The next day, everyone got up quite early, and even Honghui, Hongyan and Hongzhao came after finishing their breakfast.
As soon as the three boys arrived, they greeted the uncles and elders. The men all had sons, and they were very fond of the young boys. Hongzhao, in particular, was a bit of a social troublemaker. He had collected quite a few gold and silver trinkets in no time.
Even the Crown Prince specially gave him a warm and smooth jade pendant.
He grinned broadly, showing his teeth, and Fourteen laughed too: "Hongzhao, you really have honey on your lips. No wonder our Hongchun talks about you all the time."
"Fourteenth Uncle, no, no, Hongchun and I are kindred spirits, like high mountains and flowing water, we are both people of deep feeling." Hongzhao pretended to be profound, and his serious appearance made everyone laugh.
When Yinzhen arrived, he noticed that his sons were chatting happily with their older and younger brothers. He knew that Hongzhao must have been acting silly again, and that the other two, Honghui and Hongyan, would definitely follow the rules and would not do anything out of line.
Hongzhao, though small in stature, was incredibly clever and quick-witted.
The tenth prince adored him and picked Hongzhao up, turning to Yinzhen and saying, "Fourth brother, you really have a good son. Give Hongzhao to me. Hongzhao, come back to the manor with your tenth uncle and be his son."
Hongzhao knew he was joking, but he didn't flinch. Instead, he looked thoughtful and chuckled, "Then, Tenth Uncle, you should give me a gift first."
Before the tenth brother could speak, the ninth brother nudged him and said with a smile, "You little rascal, didn't your tenth uncle just give you two little golden pigs?"
“No, no,” Hongzhao shook his head. “That was a gift from an uncle to his nephew, not a gift from a father to his son. Tenth Uncle, your intentions are not sincere, I don’t accept them. My own father is the best.”
"Hahaha, this rascal!" Prince Zhi also admired his clever little nephew.
Yinzhen rolled his eyes at the eleventh prince: "Quickly put my son down."
Hongzhao struggled to get down and quickly ran behind his father, his little eyes darting around.
Once everyone was there, they went to the vegetable garden. Hongzhao didn't want to do farm work, so he sneaked to the back and whispered to Hongyan, "Brother, with so many uncles and elders to work today, it shouldn't be our turn, right?"
Hongyan cooperated and whispered in his ear, "We probably have to teach the uncles and elders how to do it."
Upon arriving at the vegetable garden, all the princes began to look around.
"Fourth Brother, I must say, you've taken good care of your vegetable garden. There are so many vegetables, and they tasted pretty good yesterday."
The fifth brother praised them first, even though he had only come along for the fun. After all, his brothers were here, and he couldn't be a loner.
The seventh prince has always been a carefree and unconventional person. Knowing that he has no chance of ascending the throne, he lives a more relaxed and carefree life. Although his father always subconsciously ignores him and his mother lives a miserable life in the palace, he is also secretly thinking about which of his brothers he can get close to.
After observing for a while, he felt that his fourth brother was a sincere person. He saw that his brother was very open and honest with the thirteenth prince and was particularly concerned about the affairs of Princess Wenke and Princess Dunke. He went to the palace again and again to keep an eye on things at the Imperial Household Department. He practically walked all over the road in front of the Imperial Household Department.
The fourteenth son is unreliable, but he has his own brother to clean up his messes.
The construction of his own residence was overseen by the fourth brother, so the seventh brother now wanted to curry favor with Yinzhen and hurriedly followed suit with praise.
"Fourth Brother is indeed clever and persistent. Farm work is not easy to do, and it requires meticulousness. Fourth Brother has quite a bit of experience in managing agriculture in the Ministry of Revenue."
Yinzhen glanced at the seventh prince and laughed, "Seventh brother is just adding to your brother's prestige."
The prince didn't say much, but squatted down to carefully observe the growth of the crops.
The fourteenth brother was the most uninhibited. He went straight into the field, picked a cucumber, wiped it on his clothes, and started crunching it: "Oh, it's so crisp, but it's a bit old."
With a broad smile, Lao Ba asked, "Fourth Brother, how should we get to work?"
Lao Jiu rubbed his feet, feeling that the soles of his shoes were covered in mud, and was a little disgusted.
Yinzhen gave Su Peisheng a wink, and a group of eunuchs bent down and handed him a bamboo basket.
"Let's pick these vegetables first; they'll be ready to eat tonight. If you don't mind the effort, I'm planning to cultivate another plot of land this year to increase production. Let's cultivate the land together."
Everyone found it quite novel and decided to experience it as if it were a game.
To be honest, when Yinzhen looked up, he saw that his brothers were really good at hard work, pulling the plow with ease, but their coordination with the oxen was not very good.
The fourteenth prince was so angry that he jumped up and down: "You blind old ox, how dare you be so insolent in front of your fourteenth grandfather!"
The fifth and seventh brothers were busy with their work, and when they saw this, they just smiled.
The eighth prince secretly glanced at the little eunuch standing not far away with his head bowed, then went up to the crown prince and started talking to him.
"Second brother, this ground is quite hard. Is it easy to plow over there? Take a look at mine."
The crown prince looked up at him.
The two talked and worked at the same time, gradually moving away from the little eunuch.
Seeing that they had reached a certain distance, and any further and the person would notice and follow, the Crown Prince whispered, "Eighth Prince, is something wrong?"
The Eighth Prince lowered his eyes: "I know that you are in a difficult situation, Second Brother. Do you have any solutions?"
The crown prince did not speak, but the surrounding air seemed to grow a little colder.
The Eighth Prince was unsure of his meaning. The accumulated prestige of the Crown Prince over the years had instilled in him a certain awe of his second elder brother, but he still braced himself and tried to finish what he was saying.
He had planned this all along. He finally managed to get permission to come to his fourth brother's estate, which gave him a chance to get close to the Crown Prince. The Emperor's eyes and ears were everywhere in the palace, and the Crown Prince was kept under close watch. Only when he left the palace could he find a little bit of an opening.
"The Prime Minister Su came to see my younger brother and said, 'Why doesn't Master emulate the Xuanwu Gate Incident?'"
He spoke very softly, and if it weren't for the sudden darkening of the Crown Prince's gaze, the Eighth Prince would have thought he hadn't heard him.
"The Crown Prince's power is weak, and the key to breaking this deadlock lies entirely with Second Brother. Your younger brother is willing to follow your lead."
The Eighth Prince's heart was in his throat. All he could hear was the rustling of the autumn wind, carrying a heavy drumbeat.
Finally, in the long silence, he saw the prince's lips move.
Yinreng's usually aloof and refined face now wore a slightly mocking expression: "Eighth brother has good ambitions, but I wonder if Mingzhu is aware of them?"
The Eighth Prince wanted to explain further, but the Crown Prince turned around and started plowing another furrow. The Eighth Prince wanted to continue persuading him, but fearing it would attract attention, he had to give up.
He knew what the Crown Prince was worried about.
He and Prince Zhi were in the same faction, and he had always been close to Mingzhu, who was a formidable enemy of Suo'etu. So his words were really not credible.
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