Chapter 42 When Yinzhen went out, Yinsi also…

Yinzhen went out and Yinsi didn't dare to stop him. He could only watch helplessly as Yinzhen went to the main hall, and then he turned around and exchanged a glance with the thirteenth prince.

What should we do? We need to think of something quickly!

The thirteenth son said that he could barely walk and was truly powerless to help.

Yinzhi's eyes darted around and he hurriedly sent Emerald to Yongshou Palace to call Wenshan back, as he was no longer able to handle the situation.

Yinzhi didn't dare to go to find Yinzhen, and could only stay in the East Side Hall with Yinxiang until Wenshan returned.

Seeing Yinzhi sighing repeatedly, Yinxiang thought for a moment and asked, "Eighth Brother, you've been with Fourth Brother for almost six years now, haven't you ever thought about slowly revealing some things?"

That way, when the truth is revealed, things won't be such a mess that's hard to clean up now.

"At first, I did not want to tell Fourth Brother on purpose, wanting to see when he would find out on his own." Yinzhi slowly drank the pear soup, but the sweet pear soup tasted bland to him now.

He had only been back for a short time then, and still harbored some resentment towards his fourth brother, so naturally he wouldn't tell him.

"Then I slowly realized something: if my fourth brother knew, it would be like today. He simply couldn't accept how he treated me in my previous life."

Yinzhi gulped down the bowl of pear soup, then wiped his mouth with the handkerchief that Jade had prepared and placed on the tray.

"You know Fourth Brother's personality better than I do. If he finds out, he'll have a grudge against me, not to mention himself. So I don't think it's worth telling him."

"Or we can wait until we're older and start contacting court officials before telling Fourth Brother that I'm a person who has been reborn. As for my past experiences, I initially planned to say that I am you."

Yinxiang had been listening attentively and occasionally nodding in agreement, but he exploded when he heard Yinsi's last sentence.

"What do you mean you're me?!"

The myna actually wanted to plagiarize the touching brotherhood between him and his fourth brother in their previous life!

And he actually said it so brazenly and shamelessly in front of him, the person involved!

Yinzhi smiled and said, "Thirteenth brother, don't be so stingy. I'm doing this for the sake of fourth brother. Otherwise, would he be able to accept the truth?"

"..."

Although I was very angry, what the myna bird said did seem to make some sense.

Before Yinxiang was born, Yinzhi really did plan it this way. He just needed to rehearse his story with Wenshan in advance. Since no one else knew about his past life, whatever he said would be true.

Moreover, the thirteenth brother's disguise is really too easy to wear. He and the fourth brother are now very close, and the fourth brother will definitely believe it if he hears it.

To his surprise, the thirteenth prince also returned. So after much deliberation, he decided that he should either not tell his fourth brother about his rebirth, or he could keep the matter of vying for the throne a secret for another two years, and then slowly transfer his network of connections to his fourth brother after he officially entered the court and participated in politics.

But man proposes, God disposes, and Fourth Brother still managed to uncover the truth.

So now it's a bit difficult to handle this situation.

Fortunately, Wen Shan returned from Yongshou Palace soon after receiving the news.

"Yin Si, Jade says you're not feeling well. What's wrong?"

Wen Shan rushed into the room and immediately pulled Yin Si to look him over. Just now, she had been warmly invited to have a meal with Consort Niohuru at Yongshou Palace. She couldn't refuse and was about to send Pearl back to tell Yin Si and the others when Emerald arrived, saying that Yin Si had suddenly felt unwell. So Wen Shan hurried back.

"Mother, I'm fine," Yinzhi said. "I just wanted to find an excuse to get you back quickly."

Wenshan breathed a sigh of relief, sat down in a chair, and fanned herself with a round fan. She had run all the way back and was quite sweaty.

"What's wrong now? What's the matter that you called me back in such a hurry?"

These two unlucky kids probably called her back to cook because they were craving something.

“Just now, my thirteenth brother and I were talking about our past lives in the room when my fourth brother overheard us,” Yinzhi said.

"I thought it was something serious... Wait!" Wen Shan suddenly looked up. "Who did you say overheard? What did they hear?"

Yinzhi helplessly shrugged, indicating that the die was cast.

This is truly a major incident.

"Then... what about Yinzhen?"

Wen Shan looked around but didn't see Yinzhen, so she quickly asked.

Yinzhi pointed in the direction of the main hall.

"Fourth Brother said he wanted to be alone for a while."

