Chapter 144: I will definitely live up to your expectations. Concubine De’s eyes are on Qi Buchen’s belly…

Defei's eyes paused for a moment on Qi Buchen's belly, then passed by as if nothing had happened.

Qi Buchen didn't notice that she saw the place where Jiu Gege used to sit out of the corner of her eye, and felt a little sad.

In the thirty-ninth year of the reign of Emperor Kangxi, the Ninth Princess was named Princess Heshuo Wenxian. I don't know what Kangxi was thinking. It was clear that Concubine Mingde and Empress Xiaoyi had an entanglement, and everyone in the palace knew about it, but he chose to assign Princess Wenxian to Shun Anyan of the Tong family.

However, after Wen Xian got married, she lived a good life because Concubine De often summoned her to the palace.

It's a pity that he was only twenty years old, but he caught a heat stroke while accompanying the emperor on a trip to Rehe last year and died of the illness.

Defei was in great pain, but she couldn't blame anyone else. She couldn't even vent her anger on others. She was depressed and unhappy until Yinzhen's concubine became pregnant.

The conventions in Yonghe Palace were ignored, and it was not until he went to see the Empress Dowager that someone finally asked about the abnormality in Qi Buchen's stomach.

"In reply to the Empress Dowager, the imperial physician said that I might be pregnant with twins." Qi Buchen said frankly.

The Queen Mother beamed with joy. "Twins? Twins are great! The royal family has never had twins before. The Fourth Lady is truly blessed!" She then instructed those around her, "Remember to remind me later to have the Fourth Lady get more rest."

Kangxi hosted a banquet for his ministers in the Palace of Heavenly Purity, and the Empress Dowager led the concubines in a banquet for the ladies of the court in the Palace of Kunning.

Although Kangxi was not present among the women, the process of celebrating the birthday remained the same, with the Empress Dowager accepting the gifts on their behalf. However, the men in each household presented the birthday gifts first, followed by auspicious words of congratulation.

While Qi Buchen was reading the prepared birthday speech in the back, Yinzhen and his brothers stood in a row in an open space in front, performed the ceremony of three kneelings and nine kowtows, and then stood up to wish each of them a happy birthday and present gifts one by one.

After Yinzhi and Yinzhen finished speaking, Yinzhen stepped forward and emerged from the crowd. "Your Highness, I respectfully wish Your Highness a long life, a bright future, and a long life. Your gift to Your Highness is..." He paused, then continued, emphasizing each word, "A safer method of smallpox vaccination—cowpox vaccination!"

After he finished speaking, the already quiet banquet became even quieter. The brothers standing behind him all stared at him, and the prince sitting at the top clenched the cup in his hand.

Wow!

It was the sound of a teacup falling to the ground.

A figure frantically knelt down and pleaded guilty: "I have been disrespectful in front of the emperor. Please forgive me, Your Majesty!"

This sudden change woke up everyone in the Qianqing Palace.

Kangxi had no time to pay attention to him, so he said impatiently: "Forgive me, you are innocent. Please stand up."

He leaned forward slightly, his eyes fixed on Yinzhen: "Do you know what you are talking about? This kind of thing is not something you can joke about."

"I dare not." Yinzhen bowed even lower. "The Imperial Physician Fu from the Imperial Hospital was also involved in this matter. Your Majesty, please summon him for questioning."

Kangxi narrowed his eyes slightly and said, "Show it to Imperial Physician Fu."

Imperial Physician Fu paced nervously at the door of the duty room, his hands shaking uncontrollably. The Fourth Prince had already informed him about the cowpox matter, and if nothing unexpected happened, he would definitely be summoned for questioning. Since he entered the Imperial Hospital through examinations, due to his lack of experience and the fact that he was not liked by his superiors, he was usually asked by princes and ministers to see patients, and rarely entered the harem, let alone met Emperor Kangxi.

How can I not be nervous when I am about to see the Holy Face?

The colleagues on duty today looked at him with strange eyes, and when they saw him being summoned by the emperor, they were shocked and confused.

Imperial Physician Fu walked all the way to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, his voice trembling as he greeted the Emperor: "Your Majesty, may Your Majesty live long and healthy."

Kangxi had already reviewed the cowpox information presented by Yinzhen and had asked him about his research into the method: "Let me ask you, were you the one who spearheaded the development of the cowpox method?"

"Your Majesty, I dare not say that I took the lead, but I just participated a lot." Doctor Fu's emotional intelligence was unprecedentedly high at this time, and he replied cautiously.

