11. Chapter 11

"Clear goal"

The Empress Dowager wore a khata the entire time, and her smile never ceased. She held Qi You close to her and said, "What kind of books do you usually read? Do you eat well and dress well?"

Qi You answered all of them. The Empress Dowager spoke Mongolian, and he also answered in Mongolian. If he couldn't pronounce some words clearly, he would use gestures.

The Queen Mother was sitting nearby, listening anxiously, and could not help but offer help frequently. The Queen Mother offered a sentence, and Qi You repeated it, then thanked the Queen Mother.

The Fifth Prince rarely saw people of his age who spoke Mongolian in the palace, so he couldn't help but get close to the Queen Mother out of curiosity, and the two of them ended up teaching Qi You together.

Qi You spoke Mongolian haltingly, but he was bold and daring. Even if he made a pronunciation mistake, he didn't blush at all and continued to speak calmly.

Qi You was laughed at by the Empress Dowager and the others for his poor pronunciation, and he just chuckled. The two of them looked at his bright eyes and chubby, cute cheeks, and laughed so hard that they couldn't stop.

The prince sat beside him, his eyes swept across Qi You's left leg, and he laughed along.

Kangxi looked at the happy crowd, especially the long-term ill Empress Dowager, who was in poor health. Today, she was more energetic than usual, and her eyes stayed on Qi You for a long time.

It is embarrassing to say that Kangxi also gave the Empress Dowager a beautiful jade Buddha. The Empress Dowager was a Buddhist, and her storeroom was filled with various jade Buddhas, Buddhist beads, and precious Buddhist scriptures.

The Buddhist scriptures copied by her descendants can be placed in front of the Buddhist temple for decades.

But how long can the Empress Dowager live?

Kangxi was very pleased. Thanks to Qi You, she was able to return to Khorchin and her youth.

After the banquet, the Empress Dowager sat for a while, but she was so tired that she stood up to rest.

She stroked Qi You's head and said lovingly, "You've learned Mongolian well, but you can't let it go to waste. You must speak more so you won't forget. When you have less homework, come to me and I'll talk with you. When I have the strength, I'll teach you a few more words. When I don't have the strength, go and learn from Su Mala. Alas, I'm old, and my tongue is stiff. I just want to speak the dialect of my hometown."

Qi You responded loudly. The Empress Dowager smiled slightly and said to everyone, "Let's go." Everyone responded in unison and knelt down to see him off.

Kangxi personally took the Grand Empress Dowager's hand and returned to the rear hall. The Grand Empress Dowager walked slowly, sighed softly, and said with regret, "I was wrong back then. If I had known that the Seventh Prince was so smart and clever, after Fuerhulun died, I would have adopted him to Longxi, and his line would not have been extinct."

"Oh, if my seventh brother were still alive, it would be so nice to have him and me by my side!" Kangxi sighed.

When the Empress Dowager saw that Kangxi did not respond, she knew that he was reluctant to part with Qi You, so she stopped talking.

How could Kangxi not know what the Empress Dowager was thinking? If it were in the past, he would have agreed without hesitation.

He had no shortage of sons, and one of them was disabled. To put it bluntly, if he was adopted by Prince Chun Longxi, he would still be a hereditary prince. After a hundred years, Qi You would only be a prince.

Now, Qi You was not only exceptionally intelligent, but also highly motivated and hardworking. He possessed a soft and kind heart, and a strong personality. Among his many sons, even the crown prince could not match his character.

Kangxi knew the prince's Mongolian wasn't fluent, but he had no trouble speaking it. Perhaps he was too shy to speak because he was older, while Qi You was young and didn't mind being embarrassed, so making mistakes didn't matter.

But when the prince was Qi You's age, not only was he not as good at Mongolian as Qi You, he was also more shameless. Even if the prince could learn Mongolian as well as Qi You, due to their different personalities and status, the prince would still not open his mouth, fearing that he would make a mistake and be laughed at.

He had Prince Yu Fuquan, and the Crown Prince had his younger brother Qiyou. Kangxi secretly rejoiced that this combination was the best, as it would prevent the brothers from quarreling.

