The banquet officially began, and Yinreng's brothers first praised Hongjin, then used this as an excuse to start plying Yinreng with wine.

The ministers only dared to praise him, and dared not have any other thoughts.

Moreover, with Suo'etu and his sons smiling at everyone, giving off a "who dares to be presumptuous" vibe, some of the younger officials suppressed their own thoughts.

Only Mingzhu would occasionally glare at him, expressing her disdain and disgust.

The younger generation, including Hongxi, naturally did not participate in the power struggles among the adults. They sat at a separate table. They were all sons of their uncles and aunts, and they had seen each other before. So, they chatted about happy topics.

They weren't that curious about the Ninth Prince; they were just looking forward to finishing their meal so they could go play in the garden together.

Yuqing Palace is really nice, even better than their residences, at least there are more places to visit.

Just as the children had finished eating, Hongli respectfully approached Hongxi with a wine cup in his hand.

Their timid yet forcedly respectful demeanor silenced all the children, and their sudden quiet drew curious glances from the royal family and ministers.

"Second brother, I was wrong in the garden just now. I apologize to you. I hope you won't be angry. Please don't stop playing with me in the future, okay?"

The children's table was filled with grape juice in small glass cups, which looked especially pretty.

After a moment of bewilderment, Hongxi looked at Hongli with a half-smile.

[Father, look at this little rascal! Isn't he incredibly wicked? He actually tricked me in front of all my uncles and ministers. If word gets out, what will people say about me, and what will they say about you, Father?]

Yinreng's eyes darkened, and he glanced coldly at the bewildered Yinzhen before looking at the children.

He wanted to see how his son would handle the situation.

You can handle it however you want; Ama will take care of the aftermath.

At worst, we can leave Hongli in Yuqing Palace to be properly educated for a few years. He's just a cunning brat; we have ways to deal with him.

Hongyu frowned, glanced at Hongli who wouldn't give up until he achieved his goal, and then at Hongshi who looked panicked and at a loss. He sighed silently.

"Hongshi, he is your own younger brother, what do you say?"

Hongshi and Hongli are both sons of the fourth uncle, so it seems better for Hongshi, the older brother, to step in and resolve the issue.

Hongshi, usually a bit dim-witted, suddenly seemed to have his meridians opened. He blinked and said, "Hongli, you were in the wrong in the garden first, and then you lied to Father. Your second brother only said a few words to you as an older brother to give you some pointers. There's no question of being angry or not. But if you do this now, are you trying to make a big scene so that the ministers of the previous court will demand an explanation for you, or are you trying to make the censors question whether your second uncle has problems with raising his children?"

His words left everyone speechless. Yinreng raised an eyebrow and glanced at Yinzhen, who seemed to be deep in thought. "Fourth Prince, your Hongshi has made progress."

Yinzhen was still immersed in his son's words and seemed not to understand the sarcasm in Yinreng's words. He nodded hurriedly, but his eyes never left the children's table.

Hongli's hand holding the wine glass stiffened, and he looked at Hongshi with some surprise, seemingly not expecting this brainless man to say such a thing today.

"Brother, I... I just wanted to apologize..."

"That's enough," Hongyu stepped in promptly.

“Hongli, you are only three years old. There is no need for you to do such a thing. Even if you act spoiled or throw a tantrum, your older brothers will not think anything of you. It is much better than putting someone in such a precarious situation.”

Seeing that Hongyu's words were so obvious, Hongli dared not play any tricks anymore and quickly returned to his seat with his wine glass.

Throughout the entire ordeal, Hongxi didn't say anything to Hongli. Only when the crowd dispersed did he grab Hongli's arm and say, "If you live honestly and dutifully from now on, I won't do anything to you. But if you dare to scheme or play tricks again, I won't hesitate to team up with the other brothers to deal with you."

Hongli suddenly looked at Hongxi. Although the child was only three years old, the surprise and defiance in his eyes made him look like someone who had lived for a long time.

Hongxi had no intention of saying anything more to him; after giving a warning, he left.

After a few days of calm, Hongxi suddenly sent an invitation to Hongshi, inviting him to play at the horse farm outside the palace.

Because of what happened at the full moon banquet and this invitation, Yinzhen began to pay attention to this son who had been neglected for a long time.

"Have fun with your brother, and listen to his advice when you need to do things."

Yinzhen patted Hongshi on the shoulder and then said, "Father recently received a fine horse from Mongolia. I just had Su Peisheng fetch it for you and I'm giving it to you."

Hongshi looked at Yinzhen with surprise and emotion. Since the birth of Hongli and Hongzhou, he had never felt his father's love.

"Thank you, Father. Your son will definitely be good."

A small head peeked out from behind a tree trunk not far away, its eyes filled with gloom as it watched Hongshi leading the beautiful black pony.

At the horse farm, Hongxi and Hongyu arrived relatively early, followed by Hongsheng and Hongshi.

Hongxi immediately became interested in Hongshi's horse, "Fourth brother, your horse is quite nice."

Hongyu spent several months in the military camp and also studied horses. He was clearly very interested in Hongshi's horses.

"Did your fourth uncle give this to you?" Hongyu circled the horse a few times and couldn't help but click his tongue.

Hongshi raised his proud little head and said, "Father just gave it to me. He said it was a gift from Mongolia."

A gift from Mongolia?

Hongxi and Hongyu exchanged a glance. They also had tribute horses from Mongolia, sent by their tenth aunt's family, but they were still inferior to Hongshi's horse.

"What's your name?" Hongsheng asked.

Hongshi scratched his head. "It's called... Gale."

"Swift Wind?" the other three exclaimed in unison, "Nice name."

Then the four children each mounted a horse. "Come on, let's ride a few laps and see what this horse is all about."

The four young princes played at the horse farm all day. When they returned, they were so tired that they could hardly stand up straight, but they still looked like they couldn't walk straight.

In the end, Hongyu made the decision to play again in three days.

He should have one last good time before he starts doing his job.

I don't know when I'll be able to play with my younger brothers like this again.

The first two days were spent resting, and the last day was filled with anticipation and preparation.

I thought it would be another fun and enjoyable day, but after only two laps, Gale started acting strangely.

At first, Hiroshi only noticed that Hayate was getting excited and running faster and faster. But later, no matter how much he tightened the reins, it was no use; Hayate showed no sign of slowing down.

Even though Hongshi was slow to react, he could guess that Jifeng had been tricked.