Chapter 90: Yinzhen didn’t dare to hold Fujin’s shoulders with both hands…
Yinzhen held Fu Jin's shoulders with both hands, feeling jealous and annoyed, and stared at Fu Jin fiercely, not missing any of her reactions.
"Fei Xin, Gang An, Dai Qing?" Qi Buchen repeated with a puzzled frown. "Who are these?"
Her alcohol-delayed brain belatedly reacted, "You suspect me of infidelity?" She waved Yinzhen's hands away, angrily saying, "Yinzhen, it's fine if you're trying to change the subject, but you're actually blaming me!"
She pushed over and tried to get off the bed and leave: "Get out of the way!"
Yinzhen was pushed backward by her. When he came to his senses, he pulled the person who was lying on the bed back. Qi Buchen lost his balance and fell on him. Yinzhen took the opportunity to hug him and held him in his arms: "Don't leave! Speak clearly!"
"Let me go!" Qi Buchen clamped her arms across their chests and pushed him hard. "There's no point in talking to someone like you who only knows how to spread rumors about women cheating! Since you've already made up your mind, just divorce me!" She laughed mockingly and stopped struggling. "Oh, yes, you prefer to be thrown into the pig cage. Come on, give the order, drag me and the adulterer you believe to be your lover into the pig cage together!"
All these reactions made Yinzhen realize that he might have misunderstood Fu Jin. However, thinking about the implicit meaning behind Fu Jin's words, he still felt uncomfortable. He said in a hard tone, "You said it yourself just now. It's not that no one wants you."
"What's wrong with me saying that!" Qi Buchen was even more stubborn than him. "It's hard to find a three-legged frog, and it's even harder to find a two-legged man! I'm talented, beautiful, and have a family. Without you, can't I find a man willing to marry me?!"
Qi Buchen was right. Even if she had no talent or looks, with her family background, there were still many people willing to marry her.
Yinzhen was burning with jealousy: "If you don't marry me, who else do you want to marry?"
Qi Buchen snorted coldly: "I can marry whoever I want!"
Yinzhen was breathing heavily and looked straight at Qi Buchen without saying a word. Qi Buchen looked back at him without giving in.
It was clearly a tense confrontation, yet the two of them were still hugging each other tightly. After a moment, Qi Buchen didn't want to continue this meaningless confrontation and wanted to push Yinzhen away, but Yinzhen didn't let go at all, and even held him tighter.
Unable to push him away, Qi Buchen said angrily: "What do you want?"
Yinzhen's eyes suddenly turned red. He pressed Qi Buchen towards his chest and said in a low, hoarse voice, which was undergoing voice change: "I feel sad." He sounded like he was about to cry.
Qi Buchen was a person who would rather be soft-hearted than hard-hearted. He lost half of his temper after hearing this, but he still managed to speak fiercely: "You are wronging me, I am not feeling bad yet!"
"You were the one who wronged me first," Yinzhen pointed out. "You just said I had many women, but I clearly didn't. I even went to the Emperor and refused."
Hearing him talk about this, Qi Buchen felt a little guilty, and his anger was half deflated. He put aside the lack of energy in his mouth and said, "That's on the surface. Who knows if you favor the palace maids in private?"
"I don't have any." Yinzhen said angrily, "Usually, Su Peisheng and the others serve me. There are no palace maids in my front yard."
"Humph." Qi Buchen turned back to look at him, "Do you dare to say that you didn't touch the palace maid that the Ministry of Internal Affairs sent you to teach you about human affairs?"
Yinzhen paused.
Qi Buchen immediately mocked: "You still say no." But he felt an indescribable bitterness in his heart.
"No." Yinzhen explained quickly, "I was just wondering when the Imperial Household Department sent anyone. I remembered that I was busy at the time when Su Peisheng came in and said that the Imperial Household Department sent two palace maids. I thought that the Imperial Household Department had sent back some bad ones, so the Imperial Household Department sent new ones. I didn't even see the people, but asked Su Peisheng to send them to the backyard. Didn't that dog slave Su Peisheng tell you?"
As soon as he saw Qi Buchen's suspicious look, he knew that it must be Su Peisheng, the dog slave, who acted on his own initiative. He immediately said, "I'll call him in and ask him in person."
"Su Peisheng!" There was anger in his voice.
Someone was about to come in, and Qi Buchen struggled hurriedly: "Let me go first."
Yinzhen still didn't let go: "I asked him to answer behind the curtain, so that you wouldn't think Su Peisheng was deceiving you by reading my eyes."
Su Peisheng came quickly: "Master, the servant is coming in."
"Answer me from behind the curtain," Yinzhen ordered. "I want to ask you, once the Imperial Household Department sent two palace maids, and I asked you to send them to the backyard. Why didn't you tell your wife about this?"
Su Peisheng's heart trembled. Oh no, the people who were serving outside just now heard something strange coming from the two masters in the room, as if they were arguing. They stood further away silently, not daring to hear what the masters were arguing about. Who knew that the two masters were arguing because of this?
It’s over, Su Peisheng’s life is over today.
