Chapter 51 Chapter 51 After Yinzhen and Yinsi finished their hot

springs... Yinzhen and Yinsi returned to the main camp via a small path. On the second day of hunting, because the eldest prince, the most skilled in martial arts, was absent, and the third prince had deliberately avoided competing with the crown prince, the crown prince took first place. Yinsi, unassuming but not mediocre, finished behind the crown prince and the third prince.

Kangxi, in a rare display of compliments, praised the crown prince, the third prince, and Yinsi. He even noted that Yinsi, despite being the youngest, was among the best in both literary and martial arts. He even jokingly urged Yinzhen to learn more from his younger brother.

Yinzhen, usually expressionless, actually accepted Kangxi's words and vowed to work even harder.

The princes and ministers standing by were bewildered. The current court situation was far too chaotic. The eldest prince and the crown prince had been feuding for two years, and now the eighth prince had emerged. And today, the emperor even praised the eighth prince, even though he was also raised by Concubine Xuan, by stepping over the fourth prince.

Wasn't this a sincere attempt to sow discord between the two brothers?

Then there was the fourth prince's icy expression... though he usually didn't show anything, it certainly wasn't a good thing, and he must have been unhappy.

In fact, Yinzhen couldn't help but cheer for his eighth brother. While his mind was blessed by a past life, he was still only seven or eight years old. And Yinsi was holding back today. His proficiency in horseback riding and archery must have been a testament to his hard work, truly worthy of being his younger brother.

Naturally, Yinsi didn't take Kangxi's words to heart. He agreed outwardly, but inwardly he was calculating how to divide the skins he had taken back to the palace.

There was also some venison and mutton, preferably frozen, that could be transported back to the palace for their mother to cook.

Two months later, Kangxi returned to the Forbidden City with a procession as grand as the one he had left.

Wen Shan and the concubines greeted him at the palace gate, and after a long day of breezy autumn breeze, they finally waited for Kangxi's return.

As Kangxi dismounted from the palanquin, he immediately saw Wen Shan and Concubine De. The Crown Prince and several princes also arrived from behind.

"Noble Concubine Xuan has been working hard at the palace these days," Kangxi said with a smile as she helped Wen Shan up.

Wen Shan stood up, her eyes drifting back, searching for Yinzhen and Yinsi. Reassured to see them both safely returned, she said with a smile, "Your Majesty, you are most sorry for this. It is you, my sisters, who have been working harder out there."

Noble Concubine Nianhulu, standing beside Kangxi, also smiled and said a few words.

"I just have something to report to the Emperor," Wen Shan said, looking up. "The Imperial Concubine

's condition has worsened recently, making it difficult for her to get out of bed and walk. I hope Your Majesty will visit her once or twice." The Imperial Concubine's illness was a chronic one, but it was being managed with medication. Everyone in the harem knew this. Initially, Tong Jia Shi persisted, sending in precious herbs from outside the palace, including several hundred-year-old wild ginseng. But no matter how good the medicine was, it proved ineffective.

The imperial physician privately revealed to Kangxi that the Imperial Concubine's illness was a heart disease, now stagnant and depleted of both Qi and blood. The Imperial Concubine herself was still grieving the loss of her son and daughter, making her illness incurable.

Kangxi simply sighed and declared he understood.

He patted Wen Shan's hand and looked at Concubine De, who had been standing quietly by her side.

"Concubine De seems much better. How is Yinzhen doing lately?"

Concubine De replied gently, "Everything is fine. "

Kangxi inquired about Concubine Min's condition,

and Wenshan replied that both mother and daughter were doing well. Concubine Min had taken good care of herself during her pregnancy and recovered quickly, and the little princess had grown fair and beautiful. Wenshan had been visiting her often lately, bringing Yinxiang with her.

Kangxi, for some reason, had suddenly reverted to his fatherly persona, questioning each of the younger princes and princesses still in the palace about their daily lives.

Wenshan stood nearby, her smile almost fading. They had literally been standing there in the cold wind for half an hour. What was there to chat about standing by the doorway? Kangxi

could just go to her palace that night to chat with whomever he liked. Fortunately, Wenshan didn't hold her grudges for long before Kangxi dismissed them, sending

them back to their respective palaces to rest. As soon as Kangxi left, Wenshan waved to Yinzhen and Yinsi, who quickly trotted over.

