20demayo Chapter 426 Sixth Brother, you're too modest.
Chapter 426 Sixth Brother, you're too modest.
Yinzhuo didn't come here today with the intention of making a fool of the Fourteenth Prince or giving him a beating. It was freezing cold outside, and the Lotus Viewing Hall was near the lake. Yinzhuo was worried that the Fourteenth Prince would get sick from the cold if he stayed here too long, so he rushed over to get him out. Now, seeing how lively and energetic the Fourteenth Prince was, Yinzhuo immediately felt that all his previous efforts had been in vain.
"Fourteenth brother, I'm not trying to be mean, but you're a military officer, taller and stronger than me. How come you're so timid? Do you think I'm more terrifying than the enemy with swords and arrows on the battlefield? Look at your pathetic self, get out of behind the table right now."
To what Yinzhi said, what the Fourteenth Prince wanted to say was—Sixth Brother, you are too modest. Those enemy soldiers with swords and arrows on the battlefield are not as scary as you. If they dared to stand in front of me and shout like you, I would have already cut them down with my sword. But do I dare to do that to you? Let alone cut them down with my sword, if I just said a few words back, I would get a slap today.
There was no underground heating in the Lotus Viewing Hall. Fourteenth Prince felt that the charcoal brazier smelled too strong, so he simply had it removed. Compared to Yinzuo's western residence, this place was practically an ice cave. Yinzuo took off his cloak and sat inside for a while, and then he felt that his exposed hands were freezing cold.
"Alright, I'm too lazy to argue with you here. Have someone come in and pack your things, and you can move back to your old place in a bit. I'll talk to your father when I get back."
Although Fourteen wasn't particularly afraid of the cold, he would never want to stay here freezing if he could live a comfortable life. Upon hearing this, he called out to the outside, and soon his personal attendant, Jinxi, led people in from outside.
Fourteenth Prince was confined here for two days, so packing his things was quite simple. The people who came from Jinxi were very efficient and quickly packed everything up. Judging from Fourteenth Prince's lively and energetic appearance, Yinzhuo knew without the imperial physician that there was definitely nothing wrong with his health. However, just to be on the safe side, Yinzhuo still had the imperial physician take his pulse and only allowed Fourteenth Prince to take his people back to rest after confirming that he was alright.
After dismissing the Fourteenth Prince, Yinzhuo did not rush back. Instead, he asked Dexi to go to the desk to organize the Diamond Sutra that the Fourteenth Prince had copied earlier. Then, he had someone take the things and went to his father's Yanbo Zhishuang Hall.
Yinzhu was always under Kangxi's watchful eye, and Kangxi was fully aware of his every move. Today, Yinzhu had just led his men to Guanlian Temple, and Kangxi received the report shortly afterward. Therefore, Kangxi was not at all surprised that Yinzhu would come so early today.
"Oh my, the sun must be rising in the west today. Why is our Prince Zhao up so early? If I'm not mistaken, it should be around 9 a.m. right now?"
Yinzhuo didn't take Kangxi's teasing to heart at all. He walked a few steps to the south kang where Kangxi was sitting, kicked off his shoes, pulled up his socks, and stepped onto the kang.
"Hmph, Father, aren't you just asking the obvious? I don't believe you don't know why our son got up so early this morning. I've already sent Fourteenth back. If that boy gets really cold in this weather, Mother will be heartbroken."
Yinzhuo had just come in from outside, his whole body radiating cold. After getting onto the kang (heated brick bed), he looked around but couldn't find anything to warm his feet, so he simply stretched out his legs and placed his feet on Kangxi's legs.
Kangxi was startled by Yinzhuo's icy feet, but he did not move. He let Yinzhuo keep his feet on his legs until Yinzhuo's feet warmed up and he withdrew them. Only then did Kangxi get up and move slightly to the side.
"Liang Jiugong, don't just stand there, hurry up and go to the back to get a blanket for your young master, otherwise I'm afraid his claws will be reaching into my neck in a moment."
Upon hearing this, Yinzhuo glanced at his father but did not refute him. Instead, he beckoned Wanquan, who was waiting nearby, to go outside the palace and fetch the Diamond Sutra that the Fourteenth Prince had copied.
"Here you are, Father. This is the Diamond Sutra that you punished him with fourteen copies of. All five copies are here. I just made an exception for the remaining five copies and exempted him from them. The New Year is just around the corner, so let's not make things difficult for the child."
In Kangxi's eyes, these were all trivial matters. Since Yinzhuo had said so, he naturally wouldn't contradict his son. The father and son, one studying the chess manual and the other traveling around the world with a travelogue, managed to keep to themselves.
Yinzhuo got up early today, and after reading for a while, his eyes involuntarily started to fight. He was never the type to make things difficult for himself, so since he was sleepy, he decided to go to sleep.
"Father, your son is very sleepy right now. He'll close his eyes and take a nap. When it's time for dinner, please don't forget to wake me up."
Upon hearing this, Kangxi glanced at Yinzhuo, who had already lay down on the kang and closed his eyes to sleep, pointed to Yinzhuo's head, and gestured for Liang Jiugong to bring him a pillow to place under his head. Only then did he turn his gaze back to the chessboard in front of him.
Yinzhu slept quite well and showed no signs of waking up when it was time for lunch. Kangxi had spent the whole morning studying the chess manual in his hand and didn't feel very hungry at the moment, so he simply sent someone to inform the imperial kitchen to keep the lunch warm and have someone come and pick it up when Yinzhu woke up.
"Father, what time is it now? Have you had lunch yet? I'm feeling a bit hungry."
When Yinzhu woke up, it was almost 1:45 PM. If he had a proper lunch at this time, he probably wouldn't have dinner. When Kangxi saw that Yinzhu was hungry, he simply asked Liang Jiugong to go to the kitchen and pick out a few dishes that Yinzhu liked and bring them over. The father and son didn't move, and they used the kang table in front of them for their late lunch.
After eating and drinking their fill, Yinzhuo didn't stay on the kang (heated brick bed). He got up, pulled Kangxi off the kang, put on his shoes, and started dragging his father around the west warm pavilion to digest their food. Yinreng came in from outside and was puzzled to see the father and son walking around the room. What was going on today? Was there something wrong with how he opened the door earlier?
"Second Brother, you're here. Find a place to sit down first. I'll accompany Ama for a couple more walks. My stomach is bloated after eating, and I feel uncomfortable sitting on the kang..."
As the saying goes, you have to listen to the underlying meaning of words. As soon as Yinreng heard Yinzuo's words, he knew who was accompanying whom on this stroll. However, the other party did not say anything, but nodded with a smile, walked to a chair to the side and sat down, waiting for the father and son to finish their stroll and come over.