Chapter 209 Backstab Although I have tried my best to adjust my mentality, I will not...
Despite doing his best to maintain a positive attitude and not bring any unhappiness back home, Yinzhen's face was still visibly gloomy upon entering the house. This made the servant who had come forward cheerfully to announce the good news stunned for a moment, groaning inwardly. He had finally managed to snatch this job of announcing the good news, but how could he be so unlucky to encounter the prince when he was in a bad mood? He quickly suppressed his joy and said, "Good luck to the prince."
Yinzhen was still annoyed and didn't notice the servant's obvious expression. He ignored him and tried to rush over. It was Su Peisheng who was following him who noticed him and asked boldly, "Is there something wrong in the mansion?"
"Hmm?" Yinzhen cast a suppressive gaze at the servant in front of him, forcing the man, who usually had some respect in the mansion, to bend his back an inch more.
"In reply to your Majesty," the visitor forced a cheerful tone into his voice. "During lunch, the Crown Princess felt a little unwell, and the Imperial Physician was called in to diagnose her, and she was one month pregnant."
After hearing this, Su Peisheng immediately put on a beaming smile: "Congratulations, you're going to be Marfa!"
The rest of the crowd quickly chimed in: "Congratulations, Your Highness! Your Highness is so happy!"
Yinzhen's irritability eased somewhat, and a smile appeared on his face for the first time that day. He ordered, "Okay, Su Peisheng, reward!"
Su Peisheng took the lead and expressed his gratitude seriously: "Thank you, Your Majesty, for the reward."
Yinzhen asked someone, "Where is Fu Jin?"
The servant, who had gone through so many twists and turns in announcing the good news, finally felt relieved: "Fu Jin is arranging everything for the Crown Prince and Consort to take care of the pregnancy in the main courtyard."
Yinzhen turned and headed for the main courtyard instead of the study. The courtyard was abuzz with activity, servants bustling about, yet the atmosphere remained calm. Yinzhen found the person he was looking for in the east greenhouse.
Qi Buchen was lost in thought when a pair of hands unexpectedly rested on his shoulders and a familiar voice rang out, "What are you daydreaming about?"
Qi Buchen turned his head and wrapped his arms around the man's waist familiarly: "You're back."
Yinzhen waved his hand, letting the few servants in the room leave. He lifted Qi Buchen's chin and scratched it, asking inquiringly, "Why, are you unhappy?"
He had heard that when some daughters-in-law were pregnant, the mothers-in-law were not only unhappy but also found fault everywhere. But Chenchen, it shouldn't be like this, right?
Qi Buchen shook his head and said, "Honghui's wife is pregnant, did you know?"
Yinzhen nodded and thought to himself, are you really unhappy about this?
Qi Buchen gave up all his strength in frustration, and clung to Yinzhen like soft mud. "I was quite happy at first. Although Zhengya is not yet 18 years old, the imperial physician said she is in good health, so there is no need to rush the date. But when I was almost overwhelmed with joy, I realized that I am going to be a grandmother!"
"I'm going to be a grandmother, I'm going to be a grandmother!" Qi Buchen said, then sat up excitedly, "How could this happen? How could time go by so quickly? I thought I was still young! Why am I going to be a grandmother?"
After her excitement faded, she slumped down on the Arhat couch in frustration. "Now that I'm a grandmother, shouldn't I wear a headband? After all, I'm old and can't stand the wind. Shouldn't I listen to exciting martial arts performances and take health-preserving soups and medicines? Shouldn't I be able to act coquettishly with you anymore? Otherwise, won't I be called old and shameless?"
The more she spoke, the more depressed she became, and her whole body wrinkled like a pitiful little kitten.
The more Yinzhen looked at her, the more he wanted to laugh. It had been many years since he had seen someone so pretentious. He didn't know what chord the word "grandmother" touched in her.
He sat down next to Qi Buchen, cuddled the pitiful little kitten into his arms, pinched its chin, made it look straight at him, and gave it a kiss, saying viciously, "What nonsense are you imagining! How old are you this year? Only thirty-seven, and you just celebrated Double Eighteen. How can you be old? Besides, as long as I'm here, even if you're in your seventies or eighties, you can act like a spoiled child if you want. I love to see you act like a spoiled child. Anyone who dares to talk too much will be punished by me!"
"Hmm~" Qi Buchen pursed his lips, his eyes drooping like puppy eyes, and squeezed out a breath from his throat, "...Yinzhen, you are so domineering, I like it so much!"
Yinzhen couldn't hold it in and burst out laughing.
Qi Buchen was unhappy and pinched his cheeks and pulled: "Don't laugh, can't you let me experience the feeling of being a little wife more!"
