Chapter 103: Jealous? Yinzhen failed to return to the Ministry of Works as he wished, and...

Yinzhen failed to return to the Ministry of Works as he wished, but was thrown into the Imperial Household Department. The first thing he had to do was to prepare for Kangxi's northern tour.

He didn't need to follow this time, so the wedding of the seventh prince Yinyou was also handed over to him.

Yinzhen went to the Imperial Household Department to check in for a few days, and when he came back, his brow was furrowed. Qi Buchen asked him why, and he said, "I knew the Imperial Household Department was complicated, but these few days have shown it clearly."

Qi Buchen asked him what he planned to do, and Yinzhen just said, "It's difficult."

Next, Yinzhen resumed his workaholic schedule, and Qi Buchen finally had time to do his own thing. The first thing he did was to deal with the problems of Baozhu and others.

She called a few people over and asked directly, "You're all of age now, what are your plans? If you have someone you like, don't be afraid to tell me directly. I can always make the decision for you. And don't worry about losing your job after marriage. If you want, you can still stay by my side and serve me."

Qi Buchen didn't say anything about releasing you from your bonds. After being here for so long, she already understood that in the eyes of these servants, staying in the Fourth Prince's mansion is equivalent to a stable job. If you have a stable job but don't hold on to it, it would be foolish to leave the mansion and become a free citizen.

She was used to being served by these people and had no intention of training a group of younger newcomers herself.

Baozhu and the others looked at each other for a while, but it was Fuyun who stood up first: "Fujin, I want to go to the clothing store."

Qi Buchen was not surprised. Fuyun was good at embroidery and had always been by her side, taking care of matters such as clothing. After opening the clothing store, she asked Fuyun to experiment with new clothing ideas.

"That's no problem." Qi Buchen confirmed, "Your marriage?"

"Please let Madam make the decision." Fuyun said decisively.

Qi Buchen nodded and looked at the others: "What about you?"

Baozhu and the others finally spoke hesitantly. Baozhu, like Fuyun, asked her to make the decision. Songying said that her family had already found a man for her. But Baohuan, with a red face, hummed and said, "This servant, this servant, will see the master, the master's guard Zhou..."

When she paused after the word "Master", Qi Buchen was startled, but was relieved when he heard her say "guards". Unfortunately, he didn't hear the last two words clearly. However, Yinzhen didn't have many guards, and there was only one with the surname Zhou.

Qi Buchen pondered for a moment and said, "Guard Zhou is just my subordinate. I can't promise you this directly. I have to ask him for his opinion."

"Thank you, Madam." Baohuan looked shy but didn't seem to be too worried.

Before Qi Buchen found a chance to talk to Yinzhen about this, Yinzhen came to her first and asked, "What are the plans of the several maids around you?"

Qi Buchen raised his eyebrows and said with a half-smile, "Why, who do you like?"

Yinzhen smiled and kissed the man on the face: "Chenchen, are you jealous?"

"Hmph!" Qi Buchen turned his head away and didn't look at him.

Yinzhen pulled her back and kissed her again: "Really? You're jealous of everything. It's my personal guard Zhou who said he's taken a fancy to Baohuan, who's beside you, and wants to marry her."

"What a coincidence." Qi Buchen said in surprise, "I just asked a few days ago, and Baohuan also mentioned the name of Guard Zhou." She seemed to be thinking about something, "These two people..." It seems that they have fallen in love with each other for a long time.

Yinzhen was a little displeased: "The guards have been active in the outer courtyard. How did the two of them get together?"

Qi Buchen said helplessly: "Don't I often go to the front yard? I also go to the training ground for activities every day. It must be during this period that the two of them fell in love."

Yinzhen was still unhappy: "The entry and exit of people inside and outside should be more strictly controlled. Don't be so easy to talk to."

"I see." Qi Buchen took his hand and squeezed it playfully, "Then what about them? Do you agree?"

"I agree." Yinzhen held her hand, "But you can use this precious ring if you want, but you can't keep it in the inner courtyard anymore."

This request could still be agreed to. Qi Buchen thought for a moment and said, "It just so happens that I have a small farm outside the city and want to do some experiments. Let her take care of it."

"Hmm." Yinzhen had no objection to the specifics of what to do, but was more concerned with the first half of her sentence. "Bought the farm? Do you have the money? What experiments do you want to do?"

"I bought it when you were away in the first half of the year. I used the money I earned from the cosmetics shop, so I didn't spend any of my capital." Qi Buchen leaned on his shoulder and said lazily, "I read some Western books about plants and became interested in some of the cultivation methods described there. I want to try it."

Yinzhen nodded: "It would be better to find something to do. I'm busy recently and don't have time to accompany you."

Qi Buchen rolled his eyes secretly when he heard this. Your "accompany" is really unbearable. It must be said that part of the reason why she did this was so that she could go out of the city and occasionally hide from Yinzhen. The enthusiasm of an eighteen-year-old boy is really unbearable.

After solving the problems with Baozhu and others, she devoted herself to the farm. What she said before was not to please Yinzhen. She had been planning this for several years. She finally put it into practice after making some money recently.

While Baozhu and others were getting married one after another, good news kept coming from outside the mansion.

