Chapter 43 The Relationship Between Consort Hui and Her Son

Yunyun fulfilled Baoqing's little wish by bringing back a three-month-old Pekingese puppy from the cat and dog room, naming it Baturu.

Baturu has soft, golden fur and big, round, exceptionally bright eyes. Thinking it was for Bao Qingyao, she specially chose the most lively one.

The cat and dog, along with Yunduo, occupied the two side rooms.

The notion that cats and dogs don't get along doesn't apply to these two little ones. Yun Duo seems to treat Baturu like her little brother, often bringing her little ball to play with him.

With the arrival of the Baturu, Consort Nara and Consort Wei paid their respects more frequently and showed a clear preference for him.

Consort Wei favored Yun Duo more, making her a small bamboo basket, a silk-stuffed mouse doll, and a different cat bed for each season.

Consort Nara preferred Baturu. She wasn't as skillful as Consort Wei, so she spent two months making a thick cushion with rabbit fur trim on the outside and cotton filling on the inside, and even embroidered a crooked dog paw print on it.

Yunyun used all her heartfelt wishes on the two little ones.

It's the first month of the lunar calendar again, and the glazed tiles of the Forbidden City are still covered with the fresh snow from last night. The sharp eaves and upturned corners have become rounded and soft under the outline of the snow.

Inside the Qianqing Palace, Emperor Kangxi issued his final decree before retiring from writing—to re-order the birth order of the princes in the palace.

The imperial decree spread throughout the palace, and the one who attracted the most attention was Baoqing, who was originally the fifth prince.

From then on, he was the rightful eldest son of the emperor, as recorded on the imperial register.

Under the influence of Confucian rites and laws, the greatest advantage of the eldest son of the emperor was the right of succession.

If there is a legitimate heir, then the eldest son should be chosen; if there is no legitimate heir, then the eldest son should be chosen.

Although the crown prince has been appointed, he is not yet the emperor. As long as he does not sit on the throne, who can say what kind of twists and turns might occur along the way?

The allure of following the emperor is immense.

However, Baoqing didn't care about the title of the eldest prince at all; he was now only focused on the hunting dogs raised by his mother.

Having just finished breakfast, Baoqing, who had been granted three days of rest, couldn't wait to head straight from the East Third Palace to Yanxi Palace.

Xiao Dezi, carrying a heavy schoolbag, was panting heavily and would occasionally call out softly from behind, "Master, slow down, the steps are slippery, be careful not to fall."

Bao Qing ignored him and ran as fast as he could on the palace road. When he saw the vermilion gate of Yanxi Palace, he quickened his pace even more.

"Mother!" Baoqing lifted the dark blue curtain used to shield her from the wind and rushed into the inner room, carrying with her a chilly aura.

Inside the inner room, the charcoal brazier was burning brightly. Yunyun, dressed in casual clothes, was making cotton toys with Fuling, threading a needle.

Hearing the familiar sound, Yunyun didn't rush to look up. Instead, she gently cut the thread with silver scissors and finished the toy.

After handing the toys to Fuling to keep, Yunyun got up, brushed off the snowflakes that had gotten stuck to Baoqing, and said to him in a slightly annoyed tone, "It snowed heavily last night, and the roads outside were wet this morning, with some places even icy. Why are you running so fast? You'll be in big trouble if you fall."

You can ignore what Xiao Dezi says, but you must listen to your mother.

Baoqing stood obediently, letting his mother straighten his collar, and then accepted the hot tea that Lingzhi offered him.

While drinking, he kept glancing towards the door.

Seeing that his mind was elsewhere, Yunyun let him out. "Alright, your mother is taking good care of you. She's in the west wing room. Go and see her."

Having received her mother's permission, Baoqing put the teacup on the table and ran out like a gust of wind.

Yun Jun shook her head, "I just told him to be more careful, but he completely ignored me."

Fuling said, "My brother is at a lively age, and besides, he has been waiting for two months. How can he wait any longer?"

A little while later, Baoqing came running back like a gust of wind, still holding Baturu in her arms.

"Mother, is this the hunting dog you raised for me?"

Baturu is already six months old. His golden fur is groomed to be smooth and shiny, with a texture comparable to fine silk, making him irresistible.

His physique was anything but robust; his small body curled up in Baoqing's arms, he was simply sturdy and adorable, with the endearing clumsiness unique to puppies.

Baoqing's big eyes were full of doubt. "Mother, can Baturu really accompany me on the hunt?"

hound?

Yunyun and Fuling exchanged a glance, seeing confusion in each other's eyes.

Did Baoqing mention wanting to raise hunting dogs?

Yunyun hesitated for two seconds, torn between maintaining her maternal authority and not deceiving the child, before choosing the latter.

“Baoqing,” Yun Jun cleared her throat, “is like this, Baturu is a pet dog. You know what a pet is, right? It’s a non-commercial pet, one that satisfies our emotional needs…”

He couldn't make up the rest. "In short, the Baturu is not a hunting dog. It was raised by my mother to keep Baoqing company and to relieve his boredom. It cannot be used for hunting or work."

Although Baturu's name is beautiful and implies a warrior, his physique destined him to never be a warrior; his name can only represent the hope of preserving a beautiful life.

Knowing that Baoqing originally wanted hunting dogs, Yunyun quickly made amends, "The hunting dogs are not in the cat and dog house, but are raised by your father's hawk and hound division. Those dogs are all selected good seedlings from the greyhounds. They are fast, have a keen sense of smell, and can go hunting with you. If you want them, go talk to your father later."

