Chapter 107 Chapter 107 "If not her, then who is it!"...

"If not her, then who else could it be!" De Fei was mad. "She just holds a grudge against me, because I called her a jealous woman. That's why she's trying every possible way to get close to my Twelve. That foolish child, Twelve, thought she was a good sister-in-law and was extremely happy. Little did he know that she was a snake in disguise!"

"Mother!" Yinzhen couldn't help but shout loudly.

"What? What did I say wrong?" Defei looked at Yinzhen with hatred, "And you, this ungrateful bastard! Before, you killed your brother and disowned your mother because of that man, and now you're contradicting me and disowning your sister because of this vicious woman. I really regret that I shouldn't have given birth to you in the first place!"

Yinzhen lowered his head, clenched his fists tightly, and breathed heavily. He didn't dare to look up, afraid to see the expression of disgust and hatred on the face of the woman who gave him life.

He had seen these expressions before.

The scene before my eyes gradually overlapped with the scene in my memory.

"You evil creature!"

"Why don't you just die?!"

"Why wasn't it you who died?"

"No, it's not me." Yinzhen seemed to be in a hallucination. He took two steps back, but was suddenly grabbed.

Yinzhen looked up and saw that it was his wife. She was holding his arm and looking at him with eyes full of heartache. There were obvious marks of a slap on her face.

Qi Buchen secretly squeezed Yinzhen's arm to offer comfort, then turned and stood before him, saying calmly, "I'm deeply saddened and regretful about what happened to my twelfth sister, but I don't dare accept Mother's accusations. I won't say I love her like a sister, but I do have a sincere heart and have never harbored any thoughts of harming her."

"I understand your grief, mother, but I cannot agree with your arbitrary accusations. If it is truly your fault, please provide evidence and have the clan officials arrest the perpetrators. I will die without regrets!"

"As for what Mother just said about my grandfather harming my sixth brother, I will just treat it as the ravings of grief. After all, if my grandfather was truly responsible for my sixth brother's untimely death, I believe the Emperor would not let him off so easily. Mother, you would not have allowed my grandfather to get away with it for so many years."

"Are you right, mother?" Qi Buchen looked at Concubine De coldly, without a hint of concession in his expression.

"Good! Good!" De Fei was amused by Qi Buchen's attitude, "You are truly my good son and daughter-in-law!"

Qi Buchen ignored her sarcasm and said expressionlessly, "Mother, do you want to invite the clan officials to come now?"

"Do you think I dare not?" Qi Buchen's expression angered Concubine De, "Someone come..."

"Mother, mother." The Seventh Princess rushed forward and hugged Concubine De. "Mother, please, this matter really has nothing to do with Fourth Sister-in-law. You will only make your sister uneasy by doing this! Mother! Mammy, please persuade Mother quickly..."

The nanny beside Concubine De couldn't avoid it and spoke cautiously: "Your Majesty, no matter what, you still have to prioritize Gege's funeral. The people from the Imperial Household Department are still outside..."

This reminded the people in the room that not only the Imperial Household Department, but also the Ministry of Rites would be arriving soon.

Disputes are disputes, but if the affairs of the harem were to be brought to the attention of officials from the previous dynasty and Kangxi found out when he returned, no one would probably end up well.

Thinking of Kangxi, Concubine De finally came to her senses. She pinched her palms hard with her nails and gnashed her teeth. "Today, for the sake of Twelve, this palace, this palace will not..."

Seeing that she was still trying to accuse him and the other two at this point, Qi Buchen became even angrier and said coldly, "Many people know what happened to my sixth brother back then, and what happened to my twelfth sister now. The Imperial Hospital also has the medical records and the conclusion. If what mother said today were to get out, people would either scold me and my father for being unfilial, or murmur behind my back that mother was unkind. It's hard to say."

"Fourth sister-in-law...please don't say anymore..." The Seventh Princess was crying breathlessly, kneeling on the ground, looking pitiful.

Qi Buchen sighed inwardly and bowed solemnly: "Your son and I will go out to meet the people from the Ministry of Rites first."

After saying this, without waiting for Concubine De's reaction, she pulled Yinzhen out.

Outside the house, all the palace people stood there watching intently, feeling very obedient and wishing they could find a crack in the ground to bury themselves. Qi Buchen knew that they must have heard a little bit, and some might even have heard the whole thing.

Qi Buchen had no interest in scolding these palace servants. She didn't care whether the news spread or not. After all, she was upright and had nothing to fear. The palace was not ruled by Concubine De, and her words were not final.

Moreover, considering the relationship between Yinzhen and Defei, it would be better for this matter to be spread today. Although Yinzhen has never spoken about it, he has obviously suffered enough injustice from Defei. Many times, it is better to speak out when you have been wronged, so that everyone who should know will know that it is not that Yinzhen is unfilial, but that Defei, as his mother, does not want him to be filial at all.

Qi Buchen pulled Yinzhen out of the courtyard and asked the servants to disperse. Then she spoke softly, "Are you okay?"

Yinzhen had been keeping his head down and silent since just now, so Qi Buchen could clearly see his ugly expression. She took Yinzhen's hand and pried his fingers apart one by one with heartache, then looked up at him with eyes full of pity: "Don't mind what mother said today. She was just too sad at the moment and said something without thinking. She doesn't really blame you..."

