Chapter 22 The lazy bum who bullies Old Ten…
The idea of developing Yin Tang into a member of the "salted fish team" was abandoned by Yin E after a short time. The plan failed because Yin E discovered that Yin Tang was not salty at all, and even had a bit too much energy.
Although Yin'e loved gold and silver jewelry, and although Yin'tang was very good at making money after growing up (…ah, this), Yin'e still didn't want to play with Yin'tang anymore; it was just too tiring.
After entertaining Yinzhen with lunch, the Consort took Lanzhi to Chengqian Palace in the Eastern Six Palaces, leaving Yin'e to entertain Yinzhen, who had not yet returned to Yikun Palace. He was forced to break his afternoon nap to play with his ninth brother, Yinzhen.
"Tenth Brother, it's your turn." Yinzhen urged energetically, his face flushed with a healthy rosy glow after exercising, and his upturned phoenix eyes seemed to be filled with starlight, overflowing with joy and happiness.
Exhausted, Yin'e painfully closed his eyes and, under Yin's urging, numbly raised his foot and kicked the red embroidered ball that had rolled to his feet.
As the red ball rolls, the bells hanging on the embroidered ball are shaken, producing a series of rapid and crisp sounds.
The ringing was so jarring to Yin'e's ears that he wished he could plug his ears and shut out the noise.
Yin'e once cherished this red embroidered ball with bells; he found it exquisite and beautiful, and loved it dearly. But now, the sound of the bells annoys Yin'e, and he can no longer recapture the fondness he once felt for it.
Even at his most agitated, Yin'e wanted to stomp the red ball flat so it would never roll again, thus ending his long ordeal of playing football with Yin'tang.
Yin'e probably didn't play with Yin Tang for too long, after all, children have limited stamina. But there is a kind of torment called "time drags on endlessly," even if the actual time spent is not long, it just feels exceptionally long.
Because Yin'e had given up and his kicking power was severely lacking, the red embroidered ball rolling towards Yin'tang stopped just as it reached him.
Unaware of Yin'e's perfunctory attitude, Yin Tang shouted excitedly, stretched out his right foot and easily stepped on the embroidered ball that had stopped rolling, then raised his hands with great momentum and kicked the embroidered ball away steadily.
This time, after the red ball stopped again, Yinzhen didn't have a chance to urge him. Yin'e raised his little hand and clapped for him: "Ninth Brother is so amazing, you kicked it so well!"
Amidst the lukewarm applause, Yinzhen's lips curled into a wild smile. He held his head high, his handsome face beaming with undisguised pride, and said with a smug look, "Impressive, right? I play this all the time. I've kicked it many times in Yikun Palace."
Of course, he didn't mention that Yinzhen always played football alone in Yikun Palace, only able to kick against the wall.
"Amazing, amazing." To avoid further torment, Yin'e opened his big, dark eyes wide and stared at Yin Tang with shining eyes, his eyes filled with admiration, and exclaimed loudly and enthusiastically, "Ninth Brother, you are so amazing."
Clearing his throat, Yin'e, who had finally revealed his true intentions, gathered his emotions before speaking in a soft, envious voice, "Ninth Brother, you must know everything, right? That's amazing! Unlike me, I'm so stupid, I don't understand many things."
"Yes, that's right, I can do everything." Overwhelmed by the flattery, Yinzhen nodded without hesitation, completely unable to control himself, agreeing with everything Yin'e said.
Immediately, a bright smile bloomed on Yin'e's face. He solemnly handed the nine-linked rings, which had been tangled up by Yin'e's chaotic and haphazard attempts to untangle them, to Yin'tang, and asked with trusting eyes, "Brother, if you can't untangle this, can Ninth Brother help me?"
Faced with his younger brother's wet, trusting, pleading eyes, could Yinzhen, who had just made a boast, refuse? Of course not.
Although he had no idea how to solve the Nine Linked Rings puzzle, Yinzhen abandoned his favorite football game and, in a very loyal manner, took the puzzle, patted his chest, and loudly promised, "Leave it to me! Don't worry, Tenth Brother, I will definitely solve it for you."
Having achieved his goal, Yin'e nodded with a smile, and sweet words flowed from his mouth: "Thank you, Ninth Brother, Ninth Brother is great."
Yin'e really didn't believe that Yin Tang, who was just over a year old, could solve the nine-linked rings puzzle. He thought that the nine-linked rings should be able to stump Yin Tang and make him stop playing such a tiring and childish game with him.
