Chapter 74 Suddenly Realizing How Pitiful Old Ten Was...

Ninth Prince: ?

Turning his head in a daze, the Ninth Prince stared blankly at Yin'e for a long while before finally managing to utter a dry syllable: "Huh?"

Yin'e could understand the Ninth Prince's confusion at this moment. If Yin'e were the Ninth Prince, he would definitely complain to himself, "Did you suddenly have a relapse?"

But Yin'e wasn't joking with the Ninth Prince, nor was he suddenly having a fit; he genuinely felt he needed to calm down—because just now, for a fleeting moment, Yin'e actually felt a little sorry for Kangxi.

Having transmigrated to this world for four years, and having been reborn for so long, Yin'e has always regarded Kangxi as an emperor, never as his father, even though they are indeed father and son by blood.

In Yin'e's mind, words like majesty, suspicion, ruthlessness, coldness, and imperial cunning could all be applied to Kangxi without any sense of incongruity.

For so long, this has been the image of Kangxi in Yin'e's mind. He has never simply viewed Kangxi from the perspective of a son, nor has he ever trusted or relied on Kangxi as his own father.

But when Yin'e saw the undisguised haggardness and exhaustion on Kangxi's face from afar, he was moved for a moment. He felt sorry for Kangxi and thought that he was just an ordinary person with joy and anger, love and hate, and even more so, people that even as an emperor, he could not save and regrets that he could not change.

Yin'e and Kangxi met quite a few times and had frequent contact, but Kangxi had never given Yin'e this feeling before.

During these four years, Kangxi also lost many of his children, but he never showed such obvious sadness and grief, nor did he appear as fragile and confused as Yin'e saw it.

Perhaps it was because the Empress Dowager held a different place in Kangxi's heart, or perhaps it was because Kangxi had lost too many children in his youth, and he had gradually become accustomed to the premature deaths of his children. But as for the Empress Dowager, his beloved grandmother, Kangxi never imagined that she would leave him so soon.

Shaking his head, Yin'e shook out all the water that had inadvertently entered his mind, and also cleared away the slight melancholy and confusion in his heart.

For a fleeting moment, he felt a pang of pity for Kangxi, realizing that while Kangxi was an emperor, he was also just an ordinary person. But it was only a momentary wavering.

Yin'e did not truly soften his heart, because he deeply understood one thing: the vulnerability and confusion that ordinary people experience only occasionally appeared in Kangxi, but the majesty, suspicion, and ruthlessness that an emperor should possess were always present in Kangxi's heart.

Kangxi was a high-ranking emperor who held the power of life and death, while he was a miserable prince who had to hide his cleverness and cunning in order to live a peaceful and leisurely life in the palace. Yin'e felt that it was not his place to feel sorry for Kangxi.

Even though he was a prince in this life, the son of Emperor Kangxi, Yin'e did not intend to sympathize with an emperor, because that would only bring misfortune and make him the one who needed more sympathy.

"No need to pinch me anymore, I've calmed down." With a gentle breath, Yin'e raised his hand to rub his face, smiled at the Ninth Prince, and his mind was clearer than ever before.

Looking at Yin'e with a speechless expression, the Ninth Prince frowned, his phoenix eyes filled with doubt, giving him a look that seemed to say, "Tenth Brother, what's wrong with you?" He seriously suspected that Yin'e was possessed by an evil spirit or had something wrong with his mind.

Yin'e shook his head at the Ninth Prince, not intending to mention the momentary sense of loss and dazedness he had felt. He simply picked through the fruit plate on the table and chose a dried lychee, handing it to the Ninth Prince: "Want some? Your favorite lychee."

"...Eat." After a moment of silence, the Ninth Prince, seeing that Yin'e didn't want to say more, didn't ask any further questions. He took the sun-dried lychee from Yin'e's hand, skillfully peeled it, and stuffed the flesh into his mouth.

With a lychee in his mouth, the Ninth Prince glanced down at the fruit plate, picked up a piece of dried peach and handed it to Yin'e, saying indistinctly, "Eat! Stop thinking about nonsense."

Yin'e took the sweet peach preserves and couldn't help but give the Ninth Prince a bright smile.

That's the difference. The Ninth Prince treated him like a brother and cared about him, so he remembered what he liked to eat and knew that sweet things could soothe him.

At first, Yin'e also regarded the Ninth Prince as the core of the Eighth Prince's faction in history. Initially, Yin'e's idea in befriending the Ninth Prince was to win over this money-grubber and have him manage and make money for him.

But now, Yin'e no longer looks at the Ninth Prince with the eyes of someone who sees money as a crook.

Although some of the words Yin'e said were meant to appease the Ninth Prince and soothe him, they were not entirely untrue. Yin'e had long regarded the Ninth Prince as a brother and his best friend.

But Kangxi... Yin'e never felt that his relationship with Kangxi was particularly close. Although he was Kangxi's son for four years, he never truly regarded Kangxi as his father for even a moment.

Yin'e had quite a few interactions with Emperor Kangxi, but he never showed his true self to him.

He subconsciously revealed the side of himself that reassured and pleased the Emperor, making the Emperor think that he, the son of a Noble Consort, had no ambition, was unruly and undisciplined, and was beyond redemption, and had never thought of competing with the Crown Prince for the throne.

Yin'e tried to please Emperor Kangxi by acting cute and charming, and did his best to win Kangxi's favor. This was only to dispel Kangxi's wariness of him, and it was never because Yin'e had feelings for Kangxi or loved him as a father.

Yin'e is similar to the Ninth Prince in one respect: in matters of the heart, he follows the simplest principle of "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth."

