Chapter 172: Eating melons until I got so angry that I had to sift through the servants in the mansion...
After screening the servants in the mansion, the triplets' short-lived enthusiasm disappeared as expected, and Qi Buchen finally didn't have to worry about shortening his life.
In the blink of an eye, another year passed, and Kangxi still could not stay in the palace. However, after the prince was reinstated, he became a pendant that he always carried with him, and he took it with him wherever he went. Later, Hongxi was born, and finally he randomly paired him with several other sons.
As early as the first month of the year, Yinzhen was named to accompany the emperor on an inspection tour of Tonghe.
After seeing him off, Qi Buchen felt a little bored for a while and didn't know what to do.
Honghui is in the study. The triplets are already eight years old and their homework is becoming increasingly demanding, but she doesn't have to worry about them.
Borjigit was summoned to accompany the empress dowager, and Zhaojia was still in confinement. Qi Buchen counted on his fingers but couldn't find anyone to talk to.
She'd been in the Qing Dynasty for nearly twenty years, and at this crucial moment, she didn't even have a single friend to play with?!
Qi Buchen leaned dejectedly on the couch and sighed.
"What's wrong with Fu Jin?" Lan Hui asked curiously.
Qi Buchen replied boredly: "Boring."
Lan Hui pursed her lips and smiled: "If Fu Jin is bored, why not go and teach the little girls a lesson."
Lan Hui and Rui Xiang are old and have been married off a few years ago. Originally, after they got married, they should have hired a maid to serve Qi Buchen personally, but Qi Buchen was not used to the people around him changing all the time, so he kept putting it off. Now that he could no longer put it off, he asked Lan Hui to pick a maid to train.
Qi Buchen curled his lips: "Boring."
Lan Hui pondered for a moment, then smiled and said, "There's a girl in this group called Fangchun. She's a family-born girl who just came into the palace. Her father is in charge of purchasing, but she's had a wide circle of friends at home and knows a lot about the market. Why not let her come and tell Fu Jin about it to cheer her up?"
Qi Buchen was bored anyway, so he said indifferently, "Alright."
Lan Hui went to call someone over. It was a little girl of about thirteen or fourteen, with lively eyes and a look of intelligence, but she was still a little nervous about her first audience. "Your servant greets the Madam, may the Madam be blessed."
Qi Buchen still felt a little guilty about using child labor, so he ordered, "Sit down and talk, Lan Hui. Pour her a cup of tea."
"Thank you, Madam." Fangchun was very happy and almost left the seat empty when he sat down.
"Your aunt Lanhui said that you are well-informed, so just pick out some interesting things to tell." Qi Buchen said without any expectations.
How interesting can something that a little girl finds interesting be?
Who knew that this girl was really plain-looking? It was just common gossip, but when she talked about it, it was full of twists and turns. Qi Buchen became interested as he listened.
Fangchun was even happier to see that she was listening intently. What she talked about was no longer limited to the neighbors. She could even tell some gossip about the major mansions in the capital.
"I heard that Master Tong of the Cheng'en Mansion is particularly fond of a concubine. To what extent is he fond of her? I heard that the concubine has been paralyzed in bed for many years, but Master Tong has never left her side and has carefully taken care of her. Every season, Master Tong buys every new style that comes out in your shop and gives it to the concubine. But I heard that the concubine hardly uses them and just plays with them."
Qi Buchen looked strange. She hadn't paid any attention to Li Si'er since she learned he was paralyzed. She hadn't expected that after all these years, Li Si'er was not only still alive, but also seemed to be doing quite well. Could she have cast a spell on him, causing Longkodo to be so obsessed?
Qi Buchen didn't think anything of Longkodo's behavior of buying things in her store and letting Li Si'er smash them for fun, nor did she feel insulted. From then on, she stopped selling things to Longkodo. Why bother? Isn't money good? As long as you pay, you can smash them however you want.
Fangchun didn't know about the past between Qi Buchen and Li Si'er, but Lanhui did. She immediately scolded him, "Have you forgotten what I taught you to be careful with your words? Don't spread gossip from random sources!"
Fangchun immediately knelt down in fear and pleaded guilty: "My humble servant spoke nonsense, please forgive me, Madam."
Qi Buchen glanced at Lan Hui, but didn't refute her. He just smiled and said, "Your aunt Lan Hui is right. You should be careful with your words and actions outside. But it's okay with me. It's good to talk about gossip like the one just now. It also helps to know what the people in the streets think of us. If there is any, we can correct it. If there is nothing, we can encourage each other."
"Anything else? Tell me everything."
After all, she was still young, and after hearing her words, Fangchun immediately put aside his fear and enthusiastically talked about the gossip he knew.
"During the New Year this year, I heard Xiaoyu from the street ahead say that a pawnshop on that street received several items that had been pawned. Although they were damaged, they were finely crafted and made of expensive materials, so they fetched quite a bit of silver. The pawnshop owner said that the items looked like they came from a royal palace. It's estimated that the owner had discarded them after they were damaged, and the servants had secretly exchanged them for them."
Fangchun said this with a mysterious look on her face, "Xiaoyu said that everyone on their street was guessing which palace this person was from. I asked her to describe the characteristics of the person who went to the pawnshop, and it turned out that I had never seen that person before!"
At this point, the anticipation was already at its peak. Even Lan Hui, who was always thinking about finding Fangchun's inappropriate behavior so that she could discipline him later, showed a curious look.
