Chapter 194: Nonsense: There is a new member in the family. ...
There is a new member in the family.
During the initial period, the whole family was cautious in everything they said and did, for fear that when they were still unfamiliar with each other, lack of understanding would lead to misunderstandings and leave grudges.
The new daughter-in-law Fan Zhengya is of course no exception.
Fortunately, Honghui was a pretty good lubricant. After a period of adaptation, everyone in the mansion finally got used to the new master.
While everyone in Prince Yong's Mansion was immersed in joy, the atmosphere in the neighboring Eighth Prince's Mansion was depressed. The two masters had not smiled for many days.
All this is because Nalan Kuixu died of illness at the end of February.
As one of the Nine Ministers, the Left Censor-in-Chief, responsible for overseeing the Imperial Examinations and the Imperial Court, Nalan Kuixu held considerable weight among Yinsi's supporters. Furthermore, due to Nalan Rongruo's fame and talent, Nalan Kuixu, as his younger brother, also possessed extensive connections among the literati. Over the years, Nalan Kuixu played an indispensable role in Yinsi's excellent reputation within the court and the public.
In addition, as Mingzhu's son, Nalan Kuixu represents, to a certain extent, the support of the eldest prince's party for Yinsi in the past. Even today, some people who once supported the eldest prince would support Yinsi for the sake of Nalan Kuixu's face.
Yinsi had been having bad luck in the past two years. Last year, Alinga passed away, and today he lost Nalan Kuixu. How could he not be depressed and anxious?
In the study, Yinsi, Yinlu and Yinzhen sat upright.
The servant announced at the door: "Master, Mr. He has arrived."
"Please come in." Yinsi ordered.
Soon, He Chao walked in and closed the door.
"I greet the Eighth, Ninth, and Fourteenth Masters."
Yinsi's face was gentle: "No need to be polite, please sit down."
He Zhuo sat down as instructed, and Yinsi went straight to the point, "Well, what did Arsong'a and Orondai say?"
Arsonganai is the son of Alinga. After Alinga passed away last year, he inherited the second-class merit title and is now at home in mourning.
He Zhuo didn't keep the secret and said, "The two gentlemen have already made preliminary contact with Master Xu, and the progress so far is quite good. In addition, the two gentlemen suggested that you, Master Eight, could probe Master Tong's side to see if we can make further progress."
Upon hearing that there was progress from the new Left Censor-in-Chief Xu Yuanmeng, Yinsi couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief, but then his brows furrowed slightly: "Longkodo..."
How could he not want to? As the commander of the infantry and the master of the imperial army, Longkodo was undoubtedly a powerful figure, not to mention his status as the emperor's uncle. However, four years ago, Alinga, Nalan Kuixu, and Orondai had failed to win him over. What chance would it have of succeeding if they brought up the old matter again?
Yinsi's gaze lingered between Yin'er and Yinzhen for a moment, finally landing on Yinzhen: "Fourteenth brother, you have had contact with Master Tong, what do you think?"
Fourteenth is now working in the Ministry of War, and can be considered to be connected with Longkodo.
Upon hearing this, Yinzhen's face showed embarrassment. "My dear brother, it's not that I'm trying to shirk responsibility, but you know that Longkodo has always been arrogant and even acts like his 'uncle' to us... Of course, it would be great if we could convince him, but the choice of him... still requires careful consideration."
After saying this, Yinzhen looked at Yin'er and said, "Speaking of which, Ninth Brother, I heard that Longkodo has a concubine whom he loves very much, and that concubine is extremely greedy for money..."
Yin'er glanced at him without any emotion, and only looked at Yinsi and said, "I can afford the money, but my eight-year-old sister knows that she has always been at odds with me. It will be difficult to get her to contact a concubine."
As for his concubines, since their daughters have grown up and are now more respectful to his wife than to him, they hope that Dong E can find a good family for their children.
——They all knew that when it came to finding husbands for their daughters, the wife was much more reliable than the master.
Yinsi did not make things difficult for him. Just thinking about Baya's attitude towards this matter, he knew how difficult it would be to ask Dong E to do this.
