Chapter 133 Sweet Troubles
"The Emperor values offspring, so the princes and princesses in the palace are always lively. You will see when you meet them in the future."
Mei Qiyue's well-intentioned explanation stirred different emotions in the hearts of the three people.
Shen Meizhuang thought that the Emperor had never entered the harem and was said to be uninterested in women. She thought that she would need a child in the future to have someone to rely on. An Lingrong was saddened by her birth, but after listening to Consort Ning's explanation, she thought that if she was lucky enough to have a child, given the Emperor's personality, she would probably not be worse off than the other princes and princesses. Thinking of this, An Lingrong was already very satisfied.
Zhen Huan, on the other hand, thought that with her talent and character, if she had a child, it would surely be a treasure to her and the Emperor, and would certainly receive no less attention than any prince.
...
"Your Majesty, Prince Guo and the Fifth Prince have arrived."
Inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, Yinzhi and Yinxiang, who were drinking tea, exchanged a glance upon hearing Su Peisheng's report. They both wore knowing, helpless smiles. Seventeenth Prince really is…
"Let them in."
After Yinzhen spoke, two figures, one big and one small, quickly appeared in the hall. Little Hongzhou nimbly pounced on Honghui's side with his short legs.
"Big brother, big brother, I'm here—"
"You haven't paid your respects to Father Emperor and your uncles yet." Honghui helplessly pinched Hongzhou's round face, held down his restless little hands, and reminded him.
"I understand." Hongzhou quickly pretended to be obedient. After being released, he cupped his hands to Yinzhen and Yunsi and Yunxiang, "Hongzhou greets Father Emperor, Eighth Uncle, and Thirteenth Uncle."
"Get up." Hearing Yinzhen's call, Hongzhou stood up and gave everyone a sweet smile. Then he slipped over to Honghui's side and snuggled up to his leg, acting all cute.
"Yunli greets the Emperor, Eighth Brother, and Thirteenth Brother." Hongzhou fell silent, and only then did Yunli step forward to bow. His demeanor was dignified, his manner cheerful and generous, and he was a handsome man.
"What brings you here today?" Yinzhen asked casually, already used to Yunli's frequent appearances.
"I have finished all my studies and was just about to ask Your Majesty to check my progress when I ran into Hongzhou on the way. Seeing that Hongzhou was in a hurry to find Honghui, I brought him along as well."
"They've all graduated?" Yinzhen raised an eyebrow, not expecting Yunli to have progressed so quickly in his studies.
"Yes, Yunli has lived up to your teachings, Your Majesty, and has completed all his studies." Yunli gave Yinzhen a respectful and humble smile, which made Yinsi and Yunxiang, who were sitting to the side, envious.
"Seventeen is intelligent. How about Your Majesty assigns him to me?" Yinzhi smiled at Yinli, revealing a look of appreciating talent.
Yunxiang joined in the fun, saying, "Coming to my place would be great, the Ministry of Justice is short-staffed too."
"Seventeen, what do you think?" Yinzhen had no intention of making a decision for him; everything depended on Yunli's opinion.
"Your Majesty, I will obey your every command. I will go anywhere as long as I can help you." Yunli's heartfelt confession caused Yunsi and Yunxiang to feel a sudden pang of heartache. Where did the Seventeenth Prince learn such rhetoric? He has absolutely no shame!
"Then you should go to the Ministry of Justice first, and follow the Thirteenth Prince." After thinking about Yunli's keen perception, Yinzhen thought that sending him to the Ministry of Justice was a good idea.
"Alright, Yunli will definitely learn from Thirteenth Brother." Yunli smiled obediently at Yunxiang, but the smile made Yunxiang's hair stand on end. He felt that this kid had ill intentions and was plotting to replace him.
"Don't worry, I'll definitely teach you properly." Yunxiang laughed heartily and patted Yunli's shoulder hard. You brat, you can't easily replace my position in Fourth Brother's heart.
"That's not necessarily true," Yunli smiled and exchanged glances with Yunxiang. Although both of them were smiling, Xiao Hongzhou, who was watching the scene unfold, inexplicably shivered and moved closer to Honghui, not understanding why.
Honghui glanced at his bewildered fifth brother, smiled helplessly, and stroked his round little head, thinking that he should add more schoolwork to help him improve his brain.
"Hiss," Hongzhou shivered again, quite puzzled. Was he dressed too lightly today? But that didn't stop him from looking up at his older brother and giving him a sweet smile.
Completely unaware that Honghui was thinking of adding more homework for him, Hongzhou unconsciously puffed out his chest as he felt the touch on his head. Sure enough, after avoiding Garuda, he was his older brother's favorite child.
Looking at Yunli's proud and confident appearance, and thinking about how every time he and his fourth brother had a small gathering, Seventeen would always find an excuse to interfere, as if to assert his sovereignty, Yunsi felt even more displeased.
