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 ...
Seeing how comfortably they both lay, Yinzhen, Yinzhi, and Yinlu followed suit and lay down one after another. In the end, only Yinsi and Yinzhen were still sitting.
Seeing Cheng'an's upper body leaning in Yin'e's arms and his lower body still on the ground, Yinsi thought about it and took a cushion to put under him.
When the little guy noticed it, he tilted his head back and gave him a sweet smile, causing Yinsi to gently touch his little face.
Cheng'an rubbed his palm twice, and when he withdrew his hand, he changed his position and turned over to lie in Yin'e's arms.
"Oops~"
After the brothers rested quietly for a while, the little guy suddenly made a sound similar to a sigh.
After hearing this, Yin'e smiled and asked, "Are you tired?"
"An An is tired." The little guy, who was indeed a little tired, nodded.
"That's why you ran so fast just now."
Yin'e thought about how he had just desperately chased him, hugged his legs and called for his brothers to come and throw him over, and reached out to pinch his little face.
The little guy thought about how fast he had run just now, and he grabbed his brother and laughed with his little mouth open.
Hearing his infectious laughter, Yin'e also smiled, and then pinched his arms and legs and asked, "Does it hurt here?"
The cloth storeroom was neither small nor big. During the playtime, Cheng'an was held in arms by Yinzhen and the others in turn for a while, so his hands and feet were not sore. Instead, Yin'e's actions made him feel itchy.
The little guy shook his head and laughed, then wanted to pinch his arm.
When the two brothers were playing, Yinsi suddenly said, "It seems to be almost noon..."
As soon as he finished speaking, the princes thought of Kangxi at the same time and stood up from the ground instantly.
Yin'e's heart also jumped, and he climbed up with one hand holding Cheng'an: "Hurry up and go, hurry up, otherwise it will be bad if the emperor comes back."
The others did not show it, but they all moved very quickly, especially Yinzhi and Yinzhen, who hurried to change their clothes.
Cheng'an didn't quite understand why it was bad when his father came back. He tilted his head and watched his brothers hurried out.
"Tenth brother, please walk faster."
After leaving the cloth warehouse, Yin'e quickly fell behind, and Yin'er couldn't help but look back.
"I can't walk fast while carrying Cheng'an." Yin'e's physical strength is not as good as that of his other brothers. He has already consumed a lot of energy in the cloth warehouse just now, so naturally he can't walk fast.
When the little guy heard his words, he immediately raised his head and said affectionately: "An An, go by yourself~"
Before Yin'e could refuse, Yinzhi turned around and took the little guy from his arms.
Cheng An saw that Da Ge was holding him and walking very fast, so he put his arm around his neck and rubbed his chin.
The important thing at this moment was to send Cheng'an back to the Qianqing Palace as soon as possible, so Yin'e didn't say anything even though he felt a little unhappy.
The group hurried and when they returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, they found that Kangxi had already returned.
Thinking about how they had taken Cheng'an to play in the cloth warehouse for the entire morning, the princes were a little worried about being scolded by Kangxi.
Compared to them, Cheng'an had the least psychological burden. When he saw Kangxi, he ran over happily and called him, "Ama~"
Kangxi motioned for Yinzhi and the others to excuse themselves from the formalities and then looked down at him: "Where did you go to play again?"
"An An plays with Bu Gu~" the little guy said with some excitement.
Boo Goo?
Kangxi quickly guessed that it was Buku based on his understanding of him, and tapped his forehead and said, "Who can you throw down?"
Buku was a relatively important activity in the Qing Dynasty. Even when hunting in Mulan Paddock, one of the "Four Events of the Great Barrier Banquet" in Mongolia was Bibuku.
So when Kangxi learned that the princes took Cheng'an to the Buku room, he was not angry. At most, he felt that they were a little idle and took Cheng'an to play in the Buku when he was so young.
Of course, this was also because they brought the person back safely. If Cheng An was injured anywhere, he would not have been scolded.
"An An fell down on his brother!" The little guy said as he gestured to tell Kangxi how he fell.
Kangxi watched him gesticulating and said with a smile: "Which brother of yours is so capable that he could be knocked down by you?"
Hearing this, Yin'e stepped forward with a hint of embarrassment and said, "Father, I was just teasing him."
