Chapter 51 After Yinzhen and Yinsi finished their warm bath…

After soaking in the hot springs, Yinzhen and Yinsi returned to the camp via a side path. The next day's hunt was held without the presence of the eldest prince, who was the most skilled in martial arts, and the third prince deliberately avoided competing with the crown prince, so the crown prince won first place. Yinsi was neither particularly outstanding nor mediocre, and ranked after the crown prince and the third prince.

It was rare for Emperor Kangxi to be impartial, praising both the Crown Prince, the Third Prince, and Yinzhi. He even specifically mentioned that although Yinzhi was the youngest, his literary and martial arts skills were among the best of all the princes. He even jokingly suggested that Yinzhen should learn more from his younger brother.

Yinzhen, who was usually expressionless, actually accepted Kangxi's words and said that he would work even harder in the future.

The princes and ministers standing by were all a bit confused. The current political situation was too chaotic. The eldest prince and the crown prince had been fighting for two years, and now an eighth prince had emerged. Moreover, today the emperor praised the eighth prince while stepping on the fourth prince, who was also raised by Consort Xuan.

Isn't this deliberately trying to sow discord between the two brothers?

Then look at the Fourth Prince's icy face... Although the Fourth Prince is usually like this and you can't tell anything from it, it's definitely not a good thing, so the Fourth Prince must be unhappy.

In fact, even Yinzhen couldn't help but cheer for his eighth brother. Although his mind was enhanced by his previous life, his body was only that of a seven or eight-year-old. Moreover, Yinsi was holding back today. His skill in riding and archery must have come from hard work. He truly deserves to be called his brother.

Yinzhi naturally didn't take Kangxi's words to heart. He outwardly agreed but inwardly planned how to divide the few hides he had made back in the palace.

There was also some venison and mutton, which should ideally be frozen and transported back to the palace so that Mother could cook them for them.

Two months later, just as he had left, Emperor Kangxi returned to the Forbidden City with his entourage in a grand procession.

Wen Shan and the concubines waited at the palace gate to greet the emperor, and after being exposed to the autumn wind for half a day, they finally saw the return of Emperor Kangxi's imperial carriage.

When Kangxi got off the carriage, he looked up and saw Wen Shan and Consort De. The Crown Prince and several other princes also came over one after another from behind.

"These past few days, Consort Xuan has worked so hard managing things in the palace," Kangxi said with a smile as he helped Wen Shan, who was bowing.

Wen Shan stood up, her eyes involuntarily drifting back to look for Yinzhen and Yinsi. Only when she saw that they had both returned safely did she feel relieved. She smiled and said, "Your Majesty, you flatter me. It is my sisters who have worked harder serving outside."

Consort Niohuru, standing beside Emperor Kangxi, also smiled and said a few words.

"There is something I need to report to His Majesty," Wen Shan said, looking up. "Her Imperial Noble Consort's condition has worsened recently, and she is finding it difficult to get out of bed. I hope His Majesty can visit her."

The Imperial Noble Consort's illness was a chronic one, which was only being managed with medication. Everyone in the harem knew this. At first, the Tongjia clan did not give up and sent many precious medicinal herbs from outside the palace, including several hundred-year-old ginseng roots. However, no matter how good the medicine was, it had no effect.

The imperial physician privately revealed to Emperor Kangxi that the Imperial Noble Consort's illness was a mental one, which had now become a stagnant condition with both qi and blood deficiency, causing her body to break down. Furthermore, the Imperial Noble Consort herself was unable to overcome the grief of losing her son and daughter, so her illness could not be cured.

So Kangxi simply sighed and said he understood.

Kangxi patted Wenshan's hand and then looked at Consort De, who had been standing quietly to the side.

"Consort De seems to be feeling much better. How has Yinzhen been lately?"

Consort De replied very gently that everything was fine.

Kangxi then inquired about Consort Min's condition, and Wenshan replied that both mother and daughter were well.

Moreover, Consort Min took good care of herself during her pregnancy and recovered quickly. The little princess is also fair-skinned and beautiful. Recently, Wen Shan has often brought Yin Xiang to visit her.

For some reason, Emperor Kangxi suddenly reverted to his image as a loving father and inquired about the daily lives of all the young princes and princesses who remained in the palace.

Wen Shan, standing to the side, could barely keep her smile. They had been standing there in the cold wind for half an hour. What was the point of chatting at the door? Kangxi could just go to her palace to chat with whoever he liked that night.