Wen Shan asked Yinzhen in detail what he had heard, and Yinsi recounted it to her verbatim. Wen Shan felt a chill run down her spine; he knew everything that should and shouldn't have been said. Given Yinzhen's personality, it was normal that he couldn't accept it immediately.

Wen Shan suddenly remembered something and asked, "Doesn't Yinzhen know that I come from the future?"

Yinzhi nodded: "We haven't gotten to that yet."

Wen Shan clutched her heart, feeling like she was about to faint. Oh no, she should have just told him everything at once. Now she had to explain her background to Yinzhen separately.

"Mother, you don't have to say it," Yinzhi said quickly, seeing Wenshan's despair.

Yinxiang chimed in from the side, "Yes, yes, Mother, your eighth brother and I can help you keep it a secret."

Wen Shan waved her hand helplessly, "Forget it, I might as well take this opportunity to tell Yinzhen as well, otherwise I'll be the only one living in fear from now on."

Yinzhi pursed his lips and looked towards the main hall: "Then Mother, what do we do now?"

What else could we do but go and explain things to Yinzhen?

Feeling troubled and restless from thinking about it all by himself, Yinzhen noticed that his mother was holding Yinxiang, and Yinsi was following behind his mother, secretly opening a crack in the door. The three of them were peeking at him like thieves.

Yinzhen couldn't help but chuckle, and stood up, saying, "Mother, come in."

The three of them breathed a sigh of relief and tiptoed into the room. Yinzhi and Yinxiang were especially reserved and didn't know how to face Yinzhen. Yinxiang was lucky enough to pretend to be stupid in Wenshan's arms, but Yinzhi was not so lucky and was Yinzhen's main focus.

"Mother, you also know the difference between Eighth Brother and Thirteenth Brother?" Yinzhen knew from their expressions that his mother probably knew as well. It turned out that he was the only one in the entire Xianfu Palace who had been kept in the dark.

He couldn't help but feel a little disappointed, vaguely sensing that he was being rejected.

Could it be because of what he did in his so-called past life that his eighth and thirteenth brothers dared not tell him?

Wen Shan said cautiously, "Well, actually we didn't mean to hide it from you. The reason Yin Si and Yin Xiang told Mother is because Mother isn't from this world either; she comes from hundreds of years in the future..."

"..."

Yinzhen's breath hitched, and he looked at Wenshan in disbelief. Yinsi nodded in agreement, confirming that what Wenshan said was true.

Yinzhen felt even more disappointed. It turned out that his mother and brothers were all extraordinary people. No wonder they kept it a secret from him.

Seeing that Yinzhen was hanging his head, Wenshan quickly nudged Yinsi. After giving him her instructions, it was his turn to go on stage.

"Fourth Brother, the reason why Thirteenth Brother and I kept it from you was because we were worried that you wouldn't be able to accept it, so we wanted to proceed gradually." Yinzhi said with a forced smile, "In the end, it was our fault, so please don't be angry."

Yinzhen felt a mix of emotions as he looked at Yinsi with a pitiful yet cautious expression.

He now understands why his eighth brother hated him so much when they were kids.

It turns out that it was because he treated his eighth brother this way in his previous life.

The one who should apologize is not Yinzhi.

“I understand.” Yinzhen’s tone softened. “I’ve been thinking a lot on my own just now, so I can’t really blame you.”

"If I were in that situation, I would probably make the same choice."

Yinzhi and Yinxiang breathed a sigh of relief, and Wenshan also said with a smile, "It's good that you know now, we don't have to discuss things in secret anymore."

Yinzhen narrowed his eyes: "What have you two and Mother been discussing behind my back?"

"..."

Seeing that Yinzhen was truly not angry anymore, Yinsi became bolder and, as usual, snuggled up to Yinzhen's side, saying, "From now on, we will definitely bring Fourth Brother along to discuss things together."

There was no point in dwelling on the past; what Yinzhen cared about more was the past life that Yinsi and Yinxiang spoke of.

He grabbed Yinzhi and Yinxiang and made them explain the matter carefully.

At first, Yinzhi held back a bit and tried to describe the process in a more tactful way, but Yinzhen immediately noticed the loopholes. Under Yinzhen's relentless questioning, Yinzhi had no choice but to surrender and, together with Yinxiang, added details about their past lives.

When Yinzhen heard Yinsi say that they hadn't been raised together under their mother's care in their previous life, which was why they weren't close, Yinzhen secretly breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, if he had done something like that given their current relationship, he would have been truly ashamed.