"That's fine. I'll think about it later." Yinsi passed over the issue for the time being. "Now, let me tell you, besides this road, there are other ways to connect with that side."
…
While the next door people were racking their brains to think of how to expand their power, Qi Buchen was packing his luggage.
Fan Zhengya followed her and said reluctantly, "Mother, how about I go over and take care of you?"
After completing the important task, Qi Buchen planned to return to the Old Summer Palace with Yinzhen to live a leisurely rural life.
Qi Buchen smiled and said, "You and Honghui are newlyweds, why do you follow me? I'm not old enough to need someone to take care of me. Besides, someone has to take charge of the family. Before you got married, I had to come back from time to time to check on you, and I got tired of it. Now, just stay here and work for me honestly. Don't even think about being lazy."
Fan Zhengya pursed her lips and smiled. After spending these days together, she had a very good impression of this 'young' mother-in-law. When they talked, they didn't seem like mother-in-law and daughter-in-law, but more like close friends.
Her father-in-law is kind, her mother-in-law is open-minded, and her three brothers-in-law respect her very much. This makes her often wonder what virtue she has to marry into Prince Yong's mansion.
So she couldn't help but act coquettishly and said, "Mother knows how to order people around."
Qi Buchen squinted at her and said, "Haha, I married you just to be ordered around. Otherwise, wouldn't I have to set up an altar to worship you?"
Fan Zhengya muttered, "Mother always bullies people."
"Alright." Seeing that the cleanup was almost done, Qi Buchen stopped joking with her and took her to a secluded place. He sent the servants away and said frankly, "You've been married for some time now, and I believe you have some understanding of my character. Today, I have some words to tell you."
She looked serious. Fan Zhengya rarely saw her in such an attitude. His heart immediately began to hang in his throat. He felt a little nervous and couldn't help but wonder, what is mother going to say?
Is it housekeeping rights, the backyard, or... children?
"You are sixteen years old this year, which is not too young. I guess before you got married, or even on the day you returned home, your parents must have told you to give birth to a child as soon as possible, right?" Qi Buchen looked at his daughter-in-law with a hint of doubt.
Fan Zhengya's heart skipped a beat, and she felt nervous and shy. Her fingers quickly twirled the handkerchief, her face flushed red, and she nodded, "Yes..."
Qi Buchen patted her and comforted her: "Don't be nervous, this is a very normal thing, this is the situation."
Fan Zhengya gathered herself together, quickly glanced up at her, and then, as if swearing an oath, stated her determination, "Mother... Mother, don't worry. I'm sure... sure... I'll be able to let you hold your grandson soon!"
"..." Qi Buchen looked at her momentum that seemed to be about to blow up a bunker, and smiled helplessly, "That's not what I meant."
Fan Zhengya raised his head and looked at her in confusion.
Qi Buchen organized his words and said, "Well, you should know that I only had Honghui when I was eighteen, right?"
Fan Zhengya nodded. Who in the capital didn't know about this? After all, Prince Yong had declared that he would not take a concubine unless the princess gave birth to a legitimate son.
——Although he later gave birth to a legitimate son, he never took a concubine.
"Actually, this was something the prince and I did on purpose. Before that, we both... well, took contraceptive measures."
Fan Zhengya's eyes suddenly widened, as if she had heard some horror story.
Qi Buchen was amused by her reaction. "I'm telling the truth. Well, the reason we did this is because the prince and I have discussed with the imperial physician and discovered that when parents are too young, conceiving a child can be very risky. Not only is it difficult to conceive, but even if they are born, the child is often weak and sickly, making it difficult to raise."
"Think carefully about the examples around you, isn't that the case?"
Fan Zhengya couldn't help but put the people around her into this situation, and when she found out it was true, she said in a daze, "Why is this happening?"
"This is because, as mothers, our bodies have not yet matured..." Qi Buchen explained some knowledge about the reproductive period to her.
Fan Zhengya nodded frequently as he listened, and suddenly realized: "So that's how it is."
Qi Buchen looked at her with a smile: "So you should be able to guess what I want to tell you, right?"
