Chapter 184: Although the Second Deposed Crown Prince was mentally prepared, Qi Bu...
Even though he was mentally prepared, Qi Buchen was still startled when he saw Baohuan. He frowned and said, "How did you get yourself into this state?"
Baohuan was filled with bitterness but could not utter a word: "It is my fault that I have caused Lady Fujin so much trouble..."
Qi Buchen sighed and said, "That's all."
She is a mother now, so it is not her turn to say anything.
"Fujin, Xiang'er and the others..." Baohuan was a little excited.
Qi Buchen waved his hand and said, "I've asked the imperial physician to check on the two children. They're fine."
Baohuan breathed a sigh of relief: "Thank you, Fu Jin!"
Qi Buchen couldn't deny it. "Although you're not seriously injured, the two children must be terrified. Besides, they haven't seen you for a long time, and they miss you terribly."
Baohuan had a complicated expression and lowered her head, saying, "It's my fault..."
"What did you do wrong?"
Qi Buchen slapped the armrest, startling Baohuan. She said bewilderedly, "I... your servant..."
She was speechless and the room fell into silence.
Baozhu saw Baohuan was unable to react, so she sighed silently and stood up and said, "What have you done wrong? You respect your parents-in-law and raise your children. You earn money for the family and take care of the house. What have you done wrong?"
Baohuan looked at her blankly.
Baozhu said angrily, "Your only mistake is that you can't control the harem! You actually let a concubine take advantage of you!"
"I... didn't give him a son..." Baohuan murmured, lowering her head in shame.
Baozhu said angrily, "What's wrong with not having a son? Even if you don't have a son, you are still Zhou Yuanliang's legal wife!"
Baohuan smiled bitterly, not knowing what to say. Baozhu was not married yet, so how could she understand her difficulties?
Baozhu got even angrier when she saw her expression: "So what are your plans for the future?"
Baohuan pursed her lips and raised her head with a hint of trepidation: "In the future... in the future, I want to take Xiang'er and the others to live in a farm outside the city. Fu Jin, can you..."
Qi Buchen suddenly said, "Do you want to divorce?"
"……ah?"
Baozhu and Baohuan were both stunned. They didn't expect Fu Jin to say this.
"If you want, I can help you and let your two daughters follow you." Qi Buchen said nonchalantly.
Baozhu was the first to react. Her eyes flickered as she looked at Baohuan expectantly: "Don't be in a daze. Fu Jin is asking you a question."
Baohuan still seemed a little confused: "This... this can't be right... a woman should be faithful to her husband..."
Her resistance wasn't resolute, and Qi Buchen's eyes deepened. "You have to think carefully, is your reputation more important, or are your two daughters more important? This time, he hit you and the children, but you can't say what he'll do next time."
"That's impossible... Xiang'er and the other one are his own flesh and blood after all..." Baohuan retorted with difficulty.
"His own flesh and blood?" Baozhu sneered, a bit maliciously, "With his precious son in front of him, daughters are nothing. He was able to take concubines for his son back then, and he's beating you up for his son today. Who knows if he'll take the two children you gave birth to in order to pave the way for his son in the future?"
Baohuan was silent. No one knew what kind of person Zhou Yuanliang was over the years better than her. It had to be said that what Baozhu said... was very likely to happen.
On one side are the constraints of secularity and tradition, and on the other side is her daughter. Baohuan is struggling and hesitant.
She couldn't make a decision, and looked at Qi Buchen hopefully: "Fujin, can you...can you help Xiang'er find a marriage..."
Before Qi Buchen could say anything, Baozhu interrupted her, "What are you thinking? Fu Jin is only the princess consort. Don't use the term 'arranged marriage' lightly!" After giving her a warning, she continued, "Even if Fu Jin is willing to help arrange marriages for her two nieces, it's the parents' orders and the matchmaker's words. As the children's father, if Zhou Yuanliang insists that he has already arranged marriages for his daughters, can Fu Jin force him to change them?"
Qi Buchen didn't say anything, so Baohuan knew that this matter would be difficult to carry out. After another period of silence, she said again: "Then, can Xiang'er and the others enter the mansion?"
Qi Buchen raised his eyebrows slightly. "Think carefully, Xiang'er and the others are now of good birthright status. They will have to sign an indenture contract when they enter the mansion. This is the rule. Besides, they are not young anymore. Not only will they be arranged to marry in two years, but they have been spoiled by you until now. Are you sure they can adapt to the rules of the mansion?"
Baohuan's two daughters are not young anymore, both in their teens.
Baohuan's expression was gloomy, and the room was silent for a long time. She raised her head as if she had made a decision: "Thank you for your kindness, Madam. I...I still..."
She didn't say the rest of the words, but everyone in the room knew what she meant.
Baozhu frowned and said, "You have to really think it over. Fu Jin can help you once, but she can't help you every time."
Baohuan breathed a sigh of relief: "I... have thought it through..." She looked at Baozhu who disagreed and smiled, "I know you're doing this for my own good. You're not married and have been living in the mansion all your life, so you don't feel deeply about some things. People... aren't that tolerant... It might seem good to them that I can take Xiang'er with me after divorce, but it's hard to say what good things will happen to them in the future."
"No one would want to marry a woman who was kicked out by her father."
Qi Buchen was silent. Baohuan was talking about Baozhu, but she was also talking about her. She was too arrogant, and habitually used the past to judge the present. After learning that Baohuan was being abused, her first reaction was to divorce and stay away from such a scumbag. But she forgot how strict the world's expectations of women were at that time.
Baozhu continued to refute: "Then Fu Jin can..."
