Chapter 141: A large number of tents were set up in the open space outside the Second Child Palace...
A large number of tents had been set up in the open area outside the palace. Yinxiang was patrolling the perimeter when he saw Qi Buchen and hurried over to greet him. "Fourth sister-in-law, are you and Honghui okay? Fourth brother went out to look for you. Has he found you?"
"We're fine, even if we encounter one." Qi Buchen looked at the dark circles under Yinxiang's eyes and couldn't help but advise, "You should also make sure to rest."
This child is also unlucky. I don't know what Kangxi was thinking. His relationship with the prince is getting worse and worse. He doesn't use his previous sons, but chooses Yinxiang to be the banner.
Although Yinxiang seemed to be very favored in the past two years, only Yinxiang himself knew the worries and anxieties inside. This time when Kangxi went south, he only brought the prince, Yinzhen and Yinxiang. Some time ago, they arrived in Dezhou according to the schedule. The next day, he announced to the public that the prince was ill and could not go on. So the southern tour team stayed in the Dezhou Palace. Kangxi also sent an imperial edict to the capital, asking Soetu to rush over to attend to the prince.
At that time, the atmosphere among the people accompanying the emperor was not right. Yinzhen came back with a heavy heart and told Qi Buchen to keep a low profile in the next few days. He also specially called Yinxiang to give him some advice.
Unfortunately, all his words were in vain. On the second day after the prince fell ill, Kangxi actually issued an edict, ordering Yinxiang to offer sacrifices at Mount Tai.
That’s Mount Tai. What were the identities of those who offered sacrifices on Mount Tai since ancient times?
Yinxiang was nearly frightened to death and ran to Yinzhen for help. What could Yinzhen do? He could only comfort Yinxiang and tell him to just think of it as filial piety and doing errands for the Emperor, and not to think too much about it.
Yinxiang went there trembling with fear, and after returning, he locked himself in the yard and dared not go out. It is said that he could not sleep for nights.
Fortunately, Kangxi still had a conscience. After the sacrifice at Mount Tai, he seemed to have forgotten Yinxiang and did not ask him to accompany him again.
Seeing that the weather had been calm for a few days, Qi Buchen, unable to resist Honghui's coaxing, agreed to go out for a walk, but unexpectedly, an earthquake occurred.
Yinxiang smiled bitterly. "Thank you, Fourth Sister-in-law, for your concern. The tent for you and Fourth Brother has been set up. I'll have someone take you there."
Qi Buchen returned to the tent and without hesitation ordered someone to call the imperial physician. She was fine, but Honghui was. He also ordered someone to call a local doctor, after all, Ruixiang and the others were also seriously injured.
After the imperial physician examined Honghui, he concluded that it was just a swelling, which made Qi Buchen feel relieved.
After several waves of aftershocks on the second day, the earthquake finally stopped. Qi Buchen received news that the source of the earthquake was in Jinning County, not far from Dezhou. It was said that more than half of the houses there collapsed. The local county government’s troops were unable to organize disaster relief and even sent a letter for help to Dezhou.
It is not known who Kangxi sent to the disaster relief area, but Yinzhen was busy in Dezhou Prefecture. He came back to see her once, and when he learned that she and her mother were fine, he left again.
Even under such circumstances, the prince never showed up. Qi Buchen occasionally took Honghui for a walk in the camp, and from a distance he could see a large number of guards guarding the prince's tent.
On the fourth day after the earthquake, everyone finally moved back to the palace, and the lump behind Honghui's head had almost disappeared.
After Yinzhen had nearly completed the earthquake relief work, Kangxi announced his return to Beijing, discontinuing his planned southern journey. He also stated that while the Crown Prince's condition had improved somewhat, he still could not move significantly, and that Suo-etu would remain with the Crown Prince until he recovered before returning to Beijing.
Therefore, not only did this trip to the south end abruptly, but the crown prince of a country was also thrown out.
On the carriage back to Beijing, Yinzhen hugged Qi Buchen, Qi Buchen hugged Honghui, and Honghui hugged his mother with one hand and held his father with the other.
After the earthquake, Honghui became more clingy. Yinzhen no longer taught him a lesson as before, and Qi Buchen tried his best to comfort him, fearing that he would suffer from any psychological trauma.
Yinzhen rested his chin on Fu Jin's shoulder and whispered in Qi Buchen's ear, "Next year, the emperor will celebrate his fiftieth birthday. Let's give him the cowpox cure as a birthday gift."
Qi Buchen began working on the cowpox vaccination after Honghui was born. She didn't directly present the final results, but instead worked with Imperial Physician Fu to research a safer vaccination method. Because they could only hint at the cause, progress was slow. It took over a year for Imperial Physician Fu, along with the doctors Yinzhen had consulted privately, to confirm that cowpox and smallpox were caused by the same pathogen. Only then did they enter the experimental phase. Due to a shortage of test subjects, progress remained slow. It wasn't until the sudden outbreak of smallpox in the capital at the beginning of this spring that they had sufficient test material, finally reaching a final conclusion before they left the capital.
Yinzhen knew about this matter throughout the whole process, so he kept thinking about when to present this thing and in what posture. Originally, he thought of waiting for another two years and secretly submitting a memorial to the emperor before Honghui was about to be vaccinated against smallpox. However, this trip to the south encountered frequent problems and the situation took a turn for the worse.
He felt that not only should this cowpox method be disclosed, but it should also be disclosed early and disclosed to everyone, regardless of whether it would attract too much attention. The important thing was to provide insurance for his family.
He now has a wife and children. He can't be used as a target without any resistance like Yinxiang.