Fortunately, Wen Shan didn't hold a grudge for long before Kangxi announced the end of the meeting, and everyone returned to their respective palaces to rest and recuperate.

As soon as Kangxi left, Wenshan quickly waved to Yinzhen and Yinsi, and the two of them hurriedly ran to her side.

Wen Shan took a closer look. Both of them had gotten a little tanned but hadn't lost weight, and they looked more energetic. It seemed they had been running horses a lot these past two months.

"How come there are still so many things?"

Wen Shan was shocked to see the little eunuchs behind them carrying large and small bags. These two children had already sent back a lot of things before they even got home, mostly meat and vegetables. Wen Shan was speechless, wondering how she had raised these two to be such foodies.

Then, Yinxiang, another little foodie in Xianfu Palace, pestered her to make some of these things for him to try before Yinzhen and Yinsi returned.

"My fourth brother and I hunted a lot of things this time, and we also brought back what my uncle prepared for Mother." Yinzhi hugged Wenshan's arm, unable to hide his joy at the rare reunion after not seeing her for several months.

"Alright, I think you've had so much fun that you've forgotten all about home. You haven't written a single letter back." Wen Shan tapped Yin Si's forehead.

Yinzhen was clearly in a good mood, and even helped Yinsi explain that the Mulan hunting trip was too rushed and nothing happened. They were worried that sending letters back and forth would be too much trouble and that they might return before the letters arrived, so they gave up on the idea.

Wen Shan didn't really want to blame them; it was just that the three of them had a rare chance to chat together on the way back to the palace.

As soon as they arrived at Xianfu Palace, Laifu and Fuqi came out wagging their tails to greet them. The two dogs were very perceptive and ran to their respective owners. Fuqi circled around Yinzhen, while Laifu jumped directly into Yinsi's arms.

Yinzhi stroked Laifu's fur and said in confusion, "Why does Laifu look thinner?"

Yinzhen nodded in agreement, sharing the same doubts about good fortune.

"Well, it's not that he's lost weight, it's that he's gotten stronger," Wen Shan said quietly.

Every day, Xiao Shisan puts her through intense training, to the point that she'd practically have to run ten laps around the Imperial Garden. No wonder she's so thin.

Fortunately, Yinzhen and Yinsi didn't dwell on it too much. They patted the dogs' heads and let them play on the side.

"Where is the thirteenth brother? Why hasn't he come out?" Yinzhi looked inside. The palace maids and eunuchs had all come out and were helping to put away the things they had brought back, but Yinxiang was nowhere to be seen.

He hadn't seen his two good brothers for two months and hadn't even come out to greet them. It's a shame that his two older brothers thought about him every day.

Yinzhen asked with some concern, "Is Thirteenth Brother ill?"

"No, he's fine. Yinxiang is taking care of some things in the room and probably can't get away."

Yinzhi chuckled upon hearing this: "He's only a few years old, what kind of things could he possibly handle?"

Yinzhen and Yinsi took good care of Yinxiang. Even though they knew that Yinxiang was also reborn and could not be treated as an ordinary child, the two older brothers still doted on him. They never assigned him any tasks, whether in or out of the palace, and he was the most carefree and happy person in Xianfu Palace every day.

So when Yinzhi heard this, he immediately walked into the main hall, with Yinzhen following closely behind.

Pushing open the door, I saw that Yinxiang was indeed hunched over his desk, frowning and holding a brush, looking as if he hated evil.

"How outrageous! This deputy chief steward of the Imperial Household Department dared to embezzle funds for his own benefit. Arrest him, arrest him and behead him!" Yinxiang's small, round face puffed up with anger, and he raised his hand to issue the order.

"Who do you want to arrest?"

Yinxiang stopped writing, picked at his ears, and wondered if he was hallucinating, because he actually heard the voice of a myna bird.

Yinxiang was short, and Yinzhen and Yinsi were completely blocked by the screen in front of them when they entered the room, so he didn't see them for a moment.

In addition, the palace servants of Xianfu Palace were trained by the Fourth Brother to be quiet and efficient in their work, so Yinxiang did not expect that it was Yinzhen and the others who had returned.

Then, the next second, he actually saw the myna bird swaying over with a half-smile on its face.

It's not a hallucination!

Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother are really back!

Yinxiang threw down the calligraphy brush in his hand and jumped off the bed, beaming as he said, "Fourth Brother, Eighth Brother, you're back!"

