Chapter 166 Honghui was injured. "Fourth sister-in-law." Thirteenth Concubine...
"Fourth sister-in-law." Although the Thirteenth Lady had a decent smile on her face, her whole spirit was very depressed.
Qi Buchen pulled her to sit down and asked with concern, "How is Thirteen?"
The Thirteenth Lady smiled bitterly and said, "I just locked myself in the study and didn't see anyone."
Yinxiang had been detained and despised by Kangxi once, and he was not included in the enfeoffment among the princes this time. He had suffered a great blow. He finally got out of Shangsiyuan. Although the front of the door was deserted and no one came except the people from Prince Yong's Mansion, Zhaojia could at least comfort herself that it was better to keep it a little quiet, as it was just the right time for Yinxiang to recuperate.
Just when Yinxiang seemed to have finally recovered some of his spirit, news came from Mongolia that the Thirteenth Princess had died of complications during childbirth after giving birth to twin daughters.
As soon as Yinxiang heard the news, he wanted to go to Mongolia, but the memorial he submitted requesting to leave Beijing fell on deaf ears and received no response.
Although Yinzhen and others reported the matter promptly, and Kangxi stated that he wanted to suppress the news for the sake of the Empress Dowager's health, Yinxiang believed that it was because he was disliked by the Emperor that his sister was implicated and did not receive any honors after her death.
This makes me more isolated.
Qi Buchen sighed: "You have worked harder these days. It's not easy for Thirteen either."
After falling from heaven to hell and facing the death of his close sister, it's a good thing that Thirteen didn't collapse.
"Tell Thirteen that this isn't her fault. The Queen Mother is indeed old and hasn't been feeling well lately. The Emperor is holding back because of this concern. It has nothing to do with him."
The Thirteenth Lady also sighed, "I've said everything I could, but Master remains silent." She hesitated slightly and said, "I wonder if Fourth Brother..."
Qi Buchen knew what she meant: "He has been busy with Prince Kang's affairs these days. When it is over, he will come to see Yinxiang."
The Thirteenth Lady said gratefully, "Thank you so much, Fourth Brother and Sister-in-law, for this past year."
"There's no need to be so polite between us."
Even after returning from the Thirteenth Mansion, he was not idle. Since Yinzhen was conferred the title of Bordered White Banner, his subordinates' female relatives came to visit him almost every day, which made Qi Buchen extremely annoyed.
"If you don't want to see her, then don't see her." Yinzhen came back at night and said simply after hearing her complain again.
Qi Buchen hesitated: "This is not good."
Yinzhen closed his eyes and let someone massage him to relax: "What's wrong with that? Are you still greedy for their little bit of filial piety?"
How is this possible? It’s not like I can’t earn it myself. Qi Buchen muttered, “I’m just worried about your reputation.”
"I have the title if I want it, and you can earn the money if I want it, so why do I need fame?" Yinzhen disagreed.
How dare you let your wife earn money?
Qi Buchen couldn't help but laugh: "Okay, since the prince doesn't care, then I will do what I want."
Yinzhen said, "It should have been done long ago. I don't think I'd let you feel wronged just because I'm in high rank."
Qi Buchen pondered for a moment and said, "I went to Thirteen's house today to check on him. Thirteen's condition isn't good. As for Wen Ke's matter..."
Yinzhen opened his eyes and said, "In two days, I will join forces with the third and fifth brothers to submit a memorial."
Perhaps it was the effect of the joint memorial submitted by the three princes, or perhaps it was the Empress Dowager's improved health, but this time Kangxi finally said that there was no need to hide the news of Wen Ke's death anymore, and ordered the Ministry of Rites to prepare for the princess's funeral, with the Left Vice Minister of the Ministry of Rites going to pay tribute on Kangxi's behalf.
Yinxiang's memorial was finally sent back, allowing him to leave Beijing and go to Inner Mongolia. Despite this, Yinxiang's mood did not improve.
This was because the highest-ranking official in the funeral team was the Minister, but according to convention, a Minister of the Third Rank should at least be sent. Yinxiang felt that Wen Ke was implicated because of him.
Since there was no way to deal with this matter, Yinzhen submitted a memorial requesting to go to Inner Mongolia to attend Wen Ke's funeral, but it was unfortunately rejected by Kangxi.
Just before departure, Yin'e suddenly arrived on horseback and said, "I have obtained the Emperor's consent. I will lead the team in this memorial ceremony."
