After all, it was New Year, and the palace was filled with joy. The servants in each palace had received more or less rewards from their masters, and their faces were more energetic than usual. However, if you were to say which palace had the most generous master, it would have to be Chengqian Palace.
But it is also true that the Imperial Concubine of Chengqian Palace is the most honorable person in the harem, and the two princes she raised are also quite loved by the Emperor, especially the Sixth Prince. Not only the Emperor, but also the Empress Dowager, the Crown Prince and the two princesses like him very much. Not to mention the rare treasure, the Black Jade Qilin, all kinds of delicious and fun things are sent to Chengqian Palace every day.
Look, in just half a month, it’s only the Lantern Festival and Yinzuo has gained a lot of weight. Fortunately, he is still growing taller, so he doesn’t look like a little fat boy, but he is still a little rounder than last year.
Nanny Cheng, who served him personally, knew the most about this matter.
"Our Sixth Prince is growing fast, and these clothes can no longer fit him. Fortunately, they were prepared in advance. Shunfeng, go to the cabinet on the right and get a new one. Those are slightly larger clothes."
"I'll go right away! Madam, please wait a moment."
Shunfeng was considerate and careful, and Nanny Cheng also liked to keep him by her side to teach him how to serve the Sixth Prince closely. As for his younger brother Shunshui, he was lively and lively, so matters that required dealing with people were assigned to him. With the guidance of the experienced eunuchs of the Imperial Concubine, he would not make any big mistakes.
Yinzuo yawned, lowered his head and poked the flesh on his belly. He seemed to be a little fatter than before. Isn't spring coming soon? As the saying goes, spring makes you sleepy and autumn makes you tired. Yinzuo was lazy and didn't like to move.
After the Chinese New Year, Yinzuo seldom went out, because his two sisters came to see him every one or two days. The eldest sister always brought food she made herself. Yinzuo was afraid that one day he would go out and miss the opportunity with his eldest sister, so he stayed in Chengqian Palace every day.
"Is my brother up yet?"
"The Fourth Prince got up a long time ago and came over half an hour ago. Seeing that you were still asleep, he left again. I guess you are reading a book now."
Nanny Cheng couldn't help but admire the taciturn Fourth Prince. He didn't have to take the imperial examination, but his diligence was truly admirable. In comparison, her own young master's life was a little too comfortable, eating, drinking, and having fun every day.
"Then let Luwu bring breakfast to my brother's room, and I'll eat there." Yinzuo still liked to stick to his brother.
"Yes, I will go and tell Lu Wu about this later."
After putting on his clothes and tidying himself up, Yinzuo trotted towards his brother.
"Brother~"
Yinzhen, who was reading a book, looked up at the door and saw little Yinzuo in orange clothes running in, looking like a rolling little orange.
"Slow down, don't fall." Yinzhen reminded helplessly.
"No way, today is a special day. Brother, do you still remember our agreement?" Yinzuo stood opposite his brother, leaning on the desk, standing on tiptoe, revealing only a pair of smart and clear eyes.
The fingers of Yinzhen's right hand moved restlessly twice, and finally clenched into a fist and placed it under the table. He restrained the urge to pinch Yinzuo's little face like the imperial mother did. He knew that Yinzuo didn't like being pinched on the face very much.
"What special day?" Yinzhen asked knowingly.
"It's the Lantern Festival~" Yinzuo's eyes curved and he jumped up excitedly.
"Well, I remembered that we should go to see the lanterns together."
"Yes! That's right, brother, aren't you excited?" Yinzuo felt very strange. Logically speaking, it should be the first time for his brother to see the Lantern Festival. After all, the palace had never made such preparations in previous years.
"Excited, I'm very excited." Yinzhen replied calmly.
Yinzuo blinked and whispered, "I really didn't see that~"
"Hmm?" Yinzhen didn't hear clearly what he said and looked at him in confusion.
"I mean, why don't we go take a look now?" Yinzuo had never experienced such a fun event in his life.
