EBE Chapter 30 The Prince Who Appeared Foolish but Was Wise
Chapter 30 The Prince Who Appeared Foolish but Was Wise
The night before, Yinzhuo thought his fourth brother was worrying unnecessarily, but as Yinzhen had feared, he fell ill the very night he returned from spring plowing. His body proved him right, he was indeed a useless piece of trash.
"Imperial Physician Li, please come and take a look at the Sixth Prince. He was fine before going to bed, but somehow he developed a fever in the middle of the night."
"Don't worry, the temperature doesn't feel too high. You probably sweated while spring plowing yesterday and caught a chill from the wind..."
While delirious with fever, Yinzhu overheard the conversation between Dexi and Imperial Physician Li. At that moment, he had only one thought in his mind: This is it, my brothers will definitely laugh at me when they find out about this.
As Yinzhuo had expected, his brothers were very eager to see him suffer. Because they were tired from spring plowing yesterday, Kangxi gave them an extra day off out of concern for his son. So, the princes, who had nothing to do, came to visit him one after another early in the morning after receiving the news.
"Sixth brother, your little body can't take much work. Look at Eighth brother, who is so much younger than you. He also worked all day in the fields yesterday, and he's still full of energy today. I think you're just too lazy and lack exercise..."
"Sixth brother, it's not that I'm criticizing you, but now that you're better, you can't be as lazy as before. How about this, from now on, I'll call you along every morning when I exercise..."
"Big brother's idea is good. Sixth brother, you should train with big brother more in the future. Even if you don't become super strong, at least you won't be so weak and frail..."
Faced with his brothers' concerns, advice, and generally gloating teasing, Yinzhu simply gave up and laughed it off. He was now like a dead pig that wasn't afraid of boiling water, and he accepted everything without batting an eye.
"Third Brother is right. I should learn from Eighth Brother. But Third Brother is wrong about one thing: a man can't say he can't do it. I may be a bit lazy sometimes, but I'm quite capable. Look at these muscles on my arms..."
"Thank you, brother. I appreciate your kindness, but please don't invite me to practice. With my current skill level, I'd only be dragging you down..."
"Fourth Brother, believe me, this was completely an accident. Don't worry, I promise I won't slack off in archery lessons anymore. I'll definitely do my best. Let's not trouble you any further, Big Brother."
After finally getting rid of the brothers who had come to watch the commotion, he hadn't even had a chance to lie down for a short while when Kangxi received the news and sent people over as well. Then came Consort De. In short, throughout the morning, people were coming and going in Yinzhuo's courtyard, making it quite lively.
Although Yinzhuo's illness came on fiercely, fortunately, as Physician Li said, it was just a case of catching a cold after sweating and was not serious. After Yinzhen and Dexi made him drink bitter medicine soup for a few days, our Sixth Prince was full of energy again.
After May, even the young princes like Yinzhi, who were engrossed in their studies and oblivious to the world outside, had heard about the increasingly tense atmosphere in the court. This was even more true for Yinzuo, who would frequently visit the Qianqing Palace.
Ever since the news spread that Emperor Kangxi was going to wage war against the Dzungars, the eldest prince, who was usually seen in the Imperial Study from time to time, has not appeared. It is said that he has been assigned by Emperor Kangxi to the camp outside the capital to assist Prince Yu, Fuquan. Meanwhile, Crown Prince Yinreng has been directly tied to Emperor Kangxi's side, and he has been personally guided by Emperor Kangxi to familiarize himself with the affairs of the court.
For several days now, Yinzhuo has stopped wandering around the Qianqing Palace as usual. It's not that Kangxi is too busy to pay attention to him, nor is it that he is self-aware enough to think that going there would cause trouble. Rather, he thinks Kangxi is too inconsiderate. He is busy himself and can't stand Kangxi being idle. Every time Yinzhuo goes there, he is given a bunch of unimportant greetings to deal with. Although it is very simple to deal with, he only needs to write "read" on each one. However, Yinzhuo still feels that this behavior is too eye-catching and too dangerous.
