Chapter 174: Hongli? ? No more socializing for three or four months...
After three or four months of leisurely days without social engagements, Qi Buchen felt relaxed both physically and mentally, and felt that he had become several years younger.
Another morning, when she woke up without washing and narcissistically admiring her smooth skin in the mirror, Yinzhen laughed at her: "In ancient times, Yi An was the best among flowers, and now the princess is looking at herself in the mirror with pity."
Li Qingzhao could compare herself to the best among flowers, but she did not dare to be compared with her sister Qingzhao.
Qi Buchen turned around and said to him: "Get up quickly when you wake up, stop talking too much." After saying that, he turned back and continued to be beautiful.
Yinzhen shook his head and laughed, then stood up and dressed: "When are you leaving today?"
Nianhulu gave birth to a son a few days ago, and today is the third day of his birth. Qi Buchen and Yinzhen originally did not want to show up and only sent people to deliver gifts, but Baya sent the invitation to the Old Summer Palace, so it would be inappropriate not to go.
Fortunately, Yinsi had gone to Rehe with Kangxi half a month ago, so Yinzhen could continue to live in seclusion in the Old Summer Palace, and only Qi Buchen went there.
When talking about going into the city, Qi Buchen's shoulders slumped. Anyone who goes out knows what the sun is like in August.
Yinzhen simply decided for her: "While the sun is still low, pack up and go. Go back to the mansion first and wait until the time is right before going over."
This was the best option. Qi Buchen began to pack reluctantly. After breakfast, he took a carriage into the city and returned to Prince Yong's Mansion first.
Lin Changqing, the chosen one to guard the family for eternity, came to greet her. Qi Buchen casually asked, "Is everything going on lately?"
"It's nothing serious. The Thirteenth Lady sent a basket of longans yesterday afternoon. I saw it was getting late, so I didn't have it delivered to the Old Summer Palace."
It was normal for Zhao Jiashi to send gifts, and Qi Buchen didn't think it was a big deal. He just instructed: "Pick out half a basket and send it to the palace."
Over the years, the relationship between the couple and Concubine De has become more and more official. They pay respects and present gifts to the outside world as usual, but only God knows how much care they put into it.
Concubine De didn't care. She just nodded in greeting and accepted the things, but didn't say anything.
Qi Buchen is very satisfied with this situation. He doesn't have a mother-in-law who meddles in everything. Anyone who has encountered this will know how comfortable it is.
After dealing with some trivial matters in the mansion and calculating the time, Qi Buchen set off to go next door.
Baya did not show up, and it was Zhang who was waiting at the second gate and led Qi Buchen to the flower hall.
"Fourth sister-in-law." Several sisters-in-law who arrived earlier stood up and greeted her. Among them, Ninth Lady looked a little unhappy.
How can I be happy when I was rushed here by Yinzhen?
Qi Buchen sat down in his seat and exchanged pleasantries with the Fifth Lady next to him: "How are things going recently?"
The Fifth Lady sighed, "It's all fine, except it's hot." She looked at Qi Buchen with some envy, "You're so lucky, Fourth Sister-in-law. You can live in the garden outside the city. I want to go too, but our master won't allow it."
Qi Buchen maintained a polite smile: "It's not as good as you think. It's almost the same as the mansion. There are more mosquitoes."
After a while, the third wife also arrived, and Baya finally showed up. Without saying much, she directly ordered the servants to bring the newborn prince and start the third day bath.
Seeing Baya's lack of joy, Qi Buchen was a little confused. Why did she go to such lengths to hold a grand ceremony for her third day bath when she was clearly unhappy? Kangxi had over twenty sons and so many grandchildren. Unless they were legitimate sons or eldest sons, no one would say anything if a grand ceremony was not held. Baya was really being awkward. She didn't know what good it would bring her by making things so difficult for herself.
The host was not in a good mood, so the guests certainly would not be too enthusiastic either. They just went through the motions and praised the child a few words. The third day bath ceremony was officially over, and everyone moved on to the banquet.
There was wine on the table. You could drink if you wanted, and no one would say anything if you didn't. Qi Buchen saw that the Ninth Lady didn't eat much of the food, but poured cup after cup of wine into her mouth.
"Eighth sister-in-law." Ninth Concubine, twirling her wine glass, suddenly asked, "Has the Emperor given the child a name?"
If the emperor's grandson wanted Kangxi to give him a name, his father had to submit a memorial to request it. When Niuhuru was born, Kangxi and Yinsi were both in Rehe. As soon as the child was born, they went to inform Yinsi of the news. Yinsi immediately asked Kangxi to give him a name, and Kangxi gave it immediately. There was no time to send the child back for the third day bath.
This is something that everyone can understand if they think about it a little bit. Why is Ninth Concubine still asking?
The sisters-in-law at the table looked at the Ninth Lady with strange eyes.
Unexpectedly, Baya paused, glanced at the Ninth Lady, and replied without any change of expression, "Granted."
