Chapter 180 Everyone plots, Hongyun meets the Emperor
"Second Prince, something terrible has happened! The Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, and the Second Princess are arguing again..."
"What happened?"
Hongyun got up, forgetting all about being sentimental, and followed the anxious eunuch to the "crime scene".
"It's all your fault!"
"It's clearly your fault!"
"It's your fault, it's your fault!"
When Hongyun arrived, he saw Hongli with his arms crossed in front of his chest, Hongzhou jumping around, and Garuda gripping the small whip at his waist tightly, all in a triangular formation, making a racket. Beside them were Hongshi and Buerhe, looking helpless and anxious.
"What's all this commotion about? Isn't today a day off?"
"Hongyun, you've finally arrived." Buerhe looked at him hurriedly, his eyes filled with pleading for help.
"Yes, yes, Second Brother, you've finally arrived." Hongshi also breathed a sigh of relief, though his expression was slightly stiff.
“Sister, don’t worry, I’ll talk to them,” Hongyun said, her expression still gentle as she looked at her older sister. Then she turned to Hongshi and said with a look of disdain, “Third brother, what kind of older brother are you? You’re all grown up but not smart, aren’t you? You can’t even keep your younger siblings in check.”
Hongshi: "..." Sometimes people don't have such obvious double standards. Why are you so gentle to your sister, but so disdainful of him?
Unfortunately, Hong Shi was tall but not brave. Faced with Hong Yun's questioning, he lowered his eyes and dared not say anything more.
Hongyun gave him a look of disappointment, realizing that the family couldn't function without him.
"Alright, alright, how old are you? Arguing every day, what kind of behavior is this?"
Hongyun skillfully confiscated Garuda's small whip, pinched Hongli's feignedly cold face, pressed down on Hongzhou's bouncing head, and adopted the authority of an elder brother to begin persuading him.
In the past, this series of actions would usually calm the three of them down considerably. But today, whether it was because his intimidation had diminished or because the content of the argument was genuinely important, Hongzhou, even when restrained, still struggled: "It has nothing to do with age, it's all Garuda's fault!"
"It's your fault!" Garuda poked his head out from behind Hongyun and made a face at Hongzhou.
"Second brother, look at her!"
Hongzhou pointed at Garuda and screamed. His shrill voice made Hongyun frown. He turned around, patted Garuda's head, and looked at Hongli: "Fourth brother, you tell me, what exactly happened?"
"It's Hongzhou and Garuda's fault!"
"Hongli!" *2
The three of them argued for a long time, going back and forth, and Hongyun was getting dizzy from the argument. He didn't understand what they were arguing about. He just wanted them to talk about something practical!
"No, I want Father Emperor to judge this for me!"
Hongzhou snorted and came up with the idea with a single blow.
"Hmph, I'll go then, who's afraid of who!"
"Second brother, let's go together! Second brother is my witness!"
The three of them quickly made up their minds, one after another. Hongyun, confused, was pulled by his younger siblings towards the Hall of Diligent Governance: "Wait, wait a minute, Father might not be available..."
"Second brother, don't worry, we've already inquired... I mean, what happened to Father Emperor?" Hongzhou, who had been elbowed in the stomach by Garudai, quickly changed his words.
"That's right, Father Emperor, Father Emperor, if Father doesn't take care of things, who will?" Garuda shouted, holding onto Hongyun's hand tightly.
"Anyway, Second Brother, you have to be our witness." Hongli pursed his lips and refused to let go.
"No, I don't know anything yet..." Hongyun said helplessly, not understanding how things had suddenly come to the point where he had to see his father. He turned to his older sister and the third brother for help.
Hongshi looked up at the sky and the ground, but not at him. Bu'er and Rourou smiled and said, "I think what they said makes a lot of sense."
What sense does it make? Besides "wrong, wrong, wrong," what else of value did they say? Hongyun, finally sensing something was wrong, didn't have time to refuse and was dragged all the way to the entrance of the Hall of Diligent Governance.
Thinking of the looks he had received from the guards and palace servants along the way, Hongyun, feeling utterly humiliated, gave up struggling and obediently allowed himself to be pushed to the front of the palace gate.
"Suddenly we feel that we can handle this ourselves, so we won't go to see Father Emperor."
