Chapter 142 Yimei Garden

The first New Year's banquet after the mourning period was lively and casual. After a serious meal of eating and drinking, the second half, though called a New Year's banquet, was also a family dinner.

The ministers had all left, leaving mostly close members of the royal family. Some drank, others enjoyed themselves, and they were free to leave or stay as they pleased. So, Yunzhi and Yunyou could slip away whenever they wanted, and most of the women, impatient to stay, followed suit.

Just as Yinzhi and Yinreng finished their second round of drinking, Yinzhen collapsed onto the table a second before Yinzhen arrived.

"How much did you drink, brother?" Yinzhen paused as he walked to the table, asking Yinreng with a hint of helplessness.

Yunreng, holding his wine glass, raised an eyebrow and smiled, "The boss is no good."

Hilarious! Trying to outdrink him? Regardless of how much of Yun Ti's drinking capacity has been inflated over the years, even in the beginning, the eldest brother couldn't possibly outdrink him. He's never drunk; although he gets flushed easily, drinking is like drinking water to him. He just hasn't shown it before because "being drunk" is a convenient excuse to shirk responsibility.

Yunreng scoffed. Want to outdrink him? Maybe in his next life. Yunzhi was destined to be his loser for life!

Seeing this, Yinzhen shook his head helplessly. It was only because Yinzhi was drunk that he realized he was dead. Otherwise, he would have definitely jumped up and started arguing with Yinreng. He beckoned to the palace servants who were attending to him and had the drunken Yinzhi taken away to rest.

"Second brother, let me toast you. You've worked hard on the salt administration."

Yinzhen raised his wine cup to Yinreng, his attitude gentle, detached from his imperial status, as if he were a close younger brother.

Yunren poured himself another glass of wine, his face flushed with the aroma of alcohol, and he gave a carefree and unrestrained smile. "I should be the one toasting you."

The two clinked their glasses, and as the crisp wine went down their throats, Yinreng looked at Yinzhen and sighed with relief, "Fourth Prince, you are a good emperor. I hope you will always be a good emperor."

"As long as my second brother is willing to continue to help me."

"Of course, I'm someone who wants to be remembered in history."

The two exchanged a smile and drank another cup of wine with gusto.

"Brother, brother."

"Tsk, your seventeenth brother is here." Yinreng raised an eyebrow at Yinzhen as he watched Yunli walk over excitedly.

"Greetings, Second Brother." Yunli approached from somewhere, his attitude towards Yunreng was gentle and polite, but he showed no enthusiasm for Yinzhen at all.

Yunreng nodded and said with a smile, "You guys chat, I'll be going now." He then picked up a wine pot with one hand and swayed as he walked out.

"Did I disturb you, Second Brother?" Yunli blinked his sincere eyes and looked at Yinzhen.

Yinzhen shook his head with amusement. "It has nothing to do with you. Why are you here? Didn't you play with Thirteen and the others?"

“Thirteenth Brother and Fourteenth Brother drank together. My elder brother said that I am too young to drink too much, so Yunli came to find my elder brother.”

Yunli had a cheerful smile and seemed to have no ulterior motives. His casual remark made him appear exceptionally obedient.

"Is Your Majesty currently unavailable?"

"Nothing, what's wrong?" Yinzhen asked, looking at Yunli who seemed quite excited.

"I've heard that the plum blossoms in Yimei Garden are in full bloom. Would Your Majesty be interested in going to see them with Yunli?"

Since opening his residence, Yunli hadn't had a chance to be alone with Yinzhen for a long time. Now that he had finally made it to the palace, Yunli naturally wanted to find a way to lure his fourth brother away and cultivate their brotherly bond alone, determined not to allow anyone to surpass his status.

Upon hearing about a familiar location, Yinzhen raised an eyebrow and looked at the clueless Yunli, asking curiously, "Why do you suddenly want to go to Yimei Garden to see the plum blossoms?"

Yunli smiled shyly. Could he say that he just happened to see the plum blossoms displayed at the palace banquet and overheard the palace servants chatting, and that it was just an excuse he made up?

"I'm not afraid of being laughed at by Your Majesty, but when the plum blossoms were transplanted to Yimei Garden, I was really looking forward to enjoying the scenery when they bloomed. Unfortunately, I left the palace to establish my own residence before they even bloomed. Now that I have the opportunity to come to the palace, I don't want to leave any regrets."

"In that case, let's go take a look. I haven't had a chance to admire the plum blossoms yet."

