Prince Cheng of the Second Rank, Yin Xi, stood up and, not wanting the eunuchs to fuss, helped himself to a bowl and sighed to Yinzhi beside him, “What kind of brain does Fifteenth have?”
“He’s handled the snow disaster so smoothly, hasn’t forgotten to let us gain some credit, and even gives the two little ones a chance to learn.”
Though Yinzhi’s words sounded like praise, all the princes had grown up in the palace and could read between the lines.
What he praised was not Yin Hui’s disaster relief for the people, but his dealings with the Ministry of Works, Ministry of Revenue, and Shuntian Prefecture officials—never letting anyone get the better of him, organizing everything clearly.
You see, Shuntian Prefecture was already tricky, and those who made it into the Six Ministries were all sly old foxes.
Yin Hui had just turned fifteen this year.
As for “letting us gain credit”… to be honest, as imperial princes, they weren’t short of good deeds for merit.
Yet Yin Hui had the skill to get them all out, helping lift and move, supervising the officials, settling the victims, having the common folk shovel snow… after all the hard work, they’d end up owing him a favor.
No way around it—Yin Hui wasn’t particularly prominent in daily life, always low-key and unassuming, but what he did have was a genuine, equal concern for all his brothers—he couldn’t be more sincere.
So from Yin Xi to Yin Xiang, except for the more cautious Eleventh Prince Yinci and Twelfth Prince Yin Tao, all the others had gossiped with Yin Hui at some point, and had received kindness from Yin Hui or the Imperial Noble Consort, so they couldn’t refuse to join in.
If the Eleventh Prince wasn’t unwell and recuperating in the palace, he’d probably be here too.
First Prince Yinzhi didn’t reply to Yin Xi, just gulped down a bowl of hot soup and turned to speak to a Ministry of Works official who brought over iron pots.
What could he say?
His wife was now a staunch supporter of the Imperial Noble Consort, and his own son’s safe birth was thanks to Liang Madam’s midwifery—another favor to the Imperial Noble Consort.
Even for his mother—Yin Hui had promised that when he was ennobled as a Prince of the First Rank, he would ask Father to allow Consort Hui to retire from the palace for comfort.
Just for that, Yinzhi was willing to work for Yin Hui.
As for Fourth Prince Yinzhen, his wife had run off again, always going to Tianya Inn; then Fan Lianghan would tell Jiujiu, and Jiujiu would coax her back.
For family harmony, Yinzhen was also happy to do these chores—he’d even get a few words of praise from his wife.
Fifth Prince, Ninth Prince, Tenth Prince, Twelfth Prince, and Thirteenth Prince—all of them had grown up playing together at Shoukang Palace with Yin Hui.
Only the Third Prince had less contact with Yin Hui, preferring to study official reports at home and not having benefited much from the Imperial Noble Consort, so he didn’t really have to join in.
But since everyone else was here, could he be the only one absent?
In the middle of the night, shivering with cold, if Father praised them afterward, he’d have to buy Yin Hui a drink in thanks—he couldn’t help grumbling a bit.
Yin Hui took Yin Yu and Yinshi to inspect the collapsed houses and even had his two younger brothers help clear snow, exhausting them until their faces were red before leading them back to the shelter.
Seeing Yin Xi sipping soup, Yin Hui approached with a smile and bowed.
“Thank you, Third Brother, for coming out so late to help! Recently, I got an itch and gambled on a stone at Liulichang. It actually yielded a tricolor jade! It’ll soon be Rong Eniang’s birthday, so I’ll bring it over for you, Third Brother!”
Yin Xi froze, then immediately broke into a warm smile and slapped Yin Hui on the shoulder and said, “Good lad, what luck you have! Why couldn’t I have such luck?”
Recently, Liulichang had received a batch of raw stones shipped from Nan Zhang Guo, all top-quality Old Pit Jade—one cut for heaven, one cut for hell.
It had drawn in the capital’s noble youths for some lively gambling but for all the excitement, the best found was a fist-sized glass-type jade; the so-called tricolor, the Fulu Shou Jade, hadn’t even shown up as a rumor.
Maybe influenced by the Buddha-loving Consort Rong, Yin Xi, for all his sharp tongue and love of crickets, was a firm believer in luck and loved associating with lucky people—his household staff was assembled that way.
Yin Hui grinned through Yin Xi’s slap, “Third Brother, are you getting stronger again? Soon I’ll ask Father to let you join the tribesmen in Beimeng next year—then we’ll all be counting on you!”
Though Prince Cheng was known for his scholarly talent in the capital, few realized he was actually the strongest among the brothers.
His bow was a stone heavier than even Yinzhi’s, but he kept it quiet for the sake of his scholarly reputation.
But such opportunities to shine in Beimeng and in front of Father were right up his alley—he could tell from Yin Hui’s words that he’d be included on next year’s northern tour.
That made Yin Xi all the happier.
Now that the brothers were all grown, after moving out of the palace, their futures depended on their favor with Kangxi—accompanying the emperor out of the palace was the most direct way to display that.
All the princes knew exactly who Father had in mind for the Crown Prince.
Because Kangxi made it so clear, the brothers had little real desire to compete for the throne, and generally accepted Yin Hui’s special status.
With Yin Hui’s praise and flattery, Yin Xi wiped his mouth and went off to fight Yinzhi for the honor of carrying the pot.
