In the 55th year of Kangxi, the 24th prince was born.
No one knew that inside this little prince's body was actually a dragon cub that had just hatched from its egg.
While still in ...
When Cheng'an saw his father waving at him, he smiled even more happily and beat the drum even harder.
"Cheng'an, take a rest. Second brother is coming." Yinreng was afraid that he would be tired, so he waited for him to knock for a while before speaking.
The little guy's wrist was indeed a little sore, but he found that the dragon boats next to him were almost catching up, so he refused to rest.
Yinreng could only coax her, "Look back and see if your third brother and the others have done a good job."
The little guy stopped after hearing this and turned to look at Yinzhi and the others who were rowing.
"Brother, row faster! They are catching up with us..."
"Row faster, row faster, if you win you will get rice dumplings!"
When Yinzhi and the others heard the little guy's baby voice, they immediately sped up more seriously than when they heard the drumbeats.
"Did you hear that? Cheng'an said there will be rice dumplings if you win." Yin'e couldn't help laughing as he rowed.
Not to mention the brothers, even the people rowing on the dragon boat nearby wanted to laugh when they heard the words "If you win, you will get to eat rice dumplings."
After all, it is really hilarious to think about a group of brothers rowing dragon boats so hard just for zongzi.
"Even if you want to let go, you shouldn't smile like that..." A rower said to the person next to him on a dragon boat.
The man laughed so hard and waved his hands to show that he was not letting the water go. As a result, his body tilted and he fell directly into the lake.
Perhaps because he had just watched the dragon boat race and knew that falling into the water would be okay, the little guy was not so worried when he heard the splash, but he still shouted to his brothers: "Brothers, sit tight!"
"So should we sit still or row faster?" Yin'e asked loudly.
"Sit tight and row faster~"
When Yinreng heard his request, he chuckled.
There were no baby-sounding little ones cheering him on on the other dragon boats. The brothers paddled very hard so that he could have rice dumplings tomorrow, and finally reached the finish line half a boat’s head ahead.
"Wow~"
When the little guy found out that they had actually won, he jumped up with joy.
"Brother, we won!"
Yinreng put his arm around him and nodded, "Yes."
The little guy wanted to go over and hug his other brothers, but they were still on the boat, and Yinreng held him and wouldn't let him go, so he could only express his excitement with his voice.
"Brother, we won!"
"Then how do you want to thank Brother Ten?" Yin E, who felt that he had tried his best just now, asked with his head raised.
The little guy said loudly: "I'll treat Brother Shi to zongzi~"
Yin'e couldn't help laughing when he thought that he had to ask the emperor for his permission before he could eat a zongzi.
After getting ashore, the little one, whose emotions had not yet completely calmed down, ran over and hugged his other brothers.
"Brother is really awesome, no one can beat you~"
"No, no, Cheng'an's drumming is still the best. I feel full of energy when I hear it."
When Yinsi heard Yin'e and the little guy praising each other, he smiled and took the little guy into his arms.
"Myna is also amazing, he paddles really well~"
As Cheng'an spoke, he reached out to touch his face, and Yinsi indulged him, lowering his head and letting him touch him.
After the little guy took turns being praised and acting coquettishly in his brothers' arms for a while, he ran straight to Kangxi when he landed again.
"Ama, we won, are you happy~"
"Why should I be happy that you won?" Kangxi saw him coming and climbing on him, so he reached out and held him directly on his lap.
The little guy looked up and said, "Because my brother and I are both your sons!"
Although he was telling the truth, Kangxi felt like laughing for some reason after hearing it.
The little guy saw the smile on his face, hugged him and said in a baby voice: "Ama is happy~"
Kangxi was indeed in a good mood and did not deliberately deny him.
Next, Kangxi began to give Dragon Boat Festival rewards to those present as a token of his imperial grace.
The items are not particularly expensive, and most of them are things that can be used during this season, including palace pendants, gauze, kudzu, fans, scented cakes, purple gold ingots, toad venom ingots, etc.
Although the people who received the things bestowed by Kangxi were certainly reluctant to use them and basically had to keep them as offerings, these rewards were still quite practical.
