Chapter 62: May's Tenth Year's Lazy Transition...
May has always been the month that people dislike and hate the most among the twelve months. There has always been a saying that May is an evil month, a poisonous month, and a plague month.
Summer is already hot and humid with frequent rain and floods. In May, five kinds of poisonous insects—snakes, scorpions, centipedes, geckos, and toads—become active and spread rampantly, which makes May even more prone to disease outbreaks and poisonous fumes.
May has arrived, and summer is here. The weather is getting hotter and hotter.
The sun, like a fireball, hung in the sky, scattering blinding light and intense heat, baking the earth until it was scorching hot, and even the air and the summer breeze were sweltering.
In this awful weather, nobody wants to go out; everyone wants to stay indoors in a cool, well-ventilated place without the sun.
As the weather grew hotter, Yin'e became less inclined to go out. Every day, he would accompany the Imperial Concubine to the Imperial Garden for walks and exercise, always taking advantage of the coolest time of day, before the sun had fully risen and was spreading its light and heat.
It must have been tough for the Ninth Prince, who still went to Yongshou Palace every day in such sweltering heat, "clocking in" on time every single day without missing a single one.
But the Ninth Prince actually had nowhere to go.
Consort Yi, who was nearly nine months pregnant, showed signs of giving birth at the end of April. However, no one expected that despite several instances of fetal movement and signs of labor, the baby was still not born by May.
In Yikun Palace, Consort Yi became increasingly nervous and irritable, causing the maids and servants serving her to tremble with fear, both for fear of something happening to Consort Yi and for fear of being punished for accidentally offending her.
Today is May 5th, the Dragon Boat Festival, and also the most poisonous day in the "poisonous month," the first of the nine poisonous days. The so-called poisonous days of May are the nine days that fall on the 5th, 6th, or 7th of May. These nine days are called the Nine Poisonous Days and are the most taboo days in May.
On the Dragon Boat Festival, people would hang mugwort in every palace and hall and bathe in orchid-scented water. Younger princes and princesses would also tie five-colored ropes to ward off evil and pray for blessings.
Like Yin'e and the Ninth Prince, their skin was as white and tender as lotus roots, and they wore bracelets and anklets woven with colorful ropes on their wrists and ankles, all of which were personally woven by the Imperial Concubine.
Consort Yi was about to give birth and truly didn't have time to personally weave the five-colored rope for the Ninth Prince. Even the five-colored rope sent to the Fifth Prince from Yikun Palace this year was woven by the palace maids at Consort Yi's behest, not made by her own hands.
The Ninth Prince naturally chose the same colorful rope as Yin'e, which was the same type of colorful rope that the palace maids around Consort Yi had woven herself and that Consort Gui had given him.
The Ninth Prince and Yin'e were so close they could share the same pair of pants, even though they had no shortage of pants...
Consort Yi was in a particularly bad mood and extremely nervous on the Dragon Boat Festival.
Consort Yi was very anxious because her unborn child had not been born by May.
However, as May arrived, Consort Yi was no longer in a hurry as she had been in April, hoping for the child to be born soon. In May, a month considered unlucky, Consort Yi actually hoped that the fetus in her womb could rest for another month, preferably until June.
The reason for this is that after Kangxi ascended the throne, the Manchu and Han peoples became more integrated, and the Manchus were increasingly influenced by the Han people. As a result, Han customs gradually spread among the Manchus.
May is considered an unlucky month, and children born in May are often taboo. In some regions, there is even an ancient tradition that children born in May should not be raised to adulthood, as they are believed to be drowned by their parents shortly after birth.
May 5th is the Dragon Boat Festival, and also the first of the nine poisonous days. Consort Yi was very nervous and anxious when she woke up this morning. She was trembling with fear every fetal movement, afraid that the baby in her womb would not stay still and would be born today.
