As expected, the act of tearing up the book was immediately stopped by Yinzhen.
Yin Tao clutched the corner of the book tightly, his lips pursed as if he were about to cry. His pitiful and aggrieved appearance made Wan Anran's heart pound in her chest. No wonder Consort Xuan couldn't bear to see Yin E suffer. Wan Anran used to laugh at her, but now she felt that she might soon be following in her footsteps as well.
Yin Tao: "Eee-ya-woo..."
Wan Anran weakly said, "Let him tear it."
Yinzhen's cold gaze fell on his mother.
Wan Anran shivered and quickly took the book from Yin Tao's hand: "You can't tear it."
Yinzhen withdrew his gaze with satisfaction.
He sternly lectured his bewildered younger brother while simultaneously casting a sharp, piercing glance at their mother.
Wan Anran looked aggrieved.
The palace servants around him kept their eyes down, pretending to know nothing, but a hint of a smile flickered in their eyes. The reason was that the nine-year-old Fifth Prince was the head of the Chuxiu Palace.
As for Yinzhen, he was also quite helpless.
He looked at his honest and obedient mother and his innocent and naive twelfth brother, and felt that the fate of the entire Chuxiu Palace rested on his shoulders. Unconsciously, he took on a little more responsibility and managed a little more of the affairs.
That's just human nature, right?
Yinzhen sighed, but just as he was pondering, a small hand slapped him across the face. Yinzhen looked up in pain and saw Yintao puffing out his cheeks and blowing hard on his forehead. Wan Anran, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but laugh: "Last time when Wanzi fell on the ground, I blew on his knees, and now you've learned it all from me, Yinzhen."
Yin Tao grinned happily.
He waved his little hands upwards with all his might, crying out, "Ouch, ouch!"
Wan Anran chimed in, "Pain has flown away!"
She reached out and gently pressed down on Yinzhen's brow, smoothing out the furrowed brow. Wan Anran smiled at her mature and composed eldest son, her eyes crinkling with a smile: "Your most important task now is to study hard. Your mother will take care of things at Chuxiu Palace!"
Yinzhen, who was still sitting upright, was stunned.
Twenty-six years have passed in the blink of an eye. As his brothers gradually grow up and the Crown Prince seems to be heading in the same direction as in his previous life, Yinzhen is somewhat anxious.
Thinking about it now, if he could turn things around in his past life when he was at a disadvantage in every way, how much more so in this life?
Yinzhen's brows relaxed, and he finally calmed down. He subconsciously snuggled into his mother's arms, letting Wan Anran hold him and his twelfth brother together, and mumbled a "yes."
Before he could speak again, a commotion erupted outside: "Fifth Brother! Fifth Brother! Let's go out and play!"
Yinzhen, who had been nestled in Wan Anran's arms, suddenly stiffened.
He immediately stood up, quickly straightened his slightly wrinkled clothes, patted his robe, and his expression returned to calm. He sternly rebuked Yinqi, who had just entered, "No manners!"
What a drama queen!
The one who barged in was the Sixth Prince, Yinqi, followed by the Seventh Prince, Yinyou, the Eighth Prince, Yinsi, the Ninth Prince, Yintang, and the Tenth Prince, Yin'e, forming a long string like Russian nesting dolls. Not only did Wan Anran look on with a smile in her eyes, but the palace servants beside her couldn't help but raise the corners of their mouths.
Yinzhen, on the other hand, had a terrible headache.
One Yinqi was troublesome enough, but then so many more came!
The princes, shamelessly, all paid their respects to Consort Qi. Compared to their younger brothers, who were still somewhat reserved, the Sixth Prince, Yinqi, was the most lively. Full of energy, he skipped and hopped over to Yinzhen, saying, "Fifth Brother, Fifth Brother! You're so lucky!"
"Blessed? Blessed are in the backyard."
Yinzhen scanned the room with suspicion: "What do you want with Youfu?"
“Yin Tang wanted to raise him, but his mother wouldn’t allow it.”
Yinqi was also helpless. Seeing that Yintang was crying and making a fuss, causing his mother a terrible headache, Yinqi naturally turned to his fifth brother for help.
The older brother always has some dignity.
Not wanting to lose face in front of Yinzhen, Yinqi looked at Yinzhen with pleading eyes, as if sending out a begging beam of light.
Wan Anran found it amusing.
Upon hearing this, her heart skipped a beat. In her previous life, one thing that was often mentioned in the context of the nine princes' relationship was that Yinzhen cut off the tail of Yintang's pet dog, and then Yinzhen cut off Yintang's hair...
Let's look at it now.
What if Yinzhen refused outright, and then Yintang secretly came to play with the puppy? Wan Anran's heart skipped a beat, and just as she was about to speak, she heard Yinzhen's voice: "This prince will take you there."
Wan Anran blinked.
Yinqi breathed a sigh of relief and turned to his younger brothers, saying, "I told you, Fifth Brother is very generous!"
Yinyou, Yinsi, Yintang, and Yin'e all cried out in unison.
Under Wan Anran's melancholy and complicated gaze, a group of princes marched in a grand procession toward the backyard, their target the puppy.
The hall was silent for a moment.
Immediately afterwards, Wan Anran also sat up and, full of energy, began making snacks with the palace servants. With Qingming Festival approaching, Wan Anran started preparing qingtuan (green glutinous rice dumplings) so that the princes, including Yinzhen, could also taste them.
Of course, you also have to prepare all the fillings yourself.
Wan Anran prepared four flavors: the classic red bean flavor, the pork floss and salted egg yolk flavor, and the brown sugar and black sesame flavor, as well as the bamboo shoot and cured meat flavor.
