Chapter 58: The Tenth Old Man's Salted Fish Tomato
It was still morning, not yet lunch break. The eldest, third, and fourth princes were still in the Imperial Study, studying the Four Books and Five Classics with their tutors, and were not in their quarters.
The five courtyards of Gan Dong are arranged in a row. The two back courtyards are empty, and no princes have moved in yet; at this time, the masters of the three front courtyards are not here, only the palace servants are waiting in the princes' quarters.
Strolling through the eastern side gate of the Imperial Garden into the Fifth Palace of the Eastern Palace without disturbing the palace servants in the Prince's Palace, Yin'e led Wang Mama and others straight to the innermost Fourth and Fifth Palaces with a clear objective.
Since no one lived in the four houses, the gates were not locked, but only slightly ajar.
Yin'e walked to the gates of the four mansions. He looked up and observed the surroundings, but could not see any signs that the gates had been opened or closed. He looked down and saw that the thresholds of the four mansions were covered with dust, but there were no signs of footsteps.
The fourth compound looked completely empty, as if no one had set foot there for a long time; even the dust was still there. Yin'e didn't even bother to open the door and go inside; he simply turned and walked straight towards the fifth compound.
At first glance, the fifth school looked just like the fourth school. The gate was ajar, and the place was deserted and quiet, with not a single person in sight.
But anyone with eyes that aren't blind, and who pays a little attention, can immediately spot the noticeably mismatched, missing patch of dust at the five thresholds. Unless someone just walked by, could it be that the wind was specifically blowing on that spot, carrying away half the dust?
Yin'e shook his head repeatedly and sighed, "Yin Tang is only concerned with the beginning and not the end! He's still too young and suffered from a lack of experience. Although he hid in a good place, he forgot to clean up the mess."
After searching all the way from the Imperial Garden to the Fifth Palace of the Eastern Capital, Yin'e thought that since they had already come this far, they might as well spend a little more time and give Yin'tang a complete gaming experience.
With his index finger pressed to his lips, Yin'e turned his head and whispered a "shh" to Wang Mama and the others.
Instead of shouting "Ninth Brother" at the top of his lungs, he simply summoned the person out. After a nanny gently pushed open the gate of the Fifth Residence, Yin'e tiptoed into the courtyard and earnestly played hide-and-seek with Yin'tang, playing the role of the ghost to find the person who was hiding.
Don't be fooled by the fact that Gan Dong Wu Suo is just a princes' residence, a place where princes lived in the palace before they left to build their own mansions. In fact, each of these five independent courtyards is quite large, and they are not the kind of courtyard houses with only one entrance where you can see the whole thing as soon as you open the gate.
Emperor Kangxi was reluctant to let his sons move out of the palace too early, so even after the princes got married, he would still let them live in the palace.
The construction of the Fifth Palace in Gandong took into account the situation after the princes' weddings. The total area of the courtyard is very large, with three courtyards. Even if the princes marry their wives and have children, there will be enough room for their entire families to live together.
Walking quietly through the five courtyards, Yin'e didn't immediately find Yin Tang, but instead found the wet nurse, palace maids, and eunuchs who were by his side, responsible for taking care of and protecting him.
But before they found the real person, Yin'e didn't bother to remind Yin Tang, who was hiding.
Making a gesture to walk out, Yin'e told Yin Tang's wet nurse and others to meet up with Granny Wang and the others. Everyone who had been found should return to the group and stop hiding in the courtyard of the Fifth Palace.
Yin'e pretended not to have discovered anything and did not find anyone from Yikun Palace. He continued to wander around the five palaces without showing any unusual behavior, searching for Yin Tang's whereabouts.
While searching for people, Yin'e kept calling out for Yin Tang.
But this time he wasn't in a hurry to end the game. Instead, in the game of hide-and-seek, the "ghost" strategically deceived the person hiding: "Ninth Brother, come out quickly! Stop hiding, I can already see you!"
The five empty courtyards, where no princes resided, were quiet and deserted. The clear, innocent voices of children broke the silence and stillness of the courtyards.
After waiting for a long time at the Fifth Palace, Yin Tang knew that Yin E had finally come looking for him when he heard Yin E's voice.
Looking up at the wooden planks covering him so tightly, Yin Tang was certain that he was well hidden, had not been found, and had definitely not been seen by Yin E.
So, the tenth brother was bluffing him, waiting for him to run away from his hiding place and walk right into the trap!
This wasn't the first time Yin Tang had played hide-and-seek with Yin E. He had learned his lesson from Yin E's tricks the first time and wouldn't be fooled a second time, foolishly falling into the trap again.
In his hiding place, Yinzhen covered his mouth and chuckled softly. The laughter was so quiet that it only echoed in his hiding place, without making a big fuss that Yin'e would find out.
Curled up and sitting in his hiding place, Yinzhen's delicate and beautiful face was full of confidence: He had hidden himself very well this time, and his tenth brother would definitely not be able to find him!
Yin'e searched every room in the five mansions, but still couldn't find Yin Tang's people.
The Fifth Residence was uninhabited, the rooms were empty, with little furniture and nowhere to hide. Logically, Yinzhen couldn't have stayed in the Fifth Residence for long.
Yin'e circled back to the front of the main hall of the Five Palaces. This time, he didn't pay attention to the furnishings inside the rooms, but instead focused on the layout of the courtyard.
Soon, a large, round porcelain jar, over a meter tall, placed under the eaves, caught Yin'e's attention.
