Let's say, did Kangxi believe Yinzuo's explanation? Well, just looking at the expression on his face, you can tell that if he believed it, then there would be something fishy. Isn't there a saying that no one knows a son better than his father? Kangxi knew exactly what kind of character his son was.
"Take the initiative? I don't think you're forcing Fourth Brother to help you, are you? Your Second Brother has followed suit, right?"
It must be said that Kangxi's guess was absolutely correct. Yinzuo didn't feel embarrassed at all when his fig leaf, which he had been holding on to, was easily exposed. He ignored his father's words and turned to look at Liang Jiugong behind Kangxi with a smile.
"Eunuch Liang, please ask someone to bring three sedan chairs over. It's still snowing outside, so don't forget to tie umbrellas on them. Father, it's getting late, and Xiaojiu should be almost ready. Why don't we go over now?"
Since Yinzuo wanted to change the subject, Kangxi would not hold on to it. He nodded and called the palace servant waiting on the side to go to the front hall to get cloaks for himself and Yinzuo. Then he walked towards the gate of the Palace of Heavenly Purity with his two sons.
Liang Jiugong moved quickly. When Kangxi, Yinreng and Yinzuo strolled to the gate of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, someone was already waiting at the gate with a sedan chair. It was already dark at this time, and the three of them did not waste any time. After getting on the sedan chair, Kangxi gave an order and everyone stood up and carried the sedan chair towards Yinzuo's small courtyard in the South Third House.
Ever since Yinzuo moved out of the palace and built his own residence, no one moved into his small courtyard. Some of the people who originally served in the courtyard followed Yinzuo out of the palace, and some stayed in the courtyard to continue helping to take care of it. Sometimes when Yinzuo got bored of staying in the Qianqing Palace, he would come to the small courtyard to sit for a while. Therefore, even though no one had lived in this courtyard for many years, there was no sign of decline.
When Kangxi, Yinreng and Yinzuo arrived, Yin'er had already prepared everything and set up the tent in the center of the courtyard. Because Kangxi was there, Yin'er also specially asked someone to find a relatively large tent, so even though there were people coming and going inside, the space did not seem crowded.
Yinzhen was standing at the door of the tent. When he saw Kangxi and his men coming, he hurried over to greet them. Although the snow on the ground had been cleared, it was still snowing. Kangxi waved his hand to indicate that Yinzhen didn't need to greet him, and then walked quickly into the tent with his sons.
Camping and barbecue were not new to Kangxi. After all, he would go to the Mongolian grasslands almost every year. However, this was the first time that he sat face to face with his sons in the palace and barbecued together.
"I've often heard people say that Yinzuo loves to invite his friends to your courtyard to brew tea around the fire and grill meat himself. Now it seems that this is really quite interesting..."
When Yinzuo heard what Kangxi said, he handed the roasted meat skewers in his hand to Dexi who was standing beside him, and asked him to add some food and keep them warm in the charcoal stove before delivering them to Yinzhen who was still struggling with the memorials in the Palace of Heavenly Purity. He then stood up, pushed his chair over and sat down next to Kangxi, raised his hand to help him turn the meat skewers on the stove and said.
"My son also thinks it's quite interesting, especially when it's snowing heavily outside like now. Gathering a few brothers to sit by the stove, watching the snow and making tea together is simply a pleasure. However, if it's barbecue, the mood is a bit lacking. After all, the smoke and fire are really not very aesthetically pleasing. The key is not to get too close to the tent. Look at the breeze blowing at the door..."
Even though Yinzuo complained about the drafty atmosphere at the door of the tent, he wouldn't move at all if you asked him to rest inside. Yinreng and Yinzuo had spent a lot of time with Kangxi, so they were very relaxed in front of him. It was Yinzhen who suffered the most. He had never sat so close to his father in all his years. His original nervousness had suddenly soared to eight or nine points.
Looking at Yin'er who was sitting upright, Yinzuo felt very tired for him. He raised his hand and picked up the palm-leaf fan on the low table beside him and fanned the oven a few times. After the oven became dark, he threw away the fan and said nonchalantly to Yin'er who was standing beside him.
"Xiaojiu, where did you find this stove? How can it produce so much smoke when roasting meat? Get up and move the stove outside. Have someone clean up under the tree. Then go over there and roast the meat for us and bring it back."
My goodness! When Yinzuo said this, Yin'er was shocked. He looked towards Kangxi and saw that Kangxi did not object. He immediately stood up and took people to the outside of the tent to start working. Yinzuo looked at Yin'er who had a stern face and pretended to be a wooden man just now, but now he was relaxed and lively. He couldn't help but roll his eyes at him.
"Father, look at your son's promising future. Are you some kind of monster? As for scaring him like this, he must know that you are his father. I'm afraid I might think you are his boss..."
Kangxi had seen how Yinzhen was sitting there just now, but he was obviously accustomed to the state of being more distant than close to his sons. He looked up in the direction of Yinzhen in the yard and reached out to rub Yinzuo's bald head.
"Alright, do you think everyone is as bold as you? Forget about Yinzhen. Just ask your second brother if he ever felt nervous when he was with me before."
As soon as Kangxi said this, Yinzuo's eyes immediately turned to Yinreng who was flipping the skewers next to him. After observing carefully for a long time and finding no trace of discomfort from Yinreng, he stood up and walked towards him.
"Brother, Ama asked me to ask you, did you feel uncomfortable when you were with him before?"
Yinreng was sitting opposite Kangxi and Yinzuo, with an oven between them. At such a close distance, if he was not deaf, he could not have failed to hear the conversation between the two men. The reason why he did not speak back was that he was just recalling in his mind what it was like when he was with Kangxi in the past.
Yinreng could hardly remember things that happened when he was very young, but ever since he started working in the study, there was always some tension between him and his Khan Ama. It wasn't that their father-son relationship became less close after he started working in the study, but it was mainly because of his Khan Ama, who loved to do surprise checks on impulse.
Later, as time went by, the gap between father and son grew deeper and deeper. Naturally, Yinreng became more and more nervous and uneasy after meeting Kangxi. Fortunately, he had learned the ways of being a king in vain over the years. Even though he was nervous, he could remain calm in front of his father.
"Look at what you're asking, Sixth Brother. Do you think Second Brother is feeling a bit uncomfortable right now?"
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