Su Peisheng's legs went limp and he knelt down, full of fear. "Forgive me, Master. Before, I acted on my own. I thought it would be inconvenient to send them to the backyard because of their status, so I arranged for them to stay in the tea room at the gatehouse. Now they are still here. If Madam wants to see them, I will summon them right away. I acted on my own and did not report it to Madam. I deserve to die. I beg Madam to punish me."
There was no sound in the room. While Su Peisheng was feeling uneasy, his two masters were staring at each other.
Yinzhen lowered his eyes like a dog and acted aggrieved. Qi Buchen could only clear his throat and say, "I understand. We'll talk about this tomorrow. You can leave first." Little did he know that Yinzhen was thinking about how to punish Su Peisheng later.
Su Peisheng breathed a sigh of relief after surviving the disaster, and without caring that his legitimate master had not spoken yet, he quickly left this dangerous place.
Yinzhen still looked at her aggrievedly, waiting for her to give an explanation.
Qi Buchen avoided her gaze uncomfortably, curled his lips and said, "Alright, today I wronged you and you wronged me, so we're even now."
Yinzhen was somewhat unwilling, but he had indeed wronged Fu Jin before, and Fu Jin's reaction was even more intense. It would be better if Fu Jin could let it go.
After this incident, Qi Buchen was much more sober. He felt a little awkward, especially not used to the intimate posture with Yinzhen at this time. "Okay, you can let go now."
"Fujin, you are fourteen." Yinzhen did not let go and suddenly mentioned Qi Buchen's age, "This time next year, you should hold the coming-of-age ceremony."
Qi Buchen was a little puzzled: "Well, so what? Let's not talk about this for now, just let go first."
Not only did Yinzhen not let go, but he moved closer and whispered in Qi Buchen's ear: "After the coming-of-age ceremony, I should move back to the main courtyard."
The air from the conversation brushed past her ears, making her feel a little numb. Qi Buchen reflexively shrank her neck, but she could feel Yinzhen's fingers rubbing slightly on her back.
Qi Buchen suddenly got goose bumps all over his body, and angrily refused, "What are you doing!"
Yinzhen's strength was much greater than hers. Not only did he not retreat, but he adjusted his direction and moved closer to Qi Buchen's face, their noses almost touching. "Fujin, do you like the mandarin duck jade pendant I gave you?"
Qi Buchen kept tilting his head back, but Yinzhen kept pressing forward without letting up.
With nowhere to retreat, Qi Buchen closed his eyes and took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, his expression was no longer filled with shame and anger, but with indifference: "Do you really want to know?"
Yinzhen noticed her change, and his heart skipped a beat. He had a bad feeling, but he didn't avoid it: "I do."
"Okay." At this point, Qi Buchen knew he had to make a statement. Looking at the young man before him, who was clearly uneasy at her change of attitude, and remembering how he had once tried to turn down a palace appointment because of something he had said, Qi Buchen felt that perhaps he should give himself, and the man before him, a chance. Even in later generations, there were many cases of infidelity after falling in love and getting married, weren't there? Perhaps he shouldn't be so prejudicial and throw the baby out with the bathwater.
Even if Yinzhen really had another woman in the future, and they could not divorce in name, she could also keep Yinzhen out and never see him again. After all, there were many wives who lived in other courtyards at that time. At worst, she could find a farm outside the city and move there in the name of recuperation.
It doesn’t matter even if Yinzhen becomes the emperor. In the worst-case scenario, she can still recuperate at home.
After thinking about the worst-case scenario, Qi Buchen's mind started turning again. After all, nothing had happened yet, so she still had a chance to make things work out for the better, didn't she? If she wanted a good outcome, she had to take advantage of all the favorable conditions.
After sorting out his thoughts, Qi Buchen paused and said, "When you asked me if I like the mandarin duck jade pendant, you actually meant more than just asking about the jade pendant, right?"
Yinzhen's eyes trembled. He really wanted to ask more than just about the jade pendant. That was just a test.
"right."
"You once said that you liked me. What you wanted to ask was whether I liked you too, right?" Qi Buchen said this in a calm tone without any shyness of a little girl.
"Yes, I don't want you to be just the Fourth Lady, I also want you to be my wife." A trace of desire appeared in Yinzhen's eyes.
"Honestly." Qi Buchen bit her lower lip, finally revealing a hint of shyness, "Yinzhen, there were a few times when I faced you, here..." She covered her heart, "...beating very fast and chaotically."
Yinzhen's eyes flashed with surprise: "Fujin."
Qi Buchen quickly stopped him: "Just listen to me first."
"But what I want to tell you is that I am very selfish, stingy, and have a serious mysophobia. I will not allow anyone to touch my beloved things. If someone touches it, I will throw it away immediately and never keep it again."
"So does my husband, Yinzhen."
"But I chose to marry you. You are the Emperor's prince. Your status means you will have many wives and concubines, and many children. As your wife, I must be generous, virtuous, and tolerant, helping you manage the backyard and educate your children."
"I can do all of this, Yinzhen, but the premise is that I am only the Fourth Lady, and you are not my beloved. Do you understand?"
"You should understand. After all, you were so angry when you thought I was having an affair with a man outside of yours."
"So, if you ask me if I've ever been moved by you, yes, but after that, I've calmed down."
"But you ask me if I am happy with you? My answer is..."
"I dare not."
"This path of pleasing you has been impossible from the beginning."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
