Chapter 35 Apology

"Knock knock".

"Enter."

"Your Highness, the Fourteenth Prince is waiting at the door," Su Peisheng announced softly as he pushed the door open.

Normally, when the rule-abiding Prince Yinzhen was in office, he would not allow Su Peisheng to serve him inside. Therefore, he would wait in the carriage at the entrance of the Ministry of Revenue with the coachman.

Upon seeing the Fourteenth Prince, Yinzhen, standing at the entrance of the Ministry of Revenue with a furrowed brow, Su Peisheng, knowing he was waiting for the Prince, decided to come in and report, not wanting to disturb the Prince's work.

"Fourteenth?" Yinzhen frowned, seemingly unaware of anything. He put down the official document in his hand, rubbed his temples, and stood up. "Let's go, let's see what he's here for."

"Yes." Su Peisheng bowed and followed behind Yinzhen, not quite sure what the Fourteenth Prince had come for. He had never seen this prince come so often before.

“Yinzhen…”

Hearing his fourth brother's voice, Yinzhen looked up in a daze, staring at the slender figure of the newcomer. He couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat, struggling to suppress the bitterness and grievance in his heart, "Fourth brother..."

"Why did you leave the palace? Does Father Emperor know?" Yinzhen walked to his side and looked him up and down. Seeing his serious expression, he couldn't help but frown.

"Father Emperor agreed; I only came out after informing him."

In the past, when Yinzhen saw him like this, Yinzhen would only feel impatient and unwilling to be controlled by him, and would argue with him on the spot. But now, seeing his fourth brother frowning for him, he felt that it was his fourth brother's concern for him, and Yinzhen hurriedly replied, afraid that he would disappoint him if he was late.

"You... never mind, this isn't the place to talk. Come back to the manor with me." Yinzhen hesitated, glancing at his colleagues who were pretending to be busy and sneaking glances around, before sighing helplessly.

"Your Excellency, Minister." Yinzhen turned his head and immediately saw Su He, the Minister of Revenue, who was secretly watching the drama unfold.

"Oh, Fourth Prince and Fourteenth Prince are both here." Unable to dodge in time, Suhe walked out with a fake smile. It was unclear whether it was because Kangxi had dragged him to "watch the show" when Yinzhen requested an imperial decree at the Qianqing Palace that Suhe had become bolder, or whether he had developed a penchant for watching the drama unfold. In any case, he wasn't missing a single moment of the princes' gossip.

"Since the Minister is here, I suppose the Ministry of Revenue has nothing much to do today, so I, Yinzhen, will head back now." Yinzhen showed no embarrassment at being surrounded and politely took his leave from Suhe.

"Go ahead, go ahead," Suhe waved his hand in agreement, though there was still some regret in his words.

Yinzhen cupped his hands in greeting and, with Yinzhen in tow, boarded the carriage and headed towards the Prince's residence. Behind the carriage, the Ministry of Revenue officials quietly huddled behind Suhe, craning their necks to watch the departing carriage. They all sighed in unison, feeling utterly disappointed at not being able to witness the prince's departure.

The carriage wheels turned on the bluestone slabs, and the carriage moved forward smoothly. The two people sat in the not-so-spacious carriage in silence.

Feeling his fourth brother's gaze fall upon him, Yinzhen dared not look up. He couldn't say anything at the moment, and just wanted to be an ostrich, hiding himself under his wings and not wanting to face reality.

No matter how much they didn't want to face it, the carriage had already arrived at the Fourth Prince's residence.

Yinzhen silently followed Yinzhen into the study. After serving tea and snacks to the two princes, Su Peisheng tactfully led the others away, leaving the two of them alone.

"Speak, what happened? Were you bullied in the Imperial Study?" Yinzhen pushed the plate of pastries toward Yinzhen across from him, his tone cold but not without concern.

