Chapter 26 Kangxi was always the most annoyed…
Emperor Kangxi always disliked the endless infighting in the harem, especially when he was in a good mood and someone had to pour cold water on him. Without going through Wen Shan, he directly demoted or confined several concubines who had complained to him by Consort De in Yonghe Palace.
Fortunately, Wen Shan reported the incident before Consort De's attack occurred, so it did not affect her or Consort Niohuru.
Kangxi took the initiative to take on the task, and Wenshan was happy to be free. After being instructed by Yinzhi, she turned around and gave the booklet to Consort Niohuru.
Although Consort Niohuru was pregnant and somewhat unable to perform her duties, she still did not want to relinquish her power in the palace. Emperor Kangxi was angered by this matter, so after taking over, he quickly began to deal with those above him.
After this outburst, the harem quieted down considerably until Consort Yi, who was the oldest in her pregnancy, went into labor first and gave birth to Kangxi's ninth son in the height of summer. Kangxi named him Yinzhen, and Consort Yi was able to raise the child by her side as she had wished.
The Fifth Prince has recently been visiting his younger brother, Yinzhen, at Yikun Palace. When he meets Yinzhen and Yinsi in the Imperial Study, he enthusiastically shares with them how adorable his ninth brother is, how chubby he is, how he eats and sleeps all day, and how he cries when he wakes up. Consort Yi has become quite haggard from taking care of him day and night.
"My grandmother told me to visit my mother and brother less often recently. My mother is already working so hard taking care of my brother. If I go to visit her, she will have to do this and that for me. It would be bad if she worried about me too much."
The Fifth Prince is almost four years old this year. He is much more sensible than before, but he still doesn't put much effort into his studies. He spends all his time slacking off in the Imperial Study. Now he can't even read Chinese books. The Empress Dowager still indulges him, and even Emperor Kangxi can't say anything. So his tutors just turn a blind eye.
Yinzhi glanced at the Fifth Prince, who was idly drawing turtles on the table, as he flipped through his book, and said, "Master Zhang will check your homework later. You haven't written a single one of the fifty characters."
The Fifth Prince was the least afraid of his two tutors in the entire Imperial Study. He waved his little hand dismissively and said, "I'll draw fifty little turtles or fifty little dogs."
Upon hearing this, the eldest prince, who was sitting in front, turned around and sneered: "Fifth brother, it's fine if you don't strive for progress, but don't lead your younger brothers astray."
Ever since the Crown Prince started occasionally going to Xianfu Palace for meals, he has been taking better care of the two brothers, Yinzhen and Yinsi, and the Fifth Prince has been following behind Yinzhen and Yinsi all day long. Gradually, it seems that the three of them are on the Crown Prince's side.
The eldest prince, who had originally had a good relationship with the fifth prince, also changed his attitude and was no longer as close to the fifth prince as before.
At first, the Fifth Prince was a little confused and aggrieved, not knowing why his elder brother suddenly stopped playing with him. Later, Yinzhi told him that his elder brother didn't like playing with children anymore when he grew up, and that he certainly wouldn't play with his two- or three-year-old brother when he grew up.
The Fifth Prince thought about it and realized that he no longer liked playing with his Sixth and Seventh Brothers, finding them childish. Putting himself in their shoes, he realized he could understand his eldest brother's change.
Moreover, it seems that the eldest brother does spend more time talking with the crown prince, who is about the same age, although his expression doesn't seem very happy.
The eldest prince's sarcastic remark left the fifth prince bewildered and confused. He could only chuckle and say, "Don't worry, eldest brother, I won't corrupt the sixth and seventh brothers if I don't play with them, just like you don't like playing with me either."
The eldest prince's forehead veins bulged as he gritted his teeth: "...Who taught you to say these things?"
The Fifth Prince was a little scared when he saw that the First Prince was angry, so he hid behind Yinzhen.
After finishing his writing, the Crown Prince turned around leisurely and chuckled, "Elder brother, why are you taking your anger out on Fifth Brother? Fifth Brother has always been the most outspoken, and he was raised by the Empress Dowager. Even if he is wrong, you should be more tolerant."
Yinzhi watched the show with his chin in his hand. The young and hot-blooded eldest brother would certainly not swallow this insult so easily. Everyone knew that the Crown Prince and the First Prince were not on good terms now, but the Fifth Prince's words, though unintentional, had torn the First Prince's face off and trampled him into the ground.