The atmosphere is gone.
Yinzhen grabbed her rebellious hand and suppressed it: "Alright, your pretentiousness has passed."
Qi Buchen said with a sad face: "...I really don't love you anymore. Now I can't even be hypocritical for a moment."
Yinzhen pinched her cheeks helplessly and kissed her again: "Alright, come with me to take a look at Honghui Courtyard."
Although the couple had a deep affection and no distinction between self and self, as the real owner of Prince Yong's Mansion in the eyes of outsiders, he still had to show up to show his respect.
Sometimes, if you want to live a better life in this world, you have to care about the opinions of others.
The two of them went to Honghui Courtyard hand in hand and stayed there for a while. Yinzhen didn't even smile much - he always maintained a serious image in front of the children. He only gave a few instructions such as "take good care of him" and "find your mother if you have any problems". He also asked Su Peisheng to leave the prepared rewards and left with Qi Buchen.
After returning from Honghui, Yinzhen regained his composure and said, "I still have some things to do, so I'm going to the outer study."
Qi Buchen keenly sensed his displeasure and asked, "What's wrong? Is there a problem with raising food and fodder? Is there anything I can do?"
"It's okay, it's not official business." Yinzhen patted her, frowning slightly, "Just some clowns jumping around."
"Okay, go ahead." Qi Buchen did not ask any further questions. Even though they were husband and wife, there was no need for them to know everything the other person experienced at all times. When it was time for her to know, Yinzhen would tell her sooner or later.
The fact that Fan Zhengya was pregnant was not announced to the public, but it was unknown where the Third Lady got wind of it and came to Qi Buchen to have a chat about "Sun Zi Jing".
When Qi Buchen finally managed to fool her and send her away, his head was about to explode.
Sui He considerately massaged her, and when she relaxed a little, she replied, "Fujin, Aunt Baozhu heard that the Crown Princess was pregnant, so she sent someone to bring ten basins of pomegranates in full bloom this morning. Would you like to take a look?"
It's not easy to get pomegranates to bloom in this season, let alone in pots. Qi Buchen knew that the subordinates were trying to please him. Although he didn't care about this, there was no need to refuse their kindness: "Leave two pots, and send the rest to the Crown Prince's Consort."
"Yes," Suihe replied, "The messenger also said that Aunt Baozhu said that if you have time, she has a small matter to report to you."
"Um?"
Sui He knew this was meant for her to say, "Aunt Baozhu said that in the past two weeks, several families under the First and Fifth Lieutenants of the Fifth Commandery of the Bordered White Banner Han Army have ordered a large number of potted plants, and there have been banquets almost every day."
Um?
Qi Buchen opened his eyes, motioned Suihe to stop massaging, and sat up, frowning in thought. She knew Yinzhen had been assigned to the Bordered White Banner as its leader, and she had a general idea of the number of lieutenants and assistant commanders under him, but she wasn't quite sure of the specific families under him. These matters were handled by dedicated personnel.
There was just one exception, and that was the Nian family. She remembered clearly that the Nian family belonged to the first lieutenant of the fifth lieutenant.
"Did Baozhu say which families they were specifically?" Qi Buchen asked.
Sui He had originally decided to help spread the word just to make a good impression. After all, the visitor had said it was a small matter, and if Fu Jin was busy, she wouldn't have mentioned it. But seeing Fu Jin's expression, it was clear that she took the matter very seriously, so she didn't dare to say anything else. "The visitor did say a few words, but I can't remember everything. Please forgive me, Fu Jin."
Sui He was promoted only in the past two years, so it was normal for her to not know some things. Qi Buchen would not blame her for this. Besides, this matter was not important at all. She was just a little suspicious for no reason. "It's okay. Is the visitor still there?"
"Still here." After all, I'm here to bring good news, so I have to know what the masters' attitudes are and whether they are happy or not.
"Call the people over."
The person Baozhu sent hadn't expected to have the chance to meet the wife again. He was so excited that his bowing was a little distorted. Fortunately, he was smart enough to repeat Baozhu's exact words after hearing the question: "The steward said that there are the Chen family, the Gao family, the Zhang family, the Hu family..."
When she finished speaking, Qi Buchen still didn't hear the name of the Nian family.
Is she overthinking it?
After giving the reward and letting the person go, Qi Buchen called the person in charge of the exchanges with the banner families under Yinzhen and asked them if the above-mentioned families had any happy events recently.
When I asked, I found out that they all had legitimate reasons. Although I thought some of them were unnecessary to make a big deal about, what if they just liked the hustle and bustle?
It seems that I was overthinking it.
