Chapter 86: He Doesn't Like Rouge and Powder

The news of the Ninth Prince's difficult labor and Concubine Yi's near-death experience had reached the Forbidden City shortly after Yin'er's birth. The seemingly friendly concubines in the harem, those who treated Xiuyu like sisters, selected high-quality supplements and sent them to the southern suburbs. Even after Xiuyu had recovered and returned to the Yikun Palace, the supplies remained piled high in her warm room in the southern suburbs.

Although many ladies in the harem were kind to Xiu Yu on the surface, with Xuanye's overt protection, no one dared to have any other thoughts.

This time, Xiu Yu returned to Yikun Palace to continue recuperating. The ladies didn't even dare to enter Yikun Palace, for fear of disturbing Xiu Yu's rest. If there was any problem and it was blamed on them, they would be in big trouble.

Xiu Yu was so happy to have such a good life that she simply stayed at home to raise her cubs. Of course, as for Kejing and Yinqi, she adhered to the principle of not letting these two guys behave too outstandingly in front of the eldest prince, the crown prince, the third prince, and the fourth prince, and had begun to teach them in a biased way. For example, during the time originally for teaching mathematics, she, as a mother, actually took the initiative to take the two children to the training ground to practice horseback riding and archery, and she even called it: the skills of the ancestors cannot be lost. Of course, this was still very pleasing to Xuanye's ears.

The good days of leisure lasted until a month before Yin'er's first birthday. According to custom, Xuanye personally prepared a ceremony for Yin'er. Because it was not easy for Xiaojiu to survive, this ceremony was particularly grand. All the important ladies in the harem participated in the ceremony, and they all prepared a good thing for Xiaojiu to use for the ceremony.

It was already summer, and Xiaojiu was wearing a lake green gown and sitting on the couch like a little adult, looking at the various little things in front of him. His big eyes blinked again and again, and his little hands were behind his back, but he didn't seem to want to grab anything.

Empress Xiaozhuang sat on the armchair nearby, watching her ninth great-grandson. Seeing his tiny feet kicking his colorful purse, rouge, and pipe to the side, she felt delighted. She took off the Buddhist beads she was wearing on her wrist, stood up, and personally put them on the ninth prince's ankle. "Since these beads from Wukuma Ma can't be used for your one-year-old celebration, I'm giving them to our ninth prince. I hope they can keep you safe."

Xiaojiu still couldn't say thank you, so Xiu Yu naturally bowed and said, "Yu'er thanks the old ancestor on behalf of Yin'er."

"The Empress Dowager gave Yinzhen a birthday gift, so as his father, I must give him one too." Xuanye said this, and took out a small red sandalwood box and opened it. From inside, he took out a crystal clear jade pendant carved into the shape of a Bodhisattva. He personally hung it around Yinzhen's neck and then stood beside Xiuyu: "This jade has been blessed. From now on, let Xiaojiu wear it. Don't take it off again."

Xiu Yu no longer cared about the envious or jealous looks from the other concubines. She simply smiled and nodded. She then took out a small abacus and placed it on the bed. "I prepared this a long time ago, but I was so busy greeting the sisters that I forgot to take it out."

The abacus was brought by his mother. In Xiaojiu's eyes, nothing anyone put in front of him was as good as what his mother put in front of him. So his chubby little hands reached out to grab the abacus, making a rattling sound. Xiaojiu pulled it a few times, then held it in his hand and refused to let go.

Xuanye only thought the event of "Zhuazhou" was fun, but he didn't really think that what a baby less than a year old grasped in his hands could predict his future. However, it was quite strange that the little guy actually grabbed the abacus that Xiuyu had placed there.

Xuanye leaned close to Xiuyu's ear and whispered, "Our little fellow loves money. I guess he'll be like you in the future, trying every possible way to make money."

Xiu Yu also lowered her voice and replied, "I'm afraid that Xiao Jiu will be much more powerful than me as his mother in the future."

Xuanye and Xiu Yu were talking in low voices, and the concubines who came to Yiku Palace to join in the fun were looking at each other. Many of them believed in the results of the "grabbing the pen, ink, paper and inkstone", grabbing the rouge pipe and the wine pot, all of which foreshadowed something. But grabbing an abacus meant that they would be in charge of the Ministry of Revenue in the future, right?

The masters and ladies who left Yikun Palace gathered in groups of three or four.

Walking in front were Concubine Hui and Concubine De. Concubine Hui snorted, "Even if he's not a drunkard or a womanizer in the future, he probably won't be anything great. Back then, our Yinzhi held on to the horsewhip and wouldn't let go."

De Fei was used to being a peacemaker. She smiled and said, "Yi Fei is smart. The Ninth Prince caught the abacus, so he must be smart too."

"Smart?" Concubine Hui said with a sweet laugh, "I'm afraid he's a good scorer!"

The nobles and concubines who relied on Concubine Hui all laughed along with her. Defei felt that Concubine Hui was a bit brainless, plotting behind the emperor's back against the person he loved the most. Perhaps she only relied on being the eldest prince's biological mother and having the Nalan clan behind her to be ranked first among the four concubines.