First, the eldest wife finally gave birth to Yinzhen's first son after four daughters. Everyone in and outside the palace was delighted, and Huifei's rewards flowed into the eldest prince's mansion. However, when Qi Buchen went to see the eldest wife during her third day of birth, he found that she did not look well. It seemed that this pregnancy was a big loss.

Just a few days later, news came from Yuqing Palace that the prince's concubine had given birth to another son for the prince. Originally, this was neither the eldest son nor the legitimate son, so Qi Buchen had no need to go. However, the prince's concubine had some idea and held a third-day bath. Qi Buchen had no choice but to attend. During the meal, he kept stealing glances at the prince's concubine, trying to figure out what was going on in her mind.

I haven't figured it out.

After the prince's wedding, it was Yinyou's turn to get married, and it was his own husband who took care of it. Qi Buchen was very considerate and ran around, which made the bride feel close to her.

With the completion of Yinyou's wedding, Kangxi, who returned to Beijing, also assigned tasks to his two sons who had just left the study so that they would not be idle at home.

In November, the third wife gave birth to Yinzhi's eldest son. Yinzhi was so happy that he went crazy. Not only did he hold a grand ceremony for the third day of his birth that was even grander than the one held in the crown prince's family, he also found opportunities to show off in front of Yinzhen.

"Fourth brother, I'm not saying anything to you, but the fifth brother is about to become your father. It's been five years since you got married, so why haven't you heard anything?"

"Oh, I forgot, your wife just came of age a while ago."

"That shouldn't be the case. Shouldn't the other people in the backyard also have received the letter?"

"Oh, I forgot again. Fourth brother, you are so absorbed in official duties and not interested in women. It seems that you don't have anyone in your backyard, right?"

"That won't do, Fourth Brother. Not only is it your duty as a prince to have children, but you must also take action for the sake of the royal family's reputation. Otherwise, if someone misunderstands you... well, that would be very bad."

When Yinzhi said this, he looked heartbroken, as if he was worried sick about something. But even Yin'e could hear the sarcasm in his tone.

Yin'e had been much quieter since the death of Consort Wenxi. Although he was still as arrogant and domineering as before, he was more cold and distant. Even though he had once come to Yinzhen to borrow people to do something bad, he still acted as if he was not familiar with Yinzhen at all. However, judging by his previous behavior of secretly sending a box of furs to Qi Buchen, he still remembered the kindness of Yinzhen and Qi Buchen.

Yinzhen sat there with a gloomy face, and did not respond to Yinzhi's words. Although he had already made up his mind, he still couldn't put on a good face for the sarcasm of Yinzhi, a guy he always hated.

At this time, Yin'e was being dragged by Yin'e to a drinking contest. Hearing this, he asked curiously, "Third brother, how do you know what others will misunderstand about fourth brother?"

Yinzhen glanced at him after hearing this, picked up his wine glass and said slowly: "Because your third brother has experienced it, he looks at everyone as if he were looking at himself."

What experiences have you had? Misunderstood? Or...

Yinzhi's face darkened: "You..."

"Alright." Yinzhen slammed the table and scolded unhappily, "We are all fathers, what are you doing!"

Yinzhi was usually guilty and short of breath in front of Yinzhen, and did not dare to refute him at this moment. He pulled the fifth prince, who was about to become his father, and started talking to him in a sullen manner.

The Crown Prince sat upright, seemingly oblivious to the farce, and asked with a smile, "Fourth Brother, how are you feeling in the Imperial Household Department lately?"

Yinzhen bowed slightly and said politely, "I'm still getting acquainted."

"You are a cautious person." The prince took a sip of wine and said leisurely, "If you don't understand anything, you can come to me."

The princes who had already left the palace to do their work formed their own circle, and the eighty or ninety princes who were still living in the prince's residence naturally gathered together. The twelfth prince and those below were unable to leave the palace this time because they were still young.

"Why did you suddenly interrupt just now?" Yin'er hugged Yin'e, looking like a good brother, and poured the wine into his mouth without paying.

Yin'e: "I'm just curious."

"Tsk." Yin'er didn't believe what he said, but he didn't bother to care. He and Yin'e were close because they were born in the same year, but not as close as brothers.

A few months ago, his biological brother, the eleventh prince, who was born to the same mother, died young. The two of them had a really good relationship, so Yinzhen has not been able to get over it yet. In the past few months, there has been no laughter and joy in his mother's palace as before. Coupled with many other troubles, the purpose of drinking now is just to get himself drunk.

Yinsi, sitting next to him, frowned slightly at Yin'er's expression and advised, "Ninth brother, drinking alcohol is harmful to your health. Moderation is the best way."

Yinzhen continued to get drunk without saying a word.

Seeing that he couldn't persuade him, Yinsi sighed slightly and said to Yin'e, "Tenth brother, you are a straightforward person, but sometimes when the brothers are talking, it is better for us not to interrupt."

"Okay, I understand." Yin'e responded sullenly and poured himself a glass of wine.

Yinsi advised him again: "You should drink less."

Yin'e put down his wine glass obediently. Yinsi said with some relief and some sorrow: "It would be great if my ninth brother would listen to your advice as well."

Yin'e looked at Yin'er, who was drinking by himself, and pursed his lips: "He feels bad."

"Oh, eleventh brother, who wouldn't feel uncomfortable?" Yinsi sighed softly.

Yin'e looked at Yin'er again and thought to himself, I'm afraid it's not just about my eleventh brother.