Chapter 188 Shopping Spree Money
What the eldest prince wants to do is his own business, and Yin'e has no intention of interfering.
But it would be too unethical for the First Prince to want to drag the other princes along to offer incense to Tong Guogang. Regardless of whether the First Prince intended to do so or not—the First Prince did not explicitly ask the other princes to go with him—Yin'e set the tone first: what the First Prince wanted to do was his own business and had nothing to do with others.
Although the eldest prince was the most senior prince and the elder brother of the other princes, and Emperor Kangxi had specifically named the eldest prince to lead the task of welcoming Tong Guogang's coffin back to the capital, this did not mean that whatever the eldest prince did, the other princes had to listen to him and follow him.
Of course, if after Yin'e stood up and made a statement distinguishing the First Prince from the other princes, and some people still wanted to follow the First Prince and go with him to offer incense to Tong Guogang, that was their own choice, and Yin'e couldn't interfere.
Looking down at Yin'e, who was laughing heartlessly and urging him to hurry back, the eldest prince shuddered, a cold sweat breaking out on his back. He then realized that he had been too boastful and had unintentionally tricked the other princes.
After understanding Yin'e's "reminder," the eldest prince's first reaction was not anger or annoyance at Yin'e's intervention, but rather regret that he seemed to have inadvertently put his younger brothers in an unjust position, and his heart was filled with shame and guilt.
The eldest prince did want to win over the Tong family, but he had no intention of using other people's money, nor did he ever think of dragging the other princes along to offer incense to Tong Guogang, or having the other princes accompany him to save face for the Tong family.
The reason why the eldest prince didn't consult with the other princes and directly brought up the matter of offering incense to Tong Guogang with Orondai was because this was the first time the eldest prince had taken his younger brothers on an official mission. Previously, he had always done official missions alone, and it had long been a habit.
After all, not counting the Crown Prince, Kangxi only had one adult son, the eldest prince. The eldest prince had been married for several years and was no longer willing to play with his immature younger brother. He also had no experience working with the other princes before.
The eldest prince failed to adjust his mindset during this mission, forgetting that other princes were with him and that some sensitive matters were not entirely within his control; he also had to consider the feelings of his younger brothers.
Thinking that Orondai was also unwilling to offer incense to Tong Guogang, and that doing so might not necessarily earn Orondai more loyalty, the eldest prince immediately changed his mind and said, "Forget it, we won't go today. Let's wait until Lord Tong's funeral. Let's go to the outer city now."
Walking up to Yin'e, the eldest prince ruffled Yin'e's hair and said in a barely audible voice, "Tenth brother, thank you for reminding me."
The eldest prince was truly grateful to Yin'e. The other princes, out of consideration for their elder brother, dared not stand up to oppose him or express their opinions, even if they were unwilling. This almost led the eldest prince to make a mistake.
In the eyes of the eldest prince, Yin'e, the tenth brother, was indeed bold. Not only did he dare to speak out boldly in front of the Khan, but he also did not obey his elder brother in everything. He would not sacrifice his own interests or do things he was unwilling to do just because Yin'e was the elder brother.
At any other time, if Yin'e had contradicted the eldest prince like this, the eldest prince would have been unhappy, even if he didn't hold it against his younger brother. But today, the eldest prince had made a mistake, and Yin'e's opposition actually helped him. The eldest prince only appreciated Yin'e's boldness and didn't feel offended.
Upon receiving the friendly signal from the eldest prince, Yin'e was taken aback, his lips twitching slightly, feeling somewhat amused and exasperated.
He knew that the eldest prince was an open-minded and generous person, but he did not expect that the eldest prince was so broad-minded that he not only did not hold his offense against him, but also appreciated him.
Looking up at the eldest prince, Yin'e blinked thoughtfully: Perhaps the eldest prince's ability to gather a large party to compete with the crown prince was not entirely due to his status as the eldest son and Mingzhu's scheming; the eldest prince's personal charisma was also one of the reasons.
Orondai, as Tong Guogang's eldest son, was granted the title of First-Class Imperial Guard upon reaching adulthood, and within two years became the Deputy Commander-in-Chief. He had a promising future and a bright career path, and could get by and rise very high without having to earn any merit for the emperor.
Orondai supported the First Prince and joined his party simply because he and the First Prince shared similar temperaments.
Orondai was stubborn and did not fully respect his biological father, Tong Guogang. However, he greatly admired the eldest prince and listened to him. Orondai would stand at the gate of the Tong residence to welcome Tong Guogang's coffin because the eldest prince had given the order, which is why he rushed over.
The Fifth Prince was completely lost in thought and didn't notice what was happening around him until the First Prince was about to lead them away from the Tong residence to the outer city. Only then did the Fifth Prince snap out of his reverie and ask with a slightly confused yet delighted expression, "Brother, is everything done? Can we go to the outer city now?"
After glancing at the Fifth Prince, the First Prince raised his hand and rubbed his temples, feeling utterly helpless and exhausted.
Nodding, the eldest prince sighed and said, "Yes, we will set off for the outer city now."