Kangxi was too lazy to argue with him about these details and only asked: "Tell me, is the cowpox method really safer than human smallpox?"

Imperial Physician Fu calmed himself down and said with certainty, "According to our test results, this is indeed the case."

In fact, all the data comparisons are in the information. Kangxi had already made a judgment in his mind. Asking again at this time is just a confirmation.

"Excellent!" Kangxi's face was filled with joy. "You have made a great contribution. From this day forward, you will be promoted to Chief Judge of the Smallpox Department of the Imperial Hospital, with full responsibility for cowpox."

Fu Cang was overjoyed. Besides the Director of the Imperial Hospital, the next highest positions were those in charge of various departments. This was a step up for him. "I thank the Lord for your grace."

Kangxi gestured for him to leave, then turned to the other protagonist: "Yinzhen."

Yinzhen took two steps forward and said, "Your son is here."

Kangxi narrowed his eyes slightly and asked, "What reward do you want?"

"Your Majesty," Yinzhen said without hesitation, "I have done nothing for this method, so I dare not ask for a reward."

"Oh? Didn't you take the lead in this matter and contribute manpower and resources?" Kangxi remained silent.

Yinzhen said, "I dare not lie to Your Majesty. This was not your son's suggestion. Since having Honghui, although I understand my parents' kindness and have a loving father's heart, I haven't been able to pay attention to the details. It was your wife who was worried about the risks of Honghui's vaccination and came up with the idea of ​​finding a safer vaccination method. That's why you asked Imperial Physician Fu for help. She even offered her manpower and effort, and she's not afraid of Your Majesty laughing at her. In fact, your whole family is supported by your wife, and I'm just sitting back and reaping the benefits."

Kangxi's expression was hard to read: "So, you are very lucky to have a good wife."

Yinzhen did not deny it: "This matter is entirely thanks to the Emperor. If the Emperor had not pointed this person out to me, I would not have had this blessing. It is all bestowed by the Emperor."

Kangxi smiled faintly: "Look at you, you seem quite proud to be supported by your wife?" He slammed the table, his face darkening, "As a prince, is this all you can do?"

"Your Majesty, I acknowledge my guilt. Please calm down, Father." Yinzhen knelt down calmly.

"Hmph!" Kangxi's face was filled with displeasure. "Get out of here, you're embarrassing yourself!"

No more mention of rewards.

Yinzhen stood up leisurely and returned to his seat, not realizing at all that he was being scolded.

The interrupted birthday celebration resumed, but both the parties involved and the onlookers were obviously distracted, and those rare treasures seemed to have lost their aura and could not attract people's attention.

Yinzhen sat there in a daze, and could feel that the number of gazes on him increased countless times more than before, especially from his brothers.

Yinzhi couldn't help but chuckle. He came over with a wine glass and said sarcastically, "I didn't expect that the Fourth Prince would be so impressive when he made a splash."

"Third Prince, you are too polite." Yinzhen dimples appeared on his face, and his smile was more sincere than ever before.

But in Yinzhi's eyes, it was all ridicule. Ever since he was stripped of his title of Prince, he hated being called Beile the most. He would rather be called the Third Prince than the Third Beile.

He said with a gloomy face: "It is not manly to steal a woman, fourth brother."

Yinzhen blinked and said, "Third Prince is right."

Yinzhi's eyes were about to burst into flames: "You are living off a gigolo and doing it so openly and honestly. I have looked through history and only my fourth brother is this person. I really admire you!"

"I don't deserve the Third Prince's praise." Yinzhen said with a smile on his face.

He acted like an incorruptible person, and even stabbed him in the back. Yinzhi was so angry that he almost vomited blood. He drank the wine in the glass in one gulp and left in a huff.

Yinzhen sat down, lowered his head and sneered. With your level, you still come to mock him?

This was seen by others, and it left Yinzhen with some peace and quiet. No one came to see him until the end of the birthday banquet.

After the birthday banquet, Yinzhen was about to go and pick up his wife, but Liang Jiugong stopped him: "Fourth Prince, please wait a moment. The Emperor has summoned Fourth Prince. Please go with me."

Yinzhen's heart trembled. He didn't expect that the emperor would summon the concubine. His mind raced as he thought about Kangxi's intention.

Qi Buchen was a little surprised to see Liang Jiugong and Yinzhen coming together, and was even more surprised when he learned that Kangxi had summoned him. However, because Liang Jiugong was there, he could only use his eyes to ask Yinzhen what was going on.

