Chapter 64
The eldest prince ate the entire bowl of iced food while Yinzuo was jumping up and down anxiously. He even gestured to him and said, "Aren't you afraid that your brother will laugh at you?"
The eldest prince, who watched Yinzuo grow up, knew that Yinzuo had an inexplicable sense of self-esteem and strong will in front of his younger brother.
Sure enough, Yinzuo was stunned, but only for a moment. Since he entered the study, his self-esteem as an elder brother had long been shattered.
Wipe your face and no shame will matter.
And his considerate eighth brother said at this time: "I am not making fun of Sixth Brother."
Yinzuo sat down obediently, looked at the eldest prince with a squint, and said, "My younger brothers are all good brothers and won't laugh at me." As for my older brother, hum...
Yinzuo ignored his annoying elder brother and turned to his eighth brother, "Eighth brother, can you keep this secret for us?"
The Eighth Prince smiled and said, "Okay."
Seeing that his eighth brother had agreed, Yinzuo patted the eighth prince's shoulder with a big smile.
Since nothing happened, Yinzuo came as planned the next day. However, the eldest prince began to worry, fearing that he would be seen by others again. If he walked too much by the river, his shoes would inevitably get wet.
The eldest prince said to Yinzuo: "I don't think our deal is worth it. I have been supporting you for a month!"
Yinzuo bit the spoon and said, "Really? I'll go talk to my father tomorrow about playing polo."
Perhaps Kangxi thought it would be nice for these kids to play polo together and spend more time with each other, so he did not let Yinzuo debate for long and agreed, but he did not go with them.
Even though Kangxi did not go to watch, the Eldest Prince's team and the Crown Prince's team were still very eager to fight. Perhaps they had learned their lesson and pondered the pain this time. After a difficult competition, the Eldest Prince's team won narrowly.
This time, the one who was unhappy was the prince.
Yinzuo looked at his brother the Crown Prince with a stern face. Alas, his brothers were all very competitive, but there could only be one winner, so there would always be one who was unhappy.
Yinzuo had no choice but to say to his brother, the crown prince: "How about next time? I can win it back next time."
The prince hummed.
But His Royal Highness the Crown Prince does not need to go through Yinzuo to tell Kangxi about going out to play polo again. He can talk to Kangxi himself.
The Seventh Prince twitched his ears, thinking that he could still play polo. He felt a little happy. Although he worked very hard in the study, he also liked to go out of the palace and relax with everyone. Moreover, he was not affected by his lameness when riding a horse. He played polo well, so he liked this sport.
The Mongolian kids and clan members who became familiar with the sport did not pay much attention to his foot problems but commented on his good play.
He was also in the Prince's team, but even though their team lost this time, he was in a good mood and he scored two goals.
"Brother, where is today's bowl of ice?" Yinzuo came to the eldest prince's courtyard again.
The eldest prince said, "I am happy today, so I will give you one more meal. But it will be gone tomorrow, and our deal is over." The winning eldest prince said this to Yinzuo.
Yinzuo's eyebrows were all pulled down, and he sighed and condemned: "Throw it away after use."
"Brother, this is not kind at all."
"I didn't expect that my eldest brother would be such a person."
The eldest prince: "Hehe, that's the kind of person he is."
Yinzuo realized that condemnation was useless, so he changed his approach: "From now on, I will eat as much as you say. Isn't it okay if you don't snatch it?"
"Big brother is the best."
Eldest Prince: “Don’t give me that.” This kid didn’t understand his worries at all. It was finally over now without any effort and nothing had been exposed. This actually gave him an inexplicable sense of accomplishment. Anyway, no matter how much the kid kept pestering him, he would not agree.
In order to stop Yin Zuo from having such thoughts, the eldest prince said, "It's not hot anymore, and my ice bowl has stopped, so don't even think about it anymore."
Okay, Yinzuo waited listlessly to eat his last bowl of ice.
Every bite is nostalgic.
As Yinzuo was savoring the food slowly with a feeling of great cherishment, suddenly several people came into the yard of the eldest prince, including the third brother, the fourth brother, the eighth brother and the fifth brother. Well, Yinzuo was stunned with the spoon in his mouth.
The Eighth Prince looked helpless, and explained to Yinzuo and the First Prince with a wry smile: "I tried to stop him, but failed."
The eldest prince looked at Yinzuo, and all his efforts were in vain.
