Chapter 124 Striving for a Better Situation

Although Emperor Kangxi was an autocratic and domineering parent who pushed his children to study hard, he didn't have time every day to keep an eye on his princes' studies.

As the ruler of a country, Emperor Kangxi was very busy.

For most of the year, Emperor Kangxi was not in the Forbidden City. He would either go north to the border regions to hunt and appease the Mongol tribes, or go south to the Jiangnan region to inspect and comfort the southern literati. Even when he was in the capital, he did not live in the palace. He often went to the imperial estates in the suburbs of Beijing to hunt and escape the summer heat.

In total, Emperor Kangxi spent less than half a year in the Forbidden City throughout the entire year.

However, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were unlucky because the year they entered school coincided with the death of Empress Xiaoyi. Kangxi neither went north nor south, and unusually lingered in the Forbidden City for a long time.

This led to Yin'e and the Ninth Prince running directly into Kangxi's hands, like mice encountering a cat. They were tormented and suffered terribly, crying out to heaven and earth in vain in the Imperial Study. Their lives were incredibly miserable.

Not only did the Ninth Prince look forward to Kangxi leaving the palace, but Yin'e did as well. He actually had no feelings for Kangxi, nor did he want to deepen their father-son relationship. He didn't want to be a good son to Kangxi, nor did he want to win Kangxi's favor and become a conspicuous figure in the Forbidden City.

For Yin'e, the further away his imperial father, Kangxi, was from him, the more at ease he felt. For a prince like Yin'e, whose birth was already prominent, the most comfortable state was to be a nobody in the palace. The less Kangxi noticed him, the easier his life would be.

Although he did not know the specifics of the court's discussion regarding the Dzungar invasion, Yin'e privately speculated that if the Dzungars' previous actions were merely a show of force without real courage to wage war against the Qing Dynasty, then there was still room for maneuver.

However, if the Dzungar Khanate was not merely testing the waters but genuinely attempting to invade Qing territory, then after the conflict escalated further, Emperor Kangxi would most likely choose to fight back, and there is also a considerable possibility that he would personally lead an expedition against the Dzungars.

Emperor Kangxi was in his prime, still ambitious and determined. He would never tolerate the Dzungar Khanate's offense, nor would he be intimidated by them. He wouldn't even dare to admit defeat and cede Qing territory in a direct confrontation.

However, regardless of how the imperial court ultimately responds to the provocations launched by the Dzungar Khanate, and whatever choice Emperor Kangxi makes, these are matters of the court, far removed from the younger princes like Yin'e and the Ninth Prince. The matter doesn't affect them, and they have no right to interfere; at most, they might gossip a bit.

In the twelfth month of the twenty-eighth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, just before the heavy snow fell, the Empress Dowager moved from the Cining Palace, where she had lived for over twenty years, into the newly built Ningshou Palace.

Using the dual excuses of accompanying the Empress Dowager and celebrating her birthday, the Fifth Prince was able to move in with her as he wished. He no longer needed to live in the Princes' Residence, but could instead live with the Empress Dowager in the Ning Shou Palace, enjoying the warm care and meticulous attention of his maternal grandmother.

But as the saying goes, experience is the best teacher. Although the Fifth Prince moved to Ning Shou Palace under the pretext of accompanying the Empress Dowager, Emperor Kangxi did not grant him a holiday. However, it wasn't that he was completely denied a holiday. Emperor Kangxi did feel guilty towards the Empress Dowager and hoped that the Fifth Prince's company would comfort her. Therefore, he granted the Fifth Prince a holiday for his afternoon riding and archery class.

Yes, only the equestrian and archery class was granted leave; the morning cultural classes in the Imperial Study would proceed as usual. The Fifth Prince never disliked the equestrian and archery class; to him, everything taught by the attendants was interesting, and he enjoyed it.

Emperor Kangxi taught the Fifth Prince a lesson through his actions: "Your father will always be your father." This proves that trying to outsmart a shrewd man like Kangxi, even if you manage to achieve your goal by chance, will only backfire and lead to your own downfall.

On the training ground, the youngest, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince, who were not yet allowed to ride horses alone, spontaneously moved away from the racecourse. They gathered around the stables, cuddling with their own ponies while waiting for their instructors to come over.

On the other side of the training ground were the Third Prince, Fourth Prince, Seventh Prince, and Eighth Prince, who were already able to ride horses independently and had begun advanced riding and archery lessons. The Fifth Prince was not among them; he had already been given an early leave to return to the Ning Shou Palace to please the Empress Dowager.

"Poor Fifth Brother, this is what happens when you try to provoke a tiger!" The Ninth Prince fed Hong Li a piece of rice dumpling candy, shaking his head and reflecting on the situation, feeling both empathy and a touch of schadenfreude.

While lamenting the Fifth Prince's miserable situation, the Ninth Prince only fed Hong Li a single piece of rice dumpling candy before stopping.

Floating Cloud, nestled next to Red Chestnut, waited for a long time without being fed by its master. Impatiently, it shook its head, causing the flowing fur on its neck to sway. It snorted and nudged the Ninth Prince gently to urge him on.

Bumped by the floating clouds, the Ninth Prince frowned and subconsciously clicked his tongue: "You have quite the temper. I won't tolerate this."

That's what he said, but the Ninth Prince still took out another zongzi candy from his purse and fed it to Fuyun, muttering a complaint under his breath: "They're such a bunch of pampered children, I have to coax and pamper them!"

Yin'e couldn't help but shake his head and smile: "Ninth Brother, these are our ponies, of course we have to take good care of them."

