Chapter 123: Southern Tour Qi Buchen and the others quietly returned to the inner city that day,...
Qi Buchen and the other man quietly returned to the inner city that day without alerting anyone.
However, Kangxi and the Empress Dowager did not return to the palace until after the Lantern Festival. As soon as they returned, Kangxi issued an edict announcing that he would accompany the Empress Dowager on a southern tour, with the departure time set for the second day of the second lunar month, the day when the Dragon raises its head. However, the accompanying personnel were not decided at the first opportunity.
When Qi Buchen heard the word "February 2nd", she thought of what happened last year and the various problems that followed. She also suddenly remembered that she didn't seem to pay attention to what happened to Longkodo, Li Si'er, and Prince Wen later.
Since you remembered it, why not send someone to inquire? Xie Hanshan has been assigned by her to manage the maritime trade business. The eunuch currently in use is called Sun Liangping. He was originally a dog breeder, but later Qi Buchen discovered that he was smart and capable, so he promoted him.
Sun Liangping lived up to Qi Buchen's expectations and even asked for very detailed information. Some details made Qi Buchen suspect that he had crawled under someone's bed and eavesdropped.
It turned out that after receiving forty lashes of the cane, Li Si'er's legs were broken. She could no longer use either leg and was confined to bed most of the time. Longkodo summoned many renowned doctors, including the imperial physician, many under the name Tong Guowei, but none could help. Li Si'er remained paralyzed. Longkodo, however, remained devoted to her, reportedly doting on her even after her paralysis, granting her whatever she asked for. Even Longkodo's wife could not find her in his backyard.
But there was one slight difference. A man like Longkodo would not compromise himself for a woman. He doted on Li Si'er, but that didn't stop him from attacking the maids around him. Li Si'er was also a vicious person. She couldn't control Longkodo, so she went to trouble the maids and concubines. Longkodo was a scumbag who turned his back on people and didn't care about Li Si'er's abuse of those girls. It was said that a strange phenomenon had formed in the Tong Mansion. All women under the age of 30 avoided Longkodo. Not only the maids, but also the concubines in other courtyards. After all, Li Si'er had a criminal record. Longkodo even robbed his father-in-law's people. Who knew if he would attack the women of his brothers?
As for Prince Wen, after being demoted to Beile, he seemed to have given up on himself and no longer acted in front of Princess Wen. He went to find his concubines all day long. As soon as he arrived, Princess Wen would go to arrest him. The two of them have now become a scene in the capital, and the Nalan family has also lost a lot of face. It is said that Mingzhu had a tantrum in the mansion and threatened to teach her son-in-law Prince Wen a lesson.
I don’t know how he was taught a lesson, but it seems that Prince Wen hasn’t changed much.
Qi Buchen felt somewhat satisfied when he heard about Li Si'er's fate, but he was even more angry that she and Longkodo, the two bitches, were still harming those innocent girls. And also Longkodo's wife, Hesheli. Qi Buchen really hated her for not fighting and was angry at her misfortune. If she had any backbone, she would not be like this now.
But she was too lazy to care about this kind of thing, so she just listened and let it go.
There are still four days before the southern tour begins, but the list of accompanying personnel has not yet been released. Yinzhen is feeling a little impatient. Qi Buchen can understand him. He has been neglected for a year. If Kangxi leaves him alone again this time, Yinzhen will probably be hit hard again.
Fortunately, at the last moment before leaving the yamen that afternoon, good news finally came from the palace. The list of accompanying personnel was finalized, and Yinzhen was on the list!
But no one cared, because except for the crown prince, Kangxi brought all his sons before the fourteenth, and also brought many people from the harem, including concubines, and several concubines who have been favored in recent years.
"So, I can go this time too, right?" Qi Buchen asked with sparkling eyes. She had been here for so long, and except for a trip to the Great Wall, she had never been far away. The farthest she had gone was to go out of the city to worship Buddha.
Yinzhen was in a good mood, a rare sight. He restrained himself and smiled happily, "Yeah."
Qi Buchen stared at him blankly.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" Yinzhen put away his smile and touched his face in confusion. "Is there something on my face?"
Qi Buchen shook his head and said sincerely, "Your smile was so beautiful just now. Can you smile more in the future?"
Rarely had he heard such straightforward praise, Yinzhen blushed shyly and stammered, "Nonsense! How can you say a man is...good-looking...that's used to describe a woman!"
"I said it wrong. It's handsome, unrestrained, as handsome as Pan An, elegant as jade, and so beautiful that the moon and flowers are ashamed of themselves..." Qi Buchen rushed forward and hugged his neck, looking at his face unscrupulously, and words came out of his mouth without any hesitation.
Yinzhen covered her mouth in shame and pursed his lips. Even though his ears and face were bleeding, he pretended to be serious: "You're wrong again. 'Beauty that shames the moon and the flowers' is also used to describe women."
Qi Buchen's eyes curved into crescents, and he pouted and kissed the palm of his hand.
Yinzhen shrank his palm as if burned, his eyes gradually darkening. He put down his hand, stared at Qi Buchen and said, "You are so sweet today, did you eat some candy secretly?"
"You? Try it yourself." Qi Buchen shook his head proudly.
He held the back of her head with his big hand and kissed her passionately.