Yinzhen looked at the plate of pastries pushed towards him, all of them his favorites, and picked up the teacup, which was also his beloved Da Hong Pao. So, his fourth brother understood him so well; he had never noticed before…

Hearing his fourth brother's concern, Yinzhen, feeling somewhat sad, raised his head, looked at his brother's cold and stern face, and mustered his courage to speak: "Fourth brother... I've come... to apologize on behalf of Mother. She shouldn't have... shouldn't have forced you, Naulanara..."

"It's nothing, she's just a princess."

Although Yinzhen said that, Yinzhen could clearly sense that his fourth brother's emotions had become even colder, after all, he had been deeply hurt by his mother. Yinzhen opened his mouth, but then stopped himself from speaking.

"You don't need to blame yourself, it has nothing to do with you." Perhaps sensing that he was in a bad mood, Yinzhen said this to comfort him gently.

But this one sentence was enough to make Yinzhen crumble, and he lowered his head in a sorry state, not daring to let his fourth brother see his reddened eyes.

"I told you it's none of your business, don't overthink it." Seeing his expression, Yinzhen's tone grew even colder. He put down his teacup and asked seriously, "What's wrong? I didn't know you were such a sentimental person."

"Fourth Brother..." Yinzhen looked up, revealing a pair of red eyes. Sure enough, as long as you pay attention, you can feel the fourth brother's concern for you. But before, he had never noticed the fourth brother's goodness, nor had he noticed his mother's "true colors".

"Because of Consort Wuya?" Yinzhen pursed his lips, but the question he asked went straight to the heart of the matter, startling Yinzhen so much that he couldn't help but widen his eyes, and then awkwardly avoided Yinzhen's gaze.

A hush fell over the study, broken only by Yinzhen's rapid breathing. He dared not ask why his fourth brother had guessed so accurately, fearing he might hear something even more unbearable.

"Yinzhen, in less than two years, you will be able to leave the palace and establish your own residence. You..." Yinzhen hesitated, his heart pounding with anxiety. In the end, he didn't say anything bad about Wuya. But Yinzhen felt even more lost and empty inside.

"You still have too little schoolwork. I will ask your tutor in the Imperial Study to pay more attention to you. Study hard and don't think about those other things... and don't go into the harem too often."

Yinzhen, who was usually the most impatient with studying, felt a warmth in his heart upon hearing this suggestion. His fourth brother still cared about him after all. Hearing the casual remark, "Don't go into the harem too often," Yinzhen knew that his fourth brother was trying to protect his self-esteem and didn't want to ruin the mother-son relationship between him and his mother.

The more cautious Fourth Brother was, the more distressed Yinzhen felt. He couldn't hold back his anger any longer and finally blurted out, "Why? Fourth Brother, why has Mother become so..."

"Yinzhen!" Before he could finish speaking, Yinzhen interrupted him, "A son should not speak ill of his father."

Seeing that his fourth brother was still thinking of their mother even at this moment, Yinzhen couldn't help but choke up, "Fourth brother, but she's treated you like this, and she still... I feel like I've never truly understood her..."

Ultimately, he couldn't bring himself to reveal that his mother wanted his fourth brother dead. The more he kept it a secret, the more guilty he felt. He still remembered his mother's kindness, but her hideous and vicious face and words, as well as the undisguised disgust in her eyes when she looked at him, kept replaying in his mind, leaving him feeling lost and confused.

"Yinzhen, no matter what happened between me and Consort Wuya, she still loves you. However, besides the bond between mother and son, there are many other things to consider..." Yinzhen patted his shoulder and gently advised him.

Really? Does Mother really love me? Yinzhen listened to his fourth brother's advice, but his thoughts had already drifted far away. The image of his mother's evasive, disgusted, and resentful gaze as he left kept replaying in his mind. Just because he told the truth, his mother disliked him? How much of this mother-son affection was genuine?

There are many other things to consider. What are they? Is it the niece of the Eighth Route Army? Is she a member of the Uya or Ulanara clan? Is it her social status? Is it about face? Are there so many things more important than me, more important than my fourth brother?

Yinzhen held the teacup in a daze, a tear falling into the tea and quickly disappearing.