The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 9 A God-given Opportunity
At this moment, a voice suddenly came from outside the door, "Master, Master Sixteen is here."

It’s his brother’s birthday, but Old Sixteen doesn’t even show up, so what’s the point of kissing him?

The Sixteenth Old Man handed a brocade box to Yinyu and said with a smile, "Brother, open it and take a look."

Because of taboos, whenever there were outsiders around, the Sixteenth Prince always called Yinyou "Fifteenth Brother" according to his seniority.

Yinyu smiled and said, "How can I look at the gift in person?"

"Hey, stop wasting time and open it quickly." The Sixteenth Prince kept urging Yinyou.

Yinyou reluctantly opened the brocade box with his own hands, only to see eight ingots of silver lying inside the box, each ingot weighing ten taels.

Maybe no one would believe it if I told them, but what the princes without titles lack the most is money.

The annual salary of the Sixteenth Prince was only two hundred taels, the same as Yinyu's. However, the Sixteenth Prince was used to spending lavishly, and his pockets were cleaner than his face, so he gave Yinyu eighty taels of silver.

Hey, they are brothers after all, Yinyou couldn't help but feel warm in his heart.

Yinyu deliberately teased Old Sixteen: "You sent all your family assets to me, how are you going to go out of the palace to play later?"

The Sixteenth Old Man said nonchalantly, "Besides the allowance from my mother, I also have the tribute from my cousin. If it doesn't work out, I'll just follow you. At least I won't go hungry, right?"

I'll follow you, Lao Shiliu said with confidence and as if it was natural.

Yinyou couldn't help but smile. Yes, if you follow your brother, you will have candy in the future.

However, Yinyou and the Sixteenth Prince waited until dark, but the Eighteenth Prince still did not show up.

"It would be fine if he didn't come, but he even forgot to present his own brother's birthday. How can there be any brotherly love at all?" Old Sixteen was young after all, and he complained unbearably.

Yinyu waved his hand and said, "Forget it, let's not wait any longer. Let's start the feast ourselves."

The Eighteenth Prince was raised in the Qianqing Palace since he was a child and was not yet old enough to go to school.

To be honest, except during festivals, it is difficult for the three brothers to see each other on normal days.

Distance creates estrangement, and feelings naturally fade.

More importantly, although Prince Eighteen was still young, he was spoiled to an unacceptable degree by Kangxi.

Everyone privately said that Old Eighteen was a smaller version of the domineering prince.

Unlike the much-loved Prince Eighteen, Yinyou, who had no title or power, was a largely invisible figure among the many princes.

Yinyou's status in the palace was: the Empress Dowager didn't love him, Emperor Kangxi didn't love him, his adoptive mother Concubine De didn't care about him, and his brothers collectively ignored him.

What’s more troublesome is that the power of Concubine Wang’s family behind her is almost negligible.

Among his many brothers, only the fifth brother, who had a kind and gentle personality, was relatively friendly to Yinyou.

However, if we say that there is a deep friendship between Yinyou and the fifth brother, it would be purely wishful thinking.

Yinyu did not invite any of his brothers to the small party for his fourteenth birthday today. Even his own brother, the Sixteenth, came uninvited.

If you are looked down upon by others but still try to curry their favor, you are just being a masochist!

Very early on, Yinyou understood a truth: Do not advise others when you are in a low position, and do not be arrogant when you are in power.

The next day, just after school, Yinyou heard a shocking news: the fourth child was kicked down the stairs by Crown Prince Yinreng and fainted.

To be honest, Yinyu always thought that this had already happened.

Who would have thought, by coincidence, that it happened in Yuqing Palace not far away.

Yinyou quickly ordered Wulin to find the Sixteenth Prince, intending to visit the Fourth Prince together with the Sixteenth Prince.

If Yinyu went alone, it would seem too abrupt because they were not particularly close in the past. After all, the fourth son was very suspicious and would not easily trust anyone.

Soon, Old Sixteen arrived. He said hesitantly, "Eighth Brother and Fourth Brother have the best relationship. Even Eighth Brother didn't go to see Fourth Brother, but we went. Is this appropriate?"

