in2ebook Chapter 295 Seemingly Having Lost All Strength and Means
Chapter 295 Seemingly Having Lost All Strength and Means
Even though Yinti and the others didn't say anything, Liang Jiugong could understand what they wanted to say just by looking at their expressions. He smiled and nodded slightly to Yinti and the others before speaking seriously.
"My lords, you've suffered today. His Majesty is still inside waiting for you to join him in the second half of the performance. Please rise and follow me..."
Since it was said that they would kneel outside with their shirts off, Yinti, Yinreng, and the others naturally could not go in wearing cloaks. Before entering, they took off their cloaks and handed them to the palace servants waiting nearby. Wearing only their undergarments, they followed Liang Jiugong into the house.
Yinzhuo, who was inside the room, had no idea that he was being tricked by his father and his brothers. He was standing at the door, anxiously waiting. As soon as he saw Yinti and the others come in, he quickly stepped forward to greet them.
"Brothers, I'm truly sorry. Today, it's all my fault that we've all suffered together. But to be honest, it's not entirely my fault. It's mainly because our father is too willful. I've already said I'll take responsibility for my own actions, but he insisted on this system of collective punishment. See? The price I paid to save you from this predicament is too high. If I ever lose control and drink some alcohol, you'd better go easy on me, especially eldest brother. Even if you can't help but want to punish me, try not to slap me in the face. Alright, enough of this. Come on, let's pass this around. If you think it's okay, then sign it. Once it's settled, we're all in this together..."
Why circulate it? You know, Yinti and Yinreng are in cahoots with Kangxi. They know exactly what's written on it. The group took the paper filled with Yinzuo's blood and tears from Yinzuo's hand, pretended to read it, and then all looked at Kangxi sitting to the side. The meaning was clear—it's your turn.
"Do you have any objections to what's written above? If not, then this matter is settled. From now on, no one is allowed to give Yinzhuo any wine. Not only can you not give him any, but you also have to keep an eye on him so that no one else can give him any either. Yinzhuo, listen to me carefully, if you dare to touch wine again, I will punish your elder brother and the others..."
In short, Yinzhuo has now lost all his strength and means. As the saying goes, no one knows a son better than his father. His father genuinely doesn't want to punish him, but he also genuinely knows how to do so. If it were Yinzhuo himself who was being punished, he certainly wouldn't listen. But since he's not being punished, and if his mistakes drag his elder brothers down with him, then he'd feel... Sigh, you all look like tough, unyielding men, why don't you think of resisting? Putting everything else aside, wasn't this signing of the agreement a little too hasty...?
But it was too late to say anything now. Seeing the Fourteenth Prince pick up the pen, sign his name, and affix his personal seal to the paper, Yinzhuo's heart, which had been hanging in suspense, finally died. He could only say that his father's move was brilliant. This contract not only tied the brothers together like grasshoppers on a rope, but also severed his lifelong ties with the word "wine"...
Kangxi held the paper presented by Liang Jiugong and looked at it with great satisfaction for a while before carefully folding it and handing it to Liang Jiugong, who was waiting nearby, to take it away and keep it safe. Although the temperature inside the Qianqing Palace was suitable, Yinti and the others were, after all, princes, and it was somewhat unsightly for them to stand there in only a single layer of clothing. Fortunately, they had only taken off their clothes and hadn't come out naked. With a word from Kangxi, someone went to retrieve the clothes they had taken off earlier, and in no time, they were all looking presentable again.
"Father, I've heard that these past few days you've only been feeding me medicine and porridge, nothing proper. I'm starving right now. Could you please have some mercy and have the imperial kitchen send some food over? Eldest brother, second brother, third brother, fourth brother... does anyone want anything to eat? If so, have them send it over too. Eunuch Liang, I want to eat..."
Yinzhu asked Kangxi if the imperial kitchen could send him some food, but his actions showed no regard for his father's permission. Look, before Kangxi even said anything, he had already ordered half a table of food. It's clear that his inquiry was just a formality, a way to reassure himself. He was essentially asking for Kangxi's opinion, but whether Kangxi agreed or not was not his concern.
Yinzhuo had always been arrogant in his father's eyes, so neither the master of Qianqing Palace, Kangxi, nor his fellow brothers Yinti saw anything wrong with his current behavior of taking the lead. In fact, the carefree Fourteenth Prince even went over to discuss with his Sixth Brother whether the ribs should be braised or stewed.
"Sixth Brother, that's enough already. I've counted for you, and you've already rattled off over thirty dishes in just a short while. How big is your stomach? Can you really eat all that? Don't be like last time, stuffing yourself so much that you had to run around in the garden clutching your stomach. In this freezing weather, you'll definitely catch a cold if you go out for a walk..."
Although he felt it was a bit of a pity, Yinzhuo had to admit that his elder brother was right. As the saying goes, although the food was free, it was his own stomach. To stuff himself to death just to spite his father was a losing proposition no matter how you looked at it...
"It's alright, Yinzhuo, keep ordering. There are so many of us here anyway. If we can't finish it, we can just give it to the servants..."
Hey, what's going on? What's going on? I'm just disciplining my child. What are you doing here causing trouble? And you have the nerve to say we're responsible for his behavior? Isn't he the result of your spoiling him since he was little? Yinti now feels that his action of stopping Yinzuo from ordering food was completely unnecessary. He should have been allowed to order, preferably a thousand or eight hundred dishes, making the imperial chefs wield their woks until they were smoking, cooking for three days and three nights. Aren't you spoiling him? If you're so capable, why don't you eat with him...?
After muttering about his father in his mind for a while, Yinti finally felt much better. Seeing that Yinzuo and the Fourteenth Prince were still whispering and discussing endlessly, he walked over, grabbed the Fourteenth Prince and pulled him aside, then plopped down in the seat he had been sitting in.
"Sixth Brother, didn't you just ask what your eldest brother wanted to eat? I thought about it for a moment and actually came up with a few dishes. Come on, let's add these to the menu..."
If you can't beat them, join them. Yinti had grasped and fully understood the meaning of this saying. Since he couldn't and dared not rebel against his father's dictatorial double standards, he would find another way to enrich his father's precious little corner and see if his father would feel sorry for him later...