Chapter 91 Loyalty to the Crown Prince After the banquet, the gentlemen left the West Garden and...
After the banquet, the gentlemen left the West Garden and prepared to mount their horses and return to their own estates. Fourteenth Brother watched as his older brother strode out the door as if being chased by a dog. In the blink of an eye, he jumped into the carriage and urged the driver to set off.
Fourteen was teased by Ninth Master and others at the banquet, both openly and subtly. He had planned to explain to his brother as soon as they came out, but seeing Fourth Master's long face made him hesitant. His kind words felt like they were stuck in his throat. In the short time he was stunned, Fourth Master disappeared. Fourteen immediately lost his temper and, having wanted to explain, decided not to bother with Fourth Master anymore.
So what if he's older than me? Why are you acting like a spoiled older brother?
Ninth Master swaggered over and said, "Fourteenth, it's all my fault for being so loose-lipped. Don't take it to heart."
Tenth Master tried to smooth things over, saying, "Fourteenth Brother, brothers shouldn't hold grudges overnight. These are all minor matters; don't let them damage the harmony."
Fifth Master glanced at the drunken Ninth Master and cursed him inwardly for his boastful behavior at the banquet. He regretted bringing him along with such a sullen face; now look what happened, he'd offended someone. But as the older brother, he had to clean up his younger brother's mess, so he said to Fourteenth Master, "Fourteenth Master, go to the Yuanmingyuan Garden later and have a word with Fourth Brother. Once things are out in the open, everything will be fine." Seventh Master chimed in.
Fourteenth Master was seething with anger, with nowhere to vent it, and his face turned pale. Fifth Master couldn't say anything else, so he had his men lift Ninth Master up and drag him into the carriage, quickly leaving this place of trouble. Then came Seventh Master and Tenth Master; in just a short while, everyone who was supposed to leave had left.
There were too many people around, so Thirteen couldn't easily persuade him. Now, he quickly stepped forward and said, "Fourteen, Fourth Brother is just jealous, you..."
Before he could finish speaking, Fourteenth Brother interrupted him, "Thirteenth Brother, I know you also want to persuade me to apologize to Fourth Brother. But look at him, does he expect me to explain myself and apologize?"
Thirteen was utterly speechless. "No way," he thought, "that's your own brother! You sent him beef and didn't even leave him a share? That's unacceptable! Besides, even if you didn't give him any, you should at least go and explain. It's been days, and if it weren't for the Crown Prince's banquet, Fourth Brother wouldn't even get a chance to see you. Who wouldn't be angry?"
But the Thirteenth Prince knew the Fourteenth Prince's temperament well; he was never one to be spoken to politely when facing the Fourth Prince. The Thirteenth Prince had no other choice but to sigh deeply and bring up Consort De: "Fourteenth Prince, not long ago the Consort reminded you to be prudent. Don't do anything foolish and make the Consort worry."
If there was one weakness for the Fourteenth Prince, it was Consort De. He took a deep breath and finally said in frustration, "Fine, I'll go, okay?" The Fourteenth Prince mounted his horse and arrived at the Yuanmingyuan Garden in no time, but he didn't even get through the gate.
Su Peisheng bowed at the door and said, "Oh, Fourteenth Master, it's really unfortunate, Fourth Master is taking a nap right now, you see..."
Fourteen couldn't help but roll his eyes, squeezing out a few words through gritted teeth: "A nap, heh." Was that a nap? That was clearly a challenge to stage a dramatic scene of him visiting Zhuge Liang three times! Damn it, I'm not serving you anymore! He lashed the horse's rump with his whip, and galloped away in a flash.
Su Peisheng was dumbfounded. No, even saying "come in and wait a moment" was insufficient; how was he supposed to explain this? With a bitter face, Su Peisheng went back to report. Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince angrily stomped around the room, displaying a similar air of resentment to the King of Qin pacing around a pillar. After a long while, he stopped, slammed his fist on the table, and roared, "I think he's been spoiled rotten by the Empress!"
At this moment, Fourteenth Prince arrived at his residence in a rage. Without even sitting down, he went straight to the training platform, picked up a spear, and began to wield it. He didn't stop until he was drenched in sweat, and even then, he felt aggrieved.
