Chapter 23: The Tenth Brother's Lazy Playmate on His Birthday...
After finishing the lychee-flavored fruit syrup that Lvyi had specially prepared for him, Ninth Prince Yintang naturally asked Yin'e, "Tenth Brother, what should we play next?"
Yin Tang didn't mention the Nine Linked Rings again; he swore he would never touch it again. It was too difficult. He had no idea how to solve it, not a single clue. If he continued, he would be driven mad and just smash it.
Yin'e had a bit of a headache. He really didn't want to play too tiring games with Yin Tang, but he also didn't want to bully the child anymore and keep giving Yin Tang difficult problems.
After tilting his head and thinking for a while, Yin'e finally came up with the simple and easy puzzle game of Three-Character Chess from his mind—it's just connecting the lines, much easier than solving the Nine Linked Rings. Yin'e shouldn't find it difficult, right? This isn't really bullying a child.
The so-called Three-Piece Chess is played on a nine-square chessboard. The first player to connect three pieces in a line, whether horizontal, vertical, or diagonal, wins.
Luyi drew the grid on the flower-patterned stationery, and then Yin'e asked her to find the bag of gold and silver coins used during the baby's first birthday celebration. Dividing the gold and silver coins into two piles, Yin'e let Yin Tang choose first. After Yin Tang chose the gold coins as chess pieces, he gathered the silver coins into his own hands.
The rules of the Three-Character Chess game were indeed very simple, and Yinzhen quickly got the hang of it. He played the game with great enthusiasm and even showed great brotherly demeanor by letting Yinzhen make the first move, as the older brother was giving way to his younger brother.
After playing a few rounds of Three-Character Chess, in the late afternoon, the Imperial Concubine, who had taken Lan Zhi to Chengqian Palace, returned.
She was somewhat surprised to see Yinzhen still lingering in Yongshou Palace and not yet taken back to Yikun Palace by Consort Yi, but she didn't say much.
She patted Yin'e's head, looking at his drooping eyes and slightly tired expression. The Consort's slender eyebrows furrowed slightly, and she cupped his small face in her hands, asking with concern, "Yin'e, are you sleepy? Didn't you take a nap?"
Pouting, Yin'e nodded aggrievedly: "I just didn't take a nap."
It's all because Yinzhen doesn't have the habit of taking a nap. Full of energy, Yinzhen wasn't sleepy at all after lunch. He dragged Yin'e around and started having fun in Yongshou Palace. If Yin'e hadn't tricked him into solving the Nine Linked Rings, who knows how much trouble he would have caused.
If Yin'e had known that Caishen Jiu would be so troublesome when he was a child, he would never have let him into Yongshou Palace.
The Imperial Concubine touched Yin'e's forehead without saying anything, but glanced at Yin Tang and felt that sometimes they couldn't be too lenient and needed to be restricted, otherwise they would really become too unruly.
Yinzhen returned with them at noon, not only having lunch at Yongshou Palace, but also lingering until sunset before reluctantly bidding farewell at the urging of his wet nurse.
After Yinzhen left, Yin'e, who had spent the afternoon playing with him, let out a long sigh and slumped back onto the soft couch, feeling utterly exhausted. He was so tired, both physically and mentally, that he didn't want to move at all. He just wanted to lie there like a salted fish, too lazy to even turn over.
Looking at the listless Yin'e, the Imperial Concubine couldn't help but smile. She poked his chubby cheek and asked with a smile, "Is playing with the Ninth Prince so tiring? But in Cining Palace, didn't you get along very well with the Fifth Prince?"
Lying on the soft couch, Yin'e, who was half asleep with his little hand covering his belly, opened his eyes and glanced at the Consort. He yawned lazily, too tired to say another word: "How can that be the same?"
Playing with the Fifth Prince was much more relaxing. They would just sit together, eat, play with toys, and occasionally exchange a few words.
