Chapter 163 Planning a Birthday Gift

After calming down, the Imperial Concubine wiped the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, then took Yin'e's hand and led him around in the small garden.

The Imperial Concubine was somewhat frail, so she had to take extra care of herself. Every day, she not only took some nourishing tonics and medicinal meals, but also enjoyed taking walks in the small garden on sunny days to soak up the sun and breathe in the fresh air.

Following closely beside the Imperial Concubine, Yin'e blinked and suddenly asked, "Mother, will you be unhappy?"

"What?" The Imperial Concubine paused slightly, blinking in confusion. Her eyelashes trembled slightly, utterly bewildered by Yin'e's sudden question. "What's wrong?"

His thick, raven-feather-like eyelashes blinked rapidly twice. Yin'e tilted his head up, stealing a glance at the Imperial Concubine. His handsome face held a mixture of caution and anticipation: "It's about how I'll treat my future wife very well~"

Now the Imperial Concubine knew what Yin'e was asking. She was both amused and exasperated. She reached out and ruffled Yin'e's hair, then gently pinched his soft cheek: "Of course not."

How could she be jealous? "You can sigh for her, see her hardships, understand her difficulties; you are willing to protect her, and you are willing to do your best to treat her well so that she can live a comfortable life in the capital. Your mother will only be happy and gratified that my Yin'e has become sensible and can put himself in others' shoes."

The Imperial Concubine genuinely felt sorry for Abahai, the noblewoman who was to be betrothed to Yin'e.

But since it was her own decision and the matter was already set in stone, there was no need to say anything about regret or remorse. She could only do something to try her best to make amends.

At the very least, we cannot allow Yin'e's future wife to live an unhappy life after marrying into the capital, and have her life wasted by her and her son.

With a soft sigh, the Imperial Concubine lowered her eyes and gently stroked Yin'e's head. A sigh escaped her lips as she spoke to Yin'e in a gentle voice, warmer than the spring sun, "You should treat her well."

“It wasn’t easy for your future wife to marry into our family from Mongolia. Her family is all in Abahai, thousands of miles away from the capital. She’s far from her homeland and can’t go back. In the capital, you are the only one she can rely on. If you treat her badly, then my son and I will have really let her down.”

Yin'e had only wanted to flirt with the Imperial Concubine, but seeing her serious and earnest attitude, he immediately straightened up and nodded emphatically, promising, "Mother, don't worry, I will treat my future wife very well and will never let her down!"

Consort Gui believed in Yin'e. After he made his promise, Consort Gui couldn't help but smile. Her delicate and beautiful eyes suddenly became lively, no longer showing her usual gentle and calm demeanor, but instead appearing vibrant and full of life.

The warm, dazzling golden sunlight shone down, freely spreading light and heat across the earth.

After taking a long walk in the small garden to aid digestion, the Imperial Concubine gently wiped the sweat from her forehead with a handkerchief, looked up at the sky, and squinted slightly because the light was too bright.

She suddenly remembered something and couldn't help but ask Yin'e, "Yin'e, you said you wanted to treat your future wife better. Do you have any specific thoughts or plans?"

The Imperial Concubine didn't doubt that Yin'e was just talking the talk but hadn't actually walked the walk. She was just worried that Yin'e might overdo it, since he'd never tried to please anyone since childhood and often hung out with his brothers; perhaps he didn't know how to treat girls well.

Scratching his head, Yin'e said in a low voice, not very confidently, "It's still a long time before my arranged marriage, so I haven't thought too much about it. I just thought of a few simple points and made some assumptions."

After all, the chosen person for marriage had not yet been decided. Yin'e did not know who Kangxi would choose, nor had he met her, let alone know what his future wife's temperament, likes, dislikes, or taboos were like. Naturally, there was no way to make targeted arrangements in advance.

"Firstly, she comes from the Abahai tribe, which is Mongolian, so she must love riding horses. I plan to set up a manor in the suburbs, decorated almost like the grasslands. When she wants to ride a horse, I'll take her out of the city to the manor. There will be plenty of places to ride horses, and there will be tents to stay in if she wants."

The Imperial Concubine's lips twitched slightly, and she was speechless for a moment before wiping her mouth with her handkerchief to hide it. She really didn't think it was a good idea, but seeing that Yin'e was quite serious, she didn't interrupt him or pour cold water on his enthusiasm. She simply gestured for him to continue.

"Secondly, Khan Ama goes hunting in the border region almost every year, to Mulan for hunting. If she wants to go, or if she wants to return to the grasslands, I will ask Khan Ama for permission to accompany her and take her to the border region."

"Perhaps she still won't be able to return to the Abahai tribe by then, but the Mongol princes will come to the Mulan Hunting Grounds to pay their respects to the Khan. She will always be able to meet her relatives and have the opportunity to reunite with them. Of course, if she really misses her hometown and wants to go back to Abahai, I will pester the Khan and ask him to allow me to take her back to Abahai to visit her relatives."

At this point, Yin'e couldn't help but shrug and speak the truth without any reservations in front of the Imperial Concubine: "Father Khan won't give me an important position, and I'm too lazy to do any important tasks myself, so I'll definitely be very free in the future. If she wants to go home to visit her family, I will definitely be able to find the time to accompany her back to the Abahai tribe."

He paused, and although he was talking about his plans to take his wife on trips and visit relatives in the future, Yin'e couldn't help but have wild thoughts.