This wasted a whole day packing my luggage.
After setting off from the capital, it only took four or five days of carriage ride to reach the dock in Tianjin, and everyone was transferred to the boat. Because there were so many people brought out, they did not have the good treatment of one boat per family. Qi Buchen was unable to travel with Yinzhen, but had to share a boat with several sisters-in-law.
But what Qi Buchen didn't expect was that she would get seasick!
I didn't feel seasick when I was rafting in □□ before. Could it be that the trauma of the time when Baya dragged me into the water has left me with this feeling that I'm seasick now?
After Qi Buchen vomited a wave, he tried to find the reason with his confused mind.
Lan Hui had just finished cleaning up Qi Buchen's vomit when the Fifth Lady's voice came from outside the room: "Fourth sister-in-law, it's me."
Qi Buchen really didn't have the energy to speak. He winked at Lan Hui and asked her to open the door. He heard Lan Hui explain, "Fifth Lady, Seventh Lady, our Lady just felt a little nauseous and doesn't have the energy to speak loudly."
"It's okay, we just come to take a look." The Fifth Lady's cold tone came. Ever since she had a miscarriage, she has spoken in this tone when she appeared in front of people. Over time, everyone got used to it.
As they were talking, the two of them turned around the screen. Qi Buchen saw a flash of surprise on their faces. Then, recalling Lan Hui's behavior of intentionally or unintentionally stopping her from looking in the mirror over the past two days, he knew that his face was definitely not good at the moment.
But it doesn't matter. Qi Buchen is not the kind of person who would feel ashamed if others saw him in a miserable state.
"Sit down." Qi Buchen gestured for Lan Hui to help him sit up, and said weakly, "There's a smell in the room. Excuse me."
The room on the boat was small, and although it was filled with incense, they arrived so quickly that the smell had not yet dissipated.
"What's the big deal? Everyone has their moments of discomfort." The Seventh Lady was more lively than the Fifth Lady and asked, "Is Fourth Sister-in-law feeling better? Didn't you ask the imperial physician to see her? I've been seeing her making medicine these past few days."
Lan Hui answered on her behalf, "The imperial physician has examined her. He said seasickness is a physical condition and she can only adapt to it slowly. Medication won't be very effective, so Fu Jin has decided not to take it."
Qi Buchen nodded to indicate that this was the case.
The Seventh Lady disagreed: "Fourth Sister-in-law should drink some medicine, even if it has some effect."
Qi Buchen smiled faintly: "Seventh brother's wife is right."
The Seventh Lady didn't care whether Qi Buchen accepted her suggestion or not. She talked about some trivial things that happened on the boat during the past two days, and then said goodbye.
After seeing them off, Qi Buchen lay on the bed that was constantly shaking, her head was hit by waves of dizziness, and soon she started vomiting acid. She hadn't been able to eat for the past few days, and even if she wanted to vomit, she couldn't.
"Knock knock knock." Someone knocked on the door again.
Qi Buchen was a little annoyed. She really wanted to hang a Do Not Disturb sign outside. She really didn't want to receive guests when she was not feeling well.
When Lan Hui saw her close her eyes, she understood that she wanted to send the people outside away. She tiptoed to open the door, pretending that her master was asleep, but when she opened the door, she saw Lin Changqing.
Seeing her cautious expression, Lin Changqing lowered his voice and asked, "Is Fu Jin resting?"
Lan Hui waved her hand, looked outside the door to both sides, and whispered, "Come in."
"Madam, it's Lin Changqing." Lan Hui reported in a soft voice.
Lin Changqing walked in bent over, not daring to glance in the direction of the bed. He knelt outside the screen and greeted: "Good luck to the wife."
"No need to be so polite." Qi Buchen opened his eyes and said weakly, "Why are you here?"
The boat was moving all the time, and Lin Changqing was following Yinzhen. It took a lot of effort to change from one boat to another.
Lin Changqing replied respectfully, "My master has been worried since he learned that Madam Fu-jin was unwell. He heard that Madam Fu-jin couldn't eat, so he sent someone ashore to find some fresh fruit and sent a servant to bring it to Madam Fu-jin."
Yinzhen wanted to come by himself, but unfortunately there was not only his wife on the boat, but also his sister-in-law and brother's wife, so there was a strict separation between men and women.
"Besides..." Lin Changqing paused and continued, "The master also asked me to take a look at the lady's sick appearance."
Qi Buchen felt warm in her heart, and even her seasickness was relieved a lot. It was February, the weather was freezing cold, and the fleet had never docked. One could imagine how much effort Yinzhen had put in to find fresh fruits for her.
"Yeah." Qi Buchen said, "Go back and tell my father that I'm fine. I've been much better in the past two days. Don't tell him to worry."
"Don't go looking for any fresh fruit. It's just seasickness. It would be a waste to tell others about it."
"Yeah." Lin Changqing responded.
Qi Buchen was helped up by Lan Hui again, put on his outer clothes, and tidied his appearance a little: "Come in and take a look."
"Minion offends."
Lin Changqing stood up, turned around the screen, quickly looked up at the person on the bed, and then retreated the same way: "Then I will not disturb the lady's rest."
Qi Buchen even doubted whether he saw it clearly or not. He wanted to ask but gave up and waved his hand to let him leave.
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