Chapter 79 The Cruel Tenth Brother's Salted Fish Life Beyond the Great Wall

After leaving the Cining Palace, Yin'e was somewhat silent, and the Ninth Prince also seemed listless and dispirited.

As the two walked back to the Western Six Palaces, after a long while, the Ninth Prince asked Yin'e in a low voice, "Tenth Brother, is Granny Wukuma leaving us?"

The Ninth Prince did not have a deep understanding of death. He only vaguely realized that the Empress Dowager seemed to be leaving them, which was why she had given them so many instructions today, as if she was afraid that she would not have the chance to say them again.

Stubbornly pursing his lips, Yin'e remained silent, unsure how to answer the Ninth Prince's question. Should he tell him the truth, or deceive him with a beautiful lie to cheer the currently dejected Ninth Prince up?

Yin'e did not answer, but the Consort said softly, "As long as you still remember the Empress Dowager, she will not be separated from you and will always be with you."

Tilting his head, the Ninth Prince stared at the Imperial Concubine for a moment with his clear, phoenix eyes. It was unclear whether he believed her words of comfort or took them seriously.

Seeing the Ninth Prince's reaction, the pale-faced Consort smiled slightly at him, her voice weak but her tone firm as she reassured him, "Don't be afraid, Yinzhen, the Empress Dowager will not leave us."

Yin'e gently pulled on the Ninth Prince's right hand, causing the Ninth Prince's left hand to sway back and forth as well: "Ninth Brother, let's visit Cining Palace more often next time."

Although they couldn't see the Empress Dowager every time, the time they could spend with her was indeed running out. The passing of life is something no one can bring back or change; all they could do was cherish what they had before it was gone.

The Ninth Prince finally perked up again. He pursed his lips, and a resolute and serious expression appeared on his beautiful and delicate face. He nodded heavily in agreement: "Yes, let's go to Cining Palace together and spend more time with Granny Wukuma."

After returning to the Western Six Palaces, Yin'e bid farewell to the Ninth Prince, who had been captured by Yin'i and whose expression was twisted with reluctance but had no choice but to return to Yikun Palace. He then stepped into Yongshou Palace with the Consort.

Instead of returning to his own side hall to rest, Yin'e followed the Consort into the inner chamber of the main hall.

Yin'e's face was tense, and his handsome, sunny eyes showed a serious expression, as if he had something to say. This made the Consort feel relieved of her depressed mood.

"What's wrong?" The Imperial Concubine gently stroked Yin'e's head, ruffling his soft, black hair until it was fluffy and frizzy. Her clear, melodious voice, like the gentle flow of a stream, was tinged with a hint of amusement. "What do you want to tell me with this look?"

He pursed his pink lips, his face tense, his expression heavy and apologetic. He lowered his head and said softly, "Mother, you said before that you would marry me a Mongolian noblewoman as my wife... Maybe we should just forget about it."

The Imperial Concubine had previously mentioned the marriage alliance with the Mongols to Yin'e, but Yin'e hadn't taken it seriously at the time. He had just heard about it and hadn't gained any deep impression or direct feeling about it.

Because he is still young, and it will be at least ten years before he grows up and gets married, which is too long, Yin'e has never really thought about it in that direction. He has only left a shadow of a marriage alliance with the Mongols in his heart.

But today, seeing the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager's longing and remembrance of Mongolia, and seeing the tears welling up in their eyes as they quietly listened to the Mongolian long song, Yin'e suddenly felt that he was particularly selfish, only considering his own needs and completely neglecting the feelings of others.

His desire to form a marriage alliance with the Mongols and align himself with them was ultimately to prove to Emperor Kangxi that he had no ambition to seize the throne, and ultimately for his own benefit.

Because of this, he unilaterally decided that a girl would be married off from Mongolia to the Qing Dynasty in the future, and Yin'e felt very sorry.

—Although the marriage between Yin'e and the Mongols was still far from being finalized, and even the marriage partner had not yet been determined, this did not prevent Yin'e from feeling guilty and thus abandoning his plan to marry into the Mongols.

He did not want to implicate innocent people for his own selfish reasons, and to make a Mongol, like the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager, travel thousands of miles from his homeland to the Qing Dynasty for his own benefit, and not be able to return home for decades to come, and even if he went to the borderlands, he would not be able to return home.

Yin'e's words truly surprised the Imperial Concubine. Her delicate brows furrowed slightly, and her beautiful face was filled with confusion and doubt as she looked at Yin'e and asked, "Why?"

Why did Yin'e suddenly decide he didn't want to form a marriage alliance with the Mongols? When this was mentioned before, although Yin'e wasn't particularly looking forward to it, he didn't show any signs of rejection either.

With a sigh, Yin'e's face fell: "...Mongolia is too far from the capital. Once we come to the capital, we won't be able to go home, right? We'll miss Mongolia like Ukuma and Huangma, but we can never go back to Mongolia."

The Imperial Concubine finally understood why Yin'e had suddenly abandoned the marriage alliance with the Mongols. She paused, a faint smile of understanding appearing in her eyes: "Is Yin'e feeling sentimental because of the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager?"

The Imperial Concubine gently patted Yin'e's head, her heart softening. She said softly, "It is an honor to marry into the royal family. How does Yin'e know they wouldn't want to marry into the capital?"

Yin'e paused, his eyes somewhat blank, and said softly, "...Mongolia is too far from the capital. Who would really want to leave their hometown and travel thousands of miles to another place?"

"Moreover..." Yin'e paused for a moment before speaking in a low voice with an inexplicably gloomy expression, "Father will arrange the marriage, right? Mother, isn't that very unfair to the other person in the engagement?"

