Chapter 10
They had been staying with Concubine Yi for quite some time. Although Yinzuo was having a great time with the Fourth Princess, Concubine De had no choice but to take Yinzuo back to the palace.
When they were about to leave, the two children, one stretched out his hand and called for his sister, while the other called for his brother reluctantly. The whole thing was like a stage, which made Depin and Yipin both laugh and cry. It was only after Depin promised to bring him to play with his sister again that they took the little guy away.
Even when they were brought back to their own palace, Yinzuo always mentioned his sister. He even showed Depin the little wooden figurine given to him by the fourth princess and said, "Sister, here you go."
Depin said: "Yes, I know. Your sister gave it to you."
"Sister, ok!"
Depin had no choice but to ask for a little wooden figurine to serve as her sister.
Yinzuo also took out the tangram puzzle that the prince had given him, put it together with the little wooden man, and said to Depin, "Brother, good!"
OK, your brother and sister are all good, her son is so easy to coax, any little thing can easily coax him away. People say that a child's future can be seen at the age of three, Depin thought that it was fortunate that Yinzuo was not three years old now, otherwise she would be worried.
Yinzuo happily admired the gifts given to him by his brothers and sisters for a while, and then a brilliant idea came to his little head. He looked around the room and set his eyes on the flowers in the vase in the room.
Depin's temperament and dress have always been gentle and elegant, and the same is true for the layout of her room. Since she liked to take care of Yinzuo personally and always let Yinzuo play in her room, there are more childlike things in the room, and it is a little messy, adding a bit of life. However, there are still always flower arrangements in the room.
Today, a few branches of pink plum blossoms were planted in the room, adding a touch of fragrance and color to the room. The Sixth Prince pointed with his little finger and said loudly, "For my sister."
Depin smiled and said, "Okay, I'll send it to your fourth sister."
In the end, Yinzuo was not satisfied after sending his fourth sister away. He took the tangram, looked at the plum blossoms and said, "To my brother."
Depin asked: "Send flowers to your brother, the crown prince, too?"
Yinzuo nodded heavily. His mother always understood exactly what he meant.
Depin did not mention the matter of sending flowers to the prince first, but sat next to Yinzuo and said to him, "From now on, please call me prince instead of brother, okay?"
Yinzuo's face was full of confusion.
Depin: "He is His Royal Highness the Crown Prince, the heir apparent of the Qing Dynasty. The eldest and third princes all call him the Crown Prince when they see him."
"Come, learn from mother, Prince."
Yinzuo had a flexible tongue and although he often spoke unclearly, he was able to learn the pronunciation so that people could understand him.
Yinzuo: "Crown Prince."
"Yes." Depin nodded and said, "Good girl, remember to call me like this from now on."
But as soon as Depin finished praising someone, Yinzuo added the word "brother".
"Prince, brother."
The mother and son corrected each other several times, but Yinzuo, who was usually very well behaved, was quite stubborn on this matter. That was his elder brother, the second elder brother they were talking about yesterday, or the elder brother who gave him the tangram.
Since he is your brother, why not let him call you?
The little guy was very persistent about this matter, even more persistent than eating candy.
However, Depin was not happy with his eccentricity in calling the Crown Prince brother. All the princes and princesses in the palace called him the Crown Prince because he was the only legitimate son and the heir to the throne, and was different from other heirs.
Although they are brothers and sisters, it is also true that they are the emperor and his subjects. The little prince may not be happy to be called brother. Yinzuo's name has already caused a lot of speculation. Yinzuo's calling him like this will make the prince think that they are too bold to talk about brothers with the prince, trying to confuse the superior and the inferior.
The women in the harem were always thoughtful when they had nothing to do, and Depin was the best among them. She had no idea how many twists and turns had gone through her mind just by a child's call.
But even though Depin was thoughtful and had doubts in her heart, she was too indulgent towards her child to be strict with him. She could not go against Yinzuo, so she could only sigh in the end, thinking that her son was still young and it would be okay to talk to him about these things when he was older.
So in the end, Depin was still defeated.
At this time, the people who went to give the two plum blossoms to the fourth princess had already returned, but Yinzuo still remembered to give flowers to his brother, the crown prince. Yinzuo held the tangram that his brother, the crown prince, gave him, and mentioned this to Depin again, pointing to the remaining plum blossoms in the vase, and said, "For my brother."
As he spoke, he shook Depin's arm, knowing full well that acting coquettishly could make Depin soften her heart.
Depin had no choice but to say to the palace maid Xiaocui: "Do as Sixth Prince says."
But the capable palace maid Xiao Cui was quite hesitant at this time. She said to Depin: "Should we add some more things and send them to the East Palace together?"
I just spent an afternoon at Concubine Yi's place. It's okay to send two plum blossoms to the Fourth Princess to play with, but the Crown Prince... The Crown Prince is not a child who only plays. These plum blossoms were just cut by the palace maids at random from the branches in the morning. Is there no reason for sending them? It's inexplicable. Maybe the East Palace won't show them to the Crown Prince. Xiao Cui wondered if she should send something presentable?
However, Depin said, "No need, just send these branches of spring plum blossoms over and tell the truth." It was just the youngest son's whim. It didn't matter even if the Eastern Palace didn't inform the Crown Prince. It would be fine to just throw it away.
Xiao Cui went to the East Palace, but she was not allowed to see the Crown Prince at will, so she handed the things to the East Palace and returned. However, the people in the East Palace did not act on their own and reported the matter to the Crown Prince truthfully.
The Crown Prince raised his eyebrows and said, "Sixth Prince said he gave it to me?" His tone was not without surprise, and there was a hint of disbelief. However, if it weren't for the child's wild imagination, Depin would not have sent him anything, and it was plum blossoms that were readily available.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince became interested and said to the palace maid, "Bring the plum blossoms that my sixth brother sent me here so I can see them."
