Chapter 218 Extra: Yangxin Palace. Yinzhen is dealing with Kang...

Hall of Mental Cultivation.

Yinzhen is handling many matters concerning Kangxi's funeral.

Su Peisheng came in: "Your Majesty, the Concubine has arrived."

Upon hearing this, Yinzhen put down his pen, rubbed his wrist, and stood up: "Please come in."

Su Peisheng lifted the curtain himself.

Qi Buchen walked in a few steps and bowed to the person walking towards her: "Your humble servant pays respects..."

Before he could even bend his knees, he was lifted up by his arms.

"It's only been a few days since we last met, and you're already feeling distant towards me." Yinzhen paused, glancing at the palace attendants standing inside, and said with a smile, "Do you blame me for not bringing you into the palace sooner?"

After thirty years of companionship, Qi Buchen was familiar with his every breath. She raised her head and smiled, "Your Majesty is busy, how dare I blame you?"

Yinzhen felt relieved and took her hand as they walked towards the Luohan couch in the warm room. "Why are your hands so cold? Su Peisheng, bring me a hand warmer."

After Su Peisheng presented the hand warmer, he signaled the servants in the hall to leave, leaving only one or two trusted men brought from Prince Yong's mansion in the outer room.

A hand warmer was stuffed into her hand, and then Qi Buchen was held in her arms. Yinzhen's head was resting on her shoulder, and his entire weight was on her.

Neither of them spoke. Qi Buchen warmed his hands slightly, then let go of the hand warmer. He placed one hand on his neck, kneading it gently; with the other hand, he touched his head and soothed it slowly.

After hugging each other for a while, Yinzhen finally stood up, looked at her and asked, "How is things at home?"

"Everything is fine." Qi Buchen held his face and looked at the dark circles under his eyes with heartache. "How did you get so tired? Did you get enough rest?"

Yinzhen breathed a sigh of relief and covered her hand: "It's been too busy these days."

Even she only found time to send someone to pick him up today.

After hearing this, Qi Buchen didn't know what to say to him. In this situation, no one could do anything.

"Have you eaten yet?"

Yinzhen hesitated, shook his head, and said with a somewhat aggrieved tone: "The food in the palace is not to my taste."

Qi Buchen glared at him and gently pinched his cheek: "Stop pretending to be pitiful." Pushing him away, he said, "I'll go get something to eat. You lie down for a while."

After all, they are still in filial piety, and the couple cannot be too close.

Yinzhen let her go and called someone to take her to the kitchen.

When Qi Buchen came back, Yinzhen was already fast asleep. Although he was reluctant, he remembered that Su Peisheng said he had not eaten anything today, so he woke him up.

Yinzhen sat up sleepily, feeling his head was heavy and his neck was unable to lift up.

Qi Buchen simply put a cushion behind him so that he could lean against it, then sat beside him and fed him with his own hands.

Yinzhen half closed his eyes and swallowed everything Qi Buchen fed him, mouthful by mouthful.

Guessing it was about time, Qi Buchen wiped his mouth and pulled him up: "If you're sleepy, go to bed and sleep for two hours."

Yinzhen was indeed extremely tired. During this period, he could only sleep for one or two hours every day, and that was made up of fragmented time. Now that he finally had some free time, he obediently let Qi Buchen arrange it for him.

After settling Yinzhen, Qi Buchen called Su Peisheng to learn about the detailed situation in the palace.

After waking up, Yinzhen felt that his heavy body had become much lighter and asked, "How long have I slept?"

The bedkeeper replied, "The emperor slept for an hour and a half."

Yinzhen stood up wearing the slippers Qi Buchen had brought into the palace. "Where's Fu Jin?"

"Fujin is meeting with the head of the Imperial Household Department."

After putting on his clothes, Yinzhen went to find Qi Buchen, but saw a thick account book in front of her, which she was looking through with a frown.

Seeing him coming, she threw down the account book and said, "You're awake, why don't you sleep a little longer?"

"You've slept too much, so you'll be tired to walk tonight." Yinzhen walked over and glanced at the spread-out account book. Seeing the supply situation of the various palaces in the harem, he smiled and joked, "Are you so impatient to fulfill your duties as queen?"

Qi Buchen glared at him and said, "You are busy with the affairs of the former dynasty, but you can't neglect the harem either."

Kangxi had many concubines, and the harem was full. Yinzhen only had her, so it didn't matter if these concubines vacated the palace. However, Qi Buchen was afraid that Yinzhen would not be able to take care of them, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs would treat these people poorly, which would ruin Yinzhen's reputation.

Yinzhen took her hand and rubbed it: "I will bear with you for a while longer, and after the New Year I will make you the legitimate queen."

It's not that he doesn't want to confer the title now, but the emperor's funeral is still being prepared and his coronation ceremony has not been held. Conferring the title of queen at this time will only be bad for her.

Qi Buchen was speechless and muttered, "I'm not in a hurry, okay? You talk as if I can't wait."