No one knows how he obtained Kangxi's consent at the last moment, but having a prince can be considered to have saved Wen Ke's reputation. Inner Mongolia should pay more attention to Wen Ke's funeral, and her two daughters will probably be treated better.
At the end of July, Kangxi issued an order to go on a hunting trip to Mulan, accompanied by Yinreng, Yinqi, and two young princes, the fifteenth and the sixteenth.
Upon hearing the news, Qi Buchen's forehead began to throb, fearing that this would be the second time the crown prince would be deposed. Fortunately, until Kangxi returned to Beijing, what she worried about did not happen.
Tomorrow is Honghui's day off, and he should be back in the evening. Qi Buchen is staring at the ingredients and worrying about what kind of appetizing and nutritious food he wants to prepare for his son.
Lan Hui came in with a note: "Princess, we received a note from the front yard. The prince would like to show it to you."
Qi Buchen took it and unfolded it, first looking at the signature, which turned out to be Nian Gengyao, and his expression changed.
Looking more closely at the content, it turns out that Nian Gengyao was promoted from Cabinet Scholar to Governor of Sichuan, and invited Yinzhen to the banquet.
The Governor of Sichuan is already a high-ranking official. Once he takes this step, the world will be different in the future. It is reasonable to ask Yinzhen for help.
"What do you mean, Master?" Qi Buchen closed the post and asked.
Lan Hui said, "My master said he had something to do that day. If you want to go, Princess, you can go and take a look."
He still wants her to go, Qi Buchen thought, it seems that Yinzhen still values the Nian family.
Of course, she didn't go so far as to suspect whether Yinzhen had something going on with Nian. She had already inquired about it. Nian Gengyao had three sisters, one of whom was already married, and the others were still young and couldn't even participate in the selection. Yinzhen was not such a beast.
"Then go." Qi Buchen said. She also wanted to see with her own eyes what Concubine Nian looked like in history.
The triplets were so hungry that they kept crying, "Mom, I'm hungry!"
Qi Buchen stood at the door, looking forward to it, and said casually: "Have some snacks first, your eldest brother should be back soon."
Speak of Cao Cao and he will appear.
Two figures appeared at the gate. It was Yinzhen and Honghui. Qi Buchen happily stepped forward to greet them: "Why are you so late today?"
"Something delayed me." Yinzhen said vaguely, "Okay, we'll talk later. I'm hungry."
Honghui smiled and bowed, "Your son greets you, mother."
Qi Buchen pulled the man up in annoyance: "You are so polite, who are you trying to humiliate?"
The triplets also cheered, ran up to give their eldest brother a quick hug, and then crowded around the table, waiting eagerly.
The triplets were really hungry and ate voraciously. Yinzhen had to glare at them several times before he asked them to slow down.
Qi Buchen kept picking up food for Honghui, muttering, "This is appetizing."
"Try this. Mother had someone make it especially for you."
"This, I specially went outside the city to collect it from people."
"And this, my mother pickled it herself. Try it, how does it taste?"
In a short while, Honghui's bowl was lifted high. He didn't even have time to say a word and just buried his head in eating.
Yinzhen cleared his throat and said meaningfully, "Don't talk while eating and don't talk while sleeping."
Qi Buchen glanced at him and slept in silence? Oh, I don't know who was talking so much at night. This person must be jealous of his son again.
"You try it too and see how good my cooking skills are." Qi Buchen muttered to himself, but in front of his son, he was still willing to give him face.
Yinzhen tasted it calmly and said, "It's okay."
Qi Buchen sneered in his heart, picked up a few more pieces of food with his chopsticks, and his evaluation became: "Not bad."
The triplets exchanged glances while eating their rice with their heads down. They had seen this scene so many times that they could probably figure out the meaning behind it.
To be honest, they really don't understand. Can't they just pick up the food themselves? At worst, there are servants. Why does Ama always have to ask Emu to pick up food for him in a roundabout way? They don't understand. The adult world is so complicated.
After the meal, Qi Buchen pulled Honghui aside to talk and asked him about his life in the palace during this period. While talking, his hands were not idle, pinching Honghui's arms and legs to see if there was any fat lost.
When pinching a certain spot, Qi Buchen suddenly noticed that Honghui grinned slightly. Although the amplitude was not large, she could not be mistaken. She pinched it again suspiciously: "Is it injured here?"
