Chapter 72 Various Aspects of the New Year's Banquet

Time flies like water, and it's New Year's Eve again.

After a long period of silence, Prince Zhi, Yinzhi, finally appeared before the public. However, as everyone looked him over, they noticed that while he appeared to have recovered well and was dressed in his princely robes, no matter how straight he stood, he could not hide the trace of loneliness in his expression.

Come to think of it, in just one year, things have gone up and down dramatically, and it's quite unexpected that Prince Zhi could behave so well. No one knows what he's really thinking, so at this moment, the court officials are all cautiously keeping their distance.

"Tsk, Big Brother is really down on his luck..." Yinzhen whispered to Yinxiang while holding his wine cup. He had just taken up his post at the Court of State Ceremonial before the New Year, and now he was even controlling his volume, not even taking up the seats of the thirteenth and fourteenth. He had really matured.

"Besides Mingzhu, no one else would dare approach at this time, would they?" Yinzhi, looking at the empty space beside him, offered a different opinion. His elder brother was never known for his good temper, and few would dare to provoke him at a time like this.

“That’s true, the eldest son has a temper…” Yinzhen pursed his lips and said no more. He looked away from Yinzhi and glanced around, and immediately saw Yinzhen toasting with the Crown Prince.

"Tsk tsk tsk, even when the fourth prince toasts the crown prince, he keeps a cold face. Isn't he afraid that the crown prince won't give him face?"

Yinzhen nudged the tenth prince with his elbow, gesturing for him to look over. Hearing his ninth brother's complaint, Yinzhen shifted his gaze, momentarily unable to contain his astonishment, and murmured, "The Crown Prince really doesn't seem to give fourth brother any face..."

...

"Second Brother Crown Prince, I would like to offer you a toast." Yinzhen, holding a wine cup, followed behind the Third Prince Yinzhi and offered a toast to Yinreng according to etiquette.

But the Crown Prince remained silent for a long time, and the air instantly froze. Those surrounding Yinreng were all members of the Crown Prince's faction. Since the Crown Prince did not speak, no one dared to breathe loudly, and naturally no one came to Yinzhen's rescue.

Yin Zhi, standing to the side, frowned slightly, chuckling awkwardly as he tried to smooth things over, "Second Brother Crown Prince, you've had too much to drink. I suppose you can't drink anymore. Fourth Brother, you should put this cup down for now..."

"Of course I will drink the wine offered by my fourth brother," Yinreng interrupted casually, showing no respect for Yinzhi and ignoring his embarrassed face. He glanced deeply at Yinzhen, raised his wine cup, and lightly clinked it against Yinzhen's cup from top to bottom, his behavior arrogant and disdainful.

"I hope there is real respect in the wine that my fourth brother drank."

"Of course." Yinzhen remained expressionless and finished the wine in his cup under the bewildered gazes of the crowd.

Yinreng stared at Yinzhen for a while, then let out a soft laugh, casually shifting his gaze away to drink with the other court officials and relatives who had gathered around him. His attitude towards Yinzhen was much better than towards Yinreng.

As for the Crown Prince's faction, naturally the Crown Prince is the most important. At this time, the others did not care about Yinzhen's thoughts and all surrounded him, toasting the Crown Prince, and the atmosphere became lively again.

Unbeknownst to him, Yinzhi, having been pushed out of the crowd, pulled Yinzhen to a corner, frowned, and looked Yinzhen up and down, asking in confusion, "How did you offend the Crown Prince?"

Yinzhen shook his head helplessly, indicating that he did not know.

"What's going on? The Crown Prince's actions are too..." Yin Zhi hesitated, unable to finish his sentence. Like Yin Zhen, he had been categorized as a member of the Crown Prince's faction by Kangxi since childhood. Yin Zhi could obediently serve as a regent, but that didn't mean he wouldn't feel embarrassed and awkward about the Crown Prince's actions.

"Perhaps it was something that Suo'etu said that caused some unpleasantness between us during our inspection tour," Yinzhen explained casually.

“Suo’etu…” Yinzhi’s brows furrowed even more, but he didn’t ask any more questions. He patted Yinzhen’s shoulder reassuringly.

After all, in Yinzhi's view, Suo'etu had a very strong "persecution complex," and he saw everyone as someone who wanted to harm the Crown Prince. The only difference was that Suo'etu was disrespectful to the Crown Prince, restless, and regarded Yinzhi as the Crown Prince's servant, not allowing him to have even the slightest bit of his own thoughts.

How could Yinzhi not be furious? Even if he couldn't compare to the Crown Prince, he was still a prince. Was it someone Suo'etu could question? But he was tied to the Crown Prince's carriage, and the Crown Prince trusted Suo'etu immensely. No matter how much dissatisfaction Yinzhi had, he could only endure it.

Now, when Yinzhen said it was Suo'etu's fault, Yinzhi had no doubts. His dissatisfaction with Suo'etu deepened. Even after retiring, Suo'etu was still stirring up trouble. Yinzhi even harbored more resentment towards the Crown Prince.