Consort Yi truly did not want her unborn child to be born on the first day of the fifth lunar month, a day considered extremely unlucky. Even though the palace forbade the spread of the idea that the fifth month was a poisonous month, she herself was still afraid and worried about it.
"Tenth Brother, I'm a little scared," the Ninth Prince whispered as he leaned closer, his small, childlike voice trembling with fear and worry.
The Ninth Prince had colorful ropes tied around his wrists. At this moment, he clung to Yin'e with both hands, insisting on staying close to him in the well-ventilated, shady room where ice was placed to cool him down, without feeling annoyed.
“Mother is very nervous every day, and the nannies are also very worried. Mother is angry every day, always getting angry, and always has a stern face. She doesn’t smile anymore.” The Ninth Prince whispered the signs that worried and frightened him in Yikun Palace, his low, childish voice on the verge of sobbing.
Sniffling, the Ninth Prince held back his tears, but his whimpering voice betrayed him: "Will Mother be alright? I'm so scared..."
“I overheard the nanny saying that Mother is carrying a little brother. I don’t want Mother to give birth to a little brother for me. I just want Mother to be well. I don’t want anything to happen to Mother.”
As the Ninth Prince spoke, he became so frightened and worried that he almost cried.
It is a child's instinct to depend on his mother. Even though the Ninth Prince had a conflict with Consort Yi and felt that his mother was biased and didn't like him as much as the Fifth Prince, he still hoped that Consort Yi would be alright and safe.
"Ninth Brother, don't worry!" Yin'e raised her white, lotus-root-like arm and wrapped it around the Ninth Prince, gently patting his thin back with her small hand, and comforted him with a very firm tone, "Mother Consort Yi will be alright."
Yin'e remembered that Consort Yi was in very good health and lived a long life. She not only outlived Emperor Kangxi and lived into the reign of Emperor Yongzheng, but even outlived Emperor Yongzheng and lived into the reign of Emperor Qianlong.
Consort Yi lived for a long time after Emperor Kangxi's death, so the possibility of her dying in childbirth now is not high. As long as history does not change significantly, Yin'e believes that Consort Yi's safety is currently guaranteed.
However, compared to Consort Yi, the child Consort Yi is currently carrying, the Ninth Prince's younger brother, the Eleventh Prince, is not as healthy as Consort Yi.
The eleventh prince was born weak. Yin'e remembered that he did not live long. He seemed to have teeth, but he died before reaching adulthood.
However, compared to the Sixth Prince, the Eleventh Prince was truly an unknown figure who went unnoticed.
For example, Yin'e suddenly realized that he didn't remember how old the eleventh prince was when he died—at least he remembered that the sixth prince died at the age of six, although he couldn't say exactly which year it was, or whether six years old was the actual age or the nominal age.
Speaking of the Sixth Prince, he will turn five this February, or six if we count by the traditional Chinese age reckoning. But the Sixth Prince is still alive and well, without any unexpected accidents, serious illnesses, or smallpox.
Yin'e was unaware that the Sixth Prince's time to die had not yet come, or that the Sixth Prince had already quietly escaped death without his knowledge.
There was also the new smallpox inoculation method. Yin'e had told the Consort about the new method about half a year ago. He had not asked the Consort how she handled the inoculation method, nor had he paid attention to the follow-up. At this time, he was also completely unaware of the progress of the new method's spread.
But Yin'e only had time to think about these things for a minute before he quickly put the Sixth Prince and the new smallpox vaccination method out of his mind.
He was just a nobody, and he had already done everything he could. He didn't want to care how things would unfold next, nor could he. He'd just lie back and let fate decide—let's see if the Sixth Prince could overcome this life-threatening ordeal.
Compared to the Sixth Prince, Yin'e was naturally more concerned about the Ninth Prince. At this moment, he patted the Ninth Prince's shoulder and comforted him in a childish voice, "Ninth Brother, the greatest help you can give to Consort Yi is not to cause her any trouble."