As for whether Yinzhen would lose his temper while solving the puzzle and smash the jade nine-linked rings to pieces—Yin'e didn't care at all. As long as Yinzhen didn't bother him, Yinzhen could smash it if he wanted!
Anyway, he'll have to pay for the damage, and I'm sure Consort Yi won't renege on her promise. She might even send an extra gift as compensation for his emotional distress. (Hey!)
In any case, Yin'e finally got what he wanted and successfully got rid of Yin Tang, who was full of energy and always craved attention, shouting and yelling as he played football to get Yin'e to watch.
After playing for a while, Yin'e was already tired, so he reached out to Luyi and asked her to carry him and Yin Tang to the couch to sit facing each other on either side of a small table. Yin Tang solved the nine-linked ring puzzle, while he studied the imported Western building blocks that had recently arrived from the Imperial Household Department.
Upon opening the box of building blocks, Yin'e first flipped through it roughly and found that the shape and size of the building blocks inside were roughly the same as those of later generations, only the workmanship was more exquisite, and they were already very close to the building block toys of later generations.
Intrigued, Yin'e began to play with the building blocks with great enthusiasm, wanting to build a tall palace.
After focusing intently on assembling for a while, Yin'e suddenly felt that the surroundings were too quiet and something seemed to be missing. He hurriedly looked up at Yin'tang sitting opposite him and saw that Yin'tang was haphazardly disassembling the nine-linked rings without any method. He fiddled with it back and forth, but he couldn't even untangle a single jade ring.
Having already boasted about his ability, Yinzhen was still struggling to find a way to solve the nine-linked rings, and he was as anxious and tormented as an ant on a hot pan.
His delicate phoenix eyes were brimming with tears, and his little nose was bright red. He was completely clueless, yet he stubbornly refused to give up, constantly struggling with himself. It was unclear whether he was naturally strong-willed or didn't want to lose face or disappoint his newly acquainted younger brother, whose gaze was no longer filled with admiration.
Yin'e: ...Oh no, it seems like I've bullied a child, and quite badly at that.
Fearing that Yinzhen would burst into tears and throw a tantrum in Yongshou Palace, Yin'e, feeling a little guilty, deliberately pushed the Western-style building blocks in front of him forward and muttered loudly, "It's not fun. I'm tired. I want to drink fruit syrup."
Yin Tang sniffed, his ears twitching and his eyes red-rimmed. He seemed somewhat tempted, but he pouted, too embarrassed to say that he was also tired and wanted some fruit syrup. After all, he had just promised to help Yin E untangle the nine-linked rings.
He felt even more guilty for bullying the child... Yin'e silently took a breath and took the initiative to invite Yin Tang: "Ninth Brother, you must be tired too. Let's drink some fruit syrup together. It's sweet and delicious."
Yinzhen was not inherently competitive; he was just concerned with his reputation, and once he made a promise, he was bound to keep it. He was also loyal and genuinely wanted to help Yin'e.
Now that Yin'e was inviting him so warmly, Yin Tang, who was still a child, broke down in an instant. The tears in his eyes disappeared completely, and he grinned, nodding repeatedly: "Okay, okay, I like fruit syrup."
Greenery brought out two bowls of fruit syrup and placed them on a small table that the maid had tidied up.
Yin'e moved the bowl of fruit syrup in front of him to the edge of the small table, and without asking anyone to feed him, he held the jade bowl with one hand and picked up the small silver spoon with the other to drink it.
Hmm... The fruit syrup I drank today was peach flavored, it was fragrant and sweet and tasted great. Yin'e squinted his eyes contentedly, his little hands steadily sipping the syrup spoonful by spoonful.
Yinzhen looked at the fruit syrup in front of him and subconsciously wanted to find his wet nurse, but when he saw Yin'e drinking it, he remembered that Yin'e was the younger brother and he was the older brother, so he gritted his teeth and followed Yin'e's example, holding the jade bowl and picking up the small spoon.
It took Yinzhen several attempts to finally succeed in using a spoon on his own, and even then, he only managed to scoop up half a spoonful of fruit syrup.
But that was enough for Yinzhen to taste the fruit syrup. He immediately stared at Yin'e with wide, phoenix eyes, his eyes full of surprise: "It's my favorite lychee fruit syrup."
Yinzhen's wide, phoenix-shaped eyes sparkled with surprise, his eyes asking, "How did you know this is my favorite?"
Yin'e looked up at Luyi and couldn't help but give Yintang a mysterious smile: Silly child, that's because Luyi and I have both heard about your story. I'll remember the way you cried your eyes out for the rest of my life!
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