Shiba reminisced with Kangxi about the joys of staying at the Fourth Prince's villa, naturally also mentioning Lanqin's toys and the radishes grown in the Fourth Prince's fields.
As expected, Emperor Kangxi invited the Fourth Prince to stay for a meal, and even specially served radishes grown in the Fourth Prince's villa.
So, in the Qianqing Palace, the Fourth Prince and Emperor Kangxi sat facing each other, with more than twenty dishes already laid out on the table. Liang Jiugong served him, serving him the dishes.
"Fourth Prince, try the radishes you grew yourself. Stewed with the old duck until they're tender, they're quite delicious," Kangxi said to the Fourth Prince after taking a couple of bites of radish. Actually, the radishes the Fourth Prince originally planted were long gone, and it was unknown how many times this batch of radishes had been harvested since then. But once you say that you personally planted the seeds in that field, people will always believe that you really have been personally cultivating that land all along.
"Yes, Father Emperor likes it. I will personally deliver it to Father Emperor in the future," the Fourth Prince said sincerely.
Liang Jiugong watched the conversation between the most distinguished father and son in the world, and it reminded him of the conversation between Old Man Wang next door in the countryside and his eldest son.
Following the palace's dining etiquette, the Fourth Prince took three bites of each dish and then stopped eating. It is said that the matriarch established this rule to prevent poisoning of the Aisin Gioro descendants. Therefore, before meals, dishes were tested with a silver needle. Even so, no more than three bites of each dish were allowed, lest some poisons go undetected by the needle. Thus, by taking only three bites, even if poisoning occurred, it wouldn't be severe. Such meticulous care was truly commendable.
"Fourth Prince, the fact that Yin Jie was able to recuperate with Consort Wang and her son this time is largely thanks to the idea of your concubine. Yin Jie also quite likes her. I want to reward her, but it's not appropriate to do it directly. So I will reward you, and you can then bestow the gift upon her," Kangxi said.
Upon hearing this, the Fourth Prince was slightly surprised: People say that the youngest child is the most precious, and it seems even Emperor Kangxi was no exception. His eighteenth son was his youngest son, and he truly loved him like the apple of his eye. In order to allow the eighteenth prince to avoid the rules of the palace, he went to great lengths to arrange for them to live outside. Now, if it were still Yin Jie, Emperor Kangxi would invite the Fourth Prince to stay for dinner and even reward him with a zither.
"It is my duty to share the burdens of my father, and I need no reward. My concubine is the same," the Fourth Prince said respectfully.
"You've done a good deed, Fourth Prince, you don't need to be modest. In the first half of the year, the silver you recovered for me in the Jiangzhe region solved a great problem for the court. I didn't properly reward you and the Thirteenth Prince that time due to certain reasons, so I'll make up for it this time," Kangxi said.
The Fourth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince traveled to several major southern provinces, resolving the decades-long problem of officials borrowing government funds—a truly remarkable achievement. However, strangely, upon their return to Beijing, Emperor Kangxi did not specifically reward them for their work. Even though the Eighth Prince was appointed head of the Imperial Household Department, the Fourth Prince remained in his post at the Ministry of Revenue, and this was never mentioned on any special occasion.
The Fourth Prince silently accepted the situation, but the Thirteenth Prince was indignant and repeatedly mentioned it on various occasions, which was then relayed to Emperor Kangxi by some with ulterior motives. The Fourth Prince repeatedly reprimanded the Thirteenth Prince, but the latter paid no heed. During the Mid-Autumn Festival, Emperor Kangxi specially bestowed Hami melons from Xinjiang upon the imperial harem, princes, and a few trusted ministers. Naturally, the Prince of Zhi and the Crown Prince received the most, each receiving 150 jin, while the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince each received 100 jin. The other princes received similar amounts, except for the Thirteenth Prince, who received only 10 jin, or two small Hami melons. Although these princes certainly didn't lack these things, this incident revealed Emperor Kangxi's disapproval of the Thirteenth Prince. After learning of this, the Fourth Prince secretly sent 50 jin to the Thirteenth Prince.
"The thirteenth prince and I worked together and put in a lot of effort. Please forgive his careless words, Father Emperor." After thinking for a moment, the fourth prince still forced himself to say these words.
The smile on Kangxi's face, which had been quite warm, gradually faded.
"Your subject has failed to displease Father Emperor, please punish me." The Fourth Prince rose from his seat, walked to Emperor Kangxi, patted his sleeves, and knelt down on one knee.
"Thirteenth Prince is a bit too impetuous. I've been giving him a little more time to smooth things over. I have my reasons. You don't need to plead for him." Kangxi gestured for Liang Jiugong to help him wash his hands, which meant he no longer wanted to use him.
Liang Jiugong secretly felt sorry for the Fourth Prince. Why did he have to bring up the Thirteenth Prince when they were just having a nice meal?
"Your subject begs for forgiveness, Father Emperor, and is willing to serve you by rinsing your mouth," said the Fourth Prince.
Kangxi wiped his hands with a hot handkerchief and gave a soft "hmm".
The Fourth Prince quickly took a cup of tea from a nearby eunuch and brought it to Kangxi's mouth. After Kangxi gulped a few times, the Fourth Prince personally took a copper spittoon and placed it under Kangxi's mouth.
"Withdraw them all," Kangxi said, waving his hand.
Alas, our Fourth Prince hasn't eaten his fill at all. Even when dining with the Emperor, no one gets enough to eat.
After Liang Jiugong and the eunuchs had taken the food off the table, Kangxi said to the Fourth Prince, "I've heard that the Crown Prince has recently been favoring male servants. Have you heard of this?"
The Fourth Prince stared at the bluestone floor in front of his boots and quickly made an excuse: "Your subject has not heard of this matter. The Crown Prince has always been diligent and was personally taught by Father Emperor. How could he do such a thing? Someone must be trying to spread such rumors. Their intentions deserve to be punished."
Kangxi pondered for a long time without speaking, until Liang Jiugong returned, and he saw the father and son remaining silent.
"Fourth Prince, you may kneel and take your leave," Kangxi said upon seeing Liang Jiugong return.
"Your subject takes his leave. May Your Majesty rest early." The Fourth Prince bowed and took his leave.
"Old man, my fourth son is quite spirited," Kangxi said to Liang Jiugong after a long silence.
"Your Majesty is wise. This old servant has already dispatched people to investigate where this rumor originated. I believe we will have results soon," Liang Jiugong said. Not long ago, a rumor suddenly spread in the palace that the Crown Prince was favoring male servants. Upon hearing this, Kangxi did not immediately summon the Crown Prince to question him, but instead ordered Liang Jiugong to investigate where the rumor came from.
"Hmph, none of them want to give me peace. Go, tomorrow you go to my treasury and see what I want to give him. Do you understand?" Kangxi said to Liang Jiugong.
"This servant understands," Liang Jiugong said with a smile.
He had served Emperor Kangxi for almost fifty years. When Kangxi ascended the throne at the age of eight, he was chosen from a group of young eunuchs. Initially, he was just a lowly eunuch serving Kangxi in his study, sorting books. Gaining Kangxi's favor was a matter of chance, and unexpectedly, he had remained there for over forty years. Both of them had grown from slender young boys into elderly men over fifty.
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