Yinzhen laughed, "Yes, I am the one who is anxious." He pinched the tender hand in his palm twice, stood up and said, "The harem is not anxious, don't get too tired, I'm going to be busy at the front."

Qi Buchen sent him out, and the couple started to get busy, one after another.

Although they lived in the Hall of Mental Cultivation, the two did not live in the same room, but they still ate together every day. With Qi Buchen watching over him, Yinzhen's diet finally returned to normal.

The coronation ceremony was held, Kangxi's funeral was over, and Yinzhen began to confer titles on the concubines of the previous dynasty.

First, Defei was posthumously named Empress Dowager, and then Kangxi's concubines were given additional titles, with Concubine Tongjia being promoted to Imperial Noble Concubine and Concubine He being promoted to Noble Concubine He.

Then came his group of brothers. The third, fifth and seventh brothers, who were already princes, were not mentioned. The ninth brother was given the title of Beile, the tenth brother was promoted to Prince Dun, the thirteenth brother was promoted to Prince Yi, the twelfth brother was promoted to Prince Lu, and Hongxi, the son of the deposed crown prince, was promoted to Prince Li.

After receiving all these rewards, it’s time for the New Year.

Because the previous emperor had just passed away, Yinzhen ordered that this year's annual banquet be simpler, and everyone in the court obeyed.

On the first day of the first month of the first year of Yongzheng's reign, after offering sacrifices to heaven, earth and ancestors, Yinzhen issued an edict, appointing Grand Secretary Ma Qi as the chief envoy and the Minister of Rites as the deputy envoy, to enthrone his legitimate wife, Ulanara, as empress.

The enthronement ceremony was held in Kunning Palace and Taihe Hall.

On the day after his enthronement, Yinzhen went to the Taihe Hall, issued an imperial edict to the world, and accepted congratulatory letters from civil and military officials.

After the court was dismissed, the newly crowned empress paraded with full ceremonial procession and went to the Yangxin Palace to express her gratitude. After expressing her gratitude, she returned to the Kunning Palace to accept congratulatory gifts from the princesses, wives, and other ladies.

After finally finishing all this and sending the princesses and ladies out of the palace, Qi Buchen took off the heavy crown of the queen with the help of his daughter-in-law. He felt as if his neck was not his own.

Fan Zhengya smiled secretly at her mother-in-law's grinning expression, and the awe she had felt for the queen's majesty dissipated a little.

After changing into casual clothes, Qi Buchen finally felt in the mood to meet his sons.

"Your son pays homage to the Empress Dowager, may the Empress Dowager be blessed." Honghui and the others knelt down solemnly to pay homage.

Qi Buchen twitched his lips and couldn't help holding his forehead and said, "Stop being naughty. You didn't kneel enough just now, right? Hurry up and get up."

Several daughters-in-law were laughing on the side, and Honghui and the others couldn't hold back their laughter. Hongyun was still not satisfied and came over: "The Empress Dowager was really beautiful and graceful just now...well..."

Qi Buchen covered his mouth, veins on his forehead throbbing: "Don't force me to slap you in front of your wife."

"It's a happy day. Who has offended you again? Tell me and I will slap him for you." A laughing voice sounded at the door.

Honghui and the others immediately knelt on the ground: "Your Highness, your son pays homage to your father."

Qi Buchen also stood up and prepared to bow, but Yinzhen took two or three steps over and pulled her up: "No need to be so polite." Then he looked at his son, daughter-in-law and the servants on the ground and said, "Get up."

Pulling Qi Buchen to sit down, Yinzhen raised his eyebrows and said, "Hongyun, but you have made your mother angry again."

Hong Yun immediately cried out in grievance: "Your Majesty, please understand! I was clearly praising Your Majesty and flattering her! If you don't believe me, ask Big Brother!"

Honghui looked at his nose and his heart: "I was distracted and didn't pay attention."

Hongyun couldn't believe it: "Brother!"

Hongshi couldn't help laughing out loud.

Qi Buchen snorted and glared at Hongyun: "Serves you right. I told you to do something weird."

Hongyun pursed his lips and dared not say a word.

Qi Buchen looked at Yinzhen: "Why are you here at this time?" It was only the afternoon.

Yinzhen leaned back and held her hand tightly. "I didn't have anything to do before, so I came back to see you. You've been busy all day today. You must be exhausted, right?"

The tone is doting.

Although the younger generations were already accustomed to this scene, they still felt a pang of discontent.

Qi Buchen scolded him and warned him to be more restrained in front of the younger generation.

Yinzhen pursed his lips to suppress a smile, then turned to look at Honghui: "Your Royal Mother is tired, and Yongxi is sleepy too, so you should go back early."

Honghui and the others had known this would happen. When their mother and father were together, they never liked them hanging around, so they stood up quickly and said, "Your son will take his leave."

After everyone left, Yinzhen pulled Qi Buchen into the inner room, sat down next to her, and raised his hand to pinch her neck: "Your neck must be sore."