Ah, this...
The sisters-in-law looked at each other, guessing that there must be a reason behind this.
"So it really was given. I didn't believe it when our master told me. It seems the Emperor really dotes on my dear." The Ninth Lady continued to shake her cup and asked with an innocent smile, "What name did the Emperor give it?"
Baya sparingly uttered two words: "Hongli."
Rumble!
Qi Buchen felt something explode in her ears and brain.
Hongli? Hongli? Is that the Li she knew? Niuhulu? Is that the Niuhulu?
No, no, it can't be them! I'm just scaring myself. There are so many words with the same pronunciation, how could it be such a coincidence?
Besides, if it wasn't Yinzhen, how could he have given birth to Hongli just by having the surname Nianhulu? Impossible! Absolutely impossible!
Yes, yes, that's right. The names of Honghui and others given by Kangxi all contain the character "日", but "li" does not contain "日", so it definitely cannot be that Hongli.
When Qi Buchen was struck by a sudden thunderbolt and was doubting his life, the Ninth Lady asked with a sweet smile, "Does the Eighth Sister-in-law plan to bring Hongli home to raise?"
The Tenth Lady exchanged glances with the Thirteenth Lady from a distance. Why did it look like the Ninth Lady was trying to pierce the Eighth Lady's heart? Did the Eighth Lady provoke the Ninth Lady?
The Thirteenth Lady said, "I don't know either. I stay at home obediently and am not familiar with the Eighth and Ninth Sisters-in-law. But you, the Tenth Sister-in-law, don't the Tenth Brother have a good relationship with the Ninth Brother? Don't you know?"
The Tenth Lady curled her lips subtly. Not to mention that the Tenth Lady and Yinzhen are not that close now, even when they were close, her relationship with the Eighth and Ninth Sisters-in-law was not as good as before.
There were a lot of lawsuits going on among the people, and Baya was not blind, so how could he not notice it? A surge of anger rose in his heart, but more of it was powerlessness.
This feeling of powerlessness has been lingering in her mind ever since Yinsi told her in person that the child in Nianhulu's belly was indeed his, and she has no way to escape it.
Baya ultimately chose not to stab back like he did in his youth. He picked up the teacup, took a sip, and replied nonchalantly, "Raising three children is tiring enough for me. I don't have the energy to raise a fourth."
Yes, she also adopted a daughter.
The Ninth Lady smiled and said, "Really? If I tell anyone about this, I'm afraid no one will believe it. After all, everyone knows how much Eighth Brother loves Eighth Sister-in-law. Even though he took a concubine to have an heir, he still treats other women as nothing. He only has eyes for Eighth Sister-in-law, and all his children are raised by her alone."
"Before I came here, my grandfather told me to learn from Eighth Sister-in-law and be more virtuous and generous. Eighth Sister-in-law can raise Hongwang and the others as her own children, so why can't I?"
"Having Eighth Sister-in-law say this today, I can go home and spit on my master. If you want me to learn from you, Eighth Sister-in-law, he should learn from Eighth Brother, right? Even if he doesn't learn from Eighth Brother's love and respect for Eighth Sister-in-law, he should at least learn from his respect for the First Lady. If Eighth Sister-in-law wants to raise a child, she can raise it. If she doesn't want to raise a child, she can not raise it. That's the right thing to do."
"Sister-in-law, don't you think so?"
When she said this, whether intentionally or not, she emphasized the words love and respect.
Baya's hands, tucked into his sleeves, were clenched until they turned pale. He said expressionlessly, "You're drunk. Someone, bring the Ninth Lady some sobering soup."
The Ninth Lady didn't answer, put down her wine glass, supported her face with her hands and giggled.
The Fifth Lady looked terrified and nudged Qi Buchen beside her, whispering, "Why does Ninth Brother's wife look like she's been driven crazy?"
"Ah?" Qi Buchen, who was completely immersed in his own world and unaware of the outside world, looked at Wu Fujin blankly without lowering his voice, "What's crazy?"
“…”
The Fifth Lady wished she could dig a hole in the ground and bury herself in it.
The Ninth Lady chuckled and said, "Fourth Sister-in-law, I'm crazy."
"..." The Fifth Lady wanted to show everyone how she died on the spot.
Qi Buchen glanced at her half a beat slowly, his spirit still not fully recovered, and his words were also very dull: "Oh, it's good to be crazy, it's good to be crazy, I think I'm crazy too."
Then she looked at Baya again: "Excuse me, which 'li' is it?"
Baya's face looked a little unhappy: "The calendar."
Calendar... calendar? Qi Buchen felt that his auditory hallucinations were getting worse.
The Ninth Lady laughed even more wantonly.
“…”
Although it was the middle of summer, all the princes and their wives felt a chill rising from their backs, making their hair stand on end.
"Haha, haha." The Third Lady, the most senior person present, stepped out to lighten the mood, laughing awkwardly, "Fourth and Ninth Sisters-in-law really love to joke around. They're talking about being crazy or not. This is so abnormal."
