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 ...
The concubines were able to remain calm when they saw Kangxi holding the little prince, but when he was about to take him back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, they suddenly became a little unsteady.
Although they all felt that this was unreasonable, the main concubines looked at each other and no one was willing to take the lead, so they could only watch Kangxi leave with the little prince in his arms.
"Concubine Chen gave birth to a good son." Watching Kangxi leave, the concubine who lived in Ningshou Palace couldn't help but say sourly.
When Concubine De heard this, she frowned slightly, but soon relaxed.
She was able to rise from a maid to the position of Consort De, so she was naturally ambitious. Now that the crown prince had been deposed, the eldest prince had been stripped of his title and imprisoned, and the eighth prince had been reprimanded by Emperor Kangxi, her fourteenth prince was the most promising among the remaining princes...
Ten years ago, Concubine De would have regarded this little prince, who had been favored by the emperor since birth, as a threat, but now, she shook her head and left Ningshou Palace gracefully with the palace maids.
As everyone left, Ningshou Palace suddenly became much quieter.
Inside the house, when Concubine Chen learned that her newborn baby prince had been taken away by the Emperor, she was not sad but showed a look of joy.
According to the rules of the palace, only concubines and above are qualified to raise children, so she had long been prepared for the child to be taken away. Compared with giving the child to other concubines to raise, the current situation is obviously better. She even secretly hoped that the little prince could always be raised by the emperor.
On the other side, Kangxi had already brought the little prince back to the Qianqing Palace.
Perhaps it was because people were in high spirits when something good happened, Kangxi felt much more energetic now than in the morning.
He sat on the throne, looking down at the little prince who was still holding him tightly, and couldn't help but reach out to touch the soft little face.
When Longzai noticed it, he stretched out his other little hand and grabbed his fingers. At first he just pinched them, but soon he started to put them into his mouth.
His hands were small and soft, as if they had no bones. After Kangxi's fingers were grabbed, his chest felt sore and soft as if it was tickled by a feather. The feeling of being connected by blood made him dare not move for a while, until he saw that he wanted to bite his hand, he gently pulled it out.
"Are you hungry, little brother?" Liang Jiugong, who was waiting nearby, spoke with a reminder after seeing this scene.
Kangxi thought so too. However, when he wanted someone to take him away to feed him, even the wet nurse couldn't take him away. He would cry if she touched him.
"You said you..." Seeing that he was hungry but refused to go down to drink milk and insisted on sticking to him, Kangxi felt helpless and wanted to scold him with a stern face. However, when he saw his innocent little face, he finally swallowed his words back.
You won’t understand even if I tell you at this age. I will teach you slowly when you grow up.
Kangxi thought about it and did not ask anyone to carry him away by force. Instead, he ordered someone to put the milk in a bowl and bring it to him.
After the milk was delivered, Liang Jiugong personally held the bowl and bent down to feed the little prince.
The little dragon was indeed a little hungry at the moment. When he smelled the milk, he naturally wouldn't refuse it. He opened his little mouth and started drinking.
"You have a good appetite." Kangxi said with a smile as he watched Liang Jiugong feed him mouthful after mouthful, and he could hardly keep up with the speed at which he drank.
"ah……"
Long Zaizai suddenly made a sound, and it was unclear whether he was responding to him or urging Liang Jiugong to feed him too slowly.
The fair and tender little baby looked so adorable when drinking milk. Liang Jiugong couldn't help but smile when he saw it. When Kangxi took the spoon because his hands were itching, he still felt reluctant to let go.
As an emperor who was used to being served, Kangxi's feeding movements were naturally not as careful as Liang Jiugong's, but the little prince was very considerate and drank it all up.
This gave Kangxi a great sense of accomplishment, and he still felt a little unsatisfied after feeding the baby.
After all, he was just born, and after eating, the little brother slowly fell asleep with the smell of milk on his body.
Only after he fell asleep did Kangxi finally let go and put him down.
Of course, the process of putting him down was not smooth. After Kangxi bent down to comfort him for a while, he breathed a sigh of relief only after making sure that he was really asleep on the bed.
Finally free, he should have gone back to work, but looking at the little ball lying on the bed, he watched for a while before leaving.
In the afternoon, after dealing with memorials for a while, Kangxi suddenly ordered someone to spread out paper and start writing.
Of course, he was not just practicing calligraphy, but was giving the little prince a name.
After a lot of words were written on the paper, Kangxi examined it for a while and finally circled the word "secret".
After a moment, he wrote the word "Cheng'an" in the blank space next to the word "Secret".
As a father, Kangxi used to value his sons' talents and abilities more, but now, he doesn't have too many requirements for his youngest son. He just hopes that he can grow up safely.
Soon, an imperial edict was issued from the Qianqing Palace, which not only named Concubine Chen as a noble lady, but also let everyone know the name of the 24th prince - Yinmi.
Children in the palace are prone to die young, so they are usually not named too early. They are given a name on the day they are born. Anyone with a discerning eye can see how favored this little prince is.