Honghui was visibly panicked: "Ah? No?"
"You've even learned to lie!" Qi Buchen glared at him, "Roll up your sleeves and let me see."
Honghui glanced at his father and found that he was drinking tea from a tea bowl, not looking at him. His mother was still staring at him fiercely. He could only slowly roll up his sleeves and say, "I'm really not hurt."
But when he rolled up his sleeves, he saw bruises where he had been pinched.
Qi Buchen frowned and reached out to press it. Sure enough, he saw Honghui's mouth grinning again: "What's going on?"
Honghui tried to hide it: "Ah? Why is it bruised? I don't feel any pain. Maybe I accidentally bumped into it during horseback archery practice this afternoon. I don't feel anything."
Qi Buchen was furious when he saw him talking nonsense, and he didn't care about the pain. He pressed his finger hard, causing Honghui's face to change immediately and he cried out in pain: "Mother."
"It doesn't hurt!" Qi Buchen let go of his hand and said unhappily, and ordered the servants, "Go get a doctor."
"No need, mother, just apply some medicine." Honghui said with a bitter face, and cast a look for help to his father.
Yinzhen finally spoke: "It's normal for boys to get hurt after falling and fighting. I'll have the servants apply some medicine and rub it in and it will be fine. There's no need to call a doctor."
Qi Buchen glared at him and said, "Don't talk." Then he looked at Honghui and said, "Take off your clothes."
"Ah?" Honghui said with reluctance, "Mother, I'm already grown up~"
He glanced at his father again and again.
Qi Buchen reached out and turned his face back: "No need to look at your father, take it off."
Yinzhen, who still wanted to save his son, shut up decisively and picked up the tea bowl to drink again.
Honghui had no choice but to drive his brother and servants out, then took off his shirt with a sad face.
Qi Buchen gasped, touched the large bruise on his waist and asked, "What's going on? Is this also caused by a knock?" Turning him around, he found two more bruises on his back. "Here? How did a knock get here?"
Without waiting for Honghui to answer, she rolled up Honghui's trouser legs and found that there were several bruises on both legs, especially on the knees. Although they were no longer obvious, there were still some marks, like the remnants of bruises that had not completely healed.
"What happened? Tell me the truth. Did you have a fight?" Qi Buchen asked with a cold face, then turned to Yinzhen, "Did you know this a long time ago?"
Yinzhen lost his relaxed attitude and walked over to examine the injuries on Honghui's body. He said with a cold face, "He told me that he had a fight with someone. He was afraid you would worry, so he asked me to keep it a secret from you. I thought it was nothing for a boy to fight."
"But this isn't something that can be caused by a fight." Yinzhen stroked the large bruise on Honghui's waist and asked, "You've learned to lie to me, huh?"
Honghui originally wanted to fool people by fighting, but he didn't expect that his father could even tell something was wrong with the scars. His brain froze immediately, and he didn't know what excuse he could come up with to deceive his father.
Yinzhen slapped Honghui on the back in anger and said, "Stop talking. Are you still thinking about lying to me?"
Qi Buchen was fed up and patted Yinzhen's arm, then pulled Honghui into his arms: "Why did you hit him? He must have been wronged outside and didn't dare to speak out."
Turning to coax Honghui, he said, "It's okay. Tell me who bullied you. Father and mother will take care of it for you."
Honghui's mind froze for a long time, and he couldn't think of any excuse to cover up the past. He lowered his head in frustration and said, "No one bullied me."
"Then what happened to your injuries? Did you really fight with someone?" Qi Buchen didn't quite believe it. Honghui had never been the type to argue with others since he was a child, and Honghui was almost the same when it came to fighting.
"I'm not fighting with anyone." Honghui stammered.
Qi Buchen was a little angry: "There must be a reason."
Yinzhen pondered Honghui's expression and suddenly asked, "Is it related to Hongxi?"
Honghui was surprised and wondered how his father guessed it.
Qi Buchen frowned: "Hongxi? He and Honghui are five years apart, so they shouldn't be in the same class."
Yinzhen also did not frown: "You should ask your son about this. Tell me."
Ama had guessed it, and Honghui knew there was no need to hide it anymore, so he slowly explained the reason for his injuries.
