HCB Chapter 484 So you've come here to complain about being poor?
Chapter 484 So you've come here to complain about being poor?
Hongxu was Yinzhuo's only son. Although he deserved to be disciplined, Yinzhuo wouldn't really do anything to him. Hongxu, Hongtun, and Hongming lay face down on the bed, listening intently as Yinzhuo listed their crimes. Although there were many exaggerations, none of the three dared to utter a sound.
After talking to his father for a while, Yinzhuo felt much better. He was too lazy to care about the three things lying on the bed anymore. After the imperial physician applied medicine to them, he had them sent back to their respective homes.
“Father, do you think Hongxu has some kind of genetic mutation? Otherwise, how could my wife and I, with our calm and collected natures, have given birth to such a mischievous monkey? I don’t plan to take care of this son anymore. So, could you find me a place to send him away…”
Although Kangxi didn't quite understand what gene mutation meant, he wasn't stupid. Combining what Yinzhuo said later, he guessed it pretty accurately. He knew that Yinzhuo was in a bad mood at the moment, and he didn't even refute Yinzhuo's boastful claim that he was calm and composed.
"Alright, what child doesn't cause trouble? Look at you now, you're already this old, and you're still causing me trouble every day. Have you forgotten who insisted on dragging Yinzhen into the lake to fish the other day? If you don't want to deal with it, then send Hongxu back to your fourth brother's place. Honghui's personality is just like your fourth brother's, so let Hongxu live with him. Will you feel at ease then?"
Yinzhuo had no worries about sending Hongxu to Yuqing Palace. Putting aside Honghui's temperament, with his fourth brother keeping him in check, that mischievous monkey wouldn't be able to cause any trouble.
Yinzhuo has always been like this; his emotions come and go quickly. As the saying goes, "Drink today, for tomorrow we may die." Yinzhuo clearly wouldn't make things difficult for himself. As soon as he thought of his fourth brother being there, he immediately forgot all his troubles.
After returning from Rehe, Kangxi, Yinti, and Yinreng were busy for nearly two months before they finally had some free time. Meanwhile, the weather outside changed from the crisp autumn air of late September to the biting cold of November.
"Sure enough, it's still more comfortable staying here with Sixth Brother. I went to the yamen this morning, and that guy was so cold he didn't dare take off his cloak. You know, it's good to have money. Look at Ninth Brother, he paid for the underfloor heating to be installed in the Ministry of Works room himself..."
Yinzhu stared at Yinxi, who had been nagging incessantly since he entered the room, for a long while. Seeing that he showed no sign of shutting up, he casually picked up some snacks from the table and threw them at him. Yinxi reacted quite well, catching the snacks Yinzhu threw at him, looking at them in his hand, and then popping them directly into his mouth.
"Sixth Brother, your pastries taste pretty good. When I leave later, have someone pack some for me so I can take them back for my little nephews to try. You have no idea, my household is almost starving lately."
Alright, now Yinzhuo understands. So you came all this way just to complain about being poor, huh? I thought you were just jealous after going to the Ministry of Works and was wondering if I should say a few words of comfort to you.
"Little Shi, have you ever heard the saying, 'A person leaves a trace, a goose leaves a sound'? If you don't want others to know, then don't do it in the first place. You think I don't know that last time I copied a book for your Ninth Brother, he gave you a lot of money, didn't he? Five thousand taels for one copy, one hundred thousand taels for twenty copies. Did you spend it all so quickly?"
Of course, I won't run out of money, but as the saying goes, who would complain about having too much money? If I could use other people's money to do my own things, wouldn't that be the best thing ever?
Despite his burly and rough exterior, Yinzhi was actually quite shrewd. Upon hearing Yinzhi's words, he didn't mince words anymore.
"No, but as you know, Sixth Brother, I don't have much income, and my salary isn't much either. The whole family in the manor depends on me to support them. Ten thousand taels seems like a lot, but it doesn't last long when you actually use it. So, Sixth Brother, could you give me some money? I'm thinking of getting underfloor heating installed in the houses on our estate."
Yinzhuo was a man who was not short of money. Since his younger brother rarely asked for money, he naturally would not refuse. He beckoned Dexi, who was waiting nearby, to go to his study and bring over ten thousand taels of silver notes for Yinzhuo.
"Take this money and use it first. Besides laying down underfloor heating in the rooms on the estate, if there's anything left, make a few clothes for each of the staff researching firearms on the estate, and buy some charcoal. The weather is getting colder and colder, so don't let my precious kids get cold. If you need more money, just come to Dexi for more..."
After many years of development, the manor originally built for Dai Zi has long since changed its appearance. Not only has its area expanded considerably, but there are also many more researchers there. All the new-style firearms and cannons used by the Qing Dynasty in recent years came from there.
Having achieved his goal, Yinzhen was now focused on getting back to work as soon as possible. After taking the silver notes and speaking with Yinzuo, he got up to bid farewell to his sixth brother.
"Sixth Brother, I'm in a hurry to go to the Ministry of Works to find Ninth Brother, so I'll have to go now. I'll come back to visit you in a few days after everything is settled."
Seeing Yinzhen hurriedly grab the money and run away, Yinzhen cursed him a couple of times in annoyance. He then told Dexi to go outside and call Akshang in, gave him his waist token, and told him to hurry up and go to the Ministry of Works as well.
"That brat, he took the money and ran. I don't know where he learned this habit from. Has he forgotten that the Ministry of Works is my territory? What good will it do him to go to his Ninth Brother..."
Dexi listened to Yinzhuo muttering angrily, and tried his best to make himself less noticeable. With his master in such a state of mind, let alone a living person like him, even a dog would get kicked if it dared to pass by.
"And where did you learn this habit of taking the money and running away from me, Tenth Master? My goodness, do you even need to say anything? You must have learned it from you. Have we forgotten? You've done this quite often before."
At this time, besides Yinzhuo, only Dexi, who was serving him, was in the Shufengxuan waterside pavilion. No one responded. Yinzhuo muttered to himself for a while, but he felt it was meaningless and stopped. The sun was shining brightly outside today, so Yinzhuo had someone move the recliner to a spot by the window. He lay down on it, closed his eyes, and fell asleep in no time.
Yinzhu regained consciousness. It was almost dark outside. He threw off the blanket covering him, sat up straight, and looked around. He found that there was no one else in the room except him. He raised his hand, knocked on the armrest of the rocking chair, and called out.
"De Xi~"
Dexi had been waiting at the entrance of the waterside pavilion all afternoon, and as soon as he heard Yinzhuo's call, he immediately pushed open the door and came in.
"Your Majesty, you're finally awake! His Majesty just sent someone over to ask if you'd like to join him for dinner..."