The calf, only about a year old, weighed less than 400 jin (approximately 200 kg) when slaughtered. After removing the hide, heart, liver, spleen, stomach, intestines, and other internal organs, it would only weigh around 300 jin (approximately 150 kg). Even with such a small amount of meat, he had to distribute it. He couldn't be stingy with the meat supplied to the Emperor, so he presented one of the two carcasses. He couldn't forget his own mother either, so he sent a leg to her. After that, he couldn't be stingy with the meat for the Crown Prince either, so he cut the remaining carcass in half. After sending all that, only a small portion of the body and the calf's head remained. With so little, would he eat it himself? Would the women in the inner quarters eat it?
At that time, Fourteen thought it was better to give up. The cow's head was hard to divide, and if it was to be divided, it would have to be divided into beef, but there wasn't much beef. If it was given away, wouldn't the remaining brothers also get a share? After dividing it up, what would he get left? So he simply decided not to give any away.
Who knew that Fourth Master would get so angry over such a trivial matter!
Fourteen suddenly remembered what Thirteen had just said, saying that his brother was jealous.
Pah! What right does he have to be jealous?
Anyone who knew how the Crown Prince treated him would know that even brothers weren't this close. The Crown Prince had given him all the war reports and military dispatches from previous years. Not only that, but the Crown Prince also regularly sent him weapons—swords, spears, clubs, axes, hooks, and forks—and even bestowed upon him a large rhinoceros horn bow from the Emperor. Even when the Crown Prince was angry and reprimanded him for his inappropriate words and straightforward actions, he would afterwards say in a deep voice that it was out of deep love and concern for him, hoping he would soon become successful. Unlike his brother, who only ever criticized him, gave him the cold shoulder, and openly and subtly pointed out his shortcomings and instability.
He threw down his fourteen guns, stormed back into the house, and then grabbed a teapot and gulped down a mouthful of tea.
Hmph, what's so arrogant about him? He's just a prince. The Crown Prince said he'd recommend him to the Emperor for training at the Miyun Camp. Once he gets the job and becomes a general, let's see what his brother has to say!
Fourteen had high hopes, but reality was cruel. After the Golden Festival, the Crown Prince did submit a memorial saying that they had completed their studies and were ready to serve, but the Emperor only assigned Thirteen to the Ministry of Revenue, leaving him aside.
In the study of the West Garden, Yinreng sighed and said to him, "Fourteenth Prince, what the Emperor means is that your temperament is unstable and you need to be tempered."
Fourteenth Prince was filled with grief and indignation, his face utterly devoid of life, a sight that even Yinreng found somewhat unbearable. In the end, Fourteenth Prince didn't even know how he left the West Garden. He had only one thought in his mind: "I'm doomed! I've already made those boastful claims, but at the last minute I've backed down. I'll be a laughingstock!"
Thirteen found Fourteen at the restaurant. No sooner had Fourteen left the West Garden than the Crown Prince summoned the Fourth Prince and him, saying that the Emperor had approved the memorial Fourteen had recently submitted, and his appointment to the military camp had been cancelled. He guessed Fourteen would be in a bad mood these days, and asked the two of them to help comfort him. Then the Fourth Prince told him to find someone to take Fourteen to the Yuanmingyuan Garden to persuade him.
Thirteen immediately went to Fourteen's residence, only to find out that Fourteen hadn't returned at all. Where had he gone? Thirteen panicked and quickly dispatched men to search for him, only to discover after a long while that Fourteen had gone to a restaurant for drinks.
Thirteen climbed three flights of stairs at a time to the private room on the second floor, and was stunned as soon as he pushed open the door. Because there was more than just Fourteen inside; Eighth Master was also there. He snapped out of his daze, put on a smile, and called out, "Eighth Brother."
Eighth Master agreed and said, "I happened to be passing by the door and saw Fourteenth coming over, so I had a few drinks with him."
As soon as he finished speaking, Fourteen, drunk, said, "Thirteenth Brother, what brings you here? You didn't come here to laugh at me, did you?"
Thirteen sighed: "Fourteen, Fourth Brother is looking for you. Stop drinking and come with me."
