Chapter 105 Guarding the Crown Prince
No one knows what Prince Yong said after he entered the imperial tent.
The thirteenth prince was still locked in a tent. Kangxi remained ruthless towards the crown prince's cronies. The only change was that the guards responsible for protecting the emperor's procession were changed from Prince Yong to Prince Zhi and Prince Cheng.
Prince Yong, Yinzhen, took on the responsibility of supervising the deposed Crown Prince, Yinreng.
"What does Father mean by this?" Upon receiving the news, Yinzhen rushed to find his eighth brother, Yinsi. As soon as he lifted the curtain, he saw the fourteenth prince, Yinzhen, sitting dejectedly next to his eighth brother.
"Fourteenth? What are you doing? Using tea instead of wine?" Seeing Yinzhen chugging tea, Yinzhen couldn't help but say a few more words.
Yinzhen gave him a cold glance, unwilling to speak to him, and turned away to continue drinking his tea. In these tense times, who would dare to drink alcohol? He could only vent his frustrations by drinking tea.
"Ninth Brother".
Yinzhi frowned slightly, and seeing this, Yintang was also a little embarrassed. He had spoken too quickly and forgotten that the Fourteenth Prince was also in a bad mood at this time. He didn't say anything more, but sat down on the other side of Yinzhi, pointed to Yinzhen's back, and asked Yinzhi with his eyes what was wrong.
Yinzhi sighed. So much had happened in the past few days that he could no longer maintain his smile. He felt a pang of sorrow in his heart but had to hide it. He explained softly to Yintang, "Fourth Brother... took the blame for Thirteenth Brother."
Yinzhen's eyes widened instantly. Is the fourth prince really this loyal?
"Would Father Emperor agree?" It wasn't that Yinzhen wanted to question it, but Kangxi's personality wasn't one to tolerate rebuttals.
"Fourth Brother said that he was the one who had failed the Emperor's grace, saying that Yinxiang came from Yonghe Palace and that he had failed in his duty of teaching..." Yinzhen explained in a hoarse voice with red eyes.
"This..." Yinzhen was speechless. The fourth prince was good at finding excuses, not refuting his father's decree, but only blaming himself. The reason was good, but what good would he get from his father? "So, Father ordered him to watch over the deposed crown prince?"
Yinzhi nodded helplessly. The deposed crown prince was a ticking time bomb. His father seemed heartless, but no one could guess his true thoughts. No one knew when it would explode, and no one dared to get involved at this time.
Just look at the thirteenth prince; he met this end simply because he followed the crown prince under the emperor's orders. Now, Yinzhen has been sent to guard the deposed crown prince; who knows what the outcome will be?
"Then the fourth prince..." Yin Tang could naturally foresee the consequences. Seeing his mortal enemy in such a dangerous situation, he didn't feel particularly happy.
"Fourth Brother will be alright," Yinzhen said firmly, wiping his face. If anything were to happen, he would plead for his fourth brother at all costs.
Seeing what he meant, Yinzhi patted him on the shoulder reassuringly, "Don't worry, just stay with me quietly from now on, and don't make your fourth brother worry."
"I understand," Yinzhen replied sullenly, lowering his head.
Yinzhen was somewhat puzzled and exchanged glances with Yinsi. After being signaled by Yinsi, he didn't ask any further questions. It wasn't until Yinzhen left that Yinzhen learned the truth.
It turned out that before the fourth brother went to plead for the thirteenth brother, he had arranged everything, forbidding the fourteenth and seventeenth brothers from getting involved. After that, the fourteenth brother went with the eighth brother, and the seventeenth brother was entrusted to the fifth brother.
"Fourth Prince is really..." Unable to explain his feelings after learning the truth, Yinzhen felt a little uneasy. Fourth Prince had considered everyone else, but not himself.
A flicker of doubt crossed my mind amidst my jumbled thoughts: Does the fourth brother really trust the myna bird that much?
...
When the emperor returned to the capital, the deposed crown prince Yinreng was chained and confined in a small carriage, while Yinzhen sat in front of the carriage the whole way and never left his side.
After returning to the capital, the verdicts for the deposed Crown Prince Yinreng and the Thirteenth Prince were finally handed down.
The deposed Crown Prince Yinreng was confined to Yuqing Palace and forbidden to leave, under the supervision of Prince Yong, Yinzhen; the Thirteenth Prince was confined to his own residence and forbidden to leave for a year.
In Yuqing Palace, apart from Yinreng's wives and concubines, all the servants were removed, and within just three days, the courtyard was filled with fallen leaves.
Yinreng, dressed in a simple blue robe, sat alone at a stone table, drinking one cup after another. He was intoxicated not by the wine, but by his own presence.
Soon, Yinreng slumped onto the table, dozing off. His arm, which had been hanging limply at his side, slipped from his grasp, and the small wine cup fell to the ground, rolling all the way to the feet of the newcomer.
"Second Brother."
In a daze, he saw the person bend down, pick up the wine cup, walk closer, and place it on the stone table. Yinreng struggled to open his eyes wide and look at the person standing in front of him.
"Fourth Prince..." Yinreng slowly rose, his words tinged with sarcasm, "What, Prince Yong, don't you have anything else to do? What are you doing coming here every day?"
"You've had too much to drink." Yinzhen easily took the cup from Yinreng's other hand, not caring at all about Yinreng's strong smell of alcohol, and calmly sat down opposite him.
"Heh," Yinreng sneered, ignoring Yinzhen's actions, and took a big gulp from the wine pot. He then wiped his mouth and laughed, "I almost forgot, Prince Yong was ordered to keep an eye on me, the deposed crown prince. Are you afraid I'll drink myself to death and that won't be easy to explain?"
Yinzhen did not reply. He took the wine pot and cups off the stone table, opened the food box he had brought, and laid out several dishes in an orderly manner. "It's time to eat."
Yinreng lowered his head, looking at the few dishes scattered on the table. There were meat and vegetables, which would not have caught the eye of him, the crown prince, in the past. And before Yinzhen came, he, the deposed crown prince, would not have had a share of these dishes either.
"I do owe Prince Yong a favor." Yinreng looked coldly at the table of food, unable to vent his frustration. He couldn't help but want to break Yinzhen's indifferent and aloof demeanor.
"All these years, you've remained obedient and loyal as ever. What have you gained in return? You took on the responsibility of guarding the deposed crown prince, and then you're locked up with me in Yuqing Palace?"
Yinzhen looked up at him, his expression unchanged. He placed the chopsticks next to Yinreng and said succinctly, "You're overthinking it. Let's eat."
"I hate the way you are, so indifferent to everything. Why should you be so unmoved and detached? I treated you like that, don't you have any resentment or doubt at all?"
Yinreng glared fiercely at Yinzhen, determined to get to the bottom of this today.
Judging from Yinreng's expression, he wouldn't be able to finish his meal without making things clear. Yinzhen put down his chopsticks, looked directly at Yinreng, and said, "I'm not a saint, so naturally I have grievances and resentments, but I'm used to adjusting myself. I only have one question for you, Second Brother."
"Speak." Yinreng looked at Yinzhen with eyes that, though slightly drunk, were perfectly clear-headed. Perhaps he had been acting too much, and even Kangxi had forgotten that Yinreng was known for his inability to get drunk even after drinking a lot.
"Regarding the Jiangnan corruption case of forty-two years ago, are you ashamed and angry because of the loss of troops and generals, or are you furious for the innocent people who suffered?"
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