The Third Prince had come to celebrate with the Eighth Prince and the Fourth Prince. They were on the same team as the First Prince. Didn’t they win today? When they saw the Fifth Prince, they came over together.
With so many people here, and so many eunuchs brought by the princes, it would be impossible to keep the secret slow.
When Concubine De learned about this, she was very unhappy and blamed the eldest prince in her heart. Fortunately, the eldest prince was watching over him and did not let Yinzuo get sick. If he had fallen ill, the matter would have been serious.
But even so, Defei called the imperial physician to take Yinzuo's pulse. The imperial physician said that there was nothing serious. He also said that as the Sixth Prince's body recovered, his health had improved a lot. Only then did Defei feel better.
Defei continued to nag Yinzuo, "Did you hear what the imperial physician said? You still can't eat cold food."
"Let's be obedient and bear with it for a while."
She looked like she would cry in front of him if she didn't obey, so Yinzuo couldn't stand it. What he feared most was that his mother would find out. Alas, he regretted not eating the last few bites, and now he could only nod his head repeatedly.
After being scolded by his mother, Yinzuo didn't have a good face when he went to the Eastern Palace.
"Don't you go to your good brother every day? Do you remember to come to me?" said His Royal Highness the Crown Prince.
Since everyone already knew, there was nothing to hide, so he whispered, "Brother, don't give me an ice bowl to eat."
The prince snorted.
The prince was much more dissatisfied with the eldest son - so this is how you coax a child?
Not up to standard!
But at the same time, he felt a little relieved. Was it because of Yin Zuo that he went to the boss every day? Well, it was understandable. If it weren't for this reason, the prince would probably be even more unhappy.
Yinzuo raised his little finger to the prince and said, "I only get a little bit each time, and my elder brother always fights for it with me, but I can't beat him."
The prince said calmly: "Why are you telling me so much? I can't control you. If I control you too much, I'll be annoying."
Yinzuo knew that his brother the crown prince needed his comfort at this time, so he sat beside his brother the crown prince and said, "No, I know that the crown prince cares about me and treats me well."
"My mother also cared about me and scolded me."
"The imperial physician said that we should not be greedy for cold food. Well, although cold food tastes good, we should not be greedy for it. The prince should also do the same."
The prince's expression improved a little at this time. He said, "Do you think everyone is as greedy as you?"
Yinzuo thought that his eldest brother was like that, so he started to snatch the ice bowl from him and refused to give in. However, he had no idea what the crown prince liked, and he had never seen the crown prince have a particular liking for anything.
"It's normal to like delicious food and fun things. What do you like, Prince?" Yinzuo asked the prince curiously.
The prince was stunned for a moment. It seemed that there was no like or dislike. If he had to say, he liked to be able to do things well? He liked everything to be under control, and he liked to win?
Seeing that the prince didn't say anything, Yinzuo asked one by one, "Playing chess? Listening to the zither? Painting?"
"It's not about writing or reading, right?"
"Still hanging out? Arguing with big brother?"
The prince interrupted and said disdainfully: "There are not so many likes and dislikes. It's all okay, and I didn't quarrel with him."
"Just talking to him about things."
Yin Zuo nodded: "Okay, my brothers didn't quarrel, it's better not to quarrel."
Although the fact that Yinzuo secretly ate an ice bowl at the eldest prince's place was exposed, in the end, since Yinzuo was not guilty, the eldest prince was not reprimanded. He just received a few sidelong glances and some sarcastic remarks from the crown prince.
As long as the emperor didn't pay attention to this matter, the eldest prince would have escaped a disaster. He was lucky enough to say, "It's just that the emperor is not so fussy."
Kangxi, who was not so fussy, just chuckled when he heard the news. He didn't believe that the boy had really been so quiet for so long.
The eldest brother was quite sensible this time, so Kangxi planned to pretend that he didn't know about it.
Kangxi felt relieved when looking at Yinzuo's pulse record on the table. He could finally put aside his worries about this child.
After that, they played polo several times, with the crown prince's team and the eldest prince's team winning and losing. But gradually, the crown prince and the eldest prince became busy, and even spent less time in the study room, so they stopped playing polo for a long time.
In fact, they were busy with other things and changed the competitive arena.
Another year has passed, and everyone has grown up a lot. The Crown Prince is already thirteen years old this year, and he is not young anymore. He can't just stay in the study to study all the time. And the eldest prince is already fifteen or sixteen years old.
