Chapter 182 Many were puzzled.

The eldest prince responded and was about to lead the other seven princes out of the Qianqing Palace.

Just then, after hesitating for a long time, Yin'e finally mustered up the courage to step forward: "Father, I have a request that you grant."

Kangxi blinked slowly, looking at Yin'e who stepped forward and outpaced the crowd. He had a vague sense of unease, but after thinking for a moment, he calmly and composedly asked, "What request do you have? Just say it."

After standing there awkwardly for a moment, Yin'e's voice suddenly dropped two octaves, and he said rather embarrassedly, "Father, after we send Lord Tong Guogang's coffin back to the Tong residence, may I stroll around outside the palace for a while and then return to the palace in the afternoon?"

His brows furrowed unconsciously. Kangxi was very displeased with Yin'e's words and scolded him sternly, "Nonsense! I sent you out of the palace on official business, not to go out and play. Why don't you just stay outside the palace and not come back?"

“If you let Mother come with me, it’s not impossible to not return to the palace…” Yin’e muttered to himself, actually quite tempted by Kangxi’s sarcastic “suggestion” and somewhat eager to try it out.

Before Kangxi could react and press him for what he had just muttered, Yin'e raised his handsome face, with his bright eyes and dashing features, and retorted rather defiantly, "It's precisely because the main purpose of leaving the palace was to receive Lord Tong's coffin that I said we should send the coffin back to the Tong residence, and then go shopping after that!"

He had no intention of neglecting his duties, nor did he intend to abandon his responsibilities and just have fun.

Yin'e only wanted to take some time to stroll around the capital after finishing his business. At most, he would go home a little later. Other than that, it would not affect his business at all. So where did he go wrong?

Does he have to be heartbroken and cry out in despair over Tong Guogang's death?

Ke Yin'e has grown up and has never met Tong Guogang alone, nor has he ever spoken a word to him. He has absolutely no feelings for Tong Guogang. Why should he feel sad for him?

Even if Tong Guogang died on the battlefield, he had been dead for a month. Yin'e had already expressed his feelings and vented his emotions, so he couldn't really feel sad now.

Looking at Yin'e, who stood upright in the spacious hall with a defiant expression, Kangxi grabbed a memorial from the imperial desk and threw it at him, angrily saying, "Should I praise you for being sensible?"

"No need for that," Yin'e replied seriously, ignoring the memorial thrown at him without even blinking. He stood firmly without retreating or moving aside to avoid the memorial.

Yin'e remained unmoved, but the Ninth Prince, who was standing behind Yin'e, couldn't help but let out a soft "ah" and raised his hand to pull Yin'e behind him to avoid the commemorative document being thrown at him.

With a thud, the memorial that Kangxi threw landed three steps away from Yin'e, without even hurting a hair on his head—Kangxi didn't use any force when he threw the memorial, unless a strong wind suddenly blew into the Qianqing Palace and hit Yin'e, the memorial wouldn't have hit him at all.

"Father, are you angry?" Yin'e looked up at Kangxi, who was rolling his eyes, and asked in a seemingly puzzled tone, "Why? Is it because I want to take a stroll in the capital? But I'll just return to the palace later. I'll have guards with me, so nothing will happen."

With veins throbbing on his forehead, Kangxi barely suppressed his anger: "You went out of the city today to welcome Tong Guogang's coffin, and after returning, you still have the mood to go shopping?"

Yin'e grunted in response, blinked his almond-shaped eyes at Kangxi, and cautiously probed, "Father, I have something to say, but I'm not sure if I should..."

"Stop talking!" Kangxi suddenly spoke, resolutely rejecting Yin'e's hesitant probing.

Since Yin'e himself said he didn't know whether he should speak or not, given Kangxi's understanding of Yin'e, it was obvious that he wouldn't say anything nice. Kangxi naturally told him to shut up immediately, not wanting to make trouble for himself.

With a hint of regret, Yin'e lowered his head and swallowed back the words, "I'm not familiar with Tong Guogang, and he's not my uncle, so how could I not be in a good mood?"

Raising his hand to rub his temples, Kangxi realized that Yin'e had stirred up his mind into a jumbled mess, making his once clear head a chaotic jumble. It seemed there was truth to the saying that fools can defeat clever people; Kangxi was too clever and thought too much, which was why Yin'e was giving him a headache.

Looking down at the audacious and fearless Yin'e, Kangxi was filled with doubt and utterly perplexed: he had never favored Yin'e, nor had he ever shown him any special affection. How dare Yin'e be so presumptuous in front of him, saying whatever he wanted so brazenly?

Emperor Kangxi doted on his crown prince, yet even the crown prince never acted so recklessly in front of Kangxi. Having grown up in the palace from a young age, how could Yin'e not understand that Kangxi, as his father, was first and foremost an emperor, and only secondly a father?

Frowning, Kangxi sized up Yin'e, whose expression was nonchalant and carefree. He truly couldn't understand where Yin'e got such audacity. Or was he just a naturally shameless fellow, so thick-skinned that he wasn't afraid of rejection or scolding?

Kangxi was unaware that Yin'e was "unyielding because he had no desires".

