Chapter 9 The Tenth Brother's Salted Fish Gem

By performing a series of singing, recitations, acting, and acrobatic feats, and seizing this opportunity, while taking advantage of the guilt that already existed in Kangxi's heart, the Imperial Concubine initially achieved her goal:

Firstly, she deepened Kangxi's guilt and pity towards her and her son, and increased their importance in Kangxi's heart.

Secondly, she earned more appreciation and favor from Emperor Kangxi, and also gave Yin'e more opportunities to spend time with his father and receive more of his father's love.

A mother's love for her child is not only instinctive but also deepens day by day during pregnancy; however, a father's love for his child is different. His love for his child mostly comes from blood ties and his understanding of being a father. He is not involved enough from the beginning, so his love naturally seems somewhat shallow.

Emperor Kangxi loved his crown prince the most, and their father-son relationship was the deepest. This was not only because the crown prince was of noble birth and the legitimate son of the first empress, but also because the crown prince was personally raised and educated by Emperor Kangxi from childhood, carrying too much of Emperor Kangxi's affection, effort and expectations.

The Imperial Concubine had no ambition and never thought of letting her son fight for the throne. She didn't even want Yin'e to receive too much attention or importance.

But the Imperial Concubine was always clear that in the harem, she needed to have importance in Kangxi's heart, and her son, Yin'e, also needed her father's favor and genuine affection.

To put it bluntly, for Yin'e's safety, the Consort could disregard outward glory; but for Yin'e's future, she was determined to secure the substance and obtain sufficient resources and benefits for her son.

Yin'e's noble and conspicuous birth meant he could never be the emperor's favored son, much less be relied upon by the emperor to wield real power.

However, Yin'e could be Kangxi's favored youngest son. Yin'e was nearly ten years younger than the crown prince, and his age was his best camouflage until he grew up.

Favored but powerless—this was the path the Imperial Concubine had chosen for Yin'e after much deliberation.

If Yin'e continues down this path, he will not gain any reputation for virtue, nor will he achieve great success. He may even be unable to participate in important political affairs in the future.

But being low-key and inconspicuous does not mean being silent and declining. Yin'e will receive real benefits and advantages. At the very least, he will have no problem enjoying wealth, honor, peace and happiness for the rest of his life.

Having achieved her goal, the imperial concubine knew when to stop.

Although the Emperor felt guilty towards them, the Consort also intended to use this opportunity to win the Emperor's favor.

However, the Imperial Concubine knew that everything in excess is bad. By clinging to this sense of guilt and trying to gain more benefits, she only managed to annoy people and wear down what little guilt she had left.

Pretending to be comforted, the Imperial Concubine put away her sorrowful expression, revealed a bright smile again, and reached out to Greenery: "Give me that rattle drum."

Taking the jade-inlaid, gilded, and extremely ornate rattle drum, the imperial concubine approached the cradle and gently shook the small drum, using the crisp and rhythmic drumbeats to amuse the baby lying in the cradle.

Having just exerted a great deal of effort to see Kangxi's appearance, Yin'e, who was resting with his legs crossed, hesitated for a moment, but finally decided to give the Consort face. His change in expression did not escape the Consort's notice, and a genuine smile of joy appeared in her eyes.

Yin'e puffed out his little chest, raised his little head, and cried out "Ah ah" as he stretched out his little hands to chase the clear and continuous drumbeats, which sounded like pearls falling onto a jade plate.

Seeing that the Imperial Concubine kept changing direction and position, causing Yin'e, who was turning his head left and right to chase the rattle drum, to be unable to get what he wanted, he became more and more anxious and restless. His big, dark eyes were watery as if he was about to cry. Kangxi couldn't help but feel sorry for his son and interrupted him, saying, "What are you doing?"

Without pausing her work, the Imperial Concubine smiled and said, “Yin’e is already three months old. I asked his wet nurse, and he should be learning how to roll over now. I often tease him and encourage him to move around more so that his arms and legs will be stronger and he will be able to learn to roll over more easily in the future.”

Emperor Kangxi was somewhat stunned upon hearing this.

Although he raised the crown prince himself, the prince was already a year old when he was brought to his side, no longer an infant wrapped in swaddling clothes. By the time the prince was one year old, he could speak, stand, and walk steadily.

Emperor Kangxi had little contact with children as young as Yin'e, and was completely unaware of the developmental process of infants, from rolling over at three, sitting at six, crawling at seven, to standing at eight.

Seeing Yin'e relentlessly chasing the rattle drum, although he couldn't catch the small drum that was right in front of him, he was so anxious that he kept whimpering and his eyes were wide and watery, but he didn't cry or make a fuss. He just pouted and continued to try.

Emperor Kangxi couldn't help but find it amusing, and thought his son's persistence was endearing.

After observing the interaction between the Consort and her son for a while, Emperor Kangxi felt a surge of paternal love and couldn't help but say to the Consort, "Let me try it too."