Wenshan examined them closely: both had a slight tan, but not lost weight. They looked more energetic, evidently from their frequent horse racing in the past two months.

"How come there are so many things?"

Wen Shan couldn't help but be shocked when she saw the eunuchs behind them, each of them carrying large and small bags. The two children had already sent back a lot of things before they even went home, and they were all meat and vegetables. Wen Shan was speechless for a while, wondering how she had raised these two to be such foodies.

Then, Yinxiang, another foodie in Xianfu Palace, pestered her to make some of these things for him to try before Yinzhen and Yinsi returned.

"My fourth brother and I hunted a lot of things this time, and there are also some that my uncle prepared for mother. We brought them all back." Yinsi hugged Wen Shan's arm, and he couldn't hide his joy at meeting again after not seeing her for several months.

"Come on, I think you guys are having so much fun that you haven't even written back a single letter." Wen Shan tapped Yinsi's forehead.

Yinzhen's good mood was evident, even helping Yinsi explain that the Mulan hunting trip was rushed and nothing had happened. They'd considered sending letters back and forth, a hassle, and worried they might return before the letter arrived, so they'd given up.

Wenshan didn't mean to scold them; it was just a rare moment of conversation for the three of them on the way back to the palace.

Upon arriving at Xianfu Palace, Laifu and Fuqi were the first to greet them, tails wagging. The two dogs were very considerate and ran to their respective owners. Fuqi circled around Yinzhen, while Laifu jumped directly into Yinsi's arms.

Yinsi stroked Laifu's fur and said, puzzled, "Why does Laifu look thinner?"

Yinzhen nodded, his doubts echoing.

"Well, he's not thinner, he's stronger," Wenshan said softly.

After being subjected to intense daily training by Xiao Shisan, who wanted to run ten laps around the Imperial Garden, it would be strange if he didn't lose weight.

Fortunately, Yinzhen and Yinsi didn't dwell on it too much. They rubbed the dogs' heads and let them go to play.

"Where's my thirteenth brother? Why didn't he come out?" Yinsi looked inside. The palace maids and eunuchs had all come out and were helping to put away the things they brought back, but there was no sign of Yinxiang.

He hadn't even come out to greet his two good brothers in two months. It was a pity that he and his fourth brother were still thinking about him every day.

Yinzhen asked worriedly, "Is my thirteenth brother sick?"

"No, he's fine. Yinxiang is taking care of some things in the room. Maybe he can't get away."

Yinsi was happy when he heard it: "He's only a few years old. What can he handle?"

Yinzhen and Yinsi took good care of Yinxiang. Even though they knew that Yinxiang was also reborn and couldn't be treated as an ordinary child, the two brothers still doted on him. They didn't assign him any work, whether in the palace or outside the palace. Every day he was the most leisurely and happy person in Xianfu Palace.

So Yinsi immediately walked into the main hall upon hearing this, with Yinzhen following closely behind.

When he pushed open the door, he saw Yinxiang hunched over the desk, frowning and holding a brush, looking as if he hated evil.

"How despicable! This deputy chief steward of the Imperial Household Department actually dared to embezzle money for his own benefit. Catch him, arrest him, chop him off!" Yinxiang's small face puffed up with anger, and he raised his hand to protest.

"Who do you want to arrest?"

Yinxiang stopped writing and scratched his ears. How could he be hallucinating? He actually heard the voice of the myna.

Yinxiang was small, and when Yinzhen and Yinsi entered the room, they were blocked by the screen in front of them, so he didn't see them for a while.

In addition, the palace servants in Xianfu Palace were trained by the fourth brother to do things quietly and quickly, so Yinxiang didn't expect that Yinzhen and the others had returned.

Then the next second he really saw the myna wandering over with a smile on his face.

It wasn't an auditory hallucination!

The fourth brother and the myna were really back!

Yinxiang threw the brush in his hand and jumped off the couch, grinning: "Fourth brother, myna, you are back!"

Yinzhen picked up Yinxiang and asked: "What are you busy with? Why didn't you go to the palace gate to meet the emperor?"

