Chapter 392 Yinreng

“Your Highness, please rest assured. That Tongjia woman will never become Empress. This old minister will certainly not allow it to happen, and no one can threaten your noble position.”

Inside Yuqing Palace, the carved beams and painted rafters cast shadows in the dim candlelight. Suo'etu bowed slightly, approaching the young Crown Prince Yinreng, who sat upright on the couch, his face showing a mixture of solemnity and murderous intent.

The seven-year-old Crown Prince Yinreng blinked gently and said steadily, "Lord Suo, such an important matter is entirely up to Father. Whether the Imperial Concubine can become Empress depends entirely on Father's will. Lord Suo and the Hesheli family must not get involved."

His youthful face held a serious expression, and his words carried a composure beyond his years.

Soetu's lips curled slightly, and he thought to himself that the young prince still did not understand the implications, but it didn't matter, as his great-uncle, he would eliminate all threats for him.

Upon seeing his expression, Yinreng realized that Suo'etu had not listened to him at all. He sighed inwardly, but his face showed a look of trust.

"My father values ​​me highly and would never neglect me just because someone becomes empress. Lord Suo need not worry too much; I trust my father completely."

Would Songgotu dare to refute this? Of course not. Besides, the young crown prince wasn't wrong; everyone knows how much the emperor values ​​the crown prince.

But Suo'etu was not at ease and wanted to eliminate anything that might threaten Yinreng's position.

However, he would not openly contradict the Crown Prince's opinion. It was alright; the Crown Prince did not need to worry about such matters.

Soetu, who had no intention of changing his plans, nodded hurriedly and replied, "Yes, yes, what His Majesty cares about most is naturally His Highness the Crown Prince. I will say no more, I will say no more."

After Suo'etu left, Yinreng noticed that the little eunuch who was sweeping the palace had quietly left Yuqing Palace. His eyes flashed, and a self-deprecating smile crossed his face.

"No need to follow me, I'm going out for a walk."

"Your Highness..."

Yinreng strode out, with no one behind him. But he knew the palace servants were afraid he would be angry or that something might happen to him, so although no one appeared to be there, they were actually following him at a distance.

Even so, Yinreng breathed a sigh of relief. He had never known before how precious freedom was.

If someone were to observe the young prince's expression closely at this moment, they would find that the seven-year-old child's eyes revealed a vicissitude and complexity beyond his years, as well as a fleeting madness.

In reality, the body of the seven-year-old prince at this moment is that of the deposed crown prince Yinreng, who died at the age of 51.

After dying in despair, Yinreng never expected that he wouldn't go to the underworld. Instead, he was reborn, returning to the time when his father, the Emperor, cared most purely for him as his son.

Thinking of the little eunuch who went out to deliver the message, Yinreng smiled self-deprecatingly. Well, perhaps it was pure for his son; but for the crown prince, the wariness was subconscious and never less.

To be honest, Yinreng had hated and resented, and even had thoughts of destroying everything, but over the past few years, he felt more weary and exhausted from the bottom of his soul.

Yinreng found it difficult to muster any interest in the throne, in paternal love, or in anything else at hand.

He didn't understand why he could start over, but he didn't have any thoughts of dying immediately. He just followed the Emperor's wishes and became the Crown Prince, doing nothing more or less.

If you're capable, then do it; if you're not, then get out—it doesn't matter.

The tutors praised him for his composure, but in Kangxi's eyes, Yinreng was too "ordinary" as crown prince. He couldn't help but worry that his son was being burdened with too much schoolwork and was losing his childlike innocence.

At this time, Kangxi cared not only about his status as the crown prince, but also about his son's mental health.

By a twist of fate, Yinreng's workload was significantly reduced.

Otherwise, Suo'etu wouldn't have had the chance to enter the palace and chatter, nor would he have had the free time to go out and wander around. Thinking about it this way, Yinreng was somewhat relieved.

Therefore, he enjoyed strolling around "alone," and for the next few days, Yinreng would visit the Imperial Garden. Kangxi naturally knew this, but since he liked it, he let him go.

However, he couldn't help but take his anger out on Suo'etu, who had made Bao Cheng "unhappy" by talking nonsense in front of Bao Cheng, and he also made things difficult for him in terms of government affairs.

However, Songgotu was right about one thing: in order to ensure that Cheng's position remained secure, he would not allow his cousin to become empress.

Therefore, Tongjia only obtained the position of Imperial Noble Consort in the end.

The Imperial Noble Consort was already very honorable, but she could not compare to the Empress.

Therefore, it is entirely understandable that when Yinreng was strolling around, he overheard a palace maid behind the artificial hill talking about how the Imperial Noble Consort was in a bad mood.

Yinreng stood still, showing no sign of panic about eavesdropping, and calmly listened to the gossip of the palace maids.

As for how he happened to overhear it, whether it was a genuine coincidence or a conspiracy against him, who cares? Yinreng wasn't afraid at all.

"By the way, didn't everyone say that the Emperor handing the Eighth Prince over to the Empress was an implication?" The young palace maid asked softly, her voice filled with curiosity.

Another palace maid quickly responded, lowering her voice even further, but revealing a smugness of knowing the inside story: "That's right, that's how everyone in Chengqian Palace understands it. During that period, the Eighth Prince's treatment was almost on par with the Fourth Prince's, with every aspect of his food, clothing, and daily necessities being meticulously arranged."

