Chapter 113: You guessed it? Yinzhen frowned. He was most...

Yinzhen frowned. He hated such immoral things the most.

Qi Buchen hesitated for a moment and then continued, "Actually, there's a rumor that Hesheli isn't staying indoors, but was murdered by Longkodo and Li Si'er, and is now seriously ill and bedridden. But this rumor has no basis, and I don't know if it's true. After all, Hesheli also has a son. If his mother was murdered, he shouldn't have been indifferent."

"Even so, Longkodo definitely favors Li." Qi Buchen bit his lip. "I'm afraid he wants to avenge Li."

"He dares!" Yinzhen shouted angrily, hugging Qi Buchen and complaining, "What are you afraid of? You're the Fourth Concubine! Why do you need to be afraid of a thing? Even if it's Longkodo, if he dares to attack you, he really wants to die."

"Even if he doesn't attack me openly, he might target me in private. And those servants might even be targeted." Qi Buchen wasn't reassured. She wanted to sow more seeds in Yinzhen's heart. "What I fear most is that he'll secretly target you. You don't know, but I've had people investigate. This isn't the first time Li has clashed with other wives. Every time, Longkodo would find trouble with that family, forcing the officials to have their wives come to apologize to Li."

Yinzhen really didn't know about these things, and asked in disbelief, "Really?"

"Yes." Qi Buchen nodded heavily. "The servants in Longkodo's courtyard all address Li as Madam, and even when she's out, she acts like the principal wife. This sort of thing isn't new, and many people know about it. However, the people Li had offended in the past were far less powerful than the Tong family, so the matter was suppressed. This time, besides me, there's also the wife of Minister Tong of the Ministry of Justice. I wonder if Longkodo will deal with her."

Yinzhen gently stroked her back, frowned and thought for a while before saying, "I know about this. I will keep an eye on Longkodo."

He pinched Qi Buchen's face again and said dissatisfiedly: "But you underestimate your master too much, huh? If I can't even support you when you hit a toy, then what am I doing as the Fourth Prince? In your eyes, I am so useless, huh?"

"I didn't mean that." Qi Buchen nuzzled into his arms, "It's just... after all, the Tong family is the emperor's maternal and marital families, and you were raised by Tong's mother. I don't want you to get involved with the Tong family because of me, and be caught between two sides." She paused and whispered, "Actually, I regret it now. I was too impulsive at the time. When I guessed that she was Li Si'er and thought about what she had done, I couldn't help myself and caused you trouble. I'm sorry."

Yinzhen pinched her face, lifted her up and looked at him, his eyes blazing with anger. "Chenchen, am I so confused in your eyes, huh? You can't even tell who's related and who's not? Let's not even talk about whether one Li and one Longkodo can represent the entire Tongjia clan. Even if I take a step back and say I don't get along with the entire Tongjia clan, so what? What can they do to me? They are the emperor's maternal and wife's clans. Am I not the emperor's biological son?"

Qi Buchen hesitated to speak. There was a question that had been weighing on her mind for a long time. It could be said that most of her subconscious distrust of Yinzhen was due to this.

She wanted to ask.

She couldn't help it.

Qi Buchen's arm climbed up Yinzhen's neck like a vine, and he leaned close to Yinzhen's ear with a sweet breath, saying something bewitching in a very low voice: "Have you...never thought that if you can get the support of the Tongjia clan, you might be able to...reach...that position..."

Yinzhen's arms around her suddenly tightened, causing Qi Buchen pain and causing his chest to heave violently. It was obvious that this sentence had caused him great stimulation.

After an unknown amount of time, Yinzhen's chest finally calmed down. He leaned close to Qi Buchen's ear, gnashed his teeth, and said in an inaudible voice: "Where on earth do you get such courage!"

Since Qi Buchen had said it, he just said it to the end: "Just say that you really haven't thought about it..."

Before she could finish, Yinzhen categorically replied, "No!" He bit Qi Buchen's ear angrily and rubbed it against him, "I've never thought about it! The Crown Prince is intelligent and virtuous, proficient in both civil and military affairs, and has made remarkable political achievements. He is the orthodox one. Not to mention his status, but in terms of ability, none of us brothers can compare to the Crown Prince! How could I have such a rebellious idea! All I've ever wanted is to be a virtuous king!"

He sternly rebuked, "Don't even mention this kind of words again. Don't even think about this! Do you understand? You don't understand. If even the slightest bit of this kind of words were to leak out, even if I were the Emperor's prince, I would be doomed! Let alone protect you!"

Qi Buchen could tell that he really had no idea what to do now. It was also true that the prince's position was now as solid as a rock. Every time Kangxi went on tour, the prince would act as regent, and the court would treat him as a half-king. There was no trace of the Nine Dragons fighting for the throne now.

"I was wrong." Qi Buchen apologized softly and whispered, "I just... occasionally heard rumors about Big Brother... and I thought of you..."

"Big brother?" Yinzhen's brows knitted together. "Who spread the rumor? Where did it come from? Big brother certainly has some issues with the Crown Prince, but he would never have such outrageous thoughts. Besides, Big brother is more brave than strategic, and he's not qualified to be the Crown Prince at all."

