Chapter 83: The English language of this time and the English language of later generations...

There were still some differences between the English at that time and the English of later generations. There were significant discrepancies in grammar, vocabulary, and pronunciation. After all, Feigard was not a native English speaker, so Qi Buchen's learning progress was actually similar to self-study. However, her spoken English improved by leaps and bounds. Anyway, Feigard's accent was not authentic, but she could speak confidently without fear of embarrassment.

Now, when having dinner with Yinzhen, the two would occasionally talk in English, and Qi Buchen would have a sense of time travel from time to time.

After studying with Feijiade for about a month, Qi Buchen has started reading some simple literary foreign books, novels, travelogues, etc., which has enabled her to come up with a lot of fresh food.

Of course, during her studies, Qi Buchen hadn't forgotten another matter that had been interrupted for six months: she hadn't yet completed her visit to all the temples and Taoist temples around the capital. However, this time, she knew how to restrain herself, not going out every day, but only every five or six days.

"Is the capital city much more lively recently than before?" Qi Buchen asked with some confusion, lifting the curtain on one side while sitting in the carriage.

"It's definitely become much more lively." Baozhu glanced at Qi Buchen's still puzzled expression and smiled. "Fujin, you forgot, the once-every-three-years Spring Examination is almost here. There are many more students in the capital now preparing for the exam."

Qi Buchen hadn't known about this. When she'd traveled here three years earlier, the imperial examination had already concluded; this was the first time it was taking place. She looked outward with a touch of curiosity, wondering how the atmosphere of the exam now compared to her past life.

The matter naturally came up during dinner, and Yinzhen said, "The Emperor has just appointed the chief examiners today. They are the Minister of Personnel, Lord Xiong, and the Minister of War, Lord Du. In two days, the Grand Secretary will preside over the sacrifice to Confucius. The rest will have to wait until the exam in March."

But with the imperial examination approaching, Yinzhen returned a few days later, saying he would accompany Kangxi on an inspection tour. His face was filled with worry: "The Grand Canal and the Hunhe River have burst their banks. The Crown Prince, my third brother, and I must all accompany them. I'm not sure how serious the damage is this time. Spring plowing is coming soon, so we must not delay."

Yinzhen hurriedly left Beijing and didn't return until early March. Speaking of the affected areas, he sighed, "A lot of fields have been flooded, and this year's spring plowing will be greatly affected. The Emperor has already ordered grain to be transferred from Shandong to stabilize grain prices. I hope the impact can be minimized." Then he added, "The breached levee must be repaired as soon as possible. I've already asked the Emperor for permission to participate in the repair work. I'll be very busy next week, so you don't have to wait for me tonight."

It was the Wanshou Festival when Qi Buchen saw him again, but he found that he had lost a lot of weight. He didn't have much flesh to begin with, and now he looked like a skeleton supporting empty clothes, which was a bit creepy.

Qi Buchen first asked about official business: "How is the riverbank repair going?"

"It's being finished." Yinzhen answered simply.

"Then why are you so thin? Didn't you eat well?" Qi Buchen frowned. Because Yinzhen was busy, he had three meals a day in the yamen's canteen. Qi Buchen originally wanted to send it to him from the mansion, but Yinzhen was with those doctors every day, so he didn't want to make an exception and refuse.

Seeing her serious face and unfriendly tone, Yinzhen felt a little guilty for no reason. He avoided her gaze slightly and said vaguely, "Well, it's very useful."

Qi Buchen looked at him suspiciously, not quite believing it: "Su Peisheng, does your grandfather have three meals a day on time?"

Su Peisheng secretly groaned in his heart and could only avoid the main point: "I go to the kitchen to get the food and present it to you on time." As for when the master will use it after presenting it, it is not his business to say.

Qi Buchen didn't realize Su Peisheng's trap, and felt relieved after hearing this. He warned, "When I get busy, I tend to forget to eat and sleep. You must supervise me well."

Su Peisheng agreed repeatedly on the surface, but smiled bitterly in his heart. How could he supervise his master?

"Okay, I'm not ignorant." Yinzhen interrupted, "It's time to go to the palace."

Perhaps because of the disasters around the capital this year, Kangxi did not hold a grand birthday celebration and only arranged for the family to have a meal together. As a result, it was much more relaxed than in previous years and he did not have to get up very early.

When they went out, the two walked side by side. Qi Buchen asked hesitantly, "Have you grown taller recently?"

Yinzhen was stunned for a moment before answering, "I didn't notice, but I think my sleeves shrank a little."

"I'll measure it when I get back." Qi Buchen didn't mention it anymore as he was about to enter the palace.

At the banquet, when celebrating his birthday, Kangxi asked Yinzhen about the river embankment repair and encouraged him. Yinzhen was so happy that he drank two more glasses and ignored Yinzhi's sour remarks beside him.

Maybe he was a little drunk, but on the way back in the carriage, Yinzhen looked a little lazy, and his sitting posture was not as straight as usual. He leaned sideways, very close to Qi Buchen.

"Drunk?" Qi Buchen asked.

He said lazily, "No." Then he raised his hand, grabbed the tassel of Qi Buchen's hairpin, and twisted the beads underneath.

He obviously drank too much.