"Now?"

“Now,” the little palace maid deliberately dragged out her words, as if to whet people’s appetites, “the atmosphere in Chengqian Palace is not good, and the Eighth Prince is going to suffer.”

"Huh? That can't be right. What would a mere prince like him know?"

"Sigh, everyone's expectations were too high when the Eighth Prince appeared. Now that those expectations have been dashed, someone has to take the blame. If those above are unhappy, how can those serving below have an easy time? Besides, those serving in the palace are the best at reading the room, aren't they? The Eighth Prince is just..."

"That Eighth Prince is so pitiful, he's so young."

"He wasn't beaten or scolded, but his treatment just dropped and the people serving him gave him a hard time. He's still the master, so it's not too difficult for him. Instead of worrying about the master, you should worry about yourself."

"Too……"

Yinreng raised an eyebrow slightly, turned around, and slowly left.

Come to think of it, he's never met the Eighth Prince at this stage of his life... Why don't he go and meet him?

The carefree Crown Prince, unusually interested, decided to act immediately and headed towards Chengqian Palace.

...

"Where is Bao Cheng? Is he still in the Imperial Garden?"

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Kangxi put down the memorial in his hand and asked Liang Jiugong, who was standing beside him, a question.

Liang Jiugong quickly offered a cup of warm tea and bowed carefully to report, "Your Majesty, has His Highness the Crown Prince gone to Chengqian Palace?"

"Hmm?" Kangxi put down his teacup, his brows furrowing slightly. "Why did Baocheng suddenly go to Chengqian Palace?"

Liang Jiugong glanced at his expression and said cautiously, "Your Majesty, the people from Yuqing Palace reported that His Highness the Crown Prince was taking a walk in the Imperial Garden, but somehow he stood by the rockery for a while before turning around and heading towards Chengqian Palace. Some people followed His Highness, and the rest caught two gossiping palace maids from the rockery."

Kangxi's face darkened slightly as he turned to stare at Liang Jiugong.

Feeling the pressure, Liang Jiugong quickly and methodically replied, "This servant has already investigated. The encounter between the two palace maids and His Highness the Crown Prince was purely accidental. They were gossiping about Chengqian Palace, which His Highness overheard."

"What gossip?"

“Yes,” Liang Jiugong stammered, “it’s about the Eighth Prince. They’re saying that the people serving the Eighth Prince aren’t doing a good job.”

Kangxi could tell at a glance that Liang Jiugong hadn't said everything, but after thinking about it, he understood why it was "not being careful now".

After a moment of silence, Kangxi stood up and said, "Go to Chengqian Palace."

...

"Eighth Brother?"

Yinreng looked at the baby sitting quietly on the soft couch, with delicate features, fair skin, and a beautiful appearance like a girl, and was slightly surprised. Was the Eighth Prince so delicate when he was a child?

"Second Brother Crown Prince, it's Little Eight."

The young Yinzhen, who had been pushed out by Lady Tongjia to be a guest, explained to Yinreng in a serious manner.

Yinreng casually replied, nodding perfunctorily, "Alright, Little Eight."

As soon as he finished speaking, Yinzhen grabbed Yinreng's sleeve tightly, his eyes sparkling with excitement, and asked expectantly, "Second Brother, isn't Little Eight very handsome and cute?"

Seeing the overflowing affection in Yinzhen's eyes for Yinsi, Yinreng couldn't help but twitch his lips. Who would have thought these two would grow up to be mortal enemies?

If he hadn't had a second chance, he would have almost forgotten that for a long time, life at 48 was really good.

But one of them followed him, and the other followed the elder brother, gradually leading them to become adversaries and fight each other...

A sense of melancholy washed over him, and Yinreng immediately lost interest, simply replying, "It's beautiful."

But Yinzhen was extremely excited. He pulled Yinreng straight to the bedside, talking animatedly as he skillfully picked up little Yinsi and put him in his arms: "Second brother, little Yinsi is not only good-looking, but also very smart!"

As he spoke, he picked up the nine-linked rings beside him and looked at Yinreng with anticipation, "Second Brother Crown Prince, let's play together."

Who wants to play a nine-linked puzzle with two little devils, one of whom can't even speak? Besides, these two little devils will be a handful for him when they grow up, and he's not that good-natured.

However, before Yinreng could even utter his refusal, Yinzhen had already picked up Yinsi, looking at the little guy in his arms with a pleading expression, and said softly, "Little Eight, this is the Crown Prince, how about letting the Crown Prince play with us?"

Yinreng was speechless. How old was Yinsi? He couldn't even speak properly. What could he possibly understand? Did Yinzhen really like Yinsi that much when he was a child?

Silently noting down the fourth prince's embarrassing past, Yinreng was about to refuse. But when he turned his head unintentionally, he met Yinsi's critical little eyes.

Yinzhi half-opened his eyes, casually sizing up Yinreng, even though he couldn't speak. Yet, Yinreng could still clearly see the word "disdain" in his eyes.

Ha, he's starting to complain?

Yinreng was annoyed and plopped down on the couch. You don't want to play with me? Fine, I'll play with you anyway!

"Come, let your Crown Prince accompany you!"