Chapter 87: Old Man Ten's Lazy Idea...
“Ninth Brother, why don’t you move to the Fourth Residence?” Yin’e said, revealing his idea. “In two years, when Yin’e moves there, he will be right behind me in the Fifth Residence. That way, you will not only be next to me, but also next to Yin’e.”
Yin'e felt that this arrangement was appropriate, as it separated the Ninth Prince and the Eighth Prince, and also allowed the Ninth Prince to be neighbors with his younger brother Yinzhi in the West Third Palace, instead of one living in the Second Palace and the other in the Fourth Palace, which would be too far apart and inconvenient for them to visit each other on a daily basis.
As for the second prince's quarters, which are next to the first, they will be reserved for the princes who are younger than Yinzhi. If there are no surprises, it should be Yintao, the son of Consort Wanhali, who will become the future twelfth prince.
By making Yin Tao and the Eighth Prince neighbors, Yin E was not afraid that the gentle, refined, and always "gentlemanly" Eighth Prince would fool him into becoming the Eighth Prince's follower and joining the Eighth Prince's faction to participate in the struggle for the throne, because Yin Tao was entrusted by Kangxi to Su Ma La Gu for upbringing.
After the mourning period for the Empress Dowager ended last year, Su Ma La Gu, who had been her mistress and servant for decades and whose relationship with her was like that of sisters, fell seriously ill.
After Sumalagu recovered from her illness, Emperor Kangxi, who greatly respected and cherished the nanny who had educated him in his childhood, ordered that Prince Yintao, born to Consort Wanhaliu, be entrusted to Sumalagu for upbringing, hoping that having a child to bring her some comfort.
Su Ma La Gu accompanied the Empress Dowager for decades, and time and rich experience endowed her with wisdom and composure unmatched by ordinary people. Under Su Ma La Gu's tutelage, Yin Tao would never be easily deceived or won over.
"I'll stay in the fourth quarter?" The Ninth Prince was taken aback at first, then his face lit up with joy. His expression immediately changed from anger to delight. "Is that alright? Can I stay in the second quarter instead of following the order?"
If the Second and Third Residences are actually not close to each other, then the Ninth Prince would not want to live in the Second and Third Residences separately from Yin'e.
He didn't think that the fourth prince's residence was any different from the second. In fact, all the princes' residences had the same layout, all being three-courtyard complexes with the same design. The only difference was their location; those closer to the Qianqing Palace were more popular, but this was meaningless to the Ninth Prince.
“I think it’s possible.” Yin’e had already thought about this issue, and now he answered confidently, “We just need to ask Father Khan. It’s a small matter, and he won’t refuse.”
Although he and the Ninth Prince would leave the Second Prince vacant if they moved to the Third and Fourth Princes' residences, the Fifth Prince had been slow to move to the Princes' Residence, and the Fourth Prince's residence in the East Fifth Prince's Residence had been vacant for a long time. It would be perfectly fine to leave the Second Prince's Residence in the West Third Prince's Residence vacant for another two years.
Yin'e was a little curious. The five prince residences in the east and three prince residences in the west of the palace had a total of ten independent courtyards. Yin Tao had just filled them all. So where would Yin Xiang and Yin Zhen, who were in line after Yin Tao, move to after they turned six?
The eldest prince would stay in the palace until he was twenty-eight years old. Only after the eldest prince moved out of the palace would the third, fourth, fifth, seventh, and eighth princes, who already had titles, follow him out of the palace to build their own residences, leaving several courtyards for the princes to vacate.
Given Yinxiang and Yinzhen's ages, they definitely wouldn't have had time to wait for their older brothers to make room for them before entering the Imperial Study. So, where they lived after moving out of Yonghe Palace at the age of six was a real question.
They couldn't possibly move to Qixiang Palace and live with Kangxi's princesses...
Yin'e was momentarily lost in thought when the Ninth Prince, beaming with delight, grinned and said, "I'm going to find Father Khan and tell him I want to stay in the Fourth Palace."
The Ninth Prince has figured it out. He knows Consort Yi will agree to him staying in the Fourth Palace and Yinzhi in the Fifth Palace. If Emperor Kangxi doesn't agree to his request, Consort Yi can ask again, which will have a much higher success rate than if he goes alone.
