Chapter 180, Jade Plaque Pattern
After crossing the gate of the Fifth Palace of Ganxi, Yin'e only glanced at the Third Palace of Ganxi, which was closest to the gate. Xiao Linzi, who was following behind him, wisely broke away from the group and went into the Third Palace alone to retrieve the birthday gift that Yin'e had prepared for the Ninth Prince.
Yin'e himself went straight to the Fourth Palace with the Ninth Prince, passing by his own home without entering, and had no intention of returning to the Third Palace.
Upon entering the Fourth Palace of Ganxi, the palace servants who remained there came forward to report to the Ninth Prince that birthday gifts had been sent from various parts of the palace, and presented him with a transcribed gift list for his review.
The gift list not only allowed the Ninth Prince to clearly see who had given gifts and what gifts they had given, but it also served as a reference and a reminder, letting him know which gifts he should return and what kind of gift would be appropriate in return.
"Fifth Brother really did send gold and silver ingots." Ninth Prince skimmed through the entire gift list, his eyebrows raised, his lips twitching slightly, his expression complex, unsure whether to laugh or cry.
Yin'e naturally reached out to the Ninth Prince and took the gift list from him.
A quick glance at the record for the Fifth Prince's gift list revealed the words "five pairs each of gold and silver ingots" following his entry. Each gold and silver ingot weighs about one tael, so five pairs of each would amount to ten taels of gold and ten taels of silver, totaling one hundred and ten taels—no small sum.
Unable to suppress a laugh, Yin'e handed the gift list back to the Ninth Prince, saying with a smile, "Didn't you, Ninth Prince, say that you wanted Fifth Brother to give you real gold and silver directly? You know Fifth Brother is straightforward and doesn't mince words. It's not like he does whatever you say."
The Ninth Prince stared at the line about the Fifth Prince on the gift list, held back for a moment, but couldn't help it. He pouted and muttered under his breath, "Is the Fifth Prince really my half-brother? He doesn't look like me or Mother at all. Even the Eleventh Prince isn't as simple-minded as him!"
If it weren't for the fact that the Fifth Prince was adopted by the Empress Dowager, not by a concubine, and that there was no need to change his mother to elevate his status, the Ninth Prince would have suspected that the Fifth Prince wasn't Consort Yi's biological son.
Consort Yi was an exceptionally shrewd person, and Emperor Kangxi was even more so, each with a thousand schemes in his mind. How could two intelligent people have given birth to such a simple-minded and foolish Fifth Prince? To say that the Fifth Prince is naive is an understatement; he's naive to the core!
The brothers, the Fifth Prince and the Ninth Prince, have a total of 800 cunning schemes. The Ninth Prince has 801 cunning schemes, while the Fifth Prince is one cunning schemer in the other!
“This shows that Grandmother Huang protected Fifth Brother very well and never let him suffer any losses, which is why he developed such a personality.” Yin’e smiled and shook his head. “Fifth Brother is straightforward, which is not necessarily a bad thing.”
The Fifth Prince was raised by the Empress Dowager, a background of considerable importance. The Empress Dowager herself came from the Khorchin Mongol tribe, which destined the Fifth Prince to be naturally close to and inextricably linked to the Mongols.
With the crown prince already chosen and Emperor Kangxi intending to distance himself from the Mongols, things would have been difficult if the Fifth Prince hadn't been so optimistic and content with his lot.
Another person might not have been as honest as the Fifth Prince, able to refrain from using Mongolia for personal gain. When dealing with Mongolian issues, Kangxi always considered things carefully and repeatedly, because if Mongolia became unstable, it would inevitably affect the situation within the Great Wall, so Kangxi had to be cautious.
After thinking about it, the Ninth Prince agreed with Yin'e and stopped worrying about how the Fifth Prince was so simple-minded. He then pointed to another item on the gift list and said to Yin'e, "Seventh Brother is the best. He completely understood what I meant. The gifts are not from the palace, but from shops in the outer city. They can be easily resold."
Most importantly, since the items do not bear any palace markings, they can be sold without any taboos. No one can find fault with them; at most, they might mutter a few words of disrespect to the Ninth Prince for reselling a gift given to him.
However, since the Ninth Prince had already made his plans clear to the Seventh Prince, and had been frank with him beforehand, it didn't seem so excessive.
“It’s fortunate that Seventh Brother has a good temper. If it were someone else, they would definitely turn against you.” Yin’e shook his head, looking helpless. He really didn’t expect Ninth Prince to do this. “Who would directly ask someone to give them a gift that can be resold for money? You’re being too blunt.”
The Ninth Prince shook his head, disagreeing with Yin'e's words, and insisted on his own opinion: "I only told the truth to the Seventh Prince because I have a good relationship with him."
"The gifts that other brothers send either end up in the storeroom or are given to other people. That's even more pointless. It's not as good as the gifts that Seventh Brother sends, which I can actually use."
Although the so-called "use" refers to reselling it for money, the Seventh Prince's gift did indeed help the Ninth Prince to some extent, and it wasn't just left to gather dust. It was worth it for the Ninth Prince to specifically inform the Seventh Prince in advance.
Yin'e tilted his head and thought for a moment, then smiled and decided not to say anything more.
Just then, Xiao Linzi, who had gone back to Ganxi San Suo alone, came in, presented a palm-sized wooden box to Yin'e, and then silently stepped aside.
Looking down at the wooden box in his hand, Yin'e casually handed it to the Ninth Prince: "Here, Ninth Brother, this is my birthday gift to you this year."
The Ninth Prince took it and, without any formalities, opened the box directly.