So the Crown Prince is now assisting the Ministry of Personnel and is further learning how to manage state affairs. Although the eldest prince is not as valued as the Crown Prince, every son raised by Kangxi is to be developed and used rather than just a decoration, so the eldest prince is also currently learning in the Ministry of Justice.
The other princes were envious, at least they didn't have to sit in the study room every day like them, right? The third prince deeply regretted that it was not his turn yet.
However, there was one person who did not sit in the study room every day like them.
The Third Prince looked at Yin Zuo and said jealously, "Cebutan and the others can now bargain with others in Beijing dialect. Why do they need you to go out of the palace from time to time to take them around the capital? I think they are more familiar with those places in the capital than you are."
Yin Zuo chuckled and said, "Third brother is right. Now it is indeed them who are taking me out to play. But don't I always bring you delicious and fun things?"
"I also bought you a storybook. I hid it with great difficulty. Do you still want it, brother?" Yinzuo took out the storybook hidden in his clothes and said.
The Third Prince hurriedly said, "Yes, yes, yes." After taking the book, he immediately opened it and took a look. He said without delay, "Can't the Emperor see that you went out just to have fun? I think the Emperor is biased."
Humph, they favor the second one, they favor the eldest one, they favor the big one on top, and they favor the small one at the bottom, but they never favor him.
Yinzuo touched the Third Prince's head and said, "Third brother, don't be jealous."
"Third brother, do you want to go out and play too? Then let's go talk to the Emperor?"
Seeing that Yinzuo took it seriously, the Third Prince hurriedly said, "No, no, no, I was just saying it casually."
"I'd better stay in class and study hard. Xiaoliu, you too. Eighth brother is much better than you." Perhaps because he played with Xiaoliu first, the Third Prince didn't like Eighth Brother very much. Even though Eighth Brother had a good temper, he didn't like him very much and felt that Eighth Brother was stepping on Xiaoliu to stand out.
If he were Xiaoliu, he would not have no grudge against his eighth brother. In fact, Xiaoliu is the one who has a really good temper.
The Third Prince was upset, but Yinzuo himself had let it go. He even said to the Third Prince, "It's okay. Haven't everyone accepted it? I think even the Emperor has let it go, so he let me go out and play and didn't watch me so closely."
Yin Zuo's eyes sparkled as he asked the Third Prince, "Third brother, do you think what I said is right? I have to thank my Eighth Brother."
Third Prince: “…”
The Third Prince looked at Yinzuo as if he were a salted fish with no ambition.
But maybe what Xiaoliu said is really right?
However, the Third Prince thought about himself and realized that he could not learn to be like Yinzuo, so his mother beat him first.
Yinzuo came back from outside the palace and bought some things for Kangxi. He couldn't always give them to his brothers and mother and always leave the emperor behind, right? If the emperor was happy, he could let him go out and play more.
Kangxi looked at the strange gourd carving that Yinzuo brought back. If it wasn't a lady or a flower, it would be fine if it was a swan, which would be equally elegant and beautiful, but this one was not elegant. Why was it so wide open with its eyes slit? It looked like a human expression on the goose's face. I wonder if this goose was laughing or about to bite someone.
Yinzuo pushed it himself, and the carved gourd swayed for a while and then stood there properly again. Yinzuo laughed again.
Yinzuo asked Kangxi again with a smile: "Father, isn't this fun? It's so interesting and funny to watch."
Kangxi gave his son some face and curled the corners of his lips.
Yinzuo added: "When the Emperor is tired of reviewing the memorials, just take a look at them and then smile, and the Emperor will feel much more relaxed."
The child looked at him with dark eyes, trying to help his father steal some joy and relax from his busy schedule. "How is your father? Does your father like it?"
Kangxi: “…Not bad.”
It’s OK, I just like it. Yinzuo said to his royal father happily: "Royal father, just put it here, you can see it when you raise your eyes."
It was not placed on the imperial desk, as it would have been in the way; instead, there were many treasure chests in the room, and Yinzuo placed such a funny thing among a pile of elegant rewards.
You know what, you can see it as soon as you raise your eyes. No other priceless treasures can compare to this funny big goose!
Kangxi closed his eyes. He did not feel comfortable with his son's thoughtfulness and filial piety. He felt that the cackling of geese could be heard in his head just by looking at him.
(End of this chapter)
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