Some days later, on September 22, Yinzuo finally welcomed his new sister. He rummaged around in his room for a long time, carefully selecting a gift for his sister, and then impatiently begged his brother to accompany him to Yonghe Palace.
As for the Imperial Concubine, she went to guard the Yonghe Palace as soon as it was activated, so she was not in the Chengqian Palace at that time.
"Brother, do you think my sister is pretty? What if she is ugly and the emperor doesn't like her?"
"...No, the Emperor and Mother are both very beautiful." Yinzhen was very sure of this, because this newly born Ninth Princess would be the Fifth Princess in the future, and she would be the best among the princesses when she grew up.
"Then...what if my sister doesn't like me?" Yinzuo started to worry about this again.
"No one will dislike you." Yinzhen never tired of comforting him.
"Will my sister like the gift I gave her?"
"...You have to ask her." A child this young may not even have her eyes open yet, so how can you judge her preferences?
Yinzuo's little mouth kept chattering all the way, but once he arrived at Yonghe Palace, he shut up and remained silent.
Yinzhen glanced at him, then took him by the hand and walked into his mother's bedroom.
At this time, only the Imperial Noble Consort was in the bedroom. She was holding the little princess in her arms and talking to Concubine De. Although Concubine De, who was wearing a dark red headband, looked a little pale, she seemed to be in good spirits.
"Greetings to the Royal Mother, greetings to the Mother. I am bringing Xiaoliu to see the Mother and my sister."
Yinzuo seemed to have just come to his senses, and he was a step behind to greet the two mothers: "Xiao Liu...Xiao Liu greets the Imperial Mother, and greets the Mother."
The Imperial Concubine glanced at Xiaoliu who looked a little abnormal today, and said with a smile: "Xiaoliu, why do you look a little bit listless today? Come here quickly, take a closer look at your sister. Haven't you been looking forward to your sister's birth all day long?"
Yinzuo looked at his brother nervously. He needed his brother to give him some courage.
In the end, Yinzhen led him forward, and the two brothers could see their newborn sister in the cradle clearly.
Defei originally thought that Yinzuo would show disgust, but unexpectedly he stared at the newly born Ninth Princess without blinking, as if he wanted to get closer but had some reservations.
"My sister is so small."
But she looked much healthier than her seventh sister who died young when she was just born. Her hands and feet were very strong, and her cry was very deep. When she suddenly opened her mouth, she almost scared Yinzuo to fall.
"Be careful!" Fortunately, Yinzhen was quick to support him.
"You kid, you are scared even when your sister cries. When did Xiaoliu become so timid?" The imperial concubine joked.
"My sister cries loudly, and she will definitely speak nicely in the future~" After being frightened for a moment, Yinzuo became normal instead.
"What kind of nonsense is this?" Lian Defei shook her head after hearing what he said.
The Imperial Concubine carefully examined the two siblings and came to a conclusion with a smile: "Jiu Gege's eyes haven't opened yet, so it's hard to tell who she looks like, but her nose and mouth are very similar to Xiao Liu's."
"Does your sister have dimples? Her smile is as sweet as mine~"
"No." The one who answered Yinzuo was not his two mothers, but Yinzhen who was holding his hand.
Aunt Qing at the side said with a smile: "Jiu Gege is still young. Some children have to grow up before you can see the dimple. It's hard to tell now."
"Well, even if my sister doesn't have dimples, she's still pretty! My sister is the prettiest in the world~" Yinzuo leaned over and whispered to his sister in a very low voice.
The Imperial Noble Consort said, "If you put it that way, then this palace and Consort De are not as pretty as Princess Nine?"
"Your Majesty's mother is beautiful, your mother is beautiful, your sister is beautiful too, you are all the most beautiful in the world~" There was no way Yinzuo would stumble over such a question.
"Sister, look, this is a gift that your sixth brother brought you. Do you like it?" Yinzuo took out a small toy that he often played with as a child from his purse and handed it to his sister.
Unfortunately, the Ninth Princess did not give him face. Before she opened her eyes, she opened her little mouth and started crying again.
Yinzuo's face fell immediately, and he said with some disappointment: "Sister, don't you like this gift? Don't cry, Sixth Brother will go back and change it for you, okay?"