This large vat is quite big, but it probably wasn't used to hold water. Vats used for water are usually quite plain in appearance, not this fancy. Besides, large vats used for water are generally placed in the backyard, not in the front yard to take up space, let alone in such a conspicuous place as under the eaves of the main hall.
"It looks a bit like a large vat for growing water lilies." Yin'e walked around the large porcelain vat, and tried tapping it. A crisp sound was produced, but the sound didn't seem very hollow, and it didn't seem to be completely hollow inside.
He blinked, then Yin'e's eyes crinkled into crescents with laughter, his dark, round almond-shaped eyes widening into crescent moons. His smile was radiant, brighter than the April sunshine.
“Ninth Brother, I’ve really found you this time.” Yin’e raised his hand and tapped the large vat, greeting Yin’e, who was hiding inside.
The large porcelain jar made a sound that was both crisp and dull when it was struck.
Hiding in the vat, Yinzhen covered his mouth and remained silent, somewhat unwilling to give up and stubborn, insisting that Yin'e drag him out before admitting that he had been found.
His heart pounded, his breathing became rapid, and his delicate face flushed red.
He was both nervous and excited, wanting Yin'e to find him quickly and announce the end of the game, but also not wanting Yin'e to find him too soon and make him lose this game of hide-and-seek.
With a bang, the wooden board covering the large porcelain jar was pushed off, and the bright and warm sunlight of a mid-spring morning in April instantly shone down, illuminating the dark and deep interior of the jar.
"Ninth Brother!" Yin'e, who was being carried by Granny Wang, peered into the large vat. He called out to Yin'tang, who was curled up inside, with a broad, cheerful smile. His laughter was lively and full of pride. "I've found you!"
Yin'e was too short; even on tiptoe, he couldn't reach the large vat. He needed someone to lift him up to find Yin Tang hiding in the lotus vat, just as Yin Tang had to rely on his wet nurse's help to hide inside.
"Alright~ you found me, you win." Pouting, Yinzhen's fair face fell. He was full of regret and frustration, but he readily admitted defeat without saying a word.
Although he lost the game of hide-and-seek, Yinzhen's delicate features were full of joy and happiness. He clearly had a lot of fun, and his pleasure far outweighed his regret.
Yinzhen's new wet nurse took him out of the lotus pot, and another nanny took out the cushion that had been placed at the bottom of the pot.
The reason why Yinzhen was able to hide in the lotus pot for so long was because the palace servants who served him had carefully arranged the large pot before he hid in it, so that he would not be too uncomfortable when he was hiding in the pot.
He hid in the large vat for a long time, and even though the weather in the capital in April wasn't very hot, Yinzhen still sweated a lot.
He tilted his little face up and let his wet nurse wipe the sweat from his face and neck with a clean handkerchief. He didn't forget to turn his head and say to Yin'e, "Tenth brother, it's your turn to hide. I'll be the 'ghost' and find you."
"Ninth Brother, I don't want to play right now." Yin'e shook his head and refused Yin Tang.
He winked at Yinzhen and whispered mysteriously, "I saw some beautiful fruit in the Imperial Garden. Let's go pick some together."
After thinking for a moment, Yin'e didn't reveal that he had eaten tomatoes before, but instead chuckled and said, "I think that fruit is delicious."
Yinzhen wasn't very interested, after all, he was truly not lacking in material conditions.
Seeing Yin'e's expectant look, Yin Tang sighed like a little adult, and said in a very indulgent tone in his childish voice, "Alright, then I'll go with you to pick fruit, and we'll go back to the Imperial Garden."
Wang Mama, who was following closely behind Yin'e, felt a sudden jolt in her heart. She hadn't expected that the Tenth Prince would still remember those persimmons.
Not only was he reluctant to leave, but he also wanted to take the Ninth Prince to pick persimmons. What to do? These two young masters are not easy to fool, and it's not easy to stop them from doing something.
Regardless of how anxious Wang Mama was, Yin'e and Yin'tang left the five palaces in the east hand in hand, without disturbing the palace servants in the three palaces in front.
After passing through the moon gate back to the Imperial Garden, Yin'e, who already knew the way, led Yin Tang to the tomato tree surrounded by a fence.
Yin'e pointed to the bright red tomatoes hanging on the branch and showed them to Yin'tang: "Ninth Brother, don't you think they're beautiful?"
The tomatoes are brightly colored and stand out against the green leaves.
The combination of red and green is quite pleasing to the eye; otherwise, tomatoes wouldn't have been included as ornamental plants in the Imperial Garden.
Nodding earnestly, Yinzhen said with a serious expression, "Beautiful." Then, he immediately asked, "Is it edible? Is it delicious?"
"I think it's possible, and I think it tastes delicious." Staring at the ripe tomatoes, Yin'e's mouth was watering.
Tomatoes are certainly edible; they are one of the most common vegetables in later generations.
Who hasn't eaten scrambled eggs with tomatoes before?
However, Yin'e could not say this to Yin'tang, because he had never eaten tomatoes in this life. To say that tomatoes were not poisonous and were delicious in front of outsiders without any evidence would only arouse suspicion.
A colorful butterfly flew over and landed on the tomato tree, slowly and silently fluttering its colorful wings.
Yinzhen's attention was immediately drawn to the butterfly. While Yin'e was disgusted by Yinzhen's distraction, he secretly approached the tomato tree, wanting to cross the fence and pick one.
Before Wang Mama could stop him, a dignified but barely concealed voice rang out behind Yin'e: "Yin'e, what are you doing?"
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 14:36:48 and 21:35:31 on March 11, 2023!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: turorora (5 bottles); Luo Yin (1 bottle);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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