Chapter 39 Yinxiang's mouth was agape...
Yinxiang stared, mouth agape, not reacting for a moment.
Yinzhi stroked his chin and pondered for a moment before saying, "Hmm... or should I address you as Prince Yi?"
Yinxiang was stunned and let out two cries.
What's going on?
Could it be that the myna bird is also...?
Yinxiang, who died of illness in the eighth year of Yongzheng's reign, had just bid farewell to his fourth brother, who was heartbroken and standing in front of him, when he opened his eyes again and found himself in this state.
It was like going back to the time when he was just born.
However, what happened later left him somewhat confused. He was not taken to Consort Duan to be raised, but was sent to Xianfu Palace and raised under the care of Consort Xuan.
Yinxiang looked at Consort Xuan, who was holding him and coaxing him with a big smile, and wondered when Consort Xuan had been made a Consort.
Especially after seeing his childhood pet bird, the Eighth Brother, at Xianfu Palace, Yinxiang's little brain was finally overwhelmed.
No, is this still the Kangxi era he knows?
But that wasn't the end of it; that evening, even the fourth brother appeared at Xianfu Palace.
In this life, the fourth and eighth brothers were raised together under the care of Consort Xuan?
Oh, now he's being raised by Consort Xuan.
Seeing how close his fourth and eighth brothers were, Yinxiang even wondered if he was dreaming.
And it was a really ridiculous nightmare.
Yinzhi had already confirmed most of it based on Yinxiang's reaction; sure enough, the thirteenth prince had returned.
"Alright, Thirteenth Brother, you can go back to sleep. I'm going to sleep too." Yinzhi knew that Yinxiang must have a lot of questions for him, but after confirming Yinxiang's identity, Yinzhi's mischievous side came out again. He deliberately kept Yinxiang hanging and stood up to leave.
Wait, don't go!
Yinxiang kicked the blanket and made the loudest sound he could make, letting out a few "ee-ah" sounds.
Yinzhi slowly and deliberately covered him with the quilt.
"How can you kick off the blanket? What if you catch a cold?" Yinzhi said with a smile, "I almost forgot that you, Thirteenth Brother, can't speak yet. Save your energy and don't ruin your voice."
Then he casually went out.
Only the thirteenth son, consumed by impotence and rage, remained.
That despicable Eighth Brother! He's absolutely awful!
When Yinzhi returned to the main hall, Wenshan was still waiting for him. Upon seeing him, she quickly asked, "How did it go?"
Yinzhi nodded.
Wen Shan was at a loss for how to react; her Xianfu Palace was in complete chaos.
Fortunately, Yinxiang can't do anything except eat and sleep right now. He's just as quiet as any other baby, so Yinzhen didn't notice anything different about his younger brother for a while.
He just felt that the thirteenth brother's attitude towards him and the eighth brother was completely different. This time it was the opposite of the past. The thirteenth brother preferred to smile at him but was indifferent to Yinzhi.
But Yinzhi liked to tease him, and wouldn't stop until he made him cry.
"Eighth brother, why are you arguing with thirteenth brother?" Yinzhen looked helplessly at Yinxiang, who was so angry with Yinsi that he wanted to kick someone, and quickly separated the two.
Yinzhi blinked: "I like the thirteenth brother and want to play with him."
Unable to resist, Yinxiang glared at him and said, "Listen to what you're saying! Does anyone believe you?!"
“We can’t keep teasing him. We should wait until the thirteenth brother is a little older before playing with him,” Yinzhen said.
Yinxiang: "..."
Oh no, Fourth Brother believed it.
A conspiracy! This must be a conspiracy by the myna bird.
Unwilling to accept defeat at the hands of the fourth brother in her previous life, she plans to break through from within in this life in an attempt to deceive the fourth brother!
That's so insidious!
Thinking this, Yinxiang kicked again in anger, forgetting that he was being held by Yinzhen.
Yinzhen, who was kicked for no reason, was not angry. He just patted his head and said, "Thirteenth brother, you are quite strong. It seems that Mother has raised you very well."