"Aren't the lanterns only to be viewed at night? What are you doing there now?" Yinzhen didn't quite understand.
“…That’s right. Okay, let’s go in the evening.” Yinzuo, who was excited for nothing, saw his brother lower his head to read again, so he could only close his mouth and keep quiet.
"Sixth Prince, breakfast is served to you. Come and eat." Lu Wu took out breakfast from the lunch box with a smile.
Yinzuo walked over and let Shunfeng pick him up. He sat on a chair that was a little high for him. He swung his calves leisurely and began to concentrate on enjoying his breakfast.
After finishing his breakfast, Yinzuo was restless, walking around the room, and asking from time to time: "What time is it now? How long will it take until it gets dark?"
Shunfeng reported the time dutifully, and he found that his young master seemed to be looking forward to watching the lanterns in the evening. Well, the young master had been staying in the palace since he was born, and had seen few new things among the people, so he was naturally interested. If he were to leave the palace and set up his own residence in the future, he would definitely find more fun and quiet places for the young master, and he would tell Shunshui about this later.
"Why does time go by so slowly?" Yinzuo sat on the couch, supporting his face with his hands, his elbows resting on the table, and muttering to himself with a pouty mouth.
Yinzhen glanced at him quietly with a smile in his eyes. He was indeed a person who couldn't sit still.
"It's a nice day today, why don't I fly a kite with you for a while?"
Yinzuo thought about it and realized that to fly a kite, one had to go to an open place, usually in the Imperial Garden. But what if his friends came to find them in advance?
"I'd rather not." Yinzuo shook his little head.
How could Yinzhen not know what was worrying about in his little head?
"We have to wait until after dinner to see the lanterns. It's still early now."
"Forget it. Spring is coming soon. Why don't you accompany me to plant flowers in the yard?" Yinzuo suddenly had an idea.
"Planting flowers?" Yinzhen really didn't expect that he would want to do this.
Yinzuo acted immediately. A few days ago, he asked Shunshui to find some seeds. The easiest seeds to find in the palace were seeds of various precious flowers and plants. Now he only needed to dig some fresh soil and plant the seeds in the pots.
Yinzhen thought that all children like to play in the mud, but he was worried about Yinzuo and worried that he would get himself dirty, so he agreed to go with him.
Today is the fifteenth day of the lunar month. All the concubines have come to Chengqian Palace to pay their respects to the Imperial Noble Consort. It is inevitable that a group of women will be jealous of each other when sitting together. The Imperial Noble Consort just feels bored. It just so happens that today is a little too quiet, so she casually asks, "What are the Fourth Prince and the Sixth Prince doing?"
"The two princes are in the backyard. I don't know what they are doing."
"It is said that the Imperial Concubine has brought up the two princes very well. Why not take us to see what the two princes are doing?" Imperial Concubine Niuhulu said casually.
"Since the Imperial Concubine is so interested, please come with me to take a look." The Imperial Concubine didn't think there was anything she couldn't see, so she agreed without thinking.
When the Imperial Noble Consort arrived with a group of concubines, they only saw two little guys squatting beside the flower bed, seemingly... playing in the mud?
How shameless! A good prince actually touched such a filthy thing, and hurried over.
"Xiao Si, Xiao Liu, what are you doing?"
Yinzhen blushed for a rare moment. He hid his hands behind his back, lowered his head, and did not dare to look into the eyes of the imperial mother. God knows he just couldn't bear it and wanted to help Yinzuo dig enough soil as soon as possible. He did not expect to be seen by so many elders. He, the future king of a country, turned out to be an ignorant child playing in the mud. It was so embarrassing.
Since there were no tools, Yinzuo hid two small silver spoons for eating and gave one to his brother. As the two were digging the soil, some dirt inevitably got on their hands.
In the eyes of the Imperial Concubine, the two little guys were squatting on the ground with their hands full of dirt.
"Royal Mother~" Yinzuo subconsciously wanted to rush over and hug her.
The imperial concubine took several steps back in fear.
