Trouble the son to see the grandson

Trouble the son to see the grandson

The news of Kangxi's impending return brought jubilation throughout the palace. Since it was a victory, everyone wanted to dress neatly and brightly. From the Empress Dowager down, everyone began to review their seasonal wardrobe, selecting the ones they liked and quickly remaking any that didn't suit them. Of course, they had to wear uniforms for the welcoming ceremony, and after that, they had to dress beautifully to impress the Emperor.

Whether it was the white-haired Empress Dowager or the newborn babies, they all had to dress up to the nines. The Crown Prince's baby also had a dedicated seamstress who made him a whole set of small bellybands, small clothes, and small shoes, enough for him to change a set every day until the clothes were too full, and he could never wear the same thing twice.

Among the concubines in the palace, whether it was Concubine Hui, Concubine De, Concubine Yi who had become a grandmother, Concubine Rong who was about to become a grandmother, or the young concubines who were no more than twenty years old, all cheered up and prepared to welcome the emperor.

Besides the people, there were also the palaces. Since it was impossible to renovate and repaint them, a thorough cleaning was carried out throughout the palace. The weeds in the cracks of the floor were pulled out, and the doors and windows were wiped, and everything looked brand new.

Yuqing Palace was no exception, but there was one more thing to prepare:

"What is this?" a surprised female voice asked.

"Just prepare as instructed." A calm male voice.

Yes, this was a conversation between the Crown Prince and his wife. The Crown Princess, who always looked calm and composed, almost slipped off her chair in a fit of anxiety, while the Crown Prince, who always looked calm and composed, remained calm and composed.

It’s no wonder Shujia was surprised. Kangxi, Kangxi, Kangxi, he, he, he actually wrote a letter from thousands of miles away to ask his son for clothes to wear, and specifically specified that they had to be worn by Yinreng.

Since they had a child, their relationship had grown even closer, and Yinreng had shown the letter to Shujia. After all, it was his wife who would ultimately handle the preparations. The Crown Prince was now accustomed to not worrying about anything, leaving such matters to his wife, who would always tell him how things went, giving him peace of mind.

Shujia read Kangxi's letter from beginning to end again, her hands shaking. This wasn't the first time she had read Kangxi's letter. Yinreng would sometimes show Shujia the correspondence between Kangxi and his son, such as when Kangxi asked about the Crown Princess and the young prince. The handwriting was familiar, and the tone was as corny as ever, but this time, the content was especially corny.

"When I led the army to battle, I was preoccupied with military duties and had no time for other thoughts. Now that victory is decided, Galdan has fled, and our army is relentless in pursuit. Now, as I return home, I am overjoyed, but I can't help but miss you, Prince. The weather is hot today, so I'll bring you your cotton-padded jacket, gauze shirt, four cotton-linen robes, and four jackets. Please select the ones you've worn so you can wear them when your father misses you."

What the hell! Do you really need to do this? Isn't it usually the case that when an elder admires a younger person, they give them their belongings, like their old clothes, their old belts, etc.? Why are you doing it the other way around?

Yinreng's clothing was originally managed by someone in charge, but after he got married, Shujia gradually took over this area. Now she was in a dilemma and asked Yinreng, "Where did you get the hemp robe?" The crown prince had never worn such clothes, right?

Yinreng rubbed his chin and thought: "If I don't have any, then I'll pick out a few high-quality cotton robes and send them over first. Time is short, so let's hurry up."

Shujia was thinking a lot. Was this Kangxi reminding Yinreng to be frugal? It was hard to say it to his face, but Shujia was happy to make a few pieces of cloth clothes.

It was midsummer, and the weather was hot. There weren't many trees in the palace, and the vast expanses of tiled floors and walls made it very hot during the day. The Empress Dowager had muttered, "It's hot, isn't it? What a coincidence! Last year, your wedding had to be held in the palace. And this year, the Emperor is away on a military expedition. In previous years, the Emperor would have taken everyone to Changchun Garden for a while to escape the heat."

