Chapter 44 I treat you as my sister! Yinzhen didn’t react for a moment...

For a moment, Yinzhen didn't understand the word "chat"; it sounded so serious. But it was good that Fu Jin was willing to talk; it was better than just crying in silence like before. It wouldn't leave him feeling helpless.

"You say." He corrected his attitude and replied very seriously.

Qi Buchen turned, from standing parallel to him to facing away from him, his gaze following the ripples on the lake surface caused by the wind. He said slowly, "Before that, I must first apologize for my previous behavior. I'm sorry."

After she finished speaking, she tilted her head to look at Yinzhen, who had consciously moved to a parallel position with her. A hint of self-mockery appeared on the corner of her mouth. "Do you think it's hypocritical for me to always lose my temper and then apologize?"

Yinzhen subconsciously opened his mouth to object, but Qi Buchen didn't give him a chance. Instead, he continued, "I am indeed hypocritical, because my apology was not a true apology. It was just a fig leaf to cover up my shame."

"And I'm not ashamed because I think it's wrong to be angry. Even at this moment, I think I should be angry."

Yinzhen opened his mouth again, wanting to ask why you were angry.

Qi Buchen still didn't give him a chance: "I know you don't understand why I'm angry. I'll talk about this later."

"What I want to say now is that the reason I'm ashamed is that after I became uncomfortable and angry about a certain behavior of yours, I didn't choose to talk to you calmly first to understand whether your behavior was subjective or unintentional."

"Instead, I immediately took advantage of your slight affection for me and let out the anger I was feeling, choosing to hurt you to vent it."

"You're right, you've been really nice to me, and you've spoiled me a lot."

After Qi Buchen finished this long string of words, she looked at Yinzhen, only to find that he was blushing and didn't dare to look at her. He put his hands at his sides, clenched and unclenched them, and stammered back, "I...I...when did my master ever like...you!"

As he spoke, he mustered up the courage to glance at Qi Buchen. When he found that he was also looking at him, he quickly looked away, still stuttering: "I...I saw that you were young and didn't know anyone in the palace, so I looked pitiful...Yes, I felt sorry for you because of your cautious look." As he said this, he seemed to have regained his confidence, and looked directly at Qi Buchen with his chest puffed out, "I am kind-hearted, so I wanted to give in to you. Who knew... who knew..."

His voice weakened again, and he sounded a little aggrieved: "Who knew that once I gave you permission, you would become even more demanding, losing your temper with me every day, and even coaxing me wouldn't work..."

Qi Buchen looked at him, who was trying to be stubborn but unconsciously revealed his pitiful appearance, and for some reason he wanted to laugh.

She couldn't restrain herself and smiled widely: "Okay, I was wrong. I was too sentimental. You treat me so well because you are kind-hearted."

But Yinzhen refused to accept it when he heard it: "How can you be so self-indulgent! I... I still kind of like you..." After saying this, he hurriedly explained, fearing that Qi Buchen would misunderstand, "But it's not that kind of like! It's... it's..." His eyes lit up, "It's the kind of like I have for my fifth sister! Yes! You are only two years older than my fifth sister, and I treat you as my younger sister!"

Qi Buchen didn't know why the atmosphere had suddenly taken a turn for the worse, even though she'd been so serious when she spoke. Although she was puzzled, she still thought Yinzhen's reaction was adorable, truly the innocent boy he was. Knowing that this kind of boy was just trying to save face, she didn't expose him, but casually said, "Since you're my younger sister, why don't I call you Fourth Brother from now on?"

Yinzhen felt both relieved and disappointed. Actually...actually, that...seems...seems a little different from the fifth sister?

But he didn't say it out loud at this moment. He was a little unhappy about Qi Buchen's suggestion to call him "Fourth Brother"? Lao Ba and the others all called him that.

"Seventh sister always calls me Fourth Brother..." He muttered in a low voice, while stealing glances at Qi Buchen. He inexplicably felt that if the concubine called him Fourth Brother, it would definitely sound much nicer than if Seventh sister called him that.

Qi Buchen actually heard it, but Fourth Brother was too embarrassed, okay? So she pretended not to hear clearly and asked, "What did you say?"

I don't believe you dare to say it again.

Yinzhen didn't dare to do so, and replied with a bit of frustration: "Nothing."

Qi Buchen nodded with satisfaction, then coughed twice, trying to bring the topic back to where it had gone off track.

"Where were we just now... talking about the reason for my apology." Her mood, which had improved due to Yinzhen's innocent reaction, subsided unconsciously. "I took advantage of your indulgence and lost my temper without restraint. But after calming down, I regretted it. I was afraid that such recklessness would quickly consume the little bit of pity you had for me. I was afraid that you would dislike me from now on. I was afraid of the difficult life I would have to live if you disliked me."

"So I chose to apologize, hoping that this apology could make up for the affection I've lost." She smiled, but it was cold. "It could make you still pity me, so that I won't live a miserable life in the future. So, I am actually a very hypocritical person."

Yinzhen's originally nervous and excited mood because his little trick was almost discovered was completely destroyed by her words. He didn't understand why Fu Jin's look of happiness just now suddenly became so distant and pale.

The two of them were obviously standing very close to each other, but when Fu Jin said this, it was as if a Milky Way was drawn between them, and they seemed so far away that one was in the sky and the other was underground.

