Chapter 137 The First Appearance of Brothers
In the next room, the Third Prince was in high spirits and kept pulling the Seventh Prince aside to tell him about the short poem he had just written to celebrate the New Year.
The Seventh Prince was good at his studies, but he really didn't have the artistic flair of the Third Prince. His interest in poetry and prose was limited to coping with his studies; he wasn't enthusiastic about composing poems or couplets. He would only occasionally chime in with a few words out of respect for the Third Prince's status as his elder brother.
The problem is that the Seventh Prince's abilities are truly remarkable. Although he was just going through the motions, every word he uttered hit the nail on the head, and every compliment he gave touched the Third Prince's heart. This made the Third Prince consider him a kindred spirit, and he became even more excited, wishing he could compose a poem on the spot for the Third Prince to appreciate.
With a sympathetic look at the Seventh Prince, who desperately wanted to escape but couldn't, Yin'e sighed. His gaze then shifted to the Fourth and Eighth Princes, who were gathered together to discuss their studies during the festive holiday and a joyous family reunion.
Subconsciously closing his eyes, Yin'e quickly turned his head away to avoid the erosion of knowledge: even if the Imperial Study only had one day off for the New Year, he would still enjoy the New Year and stubbornly refuse to touch anything related to his studies during this one-day holiday.
Judging from how close the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince are now, probably no one except Yin'e would have thought that the two of them would become such bitter enemies, and no one would have thought that the Fourth Prince would later give the Eighth Prince, who is now his best friend, the derogatory name "Aqina".
Speaking of which, the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince have always had a good relationship. When they were young, they just played together. But when the Eighth Prince went to study in the Imperial Study, the Fourth Prince took care of him more, and the two grew closer and closer. Their feelings for each other were different from those for their other brothers.
The Eighth Prince's birth mother, Lady Wei, lived in Yanxi Palace. He was given to Consort Hui to raise from a young age. Logically, after the Eighth Prince entered the Imperial Study, he should have followed the First Prince. However, the First Prince was the oldest, and the Eighth Prince had only been studying in the Imperial Study for less than a year when the First Prince graduated.
The Fourth Prince had a stern personality, but he was kind-hearted despite his cold exterior.
The Eighth Prince entered the Imperial Study a year early, at the age of five. Since he was young and had no one to look after him, the Fourth Prince took extra care of him. Over time, the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince, who had already gotten along well as children, became increasingly familiar with each other and grew closer.
The thought that the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince, who are now close friends, would one day break up because of the struggle for the throne and become mortal enemies would make Yin'e feel a tightness in his heart and an indescribable sense of frustration and disappointment: Does everyone change as they grow up?
Lowering his eyes, Yin'e sighed silently, pursed his lips, and picked up an orange from the small table in front of him. He peeled the orange absentmindedly, his mind wandering, his eyes unfocused, his thoughts seemingly lost somewhere else.
Yin'e sat on a soft couch by the window in the side room, with a small table in front of him filled with plates of fruits and snacks. The Ninth Prince sat beside him on the left side of the couch, while the Eleventh and Twelfth Princes sat opposite him.
The Fifth Prince was not in the secondary room. As the Empress Dowager's beloved grandson, he was kept by her side. He was scratching his head and listening to the Empress Dowager reminisce about the past with Princess Chunxi, talking about the days when they lived on the Khorchin grassland. He gradually became numb to the Empress Dowager's repeated instructions to Princess Chunxi.
"Ew~~"
Yin'e popped a segment of orange into his mouth and found it quite sweet. His eyes lit up, and he nudged the Ninth Prince beside him with his elbow, handing him the whole peeled orange he was holding: "This is very sweet. Ninth Prince, you should try it."
The Ninth Prince, who was eating raisins, took the orange, casually cut it in half, handed the larger half back to Yin'e, and took a big bite of the smaller half, stuffing the whole orange into his mouth.
After chewing for a while, the Ninth Prince's eyes brightened noticeably, his beautiful phoenix eyes curving into crescents as he smiled and gave Yin'e a thumbs up.
After finishing the remaining half of the orange, Yin'e carefully surveyed the fruits and snacks laid out on the small table. Just as he was debating whether to eat the snacks or crack some melon seeds, he heard the sound of whips approaching from outside the hall.
Yin'e's malicious speculation proved unfounded; Kangxi did not arrive on time. Although he stayed in the Hall of Preserving Harmony to handle some matters, he did not arrive too late and did not keep the Empress Dowager waiting for long.
Turning his head, Yin'e glanced at the Ninth Prince, who was sitting by the window with half a persimmon in his mouth. He pushed himself up from the small table and called to the Ninth Prince as he jumped to the ground, "Ninth Brother, get up quickly, we have to go to the main hall to welcome Father Khan."
He haphazardly shoved his feet into the boots, and then stomped on the ground to make sure they were securely in place.
As soon as he straightened up, Yin'e noticed that the Twelfth Prince, who was two years younger and a head shorter than him, was having some difficulty climbing down from the soft couch. So he moved two steps to the right and offered the Twelfth Prince a helping hand: "Be careful, Twelfth Brother."
"Thank you, Tenth Brother." The Twelfth Prince was somewhat shy and introverted. After landing safely, he obediently thanked Yin'e and then shut his mouth without saying anything more.
He looked around and realized that the other brothers in the side room were not familiar to him, so he quietly shrank into a corner, planning to follow at the very back when his brothers went to the main hall outside to welcome Kangxi.
The Ninth Prince, who was holding half a persimmon in his mouth, was a little dumbfounded. Hearing the sound of the whip getting closer and closer, he hesitated for a second, then pulled out a handkerchief from his sleeve, spat out the persimmon in his mouth, wrapped it in the handkerchief, and threw it into the basket containing orange peels, nut shells and other waste.
