It was not known whether it was Yinzuo's own illusion, but it seemed that the older the brothers around him grew, the less they got along with each other. The most serious situation was naturally between his eldest brother, who no longer studied with everyone in the study room, and his elder brother, the Crown Prince. Not only did they mock each other when they met, but they were also said to be divided into two factions in the court, and were constantly quarreling.
The third brother is obsessed with poetry and songs. The eldest brother has become more serious in recent years. The fifth brother is still as cheerful as he was in his childhood. The seventh brother usually doesn't like to talk to people. The eighth brother is shy, well-behaved and sensible, and very likable.
As for Xiaojiu, he seems to be very smart on weekdays. Although Xiaoshi is a little spoiled, he is kind-hearted by nature. The two grew up together and are inseparable, just like conjoined twins. But, for some reason, he just can't get along with Xiaoshisi. When they meet, they are like eyes and noses. They can't wait to have a fight or bite the other to vent their anger.
Little Thirteen is less worrying, but Fourth Brother always pays special attention to him. Yinzuo is afraid of him and is always on guard. As for the younger brothers, he rarely sees them and is not familiar with them.
Yinzuo was staring at everyone's backs in class, daydreaming, when the teacher above him stood up.
"Brothers, please take a break first."
Yinzuo supported his chin and sighed heavily. He had been studying for a long time and listening to the Four Books and Five Classics, which he could recite by heart, all day long, was really boring. He wanted to go out of the palace to play.
"Master! Master?" Shunfeng called out several times but his master didn't respond, so he patted him gently on the back.
Yinzuo finally responded, turned his head to look at him, and asked, "It's time for breakfast, right?"
Before Shunfeng could reply, the third brother Yinzhi started to make fun of him first.
"I'm not saying anything bad to you, Third Brother. I saw you were distracted today and thought you were feeling unwell. It turns out you were hungry. Why didn't you secretly eat a snack or something to fill your stomach this morning?"
Yinzuo curled his lips and replied unhappily: "Is it okay if I eat and then I'm hungry again? I'm growing!"
It hasn't been that long recently, and Yinzhi, who was almost caught up by Yinzuo, was too embarrassed to say anything.
"Really? Can you be nicer to me, your third brother? In two years, I will move out of the palace and build a mansion like my eldest brother. It will be rare for us to see each other then."
The fifth brother Yinqi said, "What's the big deal? We are all about the same age, and we will all move out soon. We can meet outside the palace whenever we want. We can even go out to play in the suburbs together."
When Yinzuo heard this, he sighed heavily.
"When I was little, I always thought about growing up, but when I grow up, will we become more and more unfamiliar with each other?"
Hearing this, the fourth prince Yinzhen turned around and looked at Yinzuo silently, pursing his lips.
"Oh! Don't worry about it. We are different from the eldest brother and the prince. We will build our houses in the same place and be neighbors. We can even visit each other at night. How can we become strangers?" The fifth brother said carelessly, putting his arm around Yinzuo's shoulder.
"Then I want to live next door to my brother!" Yinzuo smiled and met his brother's gaze.
Yinzhen smiled and said, "Okay."
Prince Yong's Mansion was originally adjacent to Prince Yu's Mansion and Yinsi's Beile Mansion. Later, after he demoted Yinsi to a commoner, he simply converted that area into the garden of Yonghe Palace. Prince Yu's Mansion was where the emperor's uncle lived and could not be moved for the time being, but the land where Yinsi lived could be given to Yinzo, saving the trouble of reconstruction in the future.
"You only remember your fourth brother. You have loved sticking to him since you were little Xiaoliu. I don't know how he is better than me, your third brother." Yinzhi complained muttered.
In order to prevent the issue from getting further entangled, Yinzuo quickly changed the subject.
"Okay, I'm almost starving. Let's go eat quickly. We have to recite the lessons later. The emperor will personally check on us. If we don't eat enough and our heads are empty, and we can't recite, we will be scolded."
"You were distracted during your study just now."
As expected, after eating something in a hurry and roughly reviewing what he had learned recently, Yinzuo heard the very familiar voice of Liang Zongguan.
"The Emperor has arrived!"
Everyone stood up and saluted, staring straight ahead at the ground.
"Greetings to the Emperor."
"Everyone get up." As soon as Kangxi's majestic voice fell, Yinzuo heard two familiar shouts.
"Sixth Brother!"
"It's us!"
Yinzuo subconsciously looked in the direction where the voice came from, only to see the two little guys Yin'er and Yin'e standing beside the emperor, looking at him with a smile.
"Xiaojiu? Xiaoshi?"
"From today on, Yin'er and Yin'e will study with you in the upper study room with the teachers. As the elder brothers, you must take good care of the two younger brothers."
Yinzuo's head was buzzing. He was afraid that the study room would be noisy because these two little ones were not obedient.
Sure enough, after Kangxi left, they came into conflict with the master who had taught them.
"I won't leave! I want to study with my sixth brother!"
"I won't leave either! I'll be wherever Sixth Brother is!"
One of them held Yinzuo's left arm, and the other held Yinzuo's right arm, and they were in a stalemate with the master.
The teacher who was sent by a humble person to teach them happened to have little experience and was from a poor family with no background. How could he dare to offend the imperial concubine from the Niuhulu clan and the Concubine Yi who was deeply favored by the emperor? In the end, he had no choice but to compromise.