"Stop, don't come over here, answer the question I ask you first."
"Xiaoliu and his brother are planting flowers~" Yinzuo, who was unaware that he was being despised, answered with a smile.
"Growing flowers? It turns out that the Sixth Prince has such a hobby. He is just like a child who grew up in the countryside. This is how the Imperial Concubine taught her children. I have seen it today." Imperial Concubine Niuhulu raised her eyebrows and said jokingly. Everyone could hear the disdain and contempt in her tone.
"My Royal Concubine, please be careful with your words. The princes are princes. How can you compare them with children from ordinary people?" The Royal Concubine immediately frowned and spoke up to defend the two children.
Concubine Hui, Concubine Yi and Concubine Rong all stood aside and watched the joke, with no intention of getting involved in the fight between the Imperial Noble Concubine and the Noble Concubine.
"It's all because of my poor teaching. When the Sixth Prince was raised in Yonghe Palace, he saw palace maids tending flowers and plants and was very interested in it. It's not the Imperial Noble Consort's fault. Please punish him." Concubine De stepped forward and took the blame.
Only then did Yinzuo realize that he seemed to be in trouble.
"The Emperor has arrived! The Crown Prince has arrived!"
"Your Highness, I pay my respects to you, Your Majesty."
Kangxi strode over and saw that everyone was gathered here, so he asked, "I didn't see anyone in the main hall just now. It turns out that everyone has come here. What are they looking at here? It's so lively."
Imperial Concubine Niuhulu took a step forward and said with a smile, "I have come to see the two princes planting flowers. It is very interesting. Would the emperor like to take a look?"
"Planting flowers?" Kangxi was a little confused.
The concubines took the initiative to stand on both sides, and the two little princes with dirty hands appeared in front of everyone.
"Xiao Liu/Yinzhen pays respects to the Emperor and the Crown Prince."
Kangxi frowned, not very happy. No father would be happy if he suddenly saw his son playing in the mud.
"Yinzhen, Yinzuo, why do you make yourselves so dirty? Just let the palace servants plant the flowers, but what about the people who serve the two young princes? How do you do your job?"
"Your Majesty, please forgive me!" A large group of people knelt down immediately.
Yinzhen glanced at the bewildered little fellow, stepped forward and said, "To answer your question, Father Huang, Yinzhen mentioned to Xiaoliu a few days ago that the Empress Dowager's birthday is coming soon, and he was thinking about what kind of birthday gift would be appropriate. Yinzuo suggested that he wanted to give a pot of flowers that he planted himself, saying that this would represent his feelings."
The prince at the side said with a smile: "Father, in my opinion, the filial piety of Xiao Si and Xiao Liu is really precious. They are so young, but they can think of such a way that others can't think of to celebrate the birthday of the Empress Dowager. If the Empress Dowager receives the flowers planted by her two younger brothers, she will definitely be very happy. Father, you should reward and encourage them."
Kangxi then calmed down his anger and thought that what the prince said made sense.
"It's hard for you two to have such thoughts. Since you are doing this to show your filial piety to the Empress Dowager, it is understandable. Get up, the servants in the flower room are the best at growing flowers. I will order them to come and help you two."
"Thank you, Father Huang."
"Royal Concubine, I have something to tell you. Please follow me to the main hall. As for you, please disperse and return to your respective palaces."
"Yes." The imperial concubine bowed and responded, looked back at the two children, and followed the emperor.
The prince came over, pinched Xiaoliu's cheek and winked at him.
"Thank you, Prince~" Yinzuo knew that this time it was all thanks to the Prince who spoke well of them, otherwise the Emperor would definitely not let them off so easily.
"You don't have to thank me. I'm your brother the prince. How can you plant flowers without the right tools? I'll ask someone to make two sets and send them to you. I have to go to the Emperor to accompany him. See you in the evening." The prince was very happy that he could help Xiaoliu.
"Well~ See you tonight, Prince~~" Yinzuo nodded his head obediently and waved his hand towards the Prince.
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