Chapter 90: Encountering Old Ten's Lazy Sigh

The Ninth Prince, who was hiding behind Yin'e, peeked out with an expression of amazement, saying, "You can do this kind of thing?"

Greatly inspired, the Ninth Prince stepped out from behind Yin'e, his joy evident. He clapped his hands and loudly agreed, "Tenth Brother is right! We won't be at the bottom of the Imperial Study!"

The Ninth Prince thought Yin'e's words made a lot of sense. They wanted to achieve average grades in the Imperial Study, as long as they didn't fall at the bottom in any subject.

The older brothers, who are ranked higher in the order of birth, each have their own weaknesses; in every subject, there's always someone who's naturally weaker. Compared to their older brothers' worst subject, their level is definitely stronger, making it incredibly easy for them to achieve an average grade.

The Ninth Prince had no ambition and did not want to achieve outstanding results.

Just as Yin'e said, their grades only need to be average. As long as they don't do as badly as the Fifth Prince, the Emperor won't be too angry and will let them off the hook.

With a dark expression, Kangxi pressed his temples, feeling an unbearable headache: "Don't you think these words shouldn't be said in front of me?"

These two brats are too arrogant! Not only are they not studious or ambitious, but they're also proud of it. The Imperial Concubine and Consort Yi are too lenient with them. Children shouldn't be spoiled like this. If they continue like this, they'll become another Fifth Prince.

Yin'e sensed that Kangxi was about to take serious action, so he quickly pulled the Ninth Prince aside and said, "Father is busy with official duties, so Ninth Brother and I won't disturb you. We agreed that after the Golden Offering Festival in October, Ninth Brother and I will move to the Third and Fourth Palaces of the Western Palace. Father, don't forget."

The Ninth Prince wasn't stupid either. After being pulled by Yin'e, he realized what was going on and nodded repeatedly to indicate that he thought so too. He didn't want to disturb his father's work any longer, so he followed Yin'e and left the Qianqing Palace together.

Before leaving, Yin'e's gaze lingered on the desk in front of Kangxi for a couple of moments.

He sighed dramatically, his expression exaggerated, his longing eyes glancing repeatedly at the desk. His hesitant manner was so obvious that it seemed particularly fake.

Seeing Yin'e's behavior, Kangxi suddenly remembered Yin'e's little hobby and couldn't help but laugh in exasperation at his troublesome son.

But Yin'e had only had this one hobby since childhood, so it wasn't a big deal. Kangxi, who had just been attacked by Yin'e's laziness, was too lazy to say more. He just waved his hand impatiently, indicating that Yin'e and the Ninth Prince could leave, and at the same time gave Liang Jiugong a look.

Liang Jiugong is so shrewd. He's always by Kangxi's side. How could he not understand Kangxi's intentions?

He immediately stepped forward with a smile, picked up the jade brush washer that Yin'e had taken a liking to on the desk, and handed it to Yin'e with a slight bow: "Your Highness, please take this. His Majesty has already bestowed this item upon Your Highness."

Not only did he successfully achieve his goal during his trip to the Qianqing Palace, but he also managed to snag a nice item. Yin'e was extremely satisfied and immediately offered Kangxi a bright and adorable smile, acting cute without any restraint and completely willingly.

Holding the jade brush washer as he left the Qianqing Palace, Yin'e pondered that he could be more unrestrained in front of Emperor Kangxi in the future, and perhaps even manage to steal more good things.

Yin'e did this not because he relied on how much Kangxi doted on him, or because he was confident that Kangxi would indulge him. It was simply because he was indifferent to worldly desires. Even if Kangxi reprimanded him, it would have no effect on him.

"Playing dumb" doesn't mean that Yin'e does nothing and doesn't fight for himself. That's not playing dumb; that's waiting to die.

Yin'e's slacking off stemmed from the fact that he never expected Kangxi's fatherly love, never expected Kangxi to give him the opportunity to strive for progress and prove himself, and never expected his current situation to change.

Emperor Kangxi did not want him to threaten the position of the Crown Prince, so he wanted Yin'e to be raised in luxury like the Fifth Prince. Yin'e felt that this was fine, and in fact, Kangxi's arrangement suited Yin'e's wishes. He just wanted to be a lazy bum, reaping a lot without putting in any effort.