Kangxi did not mention Buku anymore, but pointed at the wooden horse next to him and asked, "Where did this come from?"
"Brother is fine~" Cheng'an answered quickly.
Yin'e felt a little bad, but still said, "This is what your son gave to Cheng'an."
Kangxi had guessed it was him and glanced at him calmly: "Is this what I asked you to do at the Ministry of Works?"
Although he sent his sons to the six ministries for Cheng'an's sake, he also found that they were indeed relatively idle, so he found some proper work for them to do.
Kangxi would naturally not just send these people away and not ask about their affairs anymore. He would also find out about their situation in the six ministries and would soon find out who was working seriously and who was just slacking off all day.
"I know I was wrong, please forgive me, Father." Yin'e immediately pleaded guilty.
When Cheng'an saw this, he thought it was because his brother gave him a little wooden horse, so he quickly hugged Kangxi's legs and said, "An'an, don't want a little horse!"
Kangxi realized that he had misunderstood, so he touched his head and said, "It has nothing to do with the Trojan horse."
He already knew the temperament of his son Yin'e, so he was not particularly angry. He just criticized him a few words casually.
Seeing that his youngest son was nervous about him, Kangxi signaled Yin'e to stand up.
"Thank you, Father Emperor." Yin'e stood up and secretly winked at Cheng'an to express his gratitude.
The little guy found it very funny and blinked at him several times, his long eyelashes fluttering like two small fans.
It was almost time for lunch, and the princes all took their leave when they saw that Kangxi had no other instructions.
After coming out of the Palace of Heavenly Purity, Yin'e patted his chest and said thankfully: "Fortunately, Cheng'an is here!"
"You should also take it easy and don't just sit around in the Ministry of Works all day long." Yinzhen said.
"I know." Yin'e responded casually without caring.
Yinzhen moved closer to Yinzhi, and the two started chatting without knowing when.
Yinsi was originally next to Yin'er. He saw from the corner of his eye that Yinzhen was lagging behind alone, so he gradually slowed down his pace and started walking with him.
Inside the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
After the brothers left, Cheng'an sat on his little wooden horse and motioned to Kangxi: "Father, look after An'an~"
When Kangxi saw him trying hard to push the wooden horse forward with his two little feet, he thought that it was only Yin'e who came up with this idea.
"Let's go have lunch first." Seeing that he was not going to stop playing, Kangxi directly picked him up from the horse.
Maybe because he was tired from playing in the cloth warehouse in the morning, the little guy started to feel sleepy soon after lunch.
Kangxi found it funny to see him nodding his head while sitting on the couch, and thinking that he had nothing to do in the afternoon, he simply lay down on the couch with his arms around him.
"Ama..." The little guy called softly after lying down and closed his eyes.
Seeing that the masters were preparing to take a nap, Liang Jiugong signaled for someone to bring a quilt, then waved his hand for the others to leave, and he personally covered the couch with the quilt.
As the palace maids waiting on the side stepped out and closed the doors and windows, the light in the side hall instantly dimmed, making it perfect for rest.
Kangxi was not sleepy at first, but as he listened to the steady breathing of the person in his arms, he slowly fell asleep.
Kangxi slept very comfortably, so he was in a good mood. But the next second he saw that his youngest son had woken up before him and was sitting on the couch with a wronged expression on his face.
"What's wrong?" Kangxi quickly sat up, and even wondered for a moment if he had accidentally pressed him down while sleeping.
Cheng An saw that he finally woke up, raised his little hand and pointed at his head and said: "An An, the dragon horn is gone..."
The little guy had been awake for a while. When he just woke up, he liked to rub against here and there. As he was rubbing, he suddenly found that his dragon horns were gone.
He was holding back when he found out that Kangxi was still sleeping, but when he opened his mouth his eyes suddenly turned red and his little mouth pursed.
If he hadn't said it, Kangxi wouldn't have noticed it. Now he saw it and realized it was true. He hugged him in his arms and coaxed him, "Father, take a look."
After saying that, Kangxi touched his hair and started searching, and found that the pair of dragon horns really disappeared as suddenly as when they came.
"Did Dad see it?" the little guy asked with his head down.
