Chapter 130: The Aftereffects of Staying Up All Night

His little face scrunched up in a frown. The Ninth Prince pouted and thought for a long time before finally being persuaded by Yin'e with great difficulty: "Alright, I admit you're right. Bringing Fifth Brother into the group is indeed more beneficial than harmful."

Despite saying that, the Ninth Prince still looked sullen, his head drooping, like a wilted and listless little seedling.

The Ninth Prince did not actually accept the inclusion of other people in his business partnership with Yin'e. This was not only because he was unwilling to share profits with others, but also because the Ninth Prince had a strong possessive nature and did not want to make the matter public to outsiders.

In the Ninth Prince's view, this was a little secret between him and Yin'e, a business they secretly ran in private, something that belonged only to the two of them.

If an outsider suddenly enters the picture, even if that "outsider" is the Fifth Prince, the Ninth Prince will still be "xenophobic" and instinctively reject him.

Yin'e knew the Ninth Prince so well; he understood his every thought perfectly. With their tacit understanding, Yin'e didn't even need to carefully observe the Ninth Prince's expression to know what was wrong with him.

Over the years, Yin'e had accumulated little experience in other areas, but he was certainly adept at coaxing and persuading arrogant people. He immediately stroked Yin'e's hair and said, "Ninth Brother, even if Fifth Brother joins the group, he'll just be a retail investor who gets dividends. We two are the real bosses, the behind-the-scenes operators."

The Ninth Prince was indeed pleased to hear this. He immediately perked up, puffed out his chest as if receiving a timely rain, and nodded repeatedly with a wide smile: "Yes, yes, we are the bosses. Fifth Brother is just a retail investor. He can't interfere with anything except taking a share of the profits."

Yin'e's words implied that the two of them were the closest of friends. The Ninth Prince's possessiveness was fully satisfied. Feeling very comfortable being stroked, he changed his previous rejection and even took the initiative to suggest: "If we still can't raise enough money, why don't we bring in more people to join us?"

Yin'e slowly nodded: "Let's ask Seventh Brother. He seems aloof, but he's actually very righteous. He's a good choice. We'll do the same as we did with Fifth Brother: if we lose money, we'll consider it a loan from Seventh Brother; if we make a profit, we'll give Seventh Brother a share."

The Ninth Prince was in such a good mood that he didn't care about these trivial details and nodded in agreement without thinking.

His legs, which were crossed, were a little numb. Wrapped in a quilt, Yin'e was completely covered by the thick and solid bedding. After struggling for a while, he almost broke out in a light sweat before he was able to change his position. He changed from sitting to lying face down, with his hands folded over his head and lying on the bed.

With his chin resting on his hands, which were laid flat and folded, Yin'e looked at the Ninth Prince with amusement, who seemed to have seen the dawn and whose heart had been completely lifted. He then cruelly stated the truth: "Ninth Brother, I haven't finished yet. The problems we need to solve are not just those mentioned before."

"Huh?" The smile froze on his face, and the Ninth Prince instantly became like a statue.

With his eyes half-closed, Yin'e yawned lazily, his words somewhat indistinct, his voice filled with drowsiness: "We have no one to use."

“Ninth Brother, think about it. Where do we have the manpower to send to Mongolia? We can’t find alkali ore, we can’t collect wool, we can’t even gather enough raw materials for production and processing, and building a workshop and starting production is a long way off.”

Amidst Yin'e's sigh, the Ninth Prince, who had been pondering Yin'e's words, also put on a mask of pain. The two exchanged a glance and couldn't help but sigh in unison.

Of all the people around Yin'e, only Xiao Linzi, whom the imperial concubine had chosen for him, was truly useful.

The old servants from Yongshou Palace and the Western Three Palaces are trustworthy, but the wet nurses and nannies who have taken care of Yin'e since childhood can only take care of his daily life. They cannot be relied on to go out of the palace to do business on Yin'e's behalf. It's not that Yin'e doesn't believe in their abilities, but that they even have difficulty leaving the palace.

After Yin'e moved to the Ganxi Third Palace, the palace servants assigned by the Imperial Household Department were trained for a very short time. They were useful but not trustworthy. Unless Yin'e had lost his mind, he would never entrust the wool and fat business to them now.

The Ninth Prince was in a similar situation to Yin'e, with no one around him to rely on. Their companions had already been chosen, but they were all noble sons of similar age, the oldest being only three years older than them, not old enough to be out of the capital to handle matters beyond the Great Wall.

Ultimately, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince had only just moved to the Princes' Residence and were still at the age where they were confined to the palace to study diligently. They had neither had time nor needed to immediately equip themselves with the necessary staff.

For example, selecting loyal personal guards from ordinary Manchu bannermen wouldn't even be a possibility. They couldn't leave the palace or go to dangerous places, so they were far from needing personal guards.

Infected by the drowsiness in Yin'e's voice, the Ninth Prince also began to nod his head and let out a big yawn.

The Ninth Prince was already sleepy as soon as he climbed into bed. Later, Yin'e pulled him aside for a heart-to-heart talk and brought up business, which finally excited the Ninth Prince and made him perk up.

But they had stayed up too long tonight, and as their excitement gradually cooled, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince couldn't hold on any longer. Sleepiness kept creeping in, and their eyelids felt like they were filled with lead and kept drooping.

Although they didn't want to admit it, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince had indeed gotten used to the routine of studying in the Imperial Study, getting used to going to bed before eight o'clock at night, and getting up to study at three o'clock in the morning.

They are not used to staying up all night, and they can't stand it at an age when they need more sleep.

