10. Chapter 10

"Birthday gift"

From then on, Qi You became peaceful. Now that he was young, he turned a deaf ear to the outside world and just buried his head in studying.

Qi You discovered that Kangxi was reading the Zizhi Tongjian, so he borrowed the book and took time to memorize a few pages every day. When the spring flowers were about to fade and the summer cicadas were just beginning to sing, he finished the entire book whenever he had time.

There was no problem learning Chinese, but Qi You had just started learning Manchu and Mongolian. In addition, he had to practice writing, so he didn't want to be too radical and spent all his time on these things every day.

Memorizing words and recognizing characters is no problem, the key is to be able to speak. Nei An Da also has to teach other classmates, so Qi You can't drag them to practice all day.

There were many people in the palace who could speak Manchu well. Qi You could speak some Manchu, and he had no problem speaking Manchu. But Mongolian was different. The only people in the palace who could speak fluent Mongolian were the Empress Dowager, the Grand Empress Dowager, and their attendants.

Qi You turned his gaze to Su Mala.

Besides, Qi You was most concerned about Nan Huairen. He wanted to learn Latin from Nan Huairen and learn about astronomy, mathematics and other knowledge at that time.

The Qing Dynasty was not the world, and Qi You didn't pay much attention to his brothers in the Forbidden City. If he had the chance, he would also like to learn Russian, or even Tibetan. After all, the Qing Dynasty and Galdan were still at war, and Western Xinjiang was under their control. The border with Tsarist Russia had never been peaceful.

The Empress Dowager's birthday was at the end of March. She was already old and in poor health, preferring a clean lifestyle. Aside from meeting Kangxi, she only saw her great-grandchildren on important holidays. Occasionally, when she was well, she would invite a favored younger generation to visit her.

The Empress Dowager's favorite young man was undoubtedly the Crown Prince, not Qi You. Seeing that the Empress Dowager's birthday was approaching, she didn't want to make a big fuss, so she gave the order early on, allowing Kangxi to lead the others to kowtow, and then the whole family would gather together for a meal and call it a day.

Except for a few prominent concubines like Tong Jia, whose birthday gifts were presented to the Empress Dowager, those of Dai Jia and others could only be sent to Su Mala. As for where they ended up, it is unknown.

Dai Jia was financially strapped, and each year she only did some needlework to show her filial piety. In the past, when Qi You was young, he would kowtow before the Grand Empress Dowager and follow the crowd by saying a few auspicious words.

But this year is different. Qi You has already gone to school. Unlike the Eighth Prince and other little princes who are still held in the arms of their wet nurses, the wet nurses can just hold him and kowtow on his behalf.

A month before the Empress Dowager's birthday, Dai Jia began to feel restless. She turned over and over her few belongings until they were almost torn to pieces, and her face was full of worry.

Qi You went to pay his respects and asked the reason. After listening to Dai Jia's story, he smiled and comforted her, "Don't worry, Eun-ni, I have already thought about the birthday gift for Ukuma Ma, but I still need your help."

Dai Jia knew that Qi You was highly valued by Emperor Kangxi, but no matter how much he valued him, he would only call him in more often to ask about his studies, and his monthly salary had not increased by a single penny, so she was still worried.

Qi You had his own plans, and he discussed them with Dai Jia.

Dai Jia smiled happily and said, "Don't worry, I will make sure it's done well."

On the birthday of the Empress Dowager, Kangxi gave them a day off for the first time. Qi You didn't have to go to school, so he got up early and went to the Empress Dowager's Cining Palace at dawn.

The Cining Palace had been freshly painted and decorated with a lively and festive atmosphere. The alleyway in front of the palace was filled with blooming flower pots. The eunuchs and maids serving in the palace wore masks, their faces full of smiles, a stark contrast to the solemn silence of the past.

When Qi You arrived, Kangxi had not yet arrived. The Empress Dowager held the Crown Prince's hand, and the Empress Dowager and the Fifth Prince talked together, while he was led to a side hall to sit and wait.

Just as the eunuchs served tea, the eldest, third, and fourth princes arrived one after another. Qi You stood up and greeted them, and saw that the eldest and third princes were sitting separately. After the fourth prince greeted him, he sat alone in the corner.

The eldest prince picked up the teacup and drank tea. The third prince sat for a while and got bored, so he went to talk to the fourth prince: "Fourth brother, how is Sixth Brother?"

The Fourth Prince paused and replied, "It's the same as always. Third Brother, today is Ukuma Ma's birthday. Let's not mention Sixth Brother, so as not to upset Ukuma Ma."

The Third Prince's expression changed, his neck shrank, and he quickly shut up. The First Prince gave him a disdainful look and placed the tea bowl heavily on the table.

When the Third Prince heard the noise, he let out two harsh breaths through his nostrils, glanced at the First Prince, and turned his head away.

