Chapter 145 Conflict Insensitivity

Just as the atmosphere in the room was about to become even more tense, the youngest of the fourteenth princes looked left at the fourth prince, who had a stern and expressionless face, and right at the eighth prince, who was smiling and silent. He wondered why his two older brothers, who had just been coaxing him and the thirteenth prince, had stopped talking.

From birth, the Fourteenth Prince was pampered and spoiled by Consort De. He was too young to know much about his personality, but he had a terrible temper.

If anyone doesn't go his way, the Fourteenth Prince will become unhappy and angry, and will protest by making a fuss and crying. Children's voices are soft but also sharp, and when they cry, it's endless; very few people can stand it.

Why did the relationship between the Fourteenth Prince and the Eighth Prince improve so quickly? Besides the Eighth Prince's friendly demeanor and ever-present smile, it was also because the Eighth Prince was good at flattering people and saying nice things that made the Fourteenth Prince happy. Naturally, the Fourteenth Prince felt that this older brother liked him and treated him well.

The Fourteenth Prince's demonic vocal attacks were so powerful that even the Fourth Prince, his own brother, couldn't stand them. He ignored the Fourteenth Prince and only spoke to the Thirteenth Prince.

But the Eighth Prince could withstand it. Not only could he withstand it, but he could also speak to the Fourteenth Prince with a gentle and warm smile and stroke his hair.

Even his own brother didn't like him; only the Eighth Prince, who always presented himself as kind, gentle, and easygoing, could accept him. This is enough to show how bad the Fourteenth Prince's temper was.

The princes in the next room fell silent, and the Fourteenth Prince also quieted down and remained silent.

But after only a short while, the Fourteenth Prince couldn't hold back any longer. His clear, resonant voice broke the silence of the room: "Eighth Brother, I want to eat an orange. Peel one for me."

The Crown Prince glanced at the Fourteenth Prince, who was making demands of his half-brother with a straight face, raised an eyebrow slightly, and his expression became somewhat ambiguous.

Although it was the Fourteenth Prince who broke the silence and brought the increasingly awkward situation to an end, the Crown Prince found that this younger brother was not to his liking either, and he didn't find the Thirteenth Prince, who was standing obediently to the side, as pleasing to the eye.

However, once the silence was broken, the atmosphere eased, and the Crown Prince could take the opportunity to back down.

The Crown Prince smiled slightly, his demeanor arrogant and aloof, his temperament noble and outstanding. Even when facing his own brothers, he had a sense of superiority: "We are all brothers, so there is no need for you to be reserved. I am not here to disturb your fun."

The Crown Prince understood Kangxi's intentions. He sent him over simply because he saw that Kangxi's relationship with his brothers was cold and he wanted to find an opportunity for him to connect with the other princes.

But while he knew Kangxi's intentions, as the Crown Prince grew older, he began to have his own ideas and was no longer the same as before, who would simply learn whatever Kangxi taught him or do whatever he was told.

When his own will conflicted with Kangxi's orders, unless Kangxi issued an imperial edict or it was explicitly stipulated, the Crown Prince's first consideration was his own thoughts. Even when Kangxi issued an imperial edict, under the instigation of Suo'etu, the Crown Prince often outwardly complied but inwardly defied it, saying one thing to his face and another behind his back.

With Emperor Kangxi and other elders absent, only his brothers were present. The eldest prince was too lazy to even feign harmony with the crown prince. He disdained the crown prince's hypocritical remarks, scoffed, and ignored the crown prince, who was too lazy to even put on a show. He went straight to a grand chair in the room and sat down.

The eldest prince's arrogance made the crown prince's face darken. He glanced coldly at the eldest prince and felt that brothers were too annoying. There was no need to build relationships with these brothers. It would do him no good at all!

He was the Crown Prince, second only to the Emperor, and thus a subject distinct from the others. Given his status, prestige, and glory, why would he need to curry favor with others, or cultivate a close brotherly bond with the other princes?

In the Crown Prince's view, Kangxi's desire for harmony among the brothers was merely wishful thinking. He was the Crown Prince, a de facto ruler, and his relationship with the other princes was not merely that of brothers, but also that of ruler and subject. Since a purely fraternal relationship did not exist, how could there be any brotherly harmony or fraternal affection?

In the secondary room, apart from a few young princes who were too young to understand and were confused, the other princes who were already aware of things all pretended to be invisible, turning a blind eye to the conflict between the Crown Prince and the First Prince. None of them stood up to clarify their position or rashly take sides.

The Third Prince, who always followed the Crown Prince's lead, remained silent at this time, unwilling to step forward, and even less willing to take a clear stance against the First Prince in order to gain face in front of the Crown Prince.

The Third Prince also had his own agenda. When the Crown Prince and the First Prince were vying for power, he would simply stand on the Crown Prince's side and cheer him on while the Crown Prince held a secure position and had the right to do so. There was no need for him to get too involved, and even less need to offend the First Prince in order to curry favor with the Crown Prince.

In any case, he hasn't started his official duties yet and is still studying in the Imperial Study, which means that he is not yet an adult in Kangxi's eyes—this is precisely the Third Prince's natural talisman, a protective umbrella that Kangxi has placed on all his underage sons.

Given the Third Prince's stingy and meticulous nature, he will surely cherish this rare period of time before he comes of age when he can be "willful" and will not waste a single moment of it.

Yin'e had no intention of getting involved in the struggle between the Crown Prince and the First Prince. He had never had any ambition and would not be so foolish as to actively participate in the struggle for the throne.