"But why do you always like to kick people? That's not what a good child should do," Yinzhi added from the side.
"..."
The three brothers were playing happily when Wenshan came in carrying a box.
"They're all here." Wen Shan beamed. "Yinzhen, Yinsi, come and see what good things your mother brought back."
The box looked like it was for jewelry, and the two of them assumed that someone had given Wen Shan another piece of jewelry. However, when they opened it, they found a box full of weeds.
Yinzhi took out a few stalks, but after looking at them from all angles, they were just some weeds.
Yinzhen couldn't figure it out either.
"Mother, what are you going to do with all this wild grass? Are we going to raise rabbits in Xianfu Palace?" Yinzhi asked.
"What weeds?" Wen Shan snatched the few stalks from Yin Si's hand, glared at him, and said, "If you don't know what you're talking about, put them down. These are wild vegetables!"
"They look no different from weeds," Yinzhi muttered to himself.
As princes, they certainly had never eaten wild vegetables before, and these things didn't grow in the palace. The palace servants would pull them out every day when they were cleaning. Today, Wen Shan happened to find a patch of them that had slipped through the net in a corner on her way to Cining Palace.
"This is shepherd's purse. Your mother will make dumplings for you later. They're so fresh. This is wild water celery. Hmm, we can stir-fry it with cured meat..." Wenshan happily explained to them what these wild vegetables were one by one.
Yinxiang, lying in bed, couldn't stay still when he heard Wenshan, his fourth brother, and his eighth brother talking about wild vegetables. He made some noises, though he had hardly ever seen wild vegetables before.
"I almost forgot about our little thirteenth prince." Wen Shan stepped forward and picked up Yinxiang. Although she knew that there was an adult soul living in this small body, Wen Shan, who had experience raising Yinsi, was now calm and unfazed.
Physically, he's a child, so let's raise him as a child.
Yinzhi wasn't very interested in these wild vegetables, but Yinzhen listened with great interest as Wenshan told them which wild vegetables liked to grow where and how to cook them.
A while ago, there was a flood in Hedong. Although Yinzhen and his brothers had not yet entered the court to attend to government affairs, the tutors in the Imperial Study would tell them about these current events. The national treasury allocated a lot of silver to it, and Kangxi also suspended taxes in Hedong for three years. The disaster relief work took two whole months to bring the disaster under control.
Hearing that during years of famine, disaster victims would dig up wild vegetables to eat, Yinzhen was quite eager to experience the taste of these wild vegetables.
Yinxiang felt a little proud after hearing Yinzhen's words. Sure enough, he was still his fourth brother who was wholeheartedly devoted to the country and loved the people!
He's completely incomparable to the one next to him who only talks the talk but doesn't walk the walk.
After listening, Wenshan paused for a moment and then said, "The wild vegetables that the disaster victims eat are different from these... Never mind, you'll understand when you grow up and go out and see for yourselves."
Yinzhi sneezed, and Wenshan quickly asked him if he had caught a cold, and also reminded him and Yinzhen to wear more clothes since the weather was cool recently.
Yinzhi touched his nose and looked at Yinxiang, who was nestled obediently in Wenshan's arms. He had a feeling that this kid was cursing him behind his back.
Today, Xianfu Palace is having a wild vegetable feast. Wenshan made dumplings with shepherd's purse filling, stir-fried wild celery with cured meat, and also made a cold dish of the leftovers and a wild vegetable soup.
Yinzhen and Yinsi initially thought this was a meal to express their gratitude for the hardships of the people, but once they tasted it, they understood why Wenshan had been so happy holding that box of wild vegetables at the beginning.
It was indeed fresh and tender with a unique aroma. Wen Shan was also a good cook. Although it was all home-style cooking without any expensive ingredients, it tasted incredibly delicious.
Yinxiang could only watch helplessly from the sidelines, unable to eat anything he wanted.