Yin'e sat back down and said to the happy Ninth Prince, "Ninth Brother, you don't need to rush to find Father Khan. We're not moving now."
These words made the smile on the Ninth Prince's face fade a little. He pursed his lips, his delicate, androgynous face full of struggle: "Tenth Brother, I want to move to the West Third Palace with you, and I don't want to start studying in the Imperial Study too early. But if I don't move now, Yinzhi will keep bothering me to study with him."
Consort Yi urged him to spend more time playing with Yinzhi, but the Ninth Prince was reluctant and couldn't always avoid it, since he lived in Yikun Palace. However, moving to the West Third Palace was a different story; Consort Yi could no longer control him!
Yin'e, the academically challenged prince, sympathized with the Ninth Prince's miserable situation, but he didn't have any good solutions. It was perfectly normal for Yinzhi to want to be close to his elder brother, and Yin'e couldn't very well encourage the Ninth Prince to ignore Yinzhi.
Having had weak kinship ties in his previous life, and now being the only son of the Imperial Concubine but with many half-brothers, Yin'e couldn't understand the complex feelings of the Ninth Prince towards Yin'i, which were both affectionate and disdainful. He took the initiative to change the subject: "Father has already arranged a marriage for Fourth Brother, but what about Third Brother and Fifth Brother?"
Emperor Kangxi's sons were born in batches. The eldest prince and the crown prince were the oldest and could be considered one batch, with only a little over two years' age difference between them. Next were the third, fourth, and fifth princes, who were all a little over a year apart in age and could be considered brothers.
The Seventh Prince was in a separate group. He was imprisoned and raised alone in his early years, and was not very familiar with the princes who were around his age. In addition, the Sixth Prince, Yinzhuo, died young, leaving one of his sons behind, which also made him stand out as a separate group.
Then there was the Eighth Prince. The Eighth Prince was actually very close in age to the Seventh Prince, but because the Seventh Prince had disappeared from the palace since childhood, the Eighth Prince was initially in a separate group. Fortunately, he was gentle and kind, and had good relationships with the other princes, so he didn't seem lonely.
Next are the four princes: Ninth Prince, Yin'e, Yin'an, and Yin'tao. They are older than their older brothers and are not the youngest sons; Yinxiang and Yinzhen are the youngest sons.
After Yinzhen, no princes were born in the palace for more than a year.
The fourth prince was close in age to the third and fifth princes. If only the fourth prince was betrothed in advance, then it is almost certain that this sudden marriage had a reason and was not because Emperor Kangxi suddenly felt that his sons were old enough to be married.
The Ninth Prince's thoughts were interrupted. He perked up and enthusiastically threw himself into the gossip, chattering in a clear voice, "No, Fifth Brother said that Father only arranged a marriage for Fourth Brother this time."
"Tenth Brother, why do you think Father did this? Fifth Brother said it's because Fei Yanggu is dying and Father is granting him a favor, but I find it a bit strange. Rather than that, it's because..."
The Ninth Prince didn't finish his sentence; his excitement subsided considerably. He pointed in the direction of Chengqian Palace, indicating that the matter was related to Consort Tongjia.
Even if Emperor Kangxi was looking after his confidants and taking care of his old subordinates, arranging a marriage was one thing, but there was no reason for him to specifically issue an edict to bring Fei Yanggu's daughter into the palace for upbringing. Fei Yanggu's daughter was only ten years old this year, and it was too early for her to enter the palace. Moreover, Fei Yanggu's second wife was a member of the imperial clan, and she was not lacking in people to educate her.
Yin'e glanced at the Ninth Prince silently, knowing that he was unaware of the Fourth Prince's background and that the Fourth Prince's birth mother was Consort De.
Before Yin'e could express his opinion, the Ninth Prince shook his head repeatedly, denying his earlier guess: "That's not right either. Even if the Imperial Noble Consort wanted to arrange a marriage for Fourth Brother ahead of time, there was no need to bring Fei Yanggu's daughter into the palace for upbringing."