Qi Buchen was not as sensitive as him in this regard, so he just agreed: "Okay."
The prince did not return to Beijing until almost December. When he came back, he was only accompanied by Soetu, and Kangxi did not arrange anyone to welcome him. It looked very miserable.
Yinzhen endured it again and again, but in the end he couldn't hold it back any longer and went to receive it. He came back and sighed to Qi Buchen, "A crown prince of a country shouldn't be like this. He not only represents himself, but also the Qing Dynasty and the imperial family."
Didn't the Emperor think that this would not only slap the Crown Prince in the face, but also slap himself in the face? If the Crown Prince lost his dignity, wouldn't the officials also look down on the royal family?
Qi Buchen didn't respond, but patted him soothingly and changed the subject: "Ninth and Tenth Brothers have been deciding on their wives for so long, haven't they decided on a wedding date yet?"
Yin'er and Yin'e can be said to be brothers in distress. They are both about to turn 20, but they still haven't married a wife. Although it doesn't prevent them from having children with concubines, according to the social cognition at that time, if they don't have a wife, they are still single. They are both old bachelors without wives.
Yinzhen sighed again: "If the Emperor doesn't give the order, who dares to make the decision?"
Well, it’s Emperor Kangxi again.
Qi Buchen shut up and said nothing. He might not be able to get around Kangxi today.
As the New Year was approaching, Qi Buchen was still thinking that if the last month went smoothly, he should be able to have a peaceful year. However, as soon as he finished speaking, something unexpected happened in the court.
First-class uncle Xinyu was impeached for forcing and beating servants in his household, resulting in the death of more than 30 people. His crimes are extremely serious and he should be severely punished.
Kangxi was furious and ordered a strict investigation. Eventually, the Dali Temple found out the truth and stripped Xinyu of all his official positions and titles, and demoted him to a commoner.
On this day, countless people were saying the same thing at the same time: The wind is going to blow.
Because Xinyu is Soetu's younger brother and the backbone of the Prince's Party.
The beginning of the 42nd year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign was filled with joy and celebration. There was no sign of anything amiss. Because it was the 500th birthday, people did not wait until the Wanshou Festival in May as in the past to start celebrating. From the first day of office, vassal states such as Korea and Ryukyu sent longevity gifts, and then all officials jointly presented a screen with the words "Long Live the Emperor". It was very lively.
Perhaps because he was in a better mood, during the prayer ceremony, Kangxi finally appointed the crown prince, who had been staying in the Yuqing Palace in a low-key manner since returning to the palace last year, which made many people feel relieved.
Yinzhen was like this, but a few days later, Kangxi issued an order to restart the southern tour that was interrupted halfway last year. The accompanying personnel were: the prince, Yinzhen, and Yinxiang.
This lineup looked so familiar that he couldn't help but think about it.
"You and Honghui don't have to go this time. Just stay at home." Yinzhen's tone was a little heavy.
Qi Buchen knew his worries, and she was helpless about it. She could only try her best to make Yinzhen happy: "I'm afraid I can't go even if you ask me to."
"Hmm?" Yinzhen frowned in confusion.
Qi Buchen leaned close to his ear and whispered, "My period is five days late."
Yinzhen's expression was surprised at first, then turned into joy: "You mean?"
Qi Buchen frowned and said, "Not necessarily. The time is too short to tell."
Yinzhen didn't care about her. He was so happy that he was dancing with joy. He was sitting opposite Qi Buchen, but now he quickly came to her side and touched her belly: "If you are not sure, you can ask the imperial physician to check it and you will know!"
He was about to call for help, but Qi Buchen had no choice but to hold him back: "Even if she is, it's still early. If it's not, I don't want people to think I'm frivolous."
Yinzhen disagreed with her, but he couldn't persuade her, so he was finally forced to compromise: "Then you must be careful. You suffered so much last time, you must not let anything happen again this time. Put off everything for the next few days, don't go out unless it is absolutely necessary, and don't pamper Honghui too much. He is big now and heavy. Don't hold him all the time. What if he gets tired? Also, don't drink cold water, and be careful about what you eat..."
He said a lot of random things.
Qi Buchen listened with amusement and didn't mind his nagging.
Yinzhen left with worry, and Qi Buchen stayed at home to take care of the baby. Although Yinzhen did not allow her to hold Honghui, how could she do that? Qi Buchen still kept close to Honghui, but he also made it clear to Honghui that his mother was not feeling well, so Honghui had to touch her gently and not too hard.
Honghui is very obedient and executes well.
Qi Buchen suddenly woke up one night and vomited a few mouthfuls of acid. She finally confirmed that she was really pregnant. The next day, she asked Doctor Fu to come and see her. As expected, she was pregnant before the New Year.
When Yinzhen received the letter from his wife confirming her pregnancy, he was already in Changzhou. He hid in the house and was happy for a while, but when he walked out of the door, he became the ruthless and unkind Fourth Prince again.
Kangxi's southern tour was quite quick this time, and he returned to Beijing in mid-March. Yinzhen was so eager to return home that he wanted to fly back home.
But when he saw his wife, he was shocked. Before he could express his longing, Yinzhen asked, "What's going on? It's not even four months yet, how come your belly is so big? Last time with Honghui, I remember it wasn't until almost five months that your belly showed."
Last time, she didn't show any signs of pregnancy for a long time, but this time she showed her pregnancy too early. Yinzhen was a little worried. It was a good thing that the concubine was pregnant, but couldn't it be normal for once?
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Author's words: Yinzhen: I respond to the call of the country
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