Fan Zhengya guessed it, of course, but she still couldn't believe it. Which mother-in-law wouldn't urge her daughter-in-law to have children?
Qi Buchen understood her concerns. After all, even in the 21st century, it was not uncommon for mothers-in-law to urge children to have children, leading to conflicts between mothers-in-law and daughters-in-law.
In view of this, she spoke personally, made things clear, and reassured Fan Zhengya: "You are young now, so don't rush into having children. At the very least, you have to wait until you are eighteen. Even between you and Honghui..." She paused and said tactfully, "Some things also require moderation..."
Fan Zhengya's face was burning again, and she lowered her head like a quail.
"I have compiled some experiences for you. You can take a look at them when you are free. I have also informed the Imperial Medical Bureau. There will be imperial physicians coming to check your pulse regularly and help you recuperate." Qi Buchen explained his arrangements one by one.
Fan Zhengya took the gift from her. Although she was still a little shy, she mustered up the courage to look at her with admiration in her eyes: "Mother, you are so kind, just as kind as my mother."
Qi Buchen smiled casually, not taking it to heart. How long have they been together? Only time can reveal a person's true character.
After arranging all the affairs in the mansion, Qi Buchen and Yinzhen left the capital leisurely.
Just two days after returning to the Old Summer Palace, an invitation arrived from Prince Cheng's mansion.
Qi Buchen pressed his solar plexus with a slight headache, and couldn't help complaining, "Third brother, can't you just take a break?"
He invited Kangxi to his shabby garden for banquets every day. He did it last month and again this month. The key point is that you should just invite yourself, but every time you have to drag all your brothers over to join you, so as to show that you are a friendly brother.
This time I brought her along!
God knows, what were these daughters-in-law doing when Kangxi was at the banquet? They couldn't sit at the table to accompany him, so why not cook in the kitchen?
"It's okay, just think of it as a flower-viewing party with your tenth brother's wife." Yinzhen comforted her while thinking about something.
Qi Buchen just complained casually, then looked at him and said, "What are you thinking about?"
Yinzhen still looked thoughtful. "The current Left Censor-in-Chief, Xu Yuanmeng, once taught at the Shangshufang. At that time, he was very impressed with my third brother."
Qi Buchen didn't quite understand: "What does this have to do with my third brother inviting the emperor to Xichun Garden?"
Yinzhen shook his head: "It's nothing, it's just that there was a piece of news that came with the post just now. Xu Yuanmeng has been getting close to Orondai recently."
Qi Buchen already knew that Orondai supported Yinsi: "Is Old Eight so fast?"
How long has the previous Left Censor-in-Chief been gone, and he's already hooking up with the new one?
Yinzhen smiled: "Hurry up."
On the day of the banquet, Qi Buchen got up early, dressed neatly, and went to Xichun Garden with Yinzhen.
The Tenth and Thirteenth Concubine arrived earlier than her and called out, "Fourth sister-in-law, come in and warm yourself up."
The weather in late spring is still a bit cold.
The Third Lady came forward, deliberately glanced behind her, and said with a smile, "Why did you come alone? You should have brought your daughter-in-law with you to talk to us aunts."
At this time, Hong Sheng's wife, who was beside the Third Lady, knelt down towards Qi Buchen and said, "Greetings, Fourth Aunt." Then she smiled and said, "I didn't congratulate my cousin on his wedding the other day. I hope Fourth Aunt will forgive me."
Without waiting for Qi Buchen to reply, the Third Lady said joyfully, "She had just found out she was pregnant at that time, and I didn't let her go out until she was three months pregnant."
"It's my duty." Qi Buchen said with a smile, "Congratulations."
The Third Lady pulled her inside and said, "That's why I said why don't you bring Miss Fan here? She can keep my wife company right now, and the two sisters-in-law can kiss and share in the good fortune."
What joy? The joy of pregnancy.
Qi Buchen's smile remained as steady as a mountain. "I thought today was a banquet for the Emperor. She's still a child and not very steady. She needs more training."
The Third Lady shook her head: "You are just too steady."
Qi Buchen just smiled and said nothing. He sat down in the seat obviously reserved for him and waited for Kangxi to arrive.
