Chapter 399 Falling into the Water

Yin Zhi, who had come to a realization, didn't stay in that state for long before he was quickly surrounded by the 1, 2, and 4 who had caught up.

Then, Yinzhi was taken away, and he was "kindly" pulled aside by Yinzhi and Yinreng for a heart-to-heart talk.

Finally, as he slept side by side with his beloved younger brother, Yinzhen suddenly realized the truth. No matter how many older brothers he had, he was still the ultimate winner!

Thinking of this, Yinzhen felt a rare moment of happiness.

"Fourth Brother."

The night was thick and dark, silently enveloping the entire room. On the carved bed, Yinzhen and Yinsi lay side by side. Yinsi turned slightly to his side, leaning closer to Yinzhen, and called out softly.

"Hmm?" Yinzhen responded softly, his voice tinged with weariness, yet still carrying the gentle warmth characteristic of an elder brother.

Yinzhi paused, then asked with concern, "Fourth Brother, are you alright?"

Yinzhen looked up at the low-hanging bed curtains, his eyes seemingly churning with countless thoughts. After a moment, he said softly, "I'm fine, Little Eight, go to sleep early."

Upon hearing this, Yinzhi snorted and said with a hint of reproach, "Fourth Brother is lying. It seems he has become estranged from me. Now he doesn't even want to share his innermost thoughts with me."

Having said that, she turned away in a huff, leaving Yinzhen with only a stubborn back view.

Seeing this, Yinzhen sighed helplessly, reached out and gently patted Yinsi's back, as if soothing a sulking child, and said in a gentle voice, "How could that be? In Fourth Brother's heart, Eighth Brother is the best."

Upon hearing this, Yinzhi hesitated for a moment, then slowly turned around, his bright eyes staring straight at Yinzhen with sincerity and concern. He said earnestly, "Fourth Brother, if you have anything on your mind, you can tell me everything. I will definitely not tell anyone else."

The smile that had been on Yinzhen's lips gradually faded, his eyes glazed over, and he fell into deep thought.

After a long silence, Yinzhen finally spoke, his voice low and tinged with confusion: "Brother, tell me, which is more important, your birth mother or your adoptive mother?"

His adoptive mother used to treat him like a precious jewel, but now that she's about to have her own biological child, she's not only distancing herself from him, but also subtly becoming wary of him.

His birth mother had previously ignored him, but now she was trying every means to expose his true parentage. When he finally approached her with anticipation, he discovered how indifferent she was to him compared to his sixth brother.

He had both a birth mother and an adoptive mother, but it seemed that neither of them loved him.

In the quiet bedroom, Yinzhi gently grasped Yinzhen's hand on the quilt with his small hand, "Fourth Brother, you are the most important."

The cool moonlight shone through the window, and in the dim light, Yinzhen only saw his younger brother's eyes, which were brighter than the stars, and they instantly illuminated the darkness in his heart.

The darkness concealed his reddened eyes. Yinzhen suppressed a sob and grasped Yinsi's hand in return. "Brother, you'll always be with me, won't you?"

Yinzhi replied awkwardly, "That depends on whether Fourth Brother has any other younger brothers in his heart."

Yinzhen chuckled and replied in his tone, "That's impossible. I'm just afraid that when my younger brother sees his other brothers, he'll forget about his fourth brother."

The two looked at each other in the darkness, and suddenly burst into laughter.

After laughing, Yinzhen tucked the blanket further into Yinsi's shoulder and said gently, "Go to sleep."

"Sweet dreams, Fourth Brother."

Sweet dreams.

...

On the 19th day of the sixth month of the 22nd year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, Consort Tongjia gave birth to the eighth princess with great difficulty. The little princess was born weak and underdeveloped, and no matter how carefully Consort Tongjia cared for her, she could not stop her health from deteriorating day by day.

Inside Chengqian Palace, the atmosphere was somewhat somber. The Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia, having just endured the pain of childbirth, was already weak, and her worry for her infant daughter made her appear even more frail.

When Granny Tongjia came in and saw this, she felt a pang of pity. After hesitating for a moment, she slowly stepped forward and said softly, "Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince have come to visit after hearing of your sister's birth."

Lady Tongjia was slightly dazed. It seemed like she hadn't heard from Yinzhen in a long time... But thinking of her frail daughter, she resolutely shook her head: "I won't see him."

“Your Majesty…” Granny Tongjia hesitated, then, remembering the letter from the clan, she gritted her teeth and advised, “Your Majesty, when the little princess grows up, she will need her brothers to support her in this deep palace. Now that she is young, let them get closer to their little sister and cultivate their sibling bond, so that they can take care of each other in the future.”

She tried her best to persuade the little princess in the direction of her future, and sure enough, it worked. For Lady Tongjia, who cared deeply about the little princess's health and stubbornly believed that her daughter could live, these words struck a chord with her.

"That's right... When our little Ba grows up, he'll need his older brother to support him too..."

Seeing Consort Tongjia's dazed expression, Granny Tongjia couldn't help but tear up. But thinking of how her clan had been so eager to send a letter after the Consort gave birth to the princess, urging them to win over the Fourth Prince, she was filled with regret.

She regretted not going so far, but for the sake of the Empress and Lady Tongjia, she could only try her best to make amends.

