Chapter 118: Conferring the title of Prince "This is a good idea!" Qi Bu...

"This is a good idea!" Qi Buchen's eyes lit up and he agreed happily.

Seeing her happy smile, Yinzhen also smiled and said, "There's a better way. Do you want to hear it?"

"What?" Qi Buchen asked, his eyes shining. "Hurry up and tell me."

Yinzhen raised the corner of his mouth and covered her belly: "Hurry up and get pregnant."

Qi Buchen: ...

Ever since the second day of the second lunar month, Yinzhen had been talking about having a child constantly, and he'd been putting it into practice. Qi Buchen wasn't opposed to it. She'd originally planned to get pregnant when she was seventeen or eighteen. She'd been taking good care of herself over the past two years, and her growth hadn't slowed significantly. Everything indicated that her body was maturing and ready for pregnancy.

"It's not like I can just say I'll get pregnant," Qi Buchen said dejectedly. "It's not like I can blow up a balloon and it will come up just by saying it."

Yinzhen was puzzled: "What is blowing up a balloon?"

Qi Buchen then remembered that there were no balloons at the moment and had let the cat out of the bag. He quickly made amends: "That's it."

She blocked Yinzhen's mouth and blew hard into it, then released him. She touched his belly and said, "Is it erect? Does it look like an inflated ball?"

Yinzhen laughed: "You have some weird ideas all day long."

"Hehe." Qi Buchen smiled foolishly.

Yinzhen looked at her and suddenly said, "Let me try blowing up balloons too."

“Wait… um…” Qi Buchen widened his eyes.

After one night.

Qi Buchen: I declare that I hate blowing up balloons!

It was not easy for Bao to go back. First, the rumors outside were like a murderous knife to a weak woman like her. It was lucky that she did not hang herself. It would be better to let her die than to let her go out every day. Second, the elders of the Bao family wanted to divorce Bao. They did not want such a daughter-in-law who brought disgrace to the family.

The Bao family is easy to deal with. Once the sign of the Fourth Prince's Mansion is put up, they will have to agree even if they don't want to.

As for Bao, after trying every possible way to persuade her, Qi Buchen could only threaten her family members with her own will, threatening her with death if she did not cooperate.

Bao finally agreed with tears in her eyes.

Perhaps in Bao's eyes, Qi Buchen, who was forcing her now, was probably the same as Prince Wen. But Qi Buchen didn't care about that. Although she threatened Bao, she didn't really want the lives of Bao's family. Forcing Bao to face the situation was not to harm her, but on the contrary, it would benefit her, so Qi Buchen had a clear conscience.

As the Bao family opened the door to explain to the outside world, and Bao went back and forth between her home and the clothing shop every day, most people believed that Bao had been invited by the Fourth Lady, and the dirty water on Yinzhen was finally cleared up a little.

Of course, there will always be conspiracy theorists and people who think they have grasped the truth. Qi Buchen is too lazy to care about these people. After all, you can never wake up someone who thinks he is awake.

The rumor was resolved, but the fraud case had not made any progress. Although Longkodo was suspected, it was useless without any evidence.

Seeing that Kangxi was getting closer and closer to the capital, the prince's party had to hastily close the case and put the blame on a few minor officials who had failed to keep the test papers properly.

Although Yinzhen could not accept such a result, it was the decision of the prince's party and he did not want to be involved, so he did not comment on the matter.

But he was not idle either. The prince suffered such a big loss, and the next step would definitely be to deal with Mingzhu's party. Longkodo was a good candidate. It happened that he had collected some evidence of Longkodo's crimes, and he could give it to the prince in exchange for a favor.

Kill two birds with one stone.

Kangxi returned, and as soon as he came back he faced two groups of people who were eyeing him covetously.

The Mingzhu Party took the initiative and impeached the crown prince for condoning corruption and fraud by his subordinates, having bad morals, and being unworthy of being the crown prince. They also did not leave out Yinzhen, impeaching him for beating the prince for no reason, being pampered and cruel, committing adultery with a widow, and being shameless.

Yes, the Mingzhu Party submitted another memorial, impeaching the previous rumors about Bao.

The princelings, of course, didn't hold back. They immediately accused Longkodo of forcing his father-in-law's concubine into his own, violating human ethics; favoring his concubine over his wife, allowing his concubine to abuse and harm his wife; and soliciting power and bribery, abusing his power, and humiliating women of high rank. The evidence was irrefutable, and they were determined to expose Longkodo's true guilt. Of course, the rest of the Mingzhu Clan wasn't spared either, but compared to Longkodo, they were nothing more than a sideshow.

However, Kangxi kept all the impeachment memorials and did not send them out, so no one knew what he was thinking.

Until this day, Grand Secretary Yisan'a was ordered to read out the decree of conferring the title in the court.

"The Emperor Tianchengyun issues the following edict: ... the eldest son Yinzhen is brave and valiant... he is hereby granted the title of Prince Zhi, ... the third son Yinzhi is erudite and learned... he is hereby granted the title of Prince Cheng, and the remaining fourth and fifth sons... are all made Beile..."

It was clearly an imperial decree to confer a higher title, but Yinzhen felt a chill run down his spine. He seemed to see the confusion and mockery in the eyes of his brothers on either side, the confusion and laughter of the ministers behind him, and the deep, sea-like gaze of his father...