Yinzhen said calmly, "My father and I told the Emperor about your research on cowpox."

Qi Buchen frowned. They had already discussed the matter of offering cowpox today, but she had always tacitly agreed that the credit for this matter should be attributed to Yinzhen to see if he could earn the title back.

But unexpectedly, Yinzhen actually gave this credit to her. What does this mean? What's the point of giving it to her? Could it be that Kangxi could even make her a princess? Isn't this a waste?

She winked at Yinzhen, but Yinzhen remained indifferent and did not respond.

Qi Buchen was a little angry with him. Not only did he act on his own, but he also pretended to be fine. So he simply ignored him and thought about how to deal with it.

"Your daughter-in-law pays her respects to the Emperor. May your Majesty be blessed with good health." Qi Buchen saluted cautiously.

"Wake up." Kangxi's voice was quite gentle. "How many months has it been?"

Are you going to chat about family matters?

Qi Buchen did not dare to underestimate him. He helped Yinzhen stand up with his hand and replied respectfully, "My Royal Highness, it has been five months."

"Five months?" Kangxi was obviously surprised.

"Yes." Qi Buchen said honestly, "Doctor Fu said it might be twins."

The hall was silent for a while before Kangxi's voice rang out: "Alright."

I don’t know what’s good.

"I already know about the cowpox incident. What reward do you want?" asked Kangxi.

Qi Buchen's mind was full of various thoughts, but he said, "This matter was originally caused by my daughter-in-law's selfishness. I don't dare to accept the reward from the emperor."

Kangxi was unconcerned: "If it is beneficial to the public, it should be rewarded."

Seeing Kangxi's insistence on rewarding her, Qi Buchen thought for a moment, then glanced at Yinzhen, who had remained silent, and made up his mind: "Then, Father, what kind of reward do you think is appropriate for your daughter-in-law?"

You could hear a pin drop in the hall. The corner of Yinzhen's mouth twitched slightly. How come he had never realized that Fu Jin had such a foolish and bold side?

"Are you bargaining with me?" Kangxi's voice was ambiguous.

Yinzhen knelt down and said, "Father, please forgive me. Ulanara never had such intention."

Qi Buchen realized it later and knelt down, saying blankly: "That's not what my daughter-in-law meant, it's just... I really don't know what reward I should ask for..."

Kangxi did not call him out, nor did he ask for punishment: "What reward do you think it is worth?"

"Um..." Qi Buchen asked tentatively, "...Prince?"

"Oh." Kangxi chuckled, "You only think about Old Four."

Qi Buchen acted shy and didn't answer.

Kangxi didn't know what he was thinking: "Have you ever thought of asking for an imperial decree for yourself?"

Qi Buchen was a little confused: "My daughter-in-law doesn't understand what the emperor means." Now that Yinzhen has become a prince, doesn't it benefit her too?

"For example, let me issue an edict that Prince Si is not allowed to take a concubine in this life." Kangxi said in a serious tone.

Qi Buchen's heart trembled, and he kowtowed and said, "My daughter-in-law dare not."

"Really?" Kangxi clearly didn't believe it.

Qi Buchen said in a bitter tone, "I dare not lie to Your Majesty. I have indeed committed one of the seven sins of divorce - jealousy. If Your Majesty wishes to punish me, I will have no complaints. But I have never thought of using external forces to restrain you. What I long for is to hold your hand, but if you want to take someone in, I will never stop you!"

Only to take back your own heart.

She had not expected to say these words, but she knew very well that she could not hide her thoughts in front of Kangxi. It would be better for her to be honest, perhaps the result would be better.

She did not go to see Yinzhen, but waited quietly for Kangxi's judgment.

Kangxi's voice was somewhat disembodied: "Yinzhen, what do you say?"

Qi Buchen's heart trembled and his fingers involuntarily dug into the floor.

"My son, having the wife is enough." Yinzhen's voice was warm and firm.

Qi Buchen tilted his head in disbelief and looked at him. Talking to her in private was one thing, but expressing his opinion in front of Kangxi like this, did he know what this meant?

Sure enough, Kangxi asked, "Even if I lose a lot because of this?"

Yinzhen tilted his head slightly and looked at Qi Buchen. "No one in this world can be perfect. I already have more than most people, so I dare not be greedy."

Qi Buchen's pupils trembled, and a layer of mist instantly covered his eyes.

Yinzhen, I will never let you down in this life.