Chapter 89 Who dares to ask you to do this? When he said this, Yinzhen rebelled...
After he said that, Yinzhen didn't want to let him have his fun anymore. He had been punched a lot when he was fighting with this kid just now, and some of his bruises were probably bruised.
"Hmph!" Yinzhen sneered, picked up Yin'e without saying a word, and threw him back onto the couch in the inner room.
It was also fortunate that he had taken good care of himself some time ago and had grown a lot taller, otherwise it would be hard to say whether he could carry Yin'e, who was as small as a calf.
The imperial physician who had suffered an unexpected disaster carefully examined the old man, left the prescription and external application medicine and hurried back to the palace. Qi Buchen asked him to go to the imperial concubine's palace and inform her of Yin'e's condition.
Yin'e stayed in the mansion like this. Although he and Yinzhen lived in the same courtyard, the two brothers disliked each other and did not get along well.
However, he still respected his sister-in-law Qi Buchen and even felt a little close to her. He often came to Qi Buchen to borrow medical books and asked her for advice on things he didn't understand.
Qi Buchen guessed that it might be because of her experience of losing her father at a young age that Yin'e felt a sense of empathy.
She also took this opportunity to talk to Yin'e several times about her fear, panic, sadness and longing at that time, as well as how she got over it later. Yin'e listened carefully every time and occasionally comforted her.
Yin'e settled down, but the imperial concubine's illness did not improve as everyone expected. One day in November, someone came hurriedly from the palace to take Yin'e back to the palace, saying that the imperial concubine wanted to see him.
Everyone guessed the reason.
Yin'e stood there without moving, his eyes red, but he was stubborn and refused to shed tears.
The palace maid urged him, but Yin'e looked at Qi Buchen and called softly, "Fourth sister-in-law..." as if seeking a support.
Qi Buchen's eyes were sore. He walked forward, hugged him gently, touched his head, and forced comfort: "It's okay. The fact that your mother can see you means you're fine. Go quickly. Your mother must miss you terribly."
Everyone knew that this was a lie, but Yin'e seemed to have gained strength from it and was finally able to take a step forward.
Watching Yin'e leave, Yinzhen sighed and said, "Get ready." It's only two days away.
Not even two days later, news came from the palace early the next morning that Concubine Nianhulu had passed away.
Kangxi gave her the posthumous title of Wenxi. Her funeral was grand and solemn, following the rules for a noble concubine. Kangxi even stopped for a day to hold court.
But it was only a rule for imperial concubines. Except for Yin'e and the princesses raised by Imperial Concubine Wenxi, the other princes and princesses only observed mourning for three days and then continued their mourning as usual.
Originally, the funeral of Concubine Wenxi was like this, which was considered honorable for a woman in ancient times, and her life was not in vain in the eyes of the world. However, the royal family gave her the last bit of dignity, but her family tore it apart and threw it on the ground. After her death, she became a topic of conversation among people in the capital.
The Niuhulu family is a prominent and large family. What such a large family lacks the most is internal strife. Qi Buchen had heard about the conflict between Alinga and his brother Faka in later generations, but she never imagined that the means of internal strife in real history could be so dirty and vulgar.
As Consort Wenxi's coffin lay outside Chaoyang Gate, the capital was abuzz with a salacious rumor: Wenxi's brother, Faka, had been in an affair with his third brother's wife, and that they had been caught red-handed at Wenxi's funeral. The rumor was incredibly detailed, even going so far as to detail the couple's clothing, location, and who had witnessed them. Because the rumor, laced with gossip, melodrama, celebrities, and vulgarity, it became widespread within a single day.
Yin'e was so angry that he wanted to take people to smash Nianhulu's mansion, but was stopped by Kangxi.
But Kangxi's face was not in a good mood either. No matter what, the Nianhulu family had produced a queen and a noble concubine, and they were considered a legitimate in-law. Now that such rumors were spreading, even Kangxi felt ashamed.
Just as he was about to order a thorough investigation, Faka submitted a memorial first, which directly stated that it was Alinga who framed him and attached evidence.
Kangxi was furious and summoned Alinga to the imperial court for his reply. However, Alinga, for some unknown reason, brazenly insisted on speaking in front of Kangxi and harassing the imperial court. Kangxi, furious, immediately demoted Alinga to a commoner, but for some reason, he did not punish him physically.
