Chapter 108 It Has Nothing to Do with You "I... happened to see you out for fun...

"I... happened to see my sixth brother out playing..." He said it was a coincidence. In fact, he had been approaching Yonghe Palace intentionally or unintentionally during that period. He didn't know what he wanted to do, but he just wanted to be closer and closer to the person who was said to be his biological mother. But every time he saw the figure from afar, he dodged in panic until he met Yinzuo who had slipped away alone again.

"Later, my sixth brother often came to see me... I would take him out to play, away from the palace maids. During that time... I was very happy." Yinzhen spoke haltingly, as if he didn't know what to say. "Afterwards, I went to the prince's residence and couldn't visit the harem often, so my sixth brother would secretly come to see me. One time, on his way back, he somehow ended up in the place where the erring palace maids were being held. He was frightened and had a high fever that lasted a day before he subsided. He developed a fear disorder and from then on, he suffered from constant illnesses, big and small, and later... he never recovered..."

When he rushed over, Concubine De was cursing him like crazy. Even after all these years, Yinzhen still remembered the fierce look in Concubine De's eyes. If Tong E'niang hadn't intervened, he suspected Concubine De would have strangled him to death on the spot to accompany his sixth brother.

Later, the matter was left unresolved. After all, except for Concubine De, no one thought that Yinzhen had anything to do with Yinzuo's death, and Yinzhen was not harmed. Kangxi understood that Concubine De had just lost her child, and thought that she was just speaking without thinking out of grief. During that period, he doted on her even more, and the following year, Concubine De gave birth to the twelfth princess.

Aside from Tong Jia's later words of comfort, no one paid attention to the psychological trauma left on the seven-year-old Yinzhen by this incident. He tossed and turned, unable to sleep at night. Every time he closed his eyes, he would be met with either the innocent, dependent smile of his sixth brother or the piercing hatred in Concubine De's eyes. From that time on, he developed a silent and cold demeanor. He dared not laugh, fearing that others would say he had killed his own brother and could still laugh. He also stopped eating meat, because Yinzuo loved meat the most.

He didn't say any of this, but Qi Buchen couldn't help but imagine what he'd been through and how miserable he felt. There had been many news reports like this in his past life. Most of those children later became depressed, rebellious, and self-harming. They all had serious psychological problems, and very few grew up well.

She couldn't imagine how Yinzhen had innocently endured such accusations back then, and how hard he had worked to grow up to be what he is today.

Qi Buchen was extremely distressed. She raised her body, hugged Yinzhen's head and buried it in her arms, caressing him tenderly: "Yinzhen, listen, Sixth Brother's affairs have nothing to do with you. Being frightened that time was an accident, and it's common for children to be sick. How many children have died in the palace? If that's the case, then who is not guilty? Even the Emperor, is he innocent in this matter? If he hadn't imprisoned the criminal palace maid there, how could Sixth Brother have been frightened even if he walked there? Right?"

"When people are in deep sorrow, they subconsciously seek an outlet. You were simply unlucky enough to become the outlet Mother chose. And Mother hasn't let it go after all these years simply because she regrets and feels guilty. If she hadn't been so stubborn, hadn't been so opposed to Sixth Brother coming to find you, and had allowed Sixth Brother to come to you openly, wouldn't Sixth Brother have been safe?"

"But people are always reluctant to admit their mistakes. Whether it's arrogance, stubbornness, or a lack of courage, they tend to magnify the mistakes of others to cover up their own mistakes so that they can live with a clear conscience."

"So, Yinzhen, you don't need to take all the blame on yourself. You did nothing wrong. If having a good relationship with your brothers is a sin, then who in this world is innocent?"

Qi Buchen held Yinzhen's face and looked him in the eye seriously. "After so many years, Sixth Brother might have been reincarnated and free. You should let go of those things and move on. Don't punish yourself for the mistakes of others. That will only make those who care about you feel heartbroken."

Yinzhen raised his head slightly and looked at Fu Jin, whose expression was sincere and concerned. A warm current flowed through his heart, and somewhere in his heart, which he himself did not even notice, began to melt.

"Hmm." His voice trembled slightly, his Adam's apple moved, and he thought about it a lot, but in the end, he only uttered one sentence, "Alinga is not guilty."

"Ah?" Qi Buchen was stunned. It took her a while to realize that Yinzhen was answering her previous words "Everyone in the world is guilty".

Seeing that he could still joke, Qi Buchen felt relieved. Not wanting to make the atmosphere too heavy, he smiled playfully, "How did Alinga offend you? Why are you so mean to him? Besides, he has more than one brother, Faka, and I haven't heard of him having any conflicts with other brothers."

"His brothers are annoying him to death." Yinzhen muttered, then hugged him again and said sullenly, "In the future, you will have to come to the palace to pay your respects..."

This is a problem. Judging from Defei's attitude today, who knows how she will deal with her in the future. Qi Buchen was worried, but he didn't want Yinzhen to be caught in the middle, so he pretended to be relaxed and said, "It's okay. At most, you can ask me to kneel down. I have knee pads and I will be lazy. It's okay."

