187 Backyard Issues Orondai remained calm: "The timing...
Orondai remained calm and said, "When the time comes, I will report it."
Longkodo raised his eyelids and didn't respond.
Alinga stepped forward at the opportune moment. "Third Master, given our relationship, I won't beat around the bush. The throne is now vacant, and the two eldest princes have both lost the emperor's favor. As for the remaining princes, what are your thoughts?"
Longkodo remained silent for a moment, then turned his head to look at Nalan Kuixu: "You are already one of the Nine Ministers, so why are you getting involved in this mess?"
Nalan Kuixu lamented, "The Qing Dynasty has only been established for a hundred years. How many Nine Ministers have there been? How many have changed in recent years? Its prosperity and decline depend entirely on the Emperor's whim. Even the lineage of Prince Gong, the son of the late Emperor, is now a nobody, let alone me. When my father passed away, he was obsessed with the glory of our family. You only see me among the Nine Ministers now, but don't you think of the people after me? Can every generation produce a Nine Minister? Only a hereditary title can preserve the Nalan lineage forever."
Longkodo fell silent again, silently turning the wine glass in his hand.
Seeing the atmosphere was somewhat tense, Alinga stepped forward and asked, "Third Master, how is Elder Tong's health lately?"
Longkodo glanced at him and replied simply, "Not bad."
Alinga ignored his perfunctory response and continued, "Eighth Prince asked me to convey my regards to Elder Tong. I will always remember your kindness in recommending me for forty-seven years."
In the 48th year, after the crown prince was deposed, Tong Guowei recommended Yinsi as the crown prince, but was reprimanded by Kangxi and retired home.
Longkodo gave him a deep look and said, "I'll pass on the message." After a pause, he raised his eyebrows slightly and looked at Alinga and said, "I'm a little curious, does your wife... know?"
Alinga's wife was Defei's younger sister.
The person being asked about was Fu Jin, but actually she was referring to Uyajia and Defei.
Alinga smiled casually, "I often drink with Fourteenth Prince at Eighth Master's residence." He sneered, "Why would Third Master be curious about this? After all, shouldn't you be curious about the Niuhulu family first?"
The Niuhulu family is Yin'e's maternal family.
Longkodo retracted his gaze: "It's something everyone knows, why be curious?"
The identity of the Tenth Concubine is much more certain than that of Concubine Hongxi.
Alinga acted as if he had suddenly understood something: "Is that so?" His eyes twinkled, still smiling, "I almost forgot that the Fourth Prince grew up in the presence of Empress Xiaoyi."
Longkodo said nothing.
Orondai frowned and said sarcastically, "Fourth Prince? I'm afraid he has no interest in the throne."
Nalan Kuixu took a sip and joked, "Nowadays, everyone in the capital, from eighty-year-old women to ten-year-old girls, admires two people. One is my elder brother, and the other is this Fourth Prince."
"A lifetime, a generation, a pair, competing to make each other ecstasy." After reciting the poem, he took a sip of wine in a wild manner, "Hehe, one left behind a famous work, the other put it into practice."
"I wonder if my brother down there considers the Fourth Prince a close friend?"
Alinga chuckled inwardly. Nalan Kuixu had lived under the aura of his brilliant elder brother since childhood. Even now, as one of the Nine Ministers, he still spoke of his elder brother with a sour tone. His support for the Eighth Prince's bid for the throne must have been motivated by a desire to surpass his elder brother.
Unfortunately, he didn't understand that the living cannot compare to the dead, and the vulgar speculators cannot compare to the great talents of the bright and clear world.
Especially since he was a great talent who died young.
Longkodo ignored Nalan Kuixu, who was poked in the groin, and sneered at Orondai, saying, "If you talk about this, the Eighth Prince is not much behind."
Qi Buchen and Baya were once tied for first place on the list of fierce women in the capital, and both Yinzhen and Yinsi had the reputation of being henpecked.
However, over the years, Qi Buchen had four sons and was completely absorbed in her career, spending most of her earnings on Yinzhen. With this wealth, her diplomatic relations were incredibly strong. Furthermore, despite their disagreements, Qi Buchen never challenged Yinzhen in public, which subtly improved her reputation. As the saying goes, "A man who has benefited from others is always grateful for what he has received." These days, few people say she was jealous and prevented Yinzhen from taking a concubine, instead arguing that their relationship was genuine.
Baya, on the other hand, was not only childless, but also possessed a fiery temper. When she and Yinsi were angry, she would often argue with him in front of others, regardless of the occasion. Later, Yinsi, in order to have an heir, took in several concubines. While many of these were initiated by Baya, outsiders perceived her as forced into action. Later rumors of Baya's abuse of her concubines only solidified this belief.
So, to be honest, in terms of reputation in this regard, Yinzhen is better than Yinsi.
Longkodo was simply at odds with Orondai and just wanted to say something sarcastic to him, but just as he finished speaking, he saw Orondai's expression change slightly.
Longkodo was stunned for a moment, then suddenly an idea flashed in his mind: "Last time I heard that the Eighth Lady found a villa for the Eighth Prince. Could it be my eldest cousin's villa?"
Orondei's face darkened.
"Haha." Longkodo didn't give him face and laughed loudly, holding his knees.
Orondai stood up suddenly: "I have said everything I need to say. I have something else to do, so I will leave now."