Even though the Crown Prince's faction was gaining momentum, Yinzhi's desire to step down was growing stronger.

...

"How have you been lately?" Before anyone knew it, Yinzhen had walked up to the Fourteenth Prince's side, his face showing no sign of being humiliated by the Crown Prince, and he gently inquired about Yinzhen's well-being.

"With my thirteenth brother here, I'm fine." Thanks to Yinzhen's pleas, Yinzhen, who had just been released from confinement during the New Year, looked much thinner and more mature and composed.

Yinzhen didn't say much, patted him on the shoulder, then picked up the wine pot and poured a cup for himself, Yinxiang, and Yinzhen.

"Come on, it's a new year, and we're a year older now. Let's have a drink together."

"Alright, I've been wanting to have a drink with Fourth Brother for a long time." Yinxiang picked up his wine cup, his smile hearty, and looked at Yinzhen with great affection. He then turned his head to look at Yinzhen and clinked his wine cup against his.

"Alright, let's have a drink." Yinzhen looked at the two of them, took a deep breath as if he had exhaled all the pent-up frustration of the past few days, and finally smiled again, raising his glass to clink with his two older brothers.

After downing a glass of wine, when he looked up again, Yinzhen seemed to have transformed back into the spirited Fourteenth Prince he once was.

"Here, New Year's red envelopes." Yinzhen then took out two familiar purses from his sleeve and handed them to the two men.

Yinxiang and Yinzhen exchanged a glance and accepted the purse with smiles on their faces. Yinzhen rubbed the purse in his hand, his uneasy and confused heart finally calming down. The dark clouds had dispersed. No matter what, he still had his fourth brother and his thirteenth brother.

"Thirteen, another cup."

"How come I didn't realize you were such a little drunkard?"

"Where are you talking about being a drunkard? Talk about yourself again. Do you think I don't know you're secretly drinking in the yard?"

"Oh, so you're trying to make fun of me in front of Fourth Brother, huh?"

"I'm just telling the truth. Thirteen, you've already drunk so much, what's wrong with me having a couple more drinks?"

"You, Yinzhen, always calling yourself 'Thirteenth Brother' when there's trouble, and 'Thirteenth Brother' when there's nothing else, is that it?"

"You're not much older than me, thirteen, thirteen, thirteen..."

...

"Wow, it's quite lively here."

A familiar voice rang out, and Yinzhen instantly stopped his playful fight with Yinxiang, looking up with a sullen face. Sure enough, the newcomers were none other than the "two palace bullies," the Ninth and Tenth Princes, who were always idle and fond of teasing cats and dogs.

"Ninth Brother, Tenth Brother." Yinzhen greeted the two of them with a helpless, cold face as he followed behind Yinxiang.

"You guys seem to be having a lot of fun. It seems you're not upset at all, Fourth Brother." Yinzhen approached, looking Yinzhen up and down. His words made the two younger brothers, Thirteen and Fourteen, frown.

"Ninth Brother, what do you mean?" When it came to Fourth Brother, Yinzhen couldn't control his temper and questioned him directly.

"Tsk tsk tsk, look how anxious the Fourteenth Prince is. You two are from the same mother, Fourth Prince, don't you have any temper at all?" Yinzhen ignored Yinzhen and focused all his attention on Yinzhen, trying to see his expression change.

Yinzhen raised his eyes and looked at the intrigued Yintang and the Yin behind him who was silently pleading for Yintang's life. He knew that the two of them had seen him being harassed by the Crown Prince.

"It's nothing serious, it's not important." Yinzhen reached out and pressed down on the restless thirteenth and fourteenth sons. He could tell that they seemed to have been bullied, and even the good-tempered Yinxiang was getting restless.

Fortunately, both of them listened to Yinzhen. Since Yinzhen had said so, no matter what they thought in their hearts, they were both suppressed for the time being.

Yinzhen clicked his tongue in disapproval, thinking that he should save face for the fourth prince, and didn't say anything more.

"Bang!"

"careful!"

Suddenly, a child darted out from somewhere and bumped into Yinzhen's leg. He was about to fall to the ground, but fortunately, Yinzhen caught him in time.

"I'm sorry, Fourth Brother." The little boy looked about 5 or 6 years old, with delicate features. He covered his forehead and looked timidly at Yinzhen.

"It's alright, how are you?" Yinzhen didn't recognize the little guy at all, but that didn't stop him from gently squatting down to ask.

"Little Seventeen, what are you doing running around at the New Year's banquet?" Yinzhen was a little jealous and couldn't help but scold him in a low voice.

"Yeah, aren't you afraid of being scared to tears by the fourth prince's cold face?" Yinzhen couldn't help but make a sarcastic remark.

"Yinli knows he was wrong." Sensing the displeasure of his two older brothers, Yinli shrank back and unconsciously moved closer to the gentle Yinzhen.

"Little Seventeen..."

Looking at the obedient and timid little boy in front of him, a strange light flashed in Yinzhen's eyes, as if he had discovered something interesting...