If it were a marriage bestowed by Emperor Kangxi, then whoever he chose as the prince's consort would have no room to refuse, and it would not be a matter of whether they were willing or not.

However, it seems that all of Kangxi's children's marriages were arranged by Kangxi himself, unlike ordinary families who would look at each other beforehand and have the option to choose or refuse.

The Imperial Concubine paused, momentarily unable to understand Yin'e's meaning: "A betrothal... Yes, the Emperor will certainly arrange a marriage for you. But this is an honor, how could Yin'e feel that it is unfair? Look at the First Princess Consort, she was betrothed to the First Prince by the Emperor, and after the betrothal, Korkun even came to the palace to express his gratitude to the Emperor."

Korkun was the father of the Grand Consort, Irgen Gioro. He held the official position of Minister, but this position was specially bestowed upon him by the Emperor to elevate the Grand Consort's social standing.

After the Kangxi Emperor decided on the Grand Consort in the 23rd year of his reign, Korkun was appointed Left Censor-in-Chief; after the Grand Prince's wedding in the first half of this year, Korkun was reassigned as Minister of Personnel in September.

The Ministry of Personnel was a powerful government office responsible for the appointment, evaluation, promotion, demotion, and transfer of officials.

Korkun's promotion was not exactly meteoric, but it certainly didn't match his abilities—if Korkun were truly a great talent, a lost gem, he wouldn't have been suddenly given important responsibilities only after the choice of the Grand Consort was finalized.

The emperor is the Son of Heaven, and his betrothal is an honor and something to be proud of for any family.

The Imperial Concubine looked at Yin'e with utter bewilderment, unable to comprehend why he felt that arranged marriages were unfair to the chosen families.

It is not surprising that the Imperial Concubine could not understand Yin'e's thoughts. To Yin'e, she was a loving mother who cared for him wholeheartedly, but she was also a member of the ruling class, and thus possessed the arrogance and pride of a superior.

She didn't think that Kangxi's arranged marriages were unfair to the chosen families; she genuinely believed it was an honor. Having grown up in the Qing Dynasty, if one were to delve into her values, they were completely different from Yin'e's… no, it should be said that Yin'e's values ​​were completely different from theirs.

Four years have passed, and Yin'e has been well protected by the Imperial Concubine. His current noble status also prevents him from directly experiencing the cruelty and pain of turning back time three hundred years.

Today, Yin'e still retains most of his values ​​from his previous life, still has a soft heart, and has not yet been completely assimilated by this era.

But how long can he retain the softness in his heart, how long can he resist being assimilated, even he himself doesn't know the exact answer.

Seeing the Consort's puzzled expression, Yin'e hesitated for a moment before asking softly, "Mother, did you enter the palace voluntarily? If you had a choice, if you could choose for yourself, would you still be willing to enter the palace to become Father's concubine?"

Consort Gui never hid anything from him, and Yin'e had long since discovered that Consort Gui had no feelings for Kangxi—or rather, not none at all. In Yin'e's observation, Consort Gui was at least quite grateful to Kangxi, though she was also wary of him.

Upon hearing Yin'e's question, the Imperial Concubine paused, then suddenly burst into tears without warning.

Yin'e was startled, his heart filled with panic. He hurriedly tried to wipe away the Consort's tears, his voice filled with shock and regret as he said urgently, "I was talking nonsense, Mother, don't be sad. I was wrong, I said the wrong thing, Mother, scold me, don't be sad!"

She turned her head to the side and pressed her sore and burning eyes with a handkerchief to wipe away her tears. Then, the Consort turned back and hugged Yin'e tightly, shaking her head and whispering, "Yin'e, you have a soft heart."

But being born into royalty, one doesn't know whether it's a good thing or a bad thing.

Taking a deep breath, knowing that she would not be at ease until she dispelled Yin'e's doubts, the Noble Consort carefully explained to Yin'e: "Since the passing of the Noble Consort Yijing, Abahai has not married into the Qing imperial family again. They will be very happy to marry into the princes and will only be happy, not dissatisfied, with the Emperor's arranged marriage."

Yin'e hesitated for a moment, then muttered to himself, "Just because the Abahai tribe is willing doesn't mean the person chosen for the marriage is willing too."

These two things are not the same. If a marriage alliance were to be formed with the Abahai tribe, Yin'e's future wife would most likely be the legitimate daughter of Prince Abahai. Prince Abahai's willingness to marry the son of a concubine does not mean that the daughter chosen by the prince to marry into the Qing Dynasty would also be willing.

The Imperial Concubine paused for a moment, then gently shook her head and stated the cruel truth to Yin'e: "It's the same for any arranged marriage. Even if it's not the Abahai tribe, it will be any other family, and they will all have to bow down to the imperial decree."

Yin'e did not want to be the oppressor, nor did he want to force others to marry him against their will.

The problem is that Yin'e cannot completely decide his own life according to his own will. Although he is of noble status, he is not the one who truly holds power and can arbitrarily control the fate of others.

If Emperor Kangxi wanted, Yin'e's life could be manipulated and decided at will.

The cruelty revealed in the Consort's words dimmed Yin'e's handsome features. After a long while, he gave in and asked the Consort in a low voice, "When I grow up a little, I should be able to go to the borderlands with Father Khan, right?"

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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 17:50:02 on March 22, 2023 and 11:39:57 on March 23, 2023!

Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Crocodile Belly 20 bottles; Ran7777777, -Shallow Smile, and Minty Cool 1 bottle;

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