Seeing Yunli's eager anticipation, Yinzhen smiled and nodded in agreement. He had a feeling that the trip to Yimei Garden would be very interesting.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yunli was very happy, and secretly glanced at the thirteenth and fourteenth princes who were being forced to drink by the ninth and tenth princes, revealing a smug smile. He then followed Yinzhen's steps, without taking many people with him, and left the banquet quietly with only two serving eunuchs behind him.

"Cough cough..."

Fourteenth Brother suddenly felt a chill and couldn't help coughing. This prompted Yun Tang, who was standing nearby, to laugh loudly, "Fourteenth Brother, are you impotent? You can't even choke on a drink?"

"If you can't say who's right, let's try again!" Shaking off her displeasure, Yunzhen pulled Yuntang into drinking again, trying to get everyone at the table drunk.

...

The moonlight was cool and clear. Far from the hustle and bustle of the banquet, walking in the snow brought a different kind of quiet and leisurely feeling.

The white snow contrasts beautifully with the red plum blossoms; if there were no one else around to disturb you, enjoying the scenery and chatting would be a truly delightful experience.

This should have been his and his fourth brother's leisurely and cozy time alone, but seeing the beauty dancing under the moon, Yunli's face instantly darkened. If he didn't realize at this moment that he had been tricked, all his wits and courage in fighting with his brothers would have been for nothing.

"I wonder who it is, but they seem to have the leisure to dance at the New Year's banquet. With so many people coming and going in the palace today, it would be quite damaging to the Emperor's reputation if someone were to see them."

Seeing that Yinzhen had stopped and seemed to be enjoying the dance, Yunli, who usually didn't hold grudges against women, unusually gritted his teeth and spoke ill of her. It wasn't that he was intentionally being mean, but such a scheming woman was truly unworthy of his elder brother.

"He looks somewhat familiar, a stunning melody..." Yinzhen twirled his thumb ring, glancing at Su Peisheng with a smile.

Su Peisheng glanced at the dancing young lady, moved slightly closer, and whispered, "This servant thinks she resembles Consort Wan."

Su Peisheng was actually quite used to the scheming tactics these women used to vie for the emperor's favor, but Rouze was something he couldn't quite understand. Watching Rouze dance, Su Peisheng noticed how beautiful her dance was, but Consort Wan didn't seem to be very clever.

Why did you have to use such a terrible method to win the Emperor's favor? Performing the "Dance of the Startled Swan"—have you forgotten how you first met the Emperor and how you caused him to fall into a coma? Others win the Emperor's favor and leave behind beautiful memories, but why do you only bring up unpleasant past events?

Before Su Peisheng could complain for long, the beauty dancing under the moon seemed to suddenly notice the crowd, stopped dancing, and walked over gracefully. Her dance dress embroidered with red plum blossoms was particularly eye-catching on the snow.

"This concubine greets Your Majesty and Prince Guo." Rouze knelt down to pay her respects, her body swaying like a willow in the breeze. She slowly raised her eyes to look at Yinzhen, revealing a pair of tender, watery eyes.

"Get up."

"Thank you, Your Majesty."

"How did Consort Wan end up here?"

Yinzhen's expression remained unchanged, and his attitude was as gentle as ever. Rou couldn't discern his thoughts and couldn't help feeling uneasy. She bit her lower lip shyly, glanced at Yinzhen's expression, and said softly, "I saw that the plum blossoms here were in full bloom, and I was suddenly inspired. I didn't want to disturb Your Majesty and Prince Guo's enjoyment, so I'll take my leave now."

Yinzhen smiled. Was this some kind of game of playing hard to get? Was he becoming more accommodating?

"The wind is cold and the dew is heavy. Be careful on your way back. Su Peisheng, escort Consort Wan back."

"Yes, sir."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Rouze smiled gently, her eyes filled with emotion and deep affection, and followed Su Peisheng away.

Seeing that the person had gone far away, Yunli's expression improved a little, thinking that Consort Wan was sensible.

"Seventeenth Brother, let's go, we haven't finished admiring the plum blossoms yet."

"Yes, Your Majesty, I will be right there."

Finally free from distractions, Yunli smiled and followed closely behind Yinzhen, chatting with him about the time since he established his own residence, his daily life studying at the Ministry of Justice, and so on...

Before they had talked for long, Yunli's face darkened again. This was because a woman's voice came from behind the plum trees.

"My first wish is for my parents and sister to be healthy and well; my second wish is to live a peaceful life in the palace and end this remaining life. If the winds of adversity understand my wishes, they will not easily destroy me."