Chapter 152 Jade Ornaments Sweet Taste
After the Lantern Festival, the weather in the capital gradually warmed up. Although there were still times when it was warm but cold, wearing a mink-lined jacket under a python robe was enough to keep warm. The heavy winter coats and dull cloaks could finally be taken off.
Yin'e straightened his braid, put on the vermilion jade hair ornament, then bent down to adjust his belt, hanging up the brocade pouch containing the prince's seal, the jade pendant with a bat pattern carved in green jade, and the two purses containing milk cake and dried meat respectively. Only then did he put on his black velvet court boots and stand up.
After taking the warm, damp cloth from Xiao Linzi and washing his face, Yin'e ordered food with practiced ease while washing up. He resolutely refused to eat the meals sent from the Imperial Kitchen. His breakfast and lunch were prepared by the small kitchens of the Third Palace of the Western Regions and sent to the Imperial Study, so he could order his favorite dishes every day.
Of course, Yin'e did not keep the food to himself.
From the moment he entered the Imperial Study, as long as there were no holidays, he had to study there. The Ninth Prince always ate breakfast and lunch with Yin'e. Sometimes, the food delivered by the Imperial Kitchen was too poor, so the Fifth Prince and the Seventh Prince would also eat a couple of dishes.
After rinsing his mouth with salt, Yin'e spat the diluted salt water into a porcelain basin, straightened up, and took a clean handkerchief to wipe his mouth.
Because of Yin'e's bending over, his already long braid fell in front of him. The vermilion jade hair ornament tied to the end of the braid appeared even more crystal clear, warm and elegant against the backdrop of the ochre-red python robe. It was clear at a glance that it was made of high-quality red jade.
Actually, the vermilion jade ornament hanging on Yin'e's braid was not a hair ornament, but a red jade thumb ring.
This red jade thumb ring was originally an imperial item. It was actually taken from Emperor Kangxi's hand by Yin'e when they first met. It was a personal item that Emperor Kangxi had worn for many years, making it extremely precious and rare.
Last year, when Yin'e moved from Yongshou Palace to the Prince's Residence, this red jade thumb ring was also packed into his luggage and brought with him.
Not long ago, Yin'e found this red jade thumb ring in a box. He really liked it—otherwise he wouldn't have "fallen in love at first sight" and insisted on taking it from Kangxi. But his hands were too small to wear it, so he used it as a hair ornament and hung it at the end of his braid.
Although it looks a bit strange at first glance, it's quite beautiful once you get used to it. The clear, vermilion jade matches perfectly with the ochre-red python robe that Yin'e usually wears.
Led by Xiao Linzi and a burly eunuch carrying the book box, Yin'e and his entourage passed through the intricate corridors and gates. After waiting for a short while, they met the Ninth Prince, who was yawning and still somewhat sleepy.
After the two brothers met, they went together to the Imperial Study.
As the year drew to a close, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince grew a year older—although they themselves did not feel that much had changed about them after the New Year, Emperor Kangxi and the tutors in the Imperial Study regarded them as having grown a year older and raised their expectations for them much higher than the previous year.
Yin'e's days in the Imperial Study this year were not as easy as last year. Especially in the past few months, Emperor Kangxi had been staying in the Forbidden City and would come to the Imperial Study almost every day to test the princes' studies, making Yin'e, the academic underachiever, even more miserable.
Like Yin'e, the Ninth Prince lived in misery every day in the Imperial Study, suffering great "torture" both physically and mentally. No sooner had he appeared than with dark circles under his eyes resembling those of a panda, yawning incessantly, looking so tired that he seemed ready to collapse and fall asleep at any moment.
"Did Ninth Prince stay up late last night?" Yin'e asked with concern as he reached out to support the Ninth Prince, who was walking as if he were floating.
After yawning widely and with a few tears welling up in his eyes, the Ninth Prince mumbled sleepily, "The deadline for submitting the punishment copy is approaching. I'm almost there, so I stayed up for an extra half hour yesterday to copy it."
The Imperial Study's curriculum is already at a 37/7 schedule, leaving the princes with very little time to rest each day.
Even if it's just half an hour less of rest at night, the impact on the next day is huge. Not to mention that the Ninth Prince copied the Four Books and Five Classics before going to bed yesterday. His mind was filled with classical Chinese texts, making him dizzy and lightheaded. He also didn't get enough sleep last night, so he was naturally extremely tired when he woke up in the early morning.
"How much is left to copy?" Yin'e frowned. "Even if there's still a lot left, don't stay up all night studying. Just copy it secretly during morning reading. Anyway, the inner attendant only comes to the study hall occasionally during morning reading and won't be watching us all the time."
The Ninth Prince's narrowed phoenix eyes widened slightly, and he turned to look at Yin'e, nodding in agreement: "Tenth Brother, you're right. Next time, I won't copy at night; I'll secretly copy during morning reading. There are two hours for morning reading; if I use both, I can copy quite a lot."
With a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, Yin E's forehead creased with black lines, and his almond-shaped eyes nearly turned into dead fish eyes: "So you're still far from perfect, huh? Didn't I remind you long ago that you have to copy at least one page after school every day?"
The Ninth Prince turned his head away, guiltily avoiding Yin'e's gaze. After a long while, he stammered and whispered, "As soon as I got back to the Prince's residence, all I wanted to do was lie down and rest. I didn't want to go to the study at all."
His study at the Fourth Academy in the west had been idle for a long time. The book box he brought back from the Imperial Study was exactly the same as when he went to school the next day; it had never been opened. The books in the box were simply moved around; he hadn't even looked at them after school.