But playing with the Ninth Prince was a different story. Yinzhen was a spirited and energetic child. He not only liked to play with Yin'e, but also had a great need for attention and response from others. He would call out to Yin'e from time to time and wouldn't stop until he got a response.
Sitting on the edge of the soft couch, the Imperial Concubine gently stroked Yin'e's head, smoothing his soft, black hair. Her voice was gentle and her tone loving: "Are you very sleepy? If you are really sleepy, go to sleep after you have your evening snack."
Yin'e yawned lazily, nodded slightly with his eyes closed, and was about to take a nap when he suddenly remembered something. He climbed up from the soft couch, lay on the Consort's lap, looked up at her and said, "Mother, I can't understand what Fifth Brother is saying. I want to learn."
"Mongolian?" The Imperial Concubine thought for a moment and quickly agreed. "Alright, starting tomorrow, I will teach you some simple Mongolian. It won't be difficult for you to understand what the Fifth Prince is saying."
Yin'e will have to learn Mongolian sooner or later. Not only Mongolian, but when Yin'e gets older and starts his formal education, he will also have to learn to speak Chinese and learn Chinese characters.
Yin'e: You might not believe it, but my Chinese is much better than my Manchu.
Emperor Kangxi had high expectations for his sons. The fact that princes entered the Imperial Study at the age of six did not mean that they began their formal education at the age of six.
Prince Yinreng and Fourth Prince Yinzhen grew up in the palace, unlike the First and Third Princes who were sent to the homes of ministers for foster care. They began their education at the age of two or three.
The Crown Prince and the Fourth Prince had a solid foundation, so after formally entering school, they skipped the literacy stage and went directly to learn the Four Books and Five Classics from their teachers.
Those like the Fifth Prince Yinqi, who were raised in a free-range manner by the Empress Dowager and could only speak Mongolian at the age of five, without any formal education, who could only speak but not write and did not recognize a single character, were truly an anomaly among the princes, a minority among the minority.
Of course, if Emperor Kangxi allowed it, and Consort Niohuru did not insist, then Yin'e would have been quite willing to be an outcast along with the Fifth Prince.
He also wanted to enjoy his childhood carefree, happily idly catching up with others until he was five years old without ever starting his formal education.
Thinking about learning Mongolian, Yin'e was no longer sleepy. After receiving the promise from the Imperial Concubine that she would start teaching him tomorrow, he rested his head on her lap and asked her what she had done that afternoon: "Mother, what did you go to Chengqian Palace for?"
With a gentle stroke of her hand, the Imperial Concubine smiled and replied, "It's nothing serious. The Imperial Noble Consort wants to hold a birthday banquet for the Fourth Prince."
"At the end of this month, on October 30th, the Fourth Prince will turn six years old. Although the Fourth Prince entered the Imperial Study a year earlier last year, the Imperial Noble Consort still plans to hold a birthday banquet for him to celebrate his entry into school."
Yin'e blinked: "Fourth Brother's birthday? Should I give him a gift?"
He had no intention of befriending the Fourth Prince, Yinzhen, the Prince of Juan. After all, the two were completely different people and couldn't possibly get along. But Yin'e also didn't want to offend the Fourth Prince and strain their relationship—just think of Aqina and Seshehei!
The Imperial Concubine smiled gently and tapped Yin'e's forehead lightly: "You can give it to me if you want."
But she doubted whether Yin'e would be willing to go to his own storeroom to find a gift for the Fourth Prince, whom he didn't know at all.
For the Fourth Prince's sixth birthday banquet, Yongshou Palace will naturally send a congratulatory gift, which will certainly include one for Yin'e. However, if Yin'e wants to send the Fourth Prince another gift in private, that is also permissible, as long as the gift is not too outrageous, the Consort will not interfere.
Yin'e tilted his head and thought for a moment, then decided against it. He didn't know the Fourth Prince yet, so there was no reason for him to send an extra gift.
He simply didn't want to fall out with the Fourth Prince, so there was no need for him to rush to curry favor with him.
A note from the author:
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Yin Tang: I choose gold.
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