"That's right."
The others quickly agreed and worked together to change the subject.
In the second half of the banquet, everyone ignored Qi Buchen who was daydreaming and the Ninth Lady who was laughing foolishly, pretending not to see them.
After the banquet, Qi Buchen had no idea how he got back to the Old Summer Palace.
Yinzhen, who went out to greet her, looked at her strangely and touched her forehead with his hand: "Why do you look like you've lost your soul?" He asked the accompanying servant, "Did the concubine have a heat stroke?"
Yingtao, the newly promoted head maid, said with a bit of trepidation, "Your Highness, the wife is like this at the Eighth Prince's residence. She didn't say she was feeling unwell."
As the two of them talked, Qi Buchen didn't react at all.
Yinzhen frowned and said, "Go get a doctor." Then he pulled Qi Buchen into the room, dismissed the servants, and called out, "Fujin, Fujin?"
No response.
"Chenchen."
Qi Buchen rolled his eyes, looked at Yinzhen, and then slowly glanced around. He seemed to have just realized what was happening and said, "I'm back."
Yinzhen felt more and more that something was wrong. He held her hand and asked worriedly, "What's wrong with you? Something doesn't look right."
Qi Buchen was half a beat slow to respond: "Ah? I'm fine."
He doesn't look like he's fine, but he doesn't look sick either. It seems like he's been frightened by something.
Yinzhen frowned and asked, "Did something happen at Old Eight's house?"
What happened? Something terrible happened! Hongli, Hongli, is that the real Hongli? Did I hear it wrong? It must be that I heard it wrong. Qi Buchen fell into self-doubt again.
Seeing that her eyes were starting to stare blankly again, Yinzhen hardened his heart and grabbed a piece of flesh on the back of her hand and twisted it hard.
"Ah~" Qi Buchen quickly took back his hand, blew on it twice, and then glared at Yinzhen, "What are you doing!"
The response was so quick, it seems that there is no big problem.
Yinzhen felt relieved and asked unhappily, "Have you come to your senses?"
Qi Buchen opened her mouth to retort: "When did I..." Before she could finish her words, she remembered her behavior just now. She was just slow to react, not directly lost her memory, and could not remember what happened just now.
"...I'm just thinking." He muttered without confidence, and then said loudly, "Can't you be gentler?"
She put her hand on Yinzhen's face and complained, "Look, it's all red!"
Yinzhen looked at the rapidly fading red mark. Although he wanted to sneer, he considered the consequences and decided not to. He blew a few breaths of air on the person with a cold face before asking, "What are you thinking about so intently that you don't even react when I call you?"
Forehead……
How can I say this?
Qi Buchen withdrew his hand awkwardly and lowered his voice again: "It's not a big deal."
Yinzhen didn't believe her at all. He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at her with disdain: "You'd better tell the truth."
Qi Buchen's eyes moved rapidly, and his fingers scratched his legs quickly: "Um...it's...um...that...I found that Lao Jiu and Lao Ba seemed to have a falling out."
"That's it?" Yinzhen clearly didn't believe it.
"Really, really." Qi Buchen nodded repeatedly, trying to strengthen the persuasiveness of his words. "You don't know, the Ninth Lady gave Baya a good scolding at the banquet today. From the look of it, the two of them don't look like sisters-in-law, but more like rivals in love..."
She was talking nonsense, and only after she went out did she realize how inappropriate her words were.
This is not the future. You can say anything as a joke. If even a little bit of it leaks out, it will be a scandal for the entire royal family, and Baya and the Ninth Concubine will be dead.
Yinzhen, rarely angry, scolded, "How dare you say such nonsense! If you continue to talk nonsense like this, I will put a muzzle on your mouth!"
Qi Buchen covered his mouth with his hands and shook his head quickly, saying "Mmmmm", indicating that he knew he was wrong.
She was really thinking about how to fool Yinzhen just now, so her mouth was talking in front and her brain was following behind. She definitely didn't mean to ruin his reputation.
Yinzhen glared at her fiercely, then stood up and went outside to check if there were any servants nearby who might have heard what Qi Buchen said.
When he came back again, Qi Buchen asked pitifully like a bullied wife, "No, no one heard it, right?"
Yinzhen sat down and said coldly, "Come here."
Qi Buchen walked over reluctantly.
"Hands out."
Just stretch out your hand obediently.
Yinzhen raised his hand and slapped her hand several times without holding back, and it hurt.
Qi Buchen endured it obediently without saying a word.
After beating her, Yinzhen didn't try to comfort her, but only said, "Remember this, there won't be a next time."
"Okay, got it."
It was all his own fault. Qi Buchen understood this very well. He did not bother to think about Hongli anymore and just kept showing his courtesy to Yinzhen, hoping to make Yinzhen's anger pass quickly.
It's really painful when my husband is angry and ignores me, sob.
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