As long as the Fourth Prince's background remains unknown, the Ninth Prince will never be able to figure it out, no matter how hard he tries.
Yin'e couldn't tell the Ninth Prince that the Fourth Prince's birth mother was Consort De, because the Imperial Concubine had never told him this. So he could only ask instead, "Was it the Imperial Grandmother who raised Fourth Sister-in-law?"
Although Fei Yanggu's daughter has not yet married the Fourth Prince, Emperor Kangxi has already arranged their marriage. She is the Fourth Prince's wife, so it is not wrong for Yin'e to call her Fourth Sister-in-law.
"That's what Father means." The Ninth Prince's expression turned a little strange, as if he had thought of something. He lowered his voice and complained to Yin'e in a slightly disdainful tone, "Fifth Brother was raised by the Empress Dowager, but he's at the bottom of the list in the Imperial Study!"
The Ninth Prince wasn't a studious or ambitious scholar, but he received a decent education. Even after going to the Imperial Study, he was able to maintain a passing average level, unlike the Fifth Prince who made the Imperial Study's tutors go bald in every subject.
“Grandma is a very nice person, but she’s not very fluent in Manchu!” Ninth Prince whispered to Yin’e. “The people around Grandma are all Mongolians. How will she raise her future sister-in-law?”
Yin'e thought for a moment: "Perhaps Fourth Sister-in-law can speak Mongolian."
The Ninth Prince pursed his lips and shook his head in disbelief. In earlier years, more Manchu noblewomen learned Manchu, but in recent years, more Manchu noblewomen have become fluent in Mandarin. Fei Yanggu's daughter was not a member of the imperial clan and was unlikely to be sent to serve in Mongolia, so there was no need for her to specifically learn Mongolian.
“That might not just be about how Grandmother Empress raised Fourth Sister-in-law.” Yin’e blinked.
With so many concubines, it wouldn't have been wrong for Emperor Kangxi to have them raise the Fourth Prince's wife. In fact, if Kangxi had arranged this marriage earlier, it would have been most suitable for Consort Tongjia to raise him. But then again, if Consort Tongjia hadn't been showing signs of illness, the Fourth Prince wouldn't have been betrothed so early.
The Ninth Prince and Yin'e had a tacit understanding, and he quickly grasped Yin'e's meaning.
He tilted his head, a thoughtful look on his androgynous, exquisite face: "The Cining Palace is relatively close to the Western Six Palaces, so Father and Grandmother might choose from among the concubines and mothers of the Western Six Palaces."
Consort Yi's Yikun Palace is also in the Western Six Palaces, and the Ninth Prince somewhat hopes that Consort Yi will be chosen to tutor the Fourth Prince's wife.
If Consort Yi is busy with other things, she won't have time to manage him. Without Consort Yi keeping an eye on him, the Ninth Prince has a hundred ways to get rid of Yinzhi.
“It may not necessarily be the Western Six Palaces.” Yin’e shook his head. “Have you forgotten that the Ning Shou Palace is almost finished being renovated? I estimate that once it’s finished, Grandmother Empress will move to the Ning Shou Palace to live.”
The Ninth Prince hadn't thought of this before, and only remembered it after being reminded. He couldn't help but say, "Now the Fifth Brother is happy. Ning Shou Palace is in the outer eastern route, which is very close to the Fifth Palace of the Eastern Region. It will be more convenient for him to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager, and he won't have to travel a long way every time."
Yin'e laughed along, "Grandma will be very happy too."
Last year, when the Fifth Prince moved out of Cining Palace, the Empress Dowager, who had been grieving for a long time because of the passing of the Grand Empress Dowager, became even more upset.
It was only after Emperor Kangxi sent Yin Tao to Cining Palace to be raised by Su Ma La Gu that the palace gained a new child and became more lively. Only then did the Empress Dowager gradually become happy and accept the fact that her eldest grandson, the Fifth Prince, had moved out of Cining Palace.
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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 11:59:37 and 23:46:48 on March 27, 2023!
Thank you to the little angels who watered the nutrient solution: Cengceng 40 bottles; Yingbaoer 18 bottles; Yeliangka, Caribbean Blue 10 bottles; Ran7777777 1 bottle;
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