vstars Chapter 105: Ginger is still spicy with age
Chapter 105: Ginger is still spicy with age
After Kangxi left with his princes, everything inside and outside the palace seemed to quiet down. Although Yinzhuo's arm was no longer in a sling, it hadn't fully recovered. He thought that rather than staying in the palace under his mother's control, he should find an excuse to hide in his Enze Garden, where at least he could have some peace and quiet.
Although it is said that no one knows a son better than his father, Consort De had been Yinzhuo's mother for so many years, how could she not know his little thoughts? In order to prevent him from being unrestrained like Sun Wukong after he left the Five Finger Mountain, she immediately put two tight headbands on him.
"Mother, I'm going to recuperate from my injuries. You asked me to take Thirteen and Fourteen with me, but how can I have the energy to take care of them? I don't care. Don't even think about getting these two burdens onto me."
Yinzhuo's trick of acting cute and being unreasonable worked every time with Kangxi, but it obviously didn't work as well with Consort De. You have to know that Consort De used to be pestered by the Fourteenth Prince countless times a day, and even the strongest maternal love had been worn away by now.
When Yinzhu saw his mother's attitude, he knew that if he didn't agree to take the two burdens, the thirteenth and fourteenth princes, his mother probably wouldn't easily let him leave the palace. With no other choice, he could only grit his teeth and agree.
“Mother, thirteen or fourteen is the age to start school. If she goes with her son, won’t she fall behind in her studies? What do you think…”
As they say, experience is the best teacher. Seeing that Yinzhuo was trying to make one last struggle, Consort De quickly spoke up to stop him.
"Stop. If you want to go out, you must take Thirteen and Fourteen with you. If you don't want to go out, hurry back to your South Third School. You don't need to worry about Thirteen and Fourteen's studies. As long as you are willing to take them with you, your Enze Garden is so big, you can take their study master with you too."
Good heavens, so this was what they were waiting for! No wonder my mother, who usually adores me like I'm her own eyeball, was so calm about my request to stay in the garden for a while. Turns out, she already guessed it and made arrangements. Thirteen and Fourteen aren't just two burdens, they're practically two surveillance cameras!
“Mother, your son is no longer your only little darling. You really have no motherly love for your son anymore.”
Seeing her son about to start acting with her again, Consort De couldn't help but laugh. She threw the fruit she was holding at Yinzhuo and raised her hand to shoo him away.
"You only realized this today? You're no longer your mother's only treasure. If you want to leave, then leave quickly. What about motherly love? I really get a headache just looking at you now."
Yinzhuo casually took the fruit that Consort De threw to him, took a bite, leaned back in his chair, and really didn't want to leave.
“That won’t do. Although Mother doesn’t love her son, I can’t be unfilial to her. It’s been a while since I’ve been to Yonghe Palace. Anyway, there’s no rush to go to Enze Garden. I might as well stay here and chat with Mother today.”
Consort De glanced at Yinzhi, who was lingering there, and knew exactly what he was thinking. He didn't really want to stay and chat with her; he probably wanted to stay and pester her until she agreed to let him leave the palace without taking the thirteenth and fourteenth princes with him.
"Alright, since you're not leaving, then please go ahead. I don't have time to chat with you here. I've arranged to play cards with Consort Wan and He Ying. They'll be here soon..."
Now that things have come to this point, if Yinzhuo still doesn't want to leave, then staying here is not appropriate. If it were Consort Yi, Consort Rong, or Consort Hui, who are around the same age as his mother, it wouldn't be a problem for him to stay here. But now that the young concubines are coming, it's not appropriate for his fourteen or fifteen-year-old son to be here.
"Alright, Mother, you're still the better player today. I'll take my leave now. Once you've packed up Thirteen and Fourteen's things, please have someone deliver them to me. I'll have Dexi arrange for someone to send them to Enze Garden together. We'll have another chance to play against each other in the future. I'm sure I'll win next time."
Watching her son bow to her and leave with a flourish, Consort De couldn't help but burst into laughter. She laughed for a while before finally stopping. She then turned around and told the people beside her to go to the residences of the 13th and 14th in the South Third Palace to help them pack their things.
"Let's spar then. You're my son, how could I possibly lose to you?"
Leaving aside how happy Consort De was to win against her son, let's just talk about how depressed Yinzhuo was after returning to the Southern Third Palace after his defeat. The thought of having thirteen or fourteen people following him wherever he went made him feel uncomfortable. Wasn't that like having an iron chain on his feet wherever he went? How afraid was his mother of him running around? Did he really look that restless?
"Master, we've packed everything. When would you like to depart?"
Yinzhuo glanced at Dexi, then leaned back on the recliner listlessly, closed his eyes, and ignored him. When Dexi saw his master like this, he thought that he had been rebuffed by Consort De. He sighed helplessly, turned around, and began to order people to put the packed things back.
"What are you tearing down? We're just not in a hurry to leave right now, but that doesn't mean we won't leave. Dexi, once Mother has someone bring over the things for Thirteen and Fourteen, we'll leave immediately. I don't want to stay in this awful place for even a minute longer."
Seeing Yinzhuo's exasperated appearance, Dexi immediately understood. "You should have said so earlier! I would have understood as soon as you said it. So you did get a cold shoulder from Consort De, but this cold shoulder is not the same as the cold shoulder you mentioned."
"Alright, since we're not in a hurry to leave, then this servant will have someone go to the storeroom to pack some of your usual things to take with you."
Dexi first calmed down his furious master, then turned and beckoned a young eunuch who was serving outside the courtyard.
"Shunzi, go and stand guard at the gate of our courtyard. If the Thirteenth Master or the Fourteenth Master delivers something in a while, come and let me know immediately, and we'll set off right away."
While Yinzhuo was still sulking, the thirteenth and fourteenth arrived with their entourage and bundles. Upon seeing this, Yinzhuo thought, "Good heavens, are they going to stay temporarily or are they moving?"
"I mean, you two brought everything you could from the yard, didn't you? Thirteen, explain to me what's with that chair you're holding? Fourteen, don't laugh, what's that rag you're holding? Don't tell me you're so old and still need that thing to fall asleep."
Thirteen, who was asked the question, didn't care at all and answered very decisively. His reason was also normal: the chair was specially made according to his height so that it would be more comfortable for him to sit while writing. Fourteen was a little embarrassed and stammered for a long time without being able to say a word, because what his sixth brother said was absolutely right. He couldn't sleep without this tattered cloth.