Although Alinga was punished and the truth seemed to be revealed, rumors were not so easy to dispel. Although no one said it in public, many people still believed in private that there was something going on between Fakhazhen and his sister-in-law. In the eyes of some people, Niuhuru's mansion was even a brothel.
It is said that the heroine of the incident hanged herself at that time, but fortunately she was rescued in the end.
When Yin'e came to the Fourth Master's Mansion again, Qi Buchen was angrily speaking ill of the Nianhulu Mansion to Yinzhen, especially Alinga and Faka. In Qi Buchen's view, no matter what conflicts there were between them or who was behind this incident, their struggle should not involve an innocent woman, which would only show how despicable and disgusting the people behind the scenes were.
Qi Buchen spoke frankly, but he didn't notice that Yin'e, who suddenly broke in, heard him. He felt a little embarrassed. No matter what, Niu Hulu was Yin'e's uncle, and it would not be good to talk about this matter behind his back if the main person heard it.
Yin'e's eyes were gloomy, and he didn't notice Qi Buchen's embarrassment. He had a cold little face, and he looked a bit like Yinzhen's usual charm.
He said, "Fourth brother, help me."
Yinzhen looked at him deeply, and instead of asking him what he was going to do, he called Jin Bao over and said, "Listen to your Tenth Master."
Yin'e left in a hurry again.
Qi Buchen opened and closed his mouth, unable to help but ask, "What does he want to do?"
Yinzhen blinked: "I don't know."
Qi Buchen looked at him in disbelief and thought, you must be kidding me.
However, a few days later, news broke that Alinga and Faka were beaten. It was said that both of their faces were swollen like pig heads, one had a broken left calf, and the other had two broken ribs.
Qi Buchen kept trying to guess whether it was Yin'e who did it, but he couldn't help but ask Yinzhen: "Tenth brother?"
Yinzhen shook his head, and Qi Buchen thought it was not the case, but he said, "I don't know."
...I'm speechless.
But Qi Buchen didn't have the good intention to sympathize with these people. Instead, she was a little worried about Yin'e: "Is Tenth Brother okay?"
Yinzhen blinked: "What trouble has the Tenth Master gotten himself into again?"
It was the first time that Qi Buchen discovered that Yinzhen was so good at playing dumb, but it didn't matter if he didn't want to say it. For such things, the fewer people who knew about it, the better. Even if everyone guessed it, you can't say it was me without evidence.
"Send someone to deliver some medicine to Alinga's house." Yinzhen said slowly again.
Qi Buchen: “Ah?” No way, your men just beat someone up, and now you’re delivering medicine to them. Isn’t it a bad mockery to do that?
Yinzhen was helpless: "What are you thinking? To some extent, Aling... well..." He frowned somewhat unhappily and said, "...I should call you uncle."
Qi Buchen then realized that Alinga's wife was actually Defei's concubine's sister! Moreover, the two had a very good relationship. All of Alinga's children were born to this Wuya family!
After knowing this, Qi Buchen was very confused. She remembered that Alinga seemed to be a strong supporter of the eighth prince Yinsi in history. If there was such a relationship between Alinga and Yinzhen, why did Alinga support Yinsi instead of Yinzhen?
Also, Yin'e was also a staunch supporter of the Eighth Prince's party. Considering Yin'e's attitude towards Alinga for so long, how did he later work together with Alinga to support Yinsi?
Is Yinsi really that charming?
Or is Yinzhen just so unpopular?
But she had been with Yinzhen for three years and did not feel that Yinzhen had any character problems! On the contrary, he was a very motivated, responsible and responsible young man.
Thinking of this, Qi Buchen felt even more fond of Yinzhen. What happened to this child later? Why did he become so deserted by his friends and relatives as in history?
For a while, his attitude towards Yinzhen became better.
Perhaps stimulated by the death of Consort Wenxi, Kangxi had often sent ministers to pay tribute to several former empresses in previous years, but he rarely went in person, nor did he often send his sons. However, after Consort Wenxi's funeral, he suddenly took the three brothers Yinzhi, Yinzhen, and Yinsi to the Zan'an Fengdian and the Xiaoling Mausoleum to pay tribute, and did not return until half a month later.