After a few more words of persuasion from the princess's perspective, Lady Tongjia finally relented and allowed Yinzhen and Yinsi to go see him. However, she also stipulated that Granny Tongjia and the imperial physician must be present.

Granny Tongjia readily agreed and turned to personally greet the two and lead them to the side hall.

Yinzhen and Yinsi stood beside the cradle, and when their eyes fell on the baby inside, they were both taken aback.

The little princess's face was still bruised, and her breathing was so weak that it seemed she might disappear at any moment. Her small body lay in her swaddling clothes, looking so fragile and helpless.

Yinzhen subconsciously tightened his grip on Yinsi's hand, his fingertips turning slightly white from the force, his eyes filled with worry and reluctance.

Yinzhi felt the strength from his fourth brother's palm and gently called out "Fourth Brother," his voice carrying a hint of reassurance.

A smile appeared on Yinzhen's face, but his heart sank. He knew that his eighth sister would have a hard time surviving.

Thinking of this, Yinzhen felt a dull pain in his heart. Even though his mother had become somewhat distant from him because of the birth of his eighth sister, deep down he still hoped that both his mother and his eighth sister would be well.

This worry prompted Yinzhen to reach out and cover the baby more tightly with the blanket so that she could feel a little more warmth.

However, just as his hand was about to touch the swaddling clothes, Tongjia, who was worried about the child and was being helped in, happened to witness this scene.

Don't touch her!

Overwhelmed by worry and fear for her daughter, Lady Tongjia rushed forward without thinking, shoving Yinzhen away with all her might. Caught off guard, Yinzhen staggered backward, his head hitting the corner of the table hard.

"Fourth Brother!"

"Wow!"

"my daughter."

"Your Majesty!"

Chaos erupted instantly in the hall. Lady Tongjia collapsed weakly beside the cradle, her eyes fixed on the terrified, crying infant, murmuring words of comfort. At the same time, the palace maids and nannies, startled by the sudden turn of events, rushed over, and the imperial physician also hurried to check on the little princess.

Yinzhen, who was helped up by Yinsi, covered his forehead with one hand, with traces of blood seeping from his fingertips. He stared blankly at Tongjia, who did not turn around to look at him at all, and stood there with his eyes getting redder and redder.

"Fourth Brother, let's go."

Yinzhi pulled him away, and Yinzhen, like a lost soul, followed him without any awareness, gradually moving away from this farce.

As he walked to the gate of Chengqian Palace, gazing at the golden plaque shimmering in the sunlight and the threshold he had crossed for so many years, tears suddenly streamed down Yinzhen's face.

"Eighth brother, I really don't have a mother anymore."

...

The eighth princess died before reaching full term, and Lady Tongjia fell seriously ill. When she finally came to her senses, she was shocked to find that Yinzhen had grown so tall, and that she and her son had become so estranged.

Eight-year-old Yinzhen is no longer the chattering, innocent child he once was. Now, he already has the air of a mature young adult.

From the year Tongjia became pregnant, Yinreng found a way to bring him to live in Yuqing Palace, and later he moved directly to the Prince's Residence, never to return to Chengqian Palace.

Just as his true identity was revealed, he was naturally ostracized from Chengqian Palace and was no longer a part of it.

He might have been depressed and confused before, but with the jokes and encouragement of his three older brothers and the companionship of his good younger brother, Yinzhen gradually let go of his worries.

Perhaps he just didn't have a strong bond with his mother.

Therefore, Yinzhen was not happy about the sudden overtures from Consort Tongjia; instead, he felt quite irritated.

Once again declining the invitation to stay overnight, Yinzhen led Su Peisheng out of Chengqian Palace, his whole body radiating gloom, making Su Peisheng hesitant to speak to him.

Fortunately, Yinzhen digested his thoughts as he walked, and turned to head towards Yanxi Palace: "My brother is about to go to the Imperial Study, let's go see how his things are packed..."

Su Peisheng breathed a sigh of relief. It was good to find the Eighth Prince. Now that they had found him, their prince would no longer be angry.

Eager to see his younger brother, Yinzhen led his men along a path in the Imperial Garden.

Suddenly, he heard a "plop" sound. Yinzhen was startled and paused in his steps. Then he heard intermittent cries for help.

"Help! Someone help me... I'm in danger..."

Yinzhen's expression changed drastically, his brows furrowed, and without hesitation, he rushed towards the direction from which the sound came.

Su Peisheng hurriedly chased after him, "Master, slow down."

Soon, Yinzhen followed the sound to a secluded pond.

The sight before him made his heart clench. In the water, Yinzhi was tightly embracing someone from behind, and the two were struggling to stay afloat.

Yinzhi's face turned red, his teeth were clenched, and he struggled to breathe every time he looked up. His arms trembled slightly from the effort, but he never let go of the person in his arms.

"Little Eight!"

Upon seeing this, Yinzhen was extremely anxious and, without thinking, was about to jump into the pond to help.

Su Peisheng arrived breathlessly at this moment, and quickly grabbed Yinzhen, saying anxiously, "Brother, you can't do that, you can't swim!"

Yinzhen struggled a few times, gritting his teeth: "Find someone, save them!"