Chapter 59: The Tenth Brother's Stubborn Argument

Yin'e knew that Granny Wang had been watching him closely, lurking behind him, ready to stop him from getting close to the tomato tree at any moment.

With so many people watching him and the Ninth Prince, Yin'e knew that even if he managed to pick the tomato during a break, he wouldn't be able to eat it.

Besides, Yin'e never intended to eat them raw. Given his age and delicate digestive system, it was not suitable for him to eat tomatoes raw as fruit.

Yin'e thought to pick a tomato first.

Then, someone would go to the imperial kitchen and bring over a few live chickens, ducks, rabbits, or other livestock, so that these animals, which were originally raised for slaughter and meat, could taste the tomatoes first and prove that the tomatoes were non-toxic.

Once tomatoes are proven to be non-toxic and the claim that they are poisonous is wrong, not only will Yin'e be able to enjoy delicious scrambled eggs with tomatoes, but the Qing Dynasty will also have another type of vegetable—this is a small step for Yin'e, but a giant leap for Chinese culinary culture!

Yin'e had high hopes, but his plan failed as soon as it started. The "Tomato and Egg Stir-fry" operation was a complete failure right from the beginning.

Before he could sneak into the fence to pick a tomato, a loud shout from behind him froze him in place.

The person who stopped Yin'e was none other than Emperor Kangxi, who had a rare moment of leisure to enjoy the scenery and spring outing in the Imperial Garden.

There weren't many urgent official matters today. After reviewing most of the memorials in the morning, Emperor Kangxi, on a whim, strolled from the Qianqing Palace to the Shangshufang (Imperial Study) to visit his sons who were studying.

After examining the studies of the Crown Prince and the other three princes, Emperor Kangxi was very satisfied with his sons' progress. The old father was filled with pride, feeling a sense of honor and pride that his sons were studious and ambitious.

It just so happened that the spring sunshine was warm and the weather was perfect. Emperor Kangxi was so pleased that he generously granted the Crown Prince, the First Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince a holiday, temporarily suspending the courses at the Imperial Study, and took his sons with him to enjoy the scenery and spring outing in the Imperial Garden.

The warm and bright spring sunshine in April makes it a perfect time to go out and relax.

The Imperial Garden boasts a wide view and beautiful scenery. The warm, golden sunlight shines down, and a spring breeze carrying the fragrance of flowers caresses the face. Stepping into the Imperial Garden brings a sense of comfort, refreshing the mind and spirit.

Of course, Emperor Kangxi did not only bring his sons to the Imperial Garden to change their mood and relax.

Just as elementary school students in later generations were required to write reflections after spring outings, Emperor Kangxi, when taking his sons to the Imperial Garden for a spring outing, also asked them to compose a few poems to accompany the scenery. This was both to cultivate the princes' sentiments and to nurture their literary skills.

—That's right. With Emperor Kangxi, the patriarch who was so strict with his children, the Crown Prince, the First Prince, the Third Prince, and the Fourth Prince could forget about simply enjoying the scenery and having fun.

Even if Emperor Kangxi gave them a holiday and took them out to relax, they still had double the amount of homework waiting for them, which was no better than staying in the Imperial Study to study.

Emperor Kangxi brought his four sons to the Imperial Garden. Before he could even set a topic for the Crown Prince and his sons to compose poems, he saw Yin'e and the Ninth Prince squatting by a persimmon tree surrounded by a fence.

The Ninth Prince seemed uninterested in the persimmons, his eyes fixed on a butterfly.

But Yin'e was very close to the persimmon tree, and judging from his sneaky and furtive appearance, he was up to no good. He might be planning to sneak in and steal persimmons—this was no small matter, as persimmons are poisonous.

Emperor Kangxi remembered that the persimmon, an ornamental plant, was introduced from overseas and had a history of more than a hundred years, but it was not widely cultivated and did not spread in the Qing Dynasty.

The persimmon tree is a lush, verdant plant with feathery, bright green leaves; its fruit is a beautiful, round sphere with a vibrant crimson color. Persimmons are poisonous and inedible, and have long been grown in gardens as ornamental plants for people to enjoy.

Emperor Kangxi left a persimmon tree in the Imperial Garden. He did not completely eradicate it because he found it rare, leaving a unique specimen to enjoy occasionally.

