Chapter 109: The Lazy Experience of Old Ten Riding a Horse
Yin'e, who was exposed for cheating by the Ninth Prince, was not embarrassed. He wrinkled his nose, smugly snorted, and showed off to the Ninth Prince with a bright smile: "Ninth Brother, you can only envy me. I call this being well prepared!"
Knowing that there was a riding and archery lesson in the afternoon, Yin'e had naturally planned ahead on how to handle the class. This bag of pine nut candy was one of his preparations, intended to quickly build a good relationship with the foals assigned to him and get to know them.
The Ninth Prince pursed his lips, didn't bother to say anything to Yin'e, and immediately snatched the pine nut candy.
He didn't prepare in advance, but that's okay, as long as Yin'e prepared, it's the same as him preparing.
The two wrestled and played together for a while. After the outer nanny coughed lightly to remind them not to forget the key points of the riding and archery lesson, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince finally calmed down and stopped playing together.
After patting Hongzao and Baixue on the head, Yin'e moved closer to the Ninth Prince, examining the two ponies assigned to him while chuckling and asking, "Ninth Brother, what names did you give your ponies? Tell me so I can see them!"
Suddenly, Yin'e's gaze, which was fixed on the foal under the Ninth Prince's name, froze on the spot.
Similar to the red dates and white snow given to Yin'e, the two foals assigned to the Ninth Prince were also one chestnut red and one white.
However, the chestnut foal's coat wasn't bright; its color was somewhat duller than a jujube, closer to brown than chestnut. The white foal wasn't entirely white either; although it wasn't very obvious, there were indeed some scattered patches of other colors on its body.
Putting aside the other attributes of these four ponies, just looking at their quality, which is obvious at a glance, the two foals assigned to the Ninth Prince are inferior to Yin'e's Red Date and White Snow.
Upon realizing this, Yin'e did not feel any sense of pride.
On the contrary, he felt as if he had fallen into an ice cave, and a chill burst forth from the bottom of his heart, instantly sweeping through his entire body, freezing his blood, breath, and heartbeat, and also causing his will and emotions to drop to the coldest point.
Yin'e quickly understood what was going on and why he and the Ninth Prince entered school on the same day, but they received different treatment.
The reason is simple and ridiculous: because he was the son of the Imperial Concubine, while the Ninth Prince was the son of the Fourth Concubine, they were ranked differently based on their birth, so their treatment after entering school was also different.
Yin'e had no doubt that this was a case of palace servants from the Imperial Study and the Imperial Household Department deliberately assigning a less desirable foal to the Ninth Prince.
Consort Yi was one of the four consorts, and was the most favored and beloved consort of the emperor. She herself came from a bondservant family. What could have possibly driven the powerful bondservant families of the Imperial Household Department to humiliate Consort Yi and the Ninth Prince in such a way?
Even if the powerful bondservants in the Imperial Household Department were not united, and those families whose women had entered the palace as concubines harbored resentment towards Consort Yi for occupying the Emperor's favor for too long, they would not have been so blatant as to make things so obvious and embarrassing.
The current situation can only prove one thing: the Imperial Household Department did this either at the behest of Emperor Kangxi, or they were confident that they would not be reprimanded by him. In either case, it shows that the Imperial Household Department's differential treatment of the princes was in line with Emperor Kangxi's wishes.
Dividing his sons into different ranks based on their birth was something that Emperor Kangxi was capable of doing and had always done.
However, Yin'e was not complacent about being classified as being at a higher level or being slightly better than the Ninth Prince.
If he is happy about this, or even feels proud, it means that he agrees with or even upholds Kangxi's idea, and it also means that after living in the Qing Palace for six years, he has been further assimilated by the environment.
Yin'e did not want things to turn out so badly. Today he could be happy that he was of a higher status than the sons of the four concubines, but tomorrow he would have to accept that he was born inferior to the Crown Prince and the eldest son, and acknowledge the "truth" that "people are not born equal and birth determines everything".
Kangxi was a father but also an emperor. The title "Emperor Father" comes before "father".
No matter how much Emperor Kangxi loved his sons or how much he genuinely wanted them to succeed, he valued lineage and had already divided his princes into different classes. No matter how much the princes acted up, in Kangxi's eyes they could not break free from the shackles of their social status.
Even disregarding the issue of succession, Kangxi's attitude towards his sons alone was enough to chill their hearts. Once they saw Kangxi's favoritism, they would harbor resentment towards their father and lose all filial affection.
Fortunately, Yin'e never invested too much emotion in Kangxi from the beginning, nor did he truly regard Kangxi as his father.
This once again proves Kangxi's ruthlessness, confirming that he had distinguished between princes of different ranks and social classes from the very beginning. Yin'e did not feel sad or heartbroken. He simply resented this situation, feeling both disgusted and deeply sorrowful.
The most relaxing thing is to lie flat like a salted fish.
From the very beginning, Yin'e chose the most suitable path for himself. He knew that he could neither change nor resist anything, so he chose to accept the status quo, live a muddled life, and pass the days one by one.
Some things are best left unthought of. The more you think about them, the deeper you delve, the more you'll find yourself already mired in a quagmire, unable to climb out, yet unable to sink any deeper either. You can only accept your future sinking little by little in silent despair.