Yinzhen rubbed his temples, tugged at Yinsi who was watching the scene unfold, and whispered, "Was it you who said it?"
These words sound like something Yinzhi taught him.
Yinzhi blinked innocently: "Fifth Brother is sad, I'm just comforting him."
"You're trying to coax him? Who's the older brother and who's the younger brother between you two?" Yinzhen chuckled. "Don't do that again. You can just say these things to me."
The eldest prince was already annoyed by the crown prince's retort, and seeing them whispering together only made him angrier. Looking around, he realized that the entire study was filled with the crown prince's people.
"Fourth brother, eighth brother, what are you saying again? Let's speak frankly among brothers and have everyone listen." The eldest prince's face was ashen, and his tone was unfriendly.
"Why is my elder brother so angry today?" The crown prince retorted sharply, not to be outdone: "Are all the younger brothers here destined to receive a scolding from their elder brother?"
The eldest prince, still angry, retorted, "The crown prince holds a high position and wields great power. I dare not presume to act like an elder brother in front of the crown prince."
Seeing the tense atmosphere between the Crown Prince and the First Prince, the Third Prince stepped forward to act as a peacemaker.
"Don't be angry, eldest brother and second brother, we're all family." The third prince winked at the little eunuch beside him. The little eunuch was quick-witted, nodded, and ran out in a flash.
The eldest prince sneered, "How dare I get angry in front of the Crown Prince? His Highness's care for his younger brother fills me with admiration and shame."
Yinzhen sensed something was amiss. Although the eldest prince and the crown prince had been at odds for a long time, the eldest prince had always maintained a respectable facade. This was the first time he had publicly argued with the crown prince like this.
As expected, the Crown Prince, who had been pampered since childhood, had never suffered such humiliation. The two of them pulled and tugged at each other, wanting to go to Kangxi to explain.
Seeing his two older brothers blushing and at a loss, almost bursting into tears, the Fifth Prince was also somewhat flustered. The whole thing started with a careless remark from the Fifth Prince, but it was Yinsi who said it to the Fifth Prince. If it really got to the Emperor and implicated Yinsi, it wouldn't be good.
Just as Yinzhen was about to step forward to dissuade him, Yinsi pulled him back and said with a smile, "Brother, don't worry, someone has already gone to get reinforcements."
Yinzhen was taken aback. Following Yinsi's gaze, he saw Zhang Ying rushing in from the doorway.
"What are you princes doing!" Zhang Ying's beard was almost standing on end with anger. He had only been gone for a short while, and now the eldest prince and the crown prince looked like they were about to fight.
Zhang Ying was mature, steady, and highly cultured, and was greatly respected by Emperor Kangxi. He was specially invited to be the tutor of the princes. The princes respected this tutor Zhang, but also had some fear of this somewhat rigid old man.
When the princes were still young and could be kept in check, the eldest prince and the crown prince stopped arguing and stood aside when Zhang Ying entered.
"Your Highness, the Crown Prince is the heir apparent. How can you pull and argue with him?"
Zhang Ying was a Han Chinese who believed in the Confucian ideals of Heaven, Earth, Ruler, Parents, and Teacher. In Zhang Ying's eyes, the Crown Prince was the heir apparent, and regardless of right or wrong, the fact that the eldest prince had a dispute with the Crown Prince already constituted disrespect for the heir apparent.
The eldest prince calmed down by then. He realized that making a big fuss would do him no good, so he admitted his mistake and apologized to the crown prince. Fortunately, the crown prince was tolerant and didn't hold it against him, and the matter was over.
The younger children finished their studies at lunchtime, leaving only the eldest prince and the crown prince who had to practice riding and archery in the afternoon and did not return to the palace. The eunuchs served the two princes their lunch and then stepped aside to wait for the dishes to be prepared.
After the two princes finished their lunch, the palace servants all withdrew.
“Your Highness really doesn’t need to focus all your attention on me right now.” The eldest prince took the initiative, glancing at me and saying, “Both the Imperial Noble Consort and the Noble Consort Niohuru are pregnant. If they give us two younger brothers, that’s where Your Highness should be concerned.”