Yin'e, who had few family ties in his previous life, didn't really know how to cultivate family relationships. He only knew the simplest form of exchange: he would be good to whoever was good to him; he would return whatever he received, either in full or double.

Whether Emperor Kangxi treated Yin'e well or not, only Yin'e himself, as the person involved, can give the most truthful and realistic answer. Yin'e's answer was: Emperor Kangxi did treat him as a son.

But that's all there is to it.

Emperor Kangxi had many children, but Yin'e was just one of them whom Kangxi could abandon at any time, and who would not grieve for long even if Yin'e died young.

The Imperial Concubine treated Yin'e differently. It was precisely because Yin'e felt the Imperial Concubine's sincere, deep, and wholehearted maternal love that he truly regarded her as his mother and wholeheartedly wanted to change her fate and wished for her to live a long and healthy life.

As for Emperor Kangxi, since he has other sons whom he loves and cherishes more, let those sons love and cherish him more.

Yin'e genuinely felt that it was not his place to feel sorry for Kangxi; he felt that he was the unfortunate one who needed to be pitied.

He was inexplicably reborn into this era, with time suddenly rewinding three hundred years. Even though Yin'e gained the kinship he didn't have in his previous life, he also completely distanced himself from the air conditioning, refrigerators, takeout, and express delivery that brought convenience to people's lives in the future.

He's having a tough time too, okay?! Before feeling sorry for others, you should really feel sorry for yourself first.

The thought of never being able to enjoy air conditioning, refrigerators, takeout, and express delivery again made Yin'e's heart ache. He no longer felt sorry for Kangxi; he felt that he himself was the most pitiful one.

Lowering his head, Yin'e hurriedly took a piece of sweet candied fruit from the fruit plate in front of him and put it in his mouth, thus suppressing the urge to burst into tears: reality was too cruel, he needed to eat something sweet.

The Ninth Prince watched Yin'e devour the dried fruit with a calm expression. He was already used to it and remained composed. Without Yin'e even having to say anything, he poured him a cup of Mongolian-style salty milk tea: "Don't just eat sweet things, it'll get cloying if you eat too much. Drink some of this to balance it out."

Yin'e took the salty milk tea and took a big, satisfying gulp, letting out a long, contented sigh: "Awesome!"

The pain in their hearts was temporarily healed by the delicious food. Yin'e and the Ninth Prince squeezed together behind a table and ate and drank freely, picking and choosing a few cold dishes that hadn't gone bad.

Suddenly, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince noticed that the once lively and festive banquet had suddenly fallen silent, becoming awkwardly quiet.

Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were seated on the side of the main hall of the Hall of Preserving Harmony, far away from the princes and nobles who truly held power in the court.

Earlier, at the grand banquet for the Golden Festival, Emperor Kangxi toasted the princes and nobles in celebration. It wasn't their turn to toast, so Yin'e hadn't paid attention to what was happening there. Now, he was even less aware of what had happened that led to the sudden awkward silence.

Originally, these young princes were only there to make up the numbers, to prove that the emperor had many children and was not lacking in heirs. But there was really nothing they could participate in; at least, they were only qualified to participate in palace banquets after the eldest prince came of age and got married.

Stretching his neck and looking towards the center of the main hall, Yin'e saw a refined-looking old man of about fifty years old standing in the center of the hall, bowing to Kangxi, seemingly asking Kangxi for something, or perhaps making a petition.

"Who is that?" Yin'e didn't recognize the old man who had stepped out from the crowd in the center of the hall, so he leaned close to the Ninth Prince's ear and asked in confusion.

The Ninth Prince returned the same bewildered look to Yin'e: "I don't know him either."

They were all young princes who hadn't moved to the Prince's Residence or entered the Imperial Study. They could only wander around the inner palace on a daily basis, and they didn't know many people from the previous dynasty, so they really couldn't tell who he was.

"He is Grand Secretary Nalan Mingzhu."

As Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were whispering about the identity of the old man in the center of the main hall, a strange voice suddenly came from beside them.

Recognizing the voice, Yin'e turned around and saw the Eighth Prince staring intently in that direction.

The Eighth Prince's gentle and refined face was filled with barely concealed excitement. A bright blush rose on his cheeks, and his eyes sparkled with a strange light, making his already exquisite and handsome appearance appear somewhat eerie in the candlelight.

Yin'e fell silent for a moment. He didn't believe that the Eighth Prince had any intention of seizing the throne at this time. But there was no doubt that the Eighth Prince had a strong competitive spirit and a very strong ambition to climb the social ladder.

Somewhat surprised by the Eighth Prince's reaction, Yin'e subconsciously looked at the other princes.

The Third Prince was glaring at Nalan Mingzhu with gritted teeth and a resentful expression. The Third Prince had always been on good terms with the Crown Prince and had many conflicts with the First Prince, so it was not surprising that he had such an attitude towards Nalan Mingzhu.

The Fourth Prince frowned slightly, clearly displeased. However, Yin'e had been preoccupied with eating and drinking and was unaware of the cause and effect of the matter, so he was also unaware of why the Fourth Prince was displeased.

Fifth Prince... well, Fifth Prince, don't worry about him.

The Seventh Prince looked down indifferently at the table in front of him, not even glancing in Nalan Mingzhu's direction. Although he was usually quiet, he was always insightful and knew how to act with great discretion, never provoking trouble he shouldn't.

Yin'e was slightly taken aback; the eldest prince had already stepped into the limelight to compete with the crown prince. But it was still early; the most treacherous and brutal struggle for the throne was far from over.

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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 17:55:08 on March 19, 2023 and 11:57:10 on March 20, 2023!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Zeye (12 bottles); Shi Adai (10 bottles); Kexipi Shiwo Kuaile, -Qianqianxiaoka (1 bottle);

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