Fortunately, the emperor didn't ask why Yinxiang didn't come.

"I wanted to go, but Mother told me not to go today because it was too windy."

Wen Shan followed in, took off her cloak, and said, "It's a good thing I didn't let you go, otherwise you'd be frozen to death by now."

Yinsi was now the youngest child in the palace, besides the newly born Fourteenth Prince and the little princess. It was understandable that he didn't go to the palace gate to greet him in such a cold weather.

Yinxiang hugged Yinzhen's neck and said, "I'm so bored to death when you're not here. I can't eat or play."

"Really? Why do I feel like you've gained a few pounds?" Yinzhen raised an eyebrow and weighed Yinxiang to confirm that he had indeed gained a few pounds.

Curious, Yinsi walked over to the table to see what Yinxiang had been busy with. His face turned green at the sight.

"Mother, you actually handed over the palace affairs to Yinxiang?"

Wen Shan felt guilty: "Uh... well..."

It seemed that she was indeed doing child labor.

Seeing this, Yinxiang immediately stepped forward and said, "I begged Mother to let me do this. Don't worry about these trivial matters, Mother. I can handle it!"

Yinsi picked up several papers that Yinxiang had just approved and read out the contents.

"The Imperial Kitchen requested 500 taels of silver to purchase 100 kilograms of fresh vegetables and 20 kilograms of pork and mutton each."

After Yinsi finished reading, Yinxiang held his head high and said, "Do you think I'm a fool? 500 taels of silver for such a small thing?"

"So you just replied, 'I won't give you a cent unless you bring your head to me.'"

Yinxiang said confidently, "Since these corrupt officials have brought their corruption to my attention, I must teach them a lesson."

"The fish in the mirror pond in the Imperial Garden are overrun with fish. The supervisor asked what to do about it. What did you say?" Yinsi's face darkened.

Yinxiang plucked a biscuit from the cookie box on the table and ate it while saying, "These fish look good, but they're not tasty. Since they're so abundant, let's catch them all. Fuqi and Laifu love fish the most. Send a few bags to everyone in the palace who keeps dogs and cats."

Wen Shan: "..."

Fortunately, this reply wasn't distributed, otherwise the entire harem would have been filled with the fishy odor.

Yinsi took a deep breath and picked up the next piece of paper, forcing himself not to slap it in Yinxiang's face.

"So, what does this mean?"

It described the Vice-General Manager of the Imperial Household Department, whom Yinxiang had been scolding when they entered, for embezzling money.

Yinxiang replied, "Bullshit! You little bastard..." before finishing the rest.

"Didn't my dear see it all? This Sun Xun embezzled money and acted so arrogantly. I wonder who's backing him up," Yinxiang muttered.

Yinzhen coughed twice and whispered to him, "This Sun Xun is your brother's man."

Yinxiang's eyes widened, and he looked at Yinsi in disbelief: "Brother, so you're the one backing him up. You're not strict with your subordinates."

Yinsi was so angry that he had a headache. After calming himself down, he said, "Don't you notice the difference between this memorial and the previous ones?"

What's the difference? Aren't they both official documents?

Yinzhen kindly pointed to a small "eight" printed on the title page.

This was a private letter submitted to Yinsi, not a palace document.

Somehow Yinxiang found it and mixed it up.

Yinxiang rubbed his head, suddenly realizing, "Could this be your brother's order..."

Yinsi glared at him. Of course it was his order. These accounts were specially made to settle the accounts. This Sun Xun, the deputy chief of the Imperial Household Department, was the person Yinsi used to openly bring money from outside the palace into the palace.

"This... You didn't inform me in advance, so you can't blame me, Eighth Brother." Yinxiang laughed awkwardly.

Yinsi was so confused that he looked like he had lost all hope.

He didn't know what kind of mess Yinxiang had made in the palace during the two months he was away. Well, he would have to clean up the mess as soon as he came back.

"Mother, that's why I asked why the palace affairs were handed over to the thirteenth brother." Yinsi turned his head and said dimly.

The thirteenth brother's style of doing things was fine in the previous dynasty when the fourth brother was in power, but he was completely different when it came to managing the affairs of the harem today.

