Chapter 146 The Snowman's Remembrance
Seeing that Yin'e and the others were about to go out, the Fourteenth Prince, who was holding the orange that the Eighth Prince had just peeled for him, rolled his eyes. His handsome face showed a hint of eagerness, and he tugged at the Eighth Prince's sleeve, shouting, "I want to go too! I want to go too! Eighth Brother, let's go out and play too!"
The Fourth Prince frowned slightly, looking somewhat displeased. He couldn't be more disgusted with the Fourteenth Prince, who was behaving like a spoiled child.
Frowning, the Fourth Prince wanted to reprimand the Fourteenth Prince, but thinking of the Fourteenth Prince's stubborn temper—which could only be appeased and not challenged—he knew that talking to him would be pointless. So he simply shut his mouth to save his energy and not waste his time.
Although the Fourth Prince now knows that Consort De is his biological mother, he does not have the same deep brotherly affection for his younger brother, the Fourteenth Prince.
The Fourteenth Prince wouldn't listen to him, so the Fourth Prince simply ignored him and lowered his head to ask the clever and lovable Thirteenth Prince, "Thirteenth Brother, are you thirsty or hungry? Would you like some milk or something to eat?"
Seeing how gently and patiently the Fourth Prince treated the Thirteenth Prince, the Fourteenth Prince wrinkled his little nose and snorted, letting out a snort of disdain: He'd give him the cold shoulder, but he'd be so nice to the Thirteenth Prince. Humph, who cares!
Turning his head away to face the Fourth Prince, the Fourteenth Prince forgot about the Fourth Prince, who was close to the Thirteenth Prince, and continued to pester the Eighth Prince: "Please, Eighth Brother, I want to go out and play too."
The Eighth Prince frowned slightly, his gentle and refined face filled with difficulty.
The Fourteenth Prince was only two years old, the youngest among his brothers, and at an age when he needed to be carefully cared for. He dared not take the Fourteenth Prince out to play in the snow rashly—if something happened, the Eighth Prince could not bear the responsibility.
He pursed his lips, hesitated, and looked at the Fourth Prince with a pleading look in his eyes.
The Fourth Prince and the Eighth Prince had always had a good relationship, and the Fourth Prince would not turn a blind eye to the Eighth Prince's request for help. Moreover, the Fourteenth Prince was, after all, the Fourth Prince's younger brother, and only the Fourth Prince could take responsibility for the Fourteenth Prince's safety.
With a dark expression, the Fourth Prince glared at the Fourteenth Prince, whose clamor was growing increasingly shrill and piercing. Finally, he couldn't help but reprimand him, taking the blame for the Fourteenth Prince's growing dislike of him: "What nonsense are you talking about? Can't you learn from the Thirteenth Prince and behave like him?"
The Fourteenth Prince was so angry that his eyes widened. He turned his head and glared at the Fourth Prince hatefully before turning back to bury his head in the Eighth Prince's arms, ignoring the Fourth Prince, his brother who was always scolding and beating him.
As Yin'e and the others left, half the people in the side room disappeared in an instant.
The crown prince didn't find anything wrong with it; on the contrary, he appreciated the peace and quiet. He didn't want to associate with the other princes anyway, much less discuss brotherly affection with them.
The Crown Prince glanced at the First Prince, a slight regret lingering in his heart—he would be happier if the First Prince had also gone out and they weren't in the same room. Ever since the First Prince started his official duties, the Crown Prince had been utterly annoyed by him and didn't want to see him at all.
The eldest prince did not receive the rejection signal from the crown prince, and even if he had, he wouldn't have cared.
The Crown Prince dislikes him, but doesn't he dislike the Crown Prince? What's so great about the Crown Prince? Did he get appointed Crown Prince because of his own merit? No, he relied on Empress Heseri, on his status as the eldest son of the Empress, and on the opportune moment when the Khan needed to win over Han Chinese officials!
The eldest prince believed that he was no less talented or capable than the second prince, Yinreng. Why should he be inferior to the crown prince just because of his birth? He was not convinced and he was unwilling to accept it!
