Chapter 22

When leaving, the people around Yinzuo were still holding the toy used for pitching pots on the eldest prince's side. Yinzuo stood on the edge of the pot with his feet and was able to put the chips in when his head was above the mouth of the pot.

After Yinzuo left, the eunuch beside the eldest prince was grinding ink for him while saying, "The sixth prince is innocent and cute. Does the master like this sixth prince?"

As trusted eunuchs, they have to understand their master's true attitude towards people.

The eldest prince picked up the tea at the side and moistened his throat. He had just played with the little one for such a long time, which was no less than the amount of exercise during a workout. He was really a little tired.

The smile on the eldest prince's face had not yet completely disappeared. He said lazily, "Not bad."

The eunuch Zhao Xi beside the eldest prince said, "The East Palace has always been noble, but the princes are all sons of His Majesty. Which of the princes in the palace is not a noble master? I think it's good for the eldest prince to be like this. We are all princes, and we are all brothers. There is no need to put down your airs."

"The elder brothers in the East Palace cannot be as approachable and close to others as the eldest prince. Slowly, won't the Sixth Prince be closer to you, the master? He can also be a helper to you, the master."

Speaking of which, the eldest prince and the crown prince are still young, and they are just children in Kangxi's eyes, but some things have already begun to emerge. This is the eldest surviving prince, how could Concubine Hui and her maternal family not have any thoughts?

And how could this cheerful eldest prince, who has been influenced by everything he has seen and heard, and by the fluctuating human hearts, not be affected?

The eldest prince swallowed the tea in his mouth, the remaining smile on his face disappeared, and he regained the composure of the eldest prince. When the eldest prince was serious, he was a young man who looked reliable and had an extraordinary demeanor.

He said, "She is still young, and it's too early to tell what will happen in the future."

As long as a family has accumulated wealth, conflicts among the heirs are inevitable. What's more, that is not just a title or a family fortune, but the position of the master of the world. Even though the laughter and joy in this prince's residence still seem to echo in the ears, it is actually too difficult to find family affection in such a family.

Because the crown prince was there to block him and Yinzuo was too young, the eldest prince did not consider Yinzuo as a competitor. And because Yinzuo was too young, the eldest prince also did not consider him as a future helper. Just like he and Zhao Xi said, it was too early to wait for Yinzuo to grow up. Who knew what he would be like when he grew up? It was hard to say whether he would stand on his side or not.

If these distracting factors were excluded, the relationship between the eldest prince and Yinzuo was actually more pure. At least in the happy moment when he was playing with him just now, there were no distractions.

But at the same time, that kind of happiness and liking is superficial and short-lived, and is not the same as the close family members that you recognize in your heart.

This is normal. The royal family is like a barren land close to a desert. Few people can succeed in planting the seeds of family affection on this land.

The little guy Yinzuo thought he was born into the right family. He had a mother and a father, and a bunch of brothers and sisters. He had so many relatives and was immersed in a bubble of happiness every day. But the truth is always not so beautiful. He was not born into such a good family. His family was very complicated.

But Yinzuo doesn’t know now, so there is no need to worry about it. We can talk about the future later. Everything will work out when the time comes.

Yinzuo is now going home to play pitch-pot happily with his mother.

He still had a lot of things to tell his mother, about his third brother, the crown prince, and the eldest brother he met today, the sugar monkey that his third brother mentioned, and climbing trees. The crown prince was still busy, so his eldest brother took him archery.

Yinzuo and his mother talked and gestured, their little faces flushed with excitement, and Xiao Cui was beside them adding to their stories. Depin was also listening with pleasure. When she heard that the eldest prince lied to Yinzuo and said that he liked his eldest brother the most, the corner of Depin's mouth twitched.

However, Depin was proud and thought that her son was very popular.

That's true. Isn't it that Rongpin thought that the Third Prince, who had just returned to the palace, seemed to be getting along well with the Sixth Prince, so she wanted to use Yinzuo so that their Third Prince could have a playmate, forget about the things outside the palace as soon as possible, and settle down in the palace as soon as possible?

So when they went out to play again, although they still did not meet the Fourth Prince by chance, they would often meet the Third Prince. Yinzuo and his Third Brother and Fourth Sister got along better and better. They also played tossing pots and circled around trees trying to climb them. They could not climb up, but they could play with the leaves and insects that fell to the ground when they shook them.

None of the three was timid. They saw the insects crawling on the leaves and dared to touch them, which scared the people around them and made them want to take the insects away.

