area51novel Chapter 2001: Neither Inside nor Outside (Please give me a monthly ticket)
Chapter 2001: Neither Inside nor Outside (Please give me a monthly ticket)
Chapter 2001: Neither Inside nor Outside (Please give me a monthly ticket)
The Fifth Prince has been on duty in this room for several years. Now that he has been away for a few days, the feeling is different.
It seems like the room has grown bigger.
How is that possible?
Looking closely, I saw that the original furniture, chairs, etc. were much reduced.
The room looks spacious.
And this smell is no longer the smell of moldy wood.
"Orange scent?"
The Fifth Prince said this while looking around.
He did know that his younger brother's family used fresh fruit to fumigate the house.
That's fine at home, but it would be a bit conspicuous in the government office.
There are people coming and going in this yamen, and if other people knew about it, the censor would have reason to impeach him.
After looking around, I didn't see any fruit plate.
The Ninth Prince pointed to the small copper incense burner on the desk and said, "Inside is perfumed ointment. Once it is filled, the smell will last for two days."
These were all shipped from Suzhou.
There are hundreds of acres of orange orchards on Dongshan Island, but because it is far away from the capital, only a handful of oranges are shipped to the capital.
The remaining oranges are either purchased by fresh fruit merchants or made into various things.
There’s honey marmalade, there’s orange balm, there’s orange balm.
It is very convenient to transport these small items to the capital.
When Gui Dan saw the two masters coming in, she stood up from behind her desk and bowed to them: "Greetings to the Fourth Master and the Fifth Master."
The Fourth Prince raised his hand and called out. He had already arrived in front of the desk and was looking down at what Gui Dan had copied.
The Ninth Prince explained, "I let both of my clerks go, and since there's no one to use them for the time being, I captured Guidan's able-bodied men to copy documents for the various departments that will be taking turns to come to Beijing this winter."
The Fifth Prince was holding the incense burner and opening the lid to look at the ointment inside. After hearing this, he looked at Guidan with some concern.
"Is there no manpower available in the mansion? If it's really not possible, go outside and hire someone..."
The Fifth Prince said.
The Fifth Prince's impression of his cousin Gui Dan is that he is a fool.
Mingming had been a companion in the study room for ten years, but Gui Dan was not good at either literature or martial arts, and was not someone who could take on responsibilities.
As for the Guo Luoluo family, Gui Yuan will still be the one to support the family in the future.
The Ninth Prince waved his hand and said, "I am impatient with the crowd. It will be fine after a while when Yiduli and the others come back."
The Fifth Prince knew that his younger brother was not one who liked to work, so he didn't force him.
Gui Dan knew what to do, so he apologized and left.
Since the teapot was occupied, He Yuzhu rinsed two teacups and served tea to the two gentlemen.
The Ninth Prince gave up his couch and invited his two brothers to sit down. He then pulled up a chair and sat down, saying, "Fifth Brother, are you here to ask about the Imperial Grandmother? Fourth Brother, how about you? When are you moving? Third Brother moved yesterday. Look how smart he is. You are taking your time."
They are all princes from the same generation. The Ninth Prince would rather the Fourth Prince come to the fore than have the Third Prince be too proud.
The third prince is easily carried away by success, and everyone saw it when he was first conferred the title of Prince.
The Fourth Prince shook his head and said, "No hurry, let's wait until April."
The Ninth Prince disagreed and said, "We can't let Third Brother steal all the limelight. You should at least pay more attention."
The Fourth Prince looked at the tea in the cup. The lotus seed core inside was green, not the dark green color commonly seen outside.
The Ninth Prince said proudly, "This is the new lotus seed tea that our teahouse launched last year. This unique cooking method is not available elsewhere. If you try it, you will find that it is different from ordinary lotus seed tea."
The Fourth Prince lowered his head and took half a sip. The green bitterness of the lotus seed core immediately spread in his mouth, and he discovered the difference when he tasted it carefully.
It is three points less bitter than ordinary lotus seed core tea and tastes sweeter.
He looked at the tea soup again, and it seemed to be more refreshing than ordinary lotus seed core tea.
The Ninth Prince said proudly, "After peeling the lotus seed core, we don't directly expose it to the sun. Instead, we use boiled water to wash the mucus on the outside, then dry it in the shade. When making tea, we wash the tea leaves first, just like drinking Pu'er tea..."
The Fourth Prince did not speak, while the Fifth Prince exclaimed: "This is too much trouble..."
He had eaten meat in the morning and was thirsty now, so he drank it all in two or three gulps.
He Yuzhu saw this and hurriedly poured another glass for the Fifth Prince.
The Fifth Prince looked at the Ninth Prince and asked, "How is the Imperial Grandmother doing in Haidian? Is she in good spirits?"
The Ninth Prince said, "It looks good. It's better than the palace. The place is big. At this time, the flowers and plants are just right. It's comfortable to stroll in the garden..."
At this point, he remembered the cleaned up toilet and said, "Did you also move in the past two days? Look, the toilet has been cleaned up."
The Fifth Prince exhaled and said, "It's good that the Imperial Grandmother lives comfortably. I was originally worried that there would be no one there, so I thought of moving. Since you guys are going there first, I will be well in April."
The Ninth Prince frowned and said, "You are not as busy as Fourth Brother, why are you dragging your feet? Once the house is cleaned, someone will definitely report to the Imperial Grandmother. I wonder why the Imperial Grandmother is still looking forward to your coming over. Well, you are not moving again. How disappointing!"
After hearing this, the Fifth Prince hesitated again and said, "Then, should I go there earlier?"
The Ninth Prince nodded and said, "Of course, we'll move sooner or later, so why are you still dawdling?"