The Crown Prince is the legitimate son, but he is also the eldest son. Why can't he compete? The Crown Prince's advantage is merely that he was established as the Crown Prince early on, but a temporary advantage means nothing. It's still early; the time to determine the winner is far off!
Sensing the silent tension that was spreading in the air, the Third Prince sighed with a melancholy expression. It was bad enough that he couldn't find a kindred spirit, but why was he forced to witness the discord between the Crown Prince and the First Prince? He couldn't afford to offend either of them!
Although it's a rare sunny day in winter, the howling north wind still chills people to the bone, making them shiver. As the icy, snowy wind sweeps by, it easily carries away the warm rays of the sun.
Wearing a windproof canopy, Yin'e passed through the moon gate into the small garden behind the main hall of Ning Shou Palace. He took a deep breath, inhaling the cool air, which was imbued with the scent of ice and snow.
The refreshing yet chilling coolness sent a shiver down his spine, and his mind, which had been somewhat drowsy from being indoors for so long, suddenly cleared up.
Ning Shou Palace was the residence of the Empress Dowager. The palace servants took great care in maintaining the palace, sweeping the passageways in the courtyards clean and making the patterns made of pebbles and stones on the stone slabs clearly visible.
Circular flower beds are scattered in a staggered manner on the open space on both sides of the passageway. Because the flowers and plants planted in the flower beds had all withered when winter came, these flower beds, which are temporarily useless, are left unattended and covered by heavy snow.
At first glance, the snow on both sides of the stone path is flat and clean. Because it has not been trampled or swept, the snow remains intact and gives people a neat and clean feeling.
The Ninth Prince didn't care whether the snow on both sides of the road was flat and completely undisturbed. Wearing a thick, bell-shaped cloak, he jumped from the stone road into the snow. His feet, clad in tall leather boots, sank halfway into the snow, leaving two large footprints.
If it weren't so cold, the Ninth Prince would have even wanted to lie down on the snow, roll around in it a couple of times, and have a close encounter with the snowflakes from head to toe.
He bent down, grabbed a handful of snow, and squeezed the icy snowflakes into a ball with both hands. Then, he straightened up, turned to Yin'e, and threw the snowball at him. His little face was slightly red from the cold, and he shouted excitedly, "Take this!"
Winters in the capital are cold, and it snows every year. For the Ninth Prince, snow was nothing special, just a common occurrence. But that doesn't mean he wasn't excited to play in the snow. He often saw snow, but he had never actually frolicked in it.
Previously, Consort Yi wouldn't allow it, and after he entered the Imperial Study, it goes without saying that he wouldn't allow it—the Imperial Study's daily schedule is so tight, if the Ninth Prince still has the energy to mess around after school, then we really have to give him a thumbs up and praise him for his strong physique.
The Ninth Prince's hands were only so big, so the snowball he made couldn't be very big either. In addition, he didn't use much force when he threw it, and the snowball shattered into a flurry of snowflakes as soon as it hit the cloak that Yin'e was wearing, with almost zero lethality.
Reaching out to brush the snow off his hat, Yin'e raised an eyebrow and began to roll up his sleeves: "Ninth Brother, you started this, so I won't be polite!"
Yin'e bent down, grabbed a handful of snowflakes, and made a snowball. He looked up and met the gaze of the Ninth Prince, who had also just made a snowball. Then, almost simultaneously, they both turned around and, with one mind, threw their snowballs at the Fifth Prince.
Two snowballs landed one after the other on the Fifth Prince, who had been watching with his hands tucked in his pockets and a cheerful smile. They shattered into fine snowflakes that covered the Fifth Prince.
The innocent Fifth Prince who was hit: ?
Seeing the bewildered Fifth Prince, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince burst into laughter. The two huddled together and gave each other a high five, their faces beaming with the smug satisfaction of a successful prank.
"You, you guys..." The unlucky Fifth Prince stared wide-eyed at Yin'e and the Ninth Prince, and after a long while, he finally reacted, "You attacked without warning, you're cheating!"
