Chapter 18 The Empress Dowager, the Tenth Prince's Lazy Grandmother
As early as Yin'e's first birthday celebration, Emperor Kangxi saw that the soon-to-be one-year-old Yin'e was walking steadily and had already begun to speak. He then told the Consort to teach Yin'e to call her "Ukuma Ma" (great-grandmother) and "Huangma Ma".
Once Yin'e had learned these two titles, the Imperial Concubine was instructed to take Yin'e to the Cining Palace to pay his respects and let the Empress Dowager meet her clever and obedient great-grandson.
Emperor Kangxi did this out of filial piety; the elderly love having their younger generations around them. The Empress Dowager was getting old and was at the age where she should be enjoying the company of her grandchildren, and she needed the younger generation to keep her company and dispel the loneliness of her old age.
The Empress Dowager's most valued and beloved great-grandson was, of course, Crown Prince Yinreng. However, as the Crown Prince grew older and his studies became more demanding, he did not have much time to spend with the Empress Dowager. Therefore, Emperor Kangxi often sent the young princes who had not yet gone to the Imperial Study to pay their respects at Cining Palace.
Cining Palace is next to the Western Three Palaces and not far from the Western Six Palaces. Consort Niohuru led Yin'e out of Yongshou Palace and walked south along the palace road between the Western Three Palaces and Yangxin Hall for a distance. They then saw Cining Palace, located directly south of the Western Three Palaces.
Carried by his nanny, Yin'e walked along the narrow passageway leading to Cining Palace. His dark eyes darted around cleverly, eagerly anticipating his upcoming meeting with Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang—it was rare for Xiaozhuang to still be alive, and he couldn't miss the opportunity to meet a historical figure.
When Consort Gui brought Yin'e to Cining Palace to pay their respects, palace servants had already informed the Empress Dowager. As soon as Consort Gui and Yin'e arrived at the entrance of Cining Palace, they were directly welcomed into the palace by a palace maid, without having to wait outside for a summons from the Empress Dowager or the Empress Dowager.
Empress Xiaozhao entered the palace very early. She served the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager with utmost filial piety and sincerity for several years.
When Empress Xiaozhao passed away in the seventeenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the Empress Dowager even went to the Qianqing Gate, wanting to enter the Kunning Palace to personally mourn her passing. Kangxi persuaded her several times before she gave up the idea.
Two years after Empress Xiaozhao's death, in order to balance the power of the three families in the harem—the Hesheli, Niohuru, and Tong families—the Consort Gui, as Empress Xiaozhao's younger sister, was brought into the palace as a consort.
Because of the Empress Dowager's affection for her, the Imperial Concubine always enjoyed great prestige in front of her.
At the entrance of the main hall of Cining Palace, the Consort had the nanny put Yin'e down. She then took Yin'e's hand and led him into the hall. There, she heard an old but strong voice say gently, "Come here quickly, let me see Xiao Shi."
Looking up, Yin'e curiously gazed in the direction of the sound and saw a sprightly old woman with a serene and open-minded demeanor looking at him with loving eyes. The old woman's eyes were not cloudy; they were still bright and spirited, reflecting wisdom and the calm and serenity that came with the passage of time.
Knowing that she was Empress Xiaozhuangwen, Yin'e, having satisfied his curiosity, looked up at her with a sweet smile and skillfully struck a cute pose.
"Little Ten is well-fed; he looks very robust." After looking the fair and chubby Yin'e up and down a few times, Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang smiled and nodded in satisfaction.
Empress Xiaozhuang was a Mongol. Although she had lived in the capital for decades, she still retained Mongol habits, beliefs, and aesthetics. She believed that a chubby, fair-skinned child was healthy and would grow up to be a brave and skilled warrior.
Led by the Imperial Concubine, Yin'e stood before Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang. He showed no stage fright, a bright, innocent smile spreading across his face as he called out clearly and in a childlike voice, "Ukuma-ma~"
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang responded happily, her brows relaxing even more: "Little Ten is so clever. Your father said you are lively and cheerful, both clever and well-behaved, and he was absolutely right."
This tiny little person, arriving in an unfamiliar place and meeting unfamiliar people, is not afraid at all. Not only does he greet people generously, but he also laughs happily and brightly.
The children's smiles were so bright and lively that even the long-standing coldness and loneliness of the Cining Palace seemed to be dispelled.
Empress Xiaozhuang spoke fluent Manchu, but the Empress Dowager's Manchu was only at a halting level. So she didn't speak, but just sat next to Empress Xiaozhuang and looked at Yin'e with a smile, her eyes full of affection.
The Empress Dowager was the grandniece of Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and the second empress of Emperor Shunzhi. She was of average appearance, but possessed a kind and gentle demeanor, making her seem as approachable as a kind grandmother next door.
After the Imperial Concubine introduced the Empress Dowager's identity to him, Yin'e also gave the Empress Dowager a big smile and called out in a clear voice, "Grandma Empress Dowager."
The Empress Dowager smiled and glanced at the Empress Dowager, saying in Manchu, "Let's bring Xiao Wu here and let the two brothers meet."
With the order of seniority established, the way the emperor addressed his sons in the palace was now officially settled. Instead of referring to them as the emperor's nth son or the little prince of a certain palace, as was done before.
For example, before the re-ordering of the birth order, outsiders would refer to Yin'e as Prince Yongshou Palace.
Although the Empress Dowager didn't speak Manchu fluently, she had been in the palace for so many years and could still understand it. She had no objection to the Grand Empress Dowager's suggestion, nodded with a smile, and gestured to the head palace maid beside her to go to the side hall and bring over the Fifth Prince, Yinqi.
Empress Dowager Shunzhi was not favored by him. After marrying into the capital from Mongolia and becoming Empress, she remained out of favor and wasted her entire youth in the palace. However, after Shunzhi's death, she became Empress Dowager and lived a much happier life than before.
The Empress Dowager lived comfortably in the Cining Palace with Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, and Emperor Kangxi respected and honored her as his legal mother. She was very content with her peaceful and harmonious life. In recent years, in particular, she had raised Yinqi, a lovely child who brought her much more joy.
Soon, the Fifth Prince, Yinqi, was brought to the main hall by the Empress Dowager's head maid, along with Sumalagu, who had finished her Buddhist prayers for the day.
"Ukuma Mama, Huangma Mama (Mongolian)." Yinqi glanced curiously at the little Yin'e, then looked away and obediently bowed to Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and the Empress Dowager.
However, Yin'e couldn't understand what Yinqi was saying at all; it was a different language, not the Manchu that he had barely mastered after a year of effort.
At the Imperial Concubine's prompting, Yin'e first addressed Sumalagu as "Aunt"②, to which she replied, "I dare not." Then he turned his gaze to the Fifth Prince Yinqi, tilted his head and smiled at him in a friendly manner, saying in a childish voice, "Hello, Fifth Brother, I am Yin'e."
Yinqi's round face showed obvious confusion. He stood there, looking at Yin'e with a bewildered and puzzled expression, without making any reaction.
For a moment, the two toddlers stared at each other, frozen in place, as if they were stuck.
A note from the author:
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①Ku Lin: When the emperor or empress dies, people gather at a set time to cry and mourn.
②The twelfth prince, Yin Tao, called Su Ma La Gu "aunt," so Yin E addresses Su Ma La Gu in this way.
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