"Not tired, not tired!" Kangxi seemed not to understand Lanqin's words, and smiled like a patriarch.
Lanqin looked at her son with heartache, as if he had been sent into the mouth of a big bad wolf!
"Your Majesty, why don't we let the wet nurse take him down to get used to it?" Consort De hurriedly suggested.
After she said that, Kangxi nodded and gestured for Liang Jiugong to call the wet nurse prepared for Hongli to take Hongli away.
Lanqin watched helplessly as Hongli was carried away, feeling as if her heart had been ripped out.
Consort De saw this and understood Lanqin's feelings, so she said, "Your Majesty, let's go and see. The child will definitely cry when he is suddenly separated from familiar people!"
Lanqin looked at Consort De with gratitude.
Emperor Kangxi knew that his actions of "seizing" someone else's child through trickery and force were going too far. Therefore, he naturally granted Consort De's request immediately.
After Lanqin went to Hongli's "new home" with Consort De and the wet nurse, only Kangxi, the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince remained!
"Father Emperor adores this child so much, making his other grandsons envious!" Since his restoration, the Crown Prince has frequently come to serve Emperor Kangxi. When he was deposed, everyone wanted to stay as far away from him as possible. Now, with Kangxi's unexpected reinstatement, he believes himself to be the Crown Prince, irreplaceable, and has become even more arrogant than before!
"My only child is clearly intelligent. It's been so long since I've had a child by my side. Fourth Prince, are you willing to part with him?" Kangxi ignored the bitterness in the Crown Prince's words and asked the Fourth Prince.
"Your Majesty, I am a little reluctant! But as long as I think of the good fortune that Hongli has, I am willing to part with him! Niohuru is, after all, a woman, and it is inevitable that she will have some things she cannot understand. Please forgive her, Father!" The Fourth Prince raised his hands and clasped his fists.
Kangxi nodded, then spoke with the Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince about the matter of allocating grain and pacifying the people, before ordering them to kneel and pay their respects.
Lanqin and Consort De had already left the Qianqing Palace and returned to the Yonghe Palace.
"You and the Fourth Prince can stay for lunch before going back!" Consort De said, seeing Lanqin's listless appearance. "You just saw it yourself; the Emperor has completely renovated and rearranged the side hall where Hongli is staying. That shows how much he values that child! And look at the people he's sent to take care of Hongli—they're all bondservant servants of the Bordered Yellow Banner, all the Emperor's confidants. You don't need to worry about anyone trying to harm your child!"
"Yes, I have seen how much Father Emperor values Hongli. I'm just a little overwhelmed by it right now, please give me some time to process it!"
Seeing Lanqin's forced smile, Consort De didn't press her further and said, "Go and rest in my private quarters. I'll call you when the Fourth Prince arrives!"
Meanwhile, the Crown Prince walked out of the Qianqing Palace with his hands behind his back. The humble expression he had just worn in front of Emperor Kangxi vanished the moment he left the Qianqing Palace.
Upon returning to Minqing Palace, the Crown Prince went straight to his wife, Lady Shi's, residence. Since being deposed, the Crown Prince had been confined to his palace, reflecting deeply and witnessing the harsh realities of human nature. The ministers who had once fawned over him, and the concubines who had flaunted their charms before him, all changed their expressions upon seeing his fall from grace!
The Crown Prince finally realized that only by valuing his Crown Princess, Lady Shi, could he secure support. While the Shi family's power might not be absolute, it wasn't without foundation. Moreover, the Shi family had produced two ministers. They also had several members in the army.
"Why is the Crown Prince back so early today? Didn't you have dinner with Father Emperor?" Ever since the Crown Princess Shi regained the Crown Prince's favor, she seems to have come back to life!
"With Prince Yong and his precious son around, what business do I have?" the Crown Prince said unhappily.
Shi waved to the palace maids standing in the room, signaling them all to leave, before personally pouring a cup of tea for the Crown Prince!
"Your Highness, why does Father Emperor value a mere infant so much? We must find out!" Shi Shi said.
"Yes, I don't understand either. Isn't Father Emperor's Twentieth son only a year and a half old? Why does he dote on a little baby who doesn't understand anything?" The Crown Prince picked up his teacup and took a sip of tea!
“Liang Jiugong is completely unyielding. If I wanted to know Father Emperor’s thoughts, would I need you to do this?” the Crown Prince said.
“Your Highness, my younger sister is now the Fifteenth Prince’s Consort. Her mother-in-law is Consort Wang, the Emperor’s most favored concubine in recent years. If we let her inquire about it, perhaps she can explain why the Emperor values a mere infant so much!” said Madam Shi.
"Is what the Crown Princess said true?" the Crown Prince asked with delight. He never realized that Shi was so intelligent before!
“Your Highness need not worry, I will go and explain to my sister in detail,” said Madam Shi.
"Is the Wang family willing to help us?" the Crown Prince asked.
"Wang has never been promoted, and now Consort Shu is more favored by the Emperor. I can tell she's been resentful for a long time. No wonder, she's still a Consort despite having three sons. Although she didn't keep her position at eighteen, she has the most sons! Now that she's old and her beauty has faded, the Emperor's favor has waned, so she'll definitely find a good backer for her sons! Where can she find a better backer than His Highness the Crown Prince! As long as the Crown Prince promises her two sons a bright future, she'll do everything in her power!" said Shi.
The Crown Prince thought this made a lot of sense and nodded, saying, "Alright, go and tell your sister to tell her mother that after she is fifteen or sixteen, I will definitely not mistreat her."
After Lady Shi took her leave, the Crown Prince returned to his chambers and drank alone in despair. Although Kangxi had restored his rank, he felt that Kangxi was utterly disappointed in him and had no intention of ever allowing him to ascend the throne. Meanwhile, Prince Yong, though not made Crown Prince, doted on his newborn son and even bestowed upon him the vast Yuanmingyuan Garden. The Crown Prince had tried several times to ask Kangxi for the Yuanmingyuan Garden before, but to no avail; now it belonged to Prince Yong.
"Fourth Prince, Fourth Prince, it seems I have always underestimated you!" The Crown Prince downed the wine in his cup in one gulp.
"Your Highness, please take care of your health. Drinking like this is not good for you," said A Bao, the personal eunuch beside him, in a high-pitched voice.
"Heh, these days, only you care about my health. Everyone else wants to get something out of me," the Crown Prince said.
“The Crown Princess still cares about His Highness the Crown Prince,” A Bao said.
"Shi Shi is more concerned about the Shi family and her future. I know what she's thinking. But this woman is indeed useful. I neglected her and ignored her before," the Crown Prince said.
"Your Highness, Consort Li just brought over some soup," A Bao said.
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