"Father, I want it too!" Cheng An, who stayed beside him and waited for him to reward everyone present, said with his head raised.
Kangxi looked at him and asked, "What do you want?"
"I want that purple gold ingot!" the little guy shouted.
Not far away, Yin'e, who was a little tired from rowing, was drinking tea. When he heard the little guy's voice, he almost spit out a mouthful of tea.
Although the other princes did not react as strongly as he did, they all looked at the little guy, suspecting that he had mistaken the purple gold ingot for gold.
"Are you sure?" Kangxi did not show it on his face, but he guessed in his heart that he probably had no idea what the purple gold ingot was.
The little guy nodded and said, "Sure."
"Liang Jiugong."
As soon as Kangxi gave an order, Liang Jiugong immediately brought a purple gold ingot on a tray and brought it to the little guy.
"Thank you, Ama~" the little guy said and immediately took the box from the tray and smiled.
However, when he opened the box, saw what was inside, and smelled the scent coming from it, his brows immediately frowned.
"Ama, what is this?"
Kangxi saw the change in his expression and said with a smile: "This is the purple gold ingot you wanted."
"Why does it smell so bad?"
The little guy was a little disappointed when he found out that the purple gold ingot was not only not golden but also smelled bad.
"That's the smell of medicine. Purple gold ingots are a good medicine for preventing heatstroke. It would be good for you to keep some with you." Kangxi said with a smile.
When the little guy learned that the purple gold ingot was actually medicine, a bitter taste automatically rose in his mouth. He immediately closed the box in his hand and put it on the table: "Father, I don't want it."
After he said that, he ran straight towards the brothers.
When Kangxi saw that he immediately backed away when he heard it was medicine, he finally couldn't help but chuckle.
"Cheng'an, where is your purple gold ingot?" Yinzhi joked when he saw him coming.
The little guy puffed up his cheeks and said, "That's medicine, I don't want it."
Yinreng reached out and gently touched his puffy face, and said with a barely perceptible smile: "Do you think the purple gold ingot is gold?"
"Yeah." The little guy nodded, hugged his arm and complained, "If it's not gold, why is it called purple gold ingot? How annoying!"
Yinqi listened to his cute little complaints and couldn't help but touch his head soothingly.
"Seventh brother, here is some gold. Give it to you." Yinyou took out a golden peanut from his purse and put it into his palm.
The little guy held the gold given by his brother, and finally felt better. He rushed over, hugged him and kissed him.
After he became happy again, Yin'e said to him, "Cheng'an, you can't blame the purple gold ingot for this. Look, there is no donkey meat in the donkey roll."
"Is there no donkey meat in donkey rolls?" the little guy asked in surprise.
Yin'e was a little amused: "You've eaten donkey rolls before, of course there's no donkey meat in it."
The little fellow was a little craving for donkey rolls after hearing what he said. He leaned over to Yinyou’s ear and said, “Seventh brother, I want to eat donkey rolls…”
Yinyou thought that rowing the dragon boat was quite tiring, so it would be okay for him to eat some donkey rolls, and immediately told the people around him to get some for him.
When the donkey rolls were served, the little guy picked one up and ran up to give it to Kangxi.
"I won't eat, so you should eat less too." Kangxi said, preparing to go back, so he asked him, "Do you want to go back with me or continue to play here for a while?"
"Are you tired, Ama?"
Kangxi nodded slightly, and the little guy immediately said, "Then I will go back with my father!"
At this time, the sun had begun to set. Kangxi had just left with the little one, and the princes and the people present also dispersed.
Not long after the Dragon Boat Festival, it was soon the little one’s birthday.
It was rare that he finally remembered his birthday this year. When he woke up that morning, he rubbed his eyes and said in a baby voice, "Father, is today my birthday?"
"So what?" Kangxi asked instead of answering.
The little guy was sure that he remembered correctly, so he immediately threw himself into his arms, looked up at him and said, "Then take me and my brother out to play~"
"You just know how to play." Kangxi tapped his forehead.
"Ama, are you okay~"
"I didn't say it was bad."
It would be difficult for Kangxi to refuse him on normal days, let alone today was his birthday.
After breakfast, Kangxi finished the urgent matters at hand and then took him and the princes out.
