in2ebook Chapter 435 At least ask us a question while you're at it!
Chapter 435 At least ask us a question while you're at it!
It was indeed unfortunate that Yinzhuo and his companions came out today. Just as Yintang had said before, the brothers had just entered the waterside pavilion and had some tea when it started to snow outside. At first, the snowflakes were dense but not very heavy, but after a short while, the snow began to fall heavily.
"Sixth Brother, look how heavy the snow is outside. We probably won't be able to walk around for a while today. Ninth Brother, do you have anything to eat in your garden? I didn't eat anything in my rush this morning, and I'm a little hungry now."
Although Yinzhen does not live in this garden now, he spends most of his days here, so there is no shortage of food in the garden. Hearing this, he looked up at Yinzuo, who was sitting by the window of the waterside pavilion drinking tea and enjoying the snow, and got up to go over to ask for his opinion.
"Sixth Brother, it's snowing heavily outside. Are you going back to the manor now, or wait until the snow lightens up a bit? Fourteenth Brother is complaining of being hungry. If you're not in a hurry, I'll tell someone to go to the kitchen and have them prepare some dishes to send to Haitang Residence. The chefs here aren't as skilled as the imperial chefs back home, but they're still decent. Sixth Brother, just treat it as something new to try."
Although Yinzhuo had been pampered by his father since childhood, he was not a picky eater. As long as the food wasn't truly unpalatable, he could usually eat a little. In addition, the snow outside was indeed falling quite heavily, and he was too lazy to go back and forth. Hearing this, he nodded to Yintang and asked Dexi to bring him his cloak so he could put it on. He then followed Yintang toward Haitang Residence, where Yintang had been temporarily staying for the past few days.
Yinzhuo was well taken care of with food and drink. After eating and drinking his fill, he first lay down in the inner room and dozed off for a while. When he woke up and saw that the snow outside showed no sign of stopping, he was not in a hurry. He pulled up a chair, sat by the window, watched the snow for a while, and then dozed off again. Dexi was obviously very used to his master's behavior of taking naps wherever he wanted. Seeing that Yinzhuo's eyes were closed again, he hurriedly went to the side to get his cloak and wrapped him up tightly.
Compared to Yinzhuo's carefree behavior, Kangxi was obviously much more anxious. With darkness approaching and his two sons showing no sign of returning, the old father could no longer sit still.
“That bastard Fourteenth, he never stops causing trouble, and today the weather is so bad, yet he still dares to drag his Sixth Brother out to fool around. It’s snowing so heavily outside, and they don’t have a carriage. Yinzhuo’s health has never been very good; if he comes back in this snow, he’ll surely fall ill. Liang Jiugong, take some men and get on the carriage to meet them…”
Liang Jiugong went straight to Yinzhen's garden to greet him. When he arrived with his men, the three brothers were having hot pot in the flower hall of Haitang Residence. They were clearly taken aback when they heard that Liang Jiugong had come.
"Eunuch Liang, it's snowing outside and getting dark. What brings you here? Has something happened to Father?"
It's no wonder that Yinzhuo would think that way. Liang Jiugong was Kangxi's personal eunuch and rarely left his side. His coming here today in the wind and snow was bound to cause bad associations.
Liang Jiunong served Emperor Kangxi, and reading people's expressions was his basic skill for survival. He could tell what Yinzhuo was thinking just by looking at his face, so he quickly stepped forward and bowed.
"Your Highness need not worry. Everything is fine on His Majesty's side. The reason I came here now is because His Majesty was worried that the gentlemen would not have a carriage when they returned, so he sent me to welcome the young masters."
No wonder they were able to serve Emperor Kangxi; their whispered words were so pleasant to hear. Since they already knew that Emperor Kangxi was anxious, Yinzhuo and the others naturally couldn't let their father wait there idly. So they all got up, wrapped themselves up tightly, and followed Liang Jiugong toward the carriage parked outside the door.
Although Yinzhi's garden was not far from the villa, the carriage took almost half an hour to arrive because it was dark and the road was slippery. Kangxi had been worried for so long, and when he saw Yinzhi and the others enter from outside with Liang Jiugong, he quickly got up to greet them. Before they could even greet him, he pulled Yinzhi over and looked him over from head to toe. After confirming that he was alright, he turned his gaze to the other two who were waiting to the side.
"Alright, you two, stop standing around here. Go find a place to sit down over there. By the way, have you all eaten? If not, I'll have someone go to the Imperial Kitchen and make you something. Yinzhuo, is there anything you'd like to eat?"
It's true what they say, there's no harm without comparison. If you only heard Kangxi's first few sentences, you wouldn't have thought much of it, but with that last sentence, the conversation suddenly became intense. We're saying, "Father, can't you see the two of us sitting right here? All you do is ask Sixth Brother what he wants to eat? At least ask us something too! What's the meaning of this? We just left it at that."
Regardless of what Kangxi meant, Yinzhen and the Fourteenth Prince only dared to mutter a few words about their father in their hearts. Yinzuo, on the other hand, never held back when speaking to his father, and upon hearing this, he almost blurted out those words.
"Father, could you please have the Imperial Kitchen send over a hot pot? We had just set out the pot before we hadn't even had a couple of bites when Eunuch Liang and his men arrived. He rushed back in such a hurry so you wouldn't worry. I'm really hungry right now."
Since Yinzhuo had said he wanted to eat hot pot, Liang Jiugong immediately beckoned to Wan Quan, who was waiting nearby, and sent him to the imperial kitchen. He also specifically instructed Wan Quan to make sure that all the dishes that the ancestor usually liked to eat were prepared.
Compared to the hot pot they had eaten in Yinzhen's garden, the ingredients at Kangxi's place were obviously much more plentiful. Yinzhen was indeed hungry at this moment, and as soon as the food was served, he pulled Kangxi and called for Yinzhen. The Fourteenth Prince got up and walked to the table.
After eating and drinking their fill, Yinzhen and the Fourteenth Prince did not linger. After sitting for a while, they got up to take their leave and go back to rest. Yinzhuo's residence was next to Yanbo Zhishuang Palace, so he was not in a hurry to leave. He pulled Kangxi around the room a few times to digest his food, and then he took out a travelogue and settled down on the south kang in the west warm pavilion to read it leisurely.
Kangxi was too lazy to care about him. He had Liang Jiugong bring over the memorials sent from the capital and place them on the kang table next to Yinzhuo. He then put on his glasses and began to read the memorials attentively.
By the time Kangxi finished dealing with the stack of memorials in front of him and looked up, Yinzhuo had already covered his face with a book and was fast asleep, oblivious to the passage of time.
"Liang Jiugong, come over and move this kang table down, and find two more people to help your Sixth Master move over here. It's uncomfortable to see him curled up in such a ball. If he's moved over, he'll be more comfortable."