Chapter 70

  Sneak eating

  "How did you come back so soon?" The empress looked at her youngest son who had said he was going out in the afternoon and had only been gone for a short while before running back. She felt very surprised. Her young son was fond of playing and had already set up his own household, it wasn't easy for him to spend half a day in the palace, she hadn't expected him to come back so soon.

  Rong Jingze's mouth was open but he didn't say a word.

  "Didn't you say you were going to pick up Yin Hou's young son and bring him into the palace? How come, didn't you succeed?" The empress dowager looked at Rong Jing Ze's face and felt that his expression was not entirely happy. "What, did you guys have a fight?"

  The empress dowager couldn't help but burst out laughing.

  "No." Rong Jingze denied it, but still looked unhappy. The Empress Dowager didn't understand what had happened to him either, and asked him, but he refused to say.

  Yesterday, Rong Jingze entered the palace and stayed by Empress Dowager's side. The Emperor was very filial, going to Empress Dowager's palace to pay his respects to his mother and also took a look at his younger brother.

  "Doesn't Ozawa look less frail than in previous years?"

  "It's really so, I was just saying that." The empress smiled and looked at her youngest son, whose elegant clothes made him look even more handsome. Her eldest son, Xiao Fu, resembled the late emperor by 70 or 80 percent, while her youngest son, who resembled his mother, looked like she did when she was young.

  The Empress was young and beautiful, with a dignified and elegant appearance, and her son resembled her. Although he was also handsome, it was the beauty of a boy. With such looks, it's no wonder that every time he appeared, he would attract those ladies to steal glances at him frequently.

  The empress dowager thought that the young son was perfect in every way, with a handsome face, outstanding temperament, and noble status... even his lazy demeanor seemed elegant to her.

  But it's all good, this child's body is not good, making her heart always on edge. The poisoning incident that year still leaves her with lingering fear today, even though she managed to save her life, the several bouts of illness each year still make her think about it and want to cry out in pain.

  This time last year was the most difficult for Rong Jingze. Although he said that his brother's medicine suppressed the poison, controlling it to only erupt once every six months, but when winter came, this cold poison was especially fierce.

  The heating was turned up to the best, and there were still copper stoves and fire basins in the hall. Several layers of the finest silk quilts were wrapped around his body, but Rong Ze was still frozen with a pale face.

  At that time, the Empress Dowager and the Emperor were completely at a loss, and they wished that they could take the punishment upon themselves.

  Often after a winter, Rong Jingze would be tormented to the point of being skinny, and had to wait until it warmed up and he could eat more supplements before recovering.

  This year is no exception. As soon as the weather turned cold, Rong Jingze didn't want to leave the house anymore. No matter how warm it was inside, he still felt chilled to the bone.

  Rong Jingze didn't leave the house, and Yin Ruofei naturally knew about it. After witnessing his poisoning, she started making him some medicinal soups every day from the beginning of autumn. When winter arrived, all sorts of warming soups with various medicinal herbs were constantly delivered to Rong Jingze's doorstep.

  So this year's most difficult days, Rong Jingze is not as painful as in previous years, but instead becomes more radiant and refreshed.

  The empress dowager said that Rong Jingze suddenly remembered Yin Ruofei, who had been cooking soup for him every day, and praised her a few words.

  The empress dowager laughed so hard that her mouth couldn't close, and she said to the emperor, "Your Majesty, take a look! Xiao Ze has never flattered anyone like this before!"

  "That child is indeed good, now he can even lead Xiao Ze to read books, it's really much stronger than those before." The emperor nodded.

  "That's right, Duke Yin is a straightforward person. Just look at his children, they are all educated with such good manners, let alone the eldest son." The Empress Dowager had a very good impression of Yin Haicheng. In those critical years, he protected the empress and the crown prince's consort, waiting for the then-crown prince, now the emperor, to quell the rebellion and escort them back to the palace.