Yinzhen did not let go of his worries after hearing this. Even if he had to kneel down, he did not want to let his wife suffer. She was already weak, and it would be terrible if she got sick from kneeling.

But today his emotions fluctuated greatly, and now that he was comforted by Fu Jin, he felt tired and fell asleep soon.

Qi Buchen looked at his sleeping face, reached out and gently smoothed his unintentionally furrowed brows, and sighed in his heart, thinking that in this world, most parents really don’t know how to be parents.

Even an emperor like Kangxi was no exception.

While the two of them were resting, everyone in the palace knew everything they needed to know about what Defei had done today.

"After all these years, she still hasn't made any progress." Concubine Yi sneered. "Sometimes I even wonder what's wrong with her brain. Does a son who's been raised by someone else mean he's not her own son? The Imperial Edict clearly states everything, yet she's so pretentious."

The nanny serving Concubine Yi smiled and said, "Master, your insight is not something everyone can have. Not everyone is as blessed as our Fifth Prince to have a good mother like you who only cares about the child."

Concubine Yi's decision to give her son to the Empress Dowager to raise was a stroke of genius that amazed everyone.

Speaking of this, Concubine Yi sighed: "There are still some shortcomings. Yinqi is too confused about the affairs in the backyard."

She was satisfied with her daughter-in-law, the Fifth Lady, and hoped that she could give birth to a legitimate son so that Yinqi's backyard would be stable. Who knew that this child was useless and couldn't even protect herself.

Mammy was silent now. This was not her place to interrupt.

Concubine Yi didn't want to hear what she said, so she asked again, "Is Yinzhen still like that lately?"

Speaking of this, Mammy's expression became a little unnatural: "Yeah."

"Alas, each and every one of them is a curse." Concubine Yi sighed, "None of them gives me peace of mind."

Recently, the master has come out of the grief of the eleventh prince's untimely death, and the nanny is no longer as silent as she was a while ago. On impulse, she asked the question that had been weighing on her heart for a long time: "Madam, you have seen through the ninth prince's thoughts for a long time, why didn't you help him?"

In fact, most people around Concubine Yi had noticed over the years that the Ninth Prince had some interest in Baya, but they hadn't realized it yet. The palace maids didn't say anything, but seeing how much Concubine Yi doted on Baya, they all assumed her mistress knew what was going on and was letting the two of them develop a relationship. Who knew that in the end, Baya would be paired with the Eighth Prince?

It's not that the nanny is snobbish, it's just that the palace maids in Concubine Yi's palace all feel that the Eighth Prince and Baya are not a good match.

"No one is allowed to say this again." Concubine Yi glanced at her majestically.

The nanny agreed hesitantly. She had acted on impulse just now and regretted it a long time ago.

Concubine Yi sighed and explained, "I never intended to bring Baya and Xiaojiu together. Not to mention their conflicting personalities, but also Baya's family background..."

Concubine Yi shook her head. "Forget it. Don't worry about him. I know my own son well. Don't look at him like this now. When I choose two good-looking ones for him during the selection next year, I guarantee he will be very happy again."

Thinking of her own Ninth Prince's love of beauty since childhood, the nanny nodded in agreement.

Concubine Hui and Concubine Rong couldn't help but make fun of Concubine De in the palace. They were both veterans in the palace and knew a lot about the disputes between Concubine De and Empress Xiaoyi Ren.

Concubine Tong, however, was not entirely clear on these matters. She had only entered the palace after her sister, Empress Xiaoyiren, had passed away, so her attention was elsewhere when she received the report from the palace servants. "Fourth Concubine, if I remember correctly, someone from home said last time that the Fourth Prince had refused the marriage proposal, citing the need to wait for your wife to give birth to a legitimate son?"

"You are not mistaken." The palace servant replied.

Concubine Tong said thoughtfully, "So Concubine De thought that the Fourth Prince's harem was empty because his wife was jealous, and so she reprimanded her. She thought that the Fourth Prince was holding a grudge and wanted to harm the Twelve Princess?"

The palace servant said uncertainly, "That's what it sounds like."

"What's the logic behind this?" Concubine Tong couldn't understand why Concubine De had such a train of thought. "Is the Fourth Lady so stupid?"

Of course, the palace maids couldn't figure it out either.

"And that sentence about harming his brother...what does it mean..." Concubine Tong muttered to herself, "Is it referring to the Sixth Prince who died young?"

"I will go and find out right away."

Concubine Tong waved her hand and let them go. After thinking for a while, she felt a headache: "Forget it, why think about these things? Anyway, I have no children, so this has nothing to do with me."

Speaking of this, Concubine Tong felt life was boring again. She was thirty years old this year and no longer thought about children. The rest of her life was visibly lifeless. Sometimes she wondered what was the point of living like this?

Maybe it is just a mascot for the Tongjia clan.

Concubine Tong's sigh dissipated silently among the layers of palace gardens, and no one noticed.

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The author has something to say: Qi Buchen: Poor little thing, come here, sister will love you.

Yinzhen: Woo, my wife, give me a hug and a kiss~