Even if he disliked Concubine De very much, Qi Buchen could not say anything bad about her at this time, and he had to smooth things over for her in front of Yinzhen. No matter what, she was Yinzhen's biological mother, and Yinzhen cared about her attitude, otherwise he would not look so devastated now.

Before she could finish her words, Yinzhen grabbed her hand tightly, so hard that she almost cried out in pain.

"I'm fine." Yinzhen said.

This doesn't look like she's alright, but now isn't the time to elaborate. She endured the pain and softened her voice, "I'm glad you're alright."

After enduring for a while, Yinzhen seemed not to realize how much strength she had used. Qi Buchen could not bear it any longer and whispered pitifully, "Yinzhen, my hand hurts..."

"My hand hurts..." Yinzhen suddenly realized what was happening and quickly let go of her hand. "I'm sorry, I..."

"It's okay." Qi Buchen stopped him from saying anything else, "I'm fine."

Yinzhen felt guilty and looked at Qi Buchen's face, which was getting redder and swollen. "It's my fault. Does it hurt?"

"It's okay." Qi Buchen said that it didn't matter, but it actually hurt. The most important thing was that she hadn't been slapped in many years. If Defei wasn't Yinzhen's mother, if it weren't for this damn feudal society, she would definitely have slapped it back on the spot.

Yinzhen looked around and said, "Don't stand here anymore. Find a place to tidy up." It was his negligence. He was so immersed in his own emotions that he forgot about Fu Jin's injury. He also asked her to stand with him in public for such a long time. Her miserable appearance was seen by others. Fu Jin might be hiding somewhere to feel sad.

Thinking of this, he fiercely glanced at the palace servants around him. If these people had any brains, they should pretend that they had seen and heard nothing today. If they didn't...

Yinzhen personally sent Qi Buchen to the Seventh Princess's courtyard and waited outside for her to come out after she had finished packing.

The servants who stayed behind in Qi Gege's courtyard were very familiar with Qi Buchen. Seeing Qi Buchen's miserable state, they didn't dare to ask anything. They just brought out toiletries and cosmetics for Qi Buchen to use.

Qi Buchen tidied himself up and put on some powder to cover up the slap marks, but unfortunately they were so swollen that they still looked a little weird even after putting on some powder.

Qi Buchen was too lazy to do it again. She was not afraid of being embarrassed. It would be best to let everyone see the injuries on her face and let everyone know why she got them. It would be best if she could use this to sever her relationship with Concubine De.

Unfortunately, this is obviously impossible.

Qi Buchen sighed and went out to find Yinzhen, and the two returned to the door of the Seventh Princess.

Not long after, people from the Ministry of Rites arrived, and Yinzhen also came. He was in the upper study, which was far away from the front court and the harem and was under strict control. Defei was so sad that she forgot to send someone to inform him, so he only found out now.

When Yinzhen saw Yinzhen and Qi Buchen standing in the courtyard, he didn't even say hello. He rushed into the house regardless of the palace servants trying to stop him: "Mother! Mother, what's wrong with you! Sister, sister, why is it that..."

"My son!" Defei cried out in grief.

Then all he heard was the sound of the mother and son hugging each other and crying. Qi Buchen stood outside with his head down, listening to the sound and thinking of that lively girl. He felt sad and shed tears.

Even if Concubine De hates her, the girl has done nothing wrong.

A handkerchief was handed over by the side. It was Yinzhen who said in a hoarse voice: "Don't cry yourself to death."

Qi Buchen took it silently and wanted to say to him, "Just cry if you want to. Holding it in will make you sick."

Twelve years old was considered premature death, and children who died prematurely at that age were considered unfilial, so funerals were kept extremely simple. The twelfth princess hadn't even been formally ranked in age when she was placed in a coffin after a simple ceremony. That same day, her body was taken to a temple outside the city.

After the twelfth princess was sent away, Concubine De did not show up. Qi Buchen and Yinzhen were exhausted both physically and mentally, and had no intention of staying to dwell on the previous matters, so they hurried out of the palace and returned home.

After returning home, Qi Buchen did nothing but pull Yinzhen to the bed, holding him in his arms and coaxing him like a child: "You must be tired today, take a rest quickly."

Although Yinzhen was greedy for this warmth, he still struggled to get up from her arms: "I'll apply medicine on your face first."

He asked the servants to bring the medicine and personally administered it to Fu Jin. Yin Zhen then carefully held her in his arms, rubbing his chin on her hair: "I'm fine."

Qi Buchen was silent. She didn't want to ask, but Yinzhen's attitude made her feel that she should ask. She didn't look at Yinzhen, but leaned obediently in his arms and said, "Sixth brother...what's going on..."

She knew there was a Sixth Prince and that he died young, but she didn't expect that this was related to Yinzhen.

After a long silence, Yinzhen's hoarse voice finally rang out with difficulty.

"When my sixth brother was three years old, Tong's mother became pregnant, and I found out... that I wasn't her child..."

At that time, he was only five years old and could barely understand the difference between his biological mother and his adoptive mother.