Chapter 60: The Overbearing Prince Contracts the Cook, but in the end Qi Buchen is still...

In the end, Qi Buchen compromised. He always felt that bringing up those reasons of putting the overall situation first would hurt a heart that was doing good for him.

Yinzhen didn't let her see the end and personally escorted her back to the main courtyard. It wasn't until they sat down in the main courtyard that Qi Buchen realized something: "This isn't right. Shouldn't you be in the study at this time? Why are you suddenly back home?"

Yinzhen's mood darkened upon hearing this, and he said calmly, "In two days, the third period of the Empress Dowager's funeral will be held. The Emperor will go in person to pay his respects, and I'll be in charge of the arrangements."

Qi Buchen really didn't know about this. Now she and Yinzhen were on the same page. Upon hearing this, she hurriedly asked, "Is there anything I can do?"

"No need. The Ministry of Rites will make the arrangements. You just need to go with your sister-in-law." Yinzhen replied.

Although Tong was only the queen for one day, it was legitimate. Kangxi would go to her memorial service, and of course her sons and daughters-in-law would also be there.

Although the Ministry of Rites made arrangements, Yinzhen was very busy these two days. He didn't even come back the day before his departure. Qi Buchen set out alone the next morning.

When they were almost there, Xie Hanshan suddenly came in from outside and reported, "Fujin, the master is here to pick you up."

As soon as he finished speaking, Qi Buchen heard the sound of horse hooves approaching and stopping outside the carriage. Then a figure came in without waiting for the carriage to stop.

"Did you bring anything?"

Qi Buchen looked at the sloppy man in front of him and almost didn't recognize him. Is this Yinzhen who has a little bit of mysophobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder?

"I brought it." Qi Buchen asked someone to bring out the prepared robes and asked, "Should we pack it here?"

"Well, let's do it here." Yinzhen's eyes turned pale and he blinked to cheer himself up. "Everyone is almost here."

Seeing the maidservant helping him clean his face and undress, Qi Buchen disapproved, "Didn't you sleep all night? Didn't the Ministry of Rites say it was arranged? Why are you working so hard?"

During the past year of their contact, Qi Buchen felt that Yinzhen was a nice person most of the time. He loved cleanliness, was studious, and had a good temper. He was not as cold and petty as the legend said. However, there was one thing: no matter what he did, he was overly serious. Even if he could do it well with a little relaxation, he would insist on working hard and would stay up late at night.

He is still young and can endure it, but what about when he is older? No wonder Yongzheng died young in history. It is impossible for him to live a long life by enduring like this.

"There must be no mistakes regarding the Empress Dowager." Yinzhen said very seriously.

Qi Buchen was helpless. It wasn't that he couldn't do his job properly, it was just that he shouldn't work so hard. However, he also knew that his bad habits couldn't be changed overnight, so today wasn't the time to talk about it. He would talk about it later.

"Okay, I'm leaving now." Yinzhen packed up and turned to leave. "Don't wait for me after I'm done. I still have to finish before I can go back."

"Hey, wait, you first..." Qi Buchen watched the man and the horse galloping away, "...eat something..."

Qi Buchen slapped his thigh angrily: "I'm not in a hurry to reincarnate!"

"Don't worry, Fu Jin." Bao Zhu comforted her, "I'll have Xie Hanshan deliver it to Eunuch Su later. Eunuch Su will persuade Master to use it."

"Why send him a gift? Just starve him to death!" Qi Buchen said unhappily.

Of course, this was just an angry remark. After arriving at the royal temple, Baozhu still packed a box of food that she had prepared earlier and asked Xie Hanshan to send it to the front.

Qi Buchen arrived early because she had something to bring to Yinzhen. There weren't many people there yet. She didn't want to wander around. After all, this royal temple wasn't just for worshippers who prayed for the royal family, but also for concubines and royal women who had been sent here for retreat. If she accidentally ran into something, it would definitely be troublesome.

After waiting for a while, the eldest wife came. It had been more than two months since she gave birth. Although she was wearing makeup, she didn't look very good.

Qi Buchen had some plans in mind, but he didn't show it on his face. He just talked to her about the situation of the newly born fourth princess.

Now, there were only the two of them as the prince's wife. Although the others had concubines, it was impossible for them to attend such an occasion. Therefore, the ones who came later were the wives of the royal family and the families of the ministers. Qi Buchen's mother, Jueluo, also came.

"Mother."

"Fourth Lady."

After the mother and daughter greeted each other, they fell silent, as unfamiliar as strangers.

Fortunately, the ceremony started at this time, so the embarrassment did not continue.

When they were about to leave, Jueluo said, "Come back when you have time."

Qi Buchen sent her away, wondering what Jueluo meant by this. Did she simply want her to go home for a reunion, or did she have something to say?

I feel the latter is more likely.

She wondered what Gioro might want to talk to her about, but she had no idea. Although Yinzhen had left the palace and established his own residence, he was still a bald prince studying in the upper study. If Gioro wanted her to do something good for the Ulanara family, then she had come to the wrong person.

That evening, Yinzhen returned home just before curfew.

Qi Buchen prepared a midnight snack for him and kept the room warm. "Do you have a day off tomorrow? You still have to go to the study as usual."

Yinzhen took a sip of the warm mutton soup and felt warm from the soles of his feet: "As usual."