In front, Yinzhen met with his brothers and sat in his seat drinking tea with an expressionless face.
Yinsi came over with Yinzhen: "Fourth brother."
Yinzhen, who was following behind him, opened his mouth but no sound came out.
Yinzhen pretended not to notice and nodded slightly, "What's the matter?"
Yinsi sat down beside him and said with a smile, "Nothing, I just haven't seen Fourth Brother for a long time, so I want to talk."
Yinzhen did not comment on his words. Anyway, he always presented himself as a cold and taciturn person to the outside world, so he just had to see what the Eighth Brother could say.
Yinsi, of course, understood his fourth brother's personality, so he spoke up, "When I went to the Nalan family to pay my respects the other day, I heard from someone at the Tong residence that Old Master Tong was ill. Have you visited him, fourth brother?"
Yinzhen's eyes moved slightly, and he shook his head expressionlessly, saying: "No, I haven't heard of this." He had no friendship with the Nalan family, so he did not attend Nalan Kuixu's funeral in person, but only sent Su Peisheng to accompany the gifts.
Yinsi immediately invited him, "I plan to visit you in a couple of days. Would you like to come with me, Fourth Brother?"
Yinzhen paused for a moment before slowly nodding: "Okay."
Yinsi seemed somewhat pleased: "Okay, how about setting it for the day after tomorrow?"
Yinzhen nodded in agreement. Yinsi talked about some government affairs before turning the topic to Yinzhen, who was silent beside him: "By the way, Fourteenth, didn't you say you wanted to talk to Fourth Brother about something?"
Yinzhen didn't even look at his younger brother and just drank his tea.
Yinzhen glanced at his eight-brother, then reluctantly spoke, "It's about the Nian family. Nian Gengyao quelled a small barbarian rebellion in Sichuan years ago, but due to the cold weather and difficult terrain, some of the barbarians fled. Nian Gengyao submitted a memorial requesting to lead troops to pursue them, and the memorial has now been submitted to the Ministry of War."
Yinzhen drooped his eyelashes slightly and did not speak. The atmosphere was a little cold for a moment.
Yinsi had to come out to smooth things over, pretending he didn't know about this, and said in surprise: "This is a good thing. The Ministry of War will discuss it and submit it to the Emperor. I think the Emperor will not disagree."
Yinzhen also drooped his eyelids slightly. "It's a good thing, but after hearing about this, Nian was worried about her brother and asked me to intercede for her brother and ask the emperor to forgive his crime."
"This..." Yinsi glanced at Yinzhen seemingly casually and said, "Speaking of which, although Lord Nian was guilty of delaying military intelligence in the past, he has made up for it by repeatedly suppressing bandits in recent years. However... However, the Nian family belongs to Fourth Brother after all, so I'm afraid it wouldn't be a good idea for you to come forward..."
He turned to Yinzhen: "I wonder if Fourth Brother..."
Yinzhen put down his teacup and said solemnly, "I've been out of office for a long time and don't know much about the court today. Although the Nian family is my subordinate, they are also my subjects. If he has truly made amends, then we should submit a memorial according to the rules. It doesn't matter who comes forward."
How could it not matter? Yinsi complained in his heart. He had married a girl from the Nian family, and even now some people still say that Fourteenth Prince is not kind. If he comes forward to speak for Nian Gengyao again this time, those people will definitely find more opportunities to talk about him.
"That's true, but no one in the world is as understanding and righteous as you, Fourth Brother. They only point fingers and find fault behind your back." Yinsi struggled to find a breakthrough point to persuade Yinzhen, "After all, the Nian family still belongs to you, Fourth Brother. It's really not a good idea for Fourteenth to come forward."
Yinzhen remained unmoved: "Why should he come forward? Since Nian Gengyao has made great contributions, the Ministry of Personnel will not turn a blind eye to it. When the day of evaluation comes, his merits will be recorded in the records and he will be rewarded."
"this……"
Before Yinsi could make another effort, Yinzhen suddenly stood up and said in a stiff tone, "Since Fourth Brother is unwilling to take care of it, then don't blame others for taking care of it!"