Shujia had never been to Changchun Garden, not even during her trip to Beijing. In fact, over two hundred years later, Changchun Garden had long since vanished from its original form, torn down, fenced off, and used for other purposes. Curious, she asked the Empress Dowager, "What was Changchun Garden like?"

The Empress Dowager delighted in explaining, "There are beautiful mountains and trees there. There are also many flowers and trees. Hmm, it's even more beautiful than the Imperial Garden. I love sitting under the willow trees and watching them rowing and playing. The princes also have their own residences. They even grow rice outside their study areas. It's also very pleasant to look at."

When Shujia heard about the plant farming opportunities there, she immediately had an idea. As her baby grew older, she thought it would be a good opportunity to practice his hands-on skills and plant some garlic sprouts for fun. There was a rule in the elementary school labor textbook: Take a garlic clove and throw it in water or soil. Soon, it will sprout and grow tendrils. Then, keep an observation journal. This required labor gear, so Shujia decided to try planting one herself so she could teach her son later. Of course, she wasn't limited to garlic sprouts. She just wanted to get in touch with these things; she didn't want her son to end up completely clueless.

Yinreng was still waiting for Shujia to reply, but when he didn't, he poked Shujia's shoulder and asked, "What's wrong with you?"

"Ah?" Shujia was startled. "I was thinking about it. How about choosing those new cotton gowns?"

Yinreng recalled: "No, that one is too new."

"How can you have any very old clothes? Or are you wearing clothes you wore last year? I've never seen you wear clothes before."

Finally, they decided on several autumn-scented cotton gowns made last year. Shujia said, "Khan Ama might not need these, but he just missed you. So, wouldn't it be nice to send him some daily necessities as a sign of filial piety?" After a moment's thought, she added, "They don't have to be expensive, but it might be inconvenient when you're away from home. It's my fault for not thinking of these things."

Yinreng said, "You can't think of anything even if I ask you to. Give your used clothes to Khan Ama..." He said this with some embarrassment, "Anyway, I'll be back soon, so let's just leave it at that."

Shujia, always worried about the relationship between father and son, insisted, "Khan Ama suffered a lot out there, only having one meal a day. Even in rainy and snowy weather, he wouldn't enter his tent until the soldiers had set up camp. To show they shared the hardships, he kept everything simple. I haven't asked about the things he brought, but I guess it wasn't much. Now that we've returned victorious, why not send a few things to make Khan Ama's life more comfortable?"

Yinreng still hesitated: "You don't understand this. Khan Ama wants to appear to share the hardships with his soldiers. If we do this again, won't it ruin his plan?"

You are so thoughtful!

Shujia smiled: "What you sent is different." It's not that the emperor likes to enjoy himself, but that he has a caring son, which makes people envy him. At most, he can give more, and the emperor can give to whoever he wants.

Yinreng still refused: "No," he said readily, his thought coming to his mind. "Don't meddle with me. I have made up my mind not to cause trouble for Khan Ama."

Shujia choked...

Go ahead, and think I've been worrying for nothing. I can't see anything wrong with it anyway. Go ahead and love your Khan Ama! Shujia raised her chin towards Eunuch Cui, who came over swiftly: "Master."

"Go, bring those autumn-scented robes and check if they're dusty. If they're dirty, wash them again. If they're clean, air them out before packing them up and sending them over."

Yinreng was satisfied this time: "You are really careful. This is good."

Shujia: =囗=

Yinreng, considerate of his Khan-Ama, not only personally checked the condition of the clothes with Shujia, but also wrote a cheesy letter and sent it along. As for what the letter said, Shujia didn't know, and didn't interfere too much to ask. She suddenly realized that although Yinreng was getting closer to her, there were some things that she couldn't interfere with at the moment.