Qi Buchen pinched him and groaned, "It's so sour."

After pinching her neck for a while, Yinzhen rubbed her waist again: "Now that you're done with your work, take a good rest for two days."

Qi Buchen leaned in his arms and agreed lazily.

Just as they were enjoying the tender moment, Yinzhen suddenly smelled a strong scent of sandalwood and couldn't help but frowned: "After the fifteenth, you will live in the Yangxin Palace."

There was no empress for decades during the reign of Emperor Kangxi, so the Kunning Palace, which served as the empress's residence, was naturally uninhabited. However, such a large palace would not be left idle, so it was used for worshiping gods. To this day, this has become a routine. It can be said that it is the place where worship is most frequently held in the palace, with worship activities taking place almost every day.

This time when he crowned her queen, Yinzhen wanted to give Qi Buchen the best, so he asked her to move to the east warm room of Kunning Palace in advance, and the enthronement ceremony was also held in Kunning Palace.

Now that the enthronement ceremony was over, Kunning Palace was indeed not a good living environment. Moreover, he now lived in the Yangxin Palace, which was quite far away from Kunning Palace. How could he tolerate this when he was used to sitting and lying there together?

But don't be too hasty, let's wait until after the Lantern Festival.

Qi Buchen would certainly not refuse. If Yinzhen was not used to it, how could she be used to it? She had no habit of praying to gods or Buddhas. After living here for more than ten days, she was really tired of the sandalwood.

The couple enjoyed a moment of warmth and couldn't help talking about the past and the harem.

Yinzhen said, "We have to observe three years of mourning, so it's hard to move. But it doesn't matter. We've just begun the process of incorporating academies into the imperial court, so we might as well get this done first." He paused and said, "I want to release Honghui and the other four."

Qi Buchen: "Huh? What to do."

Yinzhen knocked on the table and said, "Take out the cement and have them build the road down there."

Qi Buchen thought for a moment and agreed, "That's fine. It'll keep them from being idle in the palace." She was worried that the three newlyweds, Xiaozhong and his wife, would be so engrossed in their affections that they couldn't control themselves. It would be good to send them away to vent their excess energy. Furthermore, with the strict restraint of mourning on their shoulders, there was no need to worry about them messing around outside.

After talking about the children, Qi Buchen asked, "What are your plans for the ladies in the harem?"

Although Yinzhen had no concubines and did not need Rong Fei and others to vacate the palace, the harem belonged to Yinzhen in name. If the concubines continued to live there, it would not have a good reputation.

"What do you think?" Yinzhen asked back.

Qi Buchen thought about the actions of Emperor Yongzheng in history and said without hesitation: "I think it would be better to ask the three brothers to take the empress out to fulfill their filial duties."

Yinzhen had already had this idea, and upon hearing this he smiled and said, "The Queen and I are indeed in tune with each other."

Qi Buchen didn't dare to admit this time, she had cheated by getting the answers in advance: "Although we do often have a telepathic connection, this time it really wasn't the case."

Yinzhen didn't care about her denial and said, "But it's not possible now. The Emperor's mourning period has not yet ended. If I send the concubines away again, what kind of person will I be?"

Qi Buchen didn't think about solving it immediately: "It doesn't matter, just let her stay here under the pretext of observing mourning, and send her out of the palace when she's done with mourning."

Yinzhen nodded: "You take care of it for the next two years."

Time passed quickly, and in the blink of an eye, Kangxi's mourning period was over. On the day of his departure, Yinzhen issued a decree allowing princes and above to take their mothers out of the palace to be cared for. Prince Cheng and others were filled with gratitude and wrote petitions to take their mothers out of the palace as soon as possible.

Qi Buchen was so busy that he was dizzy. Yinzhen finally got the chance to sleep with her, but for several days he could only look at her sleeping face and feel depressed.

Only after the concubines were almost settled did Qi Buchen have the mood to coax Yinzhen.

After coaxing for a while, the man still said sarcastically: "The Queen is really busy with all kinds of affairs."

Qi Buchen was tired of coaxing her, so he just used his ultimate move: "Don't think I don't know, your desk has been almost full of proposals for selecting concubines to enrich the harem lately!"

Yinzhen choked, thought for a moment, and then shamelessly pretended not to hear. He turned around and began to shamelessly tease her: "Your Majesty, you have been the queen for two years. How do you feel?"

Qi Buchen took an unbearable breath and uttered one word: "Awesome."

Yinzhen chuckled: "How cool is it?"

Qi Buchen rubbed his earlobe, forcing him to gasp, and chuckled, "It feels so good."

Yinzhen turned over and pressed her down: "That's not good enough." He leaned over and took the lips of the person under him and sucked them, and said vaguely, "Empress, how about I make you feel better?"

Qi Buchen, unwilling to be outdone, counterattacked and said vaguely, "Yes, for your good service, the Queen will reward you."