Baylor, Baylor.

He and his third brother were only one year apart in age, and they started their service in the same year. In the end, he was conferred the title of Beile just like the fifth and seventh brothers who started their service three or four years later. No, not only that, the eighth brother had not even started his service yet, but today he was conferred the title of Beile just like them.

In fact, Yinzhen could understand if he thought about it. The title of Beile was given to Prince An's Mansion for his own use, and it was not something Kangxi deliberately used to humiliate him. But at this moment, he did not want to think it through. He even wanted to question his father, what he had done wrong to make his father humiliate him so openly?

After the court was dismissed, Yinzhen was in a daze and dealt with his brothers and ministers who congratulated him on the surface but were actually laughing at him. Then he left the palace in a daze, returned to his mansion, and locked himself in the study in the front yard.

Qi Buchen was found by Su Peisheng while he was playing with a dog. When he heard that Yinzhen had been conferred the title of Beile, he was very happy: "Great news! I will have people prepare and celebrate."

"Don't..." Su Peisheng made a bitter face, not knowing what to say.

Qi Buchen frowned: "What's wrong? What's wrong?"

Su Peisheng sighed: "The eldest prince was named Prince of Zhi, the third prince was named Prince of Cheng, and the fifth, seventh, and eighth princes were also named Beile this time."

If she had just come here not long ago, Qi Buchen might not understand what this meant, but at this moment she reacted instantly, and at the same time, she felt a deep worry for Yinzhen.

She knew Yinzhen well. He had a strong desire to win, but he was also very confident in his abilities. Because of his childhood experiences, he actually longed for affirmation from others, especially from his parents, Concubine Kangxi.

Unfortunately, Defei hurt him again and again, and Yinzhen probably no longer had any hope. That's why he worked so hard, trying to do everything Kangxi asked him to do personally and perfectly.

But today's imperial edict poured a bucket of cold water on him. Not only did Kangxi not affirm him, but he seemed to be dissatisfied with him.

It would be strange if Yinzhen didn't become autistic.

The sun was shining brightly outside, but when Qi Buchen opened the door of the study, he felt it was dark and cold inside.

"Get out." Yinzhen's voice was flat, like a lifeless robot.

"It's me." Qi Buchen said softly, walked in, turned around and closed the door.

Looking back at Yinzhen, he sat in the armchair, his back no longer as straight as usual, but hunched over, his face shrouded in shadow, making it difficult to discern his expression. But the darkness to his side, thicker than elsewhere, hinted at his current mood.

Qi Buchen's heart seemed to be grabbed. He walked quickly to his side, squatted down, and held his hands with both hands: "Are you okay?"

Yinzhen said nothing and did not move, as if he was just an exquisite puppet.

Qi Buchen felt that he was asking a nonsense question. How could it be okay? How could it be okay?

She spat at herself, squeezed Yinzhen's hand, then let go, stood up and walked behind the armchair, leaned over, hugged Yinzhen from behind, put her mouth close to his ear, and whispered, "Yinzhen, listen to me, I probably know what you're thinking, but things are not what you think. You have to think about what happened before today. The prince was impeached, you were impeached, and Longkodo was also impeached, right? You and I both know that this is a party dispute, and the fraud case cannot be blamed on you. Then do you think that the emperor would not know? Doesn't he know that the prince is being targeted? Doesn't he know the existence of the Prince Party and the Pearl Party? Doesn't he know that the two parties are attacking each other?"

Yinzhen moved.

Qi Buchen continued, "It's impossible that the Emperor didn't know about this. He was so wise and brave. He destroyed Oboi, pacified the Three Feudatories, and personally led the expedition against Galdan. How could he not understand this little factional dispute now? If he knew, wouldn't he not understand that you were implicated? Impossible. So what you need to think about now is, is there any other meaning behind the Emperor's only conferring the title of Beile on you this time? For example, is the Emperor... is he dissatisfied with your close relationship with the Crown Prince... is he trying to weaken the Crown Prince..."

The mouth was covered.

Yinzhen's neck was still wrapped around her, his body half turned around, his lips brushing her face and sliding to her ear, whispering: "Don't say anymore... The rest of the words, don't say anymore..."

"Come here." He said hoarsely, released Qi Buchen's mouth, pulled her arm and led her to the front, let her sit on his lap, and then hugged her tightly, "Let me hold you for a while."

Qi Buchen knew very well that too much is as bad as too little. His previous words had already disturbed Yinzhen's mind and made him come out of his endless self-doubt. That was enough.

As for whether Kangxi really meant what she said, who knows?

The two of them hugged each other in silence for a long time, until Yinzhen's stomach made a sound. Qi Buchen moved and whispered, "Eat something."

"Yeah." Yinzhen slowly let go of her, still in a low mood.

Qi Buchen did not force it. He still needed to recover slowly. He went out first and ordered the servants to bring the food over. Then he came back to discuss with Yinzhen: "No matter what, your conferment of the title is a great joyous event. The palace should still celebrate."

Although Yinzhen was unhappy, he could not show his unhappiness, otherwise people would think that he was dissatisfied with Kangxi.

"There are several other princes who should also send gifts."

Yinzhen didn't refuse: "Well, you arrange it."

Qi Buchen went out to make arrangements again, giving gifts to each family and reward money to the servants.