has to be said that the wives chosen for Yinzhen were all the right ones. Not only were their family backgrounds outstanding, but their temperaments were also first-rate. At least so far, Wenshan has not shown any signs of jealousy or rivalry.

Speaking of this, Lady Fucha said, "Both of my younger sisters are very considerate. However, now that I am pregnant, I cannot serve the Fourth Prince. My two younger sisters are also unable to attend to him. A few days ago, I thought it would be better to bring in two more people from Chonghua Palace to serve him."

When the topic of taking a concubine for her son came up, Wen Shan seemed a little embarrassed. She took a sip of water and asked, "Have you discussed this with Yinzhen?"

"Fourth Master said he's busy right now and doesn't have the time for these things, and his two younger sisters are being taken good care of." Fucha thought for a moment, then continued, "This is something I shouldn't be discussing with you, Mother. Sister Ma Jia is fine, but Sister Ulanara has never been particularly enthusiastic about serving Fourth Master. However, Mother is reassured that Sister Ulanara is very polite and there's nothing wrong with her, but..."

“I understand what you mean, and I certainly won’t blame her,” Wen Shan replied.

She understood this perfectly; wasn't she the same way?

Because Ulanara was indifferent to the matter of serving the emperor, and Yinzhen was not one to force women, Yinzhen still went to Lady Magiya's place more often after Lady Fucha became pregnant.

Empress Fucha wasn't worried about Consort Ma Jia being the only one favored, since Yinzhen wasn't the kind of person who would be blinded by lust to favor one person. However, the fact that she was pregnant and Consort Ma Jia was favored left Ulanara alone was rather unsightly.

In addition, she felt that it was unfair to Yinzhen that only Ma Jia was serving her, so she brought up the matter with Wen Shan after Yinzhen refused.

Wen Shan: "..."

What's there for this guy to complain about? He's already married three women, what's there to complain about?

Wen Shan used to think that Fucha was virtuous, dignified, generous and proper, and she still is now. However, she also has the drawbacks of being disciplined by the rules and regulations for women.

Wen Shan wanted to say something, but then she thought that the concept of "husband is the head of the wife" was already deeply rooted in her mind, and saying anything would be useless and would only annoy her. She was pregnant at the moment, so she decided to refrain from saying anything.

"He has indeed been busy lately. His Majesty will be going on a campaign soon, and Yinzhen is busy preparing for related matters. He will also be overseeing the country in the future, so it is indeed not advisable for him to spend too much time on women."

Since Yinzhen wasn't interested either, Wenshan could only say that.

When Lady Fucha saw that Wen Shan was also not very interested in arranging a concubine for Yinzhen, she gave up on the idea.

With fewer people in the mansion, she naturally had peace and quiet. However, the teachings she had been raised since childhood to be virtuous, not jealous, and to produce many offspring for her husband's family made her feel compelled to mention it.

Lady Fucha also remarked that she had privately introduced a girl to Yinzhen and thought she was quite good; if she were to enter the household, she would certainly be a good person.

Wenshan drank a cup of tea and, upon hearing what she said, became interested and asked her who she had her eye on.

Since Lady Fucha married into the family, she and Wenshan have gotten along well. So she is willing to talk to Wenshan about some things in private. For example, now that Yinzhen and Wenshan have both refused to take any more concubines, Lady Fucha still dares to talk to Wenshan about the woman she originally had her eye on.

"She is Li, a bondservant of the Bordered White Banner in Chonghua Palace. Although she is not of high birth, her daughter-in-law looks pretty, and the nanny said she looks like she can bear children."

Lady Fucha smiled and said, "Moreover, she is someone from our own household with a clean background. I was thinking that if the Fourth Prince was interested, I would elevate her to the rank of Princess. If she really has children in the future, we can ask for her title later."

Wen Shan knew who this Li was as soon as she heard it.

She was a favorite concubine of Emperor Yinzhen in his early years and gave birth to several children, although in the end only the third prince, Hongli, survived.

