"Father, the Fourteenth Prince's character still needs tempering. Perhaps you should assign him some tasks. Only by doing things can one truly temper his character," the Fourth Prince suggested to Emperor Kangxi. Previously, both Consort De and the Fourteenth Prince had approached him asking him to assign tasks, but the Fourth Prince had always refused.
"You've never recommended anyone to me before, so why did you think of recommending your fourteenth brother this time?" Kangxi asked the Fourth Prince with a meaningful look.
"Your Majesty, I did not recommend anything for the Fourteenth District, but rather suggested that you give him some tasks to temper his character. Otherwise, if this continues, he will never grow up, and I am truly worried about him," said the Fourth Prince.
"The Fourteenth Prince is a military talent, and I will place him in a suitable position," Kangxi said.
Meanwhile, outside, Fourteen's noisy voice could be heard. He and Xiniu had indeed caught two pheasants and a rabbit, and were calling to the guards to gut and clean them.
After the rabbit meat was roasted and two large pots of chicken soup were cooked, the Fourteenth Prince had Liang Jiugong bring Kangxi's dinner to him before inviting the others to dine there.
"Fourteenth, this is good, here you go!" Xi Niu gave the remaining rabbit leg to Fourteenth, while the other one was naturally taken by Fourteenth to present to Emperor Kangxi.
"Oh, she hasn't even entered our Fourteenth Prince's inner quarters yet, and she's already showing interest!" Tenth Prince said, taking a bite of chicken from his ceramic bowl. These days, Tenth Prince and Xi Niu had become familiar with each other, and he would tease them from time to time.
"Here, this piece is for Tenth Brother!" Xiniu said, tearing off another piece of meat from the rabbit's foreleg.
"That's more like it!" Tenth Master accepted the piece of rabbit meat with satisfaction.
"Fourth Brother, this piece is yours!" Xi Niu removed another foreleg and presented it to Fourth Master. She was quite perceptive and knew that among these dozen or so people, these few seemed to have higher status and position. In addition to obeying the orders of the Chief Constable, the others also had to obey the orders of these three.
"I don't like eating rabbit meat!" Fourth Master replied coldly.
After being rebuffed by Fourth Master, Xi Niu was embarrassed for a few seconds, then quickly said, "Then Fourth Brother, would you like some chicken soup? Here, let me serve you some?"
"No need, I'm used to eating these vegetarian dishes. Let them go and have some drinks," Fourth Master said to the guards and Cui Da and Cui Er who were sitting around eating flatbread.
Xiniu felt a little embarrassed and pouted before going back to her side. Seeing that Fourth Master was still being rather rude to Xiniu, Fourteen quickly said to her, "Don't mind him, that's just how he is!"
The group finished their dinner to the call of the cuckoo, and then went to find places to rest. Fourth Master and Qin Gang arranged the night watch, dividing the thirteen men into three shifts, each shift lasting two hours, with everyone taking turns sleeping.
Fourth Master and Cui Da and Cui Er were on the first shift at night, while everyone else slept.
When the trees and rocks around us became indistinguishable, the stars in the sky shone like diamonds set in a black velvet cloth. Occasionally, we could hear faint cooing sounds and the flapping of insects' wings, which sounded very clear in the silent night of the forest.
"Master, you should go and rest. We two brothers can keep watch." Cui Da said. He and Cui Er had now become the Fourth Master's personal bodyguards when he went out.
"No need, I'll sleep after my shift changes. I didn't expect this trip to take so long. Qin'er is probably more than six months pregnant." Fourth Master couldn't help but worry. Because Cui Da and Cui Er were Cui Niang's brothers, Fourth Master would sometimes say a few words about Lanqin's life in the inner quarters in front of them.
“Your concubine is very fortunate, so don’t worry. My sister will definitely take good care of you,” Cui Da quickly reassured her.
"When did you learn to flatter and fawn?" Fourth Master teased Cui Da deliberately. Because this honest farmer's simple and straightforward nature was what Fourth Master liked most about him.
"I'm not flattering her! I'm telling the truth. The concubine is a kind and compassionate person. When she saw that my mother's eyesight wasn't good, she specially asked that Doctor Liang to take a look at my mother, and my mother's eyesight improved a lot. Doctor Liang is truly a miracle doctor!" Cui Da said with a face full of gratitude.
Fourth Master smiled. With someone like Cui Da, he didn't need to put on a stern face; he could simply treat him with his most natural expression and mood. Cui Da's mother had a white film on her eyeballs, which, in modern medicine, would be called a cataract. However, in the Qing Dynasty, traditional Chinese medicine couldn't diagnose such a condition. They even believed it was a punishment from Buddha for the patient's misdeeds. Doctor Liang used Western techniques to perform a simple surgery on Cui Da's mother, using anesthesia. After several days of being wrapped in white gauze, Cui Da's mother's vision naturally returned.
"Do you think the child in Consort Lan's belly is a prince or a princess?" the Fourth Prince suddenly asked. Actually, he hoped Lan Qin would give him a prince. It wasn't that he only liked princes, but Lan Qin had already given birth to two princesses, and he also wanted her to have a prince so he could give her a higher status and glory. After all, in the Qing Dynasty royal family, only by giving birth to a prince did a woman seem to have value. Those who gave birth to princesses, or those who didn't produce any offspring for the royal family, all ultimately didn't have a good ending. If the principal wife didn't have a son, unless she was magnanimous enough to accept a son from a concubine, she might be able to maintain her position. Some principal wives couldn't accept sons from concubines, and when their husbands passed away and the sons inherited the family business, their good days were almost over. As a concubine, her status was already awkward; if she didn't give birth to a son, her presence in the inner quarters would only become increasingly invisible, because there would always be young and beautiful newcomers stealing the man's favor. For example, Lady Song, formerly Lady Li.
“I think the concubine is definitely pregnant with a prince,” Cui Er interjected.
"Why?" Fourth Master asked.
“My sister said so. In the past, in our village, if a pregnant woman had a big, pointed belly, it meant she was having a boy. My sister said, look at the concubine's belly, it's big and pointed.” Cui Er said.
The Fourth Prince laughed and said, "Actually, whatever child she gives birth to is still my child. It's just that if my concubine doesn't have a son, I'm afraid she'll suffer in the future."
Cui Da didn't understand what the Fourth Prince was saying, so he asked, "With the master here, what grievances could the concubine possibly suffer?"
The Fourth Prince couldn't answer Cui Da's question. The ambition he harbored was one he couldn't share with anyone. If he were to ascend the throne one day, his son could very well be the future crown prince. And if Qin'er could give him a son, wouldn't that child be the future heir apparent?
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