However, she understood the principle of not arguing with a drunkard, so she said nothing and let him play with her.

"Do you like tassels with pearls?" Yinzhen asked suddenly.

Qi Buchen nodded slightly: "I like it." She likes tassels, especially the thin and long ones, which have a delicate beauty. As for the pendant beads, they are not limited to pearls. It's just that the polishing of gemstones at this time is not as natural as the halo of pearls, and good ones are rare and expensive, so she uses pearls more.

Yinzhen remained silent for a long time, but he never let go of her hand.

Qi Buchen followed Zhenzhu's thoughts and was distracted, remembering the pearl jewelry she bought in her previous life. It was not because she liked them so much at that time, but because pearls were the cheapest among the real ones. Other gems were not only expensive, but most of them were fake. With her limited knowledge, she was only fit to be a leek.

Who would have thought that there would come a day when she would feel that gems were not as good as pearls.

"No wonder I've never seen you wear the hairpin I gave you." Yinzhen's voice suddenly sounded.

Qi Buchen held his breath instantly, and almost immediately understood what he was talking about. It was the gift he gave her on her birthday last year.

She has never opened that box.

So there was a hairpin inside?

She didn't dare to respond and didn't know what to say, so the two of them remained silent all the way back home.

After getting off the carriage at the second gate, Qi Buchen looked at Yinzhen walking towards the main courtyard with some doubts. At this point, he should have gone back to the front yard to rest.

Yinzhen took two steps and saw that she hadn't caught up. He turned slightly and said, "What are you standing there for? Didn't you say you wanted to measure me?"

"Oh, oh." Qi Buchen was stunned for a moment and hurried forward.

Back in the main courtyard, Qi Buchen signaled Fuyun to measure Yinzhen's size.

Yinzhen raised his eyelids and said lightly, "Fujin is here."

Qi Buchen paused for a moment, finally took the measuring tape and stepped forward to measure.

Yinzhen stood with his hands raised. Qi Buchen stood in front of him and could clearly smell the faint scent of alcohol on him. Her eyes could look directly at his chin. If she got closer, the air she exhaled from her breath could touch his neck.

Yinzhen's Adam's apple moved up and down.

Qi Buchen looked away and carefully measured the width of her shoulders and the length of her hands. Finally, when he measured her height, he found that she was not tall enough, so he asked someone to bring an embroidered cushion for her to step on.

"More than two inches taller." Qi Buchen compared the data before and after and concluded, frowning slightly, "You should have started to grow rapidly. You must supplement your nutrition well from now on, otherwise..."

Otherwise you won’t be tall in the end.

"Yeah." Yinzhen didn't pursue her unfinished words and walked out leisurely, "I'm going back to rest."

Su Peisheng helped Yinzhen lie down and was about to leave when he heard his master's voice from inside the tent: "Tell the concubine the truth about the master's meal."

Su Peisheng rolled his eyes, guessed what his master meant, and replied softly, "Yeah."

So the next day, after Qi Buchen got up, a young eunuch came to the front yard to ask for an audience: "Eunuch Su asked me to report to the Lady that although Eunuch Su brought the meals on time every day, the Master often did not use them, and only ate snacks when he was extremely hungry. Although Eunuch Su tried to persuade the Master, the Master would not stop. Eunuch Su was helpless and could only ask the Lady to think of a solution."

Qi Buchen pinched his eyebrows, and she knew that he didn't look like he was eating well when he looked so skinny. "I know, go down."

What else could she do? She knew that Yinzhen was a workaholic. Once he started working, he would completely forget himself. Eating and sleeping were a waste of time for him.

But we can't just ignore it. Yinzhen has a weak constitution and has been a vegetarian for many years. His protein intake is not enough. Now he has entered the growth period. If he doesn't take the opportunity to supplement his nutrition, his body will need more in the future.

If this continues, short life will not be a dream at all.

Alas! Qi Buchen sighed deeply. Raising a child is so difficult.

It is even more difficult to support a retired husband.

Yinzhen looked up from his desk, looked at Su Peisheng and asked, "What did you just say?"

"My servant said that the concubine has arrived and is waiting outside the yamen." Su Peisheng said with a smile.

Yinzhen stood up suddenly and walked out quickly: "Why is she here? Did something happen in the mansion?"

Su Peisheng followed with small steps, smiling and saying, "Nothing has happened in the mansion. It's time for dinner now. I thought that Fu Jin should be here to bring you food."

Yinzhen was stunned for a moment, and his anxious pace slowed down: "Really?"

"Of course, yesterday the lady was very distressed that you had lost so much weight." Su Peisheng was not saying anything good to Qi Buchen, he just knew what his master wanted to hear.

Yinzhen stopped talking, but his pace became three times faster than before, and from a distance it looked like he was about to run.

"Isn't that the Fourth Prince? Why is he in such a hurry? Did something happen?" A colleague from the Ministry of Works who went to the cafeteria for lunch saw him from afar and couldn't help but wonder.

The person next to him replied, "I haven't heard of it. Let's go eat first and come back to ask later. I'm starving."

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The author has something to say: Qi Buchen: If you are less than 1.8 meters tall, don’t say I raised you.

Yinzhen: I will eat, I will eat, I will eat as much as I can, I swear to grow to 1.8 meters!