Prince Lian was unhappy, and naturally he couldn't let others be happy, so he decided to take drastic measures.
"In the blink of an eye, Seventeen has grown up so much and can now do his best for his elder brother..." Yinzhi seemed to be speaking from the heart, but then, under Yunli's gaze, he revealed his true intentions, "I think it's time for Seventeen to leave the palace and establish his own residence. Your elder brother can't be stingy; you must choose a good place for Seventeen."
Yunli was startled and was about to say something when Yunxiang stopped him, saying, "What Eighth Brother said is true. Seventeenth has left the palace and can take care of Consort Shu. I think Seventeenth must be very happy."
Yunxiang smiled and replied, but his words went straight to the point. Could Yunli really say he didn't want to take Consort Shu out of the palace? No matter how much he wanted to stay in the palace and be closer to Yinzhen, the rules and regulations of the patriarchal clan system dictated that he had indeed reached the age to leave the palace.
Yunli couldn't help but feel a little annoyed. He wished he hadn't finished his studies so quickly, so he could have stayed in the palace a little longer. But if he didn't finish his studies, he couldn't help his elder brother, and he could only watch his other brothers shine in front of him, which Yunli was also unhappy about.
One cannot have it all, so Yunli had no choice but to grit his teeth and agree, "What Eighth Brother and Thirteenth Brother said is true. Seventeen years old is indeed too old to stay in the palace any longer."
“It will indeed be inconvenient to live in the palace after you take up your post.” Yinzhen nodded, seemingly unaware of the subtle tension between the three brothers. “Wherever you want to live, just ask your fifth brother for approval.”
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Yunli smiled sweetly at Yinzhen, his expression resembling that of Hongzhou looking at Honghui. Yunli was very pleased with Yinzhen's act of delegating power and indulging him.
"Seventeenth Brother has been staying in the palace all year round, how would he know what good places are?" Yunxiang suddenly reached out and hooked his arm around Yunli's neck, saying in a rather bold manner, "Since I have nothing to do, why don't I take Seventeenth Brother around the capital?"
"Alright, you've just returned to the capital, so take a few more days to rest. Leave the rest to your second brother and the others. You can relax too." Yinzhen smiled with satisfaction, not forgetting to inquire about the health of Yinsi and Yinxiang.
The spontaneous expression of concern softened the expressions of Yunsi and Yunxiang, but their gazes toward Yunli remained as sharp as ever.
"Thank you for your concern, Your Majesty. I will take Seventeen out for a stroll now."
"I don't want to... mmm..." Yunli struggled, still wanting to stay and have a meal with his elder brother.
"Look how excited you are, your thirteenth brother will take you there now." Covering Yunli's mouth, Yunxiang, who had practiced martial arts for many years, was much stronger than the still young Yunli, and easily took Yunli out.
"Your Majesty, I shall also take my leave." Yinzhi bowed to Yinzhen, but he was more interested in watching the Seventeenth Prince's antics than a meal.
"Go ahead, I've sent the imperial physician to wait at your residence. Remember to take your pulse when you get back."
"Yes, thank you, Fourth Brother." Yun Si smiled, as if he had returned to the past when the two of them supported each other.
Watching his eighth uncle leave with a satisfied expression, Honghui couldn't help but sigh. "It has to be Father Emperor," he thought, "he manages the relationships between his brothers so well. Unlike me..." Looking at Hongzhou, who had somehow secretly picked up his brush and was scribbling on the paper, Honghui sighed deeply.
Just then, Hongzhou raised his head, revealing a dark, smeared face, and gave Honghui a bright smile, showing off his pearly white teeth.
"The Imperial Uncle has left - Big Brother, can we play together now?" Hongzhou said, and was about to pounce on Honghui.
Seeing his dark face and hands, Honghui was terrified and jumped behind Yinzhen, crying out, "Father, save me!"
Yinzhen reached out and pressed his hand against Hongzhou's forehead. Hongzhou struggled for a while but couldn't move forward, so he looked at Yinzhen with a pitiful expression, "Father, I want my elder brother—"
Helpless, Yinzhen turned to look at Honghui, who was hiding completely. Honghui smiled ingratiatingly, "Father Emperor—"
Unfortunately, at this moment, Yinzhen was "heartless" and didn't like Heiwa, so he decided to give him to his elder brother. Thus, with a simple gesture, Hongzhou was moved in front of Honghui.
Before Honghui could react, he was hugged tightly by the chubby, dark-skinned boy, who cried out, "Big brother—"
Looking at the ink stains covering his clothes, Honghui closed his eyes in anguish. Sometimes being too popular with his younger brother wasn't such a good thing; it was a sweet trouble indeed.
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