The third prince Yinzhi was still protecting him. The child was now a good brother. He blocked him with his little arm and said, "Brother wants to play more!"

The fourth princess also nodded: "It's ours, we won't give it to you."

Yinzuo: "Let's play together."

The servants who served the three young masters looked at each other, and no one wanted to step forward and be the bad guy.

Each of these three little masters is not difficult to manage separately. The Third Prince is still reserved when he just returned to the palace, the Fourth Princess is a quiet little princess, and the Sixth Prince is also well-behaved and sensible. But when they get together, they are difficult to manage.

For example, now, the Sixth Prince has stretched out his little finger to touch the head of the green worm, and said, "Eyes?" He is looking for the eyes of the green worm.

The Third Prince said, "Let me see."

The fourth princess was also very interested and touched the caterpillar's antennae, saying that they were whiskers.

Even the little palace maids who were afraid of insects got goose bumps.

Xiao Cui, who had been following Yin Zuo because Depin was worried, looked at Yin Zuo's big, blinking eyes. He was observing the insects with great interest. Xiao Cui thought for a moment and said, "This insect is not poisonous. It's okay to play with it for a while."

Yipin and Rongpin felt that Depin was too doting on her child, but as the saying goes, no one wanted to be the bad guy. What people said was not wrong. Although it was a bug, it was not poisonous, right?

Since bugs can be played with, then mud can certainly be played with as well.

The people in Yipin's palace were a little upset when they saw the fourth princess playing in the mud. This princess was a royal princess. The people in Rongpin's palace were also worried. Was this not good? They just followed the Sixth Prince's heart.

Xiao Cui is Depin's favorite person. She understands Depin's thoughts. She is not afraid of the little master being a little naughty, because naughty children are strong. Depin thinks that the little prince is still young, and it is good for him to grow up happily. As long as it is not harmful to his body, he can play however he likes.

After playing like this for a while, the Fourth Princess and the Third Prince came out less and less often.

But Yinzuo has gotten used to not seeing his brothers and sisters often. It's okay. Family members don't have to see each other every day. Yinzuo is now a more sensible Yinzuo. He is a walking Yinzuo!

During this period, Yinzuo also held the one-year-old ceremony. There were many princes and princesses in the palace, and each prince and princess's one-year-old ceremony was held in their own palace. It was not a big deal.

The prince's one-year-old celebration was quite eye-catching, but weren't the others the princes? Yinzuo also had a long table with things for him to play with. Depin didn't have high expectations for Yinzuo, so she let him just grab a book.

Now that spring had passed and summer had arrived, Yinzuo had changed into the lightest clothes, but he still often felt hot. Now that he could walk and the weather was hot, Yinzuo became less and less interested in being held by his wet nurse.

The weather was getting hotter and hotter, and Depin deliberately didn't want Yinzuo to go out all the time, but the older the child got, the more he liked to go out. Of course, he had long felt that his family was too big, and he wanted to grow up early because he wanted to visit his whole family!

Now his short legs can finally walk more swiftly.

Yinzuo was lying by the lake watching the fish again. He was over one year old, but he still hadn't seen enough. Anyway, the adults didn't think it was enough to watch so many fish. And now he still wanted to play in the water and catch fish.

Unfortunately, Xiao Cui and the others only let him play in the fish feeding area with railings by the lake. He could only watch from afar in other places without railings and was not allowed to get close. If he really wanted to get close, he had to let them hold him in their arms.

Yinzuo was now looking at the fish through the railing. His body was not even as tall as the white jade railing, and it was too difficult for him to see from above by standing on tiptoe. Even only one of his eyes could be seen. But he had a good brain, and although he could not see from above, he could still see from below, through the carved hollow area on the lower part of the white jade railing.

Xiao Cui felt helpless. This was so tiring. How could they just enjoy watching the fish?

But the young master is happy with it this way.

When the prince and his entourage were walking by in the distance, the prince, who had good eyesight, saw the group lying there with its butt sticking up, and his eyebrows twitched twice.

Although I haven't seen the front yet, I can tell who is over there at a glance.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince tried to pretend he didn't see it.

Isn’t this fate?

At this moment, Yinzuo was bent over and was so tired that he lost his balance and fell backwards like a little turtle with its four legs facing the air. Xiao Cui and the others were startled, and the prince also stopped.

But Yinzuo didn't cry. He was brave and not scared. His butt hurt a little, but after being helped up, he just touched himself and felt better. And when he looked up, he saw his brother, the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince saw that the little one's eyes lit up the moment he saw him, and sure enough, the next moment he heard the little one happily shouting, "Brother!"

