Chapter 21 The second batch with Wen Shan...
Along with Wen Shan, the second batch of people to be conferred titles also included Consort Ping, who was promoted two ranks directly to Imperial Concubine Ping.
In comparison, she actually stands out more than Wen Shan.
After the investiture ceremony, Wen Shan returned to Xianfu Palace and stomped her feet in the freezing cold.
"My goodness, we still have to worship heaven and earth in the snow." Wen Shan took off her cloak and went inside to warm herself by the charcoal stove. "The investiture ceremony was way too long. I stood outside for more than two hours."
Originally, Yinzhen and Yinsi were also supposed to attend the ceremony, but Wenshan, seeing the heavy snow, insisted on keeping them in Xianfu Palace. What if the child got cold? Besides, there was nothing to see; she was just kneeling and bowing like a puppet.
The official in charge of the ceremony was all smiles, saying things like "A timely snow promises a bumper harvest," which is a good omen.
She thought it was more like torture.
It just so happens that today is the first snow, and according to the rules, there will be a banquet in the palace at night. She was exhausted after a long day, and she still had to go and put on a show.
Thinking about it makes my life even more miserable.
Yinzhi was wearing a dark red jacket with cloud patterns, and the cuffs and neck were covered with fluffy white wool that Wenshan had specially found for them. It surrounded his fair face and made him look very festive. Yinzhen was also wearing the same clothes as Yinzhi, which Wenshan had specially made for them. The two brothers were sitting on the couch and jumped down when they saw Wenshan return.
"Don't touch Mother, Mother is too cold." Wen Shan quickly stopped Yinzhi from rushing towards her.
Yinzhen looked outside and asked, "Why did Mother come back alone? Shouldn't there be a court lady paying homage after the investiture ceremony?"
It was all white outside, and I couldn't see a single person.
"The snow is too heavy and it's really inconvenient, Your Majesty, please excuse us." Wen Shan waved her hand.
That's for the best, otherwise she would have had to go back to Xianfu Palace and fake a smile for two hours.
Pearl brought over a bowl of hot fermented rice balls and said with a smile, "You've worked hard, Master. Please have something hot to drink."
“My brother and I also roasted sweet potatoes in the stove for Mother,” Yinzhi said, raising his head.
Wenshan warmed herself by the fire for a while, then hugged her two precious sons, feeling incredibly touched. Home is the best place after all.
Ever since Wen Shan led Yin Zhen and Yin Si to roast sweet potatoes twice, the two of them have become enamored with this hobby. They would roast a couple in the stove whenever they had free time, and their control over the heat and time has gradually become better than Wen Shan's.
"Shall I help you remove these jewelry first?" Amber stepped forward and said considerately, looking at Wen Shan's luxurious but heavy headdress and clothing.
Wenshan nodded quickly; her outfit was so heavy it almost bent her back.
It took another half an hour to change the Imperial Concubine's clothes.
Wenshan, who had changed into her everyday clothes, finally breathed a sigh of relief. She simply tied her hair into a bun and tasted a sweet potato that her two sons had just baked on the bed.
Wen Shan gave them a thumbs up and used all her skills to praise their cooking, making the two children beam with joy. Yin Si sat next to Wen Shan and watched her make sweet rice balls. He was also a little tempted to try some. Wen Shan saw his longing eyes and carefully avoided the rice balls, ladling a spoonful of soup for him to taste. These rice balls were hard to digest, so it was best not to let Yin Si eat them.
Although Yinzhi was too young to eat as much as Yinzhen, it didn't matter. In a short while, he had already drunk two bowls of food, and then Wenshan sternly stopped him from eating anymore.
Yinzhi was gloating from the side, and Yinzhen came over and rubbed his face, and the two of them rolled around in a ball again.
As Wenshan sipped her warm rice wine and watched her two sons playfully fighting, she felt for a moment that this was what a peaceful and idyllic life looked like.