Later, she was elevated to a higher social class and was granted the title of Consort. After Yinzhen ascended the throne, she was granted the title of Consort Qi.

“Your taste…” Wen Shan pondered for a moment and then said, “It’s not bad.”

The fact that Lady Fucha picked these out shows that she has a really good eye for talent.

As the two were talking, Yinzhen returned.

"Greetings to Mother."

Yinzhen bowed to Wenshan, and Wenshan, seeing that his forehead was covered in sweat, quickly helped him up.

"Go wash your face quickly. Your mother made lotus seed porridge for you and brought it over. It's being chilled right now. Have a bowl later," Wen Shan said with a smile.

Upon hearing this, Yinzhen washed his face before returning and said, "I was planning to pay my respects to Mother, but I ran into Emerald on the way and she told me that Mother had come to visit."

"Come over and have a chat with your wife," Wen Shan teased. "You're such a busy person these days, you don't have time for anything else when you're busy."

Lady Fucha also greeted Yinzhen, who responded with a rather indifferent "hmm" and said nothing.

Lady Fucha pursed her lips and sat down to one side.

"It will be a little easier once the army sets off in a few days." Yinzhen took a sip of lotus seed porridge and immediately recognized it as Wenshan's cooking.

"Mother, why are you cooking again in this heat?"

Yinzhen frowned.

"It's nothing, it's just porridge, what's the big deal?" Wenshan said with a smile. "You've been working hard lately, so eat more."

Just then, a palace maid came looking for Lady Fucha, saying that she needed to go over to the palace for some business, leaving only Wen Shan and Yinzhen in the palace.

As Wen Shan watched Fucha leave, she instructed, "Fucha is pregnant after all. No matter how busy you are, you must make time to be with her."

After Yinzhen finished his porridge, Zhenzhu took it and ladled out another bowl for him.

"Just a few days ago, the wife mentioned that she wanted to take a new wife for her son, so she must be in a good mood."

Although Yinzhen's tone was flat, Wenshan could detect a hint of anger in it.

Something's not right; there's more to this than meets the eye.

Wen Shan's radar, which had been listening to Yin Si's gossip for years, suddenly went off.

"Just now, Lady Fucha also spoke to Mother. Mother felt that you were young and vigorous, and Lady Fucha was pregnant and could not serve you. There were only two people in the courtyard, which was indeed a bit too few. Why don't we arrange two more concubines for you as she suggested?"

Wen Shan teased him on purpose, and sure enough, Yinzhen's expression changed immediately.

"Mother, why do you say that too?"

"Didn't you tell your son before that he is still young and should not become obsessed with women?"

Wen Shan chuckled: "Look how anxious you are. Your mother was just saying it casually, knowing you've been very busy lately."

Yinzhen breathed a sigh of relief. Wenshan then said, "Well... then we'll put a few more people in your room after your father goes to war and things settle down. I think the Li family mother recommended by Fucha is quite good."

Yinzhen: "...Mother, please don't joke around."

Yinzhen was naturally very familiar with Wenshan, and he could tell from her tone that she was joking.

Yinzhen and Fucha had a good relationship. In particular, under Wenshan's influence over the years, Yinzhen's temperament became much more peaceful. Even Yinsi and Yinxiang said that compared to his previous life, their fourth brother was no longer so cold and headstrong, and was more humane.

The two were young lovers. Lady Fucha was generous, beautiful, gentle, and understanding. It would be impossible for Yinzhen not to like her. Just over a year after their marriage, when their relationship was at its best, Lady Fucha became pregnant. Yinzhen was overjoyed, but when Lady Fucha asked him to take a concubine, he inevitably felt a little awkward.

As a prince, Yinzhen already has two concubines. He is not opposed to taking concubines, but he inevitably feels disappointed at this time.

Wen Shan sighed, "Of the three of you brothers, your mother is most worried about you. In the future, your mother will inevitably pass away before you. Besides you brothers, your wife and children will be the ones who accompany you for the rest of your lives. Although being born into the royal family means you will inevitably have multiple wives and concubines, especially you."