Although the crown prince was deposed and reinstated, major events occurred frequently, and the court was in turmoil for a time, these did not implicate the people in the Shangshufang, including Hongxi and Hongyu. No matter what their fathers had experienced, Kangxi never touched them and let them study in the Shangshufang as usual, and their treatment did not change at all.
However, human hearts are the most unpredictable. Although Kangxi did not express his attitude, there were always people below him who tried to guess his intentions, and these imperial grandchildren were no exception.
It turned out that Hongxi was the most respected person in the upper study, and even the younger uncles were very polite to him. Of course, as the eldest son of the crown prince, Hongxi was well-educated, and although he had some difficulties getting along with others, he was not overbearing.
Until the crown prince was deposed, although Hongxi was not detained, he still lived with the crown princess in Yuqing Palace and was brought to the upper study room as usual every day, but the outside world's attitude towards him had changed.
There was no shortage of opportunists everywhere. The Crown Prince was deposed, the Prince of Zhi became the most powerful, and for a time, Hongyu became the new upstart that everyone admired. If it were just admiration for Hongyu, it would be fine, but it turns out that opportunists are often best at kicking someone when they are down. Hongxi's situation became difficult, and he was met with sarcastic taunts, secret attempts to trip him up, and deliberate revenge.
Except for the few moments of peace when the tutors were teaching, at other times, even the eunuchs delivering meals from the imperial kitchen would give Hongxi the cold shoulder.
There is also Hongyu. Although he lost his mother at a young age, Hongyu grew up in the center of attention. Yinzhen gave his son whatever he wanted, which cultivated Hongyu's domineering character. After entering the Shangshufang, he was dissatisfied with the situation where everyone praised Hongxi. In addition, the well-known feud between the two fathers, his relationship with Hongxi has always been not very good. The two of them led their own cliques and factions in the Shangshufang, confronting each other head-on.
This time, after the crown prince was deposed, Hongyu became even more complacent. If he had not taken the lead, Hongxi would probably have faced less embarrassment.
But no one expected that within just one month, the popular Prince Zhi would fall straight into hell, and Hongyu would also be knocked down from the top of the world. The two brothers, Hongxi and Hongyu, could not cause any trouble to each other.
Unlike Hongxi, perhaps because the incident with Yinzhi happened too suddenly, or perhaps because Yinzhi quickly supported Yinsi's relationship, those who followed the wind finally became more cautious and did not rush to step on Hongyu, and as a result, they caused less trouble for Hongxi.
However, with fewer villains, the princes and grandchildren in the study became more and more divided, and conflicts and contradictions increased.
Hongxi and Hongyu are not on good terms. Hongyu dislikes Hongqing because Yinzhi betrayed his father. Hongqing, like Hongyu, is also a domineering person. In the past, he had to swallow his anger because of their status and his father's instructions. Now that both of them are in trouble, they still want him to please them. What the hell do they want?
The three of them were fighting with each other, and Honghui, who had always been neutral and low-key, and Hongsheng from Yinqi's family and Hongzhuo from Yinyou's family were caught in the middle and it was inappropriate for them to speak for anyone.
So far so good, after all it was just a verbal battle.
But when the crown prince was reinstated, the situation in the upper study changed again. Hongxi took the top spot again, and Hongqing was not bad either. His father was a prince, and his status as the crown prince also rose. In addition, Hongxi's golden body had been broken after all, so he no longer fell for it and did not give Hongxi any face.
As for Hongyu, it can only be said that things have changed. Everything that Hongxi had suffered in the past, it is now his turn to bear.
Because Qi Buchen and Yinzhen had taught Honghui in detail at the beginning of the dethronement of the crown prince, Honghui had a bystander mentality from beginning to end. He did not step on Hongxi and Hongyu when they were in trouble, nor did he try to curry favor with Hongxi when he was on the rise. When others had conflicts, he would at most give them a few words of perfunctory advice, and he would not do anything if they did not listen.
If it continues like this, he won't be affected at all.
But later on, he couldn't stand some of Hongxi's actions anymore, which led to the injury he suffered today.
Maybe it was because he had been too successful in the past, and this time he suffered such a hard fall, but Honghui felt that something was wrong with Hongxi's mentality after he was reinstated as the crown prince. He took revenge on all those who had taken advantage of him when he was in trouble. That was fine, as Honghui felt that those people deserved it.
However, Hongxi did not let go of those who clearly did nothing and just quietly stayed away and chose to protect themselves when things happened.
