Su Peisheng recounted to Yinzhen the conversation between Yihua and the Empress Dowager at Changchun Xianguan.
After he finished speaking, he looked up and secretly glanced at the emperor's expression, only to find that the emperor was not angry, but instead smiled.
"Select a beautiful little puppy for the Queen and send it over. It must be trained before it is sent over and cannot scratch people."
"DouDou left with the little wolf, and the Queen will inevitably miss her."
Su Peisheng quickly replied, "Your Majesty, Prince Dun requests an audience. The Tenth Prince has been waiting outside for several days. Just now, he even gave this servant a fine snuff bottle."
"Keep it safe if I give it to you." Yinzhen fiddled with his thumb ring. "Let him in."
"Your subject greets Your Majesty." Prince Dun entered with a fawning smile.
“Does Prince Dun still have time to come here to report to me?” Yinzhen pointed to the dozen or so memorials on the table. “These are all impeaching you for indulging in debauchery and forcibly taking women from the common people.”
"Tenth Brother, have you forgotten the lesson we learned before?!"
"Your Majesty, this is all nonsense. I did not forcibly abduct any women. It was all consensual. I received plenty of money, so how can it be considered robbery? I will remember this lesson." Prince Dun saw that Yinzhen's expression was alright and he did not seem angry, so he became bolder.
“Your Majesty, I have never been cut out to be an official since I was a child. When Father Emperor was still alive, he had to clean up my messes every now and then. Now that I am old, all I want to do is eat, drink and have fun every day and become the biggest playboy in the Forbidden City.”
"You see, perhaps I should resign from my post in the Ministry of War. Now that my fourteenth brother is here, the Ministry of War has a leader."
Yinzhen stared at him in silence for a long time: "So you thought I would give power to the Fourteenth Prince, so you ruined your reputation in advance."
"Not at all, I'm enjoying myself." Prince Dun sat down next to Yinzhen, his face full of hope.
"I'm not old yet, but you, my younger brother, are already crying about being old," Yinzhen said with a half-smile. "Tenth Prince, you and Fourteenth Prince are both my own brothers."
"The Fourteenth Prince is a promising military commander, and I value his talent by employing him."
"You've been in the Ministry of War for many years and have built your own team. You managed to do quite well even under the suppression of the boss back then."
"Now you and the Fourteenth Prince, one inside and one outside, are the kind of brothers I want to see working together."
"You must not fail to appreciate my good intentions."
“Your Majesty, your subject…” Prince Dun wanted to continue speaking, but was interrupted by Yinzhen.
"If any more officials submit memorials like this, I'll break your legs. Get out!" Impatient with this stubborn fool, Yinzhen simply dismissed him. He'd rather use that time to go see the Empress.
"Oh, right, since you're here, take the Empress Dowager back to the Forbidden City on your way. No one is allowed to visit her along the way."
Prince Dun felt as if he had swallowed a fly. He had originally come seeking a peaceful life, but now not only did he have an extra job, he had also completely fallen out with the Fourteenth Prince.
After quickly sending the Empress Dowager back to the capital, Prince Dun came to invite the Ninth Prince for drinks.
"Ninth Brother, listen to this, I've completely sold myself to Fourth Brother." The Tenth Brother slumped in his chair, looking like a soulless laborer.
"The Emperor values the Ministry of War and does not want to see a situation where one party dominates. You and the Fourteenth Prince are a perfect match."
"Furthermore, with the Empress Dowager causing trouble, the Emperor doesn't dare to rely too much on the Fourteenth Prince. This shows that the Emperor trusts you a lot, which is a good thing, Tenth Prince." Yinzhen continued to offer him empty promises.
Hearing Yinzhen's intermittent coughing, the tenth prince frowned and asked, "Ninth brother, you can't keep icebergs in your room. Get them out of there quickly."
"Since you're here, I thought I'd add another pot."
"Ninth Brother and I are still being so polite." The Tenth Brother took matters into his own hands and carried the ice basin away.
“Ninth Brother, your illness…” the Tenth Brother hesitated.
The Ninth Prince took a sip of tea to moisten his throat: "Tenth Brother, it's good enough that I'm alive. Over the years, I've seen more doctors than you've slept with beauties. It's only because of the help of a divine physician that I'm still alive. Otherwise, I would have gone with Father Emperor long ago."
"Father, it was you..." The tenth prince finally voiced the question that had been hidden in his heart for so long, "Did Fourth Brother force you to do it?"
"What are you thinking? Fourth Brother only found out later and had to cooperate with me." After saying that, Ninth Brother coughed a few more times.
"Alright, alright, let's not talk about this anymore." The tenth brother didn't want to continue this topic. "I went to see Hongyan a few days ago."
"That kid's gotten stronger again," Old Ten said after thinking for a moment. "When that kid grows up, I can retire. He'll be the future Grand Marshal of the Army!"
******
Yinzhen went to find Yihua but found no one there. The servants came back and said that the Empress had gone to the martial arts training ground.
"What is the Empress doing there?"
"Your Majesty, the Fourth Prince is learning wrestling. Her Majesty the Empress may have found it interesting and went to take a look," Su Peisheng quickly replied, as he was aware of the situation.
The sedan chair then turned towards the training ground.
At this moment, Yi Hua was standing on the three-story building looking down. Because of the close distance and good view, she could see the entire training ground clearly.
"Don't you have to take off your clothes when you wrestle?" After watching for a few days, Yi Hua asked the question that had puzzled her for a long time.
"So the Empress didn't come to see our Fourth Prince after all." Yinzhen's voice came from behind.
Yi Hua mentally punched herself. How could she be so smug just because she had driven the Empress Dowager away?
"Your Majesty, come and see! The little wolf is so powerful! Even children a head taller than him can't beat him." Yi Hua selectively forgot what she had just said.
"You've been watching for a few days now, haven't you? Has Little Wolf ever lost?" Yinzhen leaned against the railing and looked down.
“No.” Yi Hua recalled for a moment and shook her head. “This child is indeed very strong, and his father laid a good foundation for him.”
"That's one aspect, but another is that they don't dare to win." Yinzhen told Yihua about this. "Back then, I wrestled with the eldest and second sons, and I never won. The eldest son could only win against the second son very occasionally."
"If you don't believe me, observe him again. This gentleman dares to throw the wolf cub, but he doesn't dare to throw Honghui. His skills are top-notch. He can only lose, not win, in front of the prince. This is his survival rule."
Yi Hua pouted, instantly losing interest.
It's like playing Werewolf in your past life. You thought you were winning by using micro-expressions and deductive reasoning, but then you were told that the undefeated general had been cheating. You could easily have a heart attack at that moment.
"Hongyun has become much more composed lately," Yi Hua said with some emotion as she looked at Hongyun standing by the training ground.
These children were still children in Prince Yong's mansion, but now, less than a year after entering the palace, they have all grown up.
The Forbidden City is like a forced ripening process.
"Yes, it's all thanks to your good upbringing." Yinzhen thought of Honghui's performance that night and felt a little proud.
"Huh?" Yi Hua was puzzled. To be fair, she was a well-mannered eldest princess. Hong Yun hadn't even reached out to her, and the two were still strangers. Yin Zhen must have misspoke.
"It's nothing, keep watching, the little wolf is about to launch a sneak attack." Yinzhen pointed to the training ground.
The little wolf, like a monkey stealing peaches, managed to incapacitate the man who was two heads taller than him.
this……
That was a really dirty trick!
Yi Hua looked at Yin Zhen with a mixture of amusement and exasperation. Who did this child learn from?
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