The fruit of the persimmon is bright red, beautiful, and very tempting. Emperor Kangxi was afraid that people in the palace would not recognize the persimmon and eat it by mistake, so he specially ordered that a fence be built around the persimmon trees and that signs indicating that it was poisonous be hung up.

Unexpectedly, even so, some fearless people still ventured onto the poisonous persimmon tree.

The person who wasn't afraid of death was none other than Yin'e.

The thought that if he had arrived any later and failed to stop Yin'e from picking the persimmons, or even let Yin'e eat the poisonous fruit, filled Kangxi with fear and anger. He broke out in a cold sweat in a short time.

Even though Kangxi already had ten sons, he could never accept losing a healthy and lively son who had already stood up because of an accident, especially such a foolish one.

With a livid face, Kangxi strode over, grabbed Yin'e who was standing very close to the persimmon tree, and gritted his teeth as he squeezed out a cold, angry sentence: "Guards, cut down this persimmon tree!"

When the emperor is enraged, millions will die.

At this moment, Kangxi was furious. Yin'e, who was being held in the air by Kangxi, saw a group of palace servants suddenly appear out of nowhere and were about to carry out Kangxi's order to cut down the persimmon tree.

Yin'e was initially surprised by Kangxi's sudden appearance, but now he couldn't care less about being surprised. Because Kangxi's sudden appearance wasn't just disruptive; he practically threatened to smash the chessboard to dust.

In the vast Imperial Garden, after finding the Ninth Prince at the Fifth Palace in Gan Dong, Yin'e walked around the garden with him for a whole time, and they only found this one tomato tree. They didn't see a second one at all.

If Kangxi sends people to cut down the tomato tree, where will he find a second one? Won't his tomato and egg stir-fry be ruined and completely hopeless?

"Don't cut! Father, don't cut!"

Hanging in Kangxi's hands, Yin'e struggled with his chubby, white hands and feet, which were as tender as lotus roots. He waved his limbs in the air, trying to break free from Kangxi's restraints.

Yin'e opened his throat and shouted. His voice was sharp and his words were full of emotion, as if he wanted to share life and death with the tomato tree. His tone was so sad and desolate that it made people want to cry.

"Stop fooling around!" Kangxi shouted angrily, grabbing Yin'e by the back of his neck and shaking the little boy from side to side. Yin'e, who was hanging in mid-air, became dizzy and couldn't utter a word.

Emperor Kangxi could only be at ease if the persimmon tree was cut down. Otherwise, as Yin'e grew older and more mischievous, Kangxi was truly afraid that if he and the Consort were not careful, Yin'e would cause trouble.

Fearing the consequences, Emperor Kangxi not only insisted on cutting down the tomato tree, but also, seeing Yin'e's persistence and excessive curiosity about persimmons, coldly glanced at the persimmon tree and then coldly ordered: "From now on, persimmons shall not be planted in the Imperial Garden, nor shall they be brought into the Forbidden City."

Even if the Imperial Garden were to lose the exotic flowers and plants like persimmons, it would not give Yin'e the opportunity to secretly pick persimmons or even eat them.

Compared to her son's safety, what do novel and exotic plants matter?

For the safety of Yin'e and his other children, Kangxi planned to nip any potential threats in the bud and guard against any hidden dangers within the Forbidden City.

Emperor Kangxi was a kind father, but his orders were a bolt from the blue for Yin'e.

At that moment, Yin'e struggled even more fiercely, making it almost impossible for Kangxi, who was holding him with one hand, to hold him back.

Taking advantage of the moment when Kangxi loosened his grip, Yin'e successfully broke free from his grasp.

He fell from a height of less than half a meter off the ground, but thanks to Kangxi's timely intervention, Yin'e was completely unharmed and suffered no injuries, only a slight thud on his bottom.

Upon landing, Yin'e immediately scrambled to his feet. Before he could even steady himself, he rushed forward, spread his arms, and stood in front of the tomato tree, glaring angrily at the palace servants who were about to cut it down, shouting, "Don't move! Nobody is allowed to cut it down!!"

Yin'e made it clear he was ready to fight to the death with the tomato tree. To protect the scrambled eggs with tomatoes, and to protect the only remaining tomato tree in the Imperial Garden, Yin'e was truly going all out.

