Chapter 44 Consort Hui's Birthday and the Eighth Prince
The February wind still carried a lingering chill, scraping across the walls of Yanxi Palace like a dull knife, causing the bare branches outside the palace to rustle dryly.
Today is Baoqing's birthday, and he got a day off. He went to Yanxi Palace early in the morning in high spirits.
A few days ago, his father asked him about his studies and said that he was good at riding and archery. He took the opportunity to pester his father for a hunting dog puppy, saying that he would give it to him when he was old enough to go hunting. For now, the Hound Division is raising it for him.
Although he paid a small amount for food, Baoqing was still very happy because he had his own hunting dog, and he could give Baturu to his mother.
He could tell that his mother really liked the cat and the dog.
As soon as Baoqing entered the warm pavilion, she was met with a shock – a light chestnut-colored cradle had been erected on the east side of the pavilion, and her mother was laughing happily around it with several unfamiliar palace maids and nannies.
Has Mother had a new baby?
The teachers in the Imperial Study only taught him general principles of literacy and reading; they didn't give him any lessons on physiology or hygiene.
Baoqing has only met two younger brothers so far: the Crown Prince and Chengqian Palace's younger brother, who is now the fourth son in the new imperial family.
At this moment, Baoqing saw that there was another child in his mother's palace. He naturally assumed that his new brother was also his mother's son, just like him.
Even a nine-year-old child can be possessive. Baoqing stood at the door, looking at her mother with teary eyes, "With a new little brother, will Mother still like Baoqing?"
He thought sadly: Father wasn't just his own to begin with, and now Mother isn't either.
Although Baoqing was straightforward, he had developed some shrewdness after spending so long in the palace. He wiped away his tears and pretended to be sensible, saying, "My new brother is also Mother's child, and I will like him."
To compromise and yet seek peace.
That's what I meant.
Yunyun was both amused and exasperated.
What is Baoqing thinking?
The palace maids and nannies nearby knew better than to interfere in the affairs of the mother and son, so they all withdrew, leaving only Fuling to stay by the cradle to watch over the Eighth Prince.
Yunyun sat on the heated kang and beckoned to Baoqing, "What are you doing standing at the door? Come in."
Baoqing slowly moved in front of Yunyun, and called out with a sob and expectant look in her eyes, "Mother."
Seeing that Baoqing was standing a good distance away, Yunyun chuckled and pulled him over, touching his cheeks which were red from the wind, and said directly, "Eighth Brother is the child of the Empress of the Rear Palace Guard."
Baoqing stopped wiping away her tears and looked up in surprise.
Empress Wei?
Isn't he my mother's child?
Yunyun couldn't explain how she got pregnant and had a child, so she just stated the conclusion: "Just like Baoqing was outside the palace before, Consort Wei was also unable to raise her eighth brother by her side for some reason, so she could only temporarily raise him with Mother."
“When he is five or six years old, he will live in the Prince’s quarters like Baoqing, and he will no longer be in Yanxi Palace.”
These two sentences were like a ray of sunshine that instantly shone into Baoqing's heart.
Knowing that his new brother was not his mother's child, Baoqing's eyes completely welled up with tears, and he grinned happily, "Mother, don't worry, I will take care of my eighth brother when he goes to the Imperial Academy."
The Eighth Prince had just been born, and Baoqing had already arranged his studies.
Seeing that Baoqing still had some tear stains on his face, Yunyun took the warm, damp towel that Lingzhi handed her and gently wiped his face, her tone gentle and patient, "Today is your birthday, a wonderful day, be happy."
The gift was ready. Originally, I planned to give it to him during dinner, but he cried first thing in the morning. Yunyun wanted him to be in a good mood, so she decided to give it to him earlier.
Just as Lingzhi brought the gifts over, a young eunuch announced from outside the hall: "His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived—"
The Crown Prince had reached the age to enter the Imperial Study, but he did not study literature with Baoqing. Emperor Kangxi specially selected Grand Secretaries Zhang Ying and Li Guangdi to teach the Crown Prince.
The Imperial Astronomical Bureau also divined an auspicious date for the start of the school year: the fifteenth of February, which is tomorrow.
So today, the Crown Prince was able to come to Yanxi Palace to celebrate Baoqing's birthday and have fun with him.
The Crown Prince walks in a very proper manner, unlike Baoqing, who sometimes runs and jumps when he's happy.
He was quite familiar with Yanxi Palace and had come to see Baoqing many times. Without needing anyone to lead him, the Crown Prince had already stepped into the warm pavilion on his own.
After exchanging greetings, a palace maid came to inquire about the specific arrangements for lunch. Yunyun then gave the warm pavilion to the two children and had the Eighth Prince's wet nurse come in to oversee the preparations while she personally arranged the dishes.
Baoqing secretly used her mother's mirror and saw that there were no traces of crying on her face. Baoqing breathed a barely perceptible sigh of relief and then began to introduce the new residents of Yanxi Palace to the Crown Prince.
"This is my eighth brother."
If you do the math, the Eighth Prince was born on February 10th, and Baoqing was born on February 14th, which means he was only four days old.
The Crown Prince followed Bao Qing's lead to the cradle, where his line of sight was level with Bao Qing's.
Why is my eighth brother so ugly?
It's rosy, wrinkled, and a little peeling; its head is also a bit pointed.
So ugly.
The Crown Prince frowned. "I see my fourth brother is quite chubby and fair-skinned, and he's not this ugly."
Upon hearing the Crown Prince say it was ugly, Baoqing also came over to take a closer look.
It does look a little ugly.
But since this was his mother's younger brother whom she was temporarily raising, he couldn't let people speak ill of him, so he immediately defended him, saying, "It doesn't matter if he's ugly, I'll just buy him more rouge and powder and he'll become fair."
My mother said that fair skin covers up a hundred flaws, and that my eighth brother won't be ugly anymore once he's fair-skinned.
Besides, Mother has many small powder boxes on her dressing table, so it won't hurt to give some to Eighth Brother later.
The crown prince seemed to understand, but he also knew that rouge and face powder could make people look better, and he sometimes saw palace maids using them in the Qianqing Palace.
However, he wasn't very interested in his eighth brother. After watching for a while, he looked away and said, "Let's play the Nine Linked Rings. I discovered a new solution a few days ago."
Upon hearing the new solution, Baoqing immediately forgot about his eighth brother.
How come the Crown Prince's younger brother is so good at the Nine Linked Rings puzzle? It still takes him half a day to solve it.
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