The Fourth Prince glanced at the Ninth Prince and said, "How can you talk like that?"
The Ninth Prince coughed lightly and said in a slower voice, "I just feel that the Empress Dowager has a hard time. It's also quite lonely without Xiaojiu. The Fifth Prince moved over and came back to greet her every three or five days and have a meal with her. This is also a way of showing filial piety. This is something that no one else can replace."
The Fifth Prince looked ashamed and said, "I will move tomorrow."
The Ninth Prince smiled and said, "That's good. When the time comes, Fifth Brother will be in the garden and can help take care of Niguzhu..."
As he spoke, he told the whole story of Niguzhu's stay in the North Garden.
The Fourth Prince was a little worried and asked, "He's too young. Has he learned all the rules?"
"Ha ha……"
The Ninth Prince didn't know how to answer, so he asked, "How many serious rules did we learn when we were young?"
The Fourth Prince looked at the Ninth Prince and knew that this was against the rules.
You are so bold that you dare to let go like this.
The Fifth Prince said, "Six years old. After the palace was moved, Khan Ama pointed the chief eunuch down, and everyone followed their own An Da to learn the rules."
The Ninth Prince spread his hands and said, "Niguzhu is only four years old. He has already learned all the rules for meeting people on a daily basis. That's all. Who would bother with a child?"
The Fifth Prince echoed, "Yes, yes, it's too late to cherish it. No one would choose a gift for a child."
The Fourth Prince felt helpless when looking at the two brothers.
Why don't you think about what a great opportunity this is?
The Queen Mother has no younger generations around her. If Niguzhu wins the Queen Mother's favor, she will definitely stand out among the emperor's granddaughters.
Even if he did not raise an inner court, every time he came to Haidian and lived in Beihuayuan, he could register in front of the emperor.
Thinking of this, he did not remind the Ninth Prince.
Perhaps what the Queen Mother likes is this kind of uncalculated closeness.
It was too deliberate. Once your tracks were exposed, you would be criticized.
Let the Ninth Prince keep his romantic nature.
The Ninth Prince came back from Haidian just to instruct Yiduli and Agula to compile a list of the tribes that would come to the court this winter.
After almost dealing with both matters, he prepared to go find the Tenth Prince.
Seeing that his two brothers were in a bad mood, he took out his pocket watch and took a look.
A quarter to noon.
He said, "Do you two have any other instructions? If not, I won't keep you here. I have to go back to Haidian today."
The Fourth Prince frowned and said, "It's too tiring to go back and forth every day like this."
"Ha ha……"
The Ninth Prince laughed and said, "You think too highly of me. I have already made an agreement with Lao Ha that I will come back tomorrow to deal with some trivial matters. From the day after tomorrow, I will be on duty in the garden."
Fourth elder brother: "..."
The Fifth Prince said, "This is good. It saves us from the hard work every day. It's getting hotter day by day, and it's stuffy in the car."
The Fourth Prince let out a breath and said nothing else.
The Ninth Prince's small body is not practical for him to travel back and forth between Haidian and the capital every day.
Obviously, he could have interspersed his time, going to Haidian every two or three days and returning to the Prince's Mansion for the rest of the time. However, thinking about Shushu taking care of four children by herself, it does make him feel uneasy.
The Fifth Prince hesitated for a moment and said, "I will take Guaerjia with me to Haidian this time. We will pay our respects to the Empress Dowager. She is new here and doesn't know the royal rules. I need my younger brother and sister-in-law to help take care of her."
The Ninth Prince and the Fourth Prince both looked at the Fifth Prince.
The Fifth Prince lowered his eyes and said, "Hetala has to take care of the children, so it's not easy for her to go out."
The Fourth Prince looked at the Ninth Prince.
The Ninth Prince had a conflicted look on his face. He knew his brother's difficulties, but he still said the ugly words up front.
"My wife is kind-hearted, and Fifth Brother is not an ordinary person. If you ask her, she will definitely respond. But this will offend Fifth Sister-in-law. You must explain it clearly to her, so that she won't blame my wife..."
After hearing this, the Fifth Prince thought about his wife's temperament and immediately changed his mind. He said, "Forget it, I'll ask a suitable nanny to follow me."
The Ninth Prince breathed a sigh of relief and said, "That's good. I was just worried that we would be wasting our time. If you and the Fifth Sister-in-law become a couple and you quarrel at the head of the bed and make up at the foot of the bed, it would make us look like a nobody."
The Fifth Prince couldn't help but hit him and said, "Alright, stop talking. I won't embarrass you."
The Ninth Prince said, "It's not a matter of whether it's difficult or not. It's because of our different statuses that people may gossip about us. People who don't know the inside story may think that my wife treats my sister-in-law badly and is only close to my younger sister-in-law..."
Not only is it a thankless task, but you also have to take the blame.
The Fifth Prince looked depressed and glanced at the Ninth Prince.
He felt sad. His younger brother would protect his sister-in-law. Although this was what he should do, he felt uncomfortable as the brother.
The Ninth Prince was not a hard-hearted person. Seeing this, he could not bear it and hurriedly offered advice: "Eighth Brother has always been unwilling to lag behind others. I guess he will move too. When the time comes, you can mention it to Eighth Brother and let Fu Cha take the little sister-in-law with him. Then it won't be so annoying."
The Fifth Prince turned his head.
What kind of shit idea is this?
He doesn't want to get close to Lao Ba.
Lao Ba is a person who only takes advantage of others to get ahead. Since he has become distant from you, don't get closer to him.
Having said that, he became worried, and looked at the Ninth Prince and said, "Just do as I say and arrange for a nanny to follow you, and don't always think about bothering others..."