"I've decided on their names! One will be called Red Chestnut, and the other will be called Floating Cloud!"
The Ninth Prince's clear and bright voice brought Yin'e back to his senses. He subconsciously smiled and responded to the Ninth Prince's words: "Is Hongli the Hongli in 'Hongli Mao'? Ninth Brother, the name you came up with is terrible!"
The name Fuyun needs no introduction; it was originally the name of a famous steed. Volume 2 of the "Miscellaneous Records of the Western Capital" records: "When Emperor Wen returned from Dai, he had nine fine horses, all of which were the finest horses in the land, one of which was named Fuyun."
The name "Red Chestnut" has a historical basis. Horses with light or dark red coats are commonly known as "Red Horses" or "Red Hares," and "Red Chestnut" is the scientific name for this type of horse.
The red horse under the Ninth Prince's name had a lighter coat color, which could be described as light red, but it was far from chestnut red. The Ninth Prince named it "Red Chestnut," which was quite fitting. Although it didn't have any lofty meaning, it was indeed quite appropriate.
But... Red Chestnut, Red Chestnut, why does this name sound so familiar?
Blinking his eyes, Yin'e's clear almond-shaped eyes suddenly widened: "Red chestnut, isn't that a homonym for Hongli?"
Ah, this...
Although it was a bit presumptuous, Yin'e couldn't help but burst out laughing.
This laugh dispelled all the chaotic thoughts in Yin'e's mind, making him forget for a moment what he had been troubled about and why he had felt sad.
"What? Is the name I chose that bad? Is it worse than your 'Red Date' and 'White Snow'?" The Ninth Prince glared at Yin'e with displeasure, puffing out his cheeks, his delicate and pretty face showing a hint of resentment.
Shaking his head, Yin'e stopped laughing and said seriously, "Ninth Brother, I'm not laughing at the name you gave me, I just thought of something else—well, some funny things."
Glancing at Yin'e suspiciously, the Ninth Prince pouted and asked incredulously, "What's so funny? Tell me about it."
Blinking, Yin'e hesitated for a moment, unsure how to tell the Ninth Prince about the pun.
The main problem is that the Fourth Prince's future son, Hongli, has not yet been born, and Emperor Kangxi has not given this future grandson a name. Even if the joke about Hongli being a homophone of Hongli were to be told, the Ninth Prince would not understand what's so funny about it.
Moreover, Emperor Kangxi doesn't even have a grandson yet. His eldest son, who is already married, only has a legitimate daughter, and although the Crown Prince has servants around him, he has yet to have a grandson.
So far, the generation name "Hong" has never appeared in any formal occasion. Even though the Ninth Prince was incredibly intelligent, he couldn't immediately connect "Hong" with "Hong" and guess that the name he gave his horse would overlap with the name of the imperial grandson in the future.
However, it is not considered taboo for the Ninth Prince to name his foal Hongli, since Hongli has not yet been born, and no one would expect that a future imperial grandson would be named Hongli.
Yin'e could only pray silently, hoping that by the time the real Hongli was given a name, the Ninth Prince's foal, Hongli, would have already retired and faded from the Ninth Prince's sight.
Otherwise, given the incompatible nature of the Ninth Prince and the Fourth Prince, and the Ninth Prince's critical and sarcastic personality, he certainly wouldn't have missed this opportunity to mock the Fourth Prince.
There is one thing Yin'e has to admit: the Ninth Prince can be really annoying when he's being difficult.
Unable to discuss matters concerning Hongli, Yin'e could only gloss over the topic. However, before he could think of a way to change the subject and smooth things over, giving them ample time to get to know his little colt, Wai Anda came over.
Yin'e was somewhat relieved that they were on the training ground, having a riding and archery lesson, and that their instructor, an old man, had come to his rescue. Otherwise, if the Ninth Prince had pressed him for details, Yin'e wouldn't have known how to smooth things over.
After getting to know the foals assigned to them, what followed was still a theory lesson that gave Yin'e and the Ninth Prince a lot of headaches, including but not limited to distinguishing the quality and age of horses, as well as riding posture and techniques.
Of course, there was also a "trial lesson" that Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were particularly looking forward to. Although they were being led by their maids, it was still the first time for Yin'e and the Ninth Prince to ride horses. They were both excited and happy, wishing that time would fly by and that it would be time for them to ride horses on their own.
When Wai Anda took Yin'e and the Ninth Prince on horseback, they used large horses. Yin'e was held and sat on the horse's back, and his field of vision was suddenly greatly elevated, as if he could take in the entire wide training ground.
To help Yin'e adapt, Wai'anda urged his horse to go from pacing to trotting and then to galloping, carrying Yin'e at breakneck speed across the training ground.
The horse ran faster and faster, and Yin'e's heart pounded.
But he didn't feel fearful. The slightly cool autumn wind blew past his ears, and he felt a sense of freedom and ease. It was as if all the troubles that had been weighing on his heart were shaken off as he galloped away on horseback, and he felt incredibly happy.
-----------------------
Author's Note: Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants with nutrient solution between 23:33:34 on April 19, 2023 and 22:03:24 on April 24, 2023!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Chiyu Moli Shang (3 bottles); ·w·, Daxingong, and Pear (1 bottle each);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