Knowing that the little guy liked to be in a lively environment, Kangxi did not take him to the nearby sightseeing area, but instead asked someone to take him shopping in the nearest town.
Since the Mountain Resort was built in Chengde, court officials and some scholars have come here to build mansions, making the area more and more prosperous.
There are many restaurants and tea shops on Chengde Street, and the hustle and bustle of traffic. At first glance, it seems to be almost as lively as the capital.
The little guy liked this kind of lively atmosphere with a sense of market life, and he started to walk around as soon as he got off the carriage.
"Ama, do we still need to buy rice?"
When he saw a grain store, he immediately ran to Kangxi and asked.
There is no shortage of rice in the Mountain Resort. Kangxi shook his head slightly when he heard his words.
When the little guy heard that he didn't need to buy rice, he skipped the grain store and continued walking forward.
"Would Cheng'an like to eat some candied haws?" Yinzhi saw a man selling candied haws not far away, so he asked him.
The little guy immediately looked around: "Where are the candied haws?"
Yinzhi picked him up and took him to buy it.
In this kind of weather, the candied haws melt easily, so the people selling them deliberately stand in the shade, but the candied haws on the straw target still show signs of melting.
When Yinzhi approached and discovered it, he immediately didn't want to buy it. He lowered his head and said to the little guy in his arms: "You should go back and ask someone to make it for you."
"These were all made this morning, but they've melted a little due to the hot weather. I'll pick some for you, the best ones." The candied haws seller hadn't sold a single one in the whole morning, and his voice sounded a little anxious.
"Third brother, I want to eat." After the little guy said that, he reached out and took two skewers from the straw target.
When Yinzhi saw that he wanted to buy something, he could only signal the people around him to pay.
The man selling candied haws saw that the shop was finally open and kept thanking after taking the money.
"I have money in my pocket~"
Before going out to play, the little guy filled his pocket with money in advance.
"Why would you need to pay for my third brother?" Yinzhi said, touching his little head.
Cheng An immediately laughed when he heard his words, raised the candied haws and said, "Third brother, you eat first~"
The candied haws were indeed a little shrunken, but they didn't look too bad. Seeing that he deliberately gave him the first bite, Yinzhi finally didn't refuse.
When he finished eating, the little guy leaned on his shoulder and said, "Ama, brother, do you want to eat?"
Kangxi didn't eat it, but the other princes saw that he bought two skewers and reached out to take one to help him finish it.
"This candied haws is delicious~"
Although candied haws are usually sweet and sour, this one has just the right sweetness and sourness. The little guy's eyes lit up when he took a bite of it.
"It's really good." Yin'e, who had just tasted it, agreed.
The little guy put the whole candied haws in his mouth, puffed up his cheeks and chewed hard. Just by looking at the way he ate, one could tell that the candied haws must taste good.
Passersby saw this and couldn't help but run over to buy a string of candied haws.
When the little guy was eating candied haws, Yinzhi, who was holding him, didn't dare to walk too fast, for fear that the skewer of the candied haws would prick his mouth. He only quickened his pace after he finished eating.
Kangxi and the princes usually dote on him, let alone today, they completely follow his ideas. He can go wherever he wants to go and buy whatever he wants.
The little guy started walking by himself after being held by his brothers for a while. As he was walking, he suddenly noticed a child being carried on his back. He couldn't help but pull Yinreng's hand and said, "Look, second brother!"
Yinreng followed his gaze and immediately guessed his thoughts. He half-knelt down and said, "Second brother will carry you."
The little guy is unique in that he can make the former prince carry people on his back on the street.
However, the little guy said: "I want to sit in that basket too..."
The child placed in the basket by his family was obviously only one or two years old. When the brothers heard that he also wanted to be carried in the same way, they doubted whether the bamboo basket could bear his weight.
When Yin'e heard the little guy's words, he immediately looked around. When he saw a stall selling bamboo weaving, he immediately ran over and bought a large bamboo basket that he could carry on his back.
"I think this can definitely hold Cheng'an." Yin'e said while carrying the bamboo basket.
Seeing him so eager to buy a bamboo basket, the other brothers looked at each other and said, "Then you try to carry it."