After a while, the Third Prince turned to look at Qi You and asked, "Seventh Brother, what birthday gift did you prepare for Ukuma Ma? Let's make it clear first, you can't give me the same gift as me."

The eldest and fourth princes both looked over, and Qi You said with a smile, "Third brother, I need to know what you have prepared before I can answer you whether there are any duplicates."

The Third Prince rolled his eyes and said with a grin, "You are so cunning. I am asking you a question, so of course you should speak first."

Qi You said generously: "Third brother, you know I am poor and cannot afford any expensive gifts. Ukuma Ma will not care about us. She just sees our filial piety."

The Third Prince refused, curling his lips and saying, "Everyone is like this..." He had barely finished his words when a eunuch came in and reported, "My dear princes, the Emperor is here."

The eldest prince and the fourth prince hurriedly got up and walked out. The third prince could only glare at Qi You angrily and then hurried out.

Qi You waited for them to leave as usual and followed at the back. The Crown Prince and the Fifth Prince came out together to greet Kangxi. Qi You followed his three brothers and paid his respects. Kangxi looked at him, smiled and nodded, saying, "You look really energetic in your new clothes today."

"Thank you, Shekhan Ama, for your compliment. I really like this new set of clothes. I was planning to save it for the holidays, but I took it out and wore it today." Qi You replied with a smile.

There was no need to dress too formally for a family dinner, and there was no need to wear court robes. Qi You was born fair, and in a bright jade-colored robe, he looked like a young green tree, which made people happy at first sight.

Kangxi burst into laughter, and the prince looked at Qi You and laughed with Kangxi.

The prince could wear bright yellow, the color that was unique to him and Kangxi in the entire Forbidden City, and he didn't care what Qi You wore. However, the prince had recently heard about the quarrels among several brothers, and knowing that Qi You was a good student, he couldn't help but look at him a few more times.

The Fifth Prince has been with the Empress Dowager for a long time and has never interacted with his brothers. He just stands by and smiles foolishly.

The other princes glanced at each other. The scarlet, deep bamboo, moon, cloud, mountain, blue, and silver beads were all bright and eye-catching. They were usually used to wearing new clothes, but now they remembered that Qi You usually wore some old clothes, either blue or indigo.

Today, Qi You wore a new outfit, which was rare. The expressions on their faces varied, but they followed Kangxi into the house without saying a word.

Kangxi stepped forward and kowtowed, and Qi You followed the crowd and knelt behind him, kowtowed and congratulated him. The Empress Dowager smiled and said lovingly, "Hurry up, the Emperor, come and sit here."

Kangxi walked forward with a smile and sat beside the Grand Empress Dowager. The eldest prince couldn't wait to present the birthday gift, and Su Mala took it and handed it to the Grand Empress Dowager.

The Empress Dowager opened it and saw that it was a box of fine sandalwood. She smiled and said, "Okay, okay, big brother, you are so thoughtful. Please sit down."

The eldest prince said a few humble words and sat below the prince.

The third prince came forward and presented a scripture, saying, "Ukuma Ma, I copied this with my own hands. I wish Ukuma Ma a happy birthday."

The Empress Dowager smiled and agreed as usual, and gave the Third Prince a seat.

Like the Third Prince, the Fourth Prince presented a string of round and smooth Star and Moon Bodhi Buddhist beads that had been blessed by a high monk in the White Pagoda Temple.

The Empress Dowager took the Buddhist beads and turned them in her hand, muttering something to herself. After reciting the sutra once, she handed the beads to Su Mala and said, "Keep them well."

The Fifth Prince, like the Third Prince, presented a Buddhist scripture. However, his was in Mongolian and was old, appearing to be quite old.

Qi You had no idea what gift the Crown Prince had sent. Everyone in the world knew that the Empress Dowager had been a vegetarian and a Buddhist, and the birthday gifts the princes had sent were all related to Buddhism. He assumed the Crown Prince's gift was similar, just more expensive.

When he arrived at Qi You's place, he secretly tensed up and took the package handed to him by De Gao.

The other brothers, including Kangxi, couldn't help but look at him.

Qi You opened the bundle and took out a blue Hada. He walked forward holding the blue Hada and said in Mongolian: "This is the Hada I asked my mother to sew for me personally. I wish Ukuma Ma a happy birthday and eternal health and longevity."

In the past, on the Horqin grassland, when major festivals were celebrated, everyone would gather together to drink and celebrate, and would always present Hada as a sign of good luck.

The Empress Dowager had received countless rare treasures, but it had been a long time since she had received an ordinary Hada that almost made her tears tear up.

Especially since Qi You actually spoke fluent Mongolian, a light flashed in the Empress Dowager's eyes, and her surprise became more and more intense. Seeing Qi You kneeling there holding a Hada, she hurriedly bent down.

Qi You crawled a few steps on his knees and put the Hada around the Empress Dowager's neck.