Of course, things are far more complicated than that.
"I don't want you to teach me!"
"It was Sixth Brother who taught us before. He teaches better than you!"
After hearing this, the new master became so angry that his face turned red and his neck became thick. He could not bear the humiliation, so he left in anger and went to the emperor to apologize.
"Your Majesty, I am not well educated and I am afraid I cannot teach the two princes. Please find a good teacher for the two princes as soon as possible!"
The man's head was broken, and Kangxi couldn't blame him. It was Yin'er and Yin'e who were at fault first.
"My dear, you have stood out from countless candidates, so your knowledge is naturally outstanding. It's all because of my two sons who are not motivated. I can understand that you are unwilling to teach them. Let the imperial physician take a look at the wound on your forehead, and go home to recuperate."
"Thank you, Your Majesty!"
It was less than an entire morning and Xiaojiu and Xiaoshi had already angered their master and left. Kangxi was unable to find a suitable candidate for a while, so he let Yinzuo's master teach them both first.
But not long after Kangxi's oral order was passed down, another servant came running over in a panic, shouting, "Your Majesty! Something terrible has happened!"
"Why are you so flustered?" Kangxi frowned, very unhappy.
"The Ninth and Tenth Princes beat up the Sixth Prince's teacher!"
"What?" Kangxi quickly stood up and went to the study.
When the two younger ones saw that Kangxi had come in person, they were so scared that they hid behind Yinzuo and dared not say a word.
"What's going on?" As soon as Kangxi arrived, he saw the minister who taught Yinzuo holding his buttocks and wailing in the corner, as if he was injured.
"Father Emperor, Little Nine and Little Ten..." Yinzuo was interrupted before he could finish his words.
"I didn't ask you!"
So the minister told Kangxi the whole story about how the Ninth and Tenth Princes did not listen to his teachings, refused to admit their mistakes, and finally joined forces to snatch his ruler and hit him on the buttocks.
Kangxi was so angry that he wanted to teach them a lesson personally.
Unexpectedly, after hitting one person, the Imperial Concubine and the Concubine Yi came over in person.
The two of them were crying, but they still wanted to protect the two little ones.
"If Your Majesty wants to hit Yin'e, why not just hit me directly? I only have this one son. If he gets hurt, I won't want to live anymore!"
"Yinzhen was born after a difficult labor. I lost half my life. Your Majesty doesn't love him, but I do. If you want to hit him, hit me, his mother!"
What could Kangxi do? He could only turn around and go back to his imperial study in anger.
Yinzuo thought that the matter had come to an end for the time being, but he did not expect to hear the news the next day that his father was planning a southern tour.
On the way back, Yinzuo whispered to his brother.
"Brother, do you think that the Emperor felt that the Imperial Concubine and the Concubine Yi were too fierce, and thought that a gentle Jiangnan woman like Wang was better, so he suddenly planned to tour the south, right?"
Yinzhen rubbed his head and asked him, "Haven't you always wanted to go out with me to see the vast mountains and rivers? Don't worry about what the emperor plans to do. If you really want to go, I will help you to ask."
Yinzuo bit his lower lip lightly, his eyes full of anticipation.
"Is it really possible? But I heard that the Emperor didn't even bring the Crown Prince this time, and only let my eldest brother accompany him!"
"Just say whether you want to or not." Yinzhen looked at him seriously.
"I do!" How could Yinzuo not think about it? He thinks about it day and night!
"Just wait for the news." Yinzhen continued to lead him forward.
Yinzuo looked at his brother's increasingly straight back and smiled happily. It was great that his brother had always been by his side. Even in this strange world, his brother still indulged him as before.
Two days later, what Yinzuo waited for was not the decree to accompany the emperor on the southern tour, but the news that the imperial mother had suddenly fallen ill and was in a coma.
When Yinzhen learned about this, he closed his eyes, and the huge rock in his heart finally fell to the ground. This moment finally came.
Naturally, he had to visit the two princes who were raised by the Imperial Concubine.
Yinzuo trotted all the way from the gate of Chengqian Palace to the Imperial Concubine's bedroom. He didn't even care about his brother who fell behind him, let alone notice the heaviness in his brother's eyes.
"Royal mother!"
The personal maidservant beside the Imperial Concubine bowed slightly and said with red eyes, "Sixth Prince, you are finally back. The Empress was just asking about you. The Empress just took the medicine and fell asleep again."
Yinzuo walked lightly and approached slowly. He saw the imperial mother lying on the bed. Her face was as pale as snow, her brows were slightly furrowed, and she seemed to be not restful in her sleep.
"It's okay. I'll just sit here and watch over her until she wakes up. She'll be able to see me as soon as she opens her eyes."
Yinzuo had been delaying going to the study room to study over the years. Apart from his own love of play, there was actually another very important reason, and that was his imperial mother. Ever since his eighth sister died, she seemed to be keeping a close eye on him, as if she was afraid that he would disappear. Yinzuo felt that something was wrong with that state, but this behavior seemed very much like hysteria, and he couldn't let others know, so Yinzuo told no one.
The author has something to say:
This is the update for the 27th. There is still a follow-up update for the 24th, which will be posted tomorrow.
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