However, Kangxi restricted Yin'e's right to climb the ranks from the very beginning, and in turn, Yin'e restricted his feelings for Kangxi in his heart.

Yin'e didn't need Kangxi's favor, nor did he care what Kangxi thought of him. Whether Kangxi liked or disliked him, it made no difference to Yin'e.

Yin'e's remarks in front of Emperor Kangxi today were somewhat presumptuous, but although Emperor Kangxi was somewhat displeased, he did not immediately and explicitly stop him.

In other words, even Emperor Kangxi himself was somewhat confused about his own thoughts. As a father, he instinctively hoped that his son would be ambitious, but reason clashed with instinct, and he may have secretly approved of Yin'e's tendency to slack off.

Today's encounter emboldened Yin'e a little.

He discovered that Kangxi was very tolerant of him and the Ninth Prince, especially of him—perhaps because Kangxi was too lazy to discipline them, but this did not prevent Yin'e from becoming bolder and deciding to continue to provoke Kangxi's bottom line next time.

After leaving the Qianqing Palace, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were about to leave through the Longfu Gate when they encountered the Fourth Prince and his entourage coming from the direction of the Rijing Gate.

The name "Qianqing Palace" is actually just a general term; the palace complex itself is a vast area located between the Western Six Palaces and the Eastern Six Palaces.

The Qianqing Palace consists of three palaces from south to north: the Qianqing Palace, the Jiaotai Hall, and the Kunning Palace. It has six gates leading to the outside world: the Qianqing Gate, the Rijing Gate, the Yuehua Gate, the Longfu Gate, the Jinghe Gate, and the Kunning Gate.

The main gate, Qianqing Gate, is located south of Qianqing Palace and leads to Baohe Hall and Taihe Hall.

Rijing Gate and Yuehua Gate are side gates, located on either side of Qianqing Gate, flanking the Shangshufang (Imperial Study) and Nanshufang (Southern Study) respectively. Rijing Gate leads directly to Yuqing Palace and Fengxian Hall, while Yuehua Gate leads directly to Yangxin Hall and Cining Palace.

Jinghe Gate and Longfu Gate are both side gates, located on either side of Jiaotai Hall. Jinghe Gate leads to the Eastern Six Palaces, adjacent to Chengqian Palace and Jingren Palace; Longfu Gate leads to the Western Six Palaces, adjacent to Yikun Palace and Yongshou Palace.

Kunning Gate is the back gate, located north of Kunning Palace, adjacent to the Imperial Garden at the northernmost end of the Forbidden City.

Rather than saying that the Fourth Prince came from the direction of Rijing Gate, it would be more accurate to say that he came from the direction of the Imperial Study.

It was not yet time for the morning classes to end at the Imperial Study, so the Fourth Prince left early to visit the ailing Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia at Chengqian Palace in the Eastern Six Palaces via Jinghe Gate.

Consort Tongjia's health deteriorated, and in late June, Emperor Kangxi finally issued an edict granting the Fourth Prince special permission to leave school half an hour early every morning to visit Consort Tongjia at Chengqian Palace.

With this decree from Emperor Kangxi, the Fourth Prince no longer had to dedicate all his lunch and rest time to this day.

"Fourth Brother!"

Fourth Brother.

Yin'e and the Ninth Prince had already seen the Fourth Prince, and it wouldn't be right to pretend they hadn't, so they left without even saying hello. The two of them hurriedly went down the steps, bowed to the Fourth Prince who was walking towards them, and called him "Fourth Brother" in unison.

The Fourth Prince had lost a lot of weight; the deep purple python robe hung loosely on him, looking a full size too big.

It was obvious that the Fourth Prince had suddenly lost weight in a very short period of time, so the seamstresses in his courtyard did not have time to take his measurements and tailor clothes accordingly.

Not only had he lost a lot of weight, but the Fourth Prince also looked extremely haggard. His face was pale and bloodless, and there were dark circles under his eyes, as if he hadn't had a good night's sleep in a long time.

