“When we were little, there was me, the eldest brother, the prince, the third brother, and I. We were all about the same age, and except for the prince, we all lived in the East Third Palace.”
"Back then, we got along quite well because we had a common hypothetical enemy."
"We would skip class together to catch crickets and talk badly about the teacher behind his back."
"Back then, the Imperial Garden had a pond full of koi, each one plump and juicy, and they were the Emperor's favorites. A few of us caught a few in the dark and grilled them. That was the most unique grilled fish I've ever tasted."
Yinzhen ate a few bites of crab, as if he was reminiscing about the taste in his memory: "We weren't discovered that day, so a few days later we went fishing again and were caught red-handed by Father Emperor's men."
"It turns out that Father Emperor had already discovered it, but he just didn't show it until we caught him red-handed."
“We each received five lashes.”
"When His Highness the Crown Prince last visited us, he brought fish soup. So many years have passed in the blink of an eye."
Yi Hua listened with great interest. The princes' childhoods were not much different from hers; they all suffered through school and were always mischievous.
The only difference is that they receive a double beating from their parents, while the princes are punished with a spanking, and it's hard to say which one is more painful.
"Prince Zhi is known for his bravery, but he is actually very good at studying. In my memory, he was no less than the young Crown Prince. It's just that he doesn't show it as he gets older."
"Third Brother hasn't changed much. He's the first to run away when he gets into trouble, and the first to rush to eat when there's something delicious. Eldest Brother has always looked down on him, but he never expected to fall into Third Brother's hands in the end."
“We’ve known since we were little that although we are all princes, the crown prince is different. He… will be the emperor in the future, and we are his younger brothers and his subjects.”
Yi Hua put down her chopsticks and turned her head to look at Yin Zhen's forehead... The moonlight made his forehead reflect light.
Yi Hua knew she shouldn't be laughing at this time and in this atmosphere. After all these years, she should be a professional listener... unless she couldn't help it.
As Yinzhen was expressing his feelings about drifting further and further away from the Crown Prince, he suddenly noticed that Yihua's shoulders began to tremble uncontrollably, and a somewhat distorted expression appeared on her face.
When Yi Hua saw that her boss had noticed her chuckling, she quickly said, "What you just said reminded me of when Hong Hui was a naughty kid."
"He somehow figured out that you like sweet food, so he deliberately put a lot of salt in the sweet and sour fish. This little rascal tricked the nanny in the kitchen into giving him who knows how much food she gave him in secret."
"I still laugh when I think about the expression on his face back then." Yi Hua laughed too. "But even so, he didn't lay a finger on him. I thought to myself, he's such a gentle person."
"Me, gentle?" This left Yinzhen speechless. During the period when he was collecting national debts, he had offended almost all the court officials. Everyone said that the Fourth Prince was incorruptible and wanted to be a modern-day Hai Rui.
Yi Hua poured him more wine, saying that such a beautiful moonlight was worth getting drunk on: "Everyone says that the Eighth Prince is as gentle as a spring breeze and is an extremely easy person to talk to. But in my opinion, the Eighth Prince is warm on the outside but cold on the inside, and is the complete opposite of you, my lord."
“I prefer living with someone like you, Master. Although the Eighth Prince’s wife is extreme, she is truly good to him. But her current situation is heartbreaking, even if we are not friends.”
"I can see His Majesty's gentleness, the children can see it, and Your Majesty can see it too." Yi Hua said with a smile. She truly felt this way. Otherwise, with her pathetic palace intrigue skills, how could she live so comfortably? It was basically all thanks to Yinzhen's conscience.
Yinzhen stared at Yihua for a long time, then poured her a cup as well. The two smiled at each other, everything was in the wine.
"What interesting things happened to you when you were a child, Madam?"
Yi Hua was stunned for a moment. The original owner's memories were like old photos stored in her mind, gray and white, and something she was unwilling to touch. They were someone else's treasure, not hers.
After a moment of silence, Yi Hua smiled bitterly: "The past is the past, we must look forward."
Yinzhen did not expect Yihua to react this way. Judging from Feiyanggu's behavior, the Ulanara family should love their Fujin very much.
Perhaps that's how it is. The princess received the fatherly and motherly love she longed for as a child, so she didn't want to say it now and upset herself. Thinking this, Yinzhen didn't say anything more.
And so, the two chatted and drank all night long.
Later, Yi Hua couldn't remember how much she drank or what she said. When she woke up the next day, her head was throbbing as if she had been banging her head against a wall all night.
Yu Xue poured Yi Hua a glass of warm water to moisten her throat: "Where is Master?"
"The Prince took the two princesses fishing, saying that you must drink the hangover soup once you wake up," Yu Xue said, bringing over a cup of herbal soup.
Yi Hua downed her drink in one gulp and rubbed her temples: "Yesterday, I didn't do anything out of line, did I?"
Yu Xue shook her head: "This servant does not know."
“Yesterday, the Prince personally served you to bed and wouldn’t let the servants near you.”
Oh no! Yi Hua's heart skipped a beat. She must have been extremely bad when drunk, or even said something outrageous, otherwise why would Yinzhen have dismissed everyone around him?
Empress Yihua couldn't sit still any longer. She quickly ate a few crystal buns, changed her clothes, and went to find Yinzhen and the children.
Lakeside
Liu Liu impatiently jerked the fishing rod: "Father, why aren't the fish biting?"
"Liuliu, you need to be patient. You can't pull the fishing rod as soon as it touches the bait. You have to wait until it eats the bait before it moves, okay? Look at your sister, she does it very well." Yinzhen always treated his daughters gently.
Liu Liu watched as Da Gege had already caught two fish, then pouted and sat down again. A little while later, she said, "Father, Father, I waited, but it finished its food and left."
"Hahaha." Yinzhen laughed out loud. This child is really interesting. "That's because you were slow to reel in the rod."
Liu Liu put down her fishing rod and picked up her small net: "It's more fun to just catch them directly."
Yinzhen didn't stop her; it was just a game, and Liu Liu could play however she wanted.
But today, the fish seemed to be working against Liu Liu; she couldn't catch them even with a net. Seeing that her basket was empty, Liu Liu's eyes lit up and she came up with an idea.
Seeing that Yinzhen was focused on the lake, she carefully walked towards him. When Yinzhen did not notice her little movement, she quickly grabbed a fish and tried to put it in her basket.
But Liu Liu was a greedy little girl. She caught a big one. The fish she had just caught were all lively and jumping around. She underestimated a fish's longing for water.
The fish suddenly flipped over and broke free from Liu Liu's grasp, its tail even slapping her face.
It must have hurt quite a bit. Liu Liu wanted to cry, but felt ashamed and stood there somewhat at a loss.
The eldest princess suppressed a laugh and took a handkerchief to wipe Liu Liu's face.
When Yi Hua arrived, this was the scene she saw. Unlike the eldest princess, she wasn't kind and burst out laughing.
Yinzhen turned around and saw that the person who had cried in his arms yesterday was now smiling brightly.
The sun was shining brightly, and so were the people.
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