“Yes, yes, yes,” Garudai immediately chimed in, “Since we’re already here, it wouldn’t be right not to pay our respects to Father Emperor. Second Brother, you go in our place.”
After saying that, the group exerted their strength together, and Hongyun was caught off guard and pushed inside.
“You…” Hongyun staggered two steps, and when he turned around, he saw Hongli and Hongshi quickly closing the palace door, not giving him a chance to retreat. “Really…”
"Hong Yun."
As the door closed, Hongyun realized that his older sister had mouthed "Let's have a good chat" to him. He understood why his younger siblings had orchestrated this whole thing. His feelings were mixed, and before he could figure out how to handle it, he heard his father calling him. He couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat.
"Hongyun greets Father Emperor."
"Come and sit down." Yinzhen patted the seat next to him and called Hongyun over.
"Father..."
Sitting next to Yinzhen, Hongyun could reach out and touch his sleeve. The close proximity made him feel somewhat dazed. Since his father ascended the throne, he had never been this close to him before.
“Hongyun,” Yinzhen lowered his eyes, looking at his young yet steady second son, and reached out to pat his head, “If there’s anything wrong, you should speak up. Don’t always bear it all in silence. You’re still young.”
Feeling the warmth above his head, Hongyun's eyes suddenly reddened. Unable to suppress the bitterness and sadness in his heart, he looked up at Yinzhen and saw the gentle concern in his eyes. He couldn't help but choke up, "Father, has Hongyun done something wrong? Why won't Mother believe me? And why doesn't Mother Qi want me?"
"This has nothing to do with you. You've always done a great job. It's just that some people want more."
"Really?"
Hongyun, who had always promised to make something of himself, was already deeply hurt by being constantly pressured by his birth mother to fight for power and profit. The rumors that his adoptive mother was going to adopt someone else's child only exacerbated his insecurity. In the quiet of the night, he couldn't help but doubt himself, wondering if he had performed too poorly, which was why he was distrusted and abandoned.
Hongyun, who had been trying to escape, finally couldn't help but ask his father, "Is it really not my fault?"
“No,” Yinzhen looked earnestly into his eyes, “Hongyun, you must remember that everyone has desires and ambitions. It’s just that some people can control them and some can’t, and that has nothing to do with others.”
As he spoke, Yinzhen casually picked up a memorial from the table and placed it in front of Hongyun: "Hongyun, do you want to get involved in politics?"
"Father, I didn't..." Hongyun was panicked, afraid that his father had believed the rumors, "I didn't mean to compete with my elder brother..."
"Don't be afraid," Yinzhen patted his shoulder reassuringly. "Your father believes in you. Besides, getting involved in politics doesn't mean competing with Honghui. They are all my sons. Would I only nurture Honghui and let you all be parasites? Even if I wanted to, Honghui wouldn't. He's waiting for you to finish your studies and help him handle government affairs. Don't you think you've had a lot of homework lately?"
Hearing what Yinzhen said, Hongyun was taken aback. Recalling the sudden increase in his studies recently, and the days and nights he had spent studying late into the night, he couldn't help but twitch his lips. He could see that his elder brother was very anxious, and it was truly forcing his children to learn too quickly. But for some reason, he suddenly felt a lot more relaxed.
Seeing that Hongyun was lost in thought, Yinzhen didn't say much. He simply picked up another stack of memorials and piled them in front of Hongyun: "Hongyun, Honghui is the Crown Prince, so he has great responsibilities. But I also hope that you can achieve great things. Try to avoid things that make you unhappy. From today onwards, you will stay by my side and learn how to handle government affairs. Your elder brother is not here, so you should share his burdens."
Hearing the beginning, Hongyun was still quite moved, but upon hearing the last sentence, his smile vanished instantly. Looking at the pile of memorials in front of him, then at the mountains of memorials on the other tables, and finally at his ever-sincerely caring father, Hongyun knew he dared not move an inch.
Don't think he'll believe you just because you're using your older brother as an excuse! What do you mean by sharing the burden with your older brother? You mean sharing the burden with your father, the Emperor! Good, good, good, what a father and son! The older brother is forcing his children to grow too fast, while your father is directly exploiting child laborers!
Hongyun felt a sudden weight on his shoulder and inwardly grumbled. But he couldn't help but smile, as if the storm had passed.
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