Yinzhi picked up a piece of water celery with his chopsticks and looked triumphantly at Yinxiang, who was practically drooling. He was dumbfounded, wasn't he? He knew from experience that this period was the hardest, with his mother making so many delicious dishes every day, only to be able to look at them but not eat them.
Wen Shan smiled when she saw Yinxiang staring at them longingly. She touched his little face and said, "Yinxiang can't eat these yet. Grow up quickly."
Yinzhen liked Yinxiang very much, mainly because he was the only younger brother who smiled at him but not at Yinsi.
When his eighth brother was young, he didn't like to talk to him. His ninth and tenth brothers liked him more, which made Yinzhen wonder if he was just naturally disliked by children. This situation only improved when Yinxiang came to Xianfu Palace.
Some younger brothers might like him!
So now every day, Yinzhen would come and play with Yinxiang for a while. Yinxiang was extremely close to his fourth brother. In his previous life, he and his fourth brother were not very familiar when they were young. They only gradually came together after they grew up because they shared similar interests. So in this life, he had the opportunity to spend time with his fourth brother from when he was a child, and he tolerated it even though there was an eighth brother constantly in front of him.
Over time, Yinzhi also found amusement in teasing Yinxiang, who couldn't speak yet and couldn't resist anything. In front of Wenshan and Yinzhen, he acted as if he loved Yinxiang. But when they were alone, he would fight with Yinxiang, who no longer pretended to be a baby. Nine times out of ten, Yinzhi won with an overwhelming advantage. The last time was when he really angered Yinxiang, and Yinxiang started crying, which attracted Wenshan or Yinzhen. Then Yinzhi would get a scolding.
As Yinxiang grew up, he gradually learned to roll over and crawl. Then he entered the oral stage and liked to bite things, and Yinsi gloriously became Yinxiang's teething toy.
Wen Shan also made many little toys for Yinxiang to chew on, but as long as Yin Si reached out to tease him, he was guaranteed to get a big bite from Yinxiang. Yinxiang had just grown teeth and his bites didn't hurt much; at most, they would only leave a puddle of saliva on Yin Si's hand. So Yin Si wasn't annoyed and continued to tease him every day.
Yinzhen tried to stop this seemingly childish behavior several times, but the two of them seemed to enjoy it so much that he gave up.
Consider it a chance for the eighth and thirteenth brothers to bond.
"Yin Si, stop provoking your younger brother. Come and have some iced yogurt."
Wen Shan carried two bowls of ice cream. As soon as she came in, she saw Yinxiang crawling on the floor covered with a soft blanket. Yin Si also took off his shoes and sat on the floor, holding a toy to amuse him. When Yinxiang caught him, he let out a yelp and got bitten.
Upon seeing the food, Yinzhi immediately put aside his plans to tease the thirteenth prince and ran over to Wenshan, each getting a bowl and chatting as they ate.
Wen Shan picked Yinxiang up from the blanket, wiped the drool from the corner of his mouth with a handkerchief, and weighed him in her hand, saying, "Little Thirteen has gotten heavier again. When will he be able to talk and walk?"
Yinxiang: "Ah—Eeya—"
Yinzhi chuckled and said, "Then we'll have to wait. My little brother looks rather clumsy."
Yinxiang's eyes blazed with anger; this person was spreading rumors about him again!
Wen Shan smiled helplessly and shook her head. Yin Xiang couldn't sit still in her arms for a while and started waving his arms and making noises.
"What's wrong?" Wen Shan frowned, thinking that Yinxiang was feeling unwell, but after checking him over, she found nothing wrong.
Yinzhi quickly finished the bowl of iced cheese and tried to have another bowl, but Wenshan ruthlessly stopped him, afraid that he would have an upset stomach that night if he drank too much.
Yinzhi tilted his head at Wenshan's anxious expression and said, "Thirteenth Brother is looking for Fourth Brother, isn't he?"
When Yinxiang heard that someone finally understood his meaning, he nodded quickly.