Turning his head to glance at Yin'e, who was standing between Red Date and White Snow, affectionately cuddling with the two ponies, the Ninth Prince pursed his lips, utterly unable to understand Yin'e's love and enthusiasm for horses. He admitted they were exceptional horses, but was it really necessary to value and care for them so much?

In response, Yin'e said that the Ninth Prince was a well-fed man who did not know the hunger of the starving. He couldn't even afford to raise horses in his previous life! Let alone owning his own horse, he had only ever ridden a horse a few times in scenic areas.

This wasn't the first time they'd disagreed on this issue, and the Ninth Prince, too lazy to say anything more, simply shrugged and steered the conversation back on track: "It seems we were right to avoid Father Khan."

Kangxi could see right through their wicked schemes. If Kangxi was too lazy to care, their little tricks would succeed; but if Kangxi didn't intend to tolerate it, he would catch them red-handed—the Fifth Prince's betrayal of him was a cautionary tale.

Yin'e paused in his work of combing the horse's mane, pursed his lips and remained silent for a while before whispering, "Ninth Brother, you should show your face more to Father Khan."

Yin'e had no desire to seize the throne, nor was he interested in currying favor with Emperor Kangxi to gain his affection.

After considering various factors, Yin'e ultimately decided to take a passive, laissez-faire approach to life, but this doesn't mean his choice was the best, nor does it mean he was necessarily right. What works for Yin'e may not work for others.

The prevailing theme in the Qing court was always striving for advancement. Concubines vied for Kangxi's favor, princes worked diligently to gain his attention, and princesses were filial and considerate to win his love. Many people racked their brains to get close to Kangxi.

They all wanted to show off in front of Emperor Kangxi. Even just a glance or a word of praise from him would be enough to make them overjoyed.

Because Emperor Kangxi was the ruler of the Qing Dynasty, he held the power of life and death. Only by pleasing Emperor Kangxi and gaining his favor could one obtain status, power, and wealth, and live a smooth life without being bullied or looked down upon.

Human energy is limited, and Emperor Kangxi could not possibly pay attention to everyone and shower everyone with equal care. If one did not strive to appear before Kangxi and gain his favor, being ignored or forgotten by him was inevitable.

"I don't want to." The Ninth Prince shook his head vigorously with a face full of refusal. "Father Khan likes sons who are diligent and capable. I can't study hard, and I don't have the ability to make Father Khan look at me differently."

Pushing away the horse's head that was reaching out for candy, the Ninth Prince shivered and said with a look of polite refusal, "Forget it, I'm not joining in this fun."

Looking at the Ninth Prince's delicate and beautiful face, Yin'e almost blurted out, "But you don't rely on anyone, what will you do in the future?"

The Ninth Prince was born late in the order of birth, neither the oldest nor the youngest. Unlike his older brothers, who were born when Emperor Kangxi had few sons and thus naturally received his attention and favor, the Ninth Prince was not treated as the youngest son and received Emperor Kangxi's excessive pampering, nor was he treated as the youngest son like the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Princes.

Emperor Kangxi currently has thirteen surviving sons. Apart from the Crown Prince, who stands out from the rest, the remaining twelve princes are divided into three groups in Kangxi's mind:

One group consisted of capable older princes, including the First Prince, Third Prince, Fourth Prince, Fifth Prince, Seventh Prince, and Eighth Prince; the other group consisted of young and inexperienced princes who needed careful protection, namely the Thirteenth Prince and Fourteenth Prince.

The rest are the middle group, with four unlucky ones: the Ninth Prince, Yin'e, the Eleventh Prince, and the Twelfth Prince.

The Eighth Prince was lucky; he was only two years older than the Ninth Prince, but because he was closer to the Seventh Prince, he was classified as one of the older princes.

Children in the middle of the birth order are often overlooked, and this was also true in the royal family. Those in the middle of the birth order suffered the most, receiving the least attention from Emperor Kangxi. They were neither the oldest nor the youngest, and were neither carefully taught nor favored by him.

When the Ninth Prince was born, there were already several princes in the palace, so Emperor Kangxi was not lacking in sons. He was not as excited and joyful about the arrival of the newborn as before. When Kangxi reached the age of thirty, his energy was not as vigorous as before, so he no longer focused on the princes' studies and paid less attention to the sons who were later in the order of birth.

Although Emperor Kangxi was still a strict parent who pushed his children to excel, a comparison with the older princes ahead of him reveals that he did not care for them as much as he did for his elder brothers, and he devoted much less attention and effort to them.

Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were younger than their older brothers, and in Kangxi's view, they were not yet old enough to shoulder responsibilities. He believed it was enough for them to study diligently in the Imperial Study and not cause trouble. Kangxi had no further expectations for them.

Among the princes in the middle, the Ninth Prince's birth mother, Consort Yi, was one of the four consorts. He was the son of a favored consort, and his situation was slightly better than that of the Twelfth Prince, the son of a concubine, but only slightly.

The twelfth prince could not rely on his birth mother, but his adoptive mother was Su Ma La Gu, whom Emperor Kangxi respected and treated with great courtesy. The ninth prince, although the son of a favored concubine, could not rely on Consort Yi too much.

Consort Yi had three sons. Her eldest son, the Fifth Prince, was raised by the Empress Dowager and not by Consort Yi's side, so Consort Yi felt guilty towards him. Her youngest son, the Eleventh Prince, was born with an illness and was naturally weak, so Consort Yi naturally paid more attention to and cared for him.

Neither spiritually nor materially, the Ninth Prince received sufficient support from Consort Yi. He faced a very serious situation and needed to actively win over Emperor Kangxi's favor, otherwise he would be lost among the many princes.