Both of them have powerful backgrounds, and if they were to give birth to princes, their maternal families would be no less prestigious than those of the crown prince.
The crown prince sighed, "Brother, why has it come to this between us brothers?"
Although Yinreng, who is not yet ten years old, has already learned from historical records that there is no kinship involved in the struggle for the throne, he has been favored and protected by Kangxi so much that although he is a bit arrogant, he really doesn't have any thoughts of life and death with his brothers.
Today's confrontation with the eldest prince was simply because I couldn't stand seeing the eldest prince bullying the always honest fifth prince.
The eldest prince scoffed dismissively, dismissing it as hypocritical and pretentious.
Will the Crown Prince still be as calm and composed as he is now after the birth of the sons of the Imperial Noble Consort and Consort Niohuru?
Although the eldest prince is only three years older than the crown prince, their wedding will be on the agenda in two or three years. Now, he understands more and more each day how difficult his life will be as the eldest son of a concubine.
Moreover, now that the Emperor favors him and Mingzhu secretly supports him, how could he not covet that position?
...
On the way back to Xianfu Palace, Yinzhen gave Yinsi another warning, telling him not to say such things to the Fifth Prince in the future, as he had really frightened him today.
“Brother, I’m only two years old, and Fifth Brother is only three.” Yinzhi held up two fingers. “Children speak without thinking, who would really take it seriously?”
Today, the eldest prince can only suffer in silence; otherwise, even if the matter were brought to the Emperor's attention, it would be the eldest prince who would suffer.
Yinzhen looked at him suspiciously, feeling that the boy had ill intentions and was doing it on purpose.
He knew that his younger brother was exceptionally intelligent from a young age, but as the saying goes, if you walk by the river long enough, you're bound to get your shoes wet. Yinzhen could only threaten Yinsi that if he continued to misbehave, he would report him to their mother and have her cut off his snacks.
Yinzhi surrendered immediately, which was truly terrifying.
"My brother isn't acting right today."
"Do you know something, hmm?" Yinzhen asked again.
After turning onto the two small paths ahead, they returned to Xianfu Palace. As usual, Yinzhen's eunuch went back to the palace first to inform Wenshan. Wenshan warmed up the food, and the two brothers returned to the palace just in time for dinner.
Yinzhen was perceptive and noticed the eldest prince's unusual behavior today. Yinsi was not surprised at all, and continued to hold Yinzhen's hand and walk slowly. Only when he heard Yinzhen's next sentence did Yinsi look up and exclaim "Wow!" in an exaggerated manner, "You noticed that?"
Yinzhen pinched his little face: "I know you too well. The way you looked at the show today, you must be up to no good."
The two turned down the last alley, and the gates of Xianfu Palace were already faintly visible. Yinzhi said, "Yesterday, Consort Hui and Consort Ping had a dirty quarrel. Consort Ping relied on the Crown Prince and said some unpleasant things."
Consort Hui was, after all, an elder in the palace, the mother of the eldest son, and the head of all the consorts. To be humiliated by Consort Ping was an utter disgrace. The eldest prince and his mother were practically inseparable. Today, the crown prince happened to stand up for the fifth prince, and in the heat of the moment, he ignited the eldest prince's anger.
Yinzhen suddenly realized, then paused for a moment and asked, "How did you know?"
Even Mother probably doesn't know about this.
Yinzhi blinked and, without hesitation, shifted the blame to Wenshan: "My mother told me."
Then he ran quickly into Xianfu Palace.
"Mother, my brother and I are back!"
Wen Shan saw Yin Si running in with a flushed face and squatted down to wipe the sweat from his forehead: "Why are you running? You're all sweaty in this hot weather."
Yinzhen followed behind with a furrowed brow. Wenshan asked Yinsi, "What's wrong?"
Yinzhi briefly told Wenshan about what happened in the Imperial Study that day. Wenshan listened for a while but lost interest. In her opinion, it was just a quarrel between brothers. She told them not to quarrel with other princes in the Imperial Study, and if they did quarrel, to try not to fight. If they did fight, they should strike first to avoid getting beaten. Then she led them into the room to eat.
Yinzhi was in a good mood today. After lunch, he strolled to the courtyard to see Fu. Strangely enough, Yinzhi and Fu didn't get along, but he liked Fu very much. He had been personally taking care of Fu since he started breastfeeding.