However, Yinzhen was in a good mood. The fact that Kangxi took him out meant that the issue of the proposal was over, and he could start looking forward to ending his days of studying behind closed doors.
Although he had spent more time with his wife these days, and he was happy about her increasingly friendly attitude, as the head of the family, he preferred to be busy outside, fulfilling his ambitions while also providing a better life for his wife. He hadn't forgotten that when he occasionally watched his wife do her accounts, she had noticed that her income was not enough to cover her expenses.
Qi Buchen was actually thinking about this as well. The Fourth Master's Mansion was indeed running at a deficit. Needless to say, Yinzhen, the bald prince, had no salary at all. He had to bring his own food when he worked in the Ministry of Works. Although these princes did not rely on salaries to survive, they mainly relied on the filial piety from their subordinates. But Yinzhen did not have many subordinates who could pay him tribute now.
As for property, Yinzhen was allocated some when he left the palace, but they were basically farms. Most of the output from them was sent to the mansion for personal use, and there was not much that could be exchanged for silver.
However, the expenses of the mansion were not small. There was a set amount of money to pay for the food, drink, and defecation of nearly 200 people. In addition, the social interactions were more expensive than they came in. From time to time, some gifts had to be sent to the palace to express filial piety. In addition, the style and appearance of the two masters, Yinzhen and Qi Buchen, all required money.
As for Qi Buchen's dowry, although it was not small, it was definitely not too much, and the number of shops was pitifully small. After all, there were many male members in the Ulanara family, and the shops with good profits were all kept. Qi Buchen only got a cosmetics shop and a cloth shop. These two shops happened to be the ones with the least competition in the capital, so he was able to maintain a balance between income and expenditure and occasionally have a slight surplus.
In the past, Qi Buchen had a problem with her mentality and never felt a sense of belonging, so she didn't put too much thought into this aspect. Now that she has decided to live well in this era, these things must be resolved. She doesn't want to live a life of idleness and end up in poverty.
Of course, given Yinzhen's status, being poor and destitute was still somewhat difficult, but it was better to prepare for a rainy day.
Unlike Yinzhen who wanted to shine in the court, Qi Buchen was still thinking about doing business, but she had not yet decided what to do specifically.
Just when Qi Buchen was thinking about asking Yinzhen's opinion, he saw that he was not very happy: "What's wrong?"
Yinzhen's face was gloomy. "Today, the Ministry of Personnel submitted a memorial requesting that Alinga's eldest son inherit the first-class dukedom of the Niuhulu clan, but the emperor rejected it and restored Alinga's dukedom."
This is really... Yin'e must be so angry that he must die, right?
However, it is also possible that Kangxi was trying to cover up for his son and used this title to shut up the Nianhulu family?
Qi Buchen vaguely expressed his guess.
Yinzhen pursed his lips and said, "Alinga's wife returned to her parents' home a few days ago, and then someone from the Uya clan passed a sign into the palace."
Qi Buchen was silent. So, Defei interceded for Alinga? This was not impossible. If so, then Defei's influence on Kangxi was really not small. She couldn't help but think of the speculation that Defei was Kangxi's true love.
Unfortunately, there is no way to verify this matter with the parties involved, and speculation is just speculation.
Yinzhen was just a little unhappy, but not very angry. On the contrary, Qi Buchen was a little worried that Yin'e would vent his anger on Yinzhen because of this matter.
This year's New Year was quite dull. One reason was that Concubine Wenxi had just passed away, and the princes and grandchildren had to observe mourning and could not enjoy themselves; another reason was that the results of Emperor Kangxi's personal expedition this year were not ideal, and he was in a bad mood for the second half of the year.
The next year, before the fifteenth day of the lunar month, news of Galdan arrived from the borderlands. The court immediately became busy, and Kangxi was also busy. He began to inspect various places before the end of the first month of the lunar year. Because of this, the Wanshou Festival in March was also cancelled.
Yinzhen waited and waited for his royal father to assign him any task, but he felt depressed for a while.
Qi Buchen wanted to comfort him, but he was distracted by another thing.
The triennial draft is held again this year.