Qi Buchen lay on his shoulder, and the two of them discussed shocking things in such an intimate manner: "It was when I went to Prince Kang's mansion to pay my respects. To avoid my third sister-in-law, I hid in an unnoticed corner and heard two unfamiliar wives whispering about it. They said that the marriage partners that Master Mingzhu had found for his sons and daughters were all powerful and influential. They said that they were... they were trying to win over my eldest brother... "

Yinzhen's breath caught in his throat, and he couldn't help but start thinking about who Nalan Mingzhu's in-laws were.

The eldest son, Nalan Xingde, died young; his wife's father was Lu, the Governor-General of Guangdong and Guangxi; the second son's wife was Geng, whose mother was Princess Heshuo Roujia, the daughter of Prince An Yuele; the third son had not yet married, but was betrothed to Princess Shushen, the daughter of Prince Kang; the eldest son-in-law, Li Tianbao, a first-class earl, was the nephew of the famous general Li Guohan; the second son-in-law, Prince Wen Yanshou, was the grandson of Prince Su Haoge...

The more he thought about it, the heavier Yinzhen's breathing became. Something he had never thought of might cause ripples in his heart, stirring up waves of chills. He hugged Fu Jin tighter to absorb the warmth.

"It's none of our business, understand?" Yinzhen said softly, "You haven't heard anything, and you know nothing."

Qi Buchen nodded obediently: "Okay."

Yinzhen did not let her go that night. Even in his sleep, he held her tightly.

In the days that followed, Yinzhen looked troubled. Qi Buchen knew that he had taken her words from that night to heart. Honestly, she felt a little regretful. Although she had impulsively asked Yinzhen if he had any intention of vying for the throne, so she should be relieved, she began to worry that Yinzhen had no intention of vying for the throne, and would her question reveal that he had some intention.

Although Yinzhen was a historical victor, what if she got angry at his question? Besides, she didn't want Yinzhen to be a victor like in history. If Yinzhen was just a prince, he might have lived with her alone. If he became emperor, the probability of him living with her alone would be zero. Not to mention others, even the ministers who were the next relatives of the emperor would not allow him to have only one concubine in his harem.

But it was difficult to say these words anymore. Qi Buchen could only pray secretly that Yinzhen was not affected by her question and would not really have any thoughts about it.

When Yinzhen came back that day, his face looked gloomier than the previous few days. Qi Buchen couldn't help but be curious: "What happened?"

"Minister Tong has been reported." Yinzhen said absentmindedly.

Qi Buchen instantly realized who this was: "Did Longkodo do it?"

Yinzhen shook his head: "Not sure yet."

Qi Buchen's face looked unhappy. "I don't think it could be anyone else. Fuyun said this morning that someone has been sneaking around the clothing store for the past few days. I guess it's because there are so many people guarding the store and the government officials have been patrolling closely these days that nothing has happened."

Hearing that Fu Jin's shop was targeted, Yin Zhen's face darkened: "I'll let Jin Bao go."

Jin Bao apprehended a few thugs. "They were of high status, some of them were members of the royal family. I couldn't take action, so I threatened them a few times and then let them go. They said someone paid them to cause trouble, but I don't know who it was. But when they heard that it was their master's property, they hesitated and didn't dare to take action."

There are at least 20,000 to 30,000 members of the Qing royal family. These people cannot take the imperial examinations or do business, and are trapped in the capital and cannot leave. Although they had titles in the early days, they had many children. If they had no talents, their titles would be downgraded from generation to generation and passed down, leaving them with only empty titles. Many members of the lower-level royal family may not live as well as some wealthy ordinary people nowadays. Therefore, some of them rely on their status as royal family members to become thugs who bully the streets. Anyway, places like the Dali Temple dare not control them.

Yinzhen's face looked even worse than yesterday: "The person who impeached Minister Tong is friends with Nalan Kuixu. Nalan Kuixu often drinks with Longkodo and Alinga."

This undoubtedly shows that Longkodo was behind the affairs of Minister Tong and the shop.

Qi Buchen breathed a sigh of relief. Longkodo only dared to come secretly, which meant he still had reservations. However, she was still worried about Yinzhen: "You should be more careful these days. I'm afraid he will secretly hinder your mission. If that happens, it will give the Emperor the impression that you are not doing your job well, which would be bad."

"Don't worry." To be honest, Yinzhen didn't quite believe that Longkodo would dare to attack him.

However, he has always been cautious in doing things, and this time he was just a little more attentive. For this, the prince praised him and even secretly revealed the news to him.

"The Emperor intends to confer titles upon you after the New Year. You must perform well."

This news made Yinzhen's heart burn with joy. He put aside all the unhappiness brought by Longkodo. He was finally going to get rid of the embarrassing identity of the bald prince.

After returning home in the evening, he couldn't help but hug Qi Buchen and kiss him non-stop. Qi Buchen panted and leaned on his chest: "Why are you so happy all of a sudden?"

Yinzhen looked mysterious: "Guess."