20demayo Chapter 255 Father, I really lost out today.
Chapter 255 Father, I really lost out today.
After breakfast, the brothers tidied up and prepared to head to Qingxi Study. Yinzhuo, with sleepy eyes and a boneless body, leaned on Fourteenth Prince and was helped forward. Yinzhen walked on his other side, occasionally reaching out to help him, lest the impetuous and unreliable Fourteenth Prince accidentally drop Yinzhuo to the ground.
The distance from Shufeng Pavilion to Qingxi Study was not far, but because of Yinzhuo's burden, Yinzhen and the others wasted a lot of time on the way. When the three brothers arrived at Qingxi Study, Yinti, Yinreng, and Yinzhi were already waiting at the door.
"Hey, judging from this, Xiao Liu is still half asleep? Come on, let me wake you up."
Yinti's method of waking Yinzu was quite simple. He strode up to Yinzu, raised his hands, and reached into Yinzu's collar. Yinti had been standing outside for a while in the dead of winter, and his hands were already freezing cold. This sudden movement gave the dazed Yinzu a jolt.
"Brother, what did I do to bother you while I was sleeping? Why did you have to wake me up? Father, please come and do something about my brother, he's freezing me with his hands..."
Yinti found Yinzuo's dazed look amusing and wanted to tease him, but little did he know that Yinzuo was serious about accusing him. Seeing Yinzuo start to howl at the top of his lungs, he quickly reached out and covered Yinzuo's mouth.
"Oh dear, ancestor, please keep your voice down. This isn't your Shufeng Pavilion anymore. Can't you see how many people are standing outside the garden? Brother doesn't have much face left, so you'd better not lose face."
Even though he was unwilling to give up, Yinzhuo could not make a sound as his elder brother covered his mouth. He could only try to make some muffled noises to protest against Yinti.
Inside the Qingxi Study, Emperor Kangxi had just returned to the Flower Hall after finishing his breakfast in the Dining Hall. He had barely sat down when he heard Yinzhuo's voice from outside. However, the voice sounded a bit off, because he only heard the boy shout once and then fall silent.
"Liang Jiugong, go outside and see what trouble Yinzuo is causing this time. If Yinreng and the others have arrived, let them all come in."
As soon as Yinti saw Liang Jiugong come out, he immediately let go of Yinzuo's mouth. The first thing Yinzuo did after regaining his freedom was to rush into Qingxi Study. Judging from his angry appearance, Yinti knew without a doubt that this kid was going to go and complain to their overprotective father again.
"Please come in, gentlemen. His Majesty is already waiting for you inside."
Liang Jiugong pretended not to see what Yinti and Yinzuo had just done. After bowing and greeting Yinti and the others, he stepped aside to make room for them. As Yinti had expected, as soon as they entered, they saw Yinzuo sitting next to Kangxi, hugging his father's arm and complaining about him.
“Father, my brother has really gone too far. You have to talk to him for me later. Feel my neck, it's still cold. I got up so early today and I'm so sleepy, not to mention I was bullied by my brother. Shouldn't you make it up to my son for my brother? Otherwise, I've really lost out today…”
Kangxi had been worried that Yinzhuo would catch a cold when he touched the back of his neck, but when he heard Yinzhuo complaining and trying to get some benefits for himself, his worries immediately subsided by half. He pulled his arm out of Yinzhuo's arms with a little force, looked up and gave him a sharp rap on the forehead.
"Compensation? I owe you. Believe me or not, if you keep making a fuss, I'll have your elder brother drag you out and give you a good beating. Didn't you say you were sleepy? Then go lie down and sleep on the bed behind the screen. Liang Jiugong, go and call the people outside in."
When it comes to familiarity with Qingxi Study, among the princes, Yinzhuo dares to claim second place and no one dares to claim first. Seeing that Kangxi was about to attend to serious matters, Yinzhuo stopped arguing with him and, without needing a servant to lead him, got up and walked towards the bed behind the screen. Kangxi shook his head helplessly as he watched Yinzhuo leave so decisively. He had said those unnecessary words yesterday. Even if this kid came, he would just be sleeping in a different place.
It must be said that Yinzhuo's sleep quality was truly outstanding. Even though the Kangxi Emperor and the others were quite noisy during their meeting, it had little impact on the sleeping Yinzhuo. He slept soundly until the meeting ended without waking up. Kangxi did not send anyone to disturb him, and instead took the three who had been left behind—Yinreng, Yinzhen, and Yinsi—to the study to continue discussing matters related to recovering the outstanding debts.
"Eunuch Liang, what time is it now? Has the meeting ended? Where is Father? Have my elder brothers all gone back?"
After Yinzhuo had a good sleep, he opened his eyes and saw Liang Jiugong standing not far from the bed. He listened carefully to the sounds around him and realized that there was no one else in the flower hall except for him and Liang Jiugong. When Liang Jiugong saw that Yinzhuo had woken up, he quickly came over and helped him sit up. Then he turned around and went to the side to get his shoes and put them on for him before happily answering his previous question.
"Your Highness, it is almost noon now. The meeting ended around 1:45 AM. His Majesty is currently discussing matters with the Crown Prince, the Fourth Prince, and the Eighth Prince in the study. Before he left, he instructed me that if you feel bored after waking up, you can return to Shufeng Pavilion."
Although Yinzhuo did not know why the national treasury debt incident, which should have erupted in the 46th year of Kangxi's reign, had been brought up for more than a year, he obviously had no intention of investigating it further. Yinzhuo knew that his father and his brothers would probably be busy for a long time to come, and since he could not help, he would naturally join in and cause trouble for them. So he gave Liang Jiugong a few simple instructions and got up to walk out of Qingxi Study.
As Yinzuo had expected, the task of collecting the debts ultimately fell to Yinzhen. Of course, he accepted the job willingly. Even though Yinzuo hadn't paid much attention, he had heard plenty of rumors these days. Some said that the Fourth Prince was so ruthless that he had driven an old man to suicide; some said that a member of the imperial family couldn't stand the Fourth Prince's constant pressure and knelt down in front of the Imperial Ancestral Temple; some said that a certain censor, along with other censors, had dared to impeach the Emperor. In short, all sorts of news kept emerging, updated in new and varied ways every day.
"See? I told you before not to take on this hot potato, but you wouldn't listen. Now look what's happened. Your reputation is really established. I heard that the memorials impeaching you from the Khan's side are almost filling up the study. If this continues, I estimate that soon someone will come to the Khan to prove their innocence with their own death."
Yinzhen was well aware of what Yinzuo was saying, but he still remembered the saying: if everyone chooses to mind their own business, what will happen to the huge deficit in the national treasury? Since someone has to step up, he naturally took on the responsibility.
"Alright, instead of making sarcastic remarks, why don't you help your fourth brother think of a solution? If this continues, not only will my reputation be ruined, but I might even lose my life."