After finishing his porridge, Yinzhi glanced at Wenshan and asked, "Mother, do you know about what happened to Consort Hui and Consort Ping yesterday?"
"I know, you two had a fight," Wen Shan said with a smile.
It really was Mother who told my younger brother.
Yinzhen breathed a sigh of relief. After finishing his meal, he ran out and played with the two dogs in the courtyard with Yinsi.
Wen Shan had one more thing to say, she knew it, but it was Yinzhi who told her.
Several months ago, Yinzhi suddenly became very familiar with the trivial matters of each palace, and when he had nothing to do, he would pick a few interesting things to tell her to amuse her.
Yesterday, Consort Hui and Consort Ping had a quarrel, which was one of them.
Before going to bed that night, Yinzhi sat at the table wearing an outer robe. His chubby face, still a little baby fat, was calm and composed as he casually flipped through the messages that had just been handed to him.
"You did a good job. Go down and collect your reward."
The eunuch below, bowing low, responded and respectfully withdrew.
"Anhai, have Xiaoshunzi keep a close eye on Yongshou Palace." Yinzhi jumped off the chair to prepare for bed, as he had to get up early for the Imperial Study the next day.
Yinzhi's personal eunuch, Anhai, bowed and went to make the arrangements.
Consort Niohuru is about to give birth, and the child is none other than the tenth prince, with whom she was quite close in her previous life. Whether out of past affection or for the sake of her mother, Consort Niohuru cannot allow anything to go wrong with this pregnancy.
Nowadays, there are many pregnant concubines in the palace, which also leads to a lot of trouble. If something happens to Wen Shan, who is in charge of managing the six palaces, she will be the first person responsible. Yin Si has no choice but to personally keep an eye on the movements in various parts of the palace. In this harem, it is impossible to move an inch without your own intelligence network.
Before falling asleep, Yinzhi thought about how his fourth brother seemed to have noticed something today, and a slight smile appeared on his lips. He was deliberately keeping it from his fourth brother to see when he would find out.
A few days later, Consort Niohuru also gave birth to a healthy little prince. Emperor Kangxi named him Yin'e. The Niohuru family, who had sent two daughters to the palace, were overjoyed to finally have a prince and sent many gifts. The palace suddenly had two healthy little princes. Even Emperor Kangxi, who was already not lacking sons, was very happy recently. Moreover, the Imperial Noble Consort and Consort De were also pregnant with two more children. Whether it was a boy or a girl, it was a happy event with many children and blessings.
When the Tenth Prince turned one month old, Wen Shan, as usual, sent some gifts over. While choosing them, she casually asked Yin Si, who was standing to the side, "Yin Si, would you like to go with your mother to Yongshou Palace to see your tenth brother?"
After all, he was one of Yinzhi's closest brothers in his previous life. Yinzhi shook his head as he fiddled with the book. What's so interesting about little kids now? Let's talk about it when Ninth and Tenth Brothers grow up.
Unexpectedly, Yinzhen was quite interested and took the initiative to say that he wanted to go to Yongshou Palace with Wenshan to attend the Tenth Prince's full moon banquet.
As soon as Yinzhen mentioned wanting to go, Yinsi's expression changed and he added that he also wanted to go see his tenth brother.
Wen Shan was both amused and exasperated, and told them to go downstairs and change their clothes so they could go to Yongshou Palace together later.
Many people came to Yongshou Palace today. Apart from the pregnant Imperial Noble Consort and Consort De, who were not allowed to move around, almost all the other concubines came. Even Consort Yi, who had just finished her postpartum confinement, was present.
"How is your health? Is the Ninth Prince still obedient?" Wen Shan sat next to Consort Yi and chatted with her.
Consort Yi smiled warmly, but still chided, "Yin Tang is such a naughty child. I can't sleep at night watching him make a fuss. There's nothing I can do."
As long as the child can be raised and cause trouble, I'll accept it; it's better than missing him every day when I can't see him.
Wen Shan and Consort Yi were chatting, while Yin Si looked at Yin Zhen, who was sitting upright, and wondered why his fourth brother would take the initiative to join in the fun today. He had never liked these banquets, especially those hosted by the concubines in the harem.
Before long, he finally understood the purpose of his fourth brother's actions today.
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