Yinzhen picked up Yinxiang and asked, "What are you busy with? Why didn't you go to the palace gate to greet Father?"

Fortunately, Father Emperor didn't ask why Yinxiang hadn't come.

"I wanted to go, but my mother said it was too windy today and told me not to go."

Wen Shan followed closely behind, took off her cloak, and said, "It's a good thing I didn't let you go, otherwise you would be frozen stiff by now."

Yinzhi is currently the youngest child in the palace besides the newly born Fourteenth Prince and the little princess, so it's understandable that he didn't go to the palace gate to greet them on such a cold day.

Yinxiang hugged Yinzhen's neck and said, "I'm so bored that I can't eat or play anything while you're all gone from the palace.

"Really? I think you've gained a few pounds." Yinzhen raised an eyebrow and weighed Yinxiang in his hand to confirm that he had indeed gained a few pounds.

Yinzhi walked curiously to the table and looked through what Yinxiang had been busy with. His face turned green as soon as he saw it.

"Mother, you actually entrusted palace affairs to Yinxiang?"

Wen Shan, feeling guilty, stammered, "Uh... that..."

She does appear to be a child laborer.

Upon seeing this, Yinxiang immediately stepped forward: "I begged Mother to let me do this. These trivial matters don't need to trouble Mother. I can handle it!"

Yinzhi picked up the papers that Yinxiang had just approved and read aloud their contents.

“The Imperial Kitchen requested 500 taels of silver to purchase 100 catties of fresh vegetables and 20 catties each of pork and mutton.”

After Yinzhi finished reading, Yinxiang raised his head and said, "Does this servant think Your Highness is a fool? Five hundred taels of silver for such a small amount of things?"

"So you replied with 'Unless you bring me your head, I won't get a single penny'?"

Yinxiang said confidently, "Since they've come all the way to the Emperor's door to embezzle, they should be taught a lesson."

"The fish in the Mirror Pond in the Imperial Garden are overrun. The supervisor asked how to deal with it, and what was your answer?" Yinzhi asked with a dark face.

Yinxiang took a piece of biscuit from the box on the table and said while eating, "These fish are raised to look nice but don't taste good. Since they're so plentiful, let's catch them all. Fuqi and Laifu love to eat fish the most, so send a few bags to all the palaces that keep dogs and cats."

Wen Shan: "..."

Fortunately, the approval was not sent out, otherwise the entire harem would have been filled with the smell of fish.

Yinzhi took a deep breath, picked up the next sheet, and barely managed to refrain from slapping it onto Yinxiang's face.

"Then tell me, what does this mean?"

The above text describes what Yinxiang was scolding about the deputy chief steward of the Imperial Household Department for embezzling silver when they came in.

Yinxiang replied with "[Bullshit! You dog slave...]", and the rest was not finished.

"Didn't Brother Ba see it all? This Sun Xun is embezzling silver and is extremely arrogant. I wonder who's backing him up," Yinxiang muttered.

Yinzhen coughed twice and whispered a reminder: "This Sun Xun is one of your eighth brother's men."

Yinxiang's eyes widened as he looked at Yinsi in disbelief: "Eighth Brother, so it was you who was backing him up. You're not managing your subordinates properly."

Yinzhi was so angry that he had a headache. After calming down, he said, "Didn't you notice that this report is different from the previous one?"

What's the difference? Aren't they both official documents?

Yinzhen kindly pointed out to Yinxiang a small "eight" character printed on the title page.

This is a private letter submitted to Yinzhi, not a matter concerning palace affairs.

I don't know where Yinxiang found them and they ended up together.

Yinxiang scratched his head, then suddenly realized: "Could this be something you instructed, Eighth Brother..."

Yinzhi shot him a glare, which was obviously at Yinzhi's behest. The accounts here were deliberately made to balance things out. Sun Xun, the deputy chief steward of the Imperial Household Department, was the person Yinzhi used to openly send money from outside the palace into the palace.

"Well... you didn't even inform me beforehand, so you can't blame me, Eighth Brother." Yinxiang chuckled awkwardly.

Yinzhi was at his wit's end, looking utterly hopeless.

I wonder what kind of mess Yinxiang made of the palace during the two months he was away. Well, as soon as he comes back, he has to clean up the mess immediately.

"Mother, that's why I asked just now why the palace affairs were handed over to the thirteenth brother," Yinzhi said quietly, turning his face away.