Yin'e's birth order was in the middle, which was a bit unfortunate because those in the middle were easily overlooked. But everything has two sides. His age and birth order also had an advantage: as long as he didn't actively try to move forward, the struggle for the throne between the Crown Prince and the First Prince would hardly affect him.

After all, there was a significant age gap between Yin'e and the Crown Prince and the First Prince, and there were several princes ahead of Yin'e in line for the throne. As long as Yin'e didn't cause any trouble, his age would be his best cover.

The Crown Prince has already spoken, telling them "not to be reserved."

Regardless of whether the Crown Prince's statement was just for show, or how much of it was true or false, he had already said it, and he couldn't possibly take it back. Of course, Yin'e was going to take the Crown Prince's words seriously and do things according to his wishes.

In short, the key is to be oblivious to subtlety. Regardless of whether the Crown Prince's words have hidden meanings or implied implications, Yin'e only understands the literal meaning and takes the Crown Prince's words as the absolute truth. As long as the Crown Prince dares to say it, he dares to believe it.

Yin'e took a step to the left and leaned against the Ninth Prince. He nudged the Ninth Prince with his shoulder, pointed to the window next to the soft couch, and gestured for the Ninth Prince to look out at the small courtyard and garden behind the main hall of Ning Shou Palace.

The Ninth Prince, who had been eager to play in the snow and have fun outside, immediately understood what Yin'e meant. His eyes lit up, and a hint of excitement appeared in his delicate and beautiful features. He looked at the snow-covered courtyard, itching to go.

Yin'e and the Ninth Prince exchanged a glance and quickly reached a consensus: although the room was warm and cozy with a charcoal fire burning inside, they would rather go outside to play in the snow than stay in the warm room and be forced to watch the Crown Prince and the First Prince's back-and-forth confrontation... no, endure hunger and cold.

Going to play in the snow in the yard won't be like going to the plum garden before, where you just walk around and come back quickly.

Although Yin'e and the Ninth Prince loved to play, they were both very self-aware, knowing their own limitations and taking care of their health. Before going out, the first thing they did was to put on their cloaks, the large bell-shaped capes.

The Eleventh Prince was holding a red plum and feeling very happy. When he saw the Ninth Prince and Yin'e going out together, he didn't care where they were going and hurriedly followed the Ninth Prince like a little tail, calling out impatiently, "Ninth Brother, Ninth Brother, I want to go too! I want to go too!"

Subconsciously furrowing his brow, the Ninth Prince glanced at the eleventh prince, who was thinner than the Twelfth Prince at first glance. Reluctantly, he pouted and was about to coldly and ruthlessly reject the eleventh prince's request.

Just then, the Fifth Prince stepped forward.

He first smiled at the Ninth Prince in a good-natured manner, and then spoke up for the Eleventh Prince, advising the Ninth Prince: "The snow in the courtyard has been swept, and the passageway has been swept clean. It's not as cold as the Plum Garden. Eleventh Brother, it's fine to stand aside and watch. You won't be cold once you put on your cloak and take a hand warmer."

The Ninth Prince did not want to bring the Eleventh Prince along as a burden, but the Fifth Prince had just volunteered to take the blame in front of Emperor Kangxi, so it would be too much to disrespect him now.

After a moment of hesitation, the Ninth Prince reluctantly nodded and agreed to take the Eleventh Prince along.

The eleventh prince had been staring longingly at the ninth prince with his little face upturned. When he saw the ninth prince finally nod and agree, he immediately smiled, his phoenix eyes crinkling with joy, like a little kitten that had stolen a fish.

She turned her head and gave the Fifth Prince a sweet smile as a token of gratitude. Before the Fifth Prince could respond, the Eleventh Prince snuggled up to the Ninth Prince and tugged at his clothes.

Ninth Prince's temple twitched. He glared disdainfully at Eleventh Prince, who was following him around like a shadow, and forcefully pulled his robe back.

But apart from that, the Ninth Prince did not take any other action and did not push the Eleventh Prince any further.

Given the Ninth Prince's proud and stubborn personality, this was already quite good for the Eleventh Prince. In the end, although the Ninth Prince didn't like the Eleventh Prince, he didn't really hate him. It was just that Consort Yi was there, so the Ninth Prince couldn't bring himself to like the Eleventh Prince either.

Looking at the Twelfth Prince sitting there alone with his head down, and remembering that the Eleventh Prince had gone out with them and the Twelfth Prince was all alone, Yin'e took the initiative to call out, "Twelfth Brother, do you want to come with us to play in the snow?"

Unexpectedly, Yin'e, whom he was not very familiar with and had almost never interacted with, took the initiative to invite him. The Twelfth Prince was stunned for a moment before nodding vigorously with a blank expression: "Go, I want to go!"

Yin'e smiled amicably at the Twelfth Prince, then turned to look at the Seventh Prince, silently extending an invitation.

The Seventh Prince wasn't very interested and was about to refuse when he caught a glimpse of the Third Prince turning around to face him, as if he were about to walk towards him.

He shook his head almost imperceptibly, swallowing back the words of refusal that were on the tip of his tongue. The Seventh Prince sparingly uttered two words: "I'll go."

Unaware of his own formidable power, the Third Prince stopped in his tracks upon hearing this, sighing with disappointment, and desperately wanted to drag the Seventh Prince away.

It was the Third Prince's fiery gaze that strengthened the Seventh Prince's resolve, confirming that his decision was absolutely correct.