Although the First Prince inwardly criticized the Fifth Prince's naiveté, he wasn't overly worried about him. The Fifth Prince was indeed simple-minded and too honest, making him stand out among the shrewd crowd. But no one dared to bully him; anyone who dared to touch him would first have to ask the Empress Dowager of Ning Shou Palace for permission.
After bidding farewell to Orondai, the eldest prince left the Tong residence with his seven younger brothers, heading south to Chongwen Gate, surrounded by guards.
The alley where the Tong family residence was located was north of the Forbidden City. Their group was heading south to enter the outer city through Chongwen Gate, which required passing through the Forbidden City.
However, none of the princes stopped as they rode past the Forbidden City, nor did they intend to return to the palace immediately. Most of them were quite interested in the outer city and wanted to take the opportunity to stroll around; even those who weren't particularly interested in shopping didn't want to go back so early.
Given Kangxi's nature, once the princes returned to the palace, he would definitely make them continue studying in the Imperial Study instead of giving them a break.
Upon arriving at Chongwenmen, after a busy morning, taking a group of younger brothers out on errands, the eldest prince, like a mother duck taking a flock of ducklings out for a stroll, was not only physically exhausted but also mentally exhausted. He had no desire to move or take his younger brothers to stroll along Qianmen Street.
They found a tavern with a sign that read "Nanlu Shaojiu" and sat down to rest. The eldest prince told his seven younger brothers to take their guards and go stroll around Qianmen Street, wherever they wanted, as long as they returned to meet him before evening.
As for the eldest prince himself, now that he was in the tavern, he naturally had to feed his craving for alcohol, drink some wine to reward himself, ease his emotions, and relax.
Anyway, Kangxi sent out about a hundred guards, each surrounded by ten, right in the capital, right on Qianmen Street, so there was no fear of anything happening.
The eldest prince's suggestion was unanimously approved by the other princes, who also didn't want to go shopping together. A large group traveling together would be too chaotic, and deciding where to go would require prior agreement—too much trouble. Shopping alone was much better; they could go wherever they wanted without considering others' opinions.
With a cheer, Yin'e and his seven companions planned to leave the tavern with their guards, and then go to stroll along Qianmen Street in twos and threes.
Just as the eldest prince was about to call the waiter for wine, he suddenly remembered something, raised his hand and called out to his younger brothers who were about to leave: "Wait, did you bring any money?"
Before the seven princes could answer, the eldest prince untied the purse at his waist, emptied out all the silver inside, and pulled out several silver notes as well. He then called out names starting with the fifth prince, beckoning them over: "Come on, your eldest brother will give you money to go shopping."
Upon discovering that the eldest prince had overlooked him and the fourth prince, the third prince frowned and asked with displeasure, "Eldest brother, what about me? I'm your younger brother too!"
The eldest prince rolled his eyes at the third prince and said irritably, "You're getting married next year, and you still think you're so young? You have the nerve to ask me for money? Look at the fourth prince, he didn't say a word."
After a pause, the eldest prince added, "When this happens again next year, you'll be the one who has to pay up."
Upon hearing this, the Third Prince muttered under his breath, "Then I won't go out to play with my brothers. I don't have any money." The Third Prince was indeed not as wealthy as the First Prince, but he wasn't really broke. It was just that the Third Prince was rather stingy and unwilling to spend his money unnecessarily.
The Fifth Prince received ten taels of silver from the First Prince, thanked him first, and then whispered, "Brother, I have my own silver, you don't need to give me any."
Raised under the Empress Dowager's care, the Fifth Prince was never deprived of food or drink and had no shortage of money. He had brought money with him on this trip and therefore did not want to accept the money from the First Prince.
“Here you go, just take it.” The eldest prince said casually, “I know you’re not short of money, and you’re the oldest among them, so I only gave you ten taels as a token of goodwill.”
The Ninth Prince wasn't as honest as the Fifth Prince. He also had money on him, but he happily stuffed the fifty taels of silver notes that the First Prince had given him into his purse, and said with a grin, "Thank you, elder brother. You're so kind."
The eldest prince gave him pocket money, and the ninth prince didn't hesitate to say a few nice words. Anyway, he didn't have to put his heart into it or put in any effort; all he had to do was talk. How convenient and cost-effective!
Yin'e, who was only a little over a month younger than the Ninth Prince but was indeed the youngest prince present, looked at the one-hundred-tael silver note in his hand and touched his nose rather embarrassedly.
One hundred taels of silver is no small sum; a prince's annual allowance is only a little over one hundred taels. The First Prince hasn't established his own residence, and although he's been serving for several years, he's not necessarily wealthy. Moreover, the First Prince is married and has two daughters, so he has a family to support.
This hundred taels of silver was too hot for Yin'e to handle, because his personal savings were very substantial, and he was certainly not short of money...
But returning the silver directly would be a slap in the face to the eldest prince, so Yin'e frowned with some hesitation.
On second thought, Yin'e had an idea: since he couldn't return the silver directly, he would send a gift to the eldest prince and try to return the hundred taels of silver at a discounted price.
What gift should I give? Hmm... The eldest prince has two daughters now, so as his uncle, how about giving his two nieces some toys?
Barring any unforeseen circumstances, the eldest prince's daughter will be assigned to serve in Mongolia. So at least let their childhood be happy and joyful, leaving them with many happy memories.
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