Chapter 40: Pointing to a palace maid, "Dead?" Qi Buchen was shocked...

"Dead?" Qi Buchen was surprised. Although he knew that this vegetative patient would not live long, he did not expect that he would die so soon.

Yinzhen nodded. "What happened this afternoon has now reached the Emperor's presence. I only just found out about it."

Qi Buchen frowned and told him what happened in the afternoon when Borjigit came to visit him.

Yinzhen shook his head after hearing this and said, "Although I don't know the whole story, from what I've heard, your aunt didn't tell the truth."

"I know." Qi Buchen nodded in agreement. "So I asked someone to find out, but I didn't expect that person to be gone now."

Yinzhen hesitated for a moment, then asked, "Do you need my help?"

Qi Buchen shook his head. "Don't worry if you laugh at me. If my aunt hadn't come to my house today, if I had run into her on the street, I wouldn't have recognized her."

Yinzhen didn't expect her to be so frank and say that her relationship with her uncle's family was not good. He hesitated and said, "But my mother-in-law..."

Qi Buchen continued to shake his head: "My mother and uncle are not close either. They don't really interact with each other."

Seeing Yinzhen frown, she explained to him some memories she had just recalled during the day: "My uncle was the son of my grandfather's third wife, but my mother was the son of his fourth wife. My grandmother died after giving birth to my mother. My grandfather never remarried, and the family business was handed over to my uncle and aunt."

It's easy to imagine what will happen when this unrelated sister-in-law makes a living under her sister-in-law. Moreover, Qi Buchen always feels that there must be more than one reason why the Jueluo family is not close to that family. There must be other tricks.

The original subject's grandfather was a remarkable figure. He married four wives, each of whose successive consorts held higher status than his first. He also rose from humble beginnings to earn the title of Beizi. Jueluo was able to marry Fei Yanggu as his second wife because they were comrades. In his later years, he was convicted and stripped of his title by Emperor Kangxi, and died shortly thereafter. However, Kangxi, considering himself a benevolent ruler, bestowed upon his son, Changyuan, the title of General Guarding the Nation.

However, Changyuan was not as ambitious as his father. He just held on to his title and waited for death. Fortunately, Changyuan's grandfather was the Minister of the Interior E Qili, who took good care of his grandson. Therefore, he was doing well in the capital.

But Eqili died a few years ago, otherwise Borjigit would not have come to Qibuchen to deal with this matter.

Yinzhen was taken aback by the implication of her words. Such a blatant hint of the relationship in the harem...

"Mother was forced to bring my aunt to see me today because she came crying," Qi Buchen continued. "This matter involves Mongolia, so it's far from simple. You're still studying in the upper study. If you rashly intervene, whether you can handle it or not will only make the emperor think you're unstable. He might even think you've been persuaded by me, and then you'll be seen as soft-hearted."

Is Fu Jin's words a sign of concern? He is not wrong, but... why does he feel so awkward?

Yinzhen felt a little unhappy. Does Fu Jin think that I am not capable of handling this matter well and doesn't want the Emperor to have any interest in seeing it?

Qi Buchen did have such an idea. If it was the Fourth Master who was in his twenties, she would definitely not think so, but the current Yinzhen... is still a little short of the right level.

"So, just pretend you don't know about this and don't worry about it." Qi Buchen concluded, "I can handle my uncle's situation myself."

Yinzhen was very unhappy, but he couldn't say anything. He couldn't just say out of anger, "I have to take care of this matter."

But it was really not easy for him to intervene in this matter. When he first found out, he actually wanted to persuade Fu Jin not to interfere. But now that Qi Buchen had made the best choice without his advice, he was actually unhappy.

What should he do if he's unhappy? He couldn't lose his temper, and he didn't want to lose his temper in front of his wife. So he stood up and said sullenly, "Since you've made all the arrangements, I'll go back to the front and do my homework."

"Okay." Qi Buchen didn't notice anything. "Go to bed early tonight. I'll ask them to prepare food in the kitchen. Call me if you're hungry."

Yinzhen was pleased with her thoughtfulness, but he couldn't suppress his subconscious unhappiness that his wife thought he was incompetent.

He walked away with his head down, and even paused deliberately when he left the hospital, but he never heard the voice of the lady asking him to stay.

Qi Buchen didn't have time to watch him go. He turned around and started counting the things to be prepared for the banquet the day after tomorrow.

Borjigit came again the next day, bringing her daughter-in-law with her. The two of them took turns trying to persuade Qi Buchen to ask Yinzhen for help.

Qi Buchen listened, occasionally agreeing. Whenever she needed help, she would present facts and reason with them, convincing them that if Yinzhen intervened, the situation would only get worse. Furthermore, the housekeepers would frequently come to her to ask for instructions on various preparations for the next day's banquet. Finally, Borjigit had no choice but to take her daughter-in-law and leave.

Qi Buchen looked at their backs and shook his head. The man got into trouble outside, and in the end it was the woman who came out to beg for help. Changyuan, the father, did not move a muscle.

She didn't help because Chardai wasn't innocent, and because Kangxi certainly wouldn't let Chardai die. After all, Chardai was a royal family member, with the surname Aisin-Gioro. The Mongols were making such a fuss just to get Kangxi to give them more benefits.

On the day of the housewarming party, Qi Buchen was so busy that he felt overwhelmed. However, with the help of several maids, he finally managed to handle the situation without any trouble.