"I……"
Yin'e wanted to say something, but the brothers didn't give him the chance. They picked up the little guy, put him in the bamboo basket, and then lifted him up and put him on his back.
"Tenth brother, please support the bottom of the basket with your hands." Yinzhi said as he pulled his hands and put them in the right position.
It's true that the basket was woven very sturdily and could actually bear the weight of the little guy. However, even so, Yinreng and the others still stood around it to support it a little to prevent the little guy from falling out.
"It's so fun~"
Hearing the little guy's happy voice, Yin'e, who was passively carrying him on his back, couldn't help but laugh: "Sit tight, Cheng'an, Brother Ten is starting to walk."
"Thank you for your hard work, Brother Shi~" The little guy stood up in the bamboo basket, hugged his neck and kissed him on the face.
After being kissed by him, Yin'e suddenly felt full of strength and felt like he could even run two laps on his back.
Kangxi watched from behind and felt that they really spoiled him, especially when he saw the little guy lying beside the basket and Yinyou feeding him the candied fruit he had bought earlier.
"Dad, do you want to eat some candied fruit?" The little guy noticed his gaze and asked while holding the candied fruit in his mouth.
Kangxi simply shook his head.
The little guy didn't sit in the bamboo basket for too long. After a while, he got used to it and the bamboo basket became his place to store things.
It was not a festival, and the only things to visit on the street were various shops and stalls. The group found a restaurant to taste the local dishes, took a short rest, and continued to stroll around in the afternoon before preparing to leave the Mountain Resort.
He came with nothing, but when he left, the little guy bought enough things to fill half a carriage.
In the carriage, Kangxi asked him, "Are you having fun?"
"I'm so happy~" the little guy said, holding the Luban lock he bought on the street today, and then he fell on him with a smile.
Kangxi opened his arms and held him in his arms. Seeing that he had been trying to untie the Lu Ban lock in his hand for a long time, he taught him how to play with it.
As soon as the Luban lock was unlocked, the little guy fell asleep in his arms.
He was the most excited when they were on the street before, running around a lot. Plus, Kangxi asked him to take a nap in the restaurant before, but he refused, so it was normal for him to fall asleep now.
After Kangxi signaled to Liang Jiugong, Liang Jiugong stepped forward to help adjust the little guy's posture, then lifted the curtain and whispered to the coachman to drive slower and more steadily.
When we were almost at the summer resort, the little guy woke up rubbing his eyes. His first reaction was: "Ama, is it dark?"
Because he was asleep, Kangxi had both layers of curtains on the car windows lowered, so the light inside the car seemed a little dim.
"not yet."
As Kangxi finished speaking, Liang Jiugong had already opened the curtain of the carriage, revealing the sunset outside.
“It’s really beautiful~”
After the little guy woke up, he leaned on the car window and said.
When the brothers heard his voice, they rode over from behind. Seeing that his little face was still a little red from just waking up, they couldn't help but reach out to touch it.
"Brother, I just fell asleep~" Cheng An looked up and told them in a baby voice.
The brothers chatted with him with smiles and soon entered the Summer Resort.
They had already had lunch together outside at noon, and Kangxi had no intention of keeping Yinreng and the others for dinner, but the little guy kept pulling them aside.
In the end, the dinner was still lively. After eating a table full of dishes that the little guy liked, Kangxi and the princes also had a bowl of longevity noodles with him.
By the time dinner was over, it was completely dark. In the brightly lit main hall, Kangxi and his brothers accompanied the little guy to look at his birthday present.
What Yinreng gave him was a jade seal. Needless to say, the jade was of the best quality, but the most precious thing was that the seal was carved by him personally.
"Wow~ I have a stamp too!" The little guy shouted happily while holding the stamp, and even bent down to give it a kiss.
Seeing how much he liked it, Yinreng couldn't help but raise the corners of his lips.
After the little fellow curiously put the seal into his purse, Yinzhi gestured to him to look at the gift.
Yinzhi gave the little guy a painting, which showed him and his brothers rowing dragon boats together on the Dragon Boat Festival.
His painting skills are the best among his brothers, otherwise he would not have taught the little one to paint. This picture of dragon boats is even more pleasing to the eye.
