HCB Chapter 172 My grassland, my horse, I can do whatever I want with them.
Chapter 172 My grassland, my horse, I can do whatever I want with them.
If you think that being late or leaving early is the limit of what Yinzhuo can do, then you are wrong. What is our Prince Zhao best at? Obviously, it is pushing the limits. Before the weather got so cold, no matter what, he would at least go to the Ministry of Works to show up every day. But now that the weather is getting colder, he doesn't plan to go to the Ministry of Works anymore. He has moved his sign-in place to his father's Qianqing Palace.
"Yinzuo, I remember today isn't a day off, is it? What time is it now? Why aren't you on duty at the Ministry of Works and instead have come here to see me?"
Including today, Yinzhuo has appeared in Qianqing Palace for five consecutive days outside of his rest days. Even Emperor Kangxi, who has always been lenient with Yinzhuo, can no longer stand it.
"Father, what are you saying? Yesterday, the day before yesterday, and the day before that weren't rest days, were they? Don't worry, the Ninth Minister of Works is here, and the Tenth Minister is keeping an eye on Dai Zi, so nothing will go wrong. Whether I go or not doesn't matter much. Rather than braving the wind and snow to go to the Ministry of Works to work, I'd rather come to the Qianqing Palace to chat with you and keep you company."
Chatting? Relieving boredom? Relieving whose boredom? So you're coming here so often to relieve my boredom? Heh, I don't have time to entertain you.
"Then you should go to the Ministry of Works for your shift. I don't find it boring, and I don't have time to chat with you anyway. See that pile of memorials over there? They all need to be processed today."
Yinzhu didn't care what his father said. He went to the bookshelf, found a travelogue, wandered over to the bed where Kangxi was sitting, took off his shoes, climbed onto the bed, and then settled into a comfortable spot.
"Father, don't worry about your son. You go about your business, he'll find something to keep him occupied..."
What a masterstroke! Kangxi glanced at the pile of memorials beside him, then at Yinzhuo leisurely reading on the couch. It would be a miracle if he felt satisfied. Why should he, at his age, have to work so hard while he, so young, can enjoy himself like this? The saying was absolutely true: "To endure for a moment only makes you angrier, to back down only makes you feel more cheated." Finally, the unbalanced old father couldn't help but kick Yinzhuo.
"Move over there, can't you see you're blocking my light?"
Yinzhu was inexplicably kicked by his father. He looked up at the distance between them, then at the brightly lit room. What was there to understand?
"Father is being unreasonable. Your son is quite far away from you. There's a small table between us; you can't even reach me without stretching your legs. How could I be blocking your light? You wouldn't be upset that I'm so relaxed, so... um..."
Yinzhuo's guess was obviously correct, but would Kangxi accept it? The answer is yes, as soon as Yinzhuo said this, his father admitted it without the slightest hesitation.
"Hmph, so what? Everyone's been working themselves to the bone as the year draws to a close. Look at all the memorials I've received; there are more than before. Don't even think about shirking your duties. Get up; those pile of greetings are yours."
"It's yours now..." Listen to what he's saying. How can it be mine? Why should it be mine? Am I just taking it easy? That's my own skill. Who told me I have a good father while you don't... Although Yinzhuo was very dissatisfied, he softened when he saw the huge pile of memorials in front of his father. Fine, for the sake of his own father, he'll help him this once, just this once... Yinzhuo sighed, put down the travelogue in his hand, and slowly moved to the pile of memorials of greeting to Kangxi.
"Father, we've made a deal, this is a one-time thing, and it won't happen again. If you do this again, your son won't come to play with you anymore..."
Yinzhu muttered to himself, but his hands were flipping through the memorials quite quickly. There was really no need to read these greeting memorials in detail. He wouldn't say he read them ten lines at a glance, but as long as he glanced through them and there was nothing special, Yinzhu would generally not reply with more than three words—"good," "very good," or "excellent."
As mentioned before, reviewing and approving memorials was a test of patience and willpower. Kangxi, having been subjected to such turmoil for so many years, was already able to remain unfazed no matter how outrageous the memorials were. However, Yinzhuo's facial expressions were clearly not yet up to par. During a break, Kangxi was drawn to Yinzhuo's rich facial expressions and picked up the memorials that Yinzhuo had reviewed to examine them. He was truly astonished by what he saw. He could only imagine how interesting the expressions of the ministers would be after these memorials were returned to them and they saw these replies.
“Yinzhuo, the New Year is just around the corner. If you approve it like this, they might not be able to have a good New Year after they receive the memorial.”
Upon hearing this, Yinzhu put down the vermilion brush in his hand, looked up at his father, and said, "Father, you are so understanding. Why don't you take a look at what your ministers have written?"
"Father, do you not have a good look at how bizarre your officials are? Look at this one, he insisted on sending you mangoes last time. Didn't I tell him I don't like mangoes and to stop? Why won't he listen? And this governor, you know, such a high-ranking official, yet he writes such incomprehensible nonsense in his memorials. Even if you wrote something in plain language, I wouldn't have bothered to reply with something like, 'Are you out of your mind?'"
If these oddballs are common, there are definitely more today than ever. Yinzhu felt that his short temper was about to explode. They were making his life difficult, so why should he care whether they were doing well or not?
“Father, look at this again. He especially likes to pay his respects to you. He came again today, asking if he can come to wish you a happy birthday. Do you think I should just tell him not to come, or should I say yes and say, ‘Come on over’?”
It must be said that it was quite interesting to look at the greetings memorials that Yinzhuo had reviewed during breaks from handling official business. Kangxi had already read through all the memorials that Yinzhuo had reviewed. Hearing Yinzhuo's words, he peeked over at him and then reached out and tapped Yinzhuo's forehead.
"Your reply, though straightforward, is quite interesting. However, when it comes to matters of the court, we still need to give them some face."
Dignity? I can only say I'll try my best, and besides, your opinion doesn't matter now. The vermilion brush is in my hands, so it's my grassland, my horse, and I can do whatever I want with it...
For the entire morning, the father and son sat facing each other, engrossed in the pile of memorials before them, until the sun set and darkness fell. Only then did Yinzhu put down his vermilion brush, stretch, get out of bed, put on his shoes, and stretch his stiff legs.
"Father, you've been sitting here all afternoon, aren't your legs numb? Get up and move around a bit, anyway, that pile of documents in front of you isn't something you can finish reviewing in a short time..."