Yinxiang hadn't seen Yinzhen for several days. He was still asleep when Yinzhen came for breakfast every morning. He could only see Yinzhen when he came back from school in the evening, but recently Yinzhen hadn't come over in the evenings.
“Your fourth brother has been working very hard lately, so your mother told him to go home and rest early and not to come back again.” Wen Shan knew that Yinxiang understood what they were saying, so she patiently explained to him.
Last year, Emperor Kangxi launched a military campaign against Yaksa and went to war with Tsarist Russia over the ownership of the land north of the Heilongjiang River. This year, he launched a second campaign against Yaksa. During the war, several princes, including Yinzhen, were getting older. So now, in addition to the tutors in the Imperial Study giving lectures on classics, Emperor Kangxi personally led them on a schedule to familiarize themselves with the current situation in the court.
Therefore, Yinzhen could not find time to go back to Xianfu Palace for dinner. He would dine with several princes in the Shangshufang (Imperial Study) and then go to Yangxin Hall to listen to government affairs.
Wen Shan also felt sorry for Yinzhen and couldn't bear to make him come over to pay his respects so late at night after he came out of the Hall of Mental Cultivation, so she forced Yinzhen to go directly back to the Fifth Palace in the west to rest.
So if Yinzhen missed his morning visit, Yinxiang wouldn't see his fourth brother all day.
Yinzhi even mocked him about this in private, saying he was a lazybones who only knew how to sleep all day.
Enraged, Yinxiang gave Yinsi another bite mark on his arm.
It is now the twenty-fifth year of Kangxi's reign, and the princes are gradually growing up. In particular, the eldest prince is almost fifteen years old this year and has been arranged to marry next year. His wife was personally chosen by Kangxi. She is the daughter of Khorkun, the Minister of Revenue, from the Irgen Gioro clan. Now, Yinti is also working in the Ministry of War and attending court to listen to government affairs.
Emperor Kangxi took his eldest son's marriage very seriously. In addition to Irgen Gioro as his primary consort, he also designated Zhang Jia, the daughter of a second-rank general, as his secondary consort. Suddenly, the eldest prince had two fathers-in-law, one civil and one military, and he also entered the Ministry of War. He was riding high on his success.
Consort Hui was very satisfied with the marriage. Seeing that the Irgen Gioro clan and the Zhangjia clan had settled down, she started to arrange for her son to choose another concubine from a good family. This left Emperor Kangxi speechless and he ignored her.
Consort Hui was still somewhat unconvinced. She had already considered the feelings of Lady Irgen Gioro and Lady Zhangjia and had not assigned several concubines to Yinti before the wedding. It was just another secondary consort to be appointed. Wasn't that the case in the harem of every prince?
Seeing that the eldest prince had found a good match, Consort Ping became restless. The crown prince was only three years younger than the eldest prince, and it should have been time to start arranging a marriage for him as well. However, Emperor Kangxi kept the matter to himself and never expressed any intention to choose a daughter of any family as the crown prince's wife.
Instead, the Hesheli family sent a message telling Consort Ping to calm down and not to attract too much attention in the near future, and to keep a low profile.
After being dismissed from office and returning to officialdom, Songgotu also came to understand a bit of Kangxi's meaning. Kangxi was happy to see the Hesheli family support the crown prince, but he could not manipulate the crown prince. The crown prince's greatest reliance was always the emperor.
Therefore, Suo'etu chose to remain quiet for a while to observe the consequences.
All of this had nothing to do with Wen Shan. Occasionally, she would listen to Pearl and the others talk about the latest happenings in the palace. If she heard something that interested her, she would go to Yinzhi to tell him about the ins and outs of the matter. The rest of the time, she would raise fish, go to Cining Palace to talk to the two old matriarchs, take Yinxiang to visit Consort Min, and then, while walking the dog in the Imperial Garden, she would also start searching for any wild vegetables that had escaped the net.
Not long after, Tsarist Russia officially sent envoys to sue for peace. The two-year-long Battle of Yaksa was finally coming to an end. What remained was for the two countries to negotiate how to demarcate the border and sign the famous Treaty of Nerchinsk.