At that time, the palace will definitely assign people to each prince's mansion.
In fact, even though there has been no beauty pageant in the past two years, Yinzhen's brothers have actually taken in many concubines. Not to mention his elder brothers like Yinzhi, even the fifth prince Yinqi, who is only fourteen years old this year, the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent two palace maids to teach him about human affairs a few days ago.
It was also this incident that suddenly reminded Qi Buchen of something. Defei wanted to give the girl to someone else but failed. But before that, did the Ministry of Internal Affairs send a palace maid to Yinzhen to teach him about personnel matters as per the rules?
Yinzhen...did he do anything?
When Qi Buchen thought of this, he felt extremely upset, and even felt a bitterness in his heart that he didn't want to admit.
But she didn't ask Yinzhen, and she didn't know how to ask. In what capacity should she ask? The Fourth Lady? Even with that capacity, asking such a question would be strange, wouldn't it? In this era.
Era, era! Qi Buchen gnashed her teeth and chewed these two words. She didn't know how many times she felt powerless.
Even though she has decided to live a good life here, there is still a deep and unbridgeable gap between her and this place and Yinzhen.
Yinzhen was mostly focused on the court and failed to notice Qi Buchen's growing confusion and anxiety.
However, he still hadn't forgotten that his wife's birthday was coming up, so he spent the rest of his mind thinking about what gift to give her this year. At the same time, he also had some secret hopes. His relationship with his wife had been getting better and better over the past year, and he wanted to take this opportunity to take it a step further.
He still wants a clear answer or attitude to some of his past thoughts.
Time passed quickly, the mourning period for Concubine Wenxi was over, the concubines entered the palace, and the date for Yinzhi's wedding was set.
Qi Buchen’s birthday has also arrived.
During the day, she followed local customs and entertained guests, mainly her natal family and sisters-in-law from the royal family. The Crown Princess and the First Lady did not come. The Crown Princess had a special status and rarely left the palace, and the First Lady was sick again.
Qi Buchen was now quite adept at handling such occasions, chatting with everyone with ease. However, as the birthday boy, he was inevitably forced to drink some wine. Yinzhen was also there to entertain the guests, but since it was a female birthday celebration, there were relatively few male guests, mainly men from the Ulanara family, who didn't dare to force Yinzhen to drink. Therefore, after seeing off the guests, Qi Buchen felt a little dazed, but Yinzhen was very sober.
When Yinzhen saw the dazed Fu Jin leaning on the couch in the main courtyard, he smiled helplessly, walked forward and wiped Qi Buchen's cheek with his fingertips lovingly: "Why are you still drunk?"
"Have you given Fu Jin the hangover soup?" he asked Baozhu who was serving him.
“It’s already been used.”
"Well." Yinzhen sat down, "Everyone, go down."
During this period, Qi Buchen kept staring at Yinzhen blankly.
After everyone left, Yinzhen stretched out his hand and waved it in front of Qi Buchen's eyes: "Fu Jin?" He and Qi Buchen learned this action. Sometimes when he was distracted by something, Fu Jin would call him like this.
Qi Buchen's scattered eyes refocused: "Hmm."
Yinzhen smiled: "It seems that he is not too drunk."
Qi Buchen didn't say anything, just looked at him.
"Are you happy today?" Yinzhen asked, trying to lay the groundwork.
Unexpectedly, Qi Buchen shook his head: "Not happy."
Yinzhen was a little confused for a moment, wondering if he had heard it wrong: "Unhappy?"
Qi Buchen nodded and repeated affirmatively: "Not happy."
Yinzhen was puzzled: "Why?"
"Hmm." Qi Buchen frowned and thought for a moment, "It's hard to say."
"Huh?" Yinzhen was even more confused.
Qi Buchen just kept frowning and said nothing.
Yinzhen couldn't hold back his anger and asked again: "Why are you unhappy?"
Qi Buchen shook his head and still said nothing.
Yinzhen wondered if she was drunk and didn't know what she was saying: "Do you know what you just said? Do you know who I am?"
Qi Buchen nodded and pointed at himself: "I am not happy." Then he pointed at Yinzhen, "You, Yinzhen."
Okay, it seems that he still has the ability to think, but he is also affected by some alcohol and speaks in a very rigid manner.