Thirteenth Brother's style of doing things was fine during the reign of Fourth Brother in the previous dynasty, but his handling of the affairs of the harem now is completely off-track and goes in the opposite direction.

Seeing Yinxiang's somewhat dejected look, Wenshan felt a pang of sympathy and quickly said, "It's alright. Nothing much has happened in the palace these past two months. Yinxiang has handled things very well, and there haven't been any problems."

Yinzhen also spoke up for Yinxiang, telling him to talk to the two of them later about what needed to be explained again.

Yinxiang sidled up to Yinsi and said in a rare attempt to appease him, "Don't be angry, Eighth Brother. I was just bored in the palace. I wanted to take Fuqi and Laifu for a walk, but those two dogs are so lazy. They only went out for two days and then refused to move."

Yinzhen and Yinsi exchanged a glance, as if they knew why Fuqi and Laifu looked listless and thin.

Even dogs avoid the thirteenth brother; he's really something.

Yinzhi sighed and rubbed his forehead in exasperation. If they had returned a month later, Yinxiang could have caught all the rats in Xianfu Palace.

So Yinzhi decisively kicked Yinxiang out, telling him to stay away from palace affairs. The people working under him were eagerly awaiting Yinzhi's return, practically bursting into tears and spreading the news.

Eighth Master is finally back! The hard times are over!

Wen Shan had been busy all afternoon preparing a large table of dishes to welcome Yin Zhen and Yin Si. Just as she finished cleaning up the food and was about to call the three brothers to eat, she saw several pieces of leather on the bed, some white, some gray, and some black. Yin Xiang walked around on the bed and finally rolled around on it to get a feel for it.

Yinzhen lifted him up: "These are all to be sent to the various palace ladies."

Yinxiang grumbled, "Wasn't there one that was meant for me?"

Can't he even be picky?

It just so happens that he's small now, and all these leathers can wrap him up when he lies down. He can feel which one is the most comfortable and take it back to make a mattress. The weather has been getting cooler lately, and when it snows, he can wrap himself in this fluffy mattress and warm himself by the charcoal stove. Just thinking about it makes me feel wonderful.

When Yinzhen saw Wenshan coming over, he picked up another snow-white fur coat that was placed to the side.

“Mother, this is a rare white tiger that my uncle hunted himself. He specifically asked us to bring it back for you.”

Wenshan was also pleasantly surprised and carefully kept it.

The remaining few were all wrapped up by Pearl and the others, and then sent to Consort Min, Consort Wei, and the Imperial Noble Consort.

When the Imperial Noble Consort was mentioned, Yinzhen couldn't help but ask, "Mother, you said before that your condition had worsened again. I wonder how your condition is now?"

After the Imperial Noble Consort entrusted almost everything she had, including her land deeds and properties, to Yinzhen, their relationship entered a delicate period of calm.

The Imperial Noble Consort never took the initiative to invite Yinzhen to Chengqian Palace. At first, Yinzhen would go there every few days, but the Imperial Noble Consort only saw him twice out of five visits. Moreover, when they met, they were relatively silent and could only exchange some dry, polite words.

The mother and son have already made too many things irreversible and inexplicable to explain how they have ended up in this situation.

The Imperial Noble Consort felt awkward and didn't want to put Yinzhen in a difficult position, so she told him not to come so often anymore, just once a month would be enough, and she wouldn't see him any more than that.

Yinzhen would visit Chengqian Palace at the beginning of each month, and over the years, whether on his southern tour or the Mulan hunting expedition, he would never forget to bring a gift for the Imperial Noble Consort.

Yinzhen already knew from Yinsi that the previous Imperial Noble Consort's time was coming to an end at the beginning of next year, and there were only a few months left.

The Imperial Noble Consort's illness was a mental one, incurable by medicine, and there was nothing she could do even if she wanted to defy fate.

"The situation is not good. Go and see the Imperial Noble Consort after lunch." Wen Shan sighed. "When Consort Min was giving birth, the Imperial Noble Consort insisted on going to see her, but her condition worsened within two days."

At this point, Wen Shan told Yin Zhen and Yin Si about what the Imperial Concubine had told her in the Imperial Garden that day—that she would help change Yin Zhen's imperial genealogy to her name.

Yinzhen remained silent for a while after listening.

Yinzhi looked around and felt the atmosphere was a bit heavy. He smiled and said, "If the Imperial Noble Consort hadn't said so earlier, we wouldn't have had to make so many arrangements."

