Chapter 160 160 A Plea for Acknowledgment
"Learn from Third Brother?" Ninth Prince's long, phoenix-shaped eyes widened suddenly, and he asked with a mixture of surprise and disdain, "What do you mean?" Was there something about Third Brother that he could learn from?
While tidying up the books scattered on the desk and the writing brushes, ink, paper and inkstones spread all over the table, Yin'e said with a smile, "You don't know, do you? Last year on the Emperor's birthday, the gift that Third Brother gave to Father was a collection of poems that he had personally copied and bound."
With a gasp, the Ninth Prince's phoenix eyes widened even further. He seemed to understand what Yin'e meant, and a thoughtful expression appeared on his face.
Taking a moment to look up at the Ninth Prince, whose face clearly said "I understand," Yin'e chuckled and said, "The birthday gift that Third Brother gave me for the Emperor's birthday two years ago was a copy of the Classic of Filial Piety that he personally copied."
The Ninth Prince clapped his hands suddenly, his eyes sparkling, his face beaming with undisguised joy: "We can also copy the Classic of Filial Piety, that's something we can't go wrong with. Hehe, Third Brother's idea is pretty good, copying the Classic of Filial Piety only takes a little time, we don't have to rack our brains to think about what to give, and it can save..." a lot of money.
He shut his mouth, barely managing to swallow the last few words back down his throat.
If he and Yin'e were in the Prince's Residence, in their own territory, he could speak his mind freely. But they were in the Imperial Study now, where, besides the princes studying, there were also many palace attendants. They definitely had to be more careful and couldn't say anything taboo.
The Ninth Prince had made up his mind to copy the Classic of Filial Piety as a birthday gift for Emperor Kangxi.
As for poetry collections, he wasn't exactly a cultured person, and there was too much of a generation gap between him and the artistic Third Prince, so he wouldn't choose that kind of imitation—mainly because the Ninth Prince felt that giving poetry collections was a bit pretentious, and he didn't like these superficial things.
The Ninth Prince always made decisions easily, but after making a decision, he would often overthink it, frequently hesitating and doubting whether his decision was right or wrong, and whether it needed to be corrected: "Tenth Brother, is it really okay to send the Classic of Filial Piety? Isn't it too perfunctory? Will Father be angry?"
“It can be done.” Yin’e nodded vigorously to give Ninth Prince confidence. “Ninth Brother, don’t worry. Father Khan won’t care about these things. Father Khan is wise and powerful. He knows that we little princes can’t come up with any good birthday gifts. It’s enough that we have done our best.”
After packing several books and writing implements into his book box, Yin'e closed the box, spread his hands helplessly, and said bluntly, "We young princes are always in the palace and can't leave the palace at all. What good things can we find? We can't just resell the gifts from our elders as birthday presents, can we?"
It wasn't just the Third Prince who sent the Classic of Filial Piety and collections of poems. Apart from the Crown Prince and the First Prince, who were able to search for treasures everywhere, the other imperial princes who couldn't leave the palace also sent Emperor Kangxi birthday gifts that were ingenious, thoughtful, and didn't actually cost much money.
Last year, the Fourth Prince presented a birthday gift that he had personally carved. Although the jade material was quite ordinary, the fact that the Fourth Prince made the gift by hand and carved it independently by himself showed his great care.
The Fifth Prince had not yet entered the Imperial Study in March of last year. At that time, he was still living with the Empress Dowager in the Cining Palace. The Empress Dowager prepared his birthday gifts for the Emperor's birthday, and another year passed by for the Fifth Prince.
The birthday gift from the Seventh Prince was a bonsai tree that he had personally nurtured for more than half a year. The bonsai was planted with pine and cypress trees, which symbolize "May your happiness be as vast as the Eastern Sea and your longevity as enduring as the Southern Mountain".
The Eighth Prince's congratulatory gift was a handwritten painting of a hundred longevity characters. Last year, he challenged himself quite a bit—the Eighth Prince's handwriting was notoriously bad, even worse than that of the Fifth Prince, who only started learning Chinese very late.
Emperor Kangxi was troubled by the Eighth Prince's calligraphy for a long time. He had tried to find calligraphy models for the Eighth Prince and had personally guided him in writing, but all of this was to no avail. The Eighth Prince's calligraphy remained as bad as ever.
Although the Eighth Prince had many flaws, he was able to complete a painting of a hundred longevity characters on his own. So when Emperor Kangxi received the birthday gift last year, he praised the Eighth Prince more than usual and patiently and gently instructed him to continue practicing his calligraphy and try to correct his weak and unyielding handwriting.
But perhaps the painting of a hundred longevity characters for the Emperor's birthday had taken too much of the Eighth Prince's energy, because his handwriting got worse after that.
The Fourth Prince, who was closest to the Eighth Prince and often guided his studies, was extremely disdainful. He picked out several calligraphy practice books for the Eighth Prince, even bringing out the one personally written for him by Emperor Kangxi. Unfortunately, although the Fourth Prince practiced calligraphy according to the Eighth Prince's style for a long time, he made no progress at all and remained just as bad.
The Ninth Prince watched as Yin'e packed his books and stood up, blinking in confusion. He asked, "What are you doing? Lunch hasn't been served yet."
Yin'e pursed his lips slightly and said in a low voice, "I won't have lunch in the study today. The meal box will be delivered later, and you can eat by yourself, Ninth Brother."