"The Crown Prince has been deposed twice." Yinzhen found it hard to believe. Given his father's favoritism towards the Crown Prince, how unreliable must the Crown Prince be to be deposed twice?

Yinxiang said from the side, "If you ask me, it's because Father Emperor has lived too long. According to the Crown Prince, has there ever been a Crown Prince who lived for forty years, either in ancient or modern times?"

Wen Shan thought to herself, "In the next few hundred years, throughout history and across the world, there really has been someone who has been a prince for over sixty years and finally made it to the top."

Yinzhen frowned upon hearing Yinxiang's words: "Thirteenth Brother, it's one thing to say this in Xianfu Palace, but don't say such things so casually outside."

What do you mean, "Father Emperor has lived too long"? If this gets out, it'll sound like treason.

Yinxiang stuck out his tongue, and Yinsi smoothed things over: "It's alright, not a word will get out of Xianfu Palace. Let the thirteenth prince say whatever he wants."

"You two are now protecting each other," Yinzhen said, arms crossed.

There were too many complicated events to explain in a short time, so Yinzhen seized some of Yinsi's able-bodied men and made them write it down for him to see. Yinsi was on the verge of tears but dared not resist, so he went to write it down miserably after dinner.

Wen Shan was a little surprised that Yin Zhen accepted all of this so quickly, which seemed quite absurd. Yin Si went to the side hall to write records, and Wen Shan accompanied Yin Zhen and Yin Xiang to chat.

No one is not curious about the future. After listening to Yinzhen and Yinxiang talk about their father and his reign for an afternoon, Yinzhen couldn't help but wonder what the Qing Dynasty would be like after him.

So Wenshan told him the story of her eldest son, Hongli, which Yinxiang didn't know, so he listened with great interest.

“Hongli…that name sounds familiar.” Yinzhen thought back and suddenly remembered that he had once overheard his mother and Yinsi talking, and it seemed that they had mentioned this name.

At the time, his mother tried to fool him by saying that he was a character from a storybook.

Wen Shan obviously remembered this as well, and with an awkward smile, she quickly changed the subject.

"To be honest, the successor you chose is actually quite good. Under his leadership, the Qing Dynasty completely pacified the Dzungar Khanate, recovered the southern and northern borders, and won the Burmese war. He has made outstanding contributions to the Qing Dynasty's territory."

Yinzhen nodded repeatedly as he listened; this son, whom he had never met, did indeed seem quite capable.

Yinxiang was also quite happy: "I knew Hongli was capable. At first, I was worried that the boy's path was too smooth and he would need some challenges. Now it seems that he has lived up to Fourth Brother's expectations."

"Is things progressing too smoothly? Did I decide to make him the crown prince a long time ago?" Yinzhen asked.

“That’s not it,” Wenshan said, taking a sip of tea. “It’s mainly because he’s the only one you can choose.”

Yinzhen: "?"

What do you mean? He only has one son.

It shouldn't be that bad.

Yinxiang was very familiar with this place and took the initiative to explain to Yinzhen: "Fourth Brother, you do not have many children. Only three princes have grown to adulthood. My eldest nephew Hongshi, I don't know what got into him, actually went to plead for Eighth Brother and Ninth Brother who have been imprisoned. In a fit of anger, you stripped him of his yellow sash and sent him to be Eighth Brother's son."

"..."

How much hatred did he harbor for his eighth brother in his previous life?

However, his eldest son does seem rather dim-witted.

"Next is Hongli, let's not talk about him. Then there's the fifth brother, Hongzhou. This kid has been naughty and unreliable since he was a child. When he got a little older, he liked to follow his twelfth brother to do funerals. He also often held his own funeral. He's as unreliable as can be."

“There was another little one named Hongzhan, who was only two years old when you passed away, so he wasn’t even considered,” Wenshan added.

Hongzhan was born in the eleventh year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign. By then, Yinxiang had already passed away, so he was unaware that he had a nephew.

Yinzhen covered his face and listened in silence. Why did each of his sons sound so unreliable?

How did he teach his children in his previous life?

It seems he really had no choice; only Hongli seemed normal.

Moreover, this child is quite capable; otherwise, he would truly be considered a sinner of the Qing Dynasty for all time. None of his sons are competent, and if the ancestral empire were handed over to them, he would have no face to meet his ancestors even in the afterlife.

Fortunately, there was still Hongli who could hold things together.