"It's none of your business. I'm afraid she's hungry. Let the wet nurse take her away to feed her." Defei was experienced in raising children and could tell what her daughter needed at a glance.
Yinzuo followed his sister's swaddling clothes with his eyes eagerly, and only withdrew his gaze reluctantly when the wet nurse carried her out of the bedroom.
"Mother, are you okay? Are you tired?"
"Fortunately, the birth of your sister went smoothly. It only took an hour. Then I slept for two hours. Now I don't feel tired." Defei seemed to be in good spirits.
The mother and her two sons talked for a while, and Defei drank a bowl of nourishing Yangyuan Soup. Then she felt a little sleepy. The Imperial Noble Consort noticed it and immediately took the two princes away, allowing her to have a good rest.
During the first month after the Ninth Princess was born, Yinzuo went to Yonghe Palace every day and brought a gift for his sister, including gold, silver, pearls, jade, and various toys, and they were never the same.
Even Concubine De laughed at him and told the emperor, "He moved all his belongings to give to his sister."
Yinzuo focused all his attention on his sister, so naturally he had less time to pay attention to other people, such as his favorite brother Yinzhen and his closest playmate, his fifth brother Yinqi.
On this day, Yinqi once again went to Chengqian Palace to play with Yinzuo, but when he came in, he found his room was empty. Yinqi could only run to his fourth brother's room next door to ask.
"Fourth brother? Where is Xiaoliu?"
Yinzhen put down the book in his hand and looked at Yinqi who ran in and stood three steps away from him.
"Where else can I go? Of course I'm going to Yonghe Palace to see my sister." He said this with resentment that he himself was not aware of.
"Then why didn't you go, Fourth Brother?" Yinqi felt a little strange. After all, the Ninth Princess born to Concubine De was also Fourth Brother's biological sister.
Even though he went there, Yinzhen was treated as an invisible person and did not say a word. He would never admit that he did not go because he was unhappy about being ignored by Yinzuo.
"...I'm not feeling well, and I'm afraid that I'll pass the illness on to my mother and sister." Having said that, Yinzhen couldn't help but think of what happened this morning.
As usual, Yinzuo got up early and ran to his brother's room, asking him to go with him to Yonghe Palace to see his sister. However, when he entered his brother's room, he found that his brother's bed curtain was still closed, which meant that his brother had not yet gotten up.
Without giving it much thought, he walked over, opened it, and stuck his head inside.
"Brother~ Why did you sleep in today~ I caught you!"
Yinzhen pretended to cough twice, slowly opened his eyes, and spoke in a light voice.
“…It’s Xiaoliu.”
Yinzuo looked at him worriedly, and imitated the maids' actions, touching his brother's forehead with his little hands.
"You don't have a fever?"
Yinzhen was stunned. He didn't expect Yinzuo to take his temperature on his own initiative. However, he quickly covered up his abnormality and said softly, "My throat is a little uncomfortable, but I'm not dizzy."
"What should I do then?" Yinzuo was a little worried, and suddenly an idea came to his mind.
"Got it! Why don't you drink some more hot water, brother?" After saying that, he ran out. Yinzhen opened his mouth but before he could say anything, he heard Yinzuo talking to other people outside.
"Thank you, Madam. My brother's throat is uncomfortable. Can you go get him a pot of hot water?"
"What? The Fourth Prince is not feeling well? Su Peisheng, go get some hot water. I'll go in and take a look!"
The footsteps of Nanny Xie gradually approached, and finally the bed curtain was lifted, and bright light shone in. Yinzhen opened his eyes and saw Nanny Xie also touching her forehead.
"You don't have a fever. Apart from your throat, is there anything else wrong with you, Fourth Prince?"
"...Nothing, just my throat is a little dry." Yinzhen's original intention was not to make a big deal out of it. He didn't want Madam Xie to ask the imperial physician to come, because then his hard work of disguising himself all morning would be exposed.
Nanny Xie did not suspect that the usually steady and mature Fourth Prince would deceive her. She thought about what the Fourth Prince ate and touched last night, and found nothing unusual.
