novelhk Chapter 397 World 716
Chapter 397 World 716
On the morning of the third day in the palace, Yin Yin had just gotten up when she heard that Consort Shu had gone into labor.
Yinyin originally planned to go to Yaoguang Palace first, but was stopped by the palace maid.
“Miss Yinyin, the old lady says that you should go to Xuan Shi Hall as usual.”
Yinyin looked at her: "But I want to go see my aunt."
The palace maid coaxed her, "It's all chaotic up there right now. Even if Miss Yinyin goes there now, she won't be able to see Her Majesty. You'll be able to see the young master when you come back from Xuan Shi Hall."
Yinyin sighed like a little adult and said, "Alright then."
The palace maid then served Yin Yin her meal and escorted her to the Xuan Shi Hall.
Inside the Xuan Shi Hall, the emperor had already finished meeting with his court officials and was reviewing memorials himself: "I thought you weren't coming today."
Yinyin stepped forward and said, "Since I can't stay inside, I might as well come and keep His Majesty company."
Her earnest expression made the emperor chuckle and put down his pen: "Who's accompanying whom here?"
“It’s Yinyin who’s with His Majesty!” Yinyin said with certainty. “His Majesty is so sad to be alone in the Xuan Shi Hall.”
“Who told you I am alone?” the emperor retorted. “Many more people will be coming later.”
Yinyin tilted her head cutely: "Then Yinyin, go back?"
"Little girl, you're threatening me now," the emperor said, pulling her into his arms. "Since you're here, just stay here."
Yin Yin feigned confusion: "How did Yin Yin threaten His Majesty?"
The emperor pinched her little face, casually opened a book of greetings, and seeing that there was nothing important written on it, decided to use it to teach Yin Yin to read.
As soon as Yinyin saw the memorial, she turned her head and buried her face in the emperor's chest.
The emperor asked in surprise, "What's going on?"
Yinyin said in a muffled voice, "Grandfather said that Yinyin should stay away from the memorials, so Yinyin doesn't look at them."
The emperor, both amused and exasperated, gently patted her: "What I have permitted you to see, you may see."
Although Yinyin raised her head, she still didn't look in the direction of the memorial: "But Yinyin doesn't want to look!"
Seeing Yin Yin's insistence, the emperor, though helpless, was also somewhat satisfied. He turned to Eunuch Wu and asked him to set up a small table for her and bring out all the painting tools, telling her to play as she pleased.
Yinyin breathed a sigh of relief and happily ran towards the various paints.
If we're talking about the emperor, even if it's just for a little child to play with, he provides all the necessary paints, and they're all top-quality.
Wu Gonggong's young apprentice came to ask, "What color does Miss Yinyin want to use?"
With his demeanor, he could immediately open the bottle and grind the ingredients for Yin Yin the moment she asked.
Yinyin looked at the inkstones carefully for a while, but in the end she only asked him to grind the ink.
Yinyin actually has a foundation in drawing, unlike E who has never studied it before. If she were to start drawing directly, it definitely wouldn't work.
Yinyin thought for a moment, then took another pen to use as a ruler and began to trace the main hall in front of her.
Using a pen as a ruler to draw a house with slightly better lines is perfectly normal.
After playing for a while, Yinyin heard the emperor say, "Let them in."
A short while later, the four princes followed Eunuch Wu in.
Yinyin stopped writing, leaving a large blot of ink on the paper.
She put down her pen, stood aside, and waited for the princes to finish paying their respects to the emperor before going forward to pay her respects to them herself.
A couple of days ago, when the princes saw Yin Yin outside the palace, most of them ignored her. But now that they're inside the Xuan Shi Hall, in front of the Emperor, their attitude towards her is quite good. Even the eldest prince has learned how to speak normally now.
After they finished greeting each other, the emperor asked, "Where is Xiao Wu?"
The princes below looked at each other, none of them wanting to stand up and speak.
Only after the emperor frowned did the group reluctantly push out the eldest prince.
"Fifth, fifth brother, he..."
"Your Majesty, the Fifth Prince requests an audience."
The voice of Eunuch Wu, which was announcing the news, sounded like heavenly music to the First Prince's ears, and he quickly retreated to his seat.
After the emperor gave his permission, the fifth prince slowly walked in from outside.
The fifth prince is a little older than Yin Yin, and is now five years old. He performs the rituals quite well.
"My son, I will meet my father."
The emperor nodded, but did not ask him why he was late. He simply told him to stand with his brothers.
The fifth prince readily agreed, standing beside his elder brothers with a blank expression, exuding a rather arrogant air.
Yinyin only glanced at it and then ignored it.
While the other princes ignored him, Yin Yin kept her distance from the fifth prince.
There's no other reason than that this is the future crown prince.
Yinyin was doodling on the paper by herself, while the princes over there were trembling with fear when the emperor asked them questions.
Compared to the other princes' quail-like appearance, the Fifth Prince's composure truly made him stand out.
Regardless of whether the answer was perfect or not, the emperor seemed more satisfied with the fifth prince than with the other princes.
After the examination was over, the emperor summoned all the princes back to their quarters before getting up to look at Yin Yin's drawings.
The emperor originally thought that even if Yin Yin had a good sense of aesthetics, she might not be able to paint anything worthwhile.
But when he came to see for himself, he was surprised.
Although the drawing was simple, and even with the aid of tools, the lines weren't exactly straight, Yin Yin's drawing was still perfectly recognizable to the emperor as depicting the beams and pillars of the main hall in front of him.
The emperor said, "It seems that our Yinyin has quite a talent for painting."
Yinyin said with a touch of pride, "Yinyin will definitely become a great painter in the future!"
The emperor didn't take her words to heart, but he still encouraged her, saying, "Then Yinyin, you must work hard. If you study painting seriously, I will even provide you with all the paints."
“That’s settled then,” Yin Yin said with a sly smile. “If I run out of paint in the future, I’ll just ask His Majesty for some!”
The emperor ruffled her hair and instructed Eunuch Wu, "Hurry up and write it down. Prepare a set later and have this girl take it home."
Eunuch Wu quickly agreed, then beckoned to one of his apprentices and began to instruct him.
After exchanging a few words, the emperor continued dealing with the backlog of affairs, while Yin Yin patiently painted on the side.
By the time the emperor had completely dealt with the matter, Yin Yin's painting was almost finished.
Although it looks crooked and twisted, it's incredibly cute.
After the emperor finished reading it, he didn't even mention that Yinyin should take it back. Instead, he kept it and ordered it to be framed and preserved.
There were writing brushes, ink, paper, and inkstones in front of her. The emperor was even planning to teach Yin Yin to write a few characters when a palace servant from Yaoguang Palace came to announce the good news.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty! Congratulations, Your Majesty! Consort Shu has given birth to a prince."
"Very well," the emperor instructed Eunuch Wu, "Consort Shu has rendered meritorious service in giving birth to the sixth prince, and shall be richly rewarded."
After saying this, the emperor picked up Yin Yin and ordered people to prepare a palanquin to head towards Yaoguang Palace.
It's no wonder the emperor's attitude was so erratic.
As far as Yin Yin knew, since the birth of the Fifth Prince, for almost five years, there had been few new offspring in the palace, and not a single prince.
The increasingly strained relationship between the emperor and empress was partly due to this.
But the Empress was clean-cut, and even after a thorough investigation of the first imperial physician who examined Consort Shu's pulse, there was no direct evidence.
Yinyin put on an act of looking forward to getting to Yaoguang Palace, but in her heart she was calculating the time.
It seems that the day of establishing a crown prince is not far off.