When the Eighth Prince was one month old, Jingrou finally met the famous man in history.
Consort Hui stood at the very front, presiding over his full-moon banquet. If one didn't know better, they would think Consort Hui was his biological mother! However, his efforts were not entirely in vain. A few days later, Emperor Kangxi ordered that the Eighth Prince's name be temporarily recorded under hers, which meant that Consort Hui would raise the Eighth Prince.
This matter made her feel like she was basking in a spring breeze, and after becoming pregnant with the eldest prince, she also wanted to have another child.
However, the emperor's attitude towards her was lukewarm, and her own womb wasn't particularly successful, so she never had a chance. But having an adopted son was certainly a good thing.
At this time, the Eighth Prince was still a little guy lying in swaddling clothes, sucking his hands. When he saw Jingrou, his eyes were not open yet, and his face was still slightly red. However, he looked chubby, which meant he was well taken care of.
However, the emperor has not yet bestowed a name upon any prince. Except for those who are very favored, most princes' names are bestowed upon them when they turn one year old.
If they were to die prematurely during this period, they might not even leave a mark on history.
This was the case for several princes before Emperor Kangxi; some of them didn't even make it into the order of seniority.
This is the Eighth Prince, nothing special.
Perhaps it was because of her experiences over the past few years that Jingrou gained some confidence and felt that what happened in history would not happen again, so she didn't pay much attention. She didn't remember the Eighth Prince very well, but instead her attention was drawn to the beautiful Consort Liang.
She is very beautiful. Now, perhaps because she hasn't recovered well after giving birth, her complexion is still a little pale, which makes her look even more charming.
However, perhaps he was just a timid person to begin with, so this expression on her face didn't seem out of place at all.
She had just finished her postpartum confinement period and was timidly following Consort Hui. Her pitiful yet endearing appearance made the palace concubines grit their teeth in frustration.
It was this vixen who seduced the emperor and gave birth to such a precious child. Even though more than 10 months had passed since the news of her pregnancy broke, it was still fresh in the minds of the palace concubines. After all, it was a disgrace to them, a group of noble-born Manchu and Han women!
******
Yinzhen has lost a lot of weight.
Jingrou thought this when she saw him again.
His lips were tightly pursed, and although he still looked like a child, the stubbornness in his eyes seemed to ignite a fire within him.
Although he seemed quieter than yesterday, he was like a volcano, brimming with hidden turmoil, as if waiting to erupt at any moment.
When he saw Jingrou and Yinreng, his eyes were still bright. He knew who was truly good to him and that those who were insincere were getting further and further away from him. He looked very different from before, and his whole demeanor had become much more reserved.
The Emperor has not yet spoken to him about Consort De, and quite a few things have happened in the palace recently.
"They haven't contacted you over there?"
Yinzhen shook his head. However, some of the people around him couldn't hold back any longer and said indignantly, "Your Majesty, although Consort De's people haven't contacted you, they've been causing you a lot of trouble lately. The other day, Xiao Dezi, who went to the Imperial Kitchen, was caught by Consort De's people and given a scolding on some pretext!" It wasn't just this one incident, but he was only mentioning the most important one now; these words had been stuck in their throats for a long time.
"Saying it was Xiao Dezi's name would offend Consort De, but Xiao Dezi has been in the palace for seven or eight years and has never been spoken to like that before! When Xiao Dezi was by Your Highness's side, no one dared to say such a thing..." To put it bluntly, they're just making up an excuse because their current mistress is gone... and the Fourth Prince is still young and can't stand up for them, so they might have received Consort De's permission.
Moreover... when Consort De served by Your Highness's side, Little Dezi used to have this name!
Back then, the two of them at least had a bond from working together!
But now they've turned their backs on us and beaten Xiao Dezi several times. He still walks with a limp and doesn't dare show his face in front of his master, for fear that the master will suspect him!
Yinzhen remained silent.
He truly knew nothing about this.
He only knew that Consort De had not sent anyone to look for him, but he did not know that his subordinates had been treated in this way.
His subordinates never told him this.
The little eunuch lowered his head and secretly glanced at Yinzhen, afraid that his master would punish him. Even if they suffered some grievances, it was nothing. Who didn't go through this in the palace in the early years?
But since Consort De's people can make them suffer, sooner or later they will set their sights on their mistress!
The master is currently weak and isolated. The people of the Tongjia clan might be willing to protect him, but the nature of this shallow relationship is uncertain. After all, the bond between the master and the Tongjia clan has always been Empress Tongjia.
Now that Empress Tongjia is gone, will the Tongjia clan be willing to grant him protection out of past favors? No one knows…
They're not stupid. Now that the Crown Prince is willing to protect their master, they naturally want to speak out about some of the grievances their master has suffered.
Yinreng frowned. He had thought that Consort De would openly request permission from her father, the Khan, or do something to win over Yinzhen, thus gaining some leverage. He hadn't expected her to be so petty and secretly sabotage him.
Even if they don't take Yinzhen away, they won't let him have an easy life. How can there be such a person? It seems they need to act sooner rather than later.
"If you want Consort De to give up, you might have to put on an act in front of the Khan, and you might have to suffer some injustice..."
Yinzhen nodded without hesitation. Now that he had made up his mind, he showed no fear of being wronged.
Moreover, he has already suffered enough. Even if he has to endure more, he would be willing to do so as long as he can get rid of Consort De.
Yinreng pondered for a while and decided that he should let Consort De reveal her true colors so that his father, the Khan, could see what she was really like before he would give up on her!
Besides this, another person who can make sense needs to be found to act as Yinzhen's mother—of course, this is a solution that was devised after all the efforts to enable Yinzhen to live independently had failed!
After all, we need to think things through carefully, taking into account the Khan's thoughts and other various circumstances!
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