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What Shujia didn't know was that Yinreng had also applied to go and greet his Khan Ama, and Kangxi had approved it! So while the concubines were eagerly waiting, the Crown Prince, accompanied by several Grand Secretaries, ran to Nuohaiheshuo to greet his Khan Ama. He left a message: "Please take care of yourself in the palace and wait for me to come back."

Shujia was stunned. She knew that a victorious army would be welcomed outside the capital, so shouldn't they be welcomed outside the capital? Even if it was the emperor who won the battle this time, wasn't Yinreng's welcome a little too far away?

No matter how far it is, as long as the father and son are happy.

Kangxi had known about Yinreng's arrival for a long time. He estimated the date and dressed himself neatly, wearing Yinreng's clothes. Then, the father and son met! Their eyes met, and they were both very excited. Kangxi hadn't seen his son for a long time. Seeing Yinreng's face as usual, his back straight, and his posture calm, except for his slightly sunken eye sockets, he felt a little distressed and waved, "Come and sit down."

As for Yinreng, he always felt uneasy when he couldn't see his Khan Father, but now that he saw him, he was happy from the bottom of his heart. Especially when he saw that Yinzhi, that annoying guy, was not around Kangxi, this joy was magnified several times. The brothers stood honestly below, watching the eye contact between the father and son, and couldn't help feeling sour in their hearts, but they held it back. After the Crown Prince and the Grand Secretary met Kangxi, they saluted Yinreng again and received a kind response: "Congratulations, third brother, you are going to be a father. The Concubine's mother and your sister-in-law are all well.", "Your sister-in-law said that your sister-in-law and the Concubine's mother get along very well, don't worry.", "Fifth brother, your son is growing up very well." ... ... one by one.

Kangxi smiled as he saw the Crown Prince being so thoughtful and friendly, and the other princes being so respectful and polite, and he felt greatly comforted: "Go away, now that we've met, there's time for you to talk." The princes knew when to leave. The emperor wanted to hear the reports from the Crown Prince and the Grand Secretary, so if he didn't let them stay, they would just leave.

Alantai and the others had already prepared their questions, but Kangxi unexpectedly did not ask about state affairs first. Instead, he asked Yinreng: "Have you been eating well recently? Have you been sleeping well?"

Yinreng said, "My son is doing well."

"It's lost weight." The father was very dissatisfied.

"I miss my father. These past two days... I couldn't sleep." He acted like a simple and honest son.

Long Xin was delighted: "Isn't this what we have?" Then he got down to business, "Is everything going well in the palace?"

"Everything is fine. From the Empress Dowager down to everyone else, they're all looking forward to your return. The Empress Dowager asks about it several times a day, and the Crown Princess reads the letter from Khan-Ama to her every day."

Kangxi then began to inquire about state affairs. Coincidentally, the Crown Prince and the Grand Secretary were present, and they reported in great detail. Satisfied, Kangxi waved his hand and sent the Grand Secretary off to rest, leaving Yinreng alone. "The military quarters are simple. We hastily set up tents yesterday. I'm afraid you won't be comfortable. You should wash up and rest here first. Tell them to continue cleaning up. You can move in tonight when they're ready. If you're not used to it, you can sleep with your father tonight."

"Huh~" He dragged out the tone, with a cunning light in his eyes.

Kangxi was very happy with his son, who seemed to have gotten a great advantage. He smiled and told about his itinerary in the past few days: "First, I rewarded the Mongolian kings for their contributions in building roads, digging wells and supervising pastoral affairs, and gave them some silver. Then I hurried back as fast as I could. As expected, I saw you a few days earlier." Seeing Yinreng stop wiping his face and listening attentively with his hands down, he said, "You wash yours, don't pay attention to me, just listen..." and continued to chatter.

Yinreng listened with a smile, thinking to himself, it feels pretty good to be without any annoying guys disturbing me.

Kangxi spoke for a long time and finally stopped: "Except Yinzhi who is here to deal with the aftermath, everyone else can see it. I have nothing to do on the way back these few days, so let's talk slowly." He asked Yinreng to go inside and take a rest while he prepared to write a letter to the Empress Dowager.