If it weren't for Emperor Kangxi, why would Baoqing have suddenly wanted hunting dogs?

He should deal with the trouble he caused himself.

"Is that so?" Bao Qing seemed thoughtful, then looked down at the Baturu in his arms and asked, "Then can I train the Baturu to be a hunting dog?"

Looking at Baturu's small size and his current strength, which was even weaker than Yun Duo's, Yun Jun shook her head regretfully, "I'm afraid that won't work."

"All right."

At least knowing that the hounds were looking for the Emperor gave Baoqing some direction, so he wasn't too discouraged.

He looked down and touched Baturu. The little guy was good-natured and stayed obediently in Baoqing's arms even after being suddenly taken out, and rubbed against his palm.

Baoqing gently put Baturu down, letting him wag his tail and run towards his mother. He said reluctantly, "Baturu, play with your mother first. I'll go find Father Emperor and ask for a hunting dog, then I'll come back."

Without hesitation, Baoqing scurried out, leaving Baturu chasing his own tail in circles in the warm pavilion.

Although the Qianqing Palace was Kangxi's regular haunt, he didn't stay there all day. Especially after he stopped writing, he no longer needed to review memorials or meet with ministers, and instead appeared randomly in various places.

After all, the Forbidden City was truly his home.

Therefore, Baoqing did not find her father, the Emperor, in the Qianqing Palace this time, and could only return to the Yanxi Palace dejectedly.

This time he remembered to walk carefully and gently lift the curtain.

"Have you found your Emperor Father?" Yun Jun was sitting on the heated kang embroidering a handkerchief. When she saw him come in, she smiled and said, "You ran fast. Your mother didn't even have time to tell you. The Emperor is probably in Chengqian Palace right now."

Upon hearing this, Bao Qing's shoulders slumped instantly.

It turns out that all that running back and forth between Qianqing Palace and Yanxi Palace this morning was for nothing.

However, after exercising all morning, he was indeed quite tired, and he picked up the hot tea next to him and gulped it all down.

I sat and rested for a while before I recovered.

Seeing how exhausted he looked, Yunyun shook her head, put down the handkerchief, and gently placed the dozing Yunduo curled up in her arms to the side.

As soon as Yunduo left the person, she woke up, jumped off the heated kang, and with a swishing of her big tail, she went to Baturu, who was dozing by the charcoal brazier, and woke him up as well.

“Today is New Year’s Eve, and needless to say, we all have to attend the family banquet tonight,” Yun Jun tossed a handful of dried fish for the two to eat and play with, and continued, “After the banquet, you princes and princesses will have to stay up with the Emperor in the Qianqing Palace to eat boiled buns. All things considered, you won’t have much free time to spend with your mother today.”

Bao Qing had just nodded when he saw Fu Ling bring over a tray with something bright red on it, which looked like clothing material.

Yunyun gestured for him to take a look. "Come on, try it. According to the traditional Chinese age system, you'll be ten years old today. To give you a good start, your mother specially made you a new nightgown. May it bless you with a prosperous life and your studies."

Bao Qing touched it; the outer layer of the nightgown was made of delicate lake silk, which felt smooth to the touch, and the inner layer was lined with warm silver fox fur. The collar and cuffs were edged, revealing a circle of snow-white fur, and the stitches were so fine that not a single thread could be seen.

Over the past two years, he has gradually developed some sense of beauty and ugliness. He usually wears sky blue or light lake blue, emphasizing a fresh and elegant style. But now, seeing such a strong bright red, he frowned slightly, somewhat unwilling: "I still have several nightgowns. This one... let's just forget about it?"

As soon as she finished speaking, Yun Jun's smiling eyes drooped instantly, and her eyes reddened slightly. "Is Bao Qing complaining that Mother's nightgown is not well made?"

As she spoke, she pretended to dab her eyes with a handkerchief, "She has grown up after all, and is not as close to her mother as before. Last year, Baoqing wore a bright red ceremonial robe, but this year she even dislikes the same color nightgown."

Lingzhi immediately chimed in, "Sigh, Master worked so hard for a month, his eyes were bloodshot, all so that the Prince could wear it on the first day of the New Year."

Baoqing had never seen anything like this before. Seeing that his mother was about to cry, all his resistance vanished. He quickly grabbed his nightgown and put it on, saying, "I like it so much, how could I dislike Mother's handiwork? I'll wear it now, I'll wear it now."

However, his winter clothes were so complicated that he couldn't even manage to put together all those jingling clothes and accessories by himself.

Seeing that he had relented, Fuling quickly went to help.

With her expertise, Baoqing was soon left with only a moon-white undergarment.

He quickly put on his nightgown and stood obediently in front of Yun Jun to show it off.

Yun Jun leaned over and straightened his collar, looking him over from left to right, very satisfied: "Look at you, how energetic you are."

She then told Baoqing to move her arms and legs, saying, "If it doesn't fit, Mother will alter it for you."

Baoqing looked at the bright red nightgown she was wearing, then at her mother whose face was full of smiles, without a trace of grievance or sadness, and couldn't believe it.

"Mother, when did your acting become so good?"

He vaguely remembered that his mother used to need ginger handkerchiefs to cry.

Yun Jun was a little embarrassed. It was rare for her to be in a good mood and act a little dramatic, but her son caught her. She waved her hand and said, "Oh, these are all things of the past. They're not worth mentioning."

However, Baoqing, who had been tricked by her mother, still got a little angry and said loudly and defiantly, "Mother, you can't do that again next time!"