Tong Jia Zifu, who was walking in front, originally didn't want to get involved in the gossip, but Concubine Hui's voice was so loud that she couldn't bear to listen any longer. She stopped and turned to Concubine Hui and said, "Ninth Prince at least calls you Mother Hui. Don't you think what you said just now is really unbecoming of your status?"

Tong Jia Zi Fu was, after all, the Imperial Noble Consort of the palace. Now that the Central Palace was empty, the Imperial Noble Consort was the most powerful, effectively equivalent to the Empress of the palace. Concubine Hui had to give Tong Jia Zi Fu face, no matter what. "You're right. I was wrong just now."

Tong Jia Zifu nodded and casually reminded him, "Although we have left the Yikun Palace, we are still in the Forbidden City. The Forbidden City is my cousin's place. If he doesn't want to know what you say or do, then that's fine. But if he wants to know, if he is unhappy for a moment, for the sake of Yinzhi and the previous dynasty, he can still let you live in the palace, but that's all he can do."

Concubine Hui was not stupid, but she was not very careful with her words. She knew that although Tong Jia Zifu said these words lightly, the meaning behind them was very serious. Therefore, she did not say a word during the whole journey.

As for Concubine De, she was thinking of the Fourth Prince, who was raised by the Imperial Noble Concubine. With such an adoptive mother, Yinzhen would probably have the same temperament, either saying nothing or speaking directly to the point. Thinking of this, Concubine De sighed softly. Even though she already had the Sixth Prince under her wing, the Fourth Prince was still in her heart.

In the Yiku Palace, after Xuanye sent Xiaozhuang back to the Cining Palace, he turned back. As Tong Jia Zifu said, there were eunuchs listening to what Huifei, Defei and others said along the way, and then reported it to Liang Jiugong. However, Xuanye was in a good mood today and was too lazy to let these gossips disturb his good mood, so he let Liang Jiugong keep it to himself.

Inside the Yiku Palace, Xiu Yu was eating chilled fruit with a few children. Xiao Jiu couldn't finish it yet, so Xiu Yu smashed a watermelon at room temperature into watermelon juice for him and let him drink it while holding a gourd-like cup.

While eating ice grapes, Yinqi asked Xiuyu: "Mother, did your son also catch Zhou in the past?"

"I did." Xiu Yu used her signature to poke a piece of watermelon and handed it to Ke Jing. Then she said to Yin Qi, "Do you want to know what you caught back then?"

"Hmm, hmm, hmm." Yin Qi nodded repeatedly, still a little worried: "My son, didn't grab a purse, rouge, or something like that, did he?"

"That's hard to say." The one who was heartbroken was the fourth princess Ke Jing.

Yinqi didn't dare to glare at his sister, so he could only defend himself by saying, "No, I won't. I don't like it."

Xiu Yu laughed and said, "The one who grabbed the purse and rouge is your fourth sister. You're holding onto mother's telescope and won't let go."

Yinqi felt relieved and began to secretly mock Kejing.

Ke Jing's face darkened a little: "Mother, I didn't, I didn't really grab the purse, did I?"

Seeing Ke Jing's tightly furrowed brows, Xiu Yu smiled happily: "You did grab these two things, but that's not all. You also grabbed the blueprint that my mother drew."

"That's what I told you." Ke Jing glanced at Yin Qi and said, "I'm not some princess who only loves rouge and powder."

"It's not bad to love rouge and powder." Xiu Yu looked at her little girl, and something she had wanted to do for a long time slowly took root in her heart: "Do your sisters also like it? If you have a new one, and they don't have one..."

"Yu'er." Xuanye had been eavesdropping behind the screen, but after hearing this, he couldn't bear it any longer. If he let Xiuyu continue, Kejing, the formerly dignified and generous Fourth Princess, would probably go astray from this moment on. However, Xuanye couldn't expose Xiuyu in front of Kejing and Yinqi, so he could only smile and say, "We were eating iced fruit together, why didn't you wait for me?"

Xiu Yu stood up and, along with Ke Jing and Yin Qi, greeted Xuan Ye. Then, Yan Ran said, "I thought you would be staying with the old ancestor in the Cining Palace."

"I have some doubts that I need you to answer."

Hearing what their father said, Kejing and Yinqi, the two clever little kids, immediately jumped off the couch, holding half a cold watermelon and said they wanted to go play outside.

Xiu Yu saw the two children leave the warm room and sit on the couch. He asked, "Tell me, what are you confused about?"

Xuanye sat down next to Xiuyu and asked, "Why did you plan to prepare a little abacus for Xiaojiu?"

Xiu Yu lowered her eyelids and said, "Three hundred and sixty professions, I hadn't thought of it before when Kejing and Yinqi were together, but now that I have, I naturally want to add Xiaojiu to the list."

Xuanye snorted, "If you hadn't taken out this one at the end, would Xiaojiu have chosen the abacus?"

"That doesn't necessarily mean it won't happen." Xiu Yu didn't care: "I've already chosen, Your Majesty, you can't settle the score later."

Xuanye stopped pretending to be angry and said, "Actually, the purpose of the 'Zhuazhou' ceremony is just to have a good start and make things lively."

"That's right." Although Xiu Yu said this, she didn't think so in her heart. It was recorded that her Xiaojiu would be a good money-maker in the future.