When he saw the plum blossoms, the corners of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince's mouth twitched. There were three branches of spring plum blossoms left in Concubine De's room, and they were all here. However, the plum blossoms that had been cut in the morning had become wilted after a day. Perhaps they were temporarily sprinkled with water before being sent here to remedy the situation, but it still couldn't save its withered and undressed appearance.
His Royal Highness the Crown Prince has never received such a flawed gift.
How could such a plum blossom be placed in the East Palace? But in the end, His Royal Highness the Crown Prince said, "Since it was sent by my sixth brother, let's put it there."
It was given to him by his younger brother. His father had just given him a reward for being a friendly brother. He couldn't just throw away the gift given by his younger brother and just leave it there taking up the place of a vase.
Yinzuo gave Chunmei in the room to his brother and sister, feeling satisfied. He drank his fish porridge with his head shaking. Depin was thinking that she should find more toys for her son, so that her son would not be easily seduced by others with a small toy. Isn't it just a jigsaw puzzle? Isn't it just a small wooden man?
Yinzuo went to play with his sister today and had a great time. He wanted to go to play with his sister again the next day, and the third day, and the fourth day... He was still thinking about his other brothers and sisters and his father, but weren't they all busy? He could only go to play with this sister, and he played well with this sister. He shared all his toys with her. It was more fun to play with two people than alone.
But he couldn't go to Yipin's place every day, which would affect Yipin's rest and work. Depin reasoned with Yinzuo, and then said that she would take Yinzuo to play in the garden, "Your fourth sister doesn't want to stay in the yard every day, aren't you tired of playing yet? Can your fourth sister play with you outside?"
Hearing that he was with the fourth sister, Yinzuo nodded easily. Then Depin went to Yipin and asked the fourth princess to go to the garden for a walk, otherwise, their little six would come to visit every day, and see if you can bear it.
Because they had spent a lot of time chatting together these past few days, Depin and Yipin spoke more casually to each other and could even say something like a joke.
Since Depin had spoken, Yipin had no reason to respond, but she said: "You, as a mother, dote on the Sixth Prince." Yipin said this, thinking of her own son, and felt sad. Yipin's son was the Fifth Prince Yinqi, who was raised in the Empress Dowager's palace, and Yipin, as a mother, could see him every day.
But that was the Queen Mother, who was kind-hearted. Although she couldn't bother them all day, she didn't need to be too cautious when getting along with Yinqi and his mother. Although Depin could dote on her son, she could only treat her other son, the Fourth Prince, who was raised under the name of the Imperial Concubine, as if she didn't have that son.
Depin and Yipin agreed on the matter, and the next day they left the palace at Yinzuo's urging, so that the little one could see the outside world and experience the first spring scenery in his life.
Yinzuo's clothes were getting thinner and thinner, and his hands and feet were becoming more and more flexible. He would reach out his hands when he saw green plants growing, and he would stretch out his claws when he saw flowers blooming. Once he walked out of their own palace, he felt that the imperial garden was as vast as the sky and the earth.
The woman's voice is gentle and patient, and the child's voice is tender and cute, blending into this picture of a good spring day.
After the fourth princess was brought over by her wet nurse, the place became more lively and full of children's laughter. The two children had been playing very well in the past few days, and the fourth princess was no longer so quiet in front of acquaintances.
In fact, there were things happening every day in the former court and the harem, but those things had nothing to do with the little kid Yinzuo. Ever since he discovered the new world outside, he no longer liked to stay in the palace and always liked to be outside every day.
Depin didn't restrict him, as long as he didn't get caught in the wind and caught a cold. The fourth princess didn't always come outside to meet him, and Depin didn't always accompany him later, but Yinzuo had grown up a lot now, and he didn't cling to people like he did at the beginning, so he could enjoy himself outside.
He was held by his nanny and taken to see the lake, the fish, the clouds floating in the sky, to play with the grass, and even wanted to touch the mud. Unfortunately, his nanny and the others firmly refused to allow him to play in the water.
Yinzuo looked at the beautiful fish swimming around and wanted to reach out his hand, but unfortunately, that was impossible. Yinzuo looked away with regret.
When Crown Prince Yinreng came back from paying his respects to the Empress Dowager, he caught sight of a baby being held in arms. He recognized who it was, but had no intention of going over to the baby.
But Yinzuo also saw him, and his eyes lit up when he saw him. He hadn't even seen clearly which brother this was, but he was not picky no matter which brother it was.
Yinzuo exclaimed excitedly, and then called out "brother" loudly.
The wet nurse, palace maids and eunuchs who followed Yin Zuo all bowed to the Crown Prince, "Greetings, Your Highness."
When Yinzuo saw the person's face clearly, he recognized which brother it was. This brother had talked to the first one that day and talked to him a lot. He remembered what he looked like, and he had also given him a jigsaw puzzle.
Yinzuo's eyes sparkled, and he shouted loudly and excitedly: "Banban, brother!"
The prince's gentle smile froze when Yinzuo's sudden shout startled his brother, who was so nervous that he was swimming like a fish. After a while, he regained his princely demeanor and said, "It's my sixth brother."
The child's eyes were bright and focused when he looked at people. The prince asked, "Do you still remember me?"
Yinzuo felt wronged, how could he not remember, he said again: "Banban, brother."
The prince's spirits, which had just recovered, faltered again. He suddenly regretted giving the boy the tangram. He also thought to himself, "I hope this boy will call me brother Banban every time he sees me in the future. It will be a joke."
(End of this chapter)
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