Qi Buchen sighed, feeling it was inhumane, but he couldn't say anything: "Then you should go to bed early."

The two of them said nothing more and went to sleep separately.

The weather was getting colder and colder. Qi Buchen, reminded by Baozhu, remembered that Yinzhen's birthday was approaching. She had scratched her head so hard for this birthday gift.

In the end, she decided to shamelessly copy the most common trick used by the time-traveling army: making a cake! This thing was novel, but more importantly, simple. It was one of the few baked goods she could remember the recipe for. The only problem was the buttercream was a little tricky, but her predecessors had already dealt with it. Just whip the egg whites and spread it on.

Qi Buchen immediately ordered to keep it a secret from Yinzhen, and then spent seven or eight days in the kitchen before he finally produced a presentable product.

"Okay, that's it. Divide this among you." Qi Buchen wiped his sweat, "I'll make a new one on my birthday."

Nowadays, snacks are very solid. It was the first time for the servants to see such a soft and fluffy cake, which was made by the concubine herself. They were very happy to receive the reward. Xie Hanshan was even smart enough to send a portion to Su Peisheng and Lin Changqing.

"Was this made by the concubine herself?" Su Peisheng asked?

Xie Hanshan nodded with a smile.

Lin Changqing followed up: "Is this a birthday gift for Master?"

Xie Hanshan nodded proudly.

Su Peisheng slapped him on the head: "How dare you share it!"

Xie Hanshan was stunned and said aggrievedly, "It was a reward from Fu Jin."

"You can't eat what Fu Jin gave you." Su Peisheng was very disappointed. "Fu Jin prepared this birthday gift for me, but you used it before me. Fu Jin made it herself. If I knew about it, I would have a good time eating it."

This is of course an exaggeration. Yinzhen would never punish someone for a bite of food. But writing down their name in a small notebook and then giving them a hard time or something, emmmm...

"No way." Xie Hanshan didn't have much contact with Yinzhen, and he couldn't understand the logic behind this, so he was still confused and didn't react.

Lin Changqing also slapped him in the face: "You don't know what you don't know, why don't you go and take everything back quickly."

Xie Hanshan hurried back, but soon came back with a sad face: "They...they have all finished eating..."

"Eunuch Su, Eunuch Lin, what should I do?"

Su Peisheng and Lin Changqing looked at each other, and in a rare unanimous gesture, they handed their portions to Xie Hanshan: "Take it back and eat it yourself."

"We didn't know about this, and you never sent it to us."

"Ah?" Xie Hanshan looked stunned.

Su Peisheng had already called his apprentice and asked him to send Xie Hanshan back to the backyard quickly.

Xie Hanshan didn't figure out why until he returned to the backyard, but since the two masters didn't dare to eat the cakes, how could he dare to touch them? He wanted to ask the four big maids for advice, but he never found a chance and watched the two cakes go bad.

Before Yinzhen's birthday arrived, Yinzhen got up early in the morning but did not go to the study. Instead, he said to Qi Buchen, "Come on, I'll take you to see the fun today."

"Well, what's the excitement?" Qi Buchen was puzzled. He hadn't heard of any excitement in the capital these past two days. "You don't have to go to school today?"

"No need. The tribute team from Korea has arrived today, and the tutors have to accompany the emperor to meet him, so they have been given a day off." Yinzhen explained and gestured for her to change into clothes for going out.

Qi Buchen changed his clothes and got into the carriage with him. He asked excitedly, "North Korea? Who are they coming to pay tribute to? What are they offering as tribute?"

"The one with the highest status is a younger brother of their king. The things he brought are nothing more than some local specialties. They are rich in Korean ginseng, and this is the most common thing in every tribute." Yinzhen was obviously not very satisfied with the tribute from Korea.

"That's all?" Qi Buchen was a little disappointed, "There are no beauties."

She muttered the latter sentence very quietly, but Yinzhen still heard it.

Yinzhen glared at her and said, "What nonsense are you imagining!" After tapping her head, he coughed lightly and whispered casually, "Some singing girls and dancing girls."

Qi Buchen's eyes lit up. When she saw the North Korean team winding past below the restaurant, she stretched her neck but still couldn't see the shadows of the singers and dancers.

"Be careful, don't fall." Yinzhen was helpless. After pulling the man back, he whispered, "There will definitely be a banquet at that time. If you want to see it, you will definitely be able to see it at the banquet."

"Okay." Qi Buchen compromised glumly, glancing at the noisy crowd below, a little puzzled, "I can't see anything, what are they discussing?"

Yinzhen picked up a piece of fish for her and said, "Try this, it's their signature dish." Then he responded, "It's nothing more than guessing what good things they will offer this time."

Qi Buchen took a bite and his eyes lit up: "Not bad."

"Do you like it? Su Peisheng, go ask which chef made it and bring him back home." Yinzhen gave the order very naturally.

Qi Buchen looked at his overbearing CEO demeanor and helplessly stopped him, saying, "No need." He then earnestly advised, "Not all good things should be taken away from us. No matter how delicious this fish is, I can't eat it every day, right? It would be a waste to give it to only me. Such excellent cooking skills should be shared by more people."

Yinzhen didn't quite agree with her, but considering that she had just said "our family" and he was in a good mood, he was generous and didn't refute her.