On the boat, Lao Jiu and Lao Shi stood on the deck, looking out at the sea.
Seeing that Old Ten was looking unhappy, Old Nine patted him on the shoulder and said, "We'll be arriving at the harbor in a few days. Why are you looking so unhappy?"
Lao Shi said with a bitter face, "I miss Fu Jin a little bit."
Lao Jiu couldn't help laughing, but fell silent after a moment. "I do want to, too. We've been gone for a year, who wouldn't want to? But there's nothing we can do. We have to come out and make money. If we don't, how can we let them live a good life?"
Lao Shi thought about it and felt that this was true.
After adjusting his mindset, a smile appeared on his face.
Thinking of the treasures brought back from this trip to the sea, I became excited again.
"Brother Jiu, we made a lot of money this time, right?"
Lao Jiu smiled so hard that his teeth showed, and patted his chest and said, "Of course. How can you not make money by following your ninth brother?"
"I've thought it through. This time, not only will I hand over half of the profits to the national treasury, I'll also give you an extra 10%."
Lao Shi was stunned. "Why do you want to give me an extra 10%?"
Lao Jiu patted his shoulder and said, "It's so hard for you to come out once in a while. Besides, all the accounts in your house are managed by your wife. How can you go out without any money? You should keep the extra ten percent for yourself and don't give it to your wife."
Old Ten touched his head sheepishly and nodded in agreement, "Thank you, Brother Nine."
Lao Jiu touched his head and said, "In the blink of an eye, we have all grown up. I just don't know how things are going in the capital, and how Brother Eight and Sister-in-law are doing."
Old Ten sighed, "Ever since they got married, it seems like they haven't had many happy days. Especially after the child was born, I always hear them arguing."
Lao Jiu also nodded and said, "Yes, Eighth Sister-in-law doesn't like other women to touch Eighth Brother, and she doesn't like other women to give birth to Eighth Brother's children. But this kind of thing is simply unrealistic. I just hope that Eighth Brother and Eighth Sister-in-law can live a good life."
Soon the boat docked. The two stood on the deck and looked into the distance. They saw carriages sent by various families to pick up people. It was not until they got off the boat that they discovered that their respective wives and children had also come.
At this time, at the harbor, Lao Shi was hugging his wife, tears welling up in his eyes with excitement, and his speech was unclear. "Wife, I will never go to sea again. I miss you so much."
The Tenth Lady blushed at what he said, but she felt happy in her heart.
Seeing this, the ninth prince and his wife also laughed secretly. Before the four of them could say anything more, Liang Jiugong and his men rushed over. After greeting each other, he said, "The emperor has invited the two princes and his wife to go to Changchun Garden together. The emperor and the empress are also here."
The four of them did not dare to delay any longer and followed Liang Jiugong to Changchun Garden. They had been at sea for more than a year and now that they were back, Kangxi naturally wanted to ask what had happened along the way.
But what they didn't expect was that the first news they received on the road was that Eighth Sister-in-law had committed suicide.
After a moment of surprise, the two of them sighed and thought about finding an opportunity to find the starling and comfort it.
In Changchun Garden, Kangxi listened to his two sons recount their experiences on this voyage. The more he listened, the happier he became. When the atmosphere reached its climax, Kangxi looked at Yinreng and said with a smile, "Next year I also want to go to sea."
Yinreng rejected him without even thinking, "Don't even think about it, that's impossible."
Kangxi immediately pouted, and he was not convinced. He said angrily: "Old Nine and Old Ten can go to sea, why can't I go to sea? If you are worried about my health and safety, you can send more people to follow me."
Yinreng looked at him with a half-smile, "You're already so old, and you still want to go to sea? I'm lucky enough to be able to take you on a northern tour. The sea is endless, what if something happens on the way?"
Kangxi was not convinced and wanted to say something, and the ninth and tenth brothers also agreed with him.
"The Emperor only heard us talk about the fun things we encountered along the way, but he didn't know that we also encountered many dangerous moments. The sea was very rough and the waves were so strong that we were almost thrown into the sea several times. We can be considered to have escaped death by being able to come back this time."
When they said this, Concubine Yi's heart immediately tightened, and her eyes were full of heartache and pity when she looked at Xiaojiu.
When Kangxi heard what his sons said, he knew that his plan to go to sea was absolutely impossible, so he stopped thinking about it and only thought about the northern tour.
Autumn soon arrived.
Kangxi's luggage had already been packed, and they were just waiting for Yinreng's order so that everyone could set off.
Unexpectedly, at this time, news came that Su Malagu was seriously ill.
Since the Empress Dowager passed away, Su Malagu has lived in Changchun Garden. She rarely comes out to chat with others. She almost always chants scriptures or reads books in the small Buddhist temple in her yard. She just doesn't like people talking to her.
In the first two years, seeing her like this, Kangxi was very worried that she would not be able to bear it, so he gave Yinzhen, the son of Ding Guiren, to Su Malagu to raise.
At this time, Yinzhen was already a child with memory, and he naturally knew that Sumalagu was not his mother.
Fortunately, Su Malagu did not stop the child from meeting Concubine Ding. She also knew that Kangxi wanted her to divert her sadness by raising Yinzhen.
She was indeed happy during those years.
She supported Yinzhen and often invited Concubine Ding to stay with her. She never stopped Yinzhen from meeting Concubine Ding, and she even told Concubine Ding that she had accumulated a lot of savings in the palace during her lifetime, and after she died, all of these savings would be given to Yinzhen.
Concubine Ding knew that her status was humble, and there was no way she could refuse the emperor's entrustment of his son to Su Malagu for upbringing. Even in this palace, Su Malagu was just a maid, but in everyone's hearts her weight was much higher than that of a concubine.
She had no choice but to agree happily.
Fortunately, the two women have a big age gap, but they understand each other and get along very harmoniously.
By the end, the two of them actually developed a true relationship with each other.
Now that Su Malagu was dying, Yinzhen stayed by her bedside every day, feeding her medicine and taking care of her daily life.
Ding Guiren also moved into her yard and took care of her together.
The original date for the northern tour was October 3rd, but on the morning of October 1st, Su Malagu passed away in her sleep.
Yinreng arranged a grand funeral for her and buried her next to the mausoleum of Empress Xiaozhuang, which was considered the best destination for her.
The departure date remained unchanged, but Yinzhen, who was originally going to travel with them, took the initiative to stay.
Kangxi not only had no objection to this, but instead praised him highly.
In the carriages, Kangxi, Concubine Yi and Concubine Hui were in one carriage, and Yinreng was in another.
Occasionally, he could hear laughter coming from the carriage in front of him, and in his heart he was sincerely grateful for everything he had encountered in this life.
He even secretly made a wish, praying that if there was an afterlife, he could be reborn as the emperor's son to continue this fate.
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