With his head drooping, he whispered his beautiful fantasy: "If only Father would allow you to leave the palace, Mother. Once I leave the palace and establish my own residence, I can take you to travel around instead of staying in Yongshou Palace all day."

"Don't talk nonsense again." The Imperial Concubine reached out and gently tapped Yin'e's forehead with her slender, jade-like fingers. "When His Majesty goes north to hunt beyond the Great Wall and south to tour the Jiangnan region, where haven't I had the opportunity to accompany him on his travels?"

With a sneer of disdain, Yin'e snorted, "There are too many things to do when accompanying the emperor. It's one thing if the imperial carriage travels slowly and stops along the way, but if I am summoned to the emperor's presence by Father Khan, I have to cater to him at all times. So many things to do on a trip like this is really not worth it."

The Imperial Concubine couldn't help but chuckle, giving Yin'e a reproachful look: "You know perfectly well that His Majesty's travels are not for leisure. Whether it's a hunting expedition beyond the Great Wall or a southern tour, there are specific purposes involved, so it's impossible to act on a whim."

“I know,” Yin’e puffed out his cheeks. “That’s why I find accompanying someone on a journey boring.”

Whether it was Emperor Kangxi's hunting trips beyond the Great Wall or his southern tours, they were not simple outings, but rather had political purposes. They were either to win over the Mongols, to appease the Han people, or to inspect the Yellow River embankment. Each tour required him to meet with many people and deal with many matters along the way.

Accompanying Emperor Kangxi on his tours was truly the most boring thing. If it weren't for the rule that princes were not forbidden from leaving the capital by imperial decree, Yin'e wouldn't have needed to ask Emperor Kangxi for permission to accompany his wife back to Mongolia. Anyway, he didn't have any official duties. If it weren't for the rules, he could have gone to Mongolia whenever he wanted.

The Imperial Concubine shook her head and chuckled, ceasing the discussion with Yin'e, and instead asked, "Aren't you going to your riding and archery lesson this afternoon?"

Yin'e grunted in agreement and said in a serious tone, "Father Khan has permitted me to stay in Yongshou Palace until the hour of You (5-7 PM)."

Around 5 PM, which is roughly the end time of the usual riding and archery lessons, Yin'e had already requested leave for those lessons and didn't plan to return to the princes' quarters so early. He wanted to spend more time with the Consort and intended to stay at Yongshou Palace until 3 AM.

Besides wanting to spend more time with the Imperial Concubine, Yin'e was also afraid that after he left, no one would be able to persuade her to stop, and she would make herself suffer by kneeling in the small Buddhist hall for a whole day.

A hint of joy flashed in the Consort's eyes. She affectionately straightened Yin'e's collar and said softly, "That's perfect. Let me take your measurements again."

The Consort placed her palm flat on Yin'e's head and gestured. She looked pleased and happy, but a trace of sadness flashed in her eyes: "It's only been half a year since we moved to the Prince's residence, and Yin'e has grown much taller and stronger than before."

Yin'e thought to himself, "Of course! With such a ruthless father as Kangxi, forcing them to maintain a regular schedule wasn't enough. He also arranged riding and archery lessons every afternoon, making their daily exercise incredibly intense. With adequate food and nutrition, it's no wonder they grew taller and stronger."

As soon as March began, the entire capital city was bustling with activity in preparation for the upcoming Emperor's birthday celebration. The palace was adorned with lanterns and decorations, all in preparation for the grand banquet.

Just before the Emperor's birthday celebration, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince finally finished preparing the birthday gifts for Emperor Kangxi this year.

To prevent the two from preparing identical gifts and displeasing Emperor Kangxi, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince copied the Classic of Filial Piety and the Heart Sutra respectively, agreeing to exchange them the following year, thus solving the problem of birthday gifts for two years at once.

As a young prince who was not yet an adult, had no title, had not started performing official duties, and was still confined to the Imperial Study, Yin'e had little role in the Emperor's birthday celebration. He simply stayed at the banquet for the princes, eating and drinking with his close brothers, including the Ninth Prince.

For princes like them, the only procedure was that when it was the princes' turn to present birthday gifts, they would line up in the hall according to their age order, present their gifts to Emperor Kangxi in turn, say a few auspicious words, and then leave.

Although he had no role in the story, Yin'e did witness a good show during the Emperor's birthday celebration: when presenting birthday gifts to the Emperor, the Crown Prince and the eldest prince, who had returned from southern Mongolia, were once again vying for dominance.

The gifts the two men presented to Emperor Kangxi were increasingly rare and precious, each more thoughtful than the last. They were practically offering him the stars from the sky, each vying to be Kangxi's most filial son and win his favor to enhance their own image.

Regarding the struggle between the Crown Prince and the First Prince, Yin'e, who has managed to remain uninvolved for the time being, maintains a chaotic and neutral stance. He is determined to be an entertainer, merely a bystander watching the drama unfold, resolutely refusing to intervene, neither cheering them on nor kicking them when they're down, his main goal being to enjoy the spectacle as much as possible.

Although the First Prince's discord with the Crown Prince had been public in the past, this was the first time he had openly and openly challenged the Crown Prince like this year. It is clear that the First Prince is no longer being swayed by Mingzhu and others, but has made up his own mind to compete for the throne.

It's only the 29th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, and the Crown Prince and the First Prince still have a chance to compete. Scenes like this year's Emperor's birthday celebration can be enjoyed for at least another decade or so.