Yinzhen frowned unconsciously and subconsciously refuted Qi Buchen's words one by one: "You didn't do anything, how could I hate you? Everyone has bad moods sometimes. When I was in a bad mood, I even kicked Su Peisheng. Could it be that he resents me for this? You are my legitimate wife, who dares to let you live a miserable life! Besides, hypocrisy means being two-faced, sweet-mouthed, and smiling with a knife hidden in your heart. You didn't intend to harm me, so how can you be hypocritical!"

Qi Buchen smiled and shook his head, not arguing with him. Instead, he talked about something else: "Don't you want to know why I'm angry?"

Since she didn't argue, Yinzhen could only shut up and say no more, lest he say something wrong and anger her again. "Because I didn't let the servants tell you about Tuoya?" He was still confused, but after what had happened for half a day, he compromised. "If you really want to know, I'll have Su Peisheng find out everything about Tuoya's ancestors and tell you when I get back."

He lowered his head in frustration, and lightly kicked the grass that was bent by his feet with his toes: "It's just such a small thing, is it worth it? You are so angry..."

"I am angry because of this, but not just because of this."

Hearing her say this, Yinzhen raised his head again, his face full of confusion.

Qi Buchen did not directly reveal the answer to the mystery, but instead talked about the life of his original self in the past ten years: "As far as I can remember, I rarely saw my father and mother. Every day, I was taken by the wet nurse and the maid to play in my small courtyard, and it was difficult for me to even leave the courtyard. I didn't understand at that time, and I would often cry because I missed my father and mother, but it was no use. At first, my mother would come to see me, but she would come and go in a hurry. Later, she didn't even come. As for my father, he was not at home before, and later he came back. We could only see each other at the family dinner during the New Year, but we were not very close."

When Yinzhen heard her say this, the scene that emerged in his mind was that of himself staying alone in the South Third House after Tong E'niang passed away.

"Later, I was able to leave the courtyard at will and see my mother more often." Qi Buchen recalled the memories of his original body, feeling a sense of empathy. "But my father was gone, and my mother gave birth to my younger brother. I went from facing the wet nurse and maids every day to facing my younger brother every day."

"My younger brother is so fair and so well-behaved. I like him, but I also dislike him." Her expression began to suffer. "Because of him, I can often see mother. But also because of him, mother never sees me. Even when she talks to me, it's all about him."

Yinzhen recalled the time when Tong E'niang was pregnant.

"I tried to change, so I asked the maid and the wet nurse to tell me about some family matters, so that I could find an excuse to talk to Mother about something unrelated to my brother, but Mother scolded me harshly."

At this moment, Qi Buchen felt an emotion that did not belong to her surging in her heart. It impacted Qi Buchen's senses, making her almost unable to control herself and shed tears.

But her eyes were red. "Mother not only scolded me, but also drove away the wet nurse and the maids. She sent me new people and warned them not to gossip in front of me all day long. Those people seemed to have lost their voices. As long as I asked about anything other than my brother and the courtyard, they would not open their mouths."

"So, if you hadn't told me that day on the street, I wouldn't even know the names and titles of my uncle and cousin."

Yinzhen saw her eyes and nose turning red again. He reached out to pat her but didn't dare. He opened his mouth to comfort her but didn't know what to say. He could empathize with the emotions that Fu Jin was expressing, and any words he said at this moment would be meaningless.

Qi Buchen noticed his movements, took a deep breath, shook his head and said, "I'm fine."

I didn't expect the original owner to still have such strong emotions. I just don't know if her soul is still there. If so, why didn't she come to reclaim her body? Could it be that her soul has become so powerful after traveling through time and space that she can't take it away?

Qi Buchen frowned slightly. If this was really the case, then the fact that someone had taken over someone else's life was beyond her control. She wondered if the monks at that time were capable of such things. Regardless, she would go find someone to check it out first.

If the original owner's soul was really squeezed out by her, she should return it to the owner.

After making the decision, Qi Buchen calmed down and continued the unfinished conversation. No matter whether she or the original owner would own this body in the future, the purpose of building a good relationship with Yinzhen would not change.

"After ten years in that house, I felt like a deaf, blind bird kept in a cage." She said this, but then felt something was wrong and shook her head. "No, maybe I'm even worse than a bird. The bird's owner would play with it when he was happy, but I don't even have anyone to play with."

"So, when I found out I was being married to you and could leave that home, do you know how happy I was?" Her face was a mixture of laughter and tears. "Finally, I no longer had to be locked up in that small courtyard like a deaf and blind person. I finally had the strength to resist. I insisted on not wanting those people, and instead, I wanted to use the influence of the maids in the Ministry of Internal Affairs to choose my own maidservants and maids."

"Things went more smoothly than I imagined. Mother didn't object. Instead, she looked at me with a strange gaze." Her expression was a little confused again.

"On my wedding day, when the sedan chair was carried out of the gate, I was happy. But I don't know if it was because the road to the palace was too long, but the joy gradually faded, replaced by panic, fear, and confusion. I was afraid that I had stepped out of one cage and into another."

She looked at Yinzhen with red eyes: "So, do you understand now?"

-----------------------

Author's words: Qi Buchen: So you just treat me as your sister, okay then [Goodbye.jpg]

Yinzhen: No! That's not it! [jumps over and hugs thighs.jpg] Listen to me, my wife, I was just saying that out of shame! I like you! I like you so much! Don't go!

Qi Buchen: [rolling eyes] Don’t you care about your face now?

Yinzhen: No more! Never again! [Sincere big eyes]