That night, Mingxiu slept unusually restlessly. She dreamt of Yinreng's final fate, then of herself growing old and losing her beauty, being bullied by newly arrived concubines, then of Kangxi's deep voice in her ear, and then of the Fourth Prince's words, "I love you so much."
Mingxiu was so frightened that she slept fitfully all night. When she woke up in the morning, she had a dejected look on her face with big dark circles under her eyes. The oppressive atmosphere made even the little palace maid next to her afraid to make a sound.
Yinreng was shocked.
Even Xu Mama, who rarely spoke to Mingxiu, couldn't help but glance at her, somewhat surprised, and asked, "Didn't you sleep well last night?"
It's no wonder everyone was so surprised; Mingxiu's emotions are usually too stable, and she has never lost control, let alone suffered from insomnia.
Watching the oppressive atmosphere emanating from him, the violent and rude actions of pruning the flower branches, and the ferocious expression on his face, Yinreng's heart pounded, and he huddled together with the little eunuch and Granny Xu, trembling with fear.
The three of them mentally complained, wondering who had provoked this person who never lost his temper, making them bear the consequences here.
Yinreng: "Waaah, Father Emperor, come quickly and save me! Aunt Mingxiu is so scary!"
Kangxi...
May in spring
After Mingxiu had completely calmed down, it was already Yinreng's birthday. Mingxiu specially made a huge cream cake for Yinreng.
Therefore, Mingxiu specially requested Emperor Kangxi to build a large oven in the side hall of the Qianqing Palace. After all, it was the emperor's palace, and in order for the oven to be worthy of the emperor, Mingxiu specially asked the Imperial Household Department for a lot of red bricks and red mud, used the cement that the court had just developed to plaster the walls, and even used iron sheets in a luxurious way. It should be noted that at this time, the iron sheets were inside the oven, which was to make the oven temperature higher and not easy to dissipate heat.
Looking at these things, Mingxiu clicked her tongue twice. This extravagant use of money was a waste. If it weren't for Mingxiu's merit in presenting the book, the fact that the glass made the court a fortune, and the fact that the cement also made a great contribution, Yinreng would probably have been impeached by the court officials. Mingxiu had already thought of the reasons: how could a three-year-old child be so extravagant for play? After all, many people were watching Yinreng.
Why was it Mingxiu who impeached Yinreng? Of course, it's because Mingxiu was Yinreng's servant.
Mingxiu made the oven a luxurious two-tiered structure. The lower tier is a square, hollow box where you can burn firewood or charcoal. The interior of the oven is a semi-circular shape, and to make it look cuter, Mingxiu decorated the front of the semi-circle into the shape of a bear with a big mouth so that food can be placed inside. When not in use, the oven can be closed. A chimney was built at the top so that smoke can escape from it. Next to it, Mingxiu also made a counter resembling a modern bar, with a cement-smoothed surface and two high stools where you can rest while baking food.
On birthday
The oven, which had taken so much effort to make, was the first thing Mingxiu made herself: a two-tiered cake, twelve inches on the bottom and eight inches on the top. Since it was something that was out in the open, Mingxiu couldn't use the whisk in her space to whip the cream, so she had to use a sieve made by a craftsman to whip it. At least it had more sticks than chopsticks, right? Even so, it took several people taking turns whipping it. By the time it was all whipped, the palace maids and eunuchs who served Yinreng in the former Qing Palace couldn't even put together a pair of good hands.
Mingxiu felt a pang of sympathy upon seeing this and could only think of giving more money as a reward later.
The wealthy never lack anything, especially those at the top of power. Because of the emperor's favor, Yinreng's allowances always followed the emperor's from a young age. Sometimes, even things that the emperor didn't have were sent to him by Kangxi.
This is easy for Mingxiu. She can chop strawberries into jam to make strawberry filling, then color the cream with various colored fruits, and finally put fruit and various decorations on top to make a shape that is both beautiful and delicious.
When Yinreng woke up in the morning, he was surprised to see this enormous cake. He looked up at Mingxiu, who was still finishing up the cake on the table, and said, "Aunt Mingxiu, is this the birthday cake you said you were going to make for me? It's so big!" Yinreng's mouth dropped open.
“Yes, Your Highness, so after dinner you can invite the friends you want to invite, and then they can all come over for cake to celebrate your birthday, how about that?” Mingxiu put the last bit of fruit on the table, looking at her work from early morning.
Yin nodded, his eyes lingering with reluctance, and went to eat. Every now and then, he would turn his head to look at the cake, which made Mingxiu laugh. Children's minds are really so simple.
After finishing his meal, Yinreng couldn't wait to go out and invite people to his birthday celebration.
Mingxiu naturally stayed to continue making some delicious food. After all, since people had come, they couldn't just eat cake all the time; that would be too cloying.
Yinreng's first stop was naturally the Emperor Kangxi, who was also in the palace. However, as soon as he arrived at the Imperial Study, Liang Jiugong informed him that the Emperor was receiving ministers. Yinreng had no choice but to go to his elder brother's place instead.
Yanxi Palace
Yinzhi was diligently studying. In the Qing Dynasty, princes all started school at the age of six. Next year, Yinzhi would move to the Prince's Residence and begin studying in the Imperial Study. Therefore, Consort Hui was pressuring him to learn something.
When Yinreng arrived, he saw Yinzhi holding a book, looking distressed with a frown.
When he saw Yinreng coming over, his eyes lit up, and he threw his book on the table and ran over.
Consort Hui chased after him but couldn't catch up. "Little brother Baocheng, did you come here to play with me?"
"Brother Baoqing, I didn't come here to play with you today. I'm going somewhere else later. Today is my birthday, and I'd like to invite you to have lunch at Qianqing Palace today." Yinreng handed over a piece of paper with a smile. Aunt Mingxiu said it was on a greeting card, and he could just give the card to whoever he wanted to invite.
Yinzhi was pleasantly surprised, patting his chest loudly as he assured him, "Really? Brother Baocheng, don't worry, I'll definitely be there!"
After seeing Yinreng off, Yinzhi turned around and saw his mother, Consort Hui. He happily said, "Mother, my brother Baocheng invited me to his birthday party. I won't be back for lunch today."
After saying that, he ignored his mother's reaction and ran to his storeroom. He still had to prepare a gift for his younger brother Baocheng, so he didn't have time to listen to his mother's complaints about Baocheng.
Consort Hui watched Yinzhi's figure disappear into the distance and sighed helplessly. The child was still too young to listen to anything she said.
Yinreng ran around delivering greeting cards, inviting all his older sisters and cousins in the palace, before turning back to the Qianqing Palace. He still had his big cake to look after.
Of course, he didn't forget to go to the Imperial Study to give the greeting card to Liang Jiugong, so that he could give it to his father later.
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