“I’m telling you, Yinzhuo, you’re being a bit ungrateful. Being able to share the burdens of Father Khan is a blessing we can’t ask for. Are you sure you’re not just showing off?”
When Yinzhi learned that Yinzuo was avoiding going to the Qianqing Palace to avoid helping Kangxi process the memorials of greeting, his first thought was that Yinzuo had really gotten arrogant. He knew that among all the princes, not even the eldest prince (excluding the Crown Prince) had ever touched a memorial. Was it because they disliked him? On the contrary, they liked him too much! It was all thanks to his father's trust; he'd already let him handle the memorials that only the Emperor and the Crown Prince could access. What more could he want…?
That's why they say they're brothers from the same bloodline. Sure enough, everyone's reaction after hearing the news was similar to Yinzhi's, thinking that Yinzuo was ungrateful.
"Third Brother is right, Sixth Brother, you really have gotten too big for your britches..."
"Sixth Brother, you're just blatantly showing off..."
"Yes, Sixth Brother, you're just a well-fed man who doesn't know the hunger of an starving man. We'd love to share Father's burdens, but they won't give us the chance..."
Yinzhuo glanced at the little boy in front of him who was making sarcastic remarks along with everyone else, and then raised his hand to give Yintang a sharp rap on the forehead.
"Ha, you think a well-fed man doesn't know the hunger of a starving man? Are you even a man? You're just a boy at best. Trying to imitate your sixth brother's sour words like your third brother, you'd better sit down over there and behave yourself."
If anyone else dared to flick Yinzhen's forehead like that, he definitely wouldn't let it go. Even if he couldn't get revenge at the time, he would find a way to retaliate later. But since it was his sixth brother who flicked his forehead today, he could only mutter under his breath, no matter how unwilling he was.
"Hmph, Sixth Brother only bullies me and Yinzhen. Third Brother, Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, Seventh Brother, I've already told you, why don't you go and beat them?"
Seeing that Yinzhen still dared to talk back in a low voice, Yinzuo couldn't help but raise his hand and give him another slap.
"Of course it's because I want to! Who told you to be the younger brother and me the older brother? What, you're not happy about it? How about your sixth brother flicks it back at you?"
Seeing that Yinzhen had been hit on the head twice by his sixth brother in a short time because of his sharp tongue, and fearing that his dear ninth brother would be stunned by his sixth brother's finger flick, Yinzhen quickly pulled his ninth brother to act as a peacemaker.
"We're convinced, we're convinced, Sixth Brother and Ninth Brother are definitely convinced. You and the other brothers sit down first. Ninth Brother and I are getting bored, we're going out for a walk."
Seeing Yinzhen drag Yintang away, Yinzuo felt extremely bored. He lazily returned to his previous seat and looked at the brothers who had been watching him and the Ninth Prince play around.
"This Ninth Prince usually seems clever, but he's actually a stubborn fool with a bad temper and a deep mind. The key is that he doesn't know how to be flexible. Although the Tenth Prince doesn't seem as clever as him and is terrible at his studies, he can still judge the situation. Look at Yinzhen's personality, I don't know how many times I've flicked his head by now. Why doesn't he understand the saying 'a wise man doesn't fight a losing battle'? Look at Yinzhen, that's true wisdom in feigning foolishness."
The Ninth Prince, who had suffered a loss before his eyes, was dragged out of the Imperial Study by the Tenth Prince, Yinzhen, still muttering to himself.
"Tenth Brother, why did you drag me out like this? Sixth Brother said that Third Brother, Fourth Brother, and Fifth Brother are the older brothers, but Seventh Brother is also a younger brother. Why am I the only one who gets beaten up?"
The seemingly foolish but actually wise Tenth Prince, Yinzhen, was now utterly speechless at his Ninth Brother.
"Why would I pull you out? If I hadn't pulled you out, you'd probably be stunned by Sixth Brother's flick on the head by now. Ninth Brother, are you only listening to half of what I'm saying? Didn't you hear the first half of what Sixth Brother said? He's willing, he's willing to hit you. What, are you going to bounce back?"