Baohuan was surprisingly sober and interrupted her, saying, "If they are from a good family, even if Fu Jin comes forward, they won't be willing in their hearts. Then it won't be a marriage but an enemy. Anyone who can get close to them..."
Baozhu understood the rest without me having to say anything.
"It's good that you have made your decision." Qi Buchen stood up. "I plan to expand the farm outside the city. You will be very busy in the future. It's up to you to decide how to do it."
"Thank you, Madam." Baohuan said excitedly.
Qi Buchen nodded: "Now, just cooperate with the people in the Imperial Hospital here and take care of yourself."
"Yes, I will cooperate."
Baohuan already knew the other purpose of bringing her here, so naturally she had no objection.
After returning home, Qi Buchen called Sun Liangping and asked him about the situation at the Epidemic Prevention Department. Sun Liangping answered him in detail.
Qi Buchen nodded and sighed: "This is just the beginning. There is still a long way to go in the future."
She sighed and then pondered for a moment before ordering, "Go and check on that Zhou Yuanliang."
Sun Liangping was stunned for a moment, then suddenly realized: "Yes."
While the Epidemic Prevention Department was busy, the imperial court was also not idle. Qi Shiwu, who had already been sentenced to death, was implicated in another case, which caused a lot of discussion in the court and the country.
The protagonists this time are two women, one is Sun, the wife of Daji Cange, the magistrate of Ningzhou, Shaanxi, and the other is Wang, the wife of the magistrate of Qingyang Prefecture.
The two men traveled thousands of miles from Shaanxi to the capital, knocking on the door early in the morning, alarming all the government offices.
Sun sued Wang's husband for colluding with others to extort money, and Wang sued Sun's husband for bribing the governor and tortured her husband severely.
Why was Qi Shiwu involved? Because he accepted bribes from the Qingyang prefect's gang.
Although Kangxi was not in the capital, the news was delivered to the emperor as soon as possible. The messenger then rushed back to the capital with his orders. Zhao Shenqiao, the Left Censor-in-Chief, and the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Revenue were appointed as imperial envoys to go to Shaanxi to investigate the case.
Qi Buchen intuitively felt that there must be a deeper reason behind this, otherwise she would not have dispatched Zhao Shenqiao, a favorite of the emperor. She did not act rashly, but wrote this matter in a letter and sent it to Yinzhen.
Yinzhen replied quickly, but only said a few words about the matter, telling her not to worry.
But what happened was beyond everyone's expectations.
On the last day of September, Kangxi returned to Changchun Garden from Rehe with the Empress Dowager, and all the princes and their wives in Beijing had to pay their respects.
Since Yinzhen and Yinxiang were not at home, Qi Buchen went to pick up the Thirteenth Lady early, and then set off with Yin'e and his wife.
When they arrived at Changchun Garden, Yin'e went to see Kangxi, while Qi Buchen and the other two went to the Empress Dowager.
Qi Buchen didn't know if she was being overly suspicious, but along the way, he always felt that the atmosphere in the Old Summer Palace was inexplicably tense.
When they arrived at the Empress Dowager's place, this strange feeling became even more obvious. They were not invited in immediately. Instead, it was not until all the princes' wives had arrived that the nanny beside the Empress Dowager came out and said, "The Empress Dowager invites all the wives in."
"Greetings to the Empress Dowager, may the Empress be blessed with good fortune."
The Queen Mother did not ask everyone to stand up in her usual amiable manner. Instead, she said calmly, "Stand up."
"Thank you, Queen Mother."
Everyone stood up. Some people, like Qi Buchen, who were sharp-minded, noticed something was wrong, but everyone remained quiet and didn't show anything.
The Queen Mother's voice remained calm. "I am tired after this trip. I wish you all a happy holiday today. Go back and take good care of yourselves. Don't worry about me here."
"Yes, granddaughter-in-law obeys your order."
"Go away." The Queen Mother stood up and left holding the hand of the palace maid.
"Farewell, Queen Mother."
After the people left, the sisters-in-law in the room looked at each other for a while, and then scattered like birds and beasts.
The Thirteenth Lady held Qi Buchen's hand and said, "Fourth sister-in-law, do you think...will my master..." Her face was full of nervousness, which showed how much the incident of Yinxiang's previous imprisonment had left a deep impression on her.
Qi Buchen comforted him, "Thirteen is staying in isolation with Hongchang, don't let your imagination run wild."
The Tenth Lady also tried to appease her: "That's right, the Empress Dowager is just tired. After traveling all this time, not to mention her age, even I would be tired too."
The Thirteenth Lady was still a little worried, but she also knew that this was not the place to talk, so she stopped talking.
When they arrived at the carriage park, Yin'e had not arrived yet, so the three of them got on the carriage and waited. The other princes' wives did the same.
At first there were sporadic voices, but as the waiting time grew longer, it was as if an invisible pressure came and all around became quiet.
In this oppressive environment, Yin'e and others finally came out. Everyone couldn't wait to look at them, but their hearts skipped a beat when they saw their solemn expressions.
"Old Ten." Qi Buchen said.
Yin'e approached and said with a somewhat forced expression, "Fourth sister-in-law, I'll take you back."
Qi Buchen knew that now was not the time to ask: "Yeah."
The carriage was in a hurry, and Qi Buchen, who was preoccupied, didn't even think about the Thirteenth Lady's stomach.
When they arrived at Prince Yong's mansion, everyone walked into the flower hall together as if by tacit understanding and sent all the servants away.
Facing the burning gazes of the three women, Yin'e took a deep breath.
"Father Emperor, the Crown Prince must be deposed."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
