Chapter 44: The Sensible Tenth Brother's Lazy Overnight Stay...

"Ninth Brother?" Yin'e, dressed in an ochre-red jacket, was taken aback when he saw Yin Tang storming into the warm pavilion. His childish voice suddenly rose, "Why are you here now?"

Previously at Cining Palace, Yin'e was fine when he took his leave. Although Yin Tang was a little puzzled as to why Yin'e didn't return to the Western Six Palaces with him, with Consort Yi's comforting words, Yin Tang held back his temper.

Logically speaking, Yinzhen should be with Consort Yi and the Fifth Prince right now, so why did he suddenly come to Yongshou Palace looking so angry? What made him so angry?

While Yin'e was still in surprise, Yin'tang had already puffed out his cheeks, his face flushed red, and shouted angrily, "You don't welcome me either?"

"Also?" Yin'e's eyes widened in confusion for a moment, then he realized what was happening and his brows furrowed.

After a moment of silence, Yin'e trotted over to Yin'tang, took his warm little hand, and said earnestly in a soft, sweet voice, "Ninth Brother, I don't mean you're not welcome. You're my best Ninth Brother, I love you the most!"

With his cheeks puffed out and his phoenix eyes almost turning into cross-eyed stares, Yinzhen's eyes immediately reddened.

He sniffed, his cat-like face drooping, and whimpered twice in grievance, his eyes welling up with large, glistening tears.

"Tenth Brother, you're still the best." Yinzhen pouted, his childish voice tinged with a sob.

Tears welled in his eyes, but he stubbornly kept them wide open, refusing to let them fall. Sensitive and proud, the more distressed Yinzhen was, the less he wanted to show weakness.

Yin'e held Yin's small hand tightly to comfort him, then looked up at Lan Zhi, who was guarding him in the inner room: "Aunt Lan Zhi, please take me and Ninth Brother to the side hall."

Yinzhen stormed out of Yikun Palace and came to Yongshou Palace because he was on good terms with Yin'e. Therefore, it would be best if Yin'e asked Yinzhen privately what had happened. Since they were brothers, it was perfectly acceptable for them to discuss things privately.

However, out of consideration for Consort Yi, the Imperial Concubine could not intervene, especially since the full picture of the matter was still unknown and it was unclear what had actually happened. Therefore, it was even more inappropriate for the Imperial Concubine to get involved rashly.

Lan Zhi was only surprised for a moment when Yin Tang rushed into the warm pavilion. She had already regained her composure and nodded calmly, saying, "Alright, let me go and tell Your Highness that the Ninth Prince has arrived."

Lan Zhi lifted the curtain and entered the innermost bedroom through the innermost door of the warm pavilion. Yin E glanced at Lin Mama, the wet nurse on duty today, and asked her to bring him his large cloak. He put it on and went to the side hall later.

Unlike Yin'e, who could easily slip into bed after taking a nap, Consort Gui could not.

She needed to wash and groom herself, remove her makeup, take off her hair ornaments, and take down her hair before she could sleep. At this time, the Imperial Concubine was being served by Green Willow in the innermost room, while Lan Zhi was left in the warm pavilion to watch over Yin E.

The Consort did not fully trust the wet nurses and eight wet nurses assigned to Yin'e by the Imperial Household Department. She not only frequently reprimanded these women, but also, after Yin'e turned one year old and moved to a side palace, she would occasionally send Lanzhi and Luyi to conduct surprise inspections to prevent the wet nurses and others from becoming too ambitious and taking advantage of Yin'e.

Wrapped in the cloak that had been warmed by the incense burner in the heated room, Yin'e picked up his small pillow from the soft couch, pulled Yin'tang up and said, "Ninth Brother, let's go to my room."

Lan Zhi quickly came out from the inner room. Regardless of what she reported to the Imperial Concubine or what the Imperial Concubine said, she remained calm and composed throughout. Her delicate and gentle face was serene, making her seem very reliable and trustworthy.

Lan Zhi picked up Yin E, and then had Lin Mama pick up Yin Tang, and led them from the main hall to the side hall where Yin E was currently living.