"That's probably because the Fourth Prince didn't cover himself properly with a blanket last night, and was eroded by the evil wind, so he felt uncomfortable in his throat when he woke up in the morning. Drinking more hot water or hot soup will make it better."
Yinzuo on the side nodded.
"Thank you, Auntie~ Can you still accompany me to visit my sister?"
"Sixth Prince, Fourth Prince...I'm afraid he can't go out today. The Empress Defei and the little princess are both very weak right now, and nothing can go wrong. To avoid getting sick, it's better for Fourth Prince not to go there in the next few days."
Hearing this, Yinzhen knew that he had achieved half of his goal. The next step was to depend on Yinzuo. As Yinzuo's favorite brother, and now that he was ill, Yinzuo should at least stay in Chengqian Palace to accompany him. After all, there was nothing serious with his sister, and she could be seen at any time, so there was no need to rush in these few days.
"Then...then I will..."
Yinzhen felt that Yinzuo would definitely say next: Then he would stay and accompany his brother.
"Then I'll go alone."
Yinzhen: ??? This seems to be different from what he expected.
"Brother, drink more hot water and have a good rest in the room. I can go by myself."
Then it became the scene that Yinqi sees now, Yinzhen stayed alone in the room, while Yinzuo went to Yonghe Palace happily.
Yinqi scratched his head and said awkwardly, "Is that so? Then fourth brother, do you know when Yinzuo will be back? I wanted to go play with him, but I came several times and never saw him."
"I don't know either, but he has to go to Yonghe Palace every day this month, so I'm afraid he won't be free."
"Go every day?" Yinqi found it hard to imagine. "Then Fourth Brother, you should have a good rest. I will leave first."
"Well, I won't see you off." Yinzhen had no intention of getting up.
After Yinqi returned to Ciren Palace, he began to sigh and groan. Even when he was eating, he looked like an old man, with a sad face and a hunched back.
"What's the matter? Didn't you go to see Xiaoliu today? Are you two having a quarrel?" asked the Queen Mother.
"No, I didn't see Xiaoliu at all."
"Oh?" The Queen Mother thought for a moment and said with a smile, "He must have gone to the Yonghe Palace."
"Ma, how did you know?" He didn't say.
"Didn't Concubine De give birth to a little princess a few days ago? The Imperial Noble Concubine said that Xiao Liu has been talking about wanting a sister all the time. Last year, Concubine De's Seventh Princess died, and then the Imperial Noble Concubine's Eighth Princess also died. Xiao Liu has never gotten over the urge to be a brother, and now that he has finally got one, he must cherish her well."
"I wish I were Xiaoliu's sister." Yinqi muttered dejectedly.
"Look at what Yinqi is saying. He doesn't want to be a prince anymore and wants to be Xiaoliu's sister."
"What's wrong with being a younger sister? This way Xiaoliu will come to see me and play with me every day!" Yinqi felt that being a younger sister was good.
"It's not difficult to get Xiaoliu to come every day. I have a way."
Yinqi curiously pulled the Queen Mother's sleeve and asked, "What method? Mama, tell me quickly!"
"Want to know?"
"think!"
"Then you just eat your food obediently and behave yourself. When I am satisfied, I will tell you and even help you implement this method. How do you think?"
Without saying a word, Yinqi immediately picked up his bowl and started eating with big mouthfuls.
It was a coincidence that not long after Yinqi left, Yinzuo returned to Chengqian Palace from Yonghe Palace, and the two of them just missed each other.
"Brother~" Yinzuo ran straight to his brother's room and shouted, only to find that there was no one in the room.
Yinzuo walked around the room, even lifted his brother's quilt and looked at him, muttering to himself, "Where did he go?"
He ran out again and asked the servants in the palace: "Where is the Fourth Prince? Does anyone know?"
"In reply to Sixth Prince, Fourth Prince has gone to the backyard."
"Backyard?" Yinzuo hurried to the backyard.
I saw my brother holding a pot and watering the flowers and plants in the yard. He was very focused and didn't seem to notice my arrival.
Yinzuo walked lightly, slowly moved towards his brother, and then suddenly hung on his brother's back.
"Awooo! The big tiger caught my brother!"
Yinzhen smiled and held his little butt to prevent him from falling.
"Why did you come back so early today? I thought you knew you had to come back after lunch."