After saying that, he turned away.
Yinzhen's face darkened slightly.
"Fourteen, wait..." Things took a sudden turn for the worse, and Yinsi was unable to react. He could only turn around and apologize to Yinzhen, "Fourth brother, don't be angry. Fourteen still cares about your kindness in his heart. He has that kind of temper. Plus, people have been talking about him marrying into the Nian family behind his back, and he feels uncomfortable, so he behaved like this. Fourth brother, please don't make a fuss about him."
"Hmph, you don't need to say more." Yinzhen thought to himself, what kind of bad temper does my brother have? Do I need you to tell me?
Seeing his attitude, Yinsi could only smile bitterly: "Alas, I was wrong today. I shouldn't have dragged him to see Fourth Brother. Fourth Brother, please do as you please. I'll take my leave and go see Fourteenth Brother."
After Yinsi left, Yinzhen put away his stern face and returned to normal. He picked up the tea and sipped it as usual, but a thoughtful look flashed in his eyes from time to time.
Kangxi only stayed in Xichun Garden for an hour and a half before leaving. After he left, everyone else also scattered.
After returning to the Old Summer Palace, Yinzhen called Lin Changqing and gave him detailed instructions. Lin Changqing immediately set off to return to Prince Yong's Mansion.
On the third day, Yinzhen got up early, took a carriage and went to the city to meet Yinsi, and then they arrived at the Cheng'en Mansion together.
Longkodo greeted them at the door: "Greetings to Prince Yong and the Eighth Prince."
Yinzhen nodded slightly in response, and Yinsi stepped forward with a smile: "Master Tong, you are too polite. Why are you at home today?"
Longkodo said calmly, "I heard that the two princes were coming, so I changed shifts."
Yinsi spoke in a gentle voice, "My fourth brother and I are only here to visit Old Master Tong. I am sorry to bother you."
Longkodo didn't take it seriously: "Eighth Prince, you are too polite. Please come in."
Tong Guowei was indeed sick, and very ill. His cheeks were very thin and had little flesh.
Yinsi was a little surprised: "How could this be? Did the imperial physician tell me what is wrong with Duke Cheng'en?"
Longkodo replied: "The old man is sick, so we can only take good care of him."
"This..." Yinsi really didn't expect that old age disease is actually the natural failure of various parts of the body due to old age. It can also be said to be a terminal illness that cannot be cured by medicine.
Yinzhen hadn't said much since he came in, and only then said, "Since he needs to rest, let's not disturb Duke Cheng'en here."
"Yes, yes." Yinsi looked a little overwhelmed, "Let Duke Cheng'en have a good rest."
Longkodo invited them to sit in the front hall. After exchanging a few pleasantries with Yinsi, he turned to Yinzhen and asked, "Have you heard about Nian Gengyao's suppression of the rebellion, Prince Yong?"
Yinzhen frowned slightly, then returned to normal: "Yes."
Yinsi interrupted, "Does Lord Tong also know about this?"
Longkodo said, "It's not just me. I'm afraid everyone in the government and the country has heard about it."
Yinsi was puzzled: "What does this mean? I heard that the barbarian tribe only has a few hundred people. How can they be known to everyone?"
It would be better to call those few people bandits than a rebellion. However, in general online reports, it is of course better to suppress the rebellion than to eliminate the bandits. Everyone who understands will understand.
Longkodo said meaningfully, "You'll have to ask Prince Yong about that."
Yinzhen raised his eyebrows slightly: "I don't know."
Longkodo looked a little surprised and said with a smile, "Really? But everyone says that this is Prince Yong paving the way for Nian Gengyao."
Yinzhen narrowed his eyes slightly and said calmly, "It's just nonsense."
Longkodo seemed to believe it: "I see."
He did not stay in the Cheng'en Mansion for long. After only three quarters of an hour, Yinzhen got on the carriage and headed straight out of the city.
As the carriage approached the city gate, Yinzhen's voice rang out from inside: "Tell Lin Changqing to come see me tomorrow."
Soon, the young eunuch following the carriage took the order and left.
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