Soon, the news spread from the palace, and the princes who had set up houses outside the palace also knew that they had a new younger brother. This younger brother was even more favored by the emperor. Not only was he given a name at birth, he was also taken to the Qianqing Palace by the emperor.
The Eighth Prince's Mansion.
"What do you think the Emperor means by this?" Yin'e looked at his two brothers who were sitting there.
Yinsi shook his head to indicate that he didn't know.
He really didn't understand why the Emperor suddenly took a little prince back to the Palace of Heavenly Purity to raise him. If he was lonely, he wouldn't raise a newborn baby when there were clearly several little princes of a more suitable age ahead of him.
"How can we guess what the Emperor is thinking?" Yinzhen picked up the wine in front of him and drank it all, his tone revealing a hint of undetectable sarcasm.
He and Yin'e had fully supported Yinsi over the years, and had seen hope after the crown prince was deposed and the eldest prince fell. However, the emperor scolded Yinsi so mercilessly in public, depriving him of that hope.
"No matter what, our younger brother is quite enviable." Yin'e said, then changed the subject, "In the past, only the... second brother had this honor, could it be..."
"Tenth brother, be careful with your words!" Yinsi interrupted his speculation.
"It's just a little kid, how is that possible?" Yinzhen shook his head to reject Yin'e's guess.
Yinsi also disagreed with Yin'e's guess. After all, it was impossible to tell the qualifications of a newborn baby, so how could it be possible... However, when he thought that the other party's mother was just a concubine, but he was so favored, he still felt a little uncomfortable.
The Sixth Prince once caused people to feel uneasy because of the word "Zuo" in his name. That was because Kangxi was still young and everything was possible.
At this time, also because of Kangxi's age, even though the 24th prince Yinmi was taken to the Qianqing Palace, people who heard the news were just surprised, and anyone with a bit of common sense would not think in other directions.
Kangxi himself did not have this idea, but because the little prince was pleasing to his eye and was too clingy, he temporarily brought him back to the Qianqing Palace.
The next day, it was just dawn.
Before Liang Jiugong came over to remind him, Kangxi on the dragon bed had already woken up on his own.
When he sat up, he suddenly saw the little baby lying next to him. Then he remembered that the baby had been sticking to him since he woke up yesterday afternoon, and finally fell asleep next to him.
Kangxi met his dark eyes and the little face with his mouth slightly open as if he was smiling, and a gentleness and faint smile appeared on his face that he himself did not even notice.
"You're quite well-behaved now." Seeing that he seemed to be awake for a while but did not make any noise to disturb him, Kangxi praised him and reached out to pinch his little hand.
After a night, the dragon cub looked whiter and tenderer, and the mist on his pupils had disappeared. His dark eyes looked as clear as a lake.
His vision was stronger than yesterday, so he saw the big hand in front of him and subconsciously reached out to grab it, but Kangxi hid to the other side before he could grab it.
Liang Jiugong didn't expect that the emperor would play with the little prince after waking up. He felt happy for his master when he saw this heartwarming scene, but seeing that the time for the morning court was approaching, he had to remind him: "Your Majesty, it's time to get up..."
When Kangxi heard his words, he withdrew his hand and got off the bed. When he stood by the bed to change clothes, he was worried that Cheng'an would cry again, but fortunately, he didn't, which made him breathe a sigh of relief.
However, he relaxed too early, because when he was about to go to the morning court, the dragon cub, who felt his breath getting farther and farther away from him, cried out "Wow".
Although he had long discovered that his crying was just dry howling without tears, Kangxi still retreated to the bedside immediately.
As soon as he came over, the little brother, who had been shouting so loudly that he threatened to lift the roof off, suddenly quieted down. He raised his little hands slightly, and his sweet and obedient appearance made people want to hold him in their arms immediately.
However, Kangxi was about to attend the morning court, so it was naturally impossible for him to hug him. Finally, he thought of a way and had someone hold the dragon robe he wore yesterday in front of him, and then quietly left.
This method was somewhat useful. At least when Kangxi stepped out of the bedroom again, he no longer heard crying.
However, when it came to the morning court, Kangxi, sitting high on the dragon throne, while listening to the voices of the ministers below, could not help but think of the little prince who was left in the bedroom.
His brothers are not so clingy either. I don’t know who he takes that from.
Thinking that he would cry as soon as he left, Kangxi shook his head secretly in his heart.
After the morning court session ended, Kangxi summoned several ministers to the Imperial Study to discuss matters. After the business was over, he looked at one of the young ministers and said, "I remember that you seemed to have a son a few days ago?"
The minister who was questioned did not expect that the emperor would remember his private affairs. He nodded flattered and said, "Your Majesty, yes."
"Will your son cling to you and cry if you leave him for a while?" Kangxi asked again.
The minister didn't know what the emperor meant, so he answered honestly: "No, but sometimes he would cry when my wife left for a while."
"Really? My twenty-fourth prince is very attached to me..." Kangxi shook his head, his tone revealing a hint of helplessness.
The ministers present looked at each other, not knowing what the emperor meant. In the end, they could only follow his words and praise the little prince.