Borjigit sent a valuable gift. Qi Buchen certainly knew what she meant, so he only asked someone to send a similar gift in return.

Later, when she came again, Qi Buchen made an excuse to hide and went to the eldest prince's mansion to chat with the eldest wife.

However, he didn't hide for many days before the matter of Chaldai was settled. Kangxi imprisoned him in the Imperial Clan Court, but did not say how long he would be imprisoned or when he would be released. He also rewarded the family of the unfortunately deceased Mingdu Beizi with many things, and the matter was finally settled.

As July began, an event of varying significance occurred: the anniversary of Empress Xiaoyi Ren's death.

Yinzhen and Qi Buchen began a vegetarian fast seven days in advance and wrote numerous eulogies. On the anniversary of Tong Jia's death, they, along with officials from the Ministry of Rites dispatched by Emperor Kangxi, went to perform the rituals of commemoration. After this incident, Yinzhen was depressed for several days. Qi Buchen noticed this, but he had little energy to comfort him.

Because Kangxi was going on another tour of the frontier, and this time he was bringing all his sons, from one to eighty, along, and Qi Buchen could also come along. This trip would take a month or two, and there was a lot to prepare.

Although he was very happy to be able to go out and see the prairie, Qi Buchen still complained a few words to Kangxi in his heart. The eldest wife was about to give birth in two days, but he wanted to take her husband away at this time. How could he not be speechless?

Sure enough, about ten days after they set out on their journey, someone from the capital came to deliver a message saying that the eldest wife had recently given birth to Yinzhen's fourth daughter.

She didn't know what Yinzhi's expression was when he heard the news, but Yinzhen did come back and tell Qi Buchen: "Be good to your sister-in-law, and send someone back to bring her some good medicine."

Qi Buchen was curious why he did this.

Yinzhen sighed, "I've read some medical books recently, and they say childbirth is the most detrimental to a woman's health. A baby needs to be raised for at least two or three years. My sister-in-law gave birth to four children in five years..."

He didn't say the rest, but Qi Buchen knew the danger involved. She just didn't expect Yinzhen to know this. However, the fact that the eldest concubine gave birth to four children in five years involved the thoughts of Yinzhen and Huifei, and it was not something she could easily interfere with. So after she agreed, she didn't mention it again and talked about other things instead.

"Why are you suddenly reading a medical book?"

Yinzhen thought her question was strange. "What's the big deal? My father and the teachers in the upper study always tell us that we can't just study blindly, we need to broaden our horizons. I not only read medical books, but also some books on animal husbandry. Even those vernacular novels, travelogues, and biographies you read now were read by me when I was seven or eight years old."

Qi Buchen didn't believe it: "Have you read all the books in your study?"

Yinzhen thought for a moment and said, "I've read most of the books in the palace. Now there are many new books in the study that I haven't had time to read yet."

Qi Buchen couldn't help but gasp in amazement. Even back in the Southern Third Residence, Yinzhen's study had already filled three shelves with books. It was unbelievable that he had read so many books. But considering Yinzhen's unusual daily schedule, she couldn't help but believe that being a prince wasn't exactly an easy life.

The two chatted for a while, and then Yinzhen was called out again.

In fact, not long after leaving the capital, Qi Buchen began to regret following her. It was fine in the capital, with its paved bluestone roads, and the carriage ride wasn't bumpy. But outside the capital's suburbs, the bluestone roads turned into a mix of yellow mud and gravel, with all the dust flying everywhere. She was tucked away in the carriage, but the bumps were truly unbearable. Fortunately, the carriage was quite large, so she mostly lay down, which was enough to stifle the urge to vomit.

Yinzhen was even worse off. He spent most of his day riding horses with Yinzhi and the others. When he stopped at night, he was not only covered in dirt, but his inner thighs were also rubbed raw. Of course, Qi Buchen hadn't seen it with her own eyes, but had heard about it from Su Peisheng. So, she took Fuyun with her that night to sew two soft cloth pads for Yinzhen, which was better than nothing.

At the end of July, the large army finally arrived at its destination, and Qi Buchen and Yinzhen were finally able to leave their horses and carriages and rest in the tent.

However, since the two had not yet consummated their marriage, Qi Buchen's tent was arranged with the concubines, while Yinzhen's tent was with a group of single brothers. For example, Yinzhi, Yinreng, and Yinzhi were all with their concubines or princesses.

At the Mongolian banquet for Kangxi in the evening, Qi Buchen found that Yinzhi kept hanging around in front of Yinzhen with a look of superiority on his face, and from time to time he showed a look of pity and sympathy to Yinzhen.

However, Yinzhen didn't even glance at her. He focused on eating and drinking. When he thought something was good, he gave it to Qi Buchen to try too.

Perhaps feeling disgruntled or ignored, Yinzhi spoke up unwillingly, "Fourth brother, I'm not your elder brother. You shouldn't spoil a woman too much. Look at you, your legs are all rubbed raw, and it's only Su Peisheng, that rough-handed servant, who's here to change your dressings."

"This kind of thing should be done by women. My sister-in-law is not feeling well right now, but she still has palace maids by her side. Any one of them can serve you well."

When he said the last part, he even deliberately made a slight detour on the last sound of the word "serve".

After hearing this, Qi Buchen's face turned dark.

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Author's words: Yinzhen: My wife's face is so scary! Oh, oh, oh, I'm going to beat the third brother to death for talking nonsense!