Chapter 3: The cabbage is not full, the ground is yellow~
"Greetings to Her Majesty the Queen Mother. May Her Majesty live a thousand years and a thousand thousand years." What to say at this time was something that the original body had been taught by the people sent by the Ministry of Internal Affairs before she got married. Moreover, when she was packing up in the morning, Madam Ham also repeated today's procedures in her ear.
After kowtowed three times, Qi Buchen heard a voice coming from the front. Uh, he didn’t understand it again?
Qi Buchen quickly reviewed the original body's memory and found that the original body couldn't understand it either, so he breathed a sigh of relief.
Sure enough, after that voice fell, another voice said, "The Empress Dowager is calling."
After the greetings, they kowtowed three times and bowed nine times under the guidance of the etiquette officer. Qi Buchen heard the Queen Mother babble a lot, and then the female voice of the translator said: "The Queen Mother said: The fourth child's family is good. She likes the birthday gift I gave her the other day very much. He is a good child. He should live a good life with the fourth child in the future. Reward."
"Thank you, Empress Dowager, for the reward." When Qi Buchen expressed her gratitude, she recalled that more than half a month ago was the Empress Dowager's fiftieth birthday. She also sent a birthday gift as the future daughter-in-law, but those were all prepared by her original mother.
After the Queen Mother met, it was the concubines who came to greet her. Qi Buchen began to pay her respects one by one, with Consort Niuhulu at the head. She now knew that this Consort Niuhulu was the Consort Wenxi in history.
Soon he came in front of Concubine De. Qi Buchen took a look and found that she looked to be in her twenties, gentle and beautiful, a rare beauty.
"The daughter-in-law pays her respects to the mother. May everything go well for the queen." Qi Buchen performed the greetings politely. Fortunately, her body had inertial memory, otherwise, as a modern person, she would not be able to perform the movements correctly in a short period of time.
"Get up." De Fei smiled gently, "These are just some small things, you can use them to entertain others."
But anyone could see that the things on the tray were better than those given by the imperial concubine, and only slightly worse than those given by the empress dowager.
However, the Fourth Master is her biological son. Even if they don't seem close now, the gifts he gives to his daughter-in-law should be more generous than those given to others.
The woman sitting below Concubine De, who should be Concubine Yi, covered her mouth and laughed: "Look, this is indeed a true mother-in-law and daughter-in-law relationship. It makes us look like pitiful little kids with no filial piety."
Everyone in the room laughed in unison, and the Queen Mother also laughed and said, "It seems that he wants to have some wife tea. Why are you so anxious? Isn't Lao Wu almost here?"
Concubine Yi pretended to be aggrieved and said, "Of course, Empress Dowager, you are not in a hurry. You will be able to drink grandson's daughter-in-law tea in a while, but I still have to wait four or five years!"
The Queen Mother laughed heartily, and everyone else laughed along with her.
After the episode ended, Qi Buchen went on to recognize the remaining concubines. Those who could get a seat in this palace were all the main palace officials above the rank of concubine.
What surprised her was that Kangxi's harem now had only nine concubines, one noble concubine, four concubines and four imperial concubines. This was far from the harem of Kangxi that had as many as a hundred concubines in Qi Buchen's memory.
But these are not important now. What is important is that she is going to meet Kangxi and his sons.
But I was a little disappointed. I didn't get a good look at him when I met Kangxi. As for the brothers of the Fourth Prince, except for the eldest prince and the crown prince who had begun to show their talents, the others were still little brats.
Anyone below the Third Prince must be no taller than 1.5 meters!
Including the Fourth Prince.
Qi Buchen glanced at Yinzhen, who was walking diagonally in front of her, and estimated that he was about 1.4 meters tall. However, she was shorter. Qi Buchen compared himself with the dresser when he was getting ready in the morning and estimated that he was about 1.23 meters tall.
Yinzhen noticed his wife secretly glancing at him, paused, slowed down his pace, tilted his head slightly, and asked in a low voice, "Are you tired?"
Huh? Qi Buchen was a little confused for a moment, but still answered cautiously: "A little bit."