Upon closer inspection, he saw a jade pendant lying quietly on the white silk at the bottom of the box, its color even whiter and purer than the silk below, its texture warm and delicate.
The jade plaque is made of Hetian jade. Its texture is clear and warm, making it a rare and exquisite piece, extremely rare and valuable, practically priceless on the market. If it were to appear on the market, you wouldn't be able to buy it for less than several thousand taels of silver.
The front of the jade pendant is carved with a laughing Buddha image, which symbolizes tolerance and magnanimity, and is believed to inspire peace of mind and an open heart. Wearing a jade pendant with a Buddha image also signifies that one is accompanied by good fortune (Buddha).
The Ninth Prince held the wooden box in his left hand and carefully picked up the jade pendant with his right.
After carefully examining the laughing Buddha image on the front, the Ninth Prince turned the jade pendant over—upon picking it up, he noticed by touch that the back wasn't completely flat. Upon turning it over, he indeed saw that the back of the pendant was also carved with patterns.
Holding up the jade pendant, the Ninth Prince carefully examined the pattern on the back by the light. It took him a while to figure out what the pattern on the back was: a little pig holding a gold ingot.
The corners of his mouth unconsciously curled up. The Ninth Prince wanted to laugh, but he forcibly held it back. Pointing to the strange little pig pattern on the back of the jade pendant, he asked Yin'e, "Is this a little pig holding a gold ingot? Why does it look so strange? I've never seen such a pattern on a jade pendant before."
The Ninth Prince didn't ask why the carving was of a pig, because he was born in the Year of the Pig...
Blinking, Yin'e glanced at the jade pendant in the Ninth Prince's hand: "I drew the pattern on the back of the jade pendant myself. Is that really so strange?"
It was a cartoon drawing. The little pig represented the Ninth Prince, who was born in the Year of the Pig, and the gold ingot held by Yin'e was a blessing for the Ninth Prince.
Of course, Yin'e's painting skills were not very good. After he finished the painting, he went to find a painter and explained his ideas to him for a long time. He asked the painter to modify it according to his ideas. Only when Yin'e was satisfied with the final product did he send it to the craftsmen to carve it out.
However, perhaps because cartoons were so different from the freehand ink paintings and realistic oil paintings that were popular in the Qing Dynasty, the Ninth Prince couldn't appreciate them. He didn't find cartoons cute, but rather strange.
However, as soon as Yin'e mentioned that he had personally designed the pattern on the back, the Ninth Prince immediately changed his tune, chuckling as he said, "Although it's a bit strange, it's kind of cute after a while. Hmm, I really like the symbolism of this little pig holding a gold ingot."
Yin'e glanced at the Ninth Prince's happy expression and quietly added, "Ninth Prince, you should also like the meaning behind the laughing Buddha image on the front. You should wear this jade pendant with you at all times, and I hope the laughing Buddha image will always remind you."
The Ninth Prince understood what Yin'e meant, clicked his tongue, and said somewhat uncertainly, "I'll try my best..."
It's no problem to make him always smile, but to make him broad-minded, the Ninth Prince honestly felt it was quite difficult.
Perhaps the Fifth Prince, who was born first, took away all the good temper that Consort Yi and Emperor Kangxi had, leaving the Ninth Prince with nothing but cunning and scheming. The Ninth Prince was both stubborn and arrogant, with a really bad temper and a strong sense of grudges.
However, Yin'e's gift of the Laughing Buddha statue to the Ninth Prince was not intended to make the Ninth Prince completely restrain his temper and greet everyone with a smile. He simply wanted the Ninth Prince to follow the principle of "I will not offend others unless they offend me," and not to take the initiative to cause trouble or provoke others—these others mainly refer to the Crown Prince, the First Prince, and the Fourth Prince!
Leaving aside the Crown Prince and the First Prince, one is the heir apparent with a stable position, and the other is the elder brother who has just made great achievements on the battlefield and has a great reputation. They are both people who would be hard to get along with if they were to cross them. Yin'e did not want the Ninth Prince to offend them and make enemies with them because of his temper.
As for the Fourth Prince, Yin'e didn't know if his butterfly effect would change the successor. But without a doubt, the Fourth Prince was a ruthless man. If the Ninth Prince offended him, even if the Fourth Prince failed to succeed to the throne, the retaliation would be enough to give the Ninth Prince a hard time.
The Ninth Prince was actually more stubborn in words than in heart. He was not as hard-hearted as the Fourth Prince, nor was he as clear about his likes and dislikes as the Fourth Prince, who could truly "love someone and wish them to live, hate someone and wish them to die".
The Ninth Prince is all talk and no action, but when it comes to the final moment, he can't bring himself to be ruthless. Just like with Consort Yi, the Ninth Prince had resentment and bitterness in his early years, but now he has been able to reconcile with Consort Yi and has not been willing to completely give up this mother-son relationship.
Unaware of all that Yin'e had been thinking, the Ninth Prince put the wooden box aside and eagerly began to put on the jade pendant.
After the Ninth Prince put his head directly into the rope and pulled the jade pendant down, Yin'e saw this and went forward to help the Ninth Prince pull his braid out of the rope that tied the jade pendant, and also helped the Ninth Prince straighten his collar that had been messed up when wearing the jade pendant.
After tucking the jade pendant into his jacket and wearing it close to his body, the Ninth Prince touched the jade pendant hanging on his chest through his clothes. A silly smile appeared on his beautiful and delicate face. Suddenly, he said to Yin'e out of the blue, "Tenth Brother, we really are on the same wavelength."
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