Kangxi didn't know how to answer. After a moment of silence, he coaxed her softly, "Maybe Longjiao is tired. He will come out when he has rested."
When the little guy heard this, he thought that he would be tired too, so he nodded and felt relieved.
To prevent him from being too immersed in the emotion of the disappearance of the dragon horn, Kangxi changed the subject and said, "Father, can I take you to play on the wooden horse?"
The little wooden horse was relatively new to Cheng'an, so he immediately nodded and agreed.
Liang Jiugong heard some noise in the side hall and immediately came in to serve after asking for instructions.
The dragon horn above Cheng'an's head appeared suddenly and disappeared suddenly, and it did not appear again for the whole afternoon.
The next morning, when Kangxi woke up, the little guy touched his dragon horn and told him with a smile: "Ama, An An, Long Jiao is not tired~"
Kangxi was a little surprised to see the dragon horns on his head appear again. He sat up and hugged him and asked, "How did the dragon horns appear?"
"An An wants Long Jiao to come out~" the little guy said happily.
Hearing this, Kangxi suddenly felt that perhaps he could control the dragon horn, but he was still young and didn't understand it, so it suddenly appeared and disappeared.
Outside the dragon bed, Liang Jiugong listened to the conversation behind the bed curtain with an indifferent expression, and only went forward to serve when Kangxi ordered him to do so.
As a close servant of Kangxi, it was not difficult for Liang Jiugong to know the identity of the young prince when Kangxi did not deliberately conceal it. After the initial shock, he has now been able to take it calmly.
Kangxi didn't have time at the moment, so after returning from court, he would immediately ask Cheng'an to try to retrieve the dragon horn.
After trying, the little guy was able to really retract the dragon horn, and release it again with just a thought.
"Wow~"
Perhaps he found it fun, Cheng An retracted the dragon horn and released it a few times, then laughed and shouted.
Seeing that he could indeed control the pair of dragon horns, Kangxi felt that this was much more convenient.
The little guy was a child who liked to share, and soon the brothers all knew that his dragon horns could be retracted and extended freely, which felt quite novel.
As the days passed, after winter came, the empress dowager was able to get out of bed and walk around for a while.
This was good news for Kangxi, and he immediately rewarded the servants serving the empress dowager.
After everyone received the reward, the Queen Mother smiled and said to Kangxi: "It is Cheng'an who brought blessings to me. Every time I see him, my mood becomes better unconsciously..."
After all, the Queen Mother was old, and Kangxi was afraid that she would be frightened, so he did not tell her that Cheng'an was a dragon.
The reason why she said this was that she originally thought she would not be able to survive this time, but unexpectedly she was getting better slowly. Thinking that Cheng'an could coax her to drink the medicine happily every time she came, she felt that it was his fault.
As a dragon cub, Cheng'an can bring some good luck to those around him, so it may be due to his contribution that the Queen Mother is well treated.
After hearing the Empress Dowager's words, Kangxi was moved. After returning to the Qianqing Palace, he immediately picked up his youngest son and asked him what reward he wanted.
Cheng'an tilted his head and looked at his father, seemingly not understanding why he suddenly asked him this question.
"Don't you want a reward?" Kangxi asked, rubbing his head.
"Yes!" the little guy said in a baby voice, "An An wants to go out and play~"
As soon as he finished speaking, Kangxi suddenly remembered that he had promised to take him out to play during the autumn harvest, but it was delayed until now because the empress dowager was seriously ill.
"I promised you last time that we could go out and play. Is there anything else you want?" Kangxi asked.
Cheng An immediately said: "Brother is the one who should go~"
Kangxi was not surprised at all when he heard this request. He rubbed his head and agreed.
"Hello, Ama~" the little guy immediately hugged him happily and shouted, "An An, come out and play!"
Kangxi was not a person who liked to procrastinate. Since he had promised him, he quickly took a day off to take him out.
Of course, before going out, Kangxi also made three rules for him. First, the dragon horns had to be put away and not let out outside. Second, he was not allowed to wear dragon tail clothes. Finally, he had to be obedient outside and not run around.
As long as he could go out and have fun, Cheng An would naturally agree to anything.
