Chapter 20

Rongpin was standing by and watched as the Third Prince Yinzhi held Yinzuo's hand, her eyes moving slightly. She had noticed her son's stiffness and resistance after returning to the palace, but when she saw the Sixth Prince coming in, it seemed different.

Rongpin's eyes swept across Yinzuo's innocent, pure, and passionate little face, and a look of scrutiny flashed across her face. Although she did not like the Sixth Prince, of course, it was impossible for the women in the harem to like the children born by other women, but she also thought that the Sixth Prince might be able to make the reserved Third Prince relax a little.

So she smiled and said, "Your third brother can't open this jar. Is it filled with sugar? Rong'e Niang will open it for you and you can eat it together, okay?"

Sure, Yinzuo then handed the sugar jar to Rongpin.

Yinzuo also said to Yinzhi seriously: "One tablet a day."

“Not too much.”

Yinzuo's sweet diplomacy was quite effective, mainly because the third prince felt that he didn't need to sit there and say things like "I'm a little old, I haven't learned to read yet, I sleep well here" and so on. This little brother who came up and offered sweets made Yinzhi naturally take up the topic.

“Why not more?”

Yinzuo: “Too much is not good.” He didn’t know why it was bad, but his mother and the others said so.

Yinzuo thought about it, then moved closer to the Third Prince and whispered in his ear, "Mother won't allow it."

The scene of the two children biting their ears was very funny. Although Yinzuo thought he had lowered his voice, Rongpin and the others beside him could actually hear it. Rongpin smiled and gave a piece of candy to the Third Prince and Yinzuo respectively.

Yinzuo asked the third prince as if he was presenting a treasure: "Is it delicious?"

The third prince nodded.

After eating for a while, the Third Prince thought for a while and said, "The sugar monkey is also delicious. I've eaten it before."

Yinzuo asked curiously, "What is it?"

Actually, it is a sugar painting, and it can also be a sugar tiger, sugar cat, or sugar figurine. The Third Prince grew up outside the palace. Although he rarely left the house, the things brought back by people in the house made him a worldly-wise kid compared to Yinzuo.

Under Yinzuo's curious gaze, Yinzhi opened up and talked about the sugar paintings, candied haws, kicking cuju, playing crickets, flying kites, and climbing trees outside. The third prince had never climbed trees himself, but he had seen others do it.

Yinzuo didn't understand many parts of what was said, but he wanted to listen. His bright eyes looked at him with great interest, which made people more and more happy as the talk went on. The Third Prince said a lot without realizing it.

More than he has said in the days since he came back.

Looking at my little brother's envious and admiring gaze, I suddenly felt that this majestic and solemn place was not so intimidating and restrained.

Yinzuo was indeed envious. He pulled his third brother's sleeve and said, "Take Yin, Yin go."

Go to the places that my third brother mentioned.

But that’s not possible, your third brother can’t get out by himself.

When the Third Prince and Yinzuo were talking about the carriage outside the palace, another visitor came here, accompanied by the Eldest Prince and the Crown Prince.

These two people also gave some gifts to the Third Prince. This time, probably to avoid suspicion with his stepmother, the two people who didn't like each other agreed to come together, and they also discussed the matching gifts. The eldest brother gave a set of pens, ink, paper and inkstone, and the crown prince gave a set of enlightenment books.

Anyway, none of the gifts from these two people could please the Third Prince as much as the jar of candy from Yinzuo.

When these two older brothers talked to Yinzhi, their conversation was not much different from that of other people. They said that they should start school in half a year, study hard, and live up to the expectations of the emperor.

The eldest prince and the crown prince would not let the atmosphere cool down and said a lot of words to show their concern for their younger brother's enlightenment and schooling. However, with all the questions and answers, the third prince Yinzhi sat on a small stool and answered passively. He was not as relaxed as before when he took the initiative to talk about what he had seen and heard outside. He seemed restrained again.

Yinzuo waited for a long time, and finally lost his patience. He tugged at the sleeve of the Crown Prince next to him, and when he looked over, he said, "Brother, look for Yin."

"forget?"

This brother gave him many toys, but he promised to come to see him when he was done with his work, but he was never there, so Yinzuo came to remind him again.

But before the Crown Prince could react, the eldest prince suddenly came over and picked him up: "Let me see if you have gained weight again?"

As soon as he was picked up by the eldest prince, Yinzuo hugged the eldest prince's neck, smiled widely, and asked the eldest prince: "Brother, fly!"

So then His Royal Highness the Crown Prince and the others saw how he flew. Yinzuo was lifted up and held by the eldest prince and spun around for several circles. His giggles could have blown the roof off, while His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's face was as dark as the bottom of a pot.

The prince asked the eldest prince to stop, but the eldest prince refused to listen.