Yinzhen could sense his wife's caution, and pursed his lips and said, "Bear with it. After we pay our respects to Fengxian Hall, we can go back and rest."
When Qi Buchen heard that he could finally rest, he became very happy. This cumbersome etiquette was really too much of a torture.
"Okay~"
The arc in the ending tone made Yinzhen's mouth curl up.
The two walked all the way to Fengxian Hall, paid homage to the three former queens, and finally returned to their home in Nansanso on a sedan chair.
After unloading all the weight from his body, Qi Buchen felt that his bones had become lighter.
"Fujin, the master has arrived at the main house. It's time for breakfast." Baohuan came to report.
Qi Buchen got up and went to the main house, thinking on the way how to get along with each other when they met later.
The original body's memories were filled with the teachings of her mother and the maids in the Imperial Household Department. After marriage, she was to treat the Fourth Prince like her master, like the heaven, with respect and courtesy, and not be reckless or disobedient...
No matter how Qi Buchen looked at it, he felt that she had come to be a servant, not a wife. Her purpose in staying was to find a way back. If she wanted to receive the full support of the Fourth Prince, or even the future Emperor, then being a servant was clearly not enough. A closer, more intimate relationship was necessary, and there had to be an emotional bond between the two.
Love? Qi Buchen hadn't even considered it. After all, this was an era when concubines were legal. She couldn't imagine any normal woman, except perhaps a pervert, accepting her husband having three wives and four concubines. Besides, Yinzhen was only thirteen years old, a child. If she really had any thoughts about a child, well, that would be a bit perverted.
Puppy love or something like that, that's just a vague affection between two children of the same age. Although her body was only ten years old, her inner self was already stained yellow.
Friendship? Not quite. Putting aside the question of whether there is pure friendship between men and women, the ancients believed that "the friendship between gentlemen is as pure as water."
So it's still family love! Family love is always inclusive and long-lasting. In fact, both the original body and the Fourth Prince are pitiful people.
The original person's father died young, and his mother favored his younger brother. Her decision to marry the Fourth Prince was, undeniably, intended to protect his younger brother. Yinzhen, on the other hand, had a biological mother but was adopted by a foster mother. After his adoptive mother passed away, his biological mother wasn't close to him. His father was the emperor, and he had a multitude of children. It's easy to imagine how little love he had from both parents since childhood.
Now that these two poor people who lack family affection have become a family, let them stick together for warmth and become each other's relatives.
Qi Buchen was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even realize he had arrived.
"Fujin." Yinzhen looked at his newlywed wife, who looked so lost in thought that she didn't even know how to greet him. "Fujin?"
"Ah!" Qi Buchen was startled awake. Seeing Yinzhen, he greeted him casually, "You're here. Let's get ready for dinner."
Yinzhen was a little confused. What was wrong with the tone of this way of entertaining guests?
He reacted immediately, frowning slightly, and was about to tell Qi Buchen that she had forgotten the etiquette. But he saw Qi Buchen's profile as he turned around and ordered the palace servants to serve the dishes. His face was pale and bloodless.
It was only slightly better than the frightened look he had on his face after being knocked down last night.
Yinzhen's frown relaxed involuntarily. It was all right. There was still a lot of time. She was still young and had just entered the palace. She must be very scared. He would comfort her first and teach her slowly later. The Emperor said that it was the responsibility of the head of the family to teach his son in front of him and his wife behind his back.
Qi Buchen turned around and saw Yinzhen speaking softly to her, "This will be your home from now on. Don't be too..." He wanted to say "fear," but after thinking it over, he changed it to, "...too nervous. After dinner, have all the servants in the courtyard come to see you. From today on, you'll be in charge of this courtyard."
In the past, this courtyard was managed by the chief eunuch and Madam Cheng who was by his side, but now that there is a mistress, it would be inappropriate to let the servants manage it.
Qi Buchen knew the importance of stewardship, so he did not refuse: "I understand."
Yinzhen's brows moved slightly again, and he wanted to say that Qi Buchen shouldn't call him "I" in front of him, but he held back.
There is still a lot of time, I will teach you slowly in the future.
While the two were talking, the three tables were filled with food. Qi Buchen found several dishes that his original body liked to eat. He guessed that someone had given instructions to the imperial kitchen.