The snow hadn't stopped by the afternoon, and it was quiet outside, with the occasional crisp sound of branches breaking under the weight of the snow. Wen Shan suddenly felt like cutting paper snowflakes and asked Pearl to find a lot of red paper. Since Yin Zhen and Yin Si were too young, Wen Shan couldn't let them touch the scissors, so she had them draw patterns on the side. Wen Shan would cut out the ones they liked and let them play with them.
Wenshan has always been very good at this kind of handicraft. Baoquan and the others also sat around the table cutting out some festive patterns such as the character "Spring", peonies, and butterflies.
In no time, Wen Shan cut out two figures: one a galloping horse and the other a rooster spreading its wings, representing the zodiac signs of Yinzhen and Yinsi.
These two paper-cut window decorations were so lifelike that both Yinzhen and Yinsi liked them very much and treasured them carefully.
Wen Shan leaned over to look at the two children's masterpieces. Although Yin Zhen had already received his first lessons in painting, his skills were not yet very proficient. After looking at him for a while, Wen Shan discovered that he was painting a classic Nine Fish painting, except that he had added two little people in the middle of the nine frolicking fish. At the very bottom, there was a long-haired woman holding a lantern, smiling as she watched the two little people and the koi fish playing.
When Yinzhen saw Wenshan leaning closer, he blushed slightly and said, "I'm not good at drawing."
Wen Shan put her arm around him: "Yinzhen's drawing is very good. Is this Mother, my younger brother, and Yinzhen?"
Yinzhen nodded.
Wenshan exclaimed "Wow!" and teased him on purpose, "It looks good, but your mother might not be able to cut it."
This was indeed a bit complicated. Yinzhen, being a rigid and upright man, was easily amused by Wenshan. At this moment, he panicked and looked left and right, unsure of how to fix it. Wenshan quickly said that it could be cut out and pasted on the window of the main hall so that it would be visible as soon as the door was opened.
What surprised Wen Shan the most was that Yinzhi's painting skills were surprisingly good.
Wen Shan was so shocked by the painting of a mother and her two children playing with butterflies that Yin Si had drawn on the ground that she could hardly speak.
The lines are smooth and the expressions are lively. The people and butterflies are drawn so vividly that it's impossible for a child who is just over one year old to have drawn this.
As Yinzhi held the paintbrush, his heart skipped a beat. He realized something was wrong. He had only thought about drawing a beautiful pattern to please his mother, but he had forgotten that he was still a child, far from being the Yinzhi who had been practicing painting for decades.
Yinzhi watched nervously as Wenshan examined his painting closely, her palms sweating, her mind racing to come up with a reasonable explanation.
"My goodness, our little Ba is truly a genius." He didn't expect his mother to be so overjoyed that she picked him up and kissed him several times.
"You're so smart! How can you know everything?" Wen Shan's eyes practically lit up as she looked at her youngest son. Was this the kind of child prodigy described in novels?
Could it be that their son, Yinzhi, possesses extraordinary talent in painting?
Even Yinzhen (the Yongzheng Emperor) praised Yinsi's painting repeatedly, never expecting his younger brother to be so clever.
While feeling elated by the praise, Yinzhi was also touched. His mother would never doubt him and loved him with all her heart. She accepted everything about him, no matter how different he was from others.
He didn't want to lie to his mother, but he wondered if she would be frightened if he told her that he was a person who had been reborn. After all, such matters concerning gods and ghosts have always been taboo, and his mother is so timid.
Yinzhi had considered this matter before, but ultimately decided to keep it a secret for now. He figured it wouldn't be too late to tell someone later if the opportunity arose, or perhaps he could keep it hidden for the rest of his life.
What Yinzhi didn't know was that Wenshan herself had experienced the bizarre event of time travel, and she was remarkably resilient to all sorts of unexpected situations.
Cutting out the two designs drawn by Yinzhi and Yinzhen was a bit of a challenge. Wenshan spent more than two hours before she was finally satisfied with cutting out two pieces and carefully stored them away, planning to paste them on the window during the New Year so that the whole family could stay up together to celebrate the New Year.
After finishing cutting the paper-cut window decorations, it was almost time for the evening banquet. Fortunately, the snow had stopped an hour earlier. Wen Shan led Yinzhen and Yinsi to the banquet venue. They arrived early; Kangxi and the two patriarchs had not yet arrived. Only Consort Niohuru, Consort Rong, and Consort Yi were already seated.
