Chapter 214: Granddaughter's Recital Before the King, Yinzhen's Perceptiveness...
After the emperor's speech, Yinzhen sensed something was wrong and sent people to find out what had been going on in the palace over the past two days. He even used a well-hidden secret line and eventually learned about the conversation in Yonghe Palace.
After handing the secret report to Qi Buchen, Yinzhen was unsure of what to feel. "What did you say to... the Empress?"
The secret report was short. Qi Buchen quickly scanned it, frowning deeply as he looked at Yinzhen with distress and worry. "I told... Her Majesty that I had taken a liking to the families of Gu Yan, Cui Zhang, and He Kaicheng. Her Majesty also said that the daughter of Dong E's family was not bad, and asked me to consider it. I didn't want to refuse Her Majesty, so I said I would come back to discuss it with you. I had planned to go to the palace to tell Her Majesty the day before yesterday, but unfortunately my daughter-in-law was unwell that day, so I couldn't come to the palace. I thought these two days wouldn't make a difference, but who knew..."
Who would have thought that Kangxi would be so proactive that he started asking about the selection matters on the second day after returning to the palace.
This wasn't a big deal. Arranged marriages don't happen in a day or two. All I had to do was express my intention to the palace before the end. Who knew that Concubine De would do this behind my back?
Not to mention the addition of Longkodo's daughter, just look at the order of the names, from high to low official positions, the first three are Manchu military flags, and the last two are Han military flags.
Anyone who knew the inside story of how Concubine De recommended people to Yinzhen would think that the three Manchu flags were the ones she had chosen, and the two Han flags at the back were the ones Concubine De had chosen.
Not only did the name Longkodo make Kangxi suspicious, but the other two all had people in their families who held the position of Shangshu. This not only made people feel that his family was snobbish and only cared about the girl's family background when choosing a daughter-in-law, but also made people unconsciously wonder whether the reason why Fan Zhengya was chosen for Honghui was because they knew that Fan Shichong would be promoted to Shangshu.
Thinking about this again, was Yinzhen's avoidance of politics over the years just a pretense, and was he actually a despicable person behind the scenes?
As for the two girls from the Han Army Banner at the end, one would think that Concubine De was disgusted with her son's scheming behavior and specifically pointed them out to warn him. At the same time, she could also help her son to smooth things over with Emperor Kangxi.
What a kind motherly heart!
But it’s hard to say who this motherly heart is for.
Yinzhen: ...
He now felt a desolate feeling in his heart.
Qi Buchen felt uncomfortable seeing him like this, so he stepped forward, put his arm around his shoulders, and gently supported his face: "Are you okay?"
Yinzhen took a deep breath, patted Qi Buchen on the back and comforted him: "I'm fine, you go ahead, I still have official business to attend to."
Over the years, Qi Buchen had helped to ease the back and forth between mother and son, but now, words could no longer smooth it out, and Yinzhen had to digest these emotions on his own.
"Okay, don't be too busy." Qi Buchen paused and said, "I'll have someone pass the sign. Tomorrow I'll go to the palace and tell the queen about Hongyu and his marriage."
Although Yinzhen had already said this in front of Kangxi, he could not act as if he knew everything. It was reasonable for him to go back to the palace and tell Concubine De his final decision.
Yinzhen showed no emotion: "Well, go ahead."
On the third day after Qi Buchen returned from the palace, the Thirteenth Lady came to visit her.
"It's sunny, why are you here at this time?" Qi Buchen greeted her, "Your face is sunburned."
The Thirteenth Lady went straight to the fan and said, "It's getting hot too early this year. In previous years, we couldn't even put out the ice basin at this time. This year, we need the ice basin and the fan to stay indoors."
After the heat dissipated, the Thirteenth Lady leaned down on the couch and said, "I have something to tell you."
Qi Buchen understood the elegant meaning of the music and waved his hand to let the servants go out. "What's the matter?"
Thirteenth Lady leaned closer to her and lowered her voice, "Wasn't it Hongtao's birthday two days ago? Fourteenth Brother's wife sent someone to deliver something. The person who came was acquainted with Peixiang, who was with me, so they were considered a relative. I asked Peixiang to entertain her, and maybe she had too much to drink, so she started complaining to Peixiang about the Nian family in the mansion."
Qi Buchen raised an eyebrow. Was he here to gossip with her? He asked cooperatively, "What are you complaining about?"
The Thirteenth Lady curled her lips. "It's nothing more than that Nian Shi relied on the Fourteenth Lady's favor to ignore the Fourteenth Lady's wife. That's not the point. The point is that the maid said that Nian Shi is not presentable. In order to win favor, she has been secretly close to Longkodo's Li Si'er. She even shamelessly wants to marry Li Si'er's daughter to their Hongchun Prince, as if that would drag Longkodo onto the Fourteenth Lady's boat."
"Fortunately, Fourteenth Sister-in-law was able to hold her ground and push the matter onto Hongchun's biological mother. Seeing that Fourteenth Sister-in-law couldn't get through here, Nian Shi refused to give up and managed to follow Fourteenth Sister-in-law into the palace to meet Empress Defei. I guess she wanted to follow Empress Defei's path. Fortunately, Empress Defei knew better and still sided with Fourteenth Sister-in-law."
