The swansong of the swansong

Chapter 34: A Chance of a Lifetime

Chapter 34: A Chance of a Lifetime
After leaving the house, the fourth brother had already walked to the side of the eight-man sedan chair, but turned around and asked Yinyu: "You didn't take the sedan chair?"

Yinyu smiled and explained, "I like to ride in a car. I will never ride in a sedan chair unless it is necessary."

The fourth brother was a very smart man. He understood it as soon as he heard it. He took a car to avoid the shabby atmosphere of a four-person sedan.

In the Qing Dynasty, even a prince without a title could only ride in a four-person sedan chair.

Only princes and nobles of the royal family who were of the rank of Beile or above were qualified to ride in a sedan chair carried by eight people in the capital.

"Alas, the Thirteenth Prince also likes to ride in a car and doesn't like to ride in a sedan chair." The Fourth Prince himself was only a Beile and was not eligible to make a wish for an official position for Yinyu for the time being. He could only use the Thirteenth Prince's same cold treatment to comfort Yinyu.

Yinyou knew very well that the fact that the Third Prince was beaten by the Thirteenth Prince directly led to the Thirteenth Prince falling out of favor.

In his later years, Kangxi was most worried about two things: one was that power would fall into the hands of others, such as Li Yuan, Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, or even King Wuling of Zhao; the other was fratricide.

Kangxi did not kill his son!
Originally, the Thirteenth Prince was quite favored, and Kangxi liked to take him with him wherever he went.

It’s a pity that Old Thirteen is still too young.

When the iron fist hit the third brother, it also destroyed the thirteenth brother's chance to inherit the throne.

The reason is simple. Given the Thirteenth Brother's extreme hatred for the Third Brother, once he comes to power, the Third Brother will definitely not survive.

Similarly, if Kangxi passed the throne to the third son, the thirteenth son would definitely not survive.

Therefore, the third brother was eliminated early, but he himself was still kept in the dark.

The fourth brother insisted on riding in Yinyu's carriage, and Yinyu couldn't persuade him, so he had to agree to it.

Yinyou's carriage was unremarkable except for its special golden curtains.

After the fourth son sat down, Yinyou personally took out the teapot from the teapot and poured half a cup of tea for the fourth son.

The fourth brother took the teacup and asked Yinyu in surprise before drinking it, "It's so hot?"

Yinyu smiled and explained, "To be honest with you, Fourth Brother, I really like to enjoy life, so I spent some money and asked Li Ding's coppersmith to make a small copper stove with a damper buckle. I put silver frost charcoal in it and put it in the teapot, so I always have hot tea to drink."

In the dim candlelight, the fourth brother subconsciously glanced at the specially made heat-insulating teapot, then looked at Yinyou, and his heart moved slightly.

There are similar tea boxes in the fourth brother’s sedan chair and carriage, and they look almost exactly the same.

However, the fourth brother's teapot had a very poor heat preservation effect. After the hot teapot was placed in it, it was completely cold in less than two hours.

He likes to enjoy life but is not unconventional. He is also very low-key and does not easily get into trouble.

To be honest, Yinyou's approach was very much to the Fourth Prince's liking.

"Li Ding, is this your Haha beads?" The fourth brother asked knowingly.

Before recommending Yinyu to assist in the Ministry of Revenue, given the fourth brother's temper, he would definitely investigate everyone around Yinyu thoroughly.

Yinyu smiled and explained, "Li Ding's father is Lord Li, the Suzhou Weaving Master, one of the three weaving masters in Jiangnan. I'm afraid you don't know this, but Lord Li is my cousin."

The fourth brother stretched his body, nodded and said, "Hearing what you said, Li Ding is your cousin."

He is considered your cousin, which actually reveals the true relationship between Li Xu and Yinyou.

"There is no other way. Li Ding is not good at studying or martial arts, so he can only follow me as a little follower." Yinyu knew that the fourth brother was secretly investigating the background of the people around him, so he introduced him in great detail, "This guy, when he was only twelve years old, he slept with all the beautiful girls in the room."

The fourth brother couldn't help but shake his head and sighed, "If Hongyun dares to do this in the future, I will definitely break his legs." Yinyou didn't dare to continue talking along with the fourth brother's words, for fear of committing a big taboo.

Because the eldest son Honghui and the eldest son Hongyan died young, the fourth son was very sad.

Fortunately, the fourth brother now has two young sons, Hongyun and Hongshi, by his side.

In fact, among the married princes, the most difficult one who still has no heir is actually the eighth prince.

As the saying goes, a dragon gives birth to nine sons, each of whom is different.

The fourth brother likes the feeling of power and is not very interested in women.

However, even if the fourth brother is not lustful, there are more than a dozen women around him.

In the current Fourth Prince's Mansion, except for his legitimate wife, Ulanara, the rest of the women were low-ranking women such as princesses and concubines who were awarded during the selection of concubines in the palace, and none of them were considered to be of good status.

In terms of the royal system, the imperial family of the Qing Dynasty had multiple wives and concubines. A concubine was not a concubine, but a second wife with a high status, second only to the first wife.

The distance from the Ministry of Revenue to the fourth brother’s Prince’s Mansion is really not close.

As soon as the carriage stopped at the main gate of the Prince's Mansion, Yinyu in the carriage heard shouts from the entrance of the alley, "It's curfew, it's curfew!"

The Qing Dynasty was not the Song Dynasty. At the beginning of the evening when the sun set, a strict curfew was implemented throughout the capital.

After the night curfew in the inner city, large fences were erected at the entrances of all important alleys, and the Eight Banners soldiers from each banner were responsible for guarding them.

After the gate was locked, even if one was a prince, he was not allowed to go out onto the street without a valid reason.

Yinyou and the fourth brother walked side by side and entered the Beile Mansion through the side door.

The overall layout of the Beile Mansion is divided into three parts: east, middle and west. Among them, the middle road is the main hall area, which is rarely used except for major events such as receiving imperial edicts.

The fourth brother led Yinyou into the inner study, but did not see the thirteenth brother.

"Where is your Thirteenth Master?" The Fourth Brother asked the servant who was guarding the inner study with a cold face.

"To answer your question, Master Thirteen had just arrived when His Royal Highness the Crown Prince sent someone to call him away!" the servant answered tremblingly.

"Oh, I see." The fourth brother's interest was dampened, and his tone of voice unconsciously became colder, and the servant was almost frightened to death.

Originally, the fourth brother's idea was that the three brothers would drink and chat happily.

However, reality is cruel. The Thirteenth Brother is not only the good brother of the Fourth Brother, but also the confidant of the Crown Prince Yinreng.
Yinyou knew what was going on. It was not until the crown prince was deposed that the Thirteenth Prince, who had been completely forgotten by Kangxi, gradually became the fourth prince's best brother.

Such a rare opportunity fell into Yinyu's hands inadvertently. How could he not seize it?
"Fourth brother, Thirteenth brother is not out of Beijing on business. Are you afraid that we won't have the chance to drink together in the future?" Yinyou wisely chose to reconcile the relationship instead of sowing discord.

Sowing discord may succeed temporarily, but one must be careful of the backlash afterwards.

After Yinyou's consolation, the fourth brother gradually returned to normal.

However, the fact that the Thirteenth Brother was called away by the Crown Prince deeply reminded the Fourth Brother: Under the current situation, between him and the Crown Prince, the Thirteenth Brother, as a good brother, would definitely choose the Crown Prince's side.

So far, the most influential core member of the Fourth Master’s party is only Yinyou!

(End of this chapter)

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