"Well, in a way, Yinzhen, your sons are all quite talented," Wenshan tried to comfort Yinzhen, who was somewhat discouraged by his own failure in raising children.

“Like Hongzhou, he and his twelfth uncle handled the funeral arrangements very well, and they sent all of you brothers off.”

"..."

Yinzhen was on the verge of tears. Mother, if you don't know how to comfort me, you don't have to.

"Hongli was a decent emperor, but he loved to show off. His literary skills were average, yet he liked to write poetry all the time. Not only that, he was also keen on stamping his seals on famous paintings and historical sites." Wen Shan couldn't help but complain when she mentioned this. "He stamped more than a hundred seals on Wang Xizhi's 'Timely Clearing After Snowfall'."

Even Yinxiang fell silent this time: "...Isn't the 'Timely Clearing After Snowfall' only twenty-eight characters in total?"

Where did Hongli get so many stamps to collect?!

Yinzhen didn't know what to say. Wenshan told him that if Hongli was born in the future, he must teach him not to stamp so many seals on ancient paintings and calligraphy. He could write rambling poems, but he shouldn't damage cultural relics!

Yinzhen sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation.

After recounting these somewhat humorous and lighthearted anecdotes, Yinzhen heard his thirteenth brother talk about the reforms he implemented under immense pressure at the beginning of his reign, including the reform of converting the fire tax into public taxes, merging the poll tax into land taxes, and requiring officials and gentry to perform their duties and pay taxes in the same way. He then roughly understood what kind of governing style Yinzhen had at that time.

These problems have existed for a long time. Now, in addition to teaching them classical texts, Zhang Ying and Gu Badai have also started to talk to them about current events. These are things that the masters have mentioned to varying degrees.

However, these matters were all very troublesome to deal with, as they had far-reaching consequences. Even the Emperor could only turn a blind eye to some of them. Moreover, according to his mother and thirteenth brother, the Emperor was more concerned about his reputation in the future and was also less energetic in his later years. Therefore, he would gloss over many things and let them pass by. It can be seen that when he ascended the throne, he could no longer delay and thus gritted his teeth and implemented the new policies.

Even now, when Yinzhi thinks back to the early days of implementing the new policies, when he and his fourth brother worked day and night to handle government affairs, he still gets a chill down his spine.

The Emperor left them a mess; there was no way to stop it, otherwise the Qing Dynasty would rot from the root.

“Speaking of which, there’s an interesting story,” Wen Shan teased. “After Hongli ascended the throne, he initially wanted to change these policies back, but later he found that the system you and the thirteenth prince left behind was more effective, so he sheepishly changed it back.”

Yinxiang was speechless and choked with emotion: "This Hongli..."

The mother and her two sons were having a lively conversation when Yinzhi wrote down all the important events of the past few years. Fortunately, he had a good memory and was able to remember all these numerous events. Yinzhi worked alone for an hour, but when he got to the fiftieth year of Kangxi's reign, he was too tired to write anymore and ran over to talk to them.

"Mother, what's all this commotion about?"

Wenshan said, "They're talking about your fourth brother's son."

Yinzhi had also heard about these things, and judging from his fourth brother's depressed appearance, he knew that he was having a headache because of his sons, each with their own strengths and weaknesses.

Oh, and he also inexplicably gained a nephew who became his eldest son.

Seeing Yinsi's miserable expression after writing a thick stack of papers, Yinzhen let him off the hook and made room for him to climb up.

There were pastries made by Wen Shan on the table. Yin Si grabbed two and ate them, which relieved his hunger.

Mentally demanding tasks are indeed physically demanding. Although he had just finished dinner, he was hungry again after writing for only an hour.

After chatting for a while, Wen Shan felt a little sleepy. She noticed it was getting late and that Yinzhen and Yinsi had to go to the Imperial Study early the next morning, so she urged them to leave and go back to rest.

Yinzhi spent the day in a state of constant anxiety and trepidation. Just as he finished washing up and was about to rest, there was a knock on the door of his bedchamber.

Xiao Shunzi was supposed to keep watch tonight, so he went to open the door and check.

"Fourth Prince, what brings you here?"

Hearing the noise, Yinzhi peeked out from behind the bed curtains and saw Yinzhen standing at the door.

"Fourth Brother, is something the matter?"

Yinzhen went into the room, glanced around, and said softly, "It's too late to go back to Ganxi Wusuo tonight. I'll just squeeze in here for the night."

