Because of the Crown Prince's affair, the New Year was celebrated hastily this year. When attending the New Year's banquet in the palace, Yinzhen felt that the forced smiles on everyone's faces were so clear.
Especially the thirteenth brother, who drank one cup after another.
The Emperor's decree has been issued: the Thirteenth Princess is to be granted the title of Princess Heshuo Wenke, and will be sent to Mongolia in August of the following year. Her husband is the Prince of Duling of the Ongniud tribe, Cangjin.
He was filled with bitterness, yet utterly helpless. Only before the power of the emperor did he realize how insignificant he truly was.
Fortunately, his fourth brother pleaded on his behalf, and the Emperor allowed him to accompany Yinzhen to the wedding. After personally meeting his future husband, Thirteen felt somewhat relieved.
Yinzhen has been staying quietly in his residence lately, avoiding the limelight.
Meng Guqing had prepared himself mentally for several days before finally arriving at the front yard.
When he heard the announcement, Yinzhen was stunned for a moment.
He and Meng Guqing were really not familiar with each other.
Although Meng Guqing has been married to him for more than three years, they have barely spoken a few words to each other in all that time.
It seems she really has something on her mind.
Yinzhen put down his book and instructed Su Peisheng, "Make some tea and invite her in."
When Meng Guqing arrived, he looked at him with an expression that said, "I have something very important to do."
Yinzhen understood, and after serving tea, he dismissed Su Peisheng and his men.
"What is it? Speak."
"Fourth Prince, I want a divorce from you."
"What?!" Yinzhen almost spat out the tea in his mouth, staring at Meng Guqing in disbelief. Seeing that her expression did not seem to be fake, his heart sank.
His tone was harsh, and he directly rebuked, "What are you making a scene about now? You were the one who personally requested the Emperor's decree for this marriage! How can there be any reason for a divorce when the Emperor has granted it? Where do you put the Emperor, your father, and the face of the Qing Dynasty?"
Meng Guqing knew he would be furious, but she was determined to leave, so her expression softened.
"Fourth Prince, please promise me. This palace is not suitable for me at all. I was stubborn and didn't think things through back then. Now I just want to return to the grasslands and work with Abu to govern Ujumchin well."
“The weather is cold now, and many cattle and sheep have frozen to death on the grassland. There’s also the issue of keeping the herders warm. Abu and I used to handle all of this together. This year’s weather is different from the past, and I’ve been thinking about it a lot.”
After saying that, fearing that Yinzhen would be angry, she added another sentence.
"Don't worry, even if I return to the grasslands, Ujumqin will still be your support and will continue to support you."
Yinzhen was almost amused by her: "You are a concubine appointed by imperial decree and recorded in the imperial genealogy. You are a Qing citizen in life and a Qing ghost in death. No matter what happens, divorce is absolutely impossible."
Meng Guqing was also somewhat angry: "I'm not being sold to your Great Qing. In our Ujumqin, there are quite a few divorces and remarriages. Why should I stay here for the rest of my life?"
"You said it yourself, that's the grassland. Mengguqing, you always think so simply. What do you think a marriage alliance between Mongolia and the Qing Dynasty represents? This is not child's play. You can't just marry and leave as you please. Do you completely disregard the harmony between Ujumchin and the Qing Dynasty? Or are you saying that your Ujumchin are going to rebel and never need the Qing Dynasty's help?"
Yinzhen's series of questions left Meng Guqing speechless. Was there really no way out? She hadn't expected that her marriage would represent the connection between Ujumqin and the Qing Dynasty. If they divorced, it would only make people speculate about Ujumqin's loyalty.
Moreover, Emperor Kangxi would not allow anyone to challenge his authority in this way.
But Meng Guqing was still unwilling to give up: "Then I want to go back and discuss it with my Abu in person, is that alright? I know that you are going to the grasslands to escort Princess Heshuo Wenke to her wedding this August."
Yinzhen's expression turned solemn, and he didn't say anything more, only nodding.
Meng Guqing breathed a sigh of relief. Although she hadn't achieved her goal yet, as long as she could see Abu, he would definitely find a way to get her back to the grasslands.
As long as she can go back, she will never leave again and will protect Abu and Ujumqin.
That evening, Yinzhen returned to Qingzhi Courtyard. He first went to see Tuantuan, who was nursing her kittens. The three kittens were nursing eagerly, each one lively and energetic, a sight that brought joy to the heart.
Yinzhen felt sorry for Tuantuan after she gave birth, so he specially instructed Yuzhu and Xiaokangzi to feed her more meat and make her more warm clothes. The charcoal was also kept burning.
After checking on the cat, Yinzhen went inside. Changning was eating glutinous rice balls from a white porcelain bowl. When she saw him come in, she smiled and asked if he wanted a bowl too.
The wind and snow were raging outside, and a bowl of hot and sweet glutinous rice balls would be just right. Yinzhen nodded.
"Have you just gone to see Tuantuan? How is she?"
Yinzhen took a bite from Changning's hand. It was plump, white, and chewy, with black sesame filling inside.
"You seem to be in good spirits, and the three little ones are healthy too, so don't worry. Taking good care of yourself is the most important thing. Have you stopped vomiting lately? A new batch of tribute grapes arrived at the palace, and since I knew you liked them, I asked for a few extra. Try some later, they're quite sweet."
Changning was quite happy that Yinzhen cared about her.
"I'm much better lately, but I always feel bored. With such heavy snow outside, I don't dare to go out. Feng Sheng'e and Fei Yang'a don't let them come back either, to prevent them from falling."
When Yinzhen heard that she had nothing to do, he felt a little sorry for her. It was always snowing outside, and the weather was gloomy. When she was bored, it was not easy for her to be in a good mood.
"Why don't you call Hutu over to keep you entertained? To play cards with you."
Changning laughed: "Hutu has been studying hard lately, saying he wants to memorize the entire 'Record of the Drunken Pavilion'."
Hearing that his daughter was so dedicated to her studies, Yinzhen was quite pleased. What parent doesn't want their children to do well?
“A couple of days ago, I read the poem ‘Ode to Snow’ to Hutuli, and she said she wanted to be a talented woman like Xie Daoyun.” Changning was a little proud. If this were modern times, her child would be considered a prodigy if she learned such difficult classical Chinese before even starting elementary school. She would definitely be a good candidate for Tsinghua or Peking University!
However, there are no Tsinghua and Peking Universities now, but the nation's top universities are still owned by the family!
Yinzhen was also thinking that Hutuli would occasionally go to the front yard and he would take care of her studies. Now that the weather was bad, Yaoxian was in charge of her studies.
However, Manchu girls all had a nanny in their family to teach them etiquette.
Previously, Yao Xian said that the child was still young and she was afraid that the child's nature would be restricted by etiquette.
But now that Hutuli is almost six years old, it's time to find a nanny. Let Su Peisheng take care of it.
However, there is something more important to do now.
"Why is your belly getting bigger and bigger?" Yinzhen pondered, looking at Changning's belly, which was noticeably larger than her previous one. Having learned from Hutuli and Fengsheng'e's experiences, he couldn't help but ask, "Is it twins again?"
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