Yinzhen was finally able to catch his breath and no longer had to attend court sessions until so late every day, and he resumed his days of having dinner at Xianfu Palace.
Yinxiang finally met his fourth brother whom he had been longing for day and night, and Yinsi, out of respect for Yinzhen, also chose to temporarily truce with Yinxiang.
Yinxiang sat in Yinzhen's lap, and Yinsi snuggled up to him. Surrounded by his two younger brothers, Yinzhen was both amused and exasperated.
How have things been going for you two lately?
Without hesitation, Yinzhi replied, "That's great, my thirteenth brother likes me very much now."
Yinxiang: "..."
The myna bird is just taking advantage of him because he can't talk!
Once he can speak, I'll definitely expose his true colors!
Yinxiang, having been teased by Yinsi so many times, also developed a mischievous streak. He deliberately hid the fact that he had several small teeth that had already grown in, and when Yinsi came to tease him again, he took a bite that almost made Yinsi burst into tears.
Yinxiang snorted twice, now he knows how powerful he is.
Yinsi went to complain to Yinzhen and Wenshan. Wenshan tapped his forehead and laughed so hard she almost fell over, saying he deserved it for daring to provoke Yinxiang. Yinzhen, however, grabbed Yinsi's arm and examined it carefully for a while, making sure there was no broken skin, only some redness and swelling, before he breathed a sigh of relief and had someone get some medicine to apply to Yinsi.
Yinxiang tilted his head to the side. Even though he had been here for so long, he still couldn't get used to the deep brotherly affection between his fourth and eighth brothers.
According to Yinzhen's own boast, he was brought to Xianfu Palace not long after he was born. At that time, Yinzhen was already alive, so it can be said that Yinzhen raised Yinsi single-handedly, so they naturally had a good relationship.
Of course, there's another sentence after Yinzhi's name.
"Just like how the myna bird raised you, my dear little brother."
"..."
Yinxiang was straightforward, righteous, and chivalrous, but he could never win an argument, let alone the ever-eloquent Yinsi. Most importantly, he couldn't speak yet, so he could only swallow his anger and curse him silently. After applying the medicine to Yinsi, Yinzhen patted Yinxiang's head and said, "Don't bite your eighth brother anymore. He didn't mean to bully you."
Yinxiang felt wronged, but well, since his fourth brother had said so.
And the myna bird... it seems it really was just teasing him.
After saying that, Yinzhen looked at Yinsi and said with a stern face, "And you, stop teasing the thirteenth brother."
Yinzhi immediately agreed, pestering Yinzhen that he hadn't been here in a long time and wanted to play chess together.
Yinxiang wanted to join in, so it turned into Yinzhen and Yinsi sitting and playing chess, while Yinxiang crawled around on the sidelines to practice his mobility.
Speaking of Go, contrary to the stereotypes of Yinzhi being intelligent but cunning and Yinzhen being straightforward and cold, Yinzhen was actually better at Go than Yinzhi.
Yinzhen could almost plan ten steps ahead for every one he took, and his overall perspective and control were excellent. Although Yinsi could also calculate in his mind, he was always one step behind Yinzhen. A few years ago, he could still beat Yinzhen by relying on his decades of experience, but now he was finding it increasingly difficult to play. In the end, he had to admit that his fourth brother might be a Go genius.
I've never heard of Fourth Brother being so good at chess or games in my previous life.
Of course, in his previous life, he and his fourth brother didn't have many opportunities to sit down and play chess together.
"Hey, wait a minute, I'm not playing this game anymore." Taking advantage of his young age, Yinzhi started to cheat and wanted to take back his move.
Yinzhen picked up the milk tea that Wenshan had specially made for them, took a sip, and said, "Just this once."
The milk tea that people in the palace usually drink is salty, but Wen Shan doesn't like it, so she made her own sweet milk tea. Recently, she has been working hard in the small kitchen to make pearls and pudding, dreaming of making a cup of milk tea full of toppings.
