As the Crown Prince read on, he felt increasingly uneasy, and his mind raced. Was Kangxi warning him to be respectful and loving towards his brothers?
After reading another passage, Kangxi called for a halt. Liang Jiugong then instructed the palace servants to bring out the food.
Emperor Kangxi and the Crown Prince washed their hands with the help of palace servants before beginning their meal. As dishes were laid out, the Crown Prince felt a slight pang of emotion: these were all his favorite dishes; it turned out his father still remembered them.
"Baocheng, I remember you love this stir-fried eel with bell peppers and this braised lamb liver. I specially ordered them to prepare them today, so please eat them while they're hot." Kangxi, unusually, acted like a loving father, not letting the palace servants serve him, but personally serving him food, and even serving food to the Crown Prince.
The Crown Prince stared blankly as the dishes in his bowl piled up, all of them placed on his plate by Emperor Kangxi. For a moment, tears welled up in his eyes, perhaps because he hadn't felt the warmth of fatherly affection from Emperor Kangxi in such a long time.
The Crown Prince quickly picked up his chopsticks and began to eat, thanking the Emperor as he ate, saying, "Thank you, Father Emperor. You're eating too, Father Emperor. I remember that Father Emperor likes to eat fish and also likes to eat beef." After saying this, the Crown Prince picked up a large piece of beef tenderloin for Emperor Kangxi.
Looking at the imperial father and son, Liang Jiugong was somewhat moved. Kangxi was both a strict and loving father to the Crown Prince. Unfortunately, the Crown Prince seemed oblivious, developing an arrogant and self-centered personality, and his relationship with Kangxi had grown increasingly distant over the years.
After the atmosphere improved for a while, Kangxi began to chat with the Crown Prince, reminiscing about his childhood, the Prince Zhi's childhood, and his third, fourth, and fifth sons. Perhaps as people age, they tend to reminisce about their children's childhood days, how they were always around them. Kangxi was only human, and although he still had young children, how could he possibly have the same profound feelings for his first few children?
The Crown Prince was somewhat puzzled as to why Kangxi was bringing up the past with him, but he still agreed on the surface and even acted coquettishly in front of Kangxi.
The dinner lasted a long time, and in the end, the Crown Prince wanted to stay and serve Emperor Kangxi, continuing to read to him. However, Emperor Kangxi refused, saying he needed to see the Eighteenth Prince, and had someone help the Crown Prince back.
After the Crown Prince left, Kangxi sighed and said, "In the end, we can't go back. We can't go back."
Liang Jiugong ordered the cups and dishes to be cleared away and then personally served Kangxi a cup of digestive tea.
"Your Majesty," Liang Jiugong said, "the Crown Prince is no longer a child. He is now in his early thirties, and it's understandable that Your Majesty has some concerns. In my humble opinion, the Crown Prince is very filial to Your Majesty. After all, Your Majesty personally raised him." In truth, to those outside of Kangxi's eyes, the Crown Prince wasn't so unremarkable. He had been quite intelligent since childhood; otherwise, Kangxi wouldn't have kept him as Crown Prince for so long. If he had shown a lack of intelligence earlier, Kangxi might have replaced him long ago. It's just that Kangxi himself was so outstanding that, in comparison, the Crown Prince seemed less remarkable.
Kangxi took the tea and sipped it a few times, saying, "But he shows absolutely no concern for his younger brother, which chills my heart. Just now, while studying, he even mispronounced several words. Furthermore, he takes credit for his brother's achievements and is jealous of others' talents. Can such a person be worthy of the Qing Dynasty?"
It turns out that when Kangxi heard such rumors, he immediately assumed that the Crown Prince was jealous of the Fourth Prince being left behind to oversee the country, and had deliberately spread them. Otherwise, who would dare to spread such rumors? Many people envied the Fourth Prince for his position, but perhaps only the Crown Prince dared to complain.
Well, the Eighth Prince inexplicably gave the Crown Prince a push. His original intention was to make Kangxi suspicious of the Fourth Prince, but he ended up helping the Fourth Prince instead. If he knew that Kangxi was thinking this way, I wonder if he would be furious!
Liang Jiugong could no longer persuade him, so he said, "Your Majesty is in the prime of life and still has time to teach the Crown Prince. Your Majesty, why don't I accompany you for a walk? The moon outside is quite beautiful."
Upon hearing these words, Kangxi felt a pang of sadness in his heart. Only he knew that his body was rapidly aging.
"Go and summon the master healer!" Kangxi sighed, saying nothing more.
Seeing that Kangxi's expression was not good, Liang Jiugong dared not delay and immediately turned to summon the doctor recommended to Kangxi by the Fourth Prince. This man was truly eccentric; he dared to defy the Emperor, yet the Emperor did not kill him and let him be.
A moment later, the "master healer" entered Kangxi's imperial tent with his medicine chest.
"Your Majesty, may I take your pulse?" The physician bowed silently and walked to Kangxi's side to take his pulse.
"Tell me the truth. Can my eyesight be restored, or will it get worse?" Kangxi grabbed the imperial physician's arm and asked sternly.
"As I said before, if Your Majesty uses your eyes in the way I do, and then I administer silver acupuncture, you can maintain this vision for ten years. If Your Majesty continues to be busy with state affairs and overuse your eyes, the situation will only worsen until one day you can't see at all," the physician said.
"You're so blunt, aren't you afraid I'll kill you?" Kangxi stared at the physician. He had considered this possibility before, because this physician knew his deepest secret: his eyesight was deteriorating, and he might go blind one day. As emperor, he presented himself as fearless to everyone, but there was one person he couldn't hide from: his physician.
"I am afraid, but I am now the Emperor's imperial physician, no longer the humble country doctor I once was. I will do everything in my power to cure Your Majesty's eye ailment," the physician said. To say he wasn't afraid would be a lie. Back then, he had distanced himself from the world, living a secluded life in the countryside, treating ordinary people and prescribing medicine, living a relatively free and easy life, albeit in poverty. Now, he was the Emperor's personal physician, showered with countless rewards and possessing a large mansion and beautiful concubines, yet he lived in constant fear—for serving a ruler is like serving a tiger.
Kangxi nodded and said, "If you want to live, you must keep your mouth shut and not mention my eye ailment to anyone. Otherwise, I will have no choice but to kill you."
The skilled acupuncturist then began to administer acupuncture to Emperor Kangxi, while Liang Jiugong remained outside the tent, preventing anyone from approaching.
As for the Crown Prince, after returning from Kangxi's place, he became uneasy. He talked with Eunuch Bao for a long time before going to rest.
Five days later, Kangxi summoned the Crown Prince back to court, allowing him to return to oversee the country.
However, the Eighth Prince was quite frustrated to see that Emperor Kangxi had not issued any decree to the Fourth Prince. Fortunately, good news finally came from Jelier's side, saying that he had secretly contacted those noble tribes who no longer wanted to fight against the Qing court, and were preparing to unite against Galdan.
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