"Xihe, where is the master?" Xizhu, who returned to the dining room with a food box, wrinkled his face in confusion and asked Xihe who was busy beside him.
"Hey, isn't it in the study? After coming back from the Imperial Garden to enjoy the lanterns, I went into the study and never came out." Upon hearing this, Xihe put down what she was doing, wiped her hands, and walked out of the dining room quietly.
He walked outside the study, listened for a while, and then reached out and knocked on the door of the study: "Master! The midnight snack is ready, Master? Fourth Brother?"
There was no response in the study for a long time. Xihe pulled back his hand in confusion and said to himself: "It's weird... I was still there just now."
"Would you like to go in and take a look?" Xizhu suggested worriedly as he followed behind.
"Don't! Have you forgotten what happened to Xi Lian?" Hearing this, Xi He glared at Xi Zhu fiercely.
She never dared to forget her master's taboos.
The master was only five years old at that time, and he had given repeated orders not to allow the palace maids and eunuchs to enter his study at will. However, Xilian, who had been serving the master since she was a child, did not believe in evil and entered the study to deliver snacks without the master's consent. As you can imagine,
Naturally, the result was a heavy fine. Not only was he confiscated half a year's salary, but he was also demoted to the Huanyi Bureau. Without the master's order, he would not be allowed to leave the Huanyi Bureau for life.
"Of course I haven't forgotten it. But just in case..." Xizhu frowned worriedly. He recalled the master who had just returned from the Imperial Garden, his face full of gloom, for fear of any accident.
"Bah, bah, bah, don't spit out ivory from the dog's mouth! What can happen to the master?!" Xihe glanced at the little maid. She turned fourteen in the new year, two years older than Xizhu, and was from Nansuo
After taking away Xi Lian, the master did not add any more maids. Instead, he added a eunuch. No, in the huge courtyard, apart from the two close maids she and Xizhu, there was only Xiao Lizi who followed the master in and out at any time.
, along with Xiaoyouzi who stayed behind to convey the order, and two rough maids who cleaned the courtyard. In terms of manpower ratio, they were far inferior to the other brothers.
However, the strange thing is that not only did the mistress not feel that there were not enough people to serve him, but on the contrary, since he turned five years old, he has never let them serve him closely. She and Xizhu, compared to other brothers' close maids,
But it’s much more leisurely.
…………
"Come out and get some air, Ying." Yinzhen walked out of the palace gate unsteadily, crossed the Moon Bay outside Zhengyang Gate, looked at the busy street in front of him, and said to the air.
"Master?" Qi Ying appeared helplessly. Fortunately, the master had sent away Little Li Zi in advance. He was also wearing ordinary blue uniforms.
"What? I brought you out to celebrate the Lantern Festival, why don't you blame me?" Yinzhen glanced at Qiying with a half-smile, and walked directly to where the crowd gathered, "Let's go and guess lantern riddles, maybe
You can also take home a big prize."
Qiying followed helplessly.
Since the master turned five years old and could enter and exit the palace freely, he would appear in front of others in this way every Lantern Festival.
Not willing? Of course not. But, as a secret guard, how can he go in and out of people so openly? This is against royal rules. He should be a shadow living in the darkness all day long.
"Tease your lips and don't let people stare at you." Although Yinzhen didn't look back, he could still guess Qi Ying's current expression. "Don't forget that you are wearing a human skin mask. Even if Emperor Ama sees you,
I can’t recognize you as Qi Ying.”
He bought this human skin mask from a quack magician three years ago for one hundred taels of silver. It has miraculous effects that can almost be mistaken for the real one.
It was only after that that Qi Ying was willing to obey his call and occasionally appeared in front of people when leaving the palace.
"Sir, there are still unfinished programs in the palace." Qi Ying reminded him responsibly.
"Don't worry about so much. Quan should come out and do business." Yinzhen's tone was still calm.
Doing business? Qi Ying secretly said, this is the second time that the mission assigned by the emperor has been used.
The first time was on the day of the palace banquet. In the name of leaving the palace to explore the relationship between the prince and Nixiao Pavilion, he went to the South Hall of Xuanwumen and brought back a large bag of things that were said to be "treasures".
Now, I have to use this name to visit the lantern show on Zhengyangmen Street in a grand manner.
To be honest, the lanterns hung in the imperial garden are more exquisite and magnificent than the folk lanterns, right? Is it necessary to sacrifice the near for the far, the refined for the rough?
Qi Ying once again set his sights on his master's back. The nine-year-old fourth prince's height had already reached his chest, and he already had the domineering air of a superior. Given time, he would definitely shine.
"Is there no flowers on my back?" At some point, Yinzhen turned his head and looked at Qi Ying, who was just staring at him without saying a word, and asked lazily.
"This subordinate has exceeded the rules." Qi Ying froze, quickly looked away, and stood with his fists clasped and his head bowed.
Seeing this, Yinzhen looked up at the starry sky helplessly. The moon was round and the starry sky was beautiful.
I just wonder if relatives and friends far away in another time and space can be as leisurely and carefree as he is now?
He shook his head bitterly. He could imagine how chaotic the Ying family's shipping business would be once he "died". He also fully knew that what caused the Ying family's chaos was not the shipping affairs, but the dispute over the successor.
Several blood relatives of the Ying family have been eyeing his position since he became CEO, hoping to replace him and lead the Ying family.
If he hadn't been unwilling to let his mother's dowry be swallowed up by the wolves of the Ying family, he would not have bothered to devote all his youth to the Ying family's shipping business.
If he could do it over again, he would withdraw his capital as soon as possible and never let his mother's dowry be involved in the bottomless abyss of the shipping company.
However, now, he has nothing to do but sigh and regret. He can't even understand why he came to this world.
All he knew was that the brakes of the car traveling on the highway failed and hit the central guardrail... After he woke up, he was the fourth son of the emperor, Yinzhen, who had just emerged from his mother's body...
"Master!" Qi Ying's slightly rising tone showed his inner worries.
"It's okay. Let's go and try our luck. The folk prizes are not necessarily worse than those in the palace." Yinzhen gathered his thoughts, raised the corners of his lips, and took the lead to the most lively lantern display.
"...If any of the spectators can guess the riddle on this set of lanterns, the reward will be ten taels. Plus a jar of Drunken Old Rice Wine... Whoever guesses the mystery of this set of lanterns will get a reward of twenty taels! Plus two taels."
Coupons for soup noodles from Zhang Song’s Noodle House…”
As soon as the lantern riddle with such a high prize was announced, the crowd burst into cheers, and immediately they rushed to the lantern riddle shop in a swarm, for fear of missing out on such a high prize.
Seeing this scene, Yinzhen stood a few feet away in amusement. Although he was curious about the mystery of the so-called high bounty, he was not in a hurry to squeeze into the crowd.
Suddenly, there was a flash of light in his eyes, and through the colorful halo like fire and silver flowers intertwined by the lights and moonlight, he saw the little girl who had met him several times and still owed her a lot of treasures. At this time
He was lying in front of the second-floor window of the teahouse behind the lantern riddle shop, holding his chin, looking at the group of excited people below with interest, smiling...