"So it's Ninth Brother and Tenth Brother." When the Fourth Prince saw Yin'e and the Ninth Prince, he forced himself to greet them and nodded slightly in greeting.

The Fourth Prince seemed not to have considered why Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were in the Qianqing Palace at all. He didn't ask a single question, greeted them, and then took his leave.

"Fourth Brother!" Seeing the Fourth Prince's thin figure, Yin'e hesitated for a moment before calling out to him.

He ran up to the Fourth Prince and took off the purse from his waist and handed it to him. He looked up at the Fourth Prince with his fair and handsome face and wide, dark eyes, saying, "Fourth Brother has lost a lot of weight."

He hummed in response, then looked down at Yin'e without saying anything more—no explanation, no comfort. He seemed slow to react, or perhaps he was having trouble processing what was happening around him; he appeared somewhat dazed.

Seeing that the Fourth Prince did not intend to take the purse, Yin'e stood on tiptoe and stuffed the purse into his hand: "Fourth Brother, you must eat well and not go hungry. It is very uncomfortable to go hungry, and you will not grow tall enough to become a Baturu to protect the important people."

The Fourth Prince gently squeezed the purse in his hand, and as if he had finally come to his senses, he nodded to Yin'e: "I've remembered it, thank you for your concern, Tenth Brother."

Yin'e tilted his little face up and gave a crisp reply to the Fourth Prince. As he stepped aside so as not to block the Fourth Prince's way to Jinghe Gate, he reminded him, "These are freshly made peach blossom cakes. If Fourth Brother is hungry, you can have a bite on the way."

Watching the Fourth Prince's figure disappear through Jinghe Gate into Qianqing Palace, Yin'e withdrew his gaze in a daze and let out a long breath.

Yin'e's sudden call to the Fourth Prince was actually an impulsive act.

In order to live a comfortable and happy life in the future, Yin'e certainly thought about befriending the future emperor, Yongzheng. However, he was ultimately a lazy and procrastinating person, and always tended not to offend the Fourth Prince, so he did not take any concrete steps to befriend him.

She would give the Fourth Prince a purse filled with peach blossom cakes, firstly because the Fourth Prince looked too thin, as if he hadn't eaten or rested properly for a long time; secondly because... Yin'e was reminded of the past.

The Fourth Prince's birthday is after Yin'e's, at the end of October. He is not even eleven years old yet, but he is about to lose the mother who has always loved and protected him. Yin'e is unaware that the Fourth Prince already knows that Consort Tongjia is not his biological mother.

Yin'e thought of the Tenth Prince in history. When Consort Niohuru passed away, the Tenth Prince was also eleven years old, not yet an adult, not yet married, and still just a young boy.

Historically, among all of Emperor Kangxi's many children, there were only a few princes who lost their mothers and had no mother's protection. The Crown Prince was one, the Tenth Prince was another, and the Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince were half of them.

The Fourth Prince still had Consort De as his birth mother, although she didn't take good care of him, he still held a nominal position. When Consort Zhangjia passed away, the Thirteenth Prince was already thirteen years old, less than two years away from his wedding, and could be considered independent.

However, among these people, the tenth prince was in the most awkward situation.

The Crown Prince was Kangxi's most beloved legitimate son, and the Fourth Prince, being the eldest, was also trusted and relied upon by Kangxi.

The Thirteenth Prince's birth mother, Lady Zhangjia, has been granted the title of Consort this year. He is not considered the son of a concubine. Moreover, his sons the Fifteenth and Sixteenth were born later and were also sons of concubines. The Thirteenth Prince enjoyed the treatment of a youngest son, just like the Fourteenth Prince, from a young age.

The Tenth Prince, being in the middle of the birth order, was neither among his older brothers nor the youngest son. After the death of the Imperial Concubine, the Tenth Prince not only lost his mother's care but also his father's love.

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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 21:56:46 and 23:53:07 on March 29, 2023!

Thank you to the little angels who watered with nutrient solution: Tingyuchuan and Mian (11 bottles); Sui'an (10 bottles); Cherish (5 bottles); Juwu and Mango Daifuku (1 bottle each);

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