  This is due to Long's meritorious service, and the Emperor naturally has a different view of him. Moreover, his military achievements are there, making him a powerful nobleman.

  "Since this child is so good and comes from the Marquis of Town Jiang's manor, Your Majesty should reward him heavily." The Empress Dowager didn't care about the previous dynasty's rules; she only knew that those who helped her would be rewarded, and rewarded again.

  His Majesty also has his own considerations, although the purpose is different, but the result is the same, and he means to reward.

  Rong Jingze stretched out his hand and interrupted the thoughts of the two people.

  "Great rewards are not as good as small ones." In Rong Jingze's view, the great is great, and the small is small. He knew the inside story of this father-son pair, who seemed to be a loving father and filial son, but actually were not entirely so.

  It's better to support a new rising star than to let Yin Haicheng's glory continue unabated, so that Yin Ruofei can rise earlier.

  "What do you think?" The emperor knew that his younger brother was cunning and often had a unique perspective that hit the nail on the head. But this younger brother happened to be extremely loyal to him, and even got poisoned together with him, leaving him at a loss for how to make it up to him. That's why everyone noticed that the emperor favored Prince Ze more than the crown prince.

  "Although Zhenjiang Hou is a marquis, his honor and favor are not inferior to those of the various national dukes." Rong Jingze pointed out faintly, "A tree that stands out in the forest will be blown down by the wind. If the emperor truly cherishes talent, he cannot let him be too glorious, or he will invite others' hidden arrows, and even if he grows up with a big heart, it's not a good thing."

  "Really? That makes sense." The emperor nodded and looked at his younger brother with a smile. "So, you mean to reward the eldest son of the Yin family?"

  "It was his credit all along." Yong Jingze said bluntly, "If the Emperor had put it on my head, I'm afraid things would have been much simpler."

  This statement is not wrong either. At that time, many of the officials who participated in the palace coup knew what was going on and also knew that Prince Ze's poor health and laziness were due to being poisoned back then. The emperor's favor towards him, apart from being his younger brother, naturally had a compensatory meaning behind it.

  Because of this relationship, and the strong style of the Emperor and Ze Wang, no one dared to come and interfere. Otherwise, relying on such overwhelming honor and prestige of the Crown Prince, the officials would have come to criticize the Emperor's mistakes and dangers.

  "Very well, as you wish." It's just a small matter, and the Emperor wouldn't have any reason not to agree. At most, it would be a reward of some wealth or goods, and then an imperial edict praising him would be issued.

  "I'll bring him into the palace tomorrow and let Imperial Brother reward him." Also give that little brat a surprise.

  Early in the morning, after breakfast, the Emperor and Empress were going to worship heaven. He was not feeling well and never participated in such things. He stayed in the palace with the Dowager Empress until after lunch, before he couldn't help but run out.

  The empress dowager knew he went out to find the young child of the Yin family, thinking that they were all children who loved to play. Since the child liked it, accompanying him to stay in the palace for a few more days was no big deal, so she let him go.

  But she left quickly and came back quickly, still looking unhappy, which surprised the empress dowager.

  The emperor returned from worshiping heaven and saw him like this, couldn't help but tease him, "Could it be that the son of the Yin family doesn't like to play with you? Or should I exchange one for you?"

  "Your Imperial Highness would be better off rewarding the eldest son of the Yin family with a promising future, letting him make achievements on the border."

  "What's going on?" The emperor couldn't help but laugh. "It's the New Year, did that eldest son of the Yin family provoke you?"

  This little brother is really formidable, one sentence can make people go to the border. But looking at his younger brother, he can also understand that during this Chinese New Year, brothers are naturally together, and as a prince, there must be some distance between them, how can they be close like brothers?

  This little brother must have seen others' brothers being close and eating together, so he thought someone had taken away his own little partner.

  The emperor thought to himself, his own brother knew that he had never taken anyone seriously before, so how could he get along so well with a child who was so much younger than him?