Consort Niohuru and Imperial Noble Consort were positioned opposite each other, while Wen Shan was positioned below Imperial Noble Consort and opposite Consort Hui.
Consort Hui, having a son, is now considered the head of all the consorts.
The palace banquet was organized by Consort Niohuru, who was still busy checking the preparations. After Wen Shan led Yinzhen and Yinsi to their seats, palace maids immediately served tea and snacks. The two children's appetites had been spoiled by Wen Shan's cooking, and they had little interest in the snacks made by the imperial kitchen. So Wen Shan picked out some fruits for them to eat.
Consort Yi, sitting to the left of Wen Shan, chatted with her upon seeing this.
"The Imperial Concubine is truly the envy of everyone; both the Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince are so well-behaved."
Looking at Consort Yi's rosy complexion and beaming smile, Wen Shan knew that she had been doing well lately. She had been granted the title of Consort and Emperor Kangxi had always been quite fond of her. Wen Shan calculated that Consort Yi should be pregnant with the Ninth Prince by the new year.
“The New Year is just around the corner, and the Fifth Prince will be returning to Yikun Palace for a few days, so my sister can finally ease her longing,” Wen Shan said with a smile.
Upon hearing this, Consort Yi sighed sincerely, "We can only meet for a few days throughout the year. Although we are raised in the palace, we rarely see each other. We are separated more often than we are together."
After speaking, Consort Yi's expression changed and she hurriedly said, "Sister, please forgive me. I was just missing my son and misspoke. I did not mean to disrespect the Empress Dowager."
Hearing what Consort Yi had just said, Wen Shan thought of Yinzhi and Lady Wei. She smiled and said, "Of course I know you. There's no need for us to say these things."
Consort Yi breathed a sigh of relief. Consort Xuan was always frank and open, and she was quite casual with her, which was why she had just made a slip of the tongue.
As the two were talking, Consort De arrived. She was now almost five months pregnant and her pregnancy was already showing. Although she wasn't too cumbersome, Wen Shan noticed that her complexion was not good. The Sixth Prince sat down next to her opposite Consort Yi.
Yinzhi pulled Yinzhen aside and asked him to tell him a story. Yinzhen looked at Yinzhi helplessly and said, "Brother, I'm fine."
He no longer minded his biological mother's favoritism or his noble mother's dislike. Now that he could live in Xianfu Palace with his younger brother and mother by his side, he was already very content.
Yinzhi, annoyed that his little scheme had been exposed, turned away and said, "Fine, don't tell me then."
"..."
Consort Yi glanced at Consort De and whispered to Wen Shan, "I heard that the imperial physician said Consort De had caught a cold a couple of days ago. I thought she wouldn't be coming today."
After all, she's pregnant, and it's snowing heavily today. She also caught a chill a few days ago, so it wouldn't be a big deal for her to take leave.
"Maybe I'm much better now, so I came out for a stroll," Wenshan said.
“No, no.” Consort Yi raised an eyebrow and said, “The Emperor only went to Yonghe Palace once this month. Most of the time he was with the Imperial Noble Consort and Consort Niohuru. The Empress Dowager did not give any instructions to Princess Chunxi about her wedding. If he doesn’t come out soon, he will really forget about her.”
Wen Shan chuckled: "After all, Consort De is carrying the emperor's child. What you're saying is going too far."
“What’s so special about a dragon’s offspring now?” Consort Yi said dismissively. “Our Emperor already has eight sons; it’s long past the time when he first ascended the throne.”
Wen Shan thought about it and realized that there were indeed quite a few children in the palace these days.
After sitting for a while, Emperor Kangxi arrived, accompanied by the Imperial Noble Consort.
When Wen Shan curtsied, she saw that Consort Niohuru's hands were clenched tightly.
It seems Consort Hui can rest for a while. The two powerful figures, Imperial Noble Consort and Noble Consort Niohuru, will be rushing to the battlefield soon.
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