Yinyou glanced at the Sixteenth Prince. Hmm, is this kid worried that the Crown Prince will be angry?

The Crown Prince kicked the fourth prince unconscious, so Yinyou and the sixteenth prince took the initiative to visit the fourth prince, which was somewhat a case of being cautious.

"It doesn't matter. We are just going to visit. Who knows, we may not be able to see Fourth Brother." After Yinyu's analysis, the Sixteenth Brother nodded reluctantly.

At this time, the fourth brother, who was lying on the sickbed, was actually fine except for feeling a little dizzy.

Although the fourth brother has always been the prince's follower, he is also Kangxi's biological son!
Unexpectedly, the fourth brother was humiliated in public. The prince really went too far!

Different from what was described in old TV dramas, before the crown prince was deposed, the fourth prince was not only a member of the second prince's party, but he also had an extremely close relationship with the eighth prince.

Because the two Beile Palaces shared a wall, the fourth and eighth brothers simply opened a small door in the wall to make it convenient for them to visit each other.

On weekdays, whenever the Eighth Lady got angry in the mansion, the Eighth Prince would go through the small door and hide in the Prince's mansion of the Fourth Prince for refuge.

When the fourth brother heard that Yinyou and the sixteenth brother came together, he couldn't help but be stunned.

From the time the fourth brother was kicked unconscious by the prince to the time he did not dare to call the imperial physician and returned home in shame to rest, it took less than two hours.

If we say that Yinyou and the Sixteenth Prince were looked down upon because of their humble origins.

So, the fourth child’s lack of sociability is mainly a personality problem.

Unexpectedly, among the many brothers, only the eighth and fourth brothers were the closest.

The fourth brother knew better than anyone that because the prince had taken action, the eighth brother would come to visit him sooner or later.

However, at this critical juncture, the fourth brother did not dare to see the eighth brother.

Because the Crown Prince and the Eighth Prince are mortal enemies.

Oh, you, the fourth brother, just got kicked and went to join the eighth brother. Don’t come to Yuqing Palace anymore.

This is what the fourth brother is afraid of!

As for the Thirteenth Brother, haha, he is now a very popular figure in front of the Crown Prince, and his relationship with the Fourth Brother is just relatively close, but not as close and intimate as described in old TV dramas.

Su Peisheng bent over and said cautiously: "Fifteenth Master, Sixteenth Master, it's really unfortunate. Our master drank the medicine and has fallen asleep. You see..." He deliberately did not finish his words.

Yinyu had long guessed that the fourth brother would not see him. However, he and the sixteenth brother had to come this time, and they had to be the first in line.

"Little Su, you know that I am a poor prince with a cleaner pocket than my face. Here, this is the braised pork elbow from 'Simeiju'. According to my sixteenth brother, this is my fourth brother's favorite tonic." Yinyu was not in a hurry to show off his achievements, but instead took the initiative to push the sixteenth brother to the front.

"Su Peisheng, since I'm here, I have to take a look at Fourth Brother, right? Even if Fourth Brother is already asleep, I can go in and take a look and leave without waking him up, so what's the harm?"

The Sixteenth Prince often came to the Fourth Prince's Mansion. He and Su Peisheng were already very familiar with each other, so he was naturally more casual when talking.

Su Peisheng is the most trusted confidant of the Fourth Prince. He naturally knows that the Sixteenth Prince is the prince who is closest to the Fourth Prince so far.

If he forcibly stopped the Sixteenth Brother from visiting the Fourth Brother, the only one who would suffer in the future would be Su Peisheng himself.

"Sixteenth Master, how dare a servant like me, who has no experience, make a decision on my own for such a big matter? Please allow me to report to the mistress, Mrs. Fu Jin, okay?" Su Peisheng was speaking the truth.

Since the fourth prince was ill, all affairs in the Fourth Prince's mansion were under the charge of his wife, Ulanara.

Seeing Yinyou nodded slightly, the Sixteenth Prince thought about it and agreed to Su Peisheng's proposal.

(End of this chapter)