On the way from the main hall to the side hall, Yin'e kept thinking about what had happened to make Yin'tang so angry, and in a fit of anger, he questioned, "You don't welcome me either?"

And... Yinzhen, who was being held in Lanzhi's arms, raised his head and peeked out from Lanzhi's shoulder to look at the wet nurse who was following closely behind him, keeping her mouth shut and doing nothing. His little brows furrowed and his eyes turned cold.

Today is the Fifth Prince's birthday, and he has a rare opportunity to stay overnight at Consort Yi's Yikun Palace. On such a special day, Yinzhen suddenly comes to Yongshou Palace, and his wet nurse doesn't even offer a word of advice?

Fortunately, they knew what was important and carried Yinzhen from Yikun Palace to Yongshou Palace, instead of letting him run over by himself.

Although Yongshou Palace and Yikun Palace are not far apart, Yinzhen is small and has short legs. It would take him a long time to run all the way, and he would definitely be tired and sweaty. If he did not change his sweaty clothes in time, he might catch a cold.

Moreover, it had snowed heavily just three days ago. Even though the weather has cleared up in the last two days and the palace servants have been cleaning the roads carefully, sweeping the snow off the palace paths, there are still some water stains left on the road. If Yinzhen were to run over by himself, he might very well slip and fall on the wet palace paths.

The thought that Yinzhi might fall and catch a cold if he ran from Yikun Palace filled Yin'e with dread. Yinzhi was still young, and if he really caught a cold, it might not be good. Yin'e didn't really trust the medical standards of the Qing Dynasty.

The more frightened Yin'e became, the more dissatisfied he was with the actions of Yin's wet nurse and others.

Or perhaps Consort Yi's pregnancy symptoms were too severe, and she inevitably neglected Yinzhen on a daily basis. Without frequently reminding Yinzhen's wet nurse, Yinzhen's wet nurse and others became lax and no longer took care of Yinzhen as attentively as before.

After a moment of deep thought with furrowed brows, Yin'e was carried by Lan Zhi into the inner room of the side hall, where the heated kang bed was always kept burning. As for Yin Tang's wet nurse and the others, Lan Zhi kept them outside with a single glance, preventing them from following her in.

Lan Zhi had the maids in the room light the incense burner, and then touched the foreheads of Yin E and Yin Tang respectively. Although the temperatures were normal and there was no fever, Lan Zhi was still worried, so she asked a maid to go to the small kitchen in the backyard to bring two bowls of ginger and brown sugar water.

Yin'e, who was preparing for his afternoon nap, had already changed into his sleeping jacket, but he was wrapped in a large cloak and didn't feel cold at all as he walked from the main hall to the side hall.

At this moment, he was not in a hurry to take off his outer cloak. He just tugged at Lan Zhi's finger and pointed at Yin Tang, saying, "Aunt Lan Zhi, let's change Ninth Brother's clothes. We can take a nap together."

Because Yinzhi took a nap at Yongshou Palace almost every day, many of his daily necessities were kept in the side hall where Yinzhi lived. Lanzhi opened the box and took out a set of clothes for Yinzhi.

After the incense burner had been burning for a while and the room temperature had risen, Lanzhi asked Granny Lin to help Yinzhen take off his cloak and outer garment and put on a jacket and trousers. She herself took off the outermost cloak that Yinzhen was wearing.

Just then, the little palace maid who had been sent to fetch ginger tea returned from the small kitchen in the backyard, and Lanzhi brought the ginger tea to Yin'e and Yin'tang to drink while it was hot.

Even with sugar added, the ginger tea still didn't taste very good. Yin'e frowned and stuck out his little tongue, as if that would let the air carry away the lingering ginger flavor on his tongue.

After drinking the ginger and brown sugar water, Yin'e and Yin'tang were tucked into bed. But instead of falling asleep immediately, they snuggled under the covers and whispered to each other, creating a large bulge in the blankets.

"Ninth Brother, what's wrong?" Yin'e asked in a low voice, "What happened?"