For example, there was a young eunuch who swept the study. Before the crown prince was deposed, he often flattered people around Hongxi. After the crown prince was deposed, people around Hongxi once went to him to ask for some news, but he evaded the question, saying that he didn't know. Apart from that, he had done nothing.
It was this man that Honghui later witnessed with his own eyes. Hongxi had him tied up and his legs cut with a knife until they were bleeding.
He stepped forward to stop him, but Hongxi threw away the knife and said sinisterly, "What are you talking about, cousin? This little eunuch broke his leg by accident, and I just asked someone to help him up. Is it because of too much sun, cousin, that you are dizzy?"
Honghui said in disbelief: "Cousin, you..."
Hongxi walked up to him and interrupted him, "Cousin, I advise you not to meddle in other people's business. Besides..." He leaned close to Honghui's ear and whispered, "Given my status, calling you cousin is a compliment, but it doesn't mean you can call me brother, understand?"
Honghui told no one about this matter. Later, when he inquired about the young eunuch, he heard that he had broken his leg and was sent out of the palace, and died soon after.
After this incident, Honghui couldn't help but pay more attention to Hongxi. He then discovered that Hongxi was not only cruel to the palace maids, but also to Hongyu. Especially in the horseback archery class, because they were of similar age, they always practiced together. Hongxi never held back. Often after class, Hongyu would be limping.
"Although Hongyu is overbearing, he only talked to Hongxi before and never took action." Honghui said dejectedly, "I talked to my fifth uncle's cousin Hongsheng and asked him to tell An Da to put him and Hongyu together so that we can avoid it. But Hongsheng advised me not to interfere, saying that this is not a matter for us to interfere."
Honghui puffed his cheeks and said, "But you clearly said, Father, that matters between adults should be resolved by adults and will not involve us juniors. We juniors should not target each other because of conflicts between adults."
Faced with his son's accusation, Yinzhen didn't know how to explain human nature to him, so he could only ask: "So you replaced Hongyu by yourself and went to practice with Hongxi?"
Honghui sighed, "No, even if I wanted to, An Da wouldn't agree. But I also suggested to An Da that this kind of one-on-one training is meaningless. As the emperor's grandsons, we should also learn about military affairs. Why not change the training to a military formation drill? Everyone should split into two groups and replay famous battles in history. This way, through personal experience, we can understand military tactics more thoroughly."
"I guess An Da also knew about Hong Yu's situation, so they agreed to my suggestion," Hong Hui analyzed. "The next day, we changed the sparring to a military formation drill. However, when it came time to assign the troops, An Da originally wanted to directly designate them, but Hong Xi disagreed. In the end, we gave in to his wishes, appointing him, the oldest, and his cousin Hong Sheng as the commanders of the two sides, and then the commanders would select the others."
"In the end, Hongxi picked Hongjin, Hongqing, Hongshu, and Hongchun, and Hongsheng picked Hongyu, me, Hongxu, and our respective study partners," Honghui said dejectedly. "At first, they said it was a battle rehearsal, but halfway through, Hongxi and his team stopped following history and said that military strategy requires adaptability. We were young and outnumbered, so we couldn't defeat them. We were always on the losing side and suffered a lot."
Especially when Hongxi and the others always targeted Hongyu, he sometimes couldn't stand it and would go up to help block them. That's how he got injured.
Yinzhen frowned, "The study room changed the curriculum, why didn't you report it?"
Honghui lowered his head and said, "Hongxi said this is not a big deal. The Queen is very busy these days, and we shouldn't bother her with these trivial matters."
Qi Buchen felt distressed when he heard this, but he also breathed a sigh of relief. It was good that no one had hit him intentionally. Although he still felt sorry for Honghui's injuries, you couldn't tell anyone about this. It was just like in physical education class, when a child and his classmates organized a basketball game on their own and got knocked to the ground and had bruises on their bodies, you couldn't go and cause trouble for other children because if you really did that, the child would only be isolated in the future.
Yinzhen had the same idea, but he still kept a cold face: "You haven't explained why you lied?"
Honghui said with a bitter face: "You and Mother have always told me to be cautious in the study and not to get involved in other things. I am not afraid..."
It was not that he didn't understand that the fight between Hongxi and Hongyu was a continuation of the fight for the crown prince. If he showed a little favoritism towards one of them, it might be interpreted as his father favoring one of them.
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