The Imperial Concubine's smile faltered slightly. She felt that the Emperor was itching to play with his son—no, to encourage Yin'e to move around more, strengthen his limbs, and prepare for his future learning to turn over.

Unconsciously, Yin'e, who had become completely absorbed in the game, regained his rationality in running away from home. Suddenly frozen, he cursed his past self and vowed in his heart that he would never be tempted by games again.

However, since Kangxi seems to be the top boss, does he really not give Kangxi any face?

Yin'e fell into deep thought, undecided for a moment.

Taking the overly ornate rattle drum from the Consort's hand, Kangxi frowned but did not get angry. His voice simply deepened slightly: "Was this sent by the Imperial Household Department? Why use such a rattle drum? The jewels inlaid on the drumhead are uneven. What if Yin'e gets hurt by accident?"

Not only was the drumhead inlaid with gemstones and uneven, but the drumsticks tied to the red ropes on both sides were also made of gold, each about the size of a thumb. The reason why Kangxi did not find fault with it was simply because he saw that the drumsticks were tied securely and the clasps were tightly fastened and would not easily fall off.

A blush rose to her face, and the Imperial Concubine was both amused and embarrassed: "This child, Yin'e, just loves sparkly gemstones."

Without the imperial concubine even speaking, the quick-witted Greenie had already found the old mahogany rattle drum and presented it to Emperor Kangxi.

The Imperial Concubine sighed and said, "Your Majesty, look, this was sent by the Imperial Household Department before. The workmanship is more exquisite, but Yin'e just doesn't like it. I used to use this rattle drum, but no matter how I tried to amuse Yin'e, he couldn't get interested, so I had to change it for him."

Kangxi looked closely and nodded slightly.

The most advanced rattle drums presented by the Imperial Household Department were made of the finest rosewood, with exquisite patterns carved on the drumhead and painted with bright red lacquer. The drumhead and drumsticks were polished to a very smooth finish, without a single burr to be found.

In terms of value, this rosewood rattle drum is actually more valuable than the one inlaid with gemstones. Don't be fooled by the new rattle drum's ornate appearance; its craftsmanship is actually just average, and the gemstones inlaid on the drumhead are just scraps, not pure enough to be considered particularly precious.

Sure enough, the Consort said to Emperor Kangxi, "This one was hastily made by the Imperial Household Department. The workmanship is very ordinary, and there are no carved patterns. It just cleverly inlaid a few gemstones. But Yin'e likes it very much. He will only respond if you shake this one."

When Luyi presented the storeroom roster for the New Year, the Imperial Concubine noticed that Yin'e's little eyes kept glancing at Luyi's hands. After testing him a few times, she confirmed Yin'e's little hobby.

As the emperor and empress spoke, they were completely unaware that Yin'e in the cradle had already gone mad.

Yin'e felt as if the sky had fallen and the earth had cracked: What? That old wooden rattle drum was actually more valuable than the one made of gold and jewels?

Although Yin'e, who was just an ordinary person in his previous life, was born into the royal family in this life, he still maintained a simple value system that valued gold and silver jewelry more.

Yin'e at this time has not seen much of the world and does not have a high level of appreciation, so much so that he did the foolish thing of buying the box and returning the pearl.

He pouted, feeling a surge of despair: he was so foolish. He should have realized it sooner; the Imperial Concubine loved him so much, she would surely prepare the best things for him!

The Imperial Concubine sighed, but Emperor Kangxi found it quite amusing and chuckled, "You like sparkly gemstones, Yin'e's hobby is quite something..."

Kangxi stopped mid-sentence, because Yin'e's hobby was rather unseemly, and he couldn't bring himself to say anything to praise it.

But Yin'e was so young, and Kangxi couldn't be too harsh on him, much less scold a baby. So he could only lie and vaguely comment, "He is indeed simple and innocent."

The Imperial Concubine lowered her eyes, her jade-like face still displaying a gentle and graceful smile, warm and bright.

What I just said was indeed the truth, but it was also something the Imperial Concubine said intentionally.

To make Yin'e the emperor's beloved son and gain his favor, it was necessary not only to deepen the father-son relationship between them, but also to dispel the emperor's subconscious fear of Yin'e.

A son of a concubine with mediocre talent would be more in the emperor's and crown prince's interest.

The Consort didn't know what would happen in the future, but she knew that the current Emperor and Crown Prince were on the same side and would only stand by the Crown Prince's side. He would even take the initiative to clear obstacles and eliminate threats for the Crown Prince.

Perhaps the Emperor himself didn't realize it, but after learning about Yin'e's little hobby, he inadvertently breathed a sigh of relief—indeed, the Emperor was happy to see a concubine's son who was mediocre in talent and posed no threat.

A note from the author:

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Yin'e: I'm coming clean, I'm just an ordinary person who likes shiny (valuable) gemstones.