Chapter 11 The Untimely Death of Old Ten: His Lazy Life

The Lantern Festival, which falls on the fifteenth day of the first lunar month, is also the last day of the Lunar New Year celebrations.

On the Lantern Festival, the palace once again held a grand banquet. After the festivities, the New Year officially came to an end, and all the government offices in the capital that had been shut down due to the holiday resumed their work in an orderly manner.

With the Lunar New Year holidays over, winter is almost over.

Early spring arrives with light and quick steps, dispelling the last frost and cold of winter. Winter comes and spring goes, plants sprout; ice and snow melt, and spring waters flow gently.

After the start of spring, the weather in Beijing became much warmer.

After a period of effort, Yin'e, who had finally learned to turn his life around, was no longer confined to the warm chamber with its burning silver charcoal and was allowed to leave the room for the first time.

On sunny, warm days in spring, the Imperial Concubine would take Yin'e to bask in the sun in the small garden of Yongshou Palace and admire the beautiful flowers blooming in spring.

Under the protection of the Imperial Concubine, the infant Yin'e only had one thing to worry about: surviving and growing up. His only task was to eat well, sleep well, and conserve his energy for growth.

Yin'e cherished his childhood, which was destined to be very short. As a prince, and with a father like Kangxi who had high expectations for his son, he could only play freely and enjoy a few years of easy and happy life before he started his formal education.

As February brought the height of spring, the weather in the capital became increasingly bright and clear, with flowers blooming and the sky crisp and clear. As the cold dissipated and warmth returned to the earth, Yin'e's life became more and more comfortable. He finally shed the heavy, plush swaddling clothes he had worn in winter and put on lighter and more comfortable silk and cotton fabrics.

February 26th is the anniversary of Empress Xiaozhao's death. Six years after her passing, her coffin lay in state at Gonghua City for three years before being interred in the Jingling Mausoleum along with that of Empress Renxiao. ①

At this time, Emperor Kangxi was not in the capital. In early February, he toured the capital region (referring to the area outside the capital) and ordered Crown Prince Yinreng to accompany him. The imperial entourage had already reached Bazhou in Hebei and stayed at Xin'an Town.

On the anniversary of Empress Xiaozhao's death, Emperor Kangxi, who was far away in Hebei, could not return to the capital to personally offer sacrifices at Xiaoling Mausoleum. He only sent officials from the Ministry of Rites to Jingling Mausoleum to offer sacrifices to Empress Xiaozhao.

Consort Niohuru was Empress Xiaozhao's younger sister from the same mother, but being in the inner palace, her actions were quite restricted, and she could not go to Jingling to personally pay respects to her sister. She could only hold a memorial service in the palace, fast for seven days, copy the Ksitigarbha Sutra, and recite sutras for her sister in the Buddhist hall for a day on the anniversary of Empress Xiaozhao's death.

The Imperial Concubine had a deep bond with her sister and was extremely sincere in paying respects to Empress Xiaozhao. Whether it was fasting, copying scriptures, or reciting sutras, she was focused and attentive without any compromise. Moreover, even the infant Yin'e, who was less than five months old, was held by the Imperial Concubine in the ceremony to pay respects to his aunt.

Yin'e had never met his aunt. Before he was even born, his aunt, Empress Xiaozhao, passed away, so he certainly didn't have any deep feelings for her. At most, because of the Consort, he felt a bit of affection for Empress Xiaozhao out of love for her.

More than missing his aunt who had passed away six years ago, Yin'e was worried about the Consort's health.

After giving birth to Yin'e, the Imperial Concubine's already weak health deteriorated even further.

Over the past few months, with the meticulous care of the imperial physicians, the attentive service of Lanzhi and Luyi, and the fact that Yin'e is a well-behaved child who doesn't require much attention, the Consort's health has gradually improved.

Especially after winter passed and spring arrived, the weather became warm and pleasant. The Imperial Concubine's health improved, her spirits were high, and her complexion became better. The ailments she had developed from childbirth also improved significantly, and she gradually showed signs of recovery.

However, on the anniversary of Empress Xiaozhao's death, the Consort not only fasted for seven days, but also knelt in the Buddhist hall to recite scriptures for a day. Her body was once again exhausted and depleted. In addition, she failed to replenish her nutrition in time due to fasting, which further weakened her body.

Yin'e saw this and was anxious. He secretly regretted that he was too young and incapable of speaking, and could not persuade the Consort to stop her from performing the overly harmful sacrificial ceremony.

When Consort Gui paid tribute to Empress Xiaozhao, the only thing Yin'e could do was to be an obedient and well-behaved child, not to cause trouble for Consort Gui, so that Consort Gui would not have to worry about him and be anxious and worried.

Most of the high-ranking concubines from noble families in the palace did not live long. Empress Renxiao died at the age of 21, and Empress Xiaozhao died at the age of 20.

Although Yin'e didn't remember clearly, he vaguely recalled that Consort Tong was quite young when she died. The same was true for Consort Niohuru; historically, the consort seemed to have died in her thirties, when the tenth prince, Yin'e, was only a little over ten years old and not yet of marriageable age.

In contrast, those concubines who came from humble backgrounds and rose through the ranks from commoner families lived much longer than the high-ranking concubines from noble families.

For example, the four consorts Hui, Rong, Yi, and De all survived the reign of Emperor Kangxi and lived into the reign of Emperor Yongzheng. The first to pass away was Consort De, who died in the first year of Yongzheng's reign; the last to pass away was Consort Yi, who died in the eleventh year of Yongzheng's reign.