The little child puffed out his fair cheeks and looked very serious, exuding an air of authority.

But when a child makes this gesture, outsiders will only find it cute.

The eldest prince, who had followed, couldn't help but burst out laughing: "Tenth brother is really funny."

The Third Prince, however, did not find Yin'e endearing. He only thought Yin'e was rude, muttering under his breath, "Disrespectful to the Imperial Father." But the Third Prince spoke very softly, so no one else could hear him.

The Fourth Prince looked at Yin'e with some worry, fearing that his father, the Khan, would be furious and completely enrage him.

Yin'e put on a very imposing air, but unfortunately, he lacked the necessary authority. Compared to him, the palace servants feared Kangxi's power more and would prioritize obeying his orders.

Emperor Kangxi did not retract his order, and the gardeners who tended the flowers and plants in the imperial garden ignored Yin'e's objections and were about to go around and cut down the tomato trees.

Yin'e was both anxious and angry. He scurried over to a gardener with his short legs and tried to pull him to stop.

But Yin'e was soon punished. At Kangxi's signal, Wang Mama, who finally dared to stop him, picked Yin'e up and said, "Your Highness, those persimmons are poisonous, you can't eat them. The Emperor wants to cut them down for your own good. Don't go against the Emperor anymore, and don't cause any more trouble!"

"Waaaaah..." Yin'e's face turned red with anger, but he was completely helpless. He finally couldn't help but burst into tears, "Don't cut! Don't cut!"

Yin'e started wailing, and the Ninth Prince, who had come along, was also affected by him and followed suit, bursting into tears.

If Yin'e's crying and fussing were merely a momentary outburst of anger, with an element of performance involved, and because he was inexperienced, the commotion wasn't loud enough, then when the Ninth Prince, a seasoned performer, started crying, the feeling was completely different for onlookers.

The Ninth Prince plopped down on the ground, wailing and pounding his fists on the floor, yelling, "Don't cut! Don't cut!"

As for what to cut, and why it can't be cut... sorry, Ninth Prince had no idea. But since Tenth Brother was crying and shouting that it couldn't be cut, he cried along with him and shouted that it couldn't be cut either.

The Ninth Prince's cries were shrill and piercing, completely drowning out Yin'e's voice. Kangxi frowned, his head aching from the child's incessant, childish crying.

Because the Ninth Prince's crying was so loud, even Yin'e could hardly continue crying.

He sobbed in Wang Mama's arms, crying as he said, "You've never eaten a persimmon before, how do you know it's poisonous? I want to eat it, it's perfectly edible!"

Kangxi frowned at Yin'e, and seeing him crying and making a fuss, his expression grew even more unpleasant. He laughed angrily, "You say it's edible, so you can eat it? What evidence do you have to prove that the persimmon isn't poisonous?"

Persimmons originated from overseas, and the foreigners who presented them as tribute kept saying that persimmons were poisonous. Were they all wrong? If there was no evidence, how could the foreigners have concluded that persimmons were poisonous?

The Crown Prince, dressed in an apricot-yellow python robe, looked at Kangxi with surprise, thinking that his father had been so angered by his ninth and tenth brothers that he would say such hurtful things to his tenth brother, who was a spoiled brat who knew nothing.

How can the tenth brother, a mere child, prove anything? What evidence could he possibly provide?

But for the sake of scrambled eggs with tomatoes, Yin'e was really willing to argue and present evidence to persuade Kangxi.

Wiping away his tears, Yin'e sniffed, pursed his lips, and said stubbornly to Kangxi, "Hearing is believing, seeing is believing. Father, you've never seen anyone die from persimmon poisoning, how can you be so sure it's poisonous?"

"Just because others say tomatoes are poisonous, does that mean they are poisonous? Bell peppers were also said to be poisonous before, but some people ate them and were fine, weren't they?"

Tomatoes and chili peppers were both introduced to China at the end of the Ming Dynasty, and have been around for over a hundred years. The difference is that tomatoes are still ornamental plants, while chili peppers have become a staple on the dining table and are extremely popular in Guizhou and other places.

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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 21:35:31 on March 11, 2023 and 17:37:24 on March 12, 2023!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Crocodile with a Belly (10 bottles); -Shallow Smile, Minty Coolness, and Today I Still Want to Quit My Job (1 bottle);

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