As soon as the Empress Dowager left, the Third Prince rushed towards Qi You and said with a smile, "Seventh Prince, you are so cunning. You stole the limelight with just a piece of rag!"

The prince stood aside and spoke for Qi You with a smile: "Don't talk nonsense, third brother. No matter how big or small the gift is, it is always from the heart of seventh brother. The most important thing is that Ukuma likes it."

The Third Prince immediately reached out his hand, put his arm around Qi You's neck, and walked out with him, saying, "The Crown Prince is right. No matter how big or small the gift is, it's all a sign of filial piety. Seventh Prince, you're truly thoughtful."

The eldest prince curled his lips in disdain beside him. Qi You watched calmly, pulled the third prince's hand away, and said with a wry smile: "Third brother, you should go ahead. I walk slowly and I really can't catch up with you."

The Third Prince immediately looked at Qi You's legs and said with a smile, "That's right, I didn't think that much. Don't think too much, Old Seven."

"I didn't think much about it at first, but after you said that, I have to think more about it." Qi You walked at his own pace, neither hurried nor slow, and said with a half-seriously half-false smile: "Besides, it's you who thinks too much, third brother. I'm not cunning, I'm really poor. The only thing I can offer is filial piety."

The Third Prince saw Qi You smoothing out his wrinkled clothes and rolled his eyes at him. "Look at you being so stingy! Your monthly allowance is the same as ours, but it's just a piece of clothing. You act like you've never worn new clothes in your life. If it's wrinkled, it's wrinkled. Why are you messing with it?"

Qi You ignored the Third Prince, his men kept working, and said quietly: "Third brother, you don't understand. I think this new dress looks good, it makes me look even more handsome."

The Third Prince was stunned, then burst into laughter. The Crown Prince, the Eldest Prince, the Fourth Prince and the others beside him stared at Qi You, who had just been weaned, dumbfounded for a moment, and then laughed their heads off.

"Oh, you are still handsome. You haven't even changed your teeth, but you already love beauty!" The third prince pointed at Qi You and laughed wildly while holding his stomach.

The eldest brother simply held Qi You and dragged him forward, "Come on, handsome boy, don't go to school today, brother will take you out to play."

Qi You's legs were flailing in the air as he yelled, "Brother, put me down and let's talk it over."

The prince rushed forward to rescue Qi You from the eldest prince's grasp, put his tilted hat back on, and said with a smile: "It's a rare opportunity to rest today, why don't we go horseback riding together?"

The eldest prince retorted, "What's so fun about riding a horse? I have to ride every day for archery lessons. It's just as boring as going to school. Seventh brother, come on, I'll take you to my place and show you something really fun."

The prince's expression changed, and he forced a smile, "Big brother, you're really something. You usually go to school together, and it's rare for me to get together with my seventh brother, yet you're actually fighting with me for it. Since you have something fun, why don't you take me along?"

The eldest prince's expression was not so good, but considering his status as the crown prince, he had to reluctantly agree.

Qi You lowered his eyes and said slowly, "How about we go to Zhaoren Hall together and play the endorsement game?"

Zhaoren Hall is located on the east side of the Qianqing Palace. It was Kangxi’s library, and every prince could go in to study.

When they heard this, they looked at Qi You in horror as if he were a monster.

Qi You looked sincere, blinking his eyes as he said, "I think memorizing is fun. Don't you guys like it?"

Qi You did not lie, he really wanted to go to Zhaoren Hall to read, and he thought it was fun to memorize books.

At least it's more fun than getting involved between the Crown Prince and the eldest prince.

He had too many plans and too much to learn, and diving headfirst into this muddy water wasn't one of them.

Not to mention the eldest prince who didn't like reading very much, even the fourth prince who usually studied hard couldn't help but take a step back.

Seeing that his brothers were too lazy to even find an excuse and hurriedly left him, Qi You smiled slightly, hiding his achievements and fame, and walked leisurely towards Zhaoren Hall.

It won't be long before Kangxi returns to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. Knowing that he is in the Zhaoren Hall, he will probably call him over for a talk.

As expected, as soon as Qi You opened the "New Lingtai Yixiangzhi" written by Nan Huairen, Kangxi sent a eunuch to call him to the Qianqing Palace.