After making fun of his own suspicion, Qi Buchen put the matter aside and stopped talking about it. However, a few days later, Yinzhen came back in a rage.
When Su Peisheng secretly sent someone to invite Qi Buchen, she was discussing with Fuyun the matter of taking measurements for Fan Zhengya and her future grandchildren.
"Master is very angry?" Qi Buchen was a little surprised. It's not that Yinzhen had never been angry in these years, but the fact that Su Peisheng came to invite her secretly seemed to indicate that he was really angry.
Qi Buchen stood up decisively and sent Fuyun to find Fan Zhengya: "Go and see the Crown Prince's Consort. All matters are subject to the Crown Prince's Consort's opinion."
After saying this, he hurried away without waiting for Fuyun to reply.
Fuyun still insisted on completing the ceremony. After she stood up, she couldn't help feeling envious as she looked at Fu Jin's receding figure. She had lived a pretty good life over the years, with kind parents-in-law, a respectful husband, and filial children. But when she saw Fu Jin and the prince again, she still felt sincerely envious of their relationship.
When Qi Buchen arrived, the outer study was silent. When Su Peisheng saw her, the servants guarding outside the study visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
The one guarding the door was Su Peisheng's godson. Before Qi Buchen even reached him, he greeted him loudly: "May the wife be blessed!"
When Qi Buchen reached the door, it just opened. Su Peisheng stood aside and helped her take off her cloak attentively: "Please, Madam."
Qi Buchen grinned. He had to thank Fourth Uncle for Eunuch Su's attentiveness.
When he stepped into the house, Qi Buchen shuddered. After a quick look, he found that there was only a charcoal brazier lit in the house, and it was far away from where Yinzhen was.
"Light two more charcoal basins." She ordered and walked straight towards Yinzhen.
Su Peisheng agreed readily. He had wanted to order two more charcoal braziers for a long time. Unfortunately, as soon as he sneaked one in, he was stared at by his master's deathly gaze. He dared not move again. Now that he had Fu Jin's words, he could finally do it boldly.
Seeing her approach, Yinzhen's expression softened slightly, but remained icy. His face, as if covered in glue and black liquid, was pursed to a pale blue. His hands on the desk were tightly clenched. A sheet of white paper lay spread out on the desk. The large character "年" (year) was written with such force that it pierced through the paper, its teeth and claws stretched out. Several corners showed traces of scratches from the pen holder, revealing the immense effort put into writing it.
Qi Buchen stepped forward, pulled out the white paper, crumpled it into a ball, and threw it on the ground. He ordered in a cold voice: "Su Peisheng, burn it!"
He then pulled up Yinzhen's tightly clenched fist and said softly, "Can you please let go?"
Then he pried open his stiff fingers one by one, looked at the dark red marks left by his nails with heartache, and rubbed them gently with his fingertips until the marks became lighter in color before he pulled up his other hand and did the same.
After this, Yinzhen's lip color finally returned to normal, and the corners of his mouth were no longer so tense. Qi Buchen gently hugged him and rubbed his chest with one hand: "Come, take a deep breath, inhale, inhale, inhale..."
No matter how angry Yinzhen was, it subsided and he looked at her helplessly. What kind of child was he? Did she need to coax him like this?
Qi Buchen pursed his lips and smiled, then asked him, "Are you feeling better?"
Yinzhen hugged her and let out a long breath. Qi Buchen patted his back to comfort him.
When he felt that his mood had improved, Qi Buchen asked cautiously, "What happened?"
When this was mentioned, Yinzhen's face suddenly turned bad, but the comfort just now did have some effect. Although he was still in a bad mood, he was no longer as angry as at the beginning.
"At today's grand court meeting, the Hu, Chen, and Gao families..." Yinzhen paused, remembering that Qi Buchen might not know who these people were. "They are the members of the Han Army Banner under my command. They jointly submitted a memorial impeaching Lu Zhenyang for abusing his power for personal gain, dereliction of duty, delaying military affairs, and seeking revenge. This led to the annihilation of Kangtai's troops. We demand that he be escorted back to the capital and severely punished."
As for his post as Governor of Sichuan, he was of course dismissed on the spot.
As for those soldiers with a history of mutiny, it would be best for them to be taken over by Nian Gengyao, who has experience in pacifying them once.
"That's all!"
Anyone with a discerning eye could see that this move was aimed at securing the position of Governor of Sichuan for Nian Gengyao. Although Yinzhen disliked the Nian family, he didn't bother to care about their private intrigues, as these political struggles were commonplace in the court. Moreover, although these people looked powerful, they were actually of low rank and could not cause much trouble.
What he didn't expect was that these people would stab him in the back in public.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