"I came back early to accompany you, brother. Is your throat still hurting?" Yinzuo got off his brother's back and held his face as if he wanted to see something.
"Much better." Yinzhen suddenly didn't want to lie to him anymore and didn't want to make him worry about himself.
"Brother, you sit down and have a rest. I'll take care of these~" Yinzuo treated him as a fragile paper man. He led him to a stone bench on the side and asked him to sit down. Then he took a small kettle and began to water the flowers and plants that were taller than him.
"Xiaoliu." Yinzhen suddenly called out.
Yinzuo ran over and asked him with his head tilted: "Huh? What's wrong, brother?"
"Do you like your sister very much?"
Yinzuo nodded immediately and said, "Well, my sister is very cute and well-behaved. Although she can't talk or walk yet, I can accompany her as she grows up and take her out to play in the future. Don't you like your sister, brother?"
Yinzhen really wanted to admit it, but if he really admitted it, Xiaoliu would definitely be unhappy.
"My favorite is still Xiaoliu."
Yinzuo felt a little embarrassed when he heard his brother's words, and his little face slowly turned red.
In fact, Yinzhen really wanted to ask further. He wanted to know whether he was still Xiaoliu's favorite person, because Xiaoliu's care for her sister had far surpassed that for him as a brother these days.
Yinzuo did not notice his brother's emotions, he was still immersed in the joy just now.
"Gurgle~" Yinzuo's stomach began to protest. He had been running around early in the morning and had consumed a lot of energy. It was already noon and he should be hungry.
"Let's go back and have dinner."
Yinzhen sighed and took the initiative to lead him back. Why should he be angry with a child? Yinzuo had to grow up eventually and couldn't stick to him all the time. They would be separated in three months, and it would be good to have a lovely sister to distract Xiaoliu so that he wouldn't be too sad.
The little princess's full-month banquet was not very grand, but somehow it received a reward from the empress dowager. The prince also sent someone to deliver a gift and invited Yinzuo to visit Yuqing Palace.
Yinzuo then remembered that in the month since his sister was born, he had not visited his brother the Crown Prince or his fifth brother once. He had even only met his two sisters once in his mother's Yonghe Palace.
Thinking about it this way, Yinzuo really felt a little embarrassed. He had forgotten his brothers after he had a younger sister, which didn't seem very good.
When Yinzuo said this, Yinzhen was standing next to him. He silently replied in his heart: Don’t you know that this is not a good thing?
Yinzuo was a good boy who knew how to correct his mistakes. Now that he remembered this matter, he took a day off to visit Yuqing Palace and Ciren Palace respectively, to calm down his two brothers, and then praised his sister like a flower in front of them.
In this way, even though the prince and Yinqi had never seen this sister, they learned a lot about her from Yinzuo.
On New Year's Eve, everyone gathered around her and teased her until she cried, and then they left.
Later, three more princes were added to the palace. They were the ninth prince born to Concubine Yi, the tenth prince born to Concubine Gui, and the younger prince of Concubine Yi's sister, Concubine Guo. Concubine Guo's younger prince was in poor health and died after only four months.
In the new year, Yinzhen and Yinzhi were going to study in the study room, so they moved to the South Three House. At first, Yinzuo only cared about his sister and didn't take this matter to heart. It was not until two days after his brother left Chengqian Palace that Yinzuo went next door and looked at the empty house that he began to feel the sorrow of parting.
Later, he became unhappy even in front of his sister and mother.
"Xiao Liu, what's wrong with you? Did something unhappy happen to you? Tell mom."
Yinzuo sat aside with the rattle he used to play with his sister, pouted and said, "I haven't seen my brother for a long time..."
"Your brother has gone to the Upper Study to study with the masters. When you grow up a little, in two years, when you are five years old, maybe you can go with your brother." After all, the rule of going to the Upper Study at the age of six refers to the brothers' virtual age.
"Waiting until I'm five years old will be too long. I'm only three years old now~" Yinzuo counted on his fingers.
"Ah~ah~" The Ninth Princess stretched out her hand and grabbed her Sixth Brother, as if she wanted him to continue playing with her.
The author has something to say:
The younger brothers behind are about to appear, and the time method is activated~
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