Yin'e and the Ninth Prince turned around at the same time, crossed their arms and faced the Fifth Prince, raised their chins slightly, and struck a noble and aloof pose, their faces clearly saying "What can you do to me?"
Their silly antics were so infuriating that even the kind-hearted Fifth Prince couldn't stand it anymore. He started to fight back, using both hands to vigorously make snowballs and engaging in a snowball fight with Yin'e and the Ninth Prince, one against two.
The Seventh Prince, who had difficulty walking and had no interest in playing in the snow, took the initiative to pull the Eleventh and Twelfth Princes, who couldn't stand the cold, to stand aside and watch.
Watching the chaotic scene of Yin'e and the other two brothers having a snowball fight, the Seventh Prince silently pulled his two younger brothers back two steps, not wanting to join in at all: Yin'e and the Ninth Prince only cooperated fully when fighting against the Fifth Prince. Otherwise, the two of them would fight each other, throwing snowballs back and forth in a lively manner.
After a while of snowballs flying around, Yin'e and the other two finally calmed down, rubbed their frostbitten hands, and started building a snowman.
Thanks to Kangxi's comprehensive education, Yin'e and the others possessed some artistic talent. While they didn't reach the level of artists, they had basic aesthetic sense and practical skills. Under Kangxi's vigorous encouragement, they were unlikely to grow into lazy and useless playboys.
The snowman that Yin'e and the other two built using the Fifth Prince as a template was quite realistic. Apart from being a bit short and small, it looked very much like a real person. Its body proportions were exactly the same as the Fifth Prince's, which was equivalent to a proportional reduction. Even the Fifth Prince's slightly chubby figure was perfectly replicated.
When it came to building the snowman, the eleventh and twelfth princes, who had previously been afraid of being accidentally hurt and had only been able to watch from a distance, finally felt a sense of participation—they couldn't make snowballs with their hands, but they could pile decorations on the snowman.
For example, the eleventh prince contributed a red plum blossom that he had been holding, and stuck it into the snowman's hand, making the snowman pose as if it were holding a plum blossom.
The Fifth Prince was inspired by this and ran back to his residence in the Ning Shou Palace. He brought out a set of ceremonial robes that he could no longer wear and had long been stored away, and draped them over the snowman. Finally, he solemnly put on the auspicious crown that was also a size too small for him to wear.
Looking at the snowman that was dressed in clothes and wearing a hat and looked just like the Fifth Prince, the Seventh Prince silently looked away: It's alright during the day, but when it gets dark, this snowman standing here will be quite frightening. If you see it suddenly, you might mistake it for a real person.
After hesitating for a while, the Seventh Prince still didn't say anything to remind him. He kept his mouth shut and pretended that he hadn't thought of this at all: It's okay. They built a snowman here in public, and the palace servants of Ning Shou Palace saw it. They were prepared and wouldn't be easily frightened.
Because the grand banquet at noon was too formalistic, no one ate well. So, just as dusk fell and the hour of You (5-7 PM) had passed, the family reunion banquet at Ning Shou Palace began, and the whole family in the Forbidden City gathered together for a lively reunion meal.
After the family reunion banquet, the princes who had already started their own families naturally returned to their respective homes to rest. However, the princes and princesses who had not yet reached adulthood had the special privilege of returning with their birth mothers for one night – a privilege that was only granted to them once a year.
When everyone left Ning Shou Palace after the banquet, except for the eldest prince who returned to Gan Dong Tou Suo and the crown prince who returned to Yu Qing Palace, everyone else went to the six palaces in the east and west. The underage princes and princesses went back with their respective mothers/foster mothers, and Kangxi also went with them, without returning to Gan Qing Palace.
But Emperor Kangxi will not be taking concubines tonight; he is going to Kunning Palace to remember Empress Renxiao, his first wife.
For more than a decade after the death of Empress Heseri, Emperor Kangxi would stay alone in the Kunning Palace until dawn every year on this night, even during the years when Empress Xiaoyi was still alive and held the same position as the secondary empress.
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