But the above words were obviously a joke. Soon after, Yinzhi instructed again: "Fourth Brother, when you see the Imperial Noble Consort later, tell her to focus on recovering and not worry about these things."

They had already begun planning for Yinzhen to alter the imperial genealogy, and were just waiting for the right time next year to complete the task. The Imperial Noble Consort was already seriously ill, so it was best not to let her exert herself while she was sick.

Yinzhen nodded, thinking the same thing.

Just as the group was about to start lunch, Bao Quan came in and said that the Emperor had gone to Chengqian Palace, had lunch with the Imperial Noble Consort, and then rested.

"I understand. Let me know when His Majesty leaves."

Bao Quan responded and went downstairs.

Since it was inconvenient for Yinzhen to go there, he thought for a moment and said that he would go there in the evening and have dinner with the Imperial Noble Consort.

Wenshan expressed her support and said she would cook some nourishing and light dishes suitable for patients for him to take with him.

Today's lunch consisted of dishes that the three children loved, as well as various meats that Yinzhen and Yinsi brought back from Mongolia. After two months of eating meat chunks in Mongolia, the two children had a great appetite when they saw the food Wenshan made, and their appetites were much better than before.

On the contrary, Yinxiang generously stated that he had recently eaten too many delicious things made by his mother, so he wouldn't compete with them for them.

Yinzhen and Yinsi exchanged a glance and sensed something was wrong.

"Thirteenth brother, did you pester Mother to make you some food before we got back?" Yinzhi squinted at him.

Wen Shan helplessly shrugged; this wasn't something she had said.

Yinxiang pretended to be clueless and chuckled, saying, "How can this be called eating in advance? It's for you to try out the dishes!"

"..."

After lunch, the three brothers didn't take a nap but went to the side to chat, aligning their thoughts on the time they had spent together.

Although Yinxiang managed palace affairs with great efficiency, he was still very clear about any developments that might occur. As for the Mulan Hunting, the biggest variable was naturally Longkodo.

"What? Longkodo is already by Father Huang's side?" Yinxiang rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought. "We haven't received any news about this either."

"It was Tong Guowei who introduced him during the Mulan hunting expedition," Yinzhen said.

Not taking office in the capital saved a lot of trouble.

"In my opinion, it's not a big deal. It's about the same whether it's a day earlier or later." Yinxiang waved his hand, not caring much.

Yinzhi was still sorting through the replies that Yinxiang had reviewed during this period when he heard this. He looked up at him and said, "Then I'll leave the matter of Longkodo to you?"

“I’ll go then, it’s not like I haven’t dealt with him before.” Yinxiang said proudly.

"Alright, then go ahead. Longkodo has made contact with my elder brother," Yinzhi said casually.

"ah?!"

Yinxiang was so shocked he almost fell off the bed.

The progress is like it's on fast-forward!

Longkodo did indeed side with the First Prince in the past, but that was after Kangxi led the First Prince to personally lead the expedition against Galdan and made great contributions. What does that have to do with anything now?

Mingzhu, the eldest prince's greatest supporter, had just been demoted. Why would Longkodo choose the eldest prince at this time?

To be honest, when Yinzhen and Yinsi sent people to investigate this matter, they were quite speechless.

Ronkodo's quick decision to take sides was partly due to their influence.

Yinzhen and his associates, wanting the Crown Prince to fall from power as soon as possible, could only do so through the First Prince. So they instigated several ministers in the court who were already wavering, hoping to heat up the competition between the First Prince and the Crown Prince in advance, and ideally settle the matter when the First Prince's military achievements were at their peak after the three campaigns against Galdan. However, before they could even fool a few ministers, Longkodo was the one who was tricked into taking the bait.

Yinzhi was speechless, wondering how this person could have reacted so quickly and cleverly at Changchun Garden. He didn't seem that smart at all!

So it all comes down to luck when you bet; if you win once, you become rich overnight.

Yinzhi couldn't help but ask whether this person was truly capable.

"The people who work under us can not only be loyal, but also not too stupid. If they are not smart enough, they will be easily hooked. If they are, they can ruin a whole group of people."

Especially since what they're doing right now can't be revealed at all; they mustn't let Longkodo ruin things.

Yinxiang also said that Longkodo has some ability, but he is indeed lacking in intelligence. He can be used, but should not be given too much responsibility.

Yinzhen pondered for a moment and said, "In that case, it's the same to change the Nine Gates Commander."