"The maid said that somehow Shushujueluo found out about this. There's been a lot of commotion in the mansion lately, and Nian has been humiliated by Shushujueluo several times."
Qi Buchen frowned as she listened, feeling that something was not right.
Thirteenth Lady also thought so: "When Peixiang told me this, I felt something was wrong. For those we use around us, keeping our mouths shut is the most important thing, apart from anything else. How could that maid drink two cups of cat urine and then brazenly tell others about the Fourteenth Lady's house? I thought about it over and over again, and I always felt that Fourteenth Lady's wife was going to tell me something? But I couldn't figure out how this had anything to do with our family. After I told my master, he asked me to come find my sister-in-law."
"Sister-in-law, what do you think about this?"
Qi Buchen's frown remained on his face. After a moment's silence, he said, "I haven't figured it out either, but I can tell you something. Our master was summoned by the Emperor a few days ago. He said he would give Longkodo's daughter to our master as a concubine."
"Ah?!" The Thirteenth Lady was extremely frightened. "This, this, this..." After coming to her senses, she looked at Qi Buchen furtively and said firmly, "Fourth Brother will definitely not agree to it!"
Qi Buchen was amused by her cautious look: "What are you thinking? I'm already this old, and I still don't care about those things."
The Thirteenth Lady smiled awkwardly, feeling that her reaction was too funny.
Qi Buchen regained his serious expression and said, "I know about this matter. I will tell our grandfather later. You and Thirteenth Brother don't have to worry about it."
This matter definitely has nothing to do with Thirteenth Lady's family. No matter how you think about it, it is directed at my family. I just don't know why Fourteenth Lady would tell this to my family.
The two sisters-in-law chatted about family matters for a while, and only when the sun was no longer so hot did the Thirteenth Lady leave.
When Yinzhen came back in the evening, Qi Buchen told him the news he had obtained during the day.
"I've been thinking about this all day, and I think Nian is not trying to marry Longkodo's daughter to Hongchun, but to push it to our family. Otherwise, the queen wouldn't have said that to the emperor." Qi Buchen asked Yinzhen for his opinion. "What do you think?"
Yinzhen nodded slowly. He thought so too. Although Longkodo boarded the Fourteenth Emperor's boat quietly, he was not the kind of person who would use his children and in-laws to establish a relationship. He was not that stupid. If he married into the Fourteenth Emperor's family, wouldn't that make the Emperor suspicious of him?
Qi Buchen frowned unconsciously again. "There's one thing I don't understand. The Empress clearly said that Longkodo's daughter would be married to Hongyu and the other two. Why did the Emperor summon you and say that he would give her to you as a concubine?"
The difference is too big. It can't be that Kangxi was dizzy and hard of hearing and heard it wrong.
Yinzhen sneered: "That depends on whether there are other people who say something to the emperor."
Qi Buchen frowned and thought: "Noble Concubine Tong Jia?"
"Maybe." Yinzhen's face was gloomy. "It seems that I have been so good-tempered for too long. If I don't move, people will think I am a soft persimmon."
This time it’s him and the child, what about next time?
Three consecutive imperial edicts granting marriages caused Prince Yong's mansion to be decorated with red and decorated with colorful decorations, and firecrackers were set off continuously. Perhaps the baby in Fan Zhengya's belly was frightened by the sound of firecrackers, but the baby started to cry out to come out, which scared everyone who had just received the edict.
Fortunately, all the production matters had been prepared several months ago, and after the initial chaos, everything was in order.
After waiting for five hours, Fan Zhengya finally gave birth to a daughter, and both mother and daughter were safe.
Of the entire family, only Qi Buchen was able to enter the delivery room to see his granddaughter. Looking at the two palm-sized little granddaughters, Qi Buchen's heart was filled with love: "Look at this child, how cute she is."
Then he went to see Fan Zhengya who had just cleaned up: "Have a good rest. You must take good care of yourself during the confinement period."
Fan Zhengya was so tired that she didn't even open her eyes, but she still managed to speak: "Mother, it's a princess."
Qi Buchen smiled and said, "Yes, it's a little princess. She looks just like you and Honghui. Your father is so happy that he's going to look up a name for the little princess overnight. I only gave birth to four little boys back then, but now, I finally have a little one to cherish."
Fan Zhengya finally let go of her worries and fell into a deep sleep. How could she not like the flesh that had fallen from her body? But the world was such that even though her in-laws treated her very well, she was still afraid that after two years of marriage, she would only give birth to a daughter, which would make her in-laws unhappy.
Qi Buchen understood her worries. No matter how close their relationship was, it was not as good as that of a real mother and daughter. He still had to comfort her.
As expected, Yinzhen named his granddaughter Yongxi overnight.
It's a good name. Qi Buchen asked, "Is this from the Yong generation?"
The next generation of Honghui and his family will be named Yong.
Yinzhen nodded: "Yes."
No woman in the imperial family had ever been given a given generation name. Either they had no given name but were called by their rank, or they were given a full name and then given a title after marriage. Yongxi was the first of these. Qi Buchen thought about it but said nothing. The family tree never recorded women's names anyway. The servants still called her "Dagege", and only the elders like them used the name Yongxi.
As Yongxi grew fatter and fatter, Wu Cunli, a "good official" once praised by Kangxi, was impeached for corruption with great fanfare. The list of bribes he was involved in shocked the entire court.
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