At this moment, Yinzhen refused to say anything. He shook his head and whispered to Yin'e, "Tenth Brother, can I stay in Yongshou Palace? I want to live with you."

"Huh?" Yin'e was completely stunned. Stay in Yongshou Palace? Yin Tang didn't want to go back to Yikun Palace?

Seeing that Yin'e did not respond immediately, Yin'jiu pouted and whimpered softly as he nuzzled him under the covers, "Let me stay, I want to be with you, Tenth Brother." After a pause, he added very quietly, "I will be sensible."

Sensible… This was the first time Yinzhen had mentioned this word. Had Consort Yi said something to him? Yinzhen's brows furrowed.

Was it "You need to be sensible," or "Can't you be a little more sensible?" But even with just that, why did Yinzhen react so strongly, running out of Yikun Palace in a fit of anger and saying he wanted to stay in Yongshou Palace?

Suppressing his doubts, Yin'e knew that Yin Tang wouldn't say anything, at least not now. To find out what had happened, he either had to wait for Consort Yi to arrive or interrogate Yin Tang's wet nurse.

“Okay, Ninth Brother, stay here and we’ll live together.” Yin’e nodded vigorously and readily agreed.

Regardless of Yinzhen's reasons for not wanting to return to Yikun Palace, Yin'e decided to take him in, not wanting the sensitive Yinzhen to feel like he had nowhere to go.

After arranging the small pillows, Yin'e gently nudged the listless Yin Tang: "Ninth Brother, let's take a nap first."

Yin Tang, who had been angry and had come all the way from Yikun Palace to Yongshou Palace, was indeed a little sleepy.

Over the past month, he has developed a regular routine under the guidance of Yin'e and the Imperial Concubine, and has also gotten used to taking a nap every noon. His biological clock has long been fixed.

Now that he had changed his clothes and drunk some hot ginger tea, he snuggled up in bed with Yin'e. Yin Tang was so sleepy that he could barely keep his eyes open.

He lay down, rolled into a corner and lay flat, still beckoning to Yin'e: "Come here, tenth brother."

Yin'e also lay down, and slowly moved to Yin'tang's side. The two brothers snuggled together, their heads touching, resting on the buckwheat pillows.

Once the two were breathing steadily and soundly asleep, Lanzhi instructed Lin Mama to watch over them and also reminded the other wet nurses on duty to take good care of the two young princes before leaving the side hall to return to the main hall.

Lan Zhi went into the inner room and reported to the Imperial Concubine that Yin E and Yin Tang had already gone to sleep.

Before the dressing table, the Imperial Concubine, having removed her hair, slowly nodded: "I have already sent someone to Yikun Palace to inform Consort Yi that the Ninth Prince has come to Yongshou Palace. Let the Ninth Prince and Yin'e take a nap together first; there's no rush for Consort Yi to take him back."

The Imperial Concubine did not see Yinzhen, but heard from Lanzhi that he was somewhat agitated. She worried that Consort Yi had arrived too early, and that Yinzhen, still angry, would start making a scene, making it difficult for Consort Yi to handle.

Just then, the palace servant who had gone to Yikun Palace to deliver the message returned.

Consort Yi's message and reaction were relayed from outside the palace to inside by the palace servants serving in Yongshou Palace, until they finally reached the ears of the Noble Consort.

Startled, the Imperial Concubine paused, somewhat bewildered: "The Ninth Prince ran out of Yikun Palace, and Consort Yi wasn't worried at all. She was talking to the Fifth Prince, saying that the Ninth Prince could stay and play in Yongshou Palace, and she would pick him up to go back in the evening?"

With a slight frown, a fierce glint flashed in the Consort's eyes, and her pretty face hardened: "Keep an eye on the Ninth Prince's wet nurse. Interrogate her and find out what really happened. Was it a misunderstanding, or did she dare to sow discord between Consort Yi and the Ninth Prince, driving a wedge between mother and son?"

-----------------------

Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 17:19:32 on March 4, 2023 and 05:56:27 on March 5, 2023!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Polar (2 bottles); Luo Yin and Minty Cool (1 bottle each);

Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!