At the strong request of the little one, all the adult princes were allowed to go this time. As for the younger ones, they still had to go to school, and Kangxi felt that the one little one in front of him was enough to take care of, so he did not bring them.
No matter how good the weather is in winter, it is still cold. On the day he left the palace, the little guy was wearing a cloak with a thick fur collar. The snow-white fur collar made him look even more adorable.
"Let's go out and play~" The little guy was so happy sitting in the carriage leaving the palace, his whole body was filled with joy.
The weather was cold, so the brothers did not ride horses, but sat in the carriages at the back.
After arriving at the main street of the capital, Kangxi and his entourage got off the carriages one by one.
Even wearing casual clothes cannot conceal the dignity and elegance of this group of people, so when they walk on the street, passers-by around them can't help but take a few more glances at them.
Fortunately, it is almost the end of the year and there are already a lot of people on the streets, including various merchants busy selling goods or people preparing New Year's goods in advance. Everyone is very busy and has no time to pay attention to strangers.
"Tenth brother, look~" Cheng'an immediately went to find Yin'e when he saw a stall selling clay figurines.
Thanks to the efforts of his brothers, the little guy finally learned to call people clearly, but he would still call them brother directly occasionally.
Also, perhaps it was a habit. Although he had already learned the correct pronunciation of "big brother", he still liked to call him "da brother" unless Yinzhi specifically reminded him.
"The clay figurine I brought you before was bought at this stall." Yin'e recognized the stall owner and said to him with his head down.
The little guy saw many ready-made clay figurines on the clay figurine stall and pulled Yin'e over there.
"Young master, would you like to buy a clay figurine?" The stall owner selling clay figurines looked up and greeted him while continuing to knead the clay figurines in his hands, which showed how skilled he was.
The last time the little guy went out, he understood one thing, that is, everything outside has to be bought with money, so this time he deliberately put gold in his little purse.
At this moment, he took out a golden melon seed from his purse and handed it to her, saying: "An An wants to eat..."
As the little guy spoke, he pointed at the many clay figurines on the stall.
"Sir, do you have any loose change?" When the stall owner selling clay figurines saw the young master take out the gold, he looked at the elder beside him with an embarrassed look on his face.
Seeing that the little guy knew to pay for things, Yin'e smiled and thought that he was indeed his brother, smart. After hearing what the stall owner said, he took a piece of silver from the attendant and handed it to Cheng'an: "Use this to buy it."
The little guy liked gold very much, but was reluctant to use it to buy things. When he saw the silver handed over by his brother, he felt that it was not as shiny as gold, so he immediately stuffed the golden melon seeds back into his pocket and exchanged them for silver to give to the stall owner.
The silver vendor could still make some change, so he smiled and said, "Young Master, take whatever you like."
"Tenth brother, do you want it?" The little fellow asked while holding two clay figures in his hands and tilting his head back.
"Tenth brother wants this." Yin'e pointed at the clay figure in his left hand.
The little guy immediately handed it over: "Here~"
After handing him the clay figurine, Cheng'an turned around and asked his father and other brothers if they wanted it.
Kangxi wanted to refuse at first, but when he saw that the stall owner made really good clay figurines, he suddenly had an idea and said, "Maybe I can make one in his image?" He pointed at Cheng'an and asked the stall owner.
The stall owner would usually make clay figurines according to the customers' requests. After he nodded and started working, he moved quickly and soon made a delicate little figurine in his hands.
"Aa ...
Cheng'an found it interesting to see him making clay figures, and when he recognized that he was making a clay figure of himself, he couldn't help but shout.
The tiny clay figurine was not as lifelike as the little guy himself, but it was about 70% similar, and Kangxi was quite satisfied.
When Liang Jiugong took the clay figurine and handed it to Kangxi, Yinzhen quickly said to the stall owner, "Make one for me too."
The first time is unfamiliar, the second time is familiar, the experienced stall owner pinched it faster this time.
The clay figurines that looked like little guys were quite interesting to hold in the hands, and then the brothers all asked for one.
Cheng'an saw that his father and brother had clay figures of himself in their hands, and he chuckled and wanted to make a clay figure like his father and brother.
The stall owner suddenly received such a big order. He smiled from ear to ear while making clay figures and couldn't help but praise: "You have a really good family relationship."