Now that Yin'e has replaced the historical Yin'e as the son of Consort Niohuru, and accepted the new name Yin'e and the new identity of the tenth prince of the Kangxi era, he will never repeat the mistakes of the past, causing the consort to leave this world early and himself to become a wild child without a mother's love.

The Imperial Concubine fasted for seven days to commemorate Empress Xiaozhao, and by the time it ended, it was already March.

In late spring, March, the lingering chill of February dissipated completely, and the capital gradually warmed up. Yin'e was no longer wrapped in swaddling clothes, but wore a finely stitched, soft, and smooth silk bib, freeing him from the embarrassment of being wrapped in swaddling clothes and barely clothed.

Everything in the Qing Palace was done according to the rules, and the days were monotonous and boring. In this unchanging environment, time flew by like flowing water, and several months passed in the blink of an eye.

A few months may not seem like much to an adult, but it's enough time for a growing baby to undergo dramatic changes.

As Yin'e grew older, he became adept at rolling over, sitting up, and taking his first steps on the ground, crawling around with his little hands and feet...

As June arrived, the sweltering heat of midsummer relentlessly tormented the residents of the capital.

In the Yongshou Palace of the Forbidden City, eight-month-old Yin'e was already crawling quite nimbly.

Not only that, Yin'e has already been able to stand up shakily by himself, holding onto the table and chairs. Although he can't hold on for long and can't walk steadily, a bright future is just around the corner—he will finally be able to evolve from crawling on all fours to walking upright.

Although he could already stand and walk, Yin'e did not force himself to learn to walk earlier. He felt that he was not yet at the best age to learn to walk, and wanted his legs and feet to develop for a while longer. He wanted to grow up a bit more and become stronger before taking a steady step in one go.

Because of this consideration, Yin'e still crawled around Yongshou Palace, only occasionally practicing standing and walking, or showing off in front of the Consort.

Since Yin'e learned to crawl and gained some basic independent mobility, he no longer wanted to be carried by his wet nurse or nanny. Every day, wearing a bright red little bib, he would fumble around with his hands and feet, exploring Yongshou Palace at his own pace, looking for fun things to do to pass the time.

Therefore, Consort Niohuru ordered the palace servants to wrap all the corners and edges of Yongshou Palace with thick, soft felt, just in case Yin'e, who was crawling around everywhere, bumped into something.

Moreover, after the Consort discovered that Yin'e was a restless and lively person—actually, this was a misunderstanding; Yin'e wasn't restless, he just wanted to get familiar with Yongshou Palace—no matter where Yin'e climbed, there were always little palace maids following behind him to watch over him and provide support in case of any accidents.

After he learned to crawl, Yin'e's range of activities gradually expanded. He not only wandered around the inner room, but once he even climbed up to the main hall outside where guests were received.

However, Yin'e was still very obedient. Although his range of activities was getting bigger and bigger, Yin'e never made a fuss about going out. He always stayed obediently in Yongshou Palace, and the farthest he went was only to the small garden in the backyard of Yongshou Palace.

Yin'e's well-behaved and sensible nature saved the Imperial Concubine a lot of worry. Fearing that Yin'e might fall ill, the Imperial Concubine didn't even take him with her when she went to pay her respects to the Grand Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager.

The Imperial Concubine never took Yin'e out to visit other people's homes. Although Yin'e had two brothers who were born close to each other, he had never met Yin'tang and Yin'yu, nor had he had the opportunity to play with them and become their childhood playmates.

This was an ordinary day in June of the twenty-third year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign.

In the inner chambers of Yongshou Palace, a large space had been cleared out in the center of the room where the Imperial Concubine usually lived.

Two layers of mats were laid on the cleared ground. The bottom was a thick blanket to insulate against the cold air from the ground; the top was a white cooling mat for cooling off. The mat was woven from ivory silk, with a smooth and flat surface and a fine and even texture. In summer, it not only brought a cool and refreshing feeling but was also soft and comfortable enough.

On the pristine white ivory mat, several ornate children's toys were casually scattered: a rattle drum inlaid with gemstones, a small pig doll (Yin'e was born in the Year of the Pig) with exquisite embroidery using gold and silver threads, and a palm-sized red embroidered ball with a golden bell hanging from it.

These were toys specially commissioned by the Imperial Concubine from the Imperial Household Department. They were all ornate in appearance, perfectly matching Yin'e's fondness for sparkly, glittering gemstones.

Yin'e sat on an ivory mat, holding a nine-linked ring made of white jade in his hand.

However, instead of racking his brains to figure out how to untie the nine-linked rings, he shook his little hands from side to side, making the smooth jade rings tap against each other, producing a continuous, clear and melodious tinkling sound.

For Yin'e, if the sound of the jade ring striking the other was crisp and pleasant, then it was a fine piece of jade.

At the hottest noon of the day, a young eunuch braved the sweltering heat to deliver a message: the nineteenth prince, Yin Yu, had died young.

A note from the author:

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①: After the death of Empress Hesheli, the first empress of the Kangxi Emperor, she was posthumously honored as "Empress Renxiao" and buried in the Jing Mausoleum. In the first year of the Yongzheng Emperor's reign, her posthumous title was changed to "Empress Xiaochengren". After the death of Empress Niohuru, the second empress, the Kangxi Emperor posthumously honored her as Empress Xiaozhao. After the Yongzheng Emperor ascended the throne, she was enshrined in the Temple of the Holy Ancestor and given the posthumous title with the addition of the character "Ren", becoming "Empress Xiaozhaoren". During the Kangxi Emperor's reign, she was still referred to as Empress Renxiao or Empress Xiaozhao in the palace.