  Rong Jingze was gloomy all day, the emperor didn't care, but the empress dowager did. In the end, an imperial edict was issued, allowing Yin Ruofei to enter the palace.

  Yin Ruofei was drunk the day before, his face red and swollen, being carried home by Jin Yuan. Everyone who saw him couldn't help but laugh. He slept from noon all the way to early morning of the second day.

  With a rumbling stomach, Ben had wanted to eat something first, but the imperial edict had already arrived. Forcing herself to go without two meals, Yin Ruofei hastily washed up and changed into a set of clothes befitting her status before entering the palace.

  The little eunuch led him to see the emperor first, and the emperor praised him in complicated language, and rewarded him with a pile of things. Before he could even react, he was led to the palace of the empress dowager.

  At this time, all the imperial concubines in the palace of the empress dowager were seated around her. Yin Ruofei knocked her head on the ground one by one, hating it deeply in her heart.

  It must be Rong Jingze who is playing tricks, afraid that he would have a comfortable holiday, and before he could even eat his meal, he was dragged over.

  The Empress Dowager had him summoned on New Year's Day, and naturally he was rewarded. The Queen and other consorts arrived, knowing that this was the favorite Zewang's study companion, and they all more or less showed their favor.

  Yin Ruofei finally balanced, although the stomach was hungry, but the purse could be bulged. At present, although nothing has been seen yet, thinking about the identity of these reward-givers, it is absolutely a not small income.

  With a sly smile on his face, the little eunuch finally led him to Gong Jingze's palace.

  Still, as soon as he entered the door, he was about to sweat all over, and the heating in this palace was not inferior to that of the Wang Fu. The Wang Fu had given away more than a thousand kilograms of silver charcoal to the palace this year. This is just for his own use, not counting the charcoal used for heating, almost catching up with the amount of charcoal used by other families' entire households.

  Rong Jingze was lazily wrapped in a quilt, half-reclining on the soft couch, with several braziers surrounding him. "Is that you?"

  "Prince." Yin Ruofei had obtained quite a few things and was still beaming with joy.

  "Hmm." Rong Jingze hummed softly and stopped talking.

  "How is the king feeling today?" Yin Ruofei was a disciple of Han Xiong, and Han Xiong had praised him in front of Rong Jingze, so Rong Jingze also knew that his own senior brother was always realistic in his words. This Yin Ruofei had indeed learned from the true tradition, so he let him take the pulse.

  "The pulse is calm and peaceful." Yin Ruofei looked at Rong Jingze, who didn't seem to be in high spirits, and secretly rubbed his own empty stomach. "How about I make some soup for Your Highness?"

  Rong Jingze's eyes lit up and he was instantly invigorated. However, thinking about what he saw yesterday, he hummed a soft tune again.

  Yin Ruofei is simply inexplicable. What medicine did she take?

  However, based on past experiences, Rong Jingze should still be looking forward to that bowl of soup. Yin Ruofei smiled and got up to go to the kitchen.

  Although Rong Jingze has already set up his own mansion, this palace has been kept and not used for other purposes, so that Rong Jingze can enter the palace to stay at any time.

  He ordered a small eunuch and soon brought back the freshest ingredients from the imperial kitchen.

  Yin Ruofei personally cooked a pot of ginseng chicken soup, the ingredients and herbs in the palace were all top-notch, and the chicken was easy to cook, soon filling the air with an enticing aroma.

  "Lord Yin, the wonton soup you requested is ready." The imperial chef who was waiting in the kitchen came over to report respectfully.

  "Here it comes......" Yin Ruofei, who had been starving for a long time, suddenly jumped up.

  The small buns in the steamer basket are white and tender, making one's appetite surge just by looking at them. When eaten, they are even more delicious and juicy, and with one bite, the heart feels much more at ease.

  "I thought you were making soup for me, but it turns out you're secretly eating it yourself."