The scenery in the painting is already very artistic, but what is even more wonderful are the people rowing dragon boats on the lake. They are portrayed in great detail, especially the little guy beating the drum. His aura is fully captured in the painting.
Even though it is clearly a static painting, after looking at it for a long time, it gives people the feeling that a dragon boat is paddling.
"Third brother's painting is so beautiful!" The little guy praised and pointed at the painting, "This is second brother, this is third brother... Ama is here too~"
"It's a good painting." Kangxi nodded slightly after admiring it.
Yinzhi bowed and said, "Thank you, Father Emperor, for your compliment."
Perhaps it was because the experience of taking the little one dragon boat racing that day was really good, the birthday gift prepared by Yinqi was also related to the dragon boat racing that day.
Of course, what he gave was not a painting but a wood carving. Knowing that the little guy liked gold, the wooden dragon boat was plated with gold. The figures on it were carved lifelike, and there were also several small dragon boats made of gold next to it.
"Wow~"
After the little guy lay in front of the wood carving to admire it for a while, he reached out and picked up the small dragon boat that he could hold in his palm to play with.
What Yinyou prepared for him was a small golden bow inlaid with gems. Regardless of whether it was practical or not, it was quite nice looking.
The little guy has been learning archery recently. When he got the little golden bow, he got ready and started drawing the bow.
"Good." Yin E cheered softly in approval.
Cheng An chuckled, put the small golden bow on his arm and continued to look at the gifts.
What Yinsi presented was a string of rice dumplings. Of course, they were not real rice dumplings. Instead, they were made of jade that was similar in color to rice dumplings and were wrapped together with gold thread. At first glance, they looked like a string of real rice dumplings.
"Father, eat rice dumplings~" Cheng'an picked up the rice dumplings and brought them to Kangxi. Seeing that Kangxi was not cooperating, he immediately pretended to eat them while making a loud noise.
When Kangxi and the princes saw this scene, they couldn't help but want to rub his little head.
The other princes gave things that the little guy liked. For example, Yin'e gave a musket made by Dai Zi. It was bigger than the toy musket that he gave to the little guy before, but this time it was a real musket.
Even Yinzhen and the others who were not here rushed to send the birthday gifts over today, making the little guy full of joy after receiving a bunch of gifts.
The little guy's emotions are always contagious, and seeing him so happy, the brothers were also in a good mood. However, as it was getting darker, they still had to leave.
"Brother won't leave!"
Perhaps it was because he had a very happy day, and because everyone from Kangxi to the princes followed his lead, Cheng'an subconsciously opened his arms and blocked the door when he saw his brothers were about to leave.
"It's very late." Yinreng touched his head and told him.
The little guy turned his head and looked outside. After finding that it was indeed dark, he still did not put down his hand. Instead, he said, "Brother, you all sleep here~"
"Then I can't sleep." Yinreng shook his head slightly, and couldn't help but think of the last time he insisted on asking him to stay overnight.
"Ama's bed is big enough for everyone to sleep in!"
Yin'e originally thought that the little guy just wanted them to rest in the Danbo Jingcheng Hall, but when he heard this, he almost choked on his own saliva.
No matter how big the bed in the bedroom was, it couldn't possibly accommodate so many people. Listening to his nonsense, Kangxi said directly: "Stop messing around."
The little guy puffed up his cheeks unhappily: "I'm so small and I don't take up any space, so what's wrong with letting my brother sleep with me?"
"Then break the bed down and sleep on the floor together, then catch a cold and take medicine together?" Kangxi was amused by his anger, thinking that he was just relying on the fact that today was his birthday so he would not hit him.
“It’s so hot, how could I catch a cold…” Although the little guy refuted, his voice unconsciously became softer, and it was obvious that he was intimidated by the words “drink medicine”.
Kangxi vaguely remembered that Yin'e seemed to have called the imperial physician recently, so he glanced at him and said, "Then you have to ask your tenth brother."
What does this have to do with me...
Yin'e did catch a cold a few days ago because he wanted to stay cool and ate too many ice bowls and used too many ice basins, but when he heard Haohao suddenly talking about him, he still felt it was a little outrageous.