Mentioning the Fourth Prince, the Fourteenth Prince immediately perked up and started acting drunkenly: "I'm not going, I'm not going!"
Eighth Master comforted him, saying, "Fourteenth, you're drunk. Don't act like a child. I'll have someone bring a sedan chair over. Let's rest at my residence for a while and sober up."
Thirteen thought to himself, "If Fourteen really goes to Eighth Prince's residence, I'll be in deep trouble." He quickly said, "My carriage is downstairs, no need to trouble Eighth Brother." Then he pulled Fourteen, "Fourteen, let's go quickly. It's one thing to ignore what others say, but you don't even listen to the Crown Prince's instructions?"
“Crown Prince…” Fourteenth Brother pouted and said, “Thirteenth Brother, why? Why? What do I lack compared to you?”
Thirteen ignored what he said, half-carrying and half-dragging Fourteen downstairs, stuffed him into a carriage and headed straight for the Old Summer Palace, leaving Eighth Prince squinting at the window upstairs.
Upon arriving at the Yuanmingyuan, the Fourth Prince was furious to see the Fourteenth Prince in this state, but the Fourteenth Prince was already drunk, babbling incoherently. It was unclear whether he was faking it or genuinely trying to cause a scene; he refused to drink the hangover soup offered, spilling it everywhere with each push and shove. Finally, the Fourth Prince pinched his nose and forced him to drink a bowl, but he immediately vomited, using up half of the spittoon and spewing the rest onto the ground.
If Fourth Master hadn't dodged it with lightning speed, his clothes would have been stained with evil spirits. For a moment, Fourth Master clenched his fist tightly; if this person hadn't been his own brother, he would have kicked him out. But there was no point in arguing with a drunkard. He ordered someone to change Fourteenth Master into his own clothes, and then helped him to the side room to sleep.
Afterwards, Fourth Master and Thirteenth Master went to the study to talk. Thirteenth Master said, "I found him at the restaurant. Eighth Brother was there when I went there. I don't know what they talked about or how long they talked."
"Eighth Prince..." Fourth Prince narrowed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then said, "Seeing that the Crown Prince is gaining popularity, he must be getting restless." He then looked at Thirteenth Prince and asked, "Thirteenth Brother, what do you plan to do next?"
Thirteen raised his head and said in a deep voice, "Naturally, I will be loyal to the Crown Prince."
Thirteen's mother, Consort Min, was originally a concubine in Consort De's palace, so Thirteen and his two younger sisters were taken care of by Consort De. After Consort Min passed away, Consort De took even more care of him, so he was naturally closer to the Fourth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince than to others, and therefore spoke to them without any reservations.
Thirteen now had only one thought: to improve himself. Otherwise, he wouldn't be able to support his younger sisters after they got married. Take his eldest sister, the Eighth Princess, for example. She died in childbirth before the new year. When he went to the funeral, he investigated many people in the princess's residence and learned that the princess was not doing well there and was constantly weeping. Thirteen wanted to kill this so-called brother-in-law, but when he actually met him, he couldn't muster much of his princely temper. Why? Because his brother-in-law's rank was higher than his. Even if he could kill the servants in the princess's residence, he couldn't touch a Mongol prince.
Princesses and princes of the imperial family, how ironic that they had to live such lives after leaving the capital and entering Mongolia!
Now that his eldest sister has passed away, Thirteen only worries about his youngest sister. With her coming-of-age ceremony approaching, he, as her older brother, cannot allow her to suffer the same fate after marriage. Therefore, he is now single-mindedly devoted to serving the Crown Prince. With the Crown Prince as his backer, who would dare to look down on them?
Fourth Master patted him on the shoulder and said, "The Ministry of Revenue is Eighth Prince's territory. You probably won't get anything good if you go there."
Thirteen chuckled lightly, but his expression was extremely firm: "Eighth Brother, even if Daji were alive, she couldn't win over all the people in the Ministry of Revenue. Moreover, the more difficult the matter is, the more I must do my best to handle it well; that is true merit."
Fourth Master nodded as he looked at Thirteen. He thought that if Fourteenth Master had even a fraction of Thirteenth Master's quick wit, he wouldn't be so worried.
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