The palace servants also came forward to help.
Some people were responsible for frying the steamed red beans into a paste, while others were responsible for mixing the pre-made salted egg yolks, pork floss, and sauce. Still others were responsible for grinding brown sugar, black sesame seeds, walnuts, and other ingredients into powder. Wan Anran, on the other hand, diced bamboo shoots and stir-fried them with cured meat, carrots, and other ingredients.
Once the fillings are ready, preparing the dough becomes easy and convenient.
Arrange the round, plump green rice dumplings one by one into a steamer and steam them in a pot until cooked. Soon, the air is filled with the fragrance of mugwort, which grows stronger and stronger as time goes on.
The boys who were playing in the courtyard also smelled it.
They rubbed their rumbling bellies and ran towards Qi Fei one after another. The freshly baked qingtuan was a vibrant green, but its aroma wasn't as strong as before. Wan Anran was holding one, blowing on it and turning the scalding hot qingtuan back and forth between her hands.
His comical appearance amused a group of princes.
Yin Tang said without any restraint: "Qi's mother, you're so stupid!"
Wan Anran snorted.
With a wave of her hand, she ordered one of the baskets to be removed: "Take this one away."
While Yinzhen was still confused, Yinsi couldn't help but laugh: "Ninth Brother, you'd better apologize quickly."
Yinzhen was unconvinced.
However, before he could speak, Yinqi interrupted, "Eighth Brother is right. If you don't apologize now, you won't get a chance!"
Look at the steamers on the table, the number of which is exactly the same as the number of the masters present. It is clear that Consort Qi intends to give each of them a sample.
Yin Tang looked around.
Now he was starting to regret it.
However, Yinzhen was stubborn and remained silent.
His cheeks were flushed from holding back his anger as he watched Qi Fei beckon her brothers forward, while he stood still.
The brothers recognized each other at a glance.
Instead of pleading for mercy on behalf of Yinzhen, they all started performing mukbangs. Yinzhen preferred savory dishes, such as diced bamboo shoots, shiitake mushrooms, carrots, and wood ear mushrooms, served with a slightly spicy sauce. The savory and delicious flavor made one person want more after just one bite.
Yinzhi forcefully broke open the qingtuan, and the abundant filling overflowed. The sweetness of the red beans paired with the soft and glutinous outer skin was unforgettable. His eyes lit up: "Delicious!"
Yin'e especially liked this flavor.
He ate most of it in one bite and couldn't help but exclaim, "It's better than regular red bean paste!"
Wan Anran proudly put her hands on her hips.
She raised her eyebrows: "Hmph, of course there's a secret recipe for this!"
Yin'e was a little disappointed after finishing the whole thing.
His gaze involuntarily drifted to the portion that had been released—though it was said to be taken away, the palace servants of Chuxiu Palace simply set it aside.
There's one with red bean filling in this basket too!
Yin'e swallowed hard, and taking advantage of the fact that no one was paying attention, he ran towards the basket of green rice dumplings. Just as he reached out to grab the green rice dumpling he had been dreaming of, another small hand came down from above and slapped Yin'e's hand.
"Ninth Brother, what are you doing!"
"This is mine—"
"No, that's not true! Consort Qi has already confiscated it!"
"Ugh—I'm sorry, I shouldn't have spoken ill of Consort Qi." Yinzhen was desperate for food, so he closed his eyes and apologized loudly before taking a big bite of the green rice ball.
A sweet aroma instantly filled the air.
Yinzhen was so excited that he was practically seeing stars, completely oblivious to the glances exchanged between the princes.
Wan Anran chuckled softly.
Unexpectedly, the aroma also attracted Yin Tao. Riding in his walker, he charged into the courtyard, letting out a pitiful whimper: "Mother, brother, you're stealing food, you bad boy!"
Great, Yintao learned a few new words today.
Wan Anran was unsure whether to be happy or not, but seeing her little Maruko with tears in her eyes and looking aggrieved, Wan Anran quickly dipped some red bean paste in it and let him taste it.
As for eating qingtuan?
That will be several years from now!
Having confirmed that the princes had a very positive opinion of the green rice dumplings, Wan Anran rallied everyone to work together and sent two portions to Cining Palace, one to Kunning Palace, and one to Qianqing Palace.
Of course, the princes could also choose to pack up and send the items to their mothers, and Yinzhen also had to return to his residence. Even if the twelfth prince wanted to stay with his mother a little longer, there was no way he could, as the princes' residence had very strict access control.
Forget about being half a cup of tea late; even three breaths late would likely result in the guards reporting him to the Emperor. Hearing Yinzhen smile and say he was going back, Wan Anran's eyes reddened. She gently tugged at Yinzhen's clothes, muttering, "The weather's so unpredictable these days, remember to add layers. It's better to wear more than less..."
"Mother, I know."
"When I was in school, I got along well with my brothers."
"Yes, Your Majesty understands."
"You..." Wan Anran felt a tightness in her chest: "You only know how to report good news but never worry. If anything happens, you must tell your mother, understand?"
The concubines in the harem knew very little about the lives of the princes.
Aside from what he learned from the Emperor and his sons, he knew nothing else. Furthermore, Yinzhen was a typical person who kept things to himself, and he almost never talked about what happened in his sons' quarters.
Wan Anran felt somewhat helpless, but could only secretly pray in her heart that Yinzhen's days in the Prince's Residence and the Imperial Study would be more relaxed and pleasant.
Several things flashed through Yinzhen's mind.
But seeing his mother looking a little worried, he gently took her hands and said, "Mother, don't worry, I will take good care of myself."
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