The biological clock that had become a habit was incredibly powerful. Even though he was extremely sleepy, Yin'e still had many things he wanted to discuss with the Ninth Prince, but he simply couldn't stay awake any longer, and his eyes were almost too heavy to keep open.

In a daze, the two of them fell asleep without realizing it, curling up together in a crooked and twisted way on the bed.

Fortunately, they sent the palace servants who were supposed to be on night watch away at the beginning, otherwise, with their "unrestrained" sleeping posture, they would have been corrected countless times throughout the night.

People with regular sleep schedules who have never stayed up all night will find it very difficult to adjust to staying up all night. When Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were woken up at three o'clock in the morning the next day, they were so sleepy that they could barely open their eyes. The thought of the freezing cold outside made them not want to get out of bed at all. They just wanted to stay in their warm beds forever.

Unfortunately, the rules of the Imperial Study were set in stone; unless Emperor Kangxi granted him leave, even the Crown Prince had to report to the Imperial Study obediently.

No matter how much Yin'e and the Ninth Prince resisted, they were still dragged out of bed. With swollen faces and dark circles under their eyes, they braved the heavy snow to rush to the Imperial Study. Their resentment was a hundred times deeper than that of college students who were working overtime on New Year's Eve.

As the Ninth Prince stepped out of the gate of the Fifth Palace in Ganxi, he was hit in the face by a blast of icy air, which covered him with a large cloak.

He shivered violently and let out a painful, unbearable wail: "I don't want to go to the Imperial Study!"

He wanted to skip class! He would rather be reprimanded by the tutors in the Imperial Study, or be scolded and punished by Emperor Kangxi, than be so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open and have to brave the heavy snow to go to the Imperial Study to study the Four Books and Five Classics and other classic works that he had no interest in at all.

"I don't want to go either!" Yin'e immediately responded to the Ninth Prince's lament. He rubbed his eyes, his little face drooping, yawning and muttering resentfully, "Why didn't Father put me in solitary confinement when I skipped class before? He locked me in the West Third Prison! I'd rather stay in the Prince's Prison than go anywhere else!"

Linzi, who was a step behind Yin'e, kept his mouth shut and lowered his head, silently thinking: In the dead of winter, who wouldn't want to stay home! His Majesty is wise and mighty, how could he possibly confine you? Confinement is not a punishment for the Tenth Prince, it's practically a reward!

After leaving the five residences in Ganxi and passing the empty four residences that were still waiting for the eleventh prince to move in, the three residences located at the corner and adjacent to the deep and narrow passage came into view of Yin'e and his party.

Although his mind was still foggy from sleepiness, the biting north wind that blew against his face helped Yin'e clear his head somewhat. As he passed the Ganxi Third Palace, he remembered something he had discussed with the Ninth Prince the day before.

A small hand emerged from the bell-shaped cloak and rubbed his face. Yin'e turned to look at Xiao Linzi and asked him to arrange for someone to clear out a room in the Third Institute to set up a laboratory.

Knowing that Xiaolinzi didn't know what a laboratory was, Yin'e gave a brief introduction, listing out his requirements one by one, and giving Xiaolinzi a checklist to follow: he needed a long table for experiments, storage cabinets for different tools, materials, and reagents, and protective clothing and gloves.

As for delicate and trivial experimental equipment such as beakers, graduated cylinders, test tubes, alcohol lamps, evaporating dishes, droppers, and thermometers, Xiao Linzi couldn't get them even if he hanged himself in the Imperial Household Department. So Yin'e didn't make things difficult for him and planned to find a way himself.

Yin'e's plan was to visit missionaries from the West and Tsarist Russia to see if they had any way to obtain a complete set of experimental equipment.

If there really isn't any, then we'll find a craftsman to make it on the spot—the Qing Dynasty couldn't really mass-produce glassware, but with blueprints, it was still possible to polish a set of crystal separately. The only downside was that the cost was too high and the price too expensive.

On the way, he carefully explained to Xiao Linzi, who was still unsure how to make protective clothing and gloves, that it was not possible. When they arrived at the Imperial Study, the drowsy Ninth Prince walked in with unsteady steps, like a ghost wandering into the study.

The inattentive Fifth Prince was the first to notice them, and then he was startled by the unsteady Ninth Prince's dazed expression. He jumped up and asked, "What's wrong with you two?"

Although their dark circles weren't very noticeable after just one night of staying up, both Yin'e and the Ninth Prince hadn't slept well and slept poorly last night. When they woke up this morning, their faces were swollen and much rounder. Coupled with their unsteady gait and dazed expressions, they looked rather frightening at first glance.

The Eighth Prince, whose seat was closer, was always gentle, kind, and understanding. He also asked with concern, "Ninth Brother and Tenth Brother, are you feeling unwell? Where is it bothering you?"

The Seventh Prince was a step behind, approaching a step later. His expression was aloof, but his eyes revealed anxiety: "I'll take you to the Imperial Hospital."

Yin'e felt a warmth in his heart, but they were really fine. Going to the Imperial Hospital would be making a fuss over nothing. So he shook his head repeatedly and raised his voice slightly, saying, "It's nothing. We just didn't sleep well last night."

The Third Prince had keen hearing and could hear clearly even from a distance. He couldn't help but burst out laughing and teased from afar, "So that's why you've all turned into round-faced little pigs. Turns out you didn't sleep last night and went running around."

The Third Prince's gloating was all too obvious. The Fifth Prince pursed his lips and glanced at him, then frowned and looked at the Ninth Prince and Yin'e with concern: "Is it really just because you didn't sleep well? This looks too scary. Why don't we ask the imperial physician to take a look?"