Chapter 5: You are cute, I am cute too~
However, Yinzhen knew that his tenth brother was a man who never thought about anything, so there was no point in arguing with him. On the contrary, his good third brother always enjoyed making fun of others.
Seeing his master's unhappy expression, Lin Changqing quickly interrupted, "Tenth Prince, this egg custard was made by our wife at the Imperial Kitchen. It's not difficult, and the Imperial Kitchen will know how to make it right away. If you want to give it to Eighth Princess, just send someone to the Imperial Kitchen to make steamed eggs with minced meat."
Before Yin'e could say anything, Yinzhi laughed and said, "So it's your sister-in-law who's considerate of you, fourth brother. Married people are different. Unlike me, my brother, I only care about having a full stomach."
Yinzhi had always been dissatisfied with his fourth brother who got married before him. Why should a younger brother get ahead of his older brother? Is there still order of seniority?
Yinzhen took a deep breath and wanted to confront Yinzhi.
But Yin'e got the upper hand and said, "Third brother, what you said is strange. I remember that Rong'e Niang gave you two princesses. How come they don't even know how to arrange meals for you, third brother? Such useless servants should be sent away. Tell Rong'e Niang to pick two better ones."
Yinzhi was choked for a moment and glared at Yin'e hatefully: "What do you know, you little brat!" Then he left.
Although he was only a year older than Yinzhen, he had already reached puberty early, so Concubine Rong arranged for him to be taught by a palace maid, and later selected two princesses from the selected concubines from previous years. Each princess had her own charm, and now he was ready to taste the sweetness.
Yin'e was baffled, and felt that his third brother was indeed stingy and difficult to get along with. He even scolded me for doing his own good.
Yin'er, who had been secretly watching the show, saw that his fourth brother's face was getting worse and worse, so he quickly pulled Yin'e away.
Lin Changqing said nervously, "Master?"
Who would have thought that just delivering a meal would cause such trouble?
Yinzhen glanced at the dishes on the table that were clearly not his style of dining and asked in a deep voice, "Did Fujin order these?"
"Yes. Fu Jin said that since you didn't have a good appetite for breakfast, she asked the imperial kitchen to prepare a few appetizing and healthy dishes." Lin Changqing replied politely, neither adding nor subtracting. "Fu Jin also said that since you are studying hard now, you should eat well, otherwise your body will not be able to bear it."
After a pause, he added, "Fujin personally instructed the Imperial Kitchen to prepare these dishes, even specifying which seasonings to use."
As for the last sentence about punishing him if he doesn't eat, it is not appropriate to say it in the current situation.
Yinzhen paused as he picked up the food. Although he didn't say anything, his chopsticks clearly lingered on the dishes several times. He even took a spoonful of the steamed egg.
After putting down his chopsticks, he ordered, "Go back and tell your wife that you don't have to make things like egg custard anymore. My appetite isn't that weak!"
After saying that, he snorted lightly, called Su Peisheng and went to the training ground.
South Third Institute.
After arranging dinner, Qi Buchen planned to start looking at the account books. However, after searching several rooms, she couldn't find a comfortable place to look at the account books.
The courtyard was not large. Qi Buchen lived and slept in the main house, which was five rooms wide. The east wing was used as a storehouse, where her dowry was stored. The west wing was where the maids and palace maids lived.
Previously, Yinzhen had the exclusive use of the five main rooms, but after Qi Buchen married into the family, they could not consummate their marriage because one of them had not reached the age of marriage and the other had not yet produced sperm. Therefore, they had to sleep in two separate rooms on weekdays. As a result, the five main rooms became the two east rooms for Yinzhen, the two west rooms for Qi Buchen, and the middle room for the living room.
None of these places would allow Qi Buchen to look through the account books comfortably. She wanted to lie down on the bed, but it was just a thought. Looking at the people around her, she knew it was impossible.
"Put the account books away and don't look at them today." Qi Buchen decided to make a warm and comfortable study for himself first. "Baozhu, go find Nanny Yue and have her put the dowry in the east wing back in order. Clear out a room and turn it into a study. See if there's a suitable couch in the storeroom and put it there. Then put out a few more charcoal braziers to make sure it's warm."
Baozhu received the order and went to do it.
Qi Buchen called over Aunt Cheng again and asked, "Is there a place in our courtyard where we can make some simple meals?"
The Imperial Kitchen generally only provided two meals a day, morning and evening. Of course, if Kangxi, powerful concubines, or the princes wanted to have extra meals, they would also serve them. However, Qi Buchen wanted to keep Yinzhen healthy, so he had to do this every day. If he went to the Imperial Kitchen every day to ask for a midnight snack equivalent to a regular meal, it would be a bit ostentatious.
After all, the princes and princesses in this palace were taught from a young age to eat less. Even if they were sick, they would skip a meal or two.
"Madam, there is a refreshment room in both the front and back yards. They can be used to make snacks and tea on weekdays. But if you want to cook, I'm afraid it won't work, and there's no one in our yard who can do that." Nanny Cheng said with some embarrassment.
In the palace, just because you can cook at home doesn't mean you can take on the responsibility of cooking. Every chef in the imperial kitchen has a master or family inheritance, and they all have countless unique recipes in their hands.
However, Qi Buchen didn't want to make a big fuss. She just wanted to give Yinzhen an extra meal in the evening.
"That's enough. I just wanted you to have something hot to eat when you're tired from studying at night." Qi Buchen asked again, "Does your and my share include cow's or goat's milk?"