Yinzhen decided not to dwell on whether he was happy or not, and took out the gift: "Here is a gift, see if you like it."
Qi Buchen took it, put his face very close to it and opened it. He looked at it for a long time before taking out the gift from inside and holding it in front of his eyes to examine it carefully.
This is a jade pendant, but it is not the common round shape, but a long strip, and the shape is also irregular. Qi Buchen squinted his eyes and looked at it for a long time before he roughly saw that it was carved into a bird.
As for what kind of bird it was, she really couldn't recognize it.
Putting the jade pendant back into the box, Qi Buchen nodded solemnly and said, "Thank you."
That’s it?
Yinzhen, who was eagerly awaiting Fu Jin's reaction, saw that Fu Jin had already closed the box and was about to put it down, so he quickly stopped her and said, "Wait, did you see clearly? What is carved on the jade pendant?"
"I saw it clearly." Qi Buchen said seriously, "I carved a bird."
"..." Yinzhen was speechless, "That's Yang."
"Yang?" Qi Buchen tilted his head, "Oh."
Yinzhen: "Don't you want to say anything?"
Qi Buchen looked confused: "What are you talking about?"
Yinzhen could no longer bear it, so he stood up and sat next to Qi Buchen. He took the box and took out the jade pendant, dangling it in front of Qi Buchen's eyes: "This is a yang." He took out another piece from his arms and also hung it in front of Qi Buchen's eyes, "I have one here too, it's a mandarin duck."
He placed the two jade pendants in his palms: "When put together, they become mandarin ducks."
"Mandarin duck." Qi Buchen repeated word by word. She took a piece from Yinzhen's hand, pinched it and shook it. "You gave me a mandarin duck, ha~" She laughed. "You gave me a mandarin duck?"
Yinzhen didn't like her reaction.
Qi Buchen leaned slightly towards Yinzhen and asked, "Do you know what mandarin ducks are usually used to refer to?"
Yinzhen didn't want to hear Fu Jin speak in that tone: "Husband and wife."
"Yes, husband and wife." Qi Buchen nodded, "Do you know what husband and wife are?"
Yinzhen's face darkened slightly: "Of course I know, we are husband and wife!"
Qi Buchen raised his index finger and shook it at Yinzhen: "No, we are not."
Yinzhen's face darkened, and he felt a fire burning in his chest: "Then what do you say we are?"
"Hmm." Qi Buchen seemed to be stuck. He thought for a long time and finally lowered his head in frustration. "I don't know."
Yinzhen laughed out of anger. Was this a joke?
Forget it, don't be angry. Fu Jin is drunk. He shouldn't choose to say these words at this time!
Yinzhen tried to calm himself down, but Qi Buchen just added fuel to the fire: "Anyway, we are not husband and wife!"
Yinzhen's brows twitched, and Ninja asked patiently, "Then what do you think it takes for us to be considered husband and wife?"
Qi Buchen tilted his head and thought about it again. Yinzhen was almost losing his temper. Qi Buchen said with a frustrated look on his face: "Yinzhen, it's so difficult to be your husband and wife."
Yinzhen miraculously found that he didn't get angry at all when he heard this. He asked calmly, "What's so difficult about it?"
Perhaps it was the alcohol that made him stronger, Qi Buchen spoke out his truest thoughts with grievance: "You have many women, and there will be more in the future, but I can only have you. This is not fair. I don't want to compete with so many women for a man. It's not like I'm not wanted by anyone, so I'm just rushing to you."
It was the same question again: "Where do I have a woman? You're not the only one in the backyard!"
"Also, what do you mean it's not like no one wants you, who else would dare to want you?!" Yinzhen, who had just been calm, was immediately filled with anger. In an instant, he remembered what he had asked Lin Changqing to investigate, which men the concubine had had relationships with before she got married. A name kept flashing in his mind.
"Who? Fei Xin? Gang An? Or Dai Qing? When did you get in touch? How did you get in touch? By message? Or in person? You used to go to the temple outside the city so often, so did you go to see them?!"
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Author's words: Yinzhen: Since you still have a dog outside! Tell me! Who is that dog man!
Qi Buchen: ...Who the hell are these names?
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