Chapter 16 The Sixteenth Chapter: Yinzhen's Tenth Brother's Lazy Brother...

Four months after Yin Yu's death, Yin E once again thought of his younger brother who had died young and whom he had never met.

He actually had no feelings for Yin Yu, and hadn't thought of him at all in the past four months.

But when the Imperial Concubine mentioned that at the banquet for the bestowal of gold, the head of the Imperial Clan Court had proposed rearranging the order of the princes' birth order, he couldn't help but lose his composure.

If Prince An, Yue Le, had proposed rearranging the order of the princes earlier, would Yin Yu have also had a chance to be included in the order, and would he have been able to leave a greater mark on this world?

laugh……

Shaking his head, Yin E chuckled softly, realizing that his own thoughts were utterly ridiculous and a complete waste of time.

Even if Yinyu happened to be born in the year of the reordering of birth order, so what? It would just be another entry in the history books. Kangxi's sixth son, Yinzuo, was indeed born in the year of the reordering of birth order, but after his untimely death, who remembers him?

Yin Yu is already dead. Even if he were ranked in the imperial family and his name were recorded in history, he could not be brought back to life. These things are of no importance to the dead; they are merely a source of comfort for the living.

October is the end of the chrysanthemum blooming season. In this chrysanthemum patch planted in a corner of the Yongshou Palace garden, only a few varieties of cold-resistant chrysanthemums are still blooming in full glory, releasing their last bit of enthusiasm at the end of autumn.

Luyi stood about five steps away from the chrysanthemum bushes, and about five or six meters away from Yin'e.

Knowing that the young prince preferred to be alone, she stood at a distance that was neither too close nor too far. This distance ensured she wouldn't disturb Yin'e while keeping him within her sight; no matter what happened, she could react promptly.

Watching the little prince squatting in front of the flower bushes with his back to her, nodding and shaking his head, Lvyi couldn't help but chuckle. She thought the little prince was extremely cute, like a little adult, seemingly truly appreciating those precious chrysanthemums, and indeed able to discern their elegance and nobility.

"Waaaaah..."

Suddenly, the sharp cry of a baby rang out outside the palace walls. The cry grew louder and closer, and both Yin'e and Luyi, who were in Yongshou Palace, could hear it clearly.

With her slender, willow-leaf eyebrows slightly furrowed, Lüyi quickly walked to Yin'e's side, squatted down, looked at the small child at eye level, and whispered, "Brother, let's go back."

Yin'e was curious about who the baby crying outside Yongshou Palace was, but thinking that the child was most likely Yin Tang, the son of Consort Yi and the future Ninth Prince, he gave up his curiosity, obediently nodded, and agreed to Luyi's suggestion.

Yin'e reached out his hand to let the greenery lead him, intending to leave the small garden and return to the main hall in front, when he heard a young child outside Yongshou Palace, whose voice was already hoarse from crying, wailing in a shrill voice, "Mother... I want my mother..."

Immediately following was a gentle, troubled female voice, which cautiously coaxed, "Your Highness, the Empress is not feeling well and has just rested. Please be patient and wait until she wakes up before you go to see her, okay?"

“Your Highness, look, this is your favorite toy. Shall I play with you? We will all play with you, Your Highness. You can play with whatever you want.”

A typical one-year-old child is at an age where they are ignorant and unaware, and it is impossible to reason with them.

When young children cry and fuss, if you don't give in to them or let them have their way, they won't be patient and will just vent their emotions in a willful way.

As expected, coaxing and persuasion were useless against the toddler who was crying intensely and was caught up in his emotions. He continued to cry, even wailing louder: "Waaah, no, I don't want you... I want my mother, I want my mother!!!"

Yin'e paused, unable to resist his curiosity any longer. He shook off Lu Yi's hand and ran to the back door in the corner of the small garden, peering outside. He didn't care how nervous the two eunuchs guarding the back door of Yongshou Palace were when they saw him, fearing that he would run out through the cracked back door. They wanted to stop him but didn't dare to actually pry the young prince open.

Gossip is human nature. When things got noisy outside, the two young eunuchs guarding the gate couldn't help but open a crack in the door and peek out.

They originally planned to close the back door again after watching the excitement, and as long as no one noticed, they would pretend nothing had happened.

But the two eunuchs never expected that Yin'e, who was about ten meters away from the back door and had already planned to leave, would suddenly turn back and run to the vicinity of the back door.

They were now filled with remorse, instinctively holding their breath and watching Yin'e with extreme tension, afraid that he would run out of Yongshou Palace and make them suffer. It seemed that these two young eunuchs had learned their lesson this time, and would probably never dare to neglect their duties and watch the excitement again.

The two eunuchs dared not stop him, but Lüyi, who was closely following behind Yin'e, would not let him run out of Yongshou Palace. After putting her arms around Yin'e's shoulders to make sure he couldn't break free this time, Lüyi led him to the back door to look at the commotion outside.

Yongshou Palace and Yikun Palace are located on the same central axis, with their main gates facing due south. Yikun Palace is to the north, and Yongshou Palace is to the south, so the main hall of Yikun Palace is right next to the backyard of Yongshou Palace, with only a wide and straight passageway with red walls and green tiles separating the two palaces.