"My father is in charge of purchasing. He has good relationships with the managers of various mansions. He would take me to pay New Year's greetings during the Spring Festival. The person Xiaoyu mentioned is the daughter-in-law of the purchasing manager of the Eighth Prince's mansion!"
Qi Buchen was surprised. He didn't expect that such a small matter would involve Yinsi's mansion.
Fangchun continued, "My servant's father told me when he came back that I should no longer have any contact with that steward."
This sentence seems to be a sign of loyalty to her father.
Lan Hui glared at Fang Chun and said, "Although Fu Jin asked you to speak, you should also be careful with your words and measure when it comes to the princes."
This time Qi Buchen didn't say anything, and Fangchun nodded in agreement.
"Alright, you must be tired from talking. Go down and rest. Lan Hui, enjoy."
Qi Buchen sent the man away without thinking much about it. Every family has a few corrupt servants. Even in this mansion, she didn't dare to say that no one had stolen anything, let alone damaged things.
But I didn't expect that there would be a follow-up to this matter.
In February, there was a sudden commotion next door. A clever servant immediately went to find out the news and came back to report to Sun Liangping, who then came to report to her.
"I heard that the steward was involved in some dishonest activity and was discovered by the Eighth Lady. After arresting the person, she implicated the concubine next door. The Eighth Lady invited the concubine over to speak, but she fainted on the way. The noise just now was the concubine's maid crying. The palace has already sent for the imperial physician."
Qi Buchen grinned. Should he eat the melon from Yinsi's family or not?
"Explore again."
If you feel bored during a long day, eat some melon to relieve your boredom.
In the past few years, there have only been those three concubines in Yinsi's backyard, and no one else has been added. Moreover, Qi Buchen heard that since Hongwang turned one year old, Yinsi has never gone to the rooms of the three concubines again, and the two children were adopted in Baya's room. It seems that there is no difference between them and a real family of four.
Of the three concubines, the most pitiful was the concubine surnamed Niuhulu. Zhang and Mao had at least given birth, so even if they couldn't raise them, the palace wouldn't neglect them. Niuhulu, on the other hand, only had the title of concubine, but no children, no favors. Furthermore, Yinsi had suffered a series of setbacks in the past two years, and Baya had cut back on the palace's expenses. She lived even worse than Mao.
This time, I don’t know how I offended Baya, but I fainted on the way to meet someone. Could it be that he teamed up with the steward to steal things from the mansion and pawn them?
Qi Buchen shook his head violently and dismissed this ridiculous guess. After all, Niu Hulu was the daughter of a fourth-rank official and shouldn't be so poor.
The imperial physician arrived quite quickly, and Qi Buchen had the first taste of the melon before lunch.
It was even more outrageous than the stealing she had guessed.
Niu Hulu is pregnant, three months!
Hearing that there had been a commotion next door, Baya and most of the servants believed that Nianhulu had cheated on Yinsi. After all, it was well known that Yinsi had not entered the rooms of his three concubines for two years.
However, Niohuru cried and shouted that the child in her belly was Yinsi's and she had not cheated on him.
Few believed her, because if it was true what Niuhulu said, why didn't she say anything? It wouldn't have taken three months for her to notice anything was wrong, right? Moreover, she didn't faint earlier or later, but only when Baya came looking for her. It must have been a guilty conscience.
Niohuru cried and swore that the child was Yinsi's. The reason she didn't say it was because her menstruation was irregular and she found out late. When she was almost sure, Yinsi had left with the emperor, and she didn't dare to say it.
He also asked Baya if accusing her of cheating was an attempt to harm the baby in her belly?
It is said that Niu Hulu knelt down on the spot and hugged Baya's thighs, begging Baya to spare her child's life, saying, "Madam, you already have all my love and respect. I just want a child. Why can't you be more generous? Wouldn't it be good for me to have more sons?"
Finally, she kowtowed again and said that if Baya could spare her child's life, she would give the child to Baya to raise after giving birth, and would only treat the child as Baya's own and would never look at it again. If Baya found her an eyesore, she could also avoid it and go to the temple to pray for Yinsi, Baya, and the child.
What a selfless mother who devotes herself to her children.
I don't know what Baya's reaction was on the spot, but Qi Buchen was furious when he heard it. Regardless of what Baya was like, it was too much for her to directly accuse Niuhulu of infidelity without even having any evidence. But she would never harm the child. With Hongwang in front of her, even if Niuhulu gave birth to another son, what would it matter? Anyway, he was not her biological son, so why should she dirty her hands?
Niohuru's performance was simply to make Baya's intention to harm the child a fact. If this matter were to be spread out, if there was any accident with Niohuru's pregnancy in the future, Baya would be completely finished.
Qi Buchen frowned and said, "Give orders, no one should say anything too much about this matter." Then he asked worriedly, "Besides you guys, this matter hasn't spread outside, right?"
No matter what the truth is, it is not appropriate to spread this matter today.
Sun Liangping looked embarrassed. "I don't know either. The boy who went out to ask around said he easily got the information from the servants at the Eighth Master's residence. I guess the Eighth Lady... didn't have time to restrain the servants. There's been quite a stir at the Eighth Master's residence, and I don't know how many people have gone to inquire about it."
Qi Buchen sighed when she heard this. She couldn't remind Baya, otherwise, with Baya's personality, she would only feel embarrassed and even more angry. She could only pretend that she didn't know about it.
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