Yinzhi: “…………”
‘He was just watching—there were still soldiers around.’
‘Third Brother’s brain… when will he finally grow up!’
Seated on a boulder, sipping hot soup with Zheng Yusheng’s help, the Sixteenth Prince Yin Yu and Seventeenth Prince Yinshi watched their brother make the slightly sulky Third Brother beam with just a few words.
They exchanged glances, both holding back laughter in their eyes.
That so-called tricolor jade—wasn’t it their brother who asked Zhao Chang to buy it from Guangzhou Prefecture?
How had it turned into a lucky find from Liulichang?
And as for Father taking all the princes to Beimeng next year, hadn’t he said that in front of them all already?
Now their brother was using it to coax people again.
Outsiders always said that their sister took after their mother most, but to the two of them, among the five siblings, it was their brother who most resembled mother!
As predicted by the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, the snow kept falling until morning, blanketing the capital in silver, with not a trace of other color to be seen.
Usually, even with Kangxi’s advance warning to the Imperial Guards Headquarters and Shuntian Prefecture, there’d inevitably be some victims injured by collapsing houses during such a night.
But with Yin Hui rallying his brothers, and even setting the Ministry of Works and Ministry of Revenue into a spin, by the time the snow stopped, though a dozen houses had collapsed, not a single commoner had died.
With the Women’s Academy closing for the twelfth lunar month, all the disaster victims were temporarily settled in the academy’s wing rooms, watched over by soldiers from the Imperial Guards Headquarters.
During the day, they cooked and boiled water in the shelter, chopped wood, did laundry, and even carried night soil for the Punishment Bureau to earn their daily food and wages.
Come spring, those who performed well would receive silver from the court, with the Ministry of Works helping rebuild their homes.
Those who didn’t do well would have to fend for themselves, or sell themselves as laborers at the quarries.
All in all, the strategies set by the Fifteenth Prince balanced kindness and discipline, earning widespread praise at court.
Prince Li of the First Rank had already quietly set out for Guangzhou Prefecture from Yangliuqing before Jiujiu’s marriage.
On the surface, the prince’s wife was gravely ill, and he, heartbroken, was sent south to recover.
In reality, he’d taken over two thousand marines to sea.
With the former Crown Prince gone and none of the other princes vying for the throne, and Imperial Consort Zhen ever-favored, the civil and military officials no longer needed to look at the plaque over the Hall of Supreme Harmony to know who the next emperor would be.
Thus, the ministers became even more deferential toward the Fifteenth Prince —some even had thoughts of arranging a marriage alliance.
Taking advantage of the busy New Year’s greetings, several governors in and around the capital quietly made their intentions known.
After all, the selection of court ladies had just finished last year, and there were plenty of Selected Ladies now working as palace women.
Of the unwed princes, only Yin Hui and his two brothers remained.
Yin Yu and Yinshi were just eleven and too young to consider.
Only Yin Hui remained the “hot cake.”
Even though Kangxi said several times that he wouldn’t choose a Fuqin for Yin Hui until the next selection, officials with daughters in the palace wouldn’t give up—each found ways to send messages to their daughters serving as palace women.
From the New Year’s Eve banquet to the Lantern Festival on the fifteenth, for sixteen days straight, Yin Hui’s clothes were splashed wet over ten times.
Some girls tripped right in front of him; some had “accidental” encounters in the Imperial Garden…
There were so many tricks that even Jiujiu had no time for dates with Fan Lianghan, busy instead snacking with Mother in Qianqing Palace.
Fang He laughed until she was breathless, “When I first heard about the selection, I was curious. I heard your second brother and the others had all been through this and dreaded it like a tiger. I wonder how Yin Hui will handle it, tee hee hee~”
Usually, Yin Hui was just too steady.
Now that there was finally a chance to see his lively side, even Kangxi and the Empress Dowager indulged in it—who wouldn’t want to watch?
By the time Yin Hui realized, even Sanbao and Fourbao weren’t chasing after their brothers for outings, and Minbao no longer visited her pony; everyone gathered at Qianqing Palace to watch his predicament.
Just as Yin Hui was handed a laundry packet with a sachet tucked inside by a palace woman, he spotted Liu An peeking in outside and shook his head with a laugh.
He asked Zheng Yusheng, “Why aren’t you nagging anymore?”
Zheng Yusheng whispered, “I just realized I was wrong. It’s not that the nobles here don’t care for you—they just don’t show it openly!”
You never see them most of the time, but when something comes up, they all appear!
How could he have thought the Imperial Noble Consort and the others didn’t care?
Chief Eunuch Liu from Yanxi Palace came eight times a day if he could!
But to Zheng Yusheng, maybe it was better when these nobles ignored his master—now, he didn’t even dare to complain!
Yin Hui was thoroughly amused.
Unable to hold back his curiosity, Zheng Yusheng whispered even more softly, “Master, what are you going to do?”
He’d never imagined the palace women could be so… predatory.
Why didn’t his master seem the least bit troubled?
Yin Hui maintained his gentle, honest manner.
“Of course…” Seeing Zheng Yusheng craning his neck, a sly glint flashed in Yin Hui’s eyes as he said, “A mountain man always has his tricks.”
‘Since Mother and the rest wanted a good show, why not make it even livelier!’
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