EBE Chapter 462 There's a wealth of knowledge hidden in books!
Chapter 462 There's a wealth of knowledge hidden in books!
After using his clever tongue to make his mother smile, Yinzhuo sat down in front of Consort De and chatted with her about everyday matters.
“Mother, I think Hongxu really needs to be disciplined. You didn’t see it, but the other day he almost tore down my Shufeng Pavilion in Changchun Garden. Just now when I came here, he was with Hongming, ruining your flowers…”
Although Consort De and her son Hongxu were both willing to give and receive, did that stop Yinzhuo from reporting on his own son?
Consort De, the kind-hearted grandmother, clearly didn't see anything wrong with her grandson's mischievous behavior. As the saying goes, grandparents love their grandchildren more than their own children; those few potted plants couldn't compare to her precious grandson.
"Alright, it's just a few potted plants. They're nothing special. Let them ruin them if they want. Besides, don't think I don't know anything. Hongxu is a bit naughty, but you still punished him, didn't you? How can you do this to your father? How can you be so heartless? My precious grandson is so young, and you make him carry bricks all over the garden. If he gets exhausted, you'll regret it..."
Just as Emperor Kangxi would protect Yinzhi without any limits, Consort De's love for her several beloved grandsons was obviously blind as well. Yinzhi was too lazy to argue with her, so he sighed helplessly and began to change the subject.
“Mother, the New Year is just around the corner. This year, Fourteenth Brother is not in the capital. Fourteenth Brother and Sister-in-law are taking care of a group of children and managing a lot of things in the mansion. I don’t know if they have prepared everything for the New Year. Should you send someone to ask?”
Yinzhuo's tactic of diverting the blame was indeed effective; as soon as the Fourteenth Prince's mother was mentioned, her attention was immediately diverted.
"Sigh, it's been over a month since Fourteenth Prince left. I wonder where he is now. He must have suffered terribly in this freezing weather. I sent someone to his residence a couple of days ago to check on him. Hongkai fell ill a few days ago and hasn't fully recovered yet. I was worried that Fourteenth Prince's family wouldn't be able to manage taking care of the two children, so I brought Hongming back..."
Because of the influence of Yinzhuo, a butterfly from another world, the marriage ages of his brothers in this life are generally later than those recorded in history. For example, Hongming, who should have been born in the 44th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, was born in the 49th year of his reign.
Hongkai is only two years old this year, which is the age when he needs to be taken care of. Although there will be no shortage of people to serve the royal princes, how can a mother not be anxious when her child is sick? And people's experience is limited. They will naturally neglect the older child while taking care of the younger one. Therefore, Yinzhuo can understand why Consort De was worried about bringing the child back.
As the saying goes, even dogs dislike seven- or eight-year-olds. Hongming is at the age where he is very mischievous. After all, Consort De is getting old. Yinzhuo was afraid that leaving those two naughty boys with his mother would disturb her peace, so when he left, he simply took both of them with him.
There's a saying that goes, "It's hard to have it all." Consort De's side is finally at peace, but things are really getting lively for Yinzhuo. In just half a day, Yinzhuo has already reached his breaking point.
"Hongxu, Hongming, you two better keep quiet, or I won't mind opening your shop the day before New Year's Eve. Dexi, go and have someone bring over two tables, and fetch some writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones from the study. You two, copy that Classic of Filial Piety twice now, and on New Year's Day we'll take it to your grandmother and ancestors to swindle money..."
If Yinzhuo had said anything else, it might not have worked, but when he mentioned silver, the two little ones who were originally planning to protest immediately became much more obedient. Even though the father and son hadn't touched silver much yet, it didn't mean they didn't know the importance of money. After all, as the saying goes, "In books there are houses of gold, in books there are thousands of bushels of grain."
Yinzhuo clearly hadn't expected his casual remark to have such a positive effect. He was visibly stunned when the two little ones followed Dexi to sit down at the desk, and a somewhat immature idea flashed through his mind.
Because the Classic of Filial Piety could be used to swindle money, Hongxu and Hongming took it much more seriously when copying it. They not only strived for neat handwriting and a clean book, but they even copied it in Manchu, Mongolian and Chinese languages.
With the two families busy copying scriptures, Yinzhuo finally had a moment of peace. He tossed and turned on the couch for a long time before finally asking someone to bring him a brush, ink, paper, and inkstone, and he began to copy as well.
Yinzhuo had written the Classic of Filial Piety countless times since childhood, to the point that he could recite it from memory. Therefore, he didn't need to refer to the book; he could write it down as soon as he picked up a pen.
Yinzhuo currently has only three legitimate elders: Emperor Kangxi, the Empress Dowager, and Consort De. Therefore, he doesn't need to copy too many scriptures. In addition, given his consistently faster writing speed than most people, Hongxu and Hongming only copied the scriptures once, while he had almost finished copying his own three times.
Thanks to Yinzhuo's persuasion, on the night of the 29th of the lunar year, the two young princes who were temporarily residing in the South Third Palace were engaged in a battle late into the night. Alas, they had no choice but to fight, after all, this silver was not so easy to earn.
Before dawn on New Year's Eve, Yinzhuo was dragged out of bed by Dexi. He washed up in a daze and followed Dexi's lead out of the side hall of Qianqing Palace with his eyes half closed. He was still dazed when everyone sat down in the main hall.
“Liang Jiugong, go wring out a damp cloth and bring it over to wake up your Sixth Master. It’s one thing to fool the children into copying scriptures, but why are you joining in the nonsense yourself? You can tell from this that you didn’t get a good night’s rest last night…”
Kangxi's guess was both right and wrong. Yinzhuo did not get much rest last night, but it wasn't from copying books. He was mainly woken up in the middle of the night to take a walk, and then he had insomnia.
"And you say that, Father? I'm so regretful now. If I had known that those two little rascals, Hongxu and Hongming, were so greedy for money, I wouldn't have tricked them into thinking I could make money. Those two were really going all out to finish copying that scripture before today. Last night, they stayed up all night copying it until dawn. Dexi woke me up in the middle of the night and gave them a good scolding before they finally stopped..."
Yinzhu yawned, casually took the wet cloth handed to him by Liang Jiugong, smeared it on his face, wiped it a couple of times, and threw it on the table next to him.
Although he was groggy and had little appetite when he woke up early in the morning, Yinzhuo still sat down at the table and ate something under Kangxi's pressure. After tidying up, he went with Kangxi to the large square in front of Taihe Gate to attend court.
Yes, you heard right. Unlike the court sessions depicted in TV dramas, real-life court assemblies are held outdoors, usually in the squares of Taihe Gate or Qianqing Gate. Today's grand court assembly was held at Taihe Gate.