In Yin'e's view, the eldest prince participated in the struggle for the throne, fought with the crown prince for decades, causing a great uproar in the city. His name, "Grand Prince," became famous, and he even cursed the crown prince, which directly led to the crown prince's dethronement. However, the eldest prince's final fate was only to be stripped of his title and imprisoned by Kangxi.

He participated in the struggle for the throne for more than a decade and even dethroned the crown prince. As a result, the eldest prince not only saved his life but was also confined to his residence, with all his expenses covered by the Imperial Household Department. More than a decade after leaving the palace to establish his own residence, he was once again living off the Imperial Household Department.

Even though the eldest prince had acted so recklessly, he hadn't lost his life. Yin'e thought to himself that he had neither intended to seize the throne nor to fight for power. Even if he acted arrogantly or occasionally made a foolish mistake, he would never step on Kangxi's biggest sore spot or sore spot, and would not suffer Kangxi's fiercest blows and punishments.

Yin'e had no intention of doing anything rebellious; at most, he would contradict Kangxi a couple of times, bravely speak up for himself, and make a request to Kangxi.

Kangxi would be angry and scold Yin'e for his actions, and might even severely punish him, but that was all. Kangxi was still very protective of his sons and wouldn't do anything to them over such a trivial matter.

Emperor Kangxi was actually a loving father. Although he was very demanding of his children, his childhood lack of parental love gave him a compensatory mentality towards them. He loved and cared for his children very much and would not punish them easily. Yin'e had no need to be trembling in front of Emperor Kangxi.

Seeing Kangxi sitting upright on the throne, staring at him with slightly narrowed eyes and unfathomable depths for a long time without saying a word, Yin'e couldn't help but shift his upright body, shuffling his right foot on the ground twice, and pleading again in a small voice, "Father, please grant your son's request?"

When Kangxi came to his senses, he realized that he had actually tried to understand Yin'e's thoughts, and he felt even more that he had lost his mind to do such an unreliable thing.

With a light cough, Kangxi said sternly, "None of your brothers want to go shopping, only you want to stroll around the capital. How can we delay the other princes' time for your sake and make your brothers return to the palace later with you?"

Kangxi narrowed his already slender eyes slightly, and swept his gaze, tinged with a hint of threat, over the other seven princes in the hall. His voice deepened slightly: "None of you are interested in touring the capital, are you?"

"No!" No sooner had Kangxi finished speaking than the Ninth Prince gave a negative answer without giving Kangxi any face, completely ignoring Kangxi's threat. "Father, I am interested, very interested. Please let my tenth brother and I take a stroll around the outer city. Neither of us has ever left the palace."

Seeing the Ninth Prince step forward, Kangxi was quite annoyed. He knew very well that his two sons were so close they were practically inseparable. The Ninth Prince's support for Yin'e was simply because of their good relationship, and his agreement was utterly unconvincing.

However, after hearing what the Ninth Prince said next, Kangxi was momentarily dazed. He then remembered that after Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were born, he had never taken these two sons out of the palace, whether it was to go hunting in the border regions or to tour the Jiangnan region.

Thinking of this, Kangxi hesitated, and his original determination to forbid Yin'e and the Ninth Prince from wandering around outside the palace wavered.

At this moment, the Fifth Prince finally understood what Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were pleading for. A joyful smile appeared on his chubby round face, and he looked up at his plump face and pleaded, "Father, your son also wants to go with Ninth Brother and Tenth Brother!"

Kangxi rubbed his temples with a headache and rolled his eyes at the honest Fifth Prince. He was quite helpless with the Fifth Prince, who didn't know how to read people's expressions and had come out to cause trouble at this time. He couldn't scold him, and he didn't feel comfortable just agreeing to him. It's true that a smart person can't deal with a fool.

Seeing this, the Seventh Prince thought for a moment and stepped forward: "Your Majesty, I am quite familiar with the capital. After sending Lord Tong's coffin back to the Tong residence, how about I take Fifth Brother and the others for a tour of the outer city? What do you think, Father?"

After a pause, the Seventh Prince, with a cool and aloof expression, said earnestly, "Father, please rest assured, your son and the others will definitely return to the palace before the gates are locked."

Kangxi just said that the return of the other princes to the palace should not be delayed because of Yin'e alone.

So what the Seventh Prince meant was that princes who wanted to stroll around the capital could return to the palace later and go for a walk around the outer city, while princes who weren't interested in shopping could go back to the palace first. No one would interfere with anyone else, and there was no need for the eight princes to be tied together and go out together.

The Seventh Prince's statement that he was "quite familiar with the capital" slightly stung Emperor Kangxi.

He certainly knew why the Seventh Prince was more familiar with the capital than the other princes. Unlike the other princes who were confined to the palace to study and could not leave the palace easily, the Seventh Prince would go to the Prince Chun's residence once every half month, and had plenty of opportunities to go to the outer city.

This historical problem was a sin committed by Emperor Kangxi, so even though the Seventh Prince only mentioned it casually and did not intend to gain sympathy or favor from Emperor Kangxi, Emperor Kangxi himself felt guilty and remorseful.

Seeing that Kangxi's expression softened and he seemed to be nodding in agreement, the Third Prince, who had previously remained uninvolved, could no longer sit still and stammered, "Father, I also want to..."