At this time, the prince could no longer pretend not to see it, and the little guy could now walk by himself, and was walking happily towards his brother, the prince.

The little one was walking in a hurry, and he walked crookedly, looking like he was about to fall. The prince was panicked when he saw this, and he walked quickly a few times to support the little one. He frowned slightly and said to the little one who smiled like a flower and called him brother crisply, "Walk slower."

Yinzuo just grabbed the prince's hand and smiled heartlessly, saying, "Wow, I'm happy to see my brother, Yin!"

Prince: “…”

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince also felt that his sixth brother was born with a sweet tongue. He could say these words right away, but he couldn't do it. Was it a talent unique to children?

Apart from Yinzuo, the prince had never interacted with any other children as young as him.

I don’t know if he was like this when he was a child, but even when he is happy to see his royal father now, he can’t tell.

But there is no doubt that those who heard it were quite happy.

The small-minded prince also forgot about the unhappiness a few months ago because Yinzuo said he would wait for him to finish his work and go find him, but left with the eldest brother before he finished speaking. Then the prince looked at the people who served Yinzuo and said, "Don't indulge him recklessly. Take good care of the safety of the Sixth Prince."

This is talking about what happened just now when Yinzuo was sticking his butt out to look at the fish and then fell down like a little turtle with his legs up in the air.

After reprimanding the palace maids, the prince still had to leave, but Yinzuo was not yet close enough to his brother the prince whom he had not seen for a long time.

Although Yinzuo is not clingy now, he still misses his brother whom he seldom sees. He wants to spend more time with his brother the crown prince whom he finally gets to see.

After one year old, Yinzuo did not develop any bad habits, and he did not use the crying skills of a child to achieve his goals. But he is no longer the Yinzuo of the past. He has grown up, he is the Yinzuo who can walk, and he is also the Yinzuo who is getting smarter and smarter.

He took his brother the prince's hand and said softly, "Give it to you."

"Yin sent brother."

A little kid looks at you with a pair of bright and clear eyes and says he wants to send his brother off. Who can have the heart to refuse?

So His Royal Highness the Crown Prince was led by a little kid for a while.

The little guy is short and walks slowly, so His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has to walk with him. The key point is that it feels awkward to be held by the little guy's hand.

The Crown Prince, who had no experience in dealing with such a big kid, continued his nonsense writing: "You've grown up again."

Of course, a child of this age looks different every time I see him.

Yinzuo nodded, "When I grow up, I will find my brother."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince actually didn't understand what the little one meant.

Yinzuo said: "Brother is always busy."

The prince: “…Yeah, there are a lot of things to do.” He had thought about fulfilling the agreement to visit his sixth brother sometime, but wasn’t it put aside because of a little unpleasantness last time?

Besides, he has several younger brothers, and he has never looked for any of his other brothers.

But Yinzuo said happily: "Don't be afraid, Yin is older now."

The happy little one did not walk honestly. He swung his little arm back and forth holding the Crown Prince's hand, and also swung the Crown Prince's arm back and forth, making the Crown Prince feel dizzy and wondering, "Now he has grown up, what's next?"

What children say is so illogical.

Besides, he is only a little bit tall, and needs to lean his body to cooperate with the little one holding his hand. How can he be considered grown up?

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, whose manners have always been impeccable, was a little ruined today when he was with a tiny kid - the boy's body was slightly tilted to the side, and his arms were swinging back and forth, and his dignity and elegance somehow managed to bring out some of the vitality and vigor that a boy should have.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince wanted to pull his hand out, but the little one was not holding his hand casually, but was really holding on to his two fingers tightly.

After walking for a while, the prince said to Yinzuo, "Okay, just send me here."

But little Yinzuo didn't need it, he could still walk, Yinzuo said: "Send it again."

Yinzuo still tilted his head back, looked at his brother the Crown Prince and said, "Yin misses his brother."

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince: “…”

Can you say that he is a little slick-tongued kid at such a young age? His Royal Highness's eyes are full of sincerity. That's what children think. Anyone who is not moved by such a child is heartless!

The little prince pursed his lips and his ears turned a little red. How could this little guy have the nerve to say anything?

Then he escorted her one journey after another until he reached the gate of the East Palace.

His Royal Highness the Crown Prince looked at Yinzuo, and Yinzuo looked at His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.

(End of this chapter)