"Oh, brother..." Alinga looked at Orondai walking away with a gait of a dragon and a tiger in confusion, not understanding why this man left without saying anything.
Just find the other courtyard and go there, why did you leave?
Alinga looked at Longkodo, who was still laughing, and said, "Third Master..."
"Hahaha, haha." Longkodo stood up with a smile, "Master...Master has something to do too...Ha, I'll be leaving first."
"Hey!" Alinga couldn't stop anyone and could only watch Longkodo leave. He sat down in confusion and asked, "What's going on with all these people?"
He looked at Nalan Kuixu, who was drinking by himself, and said, "Brother Nalan, what do you think about today's matter? Is there any hope for Longkodo?"
Nalan Kuixu shook his head: "Longkodo is now in a high position of power and has deep thoughts. I can't see through him."
"Tsk." Alinga was a little dissatisfied. "Then do you think that this line from Elder Tong will be useful?"
Nalan Kuixu still shook his head. "It's hard to say. Although Elder Tong once supported the Eighth Prince, he has been away from the court for a long time and has had little contact with the Eighth Prince in recent years. Moreover, with Longkodo's current power, the Tong family's second branch has probably been handed over to him. Even Elder Tong will probably have to consider Longkodo's opinions first."
Alinga sighed, "If I had known this would happen, I would have..." He shook his head, putting aside those lucky chances, and frowned slightly. "What do you think? Why did Longkodo suddenly mention the Uya family just now? Is he trying to support the Fourth Prince?"
After saying this, Alinga himself didn't believe it: "No way? The Fourth Prince obviously has no intention."
"It's hard to say," Nalan Kuixu pondered. "Who can say for sure whether the Fourth Prince was doing this intentionally or not? In the early years, he might have been genuinely unintentional. After all, back then the Crown Prince's position was secure, and the Eldest Prince was eyeing him covetously. But given the current situation, who among the remaining princes can truly not care?"
"Think about it, besides the backyard issues that have been criticized, does the Fourth Prince have anything else that has been criticized?"
Alinga seemed to be thinking: "That's true."
Nalan Kuixu took a sip of wine and said, "As for the backyard issue, what's the problem? It's just a matter of recruiting a few people. What's so difficult about that? Who knows, the backyard's location could be a good way to win people over."
Alinga smiled, understandingly saying, "Scarcity makes things valuable." Then his expression grew serious again, and he muttered to himself, "But this will only complicate the situation further..."
Nalan Kuixu didn't say anything else. After a moment's silence, the two of them left one after another.
A few days later, Lin Changqing came to reply about Mandu Hu's inheritance of the title.
"Wei Zhu?" Qi Buchen saw a familiar name.
Lin Changqing stood with his hands behind his back. "Yes, the matter of Prince Haishan allowing the eunuch to commit the crime was first reported to the Emperor by Eunuch Wei. The Emperor ordered the Imperial Clan Court to investigate, and only then did the Imperial Clan Director submit a petition. After the Imperial Clan Court's investigation, it was discovered that the other sons of the late Prince Gong were actively working to inherit the title."
Qi Buchen pondered, "So, this is just a coincidence, and it's just that Mandu Hu later asked Lao Ba for help, so he got the title in the end?"
Lin Changqing answered cautiously, "I don't know." He only truthfully stated what he had found out. As for whether it was a coincidence or human error, he would not speak without verification.
Qi Buchen didn't make things difficult for him and breathed a sigh of relief: "Let's leave it at that for now. You continue to pay attention and see how far the two palaces of Prince Gong and Prince Yu have gone with their neighbors."
"Yes." Lin Changqing stepped back.
Qi Buchen sat on his stomach, thinking about the situation in the court for a while, then shook his head, threw these annoying things aside, and called Baozhu: "How is the cleanup going?"
Counting the days, the vaccination of the triplets should be nearing the end. Although Yinzhen has not yet sent back a message to confirm when they will come out, she has already begun to impatiently clean up the mansion and prepare to welcome them.
Baozhu detailed today's progress, and Qi Buchen nodded. "The weather is getting colder, and the wind is blowing fiercely today. Go and ask Songying to take out some of the good furs from the treasury, and then ask Fuyun to come in and make some clothes for the prince and his brothers."
Baozhu agreed and then asked, "We need to prepare a few pairs of boots. There's been a lot of snow this year, so the soles need to be thicker."
"Yes, yes, I almost forgot if you hadn't told me." Qi Buchen was a little annoyed. "I don't know what's wrong with me recently. I forget things I thought of the same thing the second I turn around. It seems I'm really getting old."
Baozhu pursed her lips and smiled: "Fujin, you are only in your early thirties. How can you say you are old? You haven't even had tea with your wife."
Qi Buchen sighed: "Speaking of which, more and more people have been asking about Honghui's marriage recently. He is obviously still a child, and I don't know what they are anxious about."
Baozhu disagreed. "If I were to ask you, it's time for your wife to consider this. My prince is thirteen this year, and fifteen already. If we can choose a wife next year, and wait two years, then we can get married. Otherwise, if we don't choose one next year, we'll have to wait another three years. By then, my prince will be twenty. If he still hasn't married by then, he'll be a laughing stock."
Qi Buchen was speechless. He was thirteen this year. Even if he waited another four years, he would only be seventeen. How could he be twenty already? Aren't you guys a little too young for your age?
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore. Go and do your thing."
Qi Buchen waved his hand helplessly and drove Baozhu away.
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