As soon as the eldest prince stopped, the prince scolded: "If you fall and stretch yourself, you will see how the emperor will punish you."

The eldest prince disagreed: "It won't be a problem. What a fuss! Boys are not that delicate. Yinzuo, it's fun, isn't it?"

Yinzuo's eyes were so bright from laughing that they turned into crescents. He didn't even notice his brother the Crown Prince's ugly expression. He nodded affirmatively and said, "It's fun!"

The eldest prince did not show favoritism to his younger brother, the newly returned third prince. He raised his eyebrows and looked at the third prince and said, "Third brother, come and try too?"

Yinzuo also strongly recommended their eldest brother's Feifei to the third prince, and said again: "It's fun!" But the third prince was not like Yinzuo, who had special skills to get along with any of his brothers and sisters. He twisted his body to avoid the eldest prince's hand: "I don't want it."

Of course the eldest prince was not persistent after being rejected.

On the contrary, Yinzuo found it incredible that his third brother didn't like to play this, but he liked it very much. He smiled at the eldest prince with his little face tilted up and said, "I want more!"

The eldest prince raised his chin towards the crown prince, motioned Yinzuo to look over there, and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince doesn't want you to play this game again."

Yinzuo, who was in high spirits, only then noticed the sour face of his brother the Crown Prince and was confused as to why.

The Crown Prince, who was pointed out by the eldest prince, held his breath in his chest and frowned, not at Yinzuo, but at the eldest prince. How could this eldest prince be so annoying?

The eyes of the eldest prince and the crown prince met and there were crackling sounds again.

Yinzuo thought about his stinky-faced brother, the crown prince, for a while, then said softly and uncertainly, "Brother, hug me?"

This kid thought that his brother the Crown Prince’s stinky face meant that he wanted to hug him as well, and he treated himself as a little baby. The eldest brother laughed out loud, with a look of anticipation on his face.

At this time, Yinzuo was already holding on to the table and staggering towards the prince.

Yinzuo's wet nurse looked at their Sixth Prince's innocent and even eager face, then glanced at the Crown Prince's dark face. She wanted to say something to their Sixth Prince, but in the end she thought that it was better for the masters to solve it themselves, as it was none of their business as servants.

The eldest prince laughed again, this time to Yinzuo, and said, "Sixth brother, the Crown Prince can't hold you, please don't make it difficult for the Crown Prince."

Huh? Yinzuo stopped. He was a good brother and would not embarrass his elder brother.

Prince: “…”

The prince knew that the eldest prince was deliberately disgusting and childish, so he didn't want to pay any attention to him. But he was unwilling to be treated as if he really couldn't hold such a small thing by the eldest prince.

The boy in front of me believed it.

The Crown Prince smiled again, and without getting up from the stool, he leaned over and stretched out his hands to pick up Yinzuo by the waist. He didn't hold him in his arms, but held him at a distance from him with both hands, so that he could look at him at eye level. The Crown Prince also said, "Did you eat well, Sixth Brother? It's very light."

"Huh?" Yinzuo was being held in such a static position. It was neither as comfortable as being held in the arms nor as stimulating as being spun around in circles. However, Yinzuo also thought it was quite fun. Yinzuo said, "I can hold it so that it moves."

The prince smiled and said, "Of course."

But why did he want to hold the child? This situation was caused by the eldest brother. It was inexplicable. The prince insisted inexplicably that as a prince, he would not hold his younger brothers. Holding them like this did not count as holding.

Yinzuo: "I ate well."

"Grow some weight." Yinzuo signaled to the prince and pinched his own soft wrist.

Speaking of food, Yinzuo remembered the candied haws and sugar paintings his third brother had mentioned. He looked at his elder brother, the crown prince, and said, "Outside."

"Eat outside."

"Brother, take Yin and third brother, outside."

"Sugar painting."

It was a mess, and the Crown Prince and the eldest prince didn't understand what it meant. The third prince Yinzhi knew that he didn't have much enthusiasm for these two royal brothers. He always felt a sense of oppression when facing these two people, but at this time he couldn't help but ask with hope in his eyes: "Can the Crown Prince and the eldest brother take me and my sixth brother out of the palace?"

He also said: "Not now, we can wait a few days."

The Crown Prince and the eldest prince looked at each other. Even after a few days, it was not possible. The eldest prince said regretfully: "I, your eldest brother, have never walked outside at this age. You have to wait a little longer. When I, your eldest brother, go out to open the mansion, I can take you out to play."

But that was many years later.

The third prince was full of disappointment, and Yinzuo was also disappointed, but Yinzuo's disappointment only lasted for a moment. He kept asking the eldest prince what opening a government office meant, but he still didn't understand after listening.

(End of this chapter)