Wen Shan, initially feeling awkward, eventually had to accept it. After Yinzhen ascended the throne, he would have a large harem.

Yinzhen pursed his lips and remained silent.

"But your mother still hopes that you can have a close friend by your side. Fucha is a good girl, and you like her, so your mother is happy."

Wenshan smiled and said, "But there are ways for couples to get along. You've always been a quiet person since you were little. You can't just stay silent. Why don't you have an honest chat?"

If you can talk things out properly, it's troublesome if you don't have a mouth.

It's just asking for trouble.

Yinzhen nodded: "I have learned a lot, Mother. I have troubled you."

“But the situation is indeed complicated right now, and I can’t spare the time to think about these things.” Yinzhen sighed and said, “Father is about to leave the capital, and I’m afraid we’ll have a tough battle to fight after he leaves.”

In the hearts of Yinzhen and his companions, romantic love could exist, but it was merely an embellishment. At this crucial moment, it had long been forgotten.

Wen Shan naturally understood that this was a crucial time. Just look at how busy Yin Zhen and Yin Si had been lately, and you'd know that they were both people who knew their limits. Wen Shan didn't say anything more, just told Yin Zhen to eat well and rest before leaving.

Children and grandchildren have their own destinies, and she's too lazy to interfere.

Yinzhi was just summoned away because Tong Guowei had come to visit him for the second time, which was quite rare.

After Kangxi returned to the palace, Tong Guowei became much bolder when he came to Changchun Garden to look for Yinzhi.

As soon as Yinzhi saw the old man's expression, he knew that the old man was up to no good and was planning to scheme against someone again.

When Tong Guowei denounced the Crown Prince last time, he wanted to implicate the First Prince and the Governor of Shaanxi, but Yinzhi stopped him.

Firstly, it would be too obvious and might arouse Kangxi's suspicion. Secondly, the First Prince was still somewhat useful on the battlefield, and they shouldn't lose sight of the bigger picture for the sake of a small gain.

Tong Guowei's personality was such that he either didn't do anything at all or he did it to the extreme, so he had some reservations about Yinzhi's decision. However, since Yinzhi insisted, he had no choice but to let the eldest prince go.

He was still lamenting in his heart that he had missed an opportunity to drag all the princes who could participate in the struggle for the throne into the mess.

“Eighth Prince, the Crown Prince and Suo’etu have made some unusual moves,” Tong Guowei said.

Yinzhi: "Hmm? Tell me about it."

Tong Guowei said in a low voice, "A few days ago, Suo'etu secretly went to Yuqing Palace and had a private talk with the Crown Prince for more than an hour."

"It was the day Wang gave birth."

Yinzhi naturally knew about this. Although the child couldn't be officially recognized, he was still the Crown Prince's flesh and blood, so it wasn't incomprehensible that Suo'etu entered the palace at this time.

Moreover, this child had already been placed in the imperial clan by Emperor Kangxi, posing no threat whatsoever.

"Eighth Prince, you may not know this, but these past few days, the Nine Gates Commander Tuoheqi has been secretly preparing troops. He has even invited Gong Ju from the Fengtai Camp to his residence several times."

Tong Guowei was also a seasoned politician. Tuoheqi was the Crown Prince's man, and at this time, he was consolidating his troops while maintaining close ties with the people in the Fengtai camp. It was easy to see what the Crown Prince and Suo'etu were up to.

"Your Highness is like a moth drawn to a flame, courting your own destruction," Yinzhi said with a slight smile. "What kind of threat can such a small force pose?"

While others might not know that Yinzhi knew that Kangxi had left 30,000 troops stationed near the capital, it could only be said that the Crown Prince and Suo'etu's secret uprising, which they thought was a desperate gamble, was actually known to many.

“Of course it won’t work.” Tong Guowei stroked his beard and said, “The Crown Prince will definitely be deposed this time, and if the Fourth Prince’s regency is ineffective and causes turmoil in the capital, he will not escape accountability.”

Yinzhi paused, thinking to himself that Tong Guowei's habit of always trying to gain the upper hand was still the same as always.