Wen Shan felt a little distressed when she saw Yinxiang's somewhat lost look, and quickly said: "It's okay, there was nothing wrong in the palace during the two months. Yinxiang handled it very well and there was no trouble."

Yinzhen also spoke for Yinxiang and asked him to sort out with them later if there was anything that needed to be explained again.

Yinxiang came to Yinsi and said in a flattering way: "Don't be angry, my dear brother. I was bored in the palace too. I wanted to take Fuqi and Laifu out for some fun, but these two dogs are lazy by nature. They just won't move after running for two days."

Yinzhen and Yinsi looked at each other, as if they knew why Fuqi and Laifu were a little wilted and thin.

Even dogs can go around the thirteenth brother, he is really something.

Yinsi held his forehead helplessly. If they came back a month later, Yinxiang would catch all the rats in Xianfu Palace.

So Yinsi decisively kicked Yinxiang away and told him not to get involved in these palace affairs. The people working under him were looking forward to Yinsi's return. They almost cried and told others to tell him.

The eighth master is finally back, and the hard times are over!

Wen Shan had also been busy all afternoon preparing a large table of dishes to welcome Yinzhen and Yinsi. Just as she had finished clearing the food and was about to call the three brothers to dinner, she noticed several furs spread out on the mattress—white, gray, and black. Yinxiang paced back and forth, finally rolling over on them to feel them.

Yinzhen lifted him up and said, "These are all destined for the various imperial concubines."

Yinxiang grumbled, "Isn't there one for me?"

He couldn't even pick one out.

Since he was small now, any fur would cover him. He could feel which one was most comfortable and take it home to use as a mattress. The weather had been getting cooler recently, and the thought of wrapping himself in this fluffy mattress and warming himself by the charcoal stove when it snowed was a delight.

Yinzhen saw Wen Shan approaching and holding out another snow-white fur from the side.

"Mother, this is a rare white tiger that my uncle personally hunted. He specifically asked us to bring it back for you."

Wen Shan was also delighted and treasured it.

The remaining few were packed up by Zhenzhu and the others, and then sent back to Noble Lady Min, Noble Lady Wei, and the Imperial Noble Consort.

Speaking of the Imperial Noble Consort, Yinzhen couldn't help but ask, "Mother, you said earlier that your condition had worsened. I wonder how she is doing now?"

Ever since the Imperial Noble Consort gave Yinzhen almost everything she had, including the land deeds and property, their relationship had entered a delicate period of calm.

The Imperial Noble Consort never took the initiative to ask Yinzhen to go to Chengqian Palace. Initially, Yinzhen would go there every few days, but the Imperial Noble Consort only saw him twice out of five times, and when they did, they were relatively speechless and could only exchange dry, polite words.

Too many things had led mother and son to their current situation, and there was no turning back, no explanation.

The Imperial Noble Consort felt embarrassed and didn't want to embarrass Yinzhen, so she told him not to come so often in the future. Once a month would be enough, and she wouldn't see him more often.

Yinzhen would visit Chengqian Palace at the beginning of every month. Over the past few years, whether he was on a southern tour or on the Mulan Hunting Tour, he would never forget to bring a gift for the Imperial Concubine.

Yinzhen had long known from Yinsi that the Imperial Concubine's previous life would end at the beginning of the next year, with only a few months left.

The Imperial Concubine's illness was a heart disease, incurable, and even if he wanted to change her fate, there was no way.

"It's not looking good. Go see the Imperial Concubine after lunch," Wen Shan sighed. "When Concubine Min was giving birth, the Imperial Concubine insisted on going to see her, but within two days her condition worsened."

At this point, Wen Shan told Yinzhen and Yinsi what the Imperial Concubine had said in the Imperial Garden that day, that she would help transfer Yinzhen's imperial certificate to her name.

Yinzhen was silent for a moment.

Looking around, Yinsi felt the atmosphere was somewhat heavy. He smiled and said, "If the Imperial Concubine hadn't told us earlier, we wouldn't have had to make so many arrangements."

But the words were clearly a joke, and Yinsi quickly added, "Fourth brother, when you meet with the Imperial Concubine later, tell her to rest assured and recuperate, and not worry about these things."