Yinreng said, "My son, you are not tired yet. Stay with Khan Father for a while longer." He shamelessly ground ink for Kangxi.

Kangxi finished writing the letter, hung it up to dry, and ordered it to be delivered quickly back to the palace. He began to explain the upcoming itinerary to Yinreng: "Tomorrow we will arrive at Dushikou, and the day after tomorrow at Diao'e Fort... We are returning in summer, when the wheat and wheat are in full bloom. When marching outside, we must restrain our soldiers and not trample on the crops... When leading an army, we must not disturb the people..." He taught him step by step, saying that we are now under the banner of justice and cannot do anything foolish.

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Ever since the Crown Prince left, the palace had been eagerly anticipating his return, hoping he would bring the Emperor back. But… the Grand Secretaries returned first. Following Kangxi's instructions, they reported to the Empress Dowager, "The Emperor has sent the servants back, leaving the Crown Prince to speak."

Okay, let’s keep looking forward to it.

Then……

Shujia retreated to the inner chambers of Ningshou Palace, her mouth twitching. She had heard in Ningshou Palace that Yinreng had returned to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, and she didn't need to hide. Who would have thought that the eunuch would add, "The Third Prince, the Fourth Prince, the Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince, and the Eighth Prince have all returned together."

You'd better hide!

"Why did you come back alone? Where is your Khan Father?" The surprised empress dowager pointed at her grandson and looked around, hoping that this was her son performing a magic trick with colorful clothes to entertain his parents, and that Kangxi would soon appear from behind Yinreng.

Yinreng twitched his lips. "Khan Ama asked me to come back first to prepare for the reception. A great army's victory always requires a ceremony. Khan Ama is staying in Qinghe, so I brought my brothers to make preparations. Khan Ama will return to the palace tomorrow."

Shujia calculated in her mind that tomorrow would be the ninth day of the sixth lunar month. Kangxi's calculation was very accurate, and he would return before the tenth day of the sixth lunar month.

But! On the second day of June, Yinreng set out to welcome the emperor, met him on the fourth, asked him to come back on the eighth, and then received him again on the ninth! You can't order people around like that!

Kangxi was a truly troublesome emperor!

No matter what, Kangxi is back, and with him in charge, everyone feels at ease.

Kangxi had returned, victorious from battle, and of course, a discussion of merits and faults was necessary. However, before that, there were still some matters to attend to, such as paying respects to the Empress Dowager. Another example was visiting his chubby grandson. At the Ningshou Palace, Kangxi was present, and he had brought his sons to pay their respects, so the women of the household avoided the area.

Yuqing Palace had received advance notice and prepared the little prince. Shujia dressed the fat boy in bright red clothes, put bracelets on his fat hands and feet, and made sure he had eaten enough milk and urinated. She also dressed herself and waited to be summoned.

Unexpectedly, Kangxi and the Empress Dowager arrived together. They were, of course, staying in Yinreng's chamber. Kangxi had intended to take the little boy to the East Warm Pavilion's kang after returning to the Palace of Heavenly Purity. The Empress Dowager couldn't wait any longer, saying, "Let's go see him together. I haven't seen him in two days. It's so hot, I'm afraid he'll get too hot if I carry him out all the time."

Kangxi immediately expressed his understanding and helped his mother to visit Yuqing Palace.

Yuqing Palace was in a flurry of activity upon hearing the news. Shujia instructed them to use a small blanket to shield the fat boy from the sun, as the summer sun was intense and a newborn shouldn't be exposed to it. She carried the baby all the way from the back hall to the front.

Kangxi fell in love with the fat boy the moment he saw him. He was the chubby son of the Crown Prince and the Crown Princess, so there was no reason for Kangxi to dislike him. Besides, the fat boy was quite pleasing to the eye, with round, fair cheeks, light eyebrows, and a pair of dark, blinking eyes. After eating, he even yawned right in front of the emperor! How disrespectful of the emperor!

