Rebirth: I'm a Daddy's Darling in the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 146 Unstoppable, utterly unstoppable

Yinqi's suggestion was naturally rejected by both Yinzuo and Yinyou. Yinyou's rejection was more tactful, at least he made up the excuse that his snoring might disturb their sleep, but Yinzuo's rejection was much more direct.

"Fifth Brother, let's not even talk about whether the bed in front of you can fit the three of us grown men. Even if it can, don't you feel hot sleeping together in this sweltering summer? Listen to your brother, let's not make trouble for ourselves. Otherwise, if we get heatstroke, we won't even be able to call the imperial physician. After all, what are we going to say when he comes? Are we going to tell the imperial physician that the three of us were just bored and got heatstroke from sleeping together?"

Yinqi's words were mostly a joke, but after hearing Yinzu's words, he could almost picture it in his mind. If they really said that to the imperial physician, the physician might have to examine their brains right after treating their summer heat.

"Hehe, I was just joking. This courtyard may not be big, but it's more than enough for the few of us. Like Sixth Brother said, we don't need to go out of our way to suffer. Alright, you two go and look at other rooms. I won't be picky anymore. We'll stay here for the next few days."

In fact, even if they wanted to choose these rooms, there wasn't much to choose from except for the orientation, because they were all pretty much the same in terms of internal structure, furnishings, and size. They wouldn't be staying here for more than ten days or half a month, so Yinzhuo and Yinyou were too lazy to wander around anymore and simply went into the rooms next to Yinqi's on the left and right respectively.

"Dexi, I want to sleep in until I naturally wake up tomorrow, so you'll be guarding this door first thing tomorrow morning. No matter who comes, make sure to keep them out..."

Upon hearing Yinzhuo's order, Dexi felt only one word in his heart—bitterness. To stop them? Master, please look at me! I am just a servant, and this whole courtyard is full of masters. If they really want to come in, how can I stop them? But even though Dexi felt bitter, he dared not disobey his master's orders. So the next day, as soon as it was dawn, he ran to the door of Yinzhuo's room and became his doorman.

Dexi had been worried ever since he received Yinzhuo's instructions last night. He prayed to every god and Buddha in the heavens all night, hoping that no one would disturb his master's sleep this morning. Unfortunately, Murphy's Law had no intention of letting him off the hook. Just as Dexi was praying, someone entered through the courtyard gate. Dexi glanced at him and immediately felt miserable. But since the person had already come, what could he do? He had to bite the bullet and go.

"This servant greets the Fourteenth Prince. May the Fourteenth Prince be blessed with ten thousand years of good fortune and peace."

Fourteen was eager to see his sixth brother, so he waved casually to Dexi without stopping, and walked to the door of Yinzhuo's room to push it open. Dexi understood immediately when he saw Fourteen's actions; he was clearly coming for his master!

"Fourteenth Prince, you mustn't, you absolutely mustn't! I'm begging you, please don't open this door! My master specifically instructed me last night before going to bed that no one should be let in today, no matter who comes. You know, Fourteenth Prince, if my master can't wake up, he's sure to throw a tantrum..."

Fourteenth Prince knew that Yinzhuo was grumpy in the morning, after all, he was naughty when he was young and often got punished by his sixth brother for it. So when he heard Dexi's words, he hesitated. Should he open the door today or not?

De Xi breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Fourteen hesitate. Hesitation was good; as long as he hesitated, it meant that his words had worked. However, it turned out that De Xi breathed a sigh of relief too soon. Before Fourteen could even come to a conclusion, another troublemaker arrived at the door.

"Fourteenth, Dexi, what are you two doing standing here? Is Sixth Brother up yet? Ninth Brother and I are planning to hunt some grouse and rabbits for a late-night snack. We came to ask him if he's coming. Sixth Brother, Sixth Brother, are you up yet?"

Dexi felt like he wanted to die. "Master, the task you gave me is too difficult. I can't stop these waves of people, I simply can't stop them!" But whether he could stop them or not was one thing, and whether he could stop them or not was another. Even though he knew he couldn't stop these two masters, Dexi still had to go and stop them.

"Tenth Master, I beg you, please keep your voice down, otherwise you'll definitely wake my master up..."

But it was obviously too late. Before Dexi could finish speaking, Yinzhuo opened the door to his room from the inside, and a pillow flew towards the three people at the door. Yinxi and the Fourteenth Prince were alright, since they could dodge it, but Dexi couldn't. Fortunately, the culprit still had some conscience and pulled him back before the pillow hit Dexi.

"Tenth Brother, are you itching for a beating? What are you yelling about so early in the morning? And Fourteenth Brother, haven't you been disciplined enough by your Ninth and Tenth Brothers along the way? Dexi, go to my room and bring over four stools. Tenth Brother, Fourteenth Brother, stand on them and squat in a horse stance for half an hour. Dexi, keep an eye on the time and call me when it's time."

It wasn't until he was standing on the stool in a horse stance, completely bewildered, that Fourteenth Brother realized something was wrong. He hadn't uttered a single word since entering the courtyard, so why was he suddenly in a horse stance? Tenth Brother had woken Sixth Brother up, so only Tenth Brother should be punished. Why was Sixth Brother resorting to collective punishment?

Even though Fourteenth Prince was full of questions, he didn't dare to get off the stool until half an hour later when he received permission from Yinzhuo and jumped off the stool together with Yinxi.

"Sixth Brother, I was wronged by standing in horse stance for half an hour. I didn't say a word from the moment I entered until I was punished. It was Tenth Brother who woke you up by shouting. Why are you punishing me as well?"

Yinzhuo didn't even bother to glance at the Fourteenth Prince anymore. He instructed Dexi to hand towels to Yinzhuo and the Fourteenth Prince, then turned and walked into the house.

"Fourteenth, don't be so unconvinced. Let me ask you one question: you're so right, why didn't you come and talk to me when I was punishing you? Now that the punishment is over, what's the use of talking to me? Also, just because you showed up at my door early in the morning, making you squat in a horse stance for half an hour was not unfair at all! You two, tell me now, what are you doing here in the Qing Dynasty?"

The tenth prince was indeed an optimist. Even though he was punished by his sixth brother to stand in a horse stance for half an hour and his neck was covered in sweat, it did not affect his enthusiasm for going hunting at all. When he heard Yinzhuo ask him, he immediately answered excitedly.

"Sixth Brother, Ninth Brother and I are planning to go for a walk in the woods near this palace later to see if we can find any grouse or rabbits. If we can catch them, we'll bring them back to add to our dishes. If we can't catch them, it's okay, we'll just treat it as a horse ride. That's why I came to ask you before we leave, if you want to come with us."