He casually helped the eleventh prince, who was shakily climbing down from the soft couch, and then glanced at the other brothers in the next room. He found that everyone was quite surprised, not expecting that Kangxi would come to Ning Shou Palace from Baohe Hall so quickly.
The princes reacted differently to Kangxi's arrival: the Third Prince was overjoyed and immediately stood up, heading straight for the main hall. He was eager to present Kangxi with the short poem that the Seventh Prince had reviewed, commented on, and helped revise.
Watching the Third Prince's retreating figure, the Seventh Prince revealed a "finally saved" expression. It was thanks to Kangxi's greater allure, and thanks to the Third Prince's eagerness to please his father, that he was able to escape the Third Prince's excessive desire for attention and sharing.
The Fourth Prince, who was taking the initiative to tutor the Eighth Prince and explain the scriptures to him on a festive day, stopped talking. He looked up at the Third Prince, who was about to leave the side room, and was clearly still not satisfied and wanted to continue.
But the Fourth Prince was upright and honorable, and even though he was not so willing, he stood up and strode after the Third Prince, following behind him to the main hall to welcome his father.
The Eighth Prince's brow furrowed almost imperceptibly, a shadow of gloom lurking in his eyes. He seemed rather downcast, unlike the Third Prince who was in a hurry to go to the main hall to greet Kangxi. Instead, he slowly moved behind the Seventh Prince, as if he preferred to stay in the side room.
Yin'e, who had jumped off the soft couch and lined up behind the Eighth Prince, glanced at the Eighth Prince, who was hanging his head, with a strange look. Although he was a little surprised by the Eighth Prince's reaction, Yin'e pursed his lips twice but kept his mouth tightly shut and did not ask any more questions.
Although it was difficult to suppress his curiosity, Yin'e still adhered to the "three no's" principle of "no getting close, no ignoring, and no being hostile" towards the Eighth Prince, trying his best to avoid too much contact with the Eighth Prince in daily life, whether positive or negative.
Yin'e wasn't just like this with the Eighth Prince; he treated the Crown Prince, the First Prince, and even the Fourth Prince the same way. He didn't want to get close to any prince who would later participate in the struggle for the throne and who would yearn for that supreme dragon throne. He had no intention of befriending them, nor did he want to make enemies with them.
As for why he didn't apply the "three no's" principle to the Third Prince and instead chose to antagonize him, it wasn't that Yin'e looked down on the Third Prince. It was simply that the Third Prince was too cowardly and a mere intellectual. Whether it was trying to please Kangxi or vying for the throne, his methods were incredibly naive, completely lacking any semblance of political acumen.
His curiosity remained unsatisfied, and Yin'e felt itchy inside, as if a kitten's claws were constantly scratching at him.
However, as he stepped out of the secondary room, Yin'e remembered the reason why the Eighth Prince was unhappy.
The Eighth Prince was highly competitive and had a strong desire to climb the social ladder. This obsession with status was clearly not innate; there must have been some reason that motivated him to strive for advancement.
His birth mother, Lady Wei... was likely one of the reasons.
On such a joyous occasion as a family reunion dinner to celebrate the New Year, his own birth mother was not entitled to attend and could not spend the New Year with him. The Eighth Prince must have felt very resentful. Part of the reason he worked so hard to climb the social ladder was that he wanted to be able to support his birth mother and ensure that she would not be looked down upon in the palace because of her birth.
Inside the main hall, everyone except the Empress Dowager had risen and stood at attention.
The seats in the hall were originally placed along the side, leaving an empty area in the middle. At this time, the princes and princesses stood in two rows in the hall, with a wide aisle in the middle to allow Kangxi to walk through.
Kangxi led the Crown Prince and the First Prince into the main hall. After exchanging greetings and being addressed, Kangxi strode confidently up to the high platform. After paying his respects to the Empress Dowager, he took his seat in the most honored position on the right.
The Crown Prince followed closely behind, paid his respects to the Empress Dowager, and then sat down to the side of Emperor Kangxi.
Whether it was a trick of the eye or not, when Yin'e finished bowing and stood up, he saw the Crown Prince walk up to the platform and glance at the First Prince.
No one knows how sharp the Crown Prince's eyes were, but after being looked at by the Crown Prince, the eldest prince, who was originally full of pride and had a smug smile on his face, suddenly frowned and couldn't control his emotions, so he showed his face in public in such a situation.
Fortunately, the eldest prince had entered the hall on Kangxi's right, and he was now standing closest to the platform, very close to Consort Hui, who had finished her greetings and was standing up straight. After being glared at by Consort Hui, the eldest prince immediately lowered his head, gritting his teeth to suppress the resentment and bitterness that had surfaced on his face.
In fact, the Crown Prince's gaze was not sharp. He merely glanced at the First Prince with a mocking look before following Kangxi onto the high platform, and said to the First Prince with his eyes: Look, I can sit in this seat, but you can't!
When the Crown Prince accompanied Emperor Kangxi from the Hall of Preserving Harmony, he kept his lips pursed the whole way, his mood not very good, and he did not have the joy and happiness of the New Year.
After the grand banquet just ended, Kangxi kept the Crown Prince and the First Prince behind to discuss with his two brothers, Prince Yu and Prince Gong, the possibility of unrest from the Dzungar Khanate after the New Year and the need for the Qing Dynasty to prepare for war.
Prince Yu and Prince Gong were Emperor Kangxi's brothers and held a very important position in the imperial clan. They were always highly trusted by Emperor Kangxi.
The Crown Prince had no objection to the possibility of Prince Yu and Prince Gong leading troops, nor was he surprised by his father's decision. What infuriated him was that if the Qing Dynasty really went to war with the Dzungars after the New Year, the First Prince would also go to the battlefield to lead troops!
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