Quick Transmigration: Survive to the End

Yin Yin had a feeling that there was a story behind Old Master Qi's words, but he didn't elaborate, so Yin Yin naturally had no way of knowing the specifics.

Once inside the palace, Madam Qi stayed with Consort Shu in Yaoguang Palace, while Yin Yin was soon taken to Xuanshi Palace by the Emperor.

Upon arriving at the Xuan Shi Hall, Eunuch Wu greeted her: "Miss Yinyin, the princes are all inside. Would you like to go in directly, or wait in the back hall for a while?"

Besides the eldest prince, the emperor had several other sons, but Yin Yin had never met any of them.

Yinyin whispered, "I'm going to the back hall."

Eunuch Wu was not surprised by her choice. Just as he was about to lead her to the back hall, the door of Xuan Shi Hall opened, and several little children came out dejectedly.

Seeing this, Eunuch Wu simply moved aside with Yin Yin to make way.

The other princes didn't react much, but the eldest prince, who was walking in front, stopped when he saw Yin Yin.

He stared at Yinyin for a moment, opened his mouth, but then left without saying anything.

Although he left, his unusual behavior was noticed by the other princes. After asking a few questions and learning about Yin Yin's identity, the princes' expressions became somewhat strange.

"So you're Qi Yinyin."

Yinyin bowed, somewhat confused. What did he mean by that?

Most of the princes clearly had no intention of explaining to her; after glancing at Yin Yin a few more times, they left on their own.

Only one prince, who seemed more gentle and always had a smile on his face, stepped forward and said tactfully, "They meant no harm. It's just that after the people around the eldest prince were replaced, we were all a little curious about Miss Qi."

Now Yin Yin understood. It was because the First Prince had just clashed with her before the Emperor dealt with the people around him.

If she could speak up and explain, Yin Yin would surely cry out that she was wronged.

However, she was not familiar with these princes, so there was no need to explain.

Even the person in front of her, who seemed to be explaining things to her with good intentions, might not necessarily have much genuine kindness.

Despite the prince's gentle smile, Yin Yin showed no inclination to become close to him, and simply said, "Thank you..."

Eunuch Wu quickly reminded him, "This is the Second Prince."

Following Eunuch Wu's suggestion, Yin Yin completed the second half of the sentence: "Thank you, Second Prince."

Knowing the Second Prince's identity, Yin Yin was able to connect the dots with the information that Old Madam Qi had mentioned to her at home.

The eldest prince's mother used to be a palace maid serving the empress. The second prince's background wasn't much better. In fact, because his mother wasn't very prominent in the palace, he would probably have been completely unknown if he hadn't been so senior.

Therefore, this person has had high emotional intelligence since childhood, and always greets people with a smile.

If it were someone else, they might find the Second Prince very approachable, but in Yin Yin's eyes, perhaps because he is still young, his mind is still quite simple.

Compared to the straightforward and naive eldest prince, this one is probably the one who needs to be treated with more caution.

The Second Prince probably hadn't expected Yin Yin to be so unapproachable. His smile faded a bit, and he casually said a few words about not needing to thank him before leaving.

Once inside the Xuan Shi Hall, the Emperor saw Yin Yin approaching and, without requiring her to bow, called her over: "Yin Yin, you just saw my sons. What did you think of them?"

Yinyin immediately became alert, tilted her head, and asked with clear eyes, "What do you mean, 'how about'?"

The emperor asked, "Is there anything inside that Yinyin likes?"

Yinyin deliberately thought about it seriously for a moment before saying in an embarrassed tone, "Yinyin didn't pay attention. They don't like Yinyin. Can Yinyin not like them?"

The emperor did not answer, but looked at Eunuch Wu first.

Eunuch Wu quickly said, "The princes have heard about what happened to the First Prince and are quite curious about Miss Yin Yin, but..."

There was no need to say anything more; the emperor understood what he meant.

He didn't ask Eunuch Wu to continue, but simply said it was a pity.

Yinyin dared not ask him what was so regrettable at this moment; she wished the emperor would simply forget about it.

Yin Yin quickly changed her mind and told the emperor what she had heard from Old Master Qi about the painting.

After hearing this, the emperor instructed Eunuch Wu: "Go and fetch the painting 'Banquet at the Western Hills' from the storehouse."

Yinyin felt that the name of the painting sounded familiar, as if she had heard it somewhere before, but she couldn't remember where.

But she quickly asked, "Is this the picture Grandpa was talking about?"

The emperor nodded, lowered his eyelids, his eyes were somewhat unfocused, but his expression was exceptionally gentle.

“It’s that one,” he paused before continuing, “This painting was specially changed for me by your father.”

Yinyin didn't understand what the emperor meant.

The emperor ruffled her hair without explaining.

After Eunuch Wu brought the painting, he and Yin Yin admired it for a while.

"Yinyin, would you like to learn to paint?"

“I think so,” Yin Yin’s eyes lit up, “Drawing seems like a lot of fun.”

"Moreover... I also want to be able to paint as well as my father in the future, and then I can use my paintings to exchange for paintings from His Majesty."

The emperor chuckled lightly: "Then I'll be waiting for your painting."

As he spoke, he instructed Eunuch Wu to prepare paints and painting tools: "It's getting late. Tomorrow, have someone find all the good paintings, and you can copy them in the back hall."

Yinyin nodded in agreement at first, then hesitated and asked, "I've never studied this before, can I start by copying?"

"Just sketch casually for now," the emperor said nonchalantly. "You don't have much strength in your hands right now, so there's no need to learn this seriously. Once you've enjoyed appreciating it more, you'll gradually be able to paint it too."

The emperor seemed to have suddenly thought of something: "When you have some free time tomorrow, why don't you let Yinyin go to the Hongwen Academy to listen to a couple of lessons?"

"Then I'll ask them to teach you how to control the pen. Writing and drawing have something in common."

Why can't we learn to write at any time? Why do we have to go to the Hongwen Academy and have the teachers there teach us?

Although the teachers in Hongwen Academy were all talented individuals selected through the imperial examinations, or renowned Confucian scholars.

Ke Yinyin always felt that the emperor had some other intentions behind his actions.

Yinyin refused, saying, "I'm too busy. I'm waiting for my younger cousins ​​to be born."

“There’s no need for you to guard it,” the emperor said. “There are so many people in Consort Shu’s palace.”

Yinyin still disagreed.

Seeing her insistence, the emperor changed his mind and said, "Then let's talk about it later."

Yinyin knew that the emperor had made up his mind and would not easily change it.

We should just push it off as long as we can. There's always a way out. What if we just give up?

As she walked back to Yaoguang Palace with the Emperor, Yinyin suddenly remembered why the painting sounded familiar.

When the emperor was still the crown prince, the late emperor, at the instigation of his favorite concubine, made things difficult for him by asking him to find a painting for his birthday gift, and wasn't that the name?