The main gate of Yikun Palace is in the very center, while the back gate of Yongshou Palace is in a corner. The two gates are diagonally opposite each other, not far apart but not close either, and not directly facing each other.

At this moment, the gate of Yikun Palace was open, and Yin'e saw a child wearing a blue jacket throwing a tantrum in the small square in front of the main hall of Yikun Palace.

If nothing unexpected happens, he will be Consort Yi's second son, the future Ninth Prince Yin Tang.

Yinzhen looked a size smaller than him. He was sitting on the ground with his thin legs spread apart, crying loudly. His bright blue brocade jacket was covered in dust, and even his fair face was covered in dust. He looked extremely disheveled.

Several people surrounded Yinzhen, including palace maids and eunuchs, but they were all at a loss. Faced with the incessantly crying child, they could only feel anxious and helpless.

Even the youngest master is still a master, and servants must obey and respect them without the slightest disobedience; otherwise, they will be considered to have made a mistake and be punished.

Only one person was trying to comfort the crying Yin Tang. It was a young woman in her thirties, probably Yin Tang's wet nurse. She was sweating profusely and looked very distressed and anxious.

She knelt beside Yinzhen and coaxed him with a forced smile, "Your Highness, if you don't like toys, how about we go drink some sweet fruit syrup? Your voice is hoarse from crying, you must be feeling very uncomfortable. How about I make you a bowl of your favorite lychee syrup?"

"Waaaaah... I want my mother, I want my mother!" The wet nurse couldn't coax Yinzhen at all. Her overly weak attitude only made him more arrogant. He raised his little hand and started slapping people around. "You're bad, you're all bad! I'll hit you! I'll hit you!"

The wet nurse, who was being slapped haphazardly by Yin'e, dared not dodge and was scratched and hit a few times by his little hands without any order. Although the child was small and the wet nurse was not in pain when she was hit, she was very embarrassed, and her neatly combed hair was all messed up.

Just then, Yin'e saw a beautiful and radiant woman in palace attire leading a young palace maid along the side wall of Yikun Palace from the backyard to the main hall.

The woman in palace attire wore a light-colored cheongsam. She had a bright and beautiful face, but her makeup was simple. She didn't wear any fancy jewelry on her headdress. Her whole appearance was plain and simple, which didn't match her beautiful and charming appearance, nor did it fit the lively and festive atmosphere of the palace after the recent celebration of the Golden Festival.

The woman in palace attire seemed quite familiar with Yin Tang. She picked him up and gently coaxed him for a while, calming the incessantly crying child. Then, ignoring the wet nurse's objections, she carried Yin Tang back the way she came, heading towards the backyard of Yikun Palace.

Yin Tang's wet nurse said that Consort Yi was feeling unwell and had just rested. This concubine seemed to know Yin Tang well, so she must be Consort Yi's older sister, Consort Guo Luoluo, who was also the birth mother of the deceased nineteenth prince, Yin Yu.

Yinzhen was coaxed away by his aunt, and Yin'e, who had no more excitement to watch, turned and left with his pregnant belly.

He ran into the inner room where the Imperial Concubine lived, and as soon as he entered, Yin'e called out in his childish voice, "Mother, I'm thirsty."

Although it was Yin Tang who was crying and making a fuss, not him, after watching Yin Tang cry so hard for a while, Yin E felt his own throat was a little hoarse and he was a little thirsty.

Just watching him made his throat hurt; he really didn't know where Yinzhen got the energy to cry and wail for so long.

Greenery followed Yin'e in and whispered in the Consort's ear in detail what had happened at Yikun Palace.

The Imperial Concubine listened with a subtle expression. After a moment of contemplation, she whispered to Luyi, "Send a young palace maid to Yikun Palace and tell the head maid of Consort Yi that Yinzhen was taken away by Consort Guoluo, and the wet nurse couldn't stop him."

After gulping down the warm water that Lan Zhi handed him, Yin E blinked his big, dark eyes, wondering why the Imperial Concubine had specifically informed Consort Yi about this.

How could Consort Yi, as the head of the palace, not know or be aware of what happened in Yikun Palace? Moreover, Consort Guoluo is Consort Yi's own sister and Yinzhen's aunt. Isn't it normal for her to be close to Yinzhen?

Lan Zhi took the cup from Yin E's hand and said softly, "I heard that Princess Yi is having a hard time with this pregnancy. She often feels nauseous and wants to vomit. She is already sleepy and weak even before her pregnancy is showing. I'm afraid she won't have the energy to take care of the seventeenth prince."

The Imperial Concubine pulled Yin'e into her arms, nodded, and sighed softly: "I have always been on good terms with Consort Yi. Since I have witnessed Consort Guoluo trying to win over Yin'e, there is no reason not to inform her."

Although it is said that "one should not interfere with relatives even if they are strangers," the Imperial Concubine was not a cold-hearted or aloof person. She was on good terms with Consort Yi and could not stand idly by while Consort Yi was being plotted against without offering any advice.

After the death of Yin Yu, a rift developed between Consort Yi and Consort Guo Luoluo.

If Consort Yi doesn't become more vigilant, it could lead to bitter consequences in the future—Consort Guoluo probably wouldn't dare to harm a prince, nor would she harm Yinzhen, whose maternal family is from the Guoluo clan. However, she will inevitably try to win over Yinzhen and sow discord between Consort Yi and Yinzhen.