They ate in silence. Just when Qi Buchen was half full, he saw Yinzhen put down his chopsticks.
Grandma Ham winked at her, signaling her to put down her chopsticks quickly.
Oh my god, he only ate a few bites! No wonder the Fourth Prince is so short and skinny like a monkey. Qi Buchen noticed that all the dishes he touched were vegetarian, and the meat was untouched!
Qi Buchen was speechless. He felt that this wasn't going to work. His malnutrition from not eating well was one thing, but more importantly, if he put down his chopsticks, he would have to put them down, too. Wouldn't he be hungry every day from now on?!
In order to avoid being hungry in the future, Qi Chen decisively leaned over, first served him a bowl of soup, and then picked up some meat dishes for him.
Facing Yinzhen's surprised eyes, Qi Chen frowned and said, "You eat too little. This is not good for your health. Look, you don't even have two taels of meat on your body."
Yinzhen frowned and was about to say that Qi Buchen should call him "Master" instead of "you".
Then Qi Buchen added in an embarrassed voice: "Besides, I'm not full yet~"
After saying that, she looked at him with curiosity: "Why do you eat less than me~"
Although his wife's eyes were full of curiosity, Yinzhen always felt that he saw ridicule in them. He took a deep breath, stopped talking, picked up the bowl of soup and drank it.
Qi Buchen narrowed his eyes in satisfaction and lowered his head to fight for his stomach.
After Yinzhen finished the bowl of soup, although he felt that he could not eat anymore, he thought of his wife saying that she was not full yet, so he ate the meat and vegetables that Qi Buchen picked for him bite by bite.
To be honest, he hadn't eaten any meat for more than two years because he had to observe mourning for his adoptive mother, Tong Jia.
Currently, when an elder in the royal family dies, the younger generation only needs to strictly follow the mourning rules for 27 days. They cannot shave their heads for 100 days, and then wear plain clothes for the next 27 months. The other rules are very loose, and it is okay to eat meat, and even getting pregnant and having children is not a big deal.
But Yinzhen, to put it mildly, was respectful and courteous, but to put it bluntly, he was stubborn and single-minded. He had mixed feelings for his adoptive mother, Tong Jia, but he privately observed a full twenty-seven months of mourning for her. After Tong Jia's death, he abstained from all meat and fish, and recited Buddhist scriptures for an hour daily—a thirteen-year-old's body couldn't withstand such an ordeal. Furthermore, at this time, he adhered to the health regimen of "eating only until 70% to 80% full," with only two meals a day, morning and evening. Therefore, his stomach dwindled the more he ate.
Only after Qi Buchen had filled his stomach and put down his chopsticks did Yinzhen put down his chopsticks as well. He felt that he was too full.
He stood up and said, "Go and digest the food."
Then he glanced at Qi Buchen, meaning to ask her to follow.
Qi Buchen was full and just wanted to lie down contentedly, but considering that he had to build a good relationship with this person, he overcame his laziness with difficulty and followed.
Although the entire South Three Residences occupied a large area, many princes lived there. Because Yinzhen was ranked high, the courtyard he occupied was considered large among them, but in fact it was not that big.
Qi Buchen followed Yinzhen around the entire backyard, one to help digest the food, and the other to get familiar with the place. Along the way, eunuchs introduced her to where the place was and what it was used for.
On the way back to the house, Yinzhen glanced at his wife beside him and said in a calm voice: "Eat and drink in moderation, 70% to 80% is the best."
Qi Buchen blinked several times before he realized that the words meant that she should eat less.
She curled her lips secretly, but said with a confused look on her face: "I'm only 70% full." After saying that, she looked at Yinzhen with grievance.
Seeing this, Yinzhen couldn't help but doubt himself. Is it really because I eat too little?
The author has something to say:
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Qi Buchen: Yes, you eat less than a chicken!
Yinzhen: ...There is a long time to come, there is a long time to come, I will endure it!
Note: The Queen Mother spoke Mongolian, which the heroine could not understand. However, it is assumed that what the Queen Mother said has been translated, so the translation process will not be described.
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