Looking at the Ninth Prince, who clearly disliked studying, Yin'e sighed: "Well then, after school you'll come back to the Third Prince's quarters with me, and we'll finish our homework together before you go back to the Fourth Prince's quarters. With me supervising you, you won't just want to lie down as soon as you get back to the Prince's quarters."
Although Yin'e also adopted a "laissez-faire" attitude and aspired to be a "couch potato," he still hoped to achieve at least a passing grade, not completely give up on learning. He simply didn't want to be like those arrogant, lazy guys, not intend to become an idle and good-for-nothing playboy.
“…Alright.” The Ninth Prince hesitated for a moment, then nodded with a mixture of joy and resistance. He pouted, his face showing an expression as if he had a toothache, his feelings quite complicated.
The Ninth Prince was certainly willing to be with Yin'e, but not to play together, but to study together, so he wasn't so happy.
Glancing at the Ninth Prince, who had wilted like a little cabbage, Yin'e emphasized slightly, "I will keep a close eye on you." It wasn't that Yin'e was boasting, but compared to the Ninth Prince, who was completely childlike, his self-control was indeed better.
The morning reading time was from Yin Shi (3-5 AM) to Chen Shi (7-9 AM), a total of two hours. Whether it was breakfast delivered from the Imperial Kitchen or the small kitchens in the three western districts, it would not arrive until Chen Shi.
Before that, the princes, who had to get up in the dark at three in the morning, had to study on an empty stomach, reciting the scriptures and articles of the Protestant Church from the previous day a full 120 times until they knew them by heart and had a deep understanding of their meaning.
During morning reading, the well-behaved princes would obediently recite their lessons, but the less disciplined princes, who couldn't bear hunger, would resort to tricks. One was to keep their mouths open without making a sound to reduce energy consumption, and the other was to secretly fill their stomachs with the snacks they carried with them.
The two pouches that Yin'e carried on his waist when he got up in the morning were specially prepared for his early reading. At this time, the inner angel had finished his rounds in the library and left. It was time for these two pouches to come in handy – one pouch of dried meat and one pouch of milk cake were enough to soothe the hungry Yin'e.
Quietly opening his purse under the desk, Yin'e lowered his head and, with lightning speed, took out a piece of dried meat and stuffed it into his mouth. The whole process was as fast as lightning, taking very little time. If you weren't paying attention and were a bit far away, you wouldn't have noticed Yin'e's little action at all.
However, no matter how discreetly Yin'e made his little tricks, he couldn't hide them from the Ninth Prince who was right next to him. The Ninth Prince stood the book up and whispered to Yin'e from behind, "Tenth Brother, give me one too."
While maintaining his serious reading posture, Yin'e secretly handed two purses under the desk to the Ninth Prince: "There's dried meat and milk cake."
Yin'e wasn't particularly fond of sweets, so when making desserts in the three small kitchens, this was taken into account. The dried meat was savory beef jerky sprinkled with sesame seeds, baked until soft and fragrant; the milk cake was made primarily with fresh milk, with only a little sugar added, resulting in a rich milky flavor and a mild sweetness that wasn't overly sweet.
The Ninth Prince has a sweet tooth and prefers sweet to salty. Between the savory beef jerky and the milky cream, he chose the cream without hesitation.
The Fifth Prince, who was sitting in front of the two brothers, was not paying attention to anything. When he heard the noise behind him, he leaned back quietly and whispered in a low voice like a thief, "I'm hungry too. Give me some too."
With a mouthful of milk cake, the Ninth Prince looked at Yin'e questioningly. After Yin'e nodded, he took out a clean handkerchief. He originally intended to wrap some beef jerky that he didn't like, but thinking that Yin'e preferred salty food, he didn't wrap too much beef jerky and put half of the milk cake in instead.
Raising his hand, the Ninth Prince poked the back of the Fifth Prince sitting in front of him. He then handed over a folded handkerchief. The Ninth Prince's stealthy and cautious movements, like exchanging stolen goods, turned the scholarly study into a crime scene.
The Fifth Prince grew up under the care of the Empress Dowager, who was a true Mongolian who loved beef jerky and milk cake. In terms of taste, the Fifth Prince completely followed the Empress Dowager's example; he would beam with joy as soon as he opened the wrapped handkerchief: both were his favorite foods.
Because Yin'e and his two brothers were at the same pace in their studies, they sat together in the study hall, which made it convenient for them to sneak food together. However, the three of them did not intend to eat alone; rather, the other princes did not dare to sneak food during morning reading. They had self-control and could restrain their inappropriate cravings.
Just before the deadline set by Emperor Kangxi arrived, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince finally managed to hand in their punishment copies. With the help of the Seventh Prince, the Fifth Prince also raced against time to finish copying all the punishments, preventing Kangxi's punishment from snowballing.
Having escaped the hellish punishment of copying texts, Yin'e was finally able to find time to do other things after school each day, in addition to completing his studies in the Imperial Study: for example, recording the process of washing wool with pure alkali that he had experimented with, and recording the methods of making cement, glass, plastic and other materials that he still remembers.
Yin'e's secret booklet had only just begun when Kangxi, still confined to the Forbidden City, couldn't bear the loneliness any longer. On the day of the Awakening of Insects, when spring thunder roared, he took all his sons to the Imperial Garden for a team-building activity, wanting to welcome the spring with them.
—Yin'e had a million complaints about this, saying that the Beginning of Spring had long passed! Why did Kangxi always act on a whim?!
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