He had a pair of chubby hands with ten dimples, and he didn't shy away from strangers (at this point, he couldn't see anyone clearly, so he probably didn't recognize anyone). He stretched them out and waved them around, and everyone who saw him mistakenly thought he was asking for a hug. He was vaguely familiar with the scent of the Empress Dowager and Yinreng, and even when the Empress Dowager held him, he didn't make a fuss, but looked around with his big eyes, which couldn't see people clearly.

Kangxi was delighted. The chubby, white baby looked adorable. He took it in his arms. The little boy, feeling unfamiliar, whimpered uncomfortably, seemingly wanting to escape. Kangxi, truly omnipotent, stroked the baby's short hair and gently brushed his forehead, barely daring to apply force with his fingertips. The little boy, feeling itchy and amused, immediately became happy and obediently let Kangxi hold him. His eyes began to close—he was actually so comfortable that he felt like falling asleep.

Being dumbfounded was a true portrayal of Yinreng. The Empress Dowager patted her grandson's hand and said, "Oh, this child is as well behaved as you."

“I was like this when I was a kid…”

The Empress Dowager nodded seriously and said, "That's right."

Yinreng twisted his head in agony. Kangxi was delighted to hold his grandson, even standing up and rocking his body rhythmically, like a nanny, or rather, a grandpa. The brat must have felt comfortable being held by Kangxi, but as soon as Kangxi stopped, he gave a look that said, "I'll cry if you don't continue." Kangxi, neither amused nor annoyed, played babysitter, rocking his grandson back and forth. "I must not have been such a scoundrel when I was little!" Yinreng cried inwardly. "But if Khan Ama is so kind to me, I can accept it."

Kangxi was delighted to see his grandson clinging to him, and he summoned the Crown Princess. Shujia was also worried that the child might be shy. Think about it, even a wet nurse would make a fuss while holding him. And that was just a snack. Kangxi, a grown man, wasn't milky or soft. What would happen if he started crying? Wouldn't that just be a scene?

When he arrived, he heard the brat giggling and speaking in an alien language. He walked in, saluted, and stood up properly.

Kangxi sympathized with the Crown Princess's hard work, but Shujia couldn't take credit for it and act virtuous. She felt bitter, "Giving birth to a son for myself is considered a credit, but it's as if I didn't have a share of the son, and that he was born only for your family."

The mother's mood did not affect her son at all. Kangxi naturally sat on the throne. The throne was very spacious, and the little fat boy was also lucky enough to be held on the throne and stroked. He seemed to feel his mother coming and laughed so hard that his saliva flowed onto the dragon robe.

Shujia heard her son's voice and reflexively looked up to see the brat grinning with his gums showing. "Fuck you! I'll deal with you when I get back!" The Empress Dowager liked the Crown Princess, so naturally she had to warm her up. She said with a smile, "It's good that the Crown Princess comes to see me every day." Anyway, everyone praised the Crown Princess, so she couldn't help but bring it up now.

Kangxi knew that the Crown Princess handled matters in the palace with care and served the Empress Dowager wholeheartedly, and he always had a good impression of Shujia. Even with the Crown Princess's largest military medal on her lap, now a chubby little girl weighing ten pounds, she became even more pleasant to him.

In short, the meeting was very pleasant, and Kangxi finally decided that the child’s hundred-day banquet must be held well!

Of course, before that, we must first summarize this expedition, reward some people, and make the atmosphere more festive. Then, everyone can congratulate the emperor and wish the Qing Dynasty a long and prosperous future. That would be harmonious. Tomorrow, we will hold a general meeting to celebrate, and then the Council of Ministers will discuss and decide on the rewards for the Mongols.

The court suddenly became lively. During the meeting, his expression was particularly serious and enthusiastic.

The author has something to say: The National Day holiday is over.

91. Lock on to the target and get stuck.