Kangxi was in a very good mood when he heard this, but Yinzhi and Yinreng looked at each other and showed disgusted expressions at the same time.
Who has a good relationship with him...
Yinzhi sneered in his heart.
It was not convenient to carry so many clay figurines while shopping, so Kangxi and the prince held up the clay figurines and admired them for a while before having them packed in boxes and sent back to the carriage. Then the group continued on their way.
Liang Jiugong, who was lagging behind, rewarded the stall owner with a piece of silver and gave him some instructions on how to treat him before catching up.
"What?" Cheng'an was holding a clay figurine in his hand, which was now held in Yinzhi's arms. When he heard the sound of gongs and drums coming from the front, he immediately looked up.
Yinzhi guessed, "Maybe a shop is opening today."
"Open?"
Seeing that he was curious, Yinzhi asked Kangxi for permission and then carried him forward.
Just as Yinzhi guessed, there was indeed the sound of gongs and drums for the opening of a shop ahead, and if you walk a little further you can see the dragon and lion dance team.
"Yi'an'ya!" the little guy shouted when he saw the dancing dragon.
Yinzhi found it quite funny to see him shaking his little head, stretching out his hands and dancing along with him after he finished speaking.
Not only him, but also the brothers around him smiled. Yinzhen couldn't help but stretched out his hand and said, "Big brother, let me hold you for a while."
Ever since the Buku competition that day, the relationship between the two has become closer than usual. Upon hearing this, Yinzhi handed the person in his arms over.
The opening of the new store attracted many people to come and watch. Kangxi casually reminded: "Don't let him go to the ground."
"Yes." Yinzhen, who had just received the person, immediately hugged the little guy in his arms tighter.
After the dragon and lion dance team left, Kangxi and his entourage, who had no interest in the cloth shop, left directly.
For the princes who have left the palace and set up their own homes, the streets are boring and Cheng'an is more attractive to them.
Yinxiang finally found an opportunity to hug him for a while, but Yinzhi soon took him away again: "Cheng'an, let's go. Third brother will take you to buy candied haws."
"You can buy it, but remember to eat the first few first before giving it to him." Yin'e, who didn't want to help eat the candied haws anymore, said.
Yinzhi was about to ask the reason when he suddenly realized that Cheng'an really couldn't eat too much at his age.
"Buy some candy, Gugu~" the little guy said happily.
"Okay, Third Brother will take you there right away." After saying that, Yinzhi carried him to a nearby candied haws stall and bought him a candied haws.
The boss was so happy that he only had one candied haws for the same price, so naturally he was not unhappy.
Seeing Cheng'an coming back with a candied haws stick on it, Yin'e suddenly felt that he was too careless last time.
Although there was only one candied haws, Cheng'an still asked his brothers if they wanted to eat it.
"Eat it yourself." Yinzhen said, touching his little face.
Seeing that his father and brother said they didn’t want to eat, the little guy started eating by himself.
Just as he was happily eating the candied haws, there was suddenly a noise in front of him.
"Cheng'an, look, this is a fight." Yin'e said immediately after he noticed that someone was fighting.
Hearing this, the little guy stretched his neck curiously.
When Kangxi saw Yin'e, he didn't know how to teach him anything good. He even reminded him to watch people fighting and glanced at him indifferently.
Yin'e's heart tightened when he received his gaze, and he immediately turned Cheng'an's head towards him: "Let's not watch the fight, let's go see if there is anything delicious around."
Hearing about the delicious food, Cheng An's attention was immediately diverted: "An An wants to eat cuckoo chicken~"
Yin'e realized that he was talking about the gourd chicken, and suddenly felt that he had a very good memory.
Seeing that Cheng'an's attention was diverted, Kangxi looked forward and saw that the fighting parties had knocked over the people's stalls. He frowned slightly and signaled the guards around him to go over and take care of it.
When Kangxi and his entourage went to the teahouse to rest, the guard who had finished his work came over to reply.
After learning that both parties in the fight were descendants of the Eight Banners and that they had caused trouble in the street more than once, Kangxi looked a little unhappy.
Both times when he went out of the palace, he encountered situations where the Eight Banners descendants caused trouble. Kangxi felt that these people needed to be disciplined.