Sweet milk tea was really a bit "unconventional", so Wen Shan made it secretly and didn't dare let anyone else taste it, so it all ended up in the stomachs of Yinzhen and Yinsi.
They both accepted the sweet milk tea quite well, after all, they were children, and both Yinzhen and Yinsi loved sweets.
Yinxiang watched them play chess with his head tilted to the side, his mouth agape in shock.
The myna bird actually cheated and took back its move, and the fourth brother even indulged it?
Although Fourth Brother said it would only happen once, judging from Eighth Brother's practiced and nonchalant attitude, it was clear that this was not the first time he had cheated, and there might be a next time.
Yinxiang still felt somewhat dazed and unreal after being here for so long.
Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother are so different from their previous lives.
Although Fourth Brother still often scolds people with a serious face and does things in a very orderly manner, he is much gentler than he was in his previous life. Unlike his previous cold and lonely self, Fourth Brother is now surrounded by love, so he smiles a lot more and is not so aloof. Yinxiang even saw Fourth Brother acting coquettishly with Consort Xuan a few times.
It's unbelievable, like a dream.
As for the Eighth Brother, let's put it this way: if the Eighth Brother hadn't recognized him, he would never have doubted that the Eighth Brother in front of him, who would cling to the Fourth Brother and Empress Xuan every day, and even take back his moves and cheat, was also his soul from the previous life.
The myna birds are also... much more lively now.
Yinxiang couldn't help but wonder how his eighth brother had adapted so quickly. He would never be able to act cute, charming, or shameless now. Although he looked like a child, he wasn't really a child.
After playing for a while, Yinzhi fell into a disadvantageous position again. He frowned and looked up at Yinzhen. Yinzhen, fiddling with a chess piece, said, "I said this is the only time."
Yinzhi didn't want to admit defeat, especially in front of the thirteenth prince. The thirteenth prince knew that he was a person who had been reborn, but now his fourth brother was still no more than eight years old. It was shameful, too shameful.
"Fourth brother, Mother seemed to have called you just now."
Yinzhi threw down the chess pieces, not intending to continue. Yinzhen understood his little scheme but was too lazy to expose him. He was also a little curious about what his mother had been busy with in the small kitchen for so long, so he readily agreed and said, "Then let's put this game of chess on hold for now."
Then Yinzhen went out.
As soon as Yinzhen left, Yinsi casually overturned the chessboard.
"Oh dear, it was an accident. Never mind, you don't need to accept it."
Yinzhi waved to the eunuch who was about to collect the chessboard, and the eunuch acknowledged and withdrew.
Yinxiang cast a disdainful glance at him from the side.
He often played chess with his fourth brother and knew how talented his fourth brother was at chess, so he thought it was normal that his eighth brother couldn't beat his fourth brother, but he still showed a disdainful look in his eyes.
It's shameful for an adult to lose to a child!
Yinzhi understood what he meant and went forward to pinch his cheek.
The thirteenth prince was skilled in martial arts in his previous life, and although he is still an infant, he is no less so, and soon he and Yinzhi were locked in a fierce battle.
When Wen Shan and Yin Zhen entered, Yin Xiang was still clinging to Yin Si, trying to resist his eighth brother's tyranny.
"Yin Si, why are you arguing with your brother again?"
Wen Shan sighed and rubbed her forehead in exasperation.
These two have a combined mental age of almost eighty, but they look just like ordinary kids.
Yinxiang was still somewhat reserved in front of Wenshan, and immediately got off Yinsi as soon as Wenshan entered.
Yinzhi patted his clothes and got up, smiling with a youthful air.
"It's nothing, I'm just playing with my thirteenth brother."
"We can play later, come and eat first." Wen Shan waved to him.
Yinzhi exclaimed "Ah!" and then quickly went to occupy advantageous terrain.
Not long after we started eating, Pearl suddenly rushed in.
"Your Majesty, news just came from the villa outside the palace that the Sixth Prince did not survive the smallpox vaccination and has just passed away."
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