"Ninth Brother, don't worry too much. With the imperial physicians and nannies watching over Consort Yi, she will definitely be fine. Ninth Brother, you can rest assured that Consort Yi and the little brother in her belly will be safe and sound."
With Yin'e's comfort, the Ninth Prince was less worried, and his low spirits lifted. His droopy little face finally brightened, and although he didn't smile, he no longer looked anxious and on the verge of tears.
Yin E exhaled a breath of hot air, but instead of feeling the coolness that comes with calming his mind, he felt even hotter.
So he wiped the sweat from his forehead and said to the Ninth Prince, "It's so hot, Ninth Prince, let's go eat watermelon."
After lowering his arms from around the Ninth Prince's back, Yin'e moved a little to the side, distancing himself from the Ninth Prince, no longer wanting to be close to him.
Having known the Ninth Prince for so long, and spending every day together, Yin'e had developed deep feelings for him. He was willing to make many concessions for the Ninth Prince, and cared for, liked, and loved him.
But... Yin'e really doesn't want to be stuck to the Ninth Prince in the middle of summer! o(╯□╰)o
Even with ice in the room, the indoor temperature isn't very high and it's quite cool, but it's still quite hot inside!
Children are naturally hot and prone to sweating, and being close together only makes them hotter. Ninth Prince has no awareness that he is a little furnace at all—of course, the eldest brother doesn't mind the second brother. Yin'e is also a little furnace now, and even the Imperial Concubine doesn't like to hold him in the summer.
If we're all like little furnaces, we shouldn't huddle together and generate too much heat. It's better to keep separate; being further apart will reduce the heat, and we can also draw some life-sustaining coolness from the ice that melts quickly indoors.
The Ninth Prince did not move with Yin'e and leaned back again.
Because he was also quite hot, after calming down from his worried state, the omnipresent scorching heat of May enveloped the Ninth Prince, making him wisely give up continuing to be intimate with Yin'e.
The little boy, wearing a colorful rope, raised his hand and wiped the sweat from his forehead with the back of his hand. The Ninth Prince nodded and replied in a crisp voice, "Okay, let's eat watermelon!"
Watermelons were introduced to China from the Western Regions more than a thousand years ago, in the fourth or fifth century. The "west" in watermelon refers to the Western Regions. Watermelons have been cultivated and propagated in China for over a thousand years, and many varieties have been developed.
The watermelons sent to the palace were of the best cultivated varieties, with thin skin, abundant flesh, bright red flesh, few seeds, and plentiful, sweet juice. They were delicious and tender in the hot summer, perfect for quenching thirst and relieving heat.
Unfortunately, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were too young and had delicate stomachs. The Imperial Concubine never allowed them to eat too much watermelon in the summer, and she also forbade them to eat fruits that had been rinsed with well water and were chilled, for fear that they would get sick from eating them.
Although we couldn't eat fruits chilled in well water, ice bowls made with watermelon, lychee, plum, bayberry, apricot, grape, and other fruits drizzled with honey were still delicious—though the ice bowls that Yin'e and the Ninth Prince ate couldn't have ice added, which was a little bit of a disappointment.
As for the tomatoes that Yin'e had been longing for last month, they were finally vindicated after the imperial physician intervened. It was proven that the fruit is non-toxic and edible once it is fully ripe and turns red. Moreover, it tastes sweet and sour and can be used as both a vegetable and a fruit.
Unfortunately, all the tomatoes from that lone tomato tree in the Imperial Garden have been harvested, so if Yin'e wants to eat scrambled eggs with tomatoes, he'll have to wait until next year.
As for other ways to prepare tomatoes, such as cold tomato salad, those will have to wait until Yin'e is a few years older.
I really want to cry QAQ
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Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 17:53:29 on March 13, 2023 and 11:49:16 on March 14, 2023!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: I still have to resign today -Shallow Smile 1 bottle;
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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