"Yes, you and your prince each have an allotment of five dairy cows and ten pounds of fresh milk," Nanny Cheng replied. "We don't have goat's milk, but if you want, you can swap the milk in your allotment for goat's milk."
"That's not necessary." Why would I exchange cow's milk for goat's milk? Qi Buchen waved his hand and said, "Why don't I see any cow's milk today?"
"This milk doesn't keep well, so generally speaking, people send someone to the imperial kitchen to get it when they want to use it," explained Madam Cheng. "But the prince dislikes the fishy taste, so he never gets any. Today, I was just being careless and forgot to send someone to get it."
"Don't blame you. I didn't say I wanted to use that." Qi Buchen said, "You can still get it now. I want to use it tonight."
"That's nothing." Nanny Cheng smiled and turned to call a young eunuch in. "This is little Xiezi. He's quite smart. If the concubine needs any errands in the future, you can ask him to do it."
Then he turned to Xiao Xiezi and said, "Fujin wants to use some milk. Go to the imperial kitchen and get both Fujin and Master's share."
As soon as Xiao Xiezi came in, he knelt down and kowtowed immediately after hearing the order: "Yes, I will go right away and make sure that the people in the imperial kitchen are ready to eat fresh."
Qi Buchen made him laugh: "You are really smart. What's your name?"
Being able to have Nanny Cheng brought to her, it seemed they were quite close, but it didn't matter who she used. If she used him, it would make Nanny Cheng favor her in the future, which was fine.
"My lord, my name is Xie Hanshan. My father told me that one year when he was working as a helper, he heard a passerby reciting a poem. Although my father couldn't read a single word, he remembered the two characters Hanshan after hearing it, and later used them as my name." Little Xie Zi was so happy to receive the praise from the lady.
"But that line 'Hanshan Temple outside Gusu City'?" This was all Qi Buchen could think of at the moment. "It's a good name."
"Thank you, Madam, for your compliment." Little Xiezi kowtowed repeatedly.
Although Qi Buchen accepted the memories of his original body, he still couldn't accept the fact of kowtowing.
I always feel like I'm already dead, and others are visiting my grave.
"Go and do your work." Qi Buchen sent him away, and then took Nanny Cheng to ask about some things in the palace. Nanny Cheng also tried her best to answer them, but for some more obscure things, she spoke very vaguely, and it all depended on whether Qi Buchen himself could understand.
After midnight, Yinzhen returned from the training ground.
Qi Buchen came out from the east side room and said naturally, "I'm back. The hot water is ready. You can change your clothes first."
He didn't bow or call me "Master".
Yinzhen frowned inwardly. Concubine Fu Jin was young and new to the palace, so she might be nervous and unused to it. Didn't the servants know how to remind her? They were all neglecting their duties. It seemed like it was time to find a way to teach them a lesson.
"Yeah." He was thinking about how to deal with the blind servant, but he nodded calmly at Qi Buchen.
When he came out after washing up, he was about to go to the study when Qi Buchen said, "I'll take you there."
During the day, she wanted to go to Yinzhen's study to see how warm it was, but she thought that ancient men seemed to attach great importance to their studies and generally did not let others in, so she waited until now to bring it up.
Yinzhen wondered what was so important about sending him off for the next two steps: "It's only a few steps to the front yard, there's no need."
Just after he rejected her, he saw his wife lower her head sadly and murmured softly: "But I want to see what your study looks like..."
The upright Yinzhen immediately wanted to say, what's so good about the study, they all look the same.
But a mysterious force stopped him. He hesitated for a moment, thinking that there was nothing shameful in his study, so he said, "Then let's go."
Seeing his young wife raise her head happily because of his words, Yinzhen felt that his mood also became happier.
The study in the front yard was indeed not far away, and it only took four or five minutes to get there.
The study was surrounded by large bookshelves on three sides, filled with books. A large desk and an armchair were placed against the wall on the right side. Next to the desk was a large celadon jar containing many scrolls.
Yinzhen walked to the west bookshelf and pulled out a book: "Do you know Chinese characters?"
"I do know him." Qi Buchen's face turned red with cold, and he looked shy. "I just can't write." Mainly because he doesn't know how to use a brush.
Yinzhen handed her the book in his hand and said, "This is a travelogue. It's quite interesting. You can read it when you have nothing to do. If you find it boring in the future, you can come to the bookshelf on the side and find a book to read. There are travelogues and novels here."
He paused and continued, "As for calligraphy, if you're interested in learning, I still have the tracing brush I used as a child, and I can teach you."
This is great! When studying or working together, it’s easy to find common topics, which can naturally and quickly bring you closer.
Qi Buchen made himself look excited and expectant: "Really? But...but I'm rather clumsy, I can never hold the brush properly." After saying that, he lowered his head in annoyance and frustration.
Yinzhen felt an inexplicable urge to reach out and rub that round head.
However, the two of them haven't consummated their marriage yet, so they can't get too close, otherwise it will be bad for her reputation...
Yinzhen put his fist to his lips and cleared his throat: "It's okay, just practice more."
In order to suppress his inexplicable impulse, Yinzhen simply sent her back and said with a serious face: "Okay, I have homework to do, you go back first."
Qi Buchen felt that this person liked to act like an adult and be serious at such a young age, which was a cute contrast.
Well, there is just not much fat on his face. If it were white and chubby, he would be even cuter.
The author has something to say:
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Yinzhen looked at Qi Buchen's first attempt at tracing the characters in red ink and was speechless: "...I'm afraid this isn't just a matter of practicing more..."
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