Yinzhi smiled and said, "Alright, Xiao Shunzi, hurry up and prepare bedding for Fourth Master."

Xiao Shunzi responded with a "yes" and brought bedding and pillows to place on the bed. Yin Si slept inside, while Yin Zhen lay upright outside. Yin Si secretly peeked over and discovered that Yin Zhen was not asleep either.

Yinzhi understood that his fourth brother's decision to sleep with him tonight was not just because it was late; his fourth brother had not completely let go of what had happened today.

Sure enough, after waiting for a while, Yinzhen stirred, turned around, and said, "Eighth brother, are you asleep?"

Yinzhi opened his eyes and shook his head.

“I just remembered when I was little, my fourth brother took me to play in the Imperial Garden.” Yinzhi blinked and said, “There was a huge pear tree in Jiangxue Pavilion, and the fruit it bore was incredibly sweet. I used to always look at it, but the Crown Prince kept the pear tree and wouldn’t let anyone touch it. My fourth brother thought I wanted to eat some, so he secretly went to pick some pears for me in the middle of the night.”

Yinzhen couldn't help but laugh when he thought of this. Back then, his eighth brother wasn't as close to him as he is now, so he tried to find ways to make his eighth brother happy. Seeing that his eighth brother would stare at that pear tree for a long time, he thought that Yinsi was craving it. After struggling for a long time, he finally gritted his teeth and secretly went to pick some for him at night. This was one of the most embarrassing things in his life.

Fortunately, the pear was actually quite useful. After he gave it to his eighth brother, the brother's attitude towards him improved a lot.

"Actually, I didn't really want to eat pears," Yinzhi said slowly. "Looking out from that pear tree, the Imperial Clan Court is right behind it. I had just returned and I would often think about the past. But ever since Fourth Brother gave me the pears, I've realized that all I see when I pass by that place is that pear tree."

After a moment of silence, Yinzhen finally uttered the apology.

"Eighth brother, I'm sorry."

Yinzhi waved his hand nonchalantly, "I've already said there's no need to apologize. Throughout history, the losers in the struggle for the throne have never had a good ending. If I were to ascend the throne, I certainly wouldn't be lenient with you, Fourth Brother."

Yinzhi suddenly smiled slyly: "Actually, I've been hiding a lot of the things I did to you that I didn't tell you on purpose."

Yinzhen's expression relaxed somewhat, and he suddenly turned around: "If you don't want to talk about it, then forget it. Go to sleep."

Yinzhi leaned closer and continued, "Fourth Brother, tomorrow is the start of the ninth and tenth brother's formal education. Let's go early."

Just like in their previous life, Yinzhen and Yin'e had always liked to stick close to Yinzhen since they were young, especially Yinzhen, who often visited their Xianfu Palace because of the good relationship between Wenshan and Consort Yi. As a result, he also became quite familiar with Yinzhen.

Yinzhen was cunning and shrewd, while Yin'e seemed much more honest and simple, a bit of a domineering fool.

When Yinzhen recalled what Yinxiang had said about his ninth and tenth brothers, as well as his unborn fourteenth brother, all being core members of the Eighth Prince's faction, he knew that Yinsi also wanted to protect these younger brothers in this life.

"Okay, go to sleep now." Yinzhen hummed in agreement and then fell silent.

The next morning, Yinzhen and Yinsi got up early. The two brothers went to the Imperial Garden together for a stroll with Fuqi and Laifu, which was a rare occasion. On their way back, they ran into Wenshan, who was yawning. Wenshan was startled when she saw Yinzhen.

"Yinzhen? Why are you here so early?"

He left late yesterday, and he only slept for a few hours today, even though he came so early today.

"Mother, Fourth Brother didn't leave yesterday; he slept at my place," Yinzhi said with a smile.

Wen Shan nodded, and just as she was about to say something, she heard Pearl's voice coming from the east side hall.

"Oh dear, my Thirteenth Prince, how did you get out of bed by yourself? And you even fell to the ground!"

Then came Little Thirteen's stubborn voice: "It's alright, I'll stand up on my own!"

"..."

The three people outside the door were both amused and exasperated, wondering how Yinxiang had suddenly become so determined.

After finishing their breakfast, Yinzhi and Yinzhen were just about to head out to the Imperial Study when Baoquan rushed in, anxiously saying, "Your Majesty, something terrible has happened! The Empress Dowager suddenly developed a high fever last night and hasn't woken up yet."