They had already begun making arrangements for Yinzhen to revise the Imperial Book of Documents, waiting for the next year to arrive and complete the task. The Imperial Concubine was already seriously ill, so it was better not to burden her with her illness.

Yinzhen nodded, thinking the same thing.

Just as they were about to start lunch, Baoquan came in and announced that the Emperor had gone to Chengqian Palace and had lunch and rested with

the Imperial Concubine. "I understand. Let me know when the Emperor leaves,"

Baoquan replied, and left.

With the Emperor there, it would be inconvenient for Yinzhen to go over. Yinzhen thought for a moment and decided to go back that evening, so he could have dinner with the Imperial Concubine.

Wen Shan expressed her support, saying she'd make him some nourishing, light dishes suitable for patients.

Today's lunch featured all three children's favorites, along with various meats Yinzhen and Yinsi had brought back from Mongolia. After two months of gorging on lumps of meat in Mongolia, the two experienced a surge in appetites after Wen Shan's cooking, both having a much better stomach than before.

Yinxiang, on the other hand, generously explained that he'd been eating too much of Mother's cooking lately and wouldn't compete with them.

Yinzhen and Yinsi exchanged glances, sensing something was amiss.

"Thirteenth brother, did you ask Mother to make you something before we got back?" Yinsi narrowed his eyes at him.

Wen Shan threw her hands up helplessly; she hadn't said that.

Yinxiang feigned ignorance, chuckling, "How can that be called eating beforehand? I'm giving you a taste test!"

"..."

After lunch, the three brothers, without a nap, went off to talk, trying to align their thoughts.

Although Yinxiang oversaw palace affairs with considerable authority, he was well aware of any developments. As for the biggest wild card during the Mulan Hunt, Longkodo was naturally the real issue.

"What? Longkodo's already with Huang Ama?" Yinxiang rested his chin on his hand, thoughtful. "We haven't heard the news either."

"Tong Guowei introduced him during the Mulan Hunt," Yinzhen said.

Not taking up his post in the capital also saved him a lot of trouble.

"In my opinion, it's not a big deal. A day earlier or later doesn't matter much," Yinxiang waved off.

Yinsi, still sorting through the replies Yinxiang had approved, glanced up at him and said, "Then I'll leave the Longkodo matter to you?"

"I'll go, of course. It's not like I haven't dealt with him before," Yinxiang said confidently.

"Okay, then, go ahead. Longkodo and my brother are connected," Yinsi said casually.

"Huh?!"

Yinxiang was so startled that he nearly fell off the couch.

Why is this progress so fast?!

Longkodo had indeed sided with the eldest prince in the past, but that was only after Kangxi personally led the eldest prince to fight against Galdan and achieved military merit. How could he be so different now?

The eldest prince's greatest supporter, Mingzhu, had just been demoted, so why would Longkodo choose the eldest prince at this time?

Speaking of this, when Yinzhen and Yinsi sent people to investigate, they were quite speechless.

Longkodo's quick decision to side this time was partly due to their own reasons.

Yinzhen and his friends wanted to bring down the crown prince as soon as possible, and after much deliberation, they could only use the eldest prince's help. So, he instigated a few ministers in the court who were already wavering to heat up the dispute between the eldest prince and the crown prince in advance, preferably at the end of the three expeditions against Galdan, when the eldest prince's military achievements were at their peak, to settle the matter. Unexpectedly, before the ministers could even try to fool them, Longkodo fell for it.

Yinsi was speechless and choked up, wondering how on earth this man could react so quickly and cleverly when he was in Changchun Garden. He didn't look very smart!

It turned out that he relied on luck to bet, and he became successful after winning once.

Yinsi couldn't help but ask if this person was really useful.

"People who work under us must be loyal and not too stupid. If they don't have enough brains, they will be easily hooked. This can overturn the whole boat."

Especially since they can't reveal anything about what they are doing now, so as not to let Longkodo ruin things.

Yinxiang also said that Longkodo has some abilities, but he is indeed lacking in brains. He can be used but not for a big deal.

Yinzhen pondered for a while and said: "In this case, it doesn't matter if someone else is the governor of the Nine Gates."