Looking up towards the back door of the study, Yin'e saw Xiao Linzi walking near the back door. He nodded slightly, relieved.
Looking down at the Ninth Prince, who was increasingly confused and bewildered, Yin'e explained, "I asked for leave from the afternoon's riding and archery class. I plan to go back to Yongshou Palace."
"???" The Ninth Prince's long, phoenix-shaped eyes widened, and his mouth slowly opened wide. "...Back to Yongshou Palace? Tenth Brother, are you sure you didn't misspoke? It's not 'back to the Princes' quarters,' it's 'back to Yongshou Palace'?"
Compared to the inner officials in the Imperial Study, the outer officials who taught the princes horseback riding, archery, and wrestling were much easier to bully—after all, they weren't skilled civil officials with sharp pens. It wasn't difficult to ask for leave from the afternoon riding and archery lessons; unless it involved several days of absence or even skipping class, the outer officials generally wouldn't report it to Emperor Kangxi.
However, after the princes moved to the Princes' Residence, they were not allowed to freely enter and leave the East and West Six Palaces.
Except for the New Year when princes could reunite with their mothers for a day, princes usually needed a special pardon from Emperor Kangxi to visit their mothers in the Eastern and Western Six Palaces. For example, not long ago, when the Third Prince celebrated his birthday, he was able to visit Consort Rong in Zhongcui Palace only because he had specifically pleaded with Emperor Kangxi and received a special favor.
"Yes, we're going back to Yongshou Palace." Yin'e nodded calmly, his expression serene.
The Ninth Prince unconsciously sat up straight and asked with concern, "Did Father Khan agree to let you return to Yongshou Palace? Or are you planning to sneak into the East and West Six Palaces again, like you did last year on the Winter Solstice?"
“I am planning to go to the Qianqing Palace to ask the Khan for help.”
Although he said that, Yin'e was actually not confident, so he was prepared to resort to shameless tactics and force his way in if he was rejected by Kangxi.
Blinking, Yin'e said nonchalantly, "If Father doesn't agree and doesn't grant this favor, then I'll climb over the wall and sneak into the Eastern and Western Palaces."
At worst, he would just accept the punishment honestly if he was found out later. Yin'e was not afraid of Kangxi's wrath. He would let him be punished as he pleased. He didn't care if he was beaten with a cane, his palms were slapped, or he was forced to copy texts. In short, he was determined to go back to Yongshou Palace to see the Consort today.
February 26th is not only the birthday of the Tenth Princess, but also the anniversary of the death of Empress Xiaozhao.
Consort Gui and Empress Xiaozhao were born of the same mother and had a deep bond. On this day, Consort Gui would always be in a bad mood and very depressed. She would go to the small Buddhist hall and kneel for a long time to pray for Empress Xiaozhao. This year, Yin'e did not accompany Consort Gui in Yongshou Palace, because he was afraid that Consort Gui's prolonged sadness would harm her health.
He arranged for strong eunuchs to take the book box back to the Qianxi Third Palace first, while Yin'e only took Xiao Linzi to the Qianqing Palace behind the Imperial Study to see Emperor Kangxi.
Upon arriving at the Qianqing Palace, one of the gatekeepers jumped up and rushed to the inner hall to report the news to Emperor Kangxi, while the other led Yin'e to a side hall to wait, hoping that the busy Emperor Kangxi could find time to meet with Yin'e.
As Yin'e sat down in the side hall, a palace maid from the Qianqing Palace brought him a cup of milk tea. Just as he picked up the hot tea and was about to take a perfunctory sip, Liang Jiugong, the Grand Eunuch of the Qianqing Palace, appeared in the side hall and greeted him with a warm smile: "Tenth Prince, His Majesty summons you to the Imperial Court."
"So fast?" Putting down his teacup, Yin'e made no attempt to hide his surprise.
He thought he would have to wait quite a while before being received by Emperor Kangxi. In the past, when he and the Ninth Prince came to the Qianqing Palace to pay their respects, they would have to wait anywhere from half an incense stick's time to half an hour, depending on how busy Emperor Kangxi was. This was the first time that he had just sat down in the side hall when Emperor Kangxi summoned him to the imperial court.
Before Liang Jiugong could respond to his surprise, Yin'e blinked his bright, clear almond-shaped eyes and quickly realized, "Oh, Father is having a meal."
No wonder I sometimes saw him; it just so happened that it was during Emperor Kangxi's rest time.
Liang Jiugong smiled without saying a word, but silently urged Yin'e to go see Kangxi with him with his eyes. Although he did not show it, Liang Jiugong was actually quite curious about Yin'e's purpose.
It's no exaggeration to say that Yin'e was a rare visitor to the Qianqing Palace. Even though the Imperial Study was only a few hundred meters away from the Qianqing Palace, and he studied there every day, Yin'e would only come to the Qianqing Palace to pay his respects once every ten days or so. Just like a concubine, he wasn't keen on showing up at the Qianqing Palace or trying to make his presence known to Emperor Kangxi.
With his head bowed, Yin'e entered the front hall where Kangxi was. Without raising his head, he walked to the center of the hall, stood still, and bowed deeply to Kangxi, saying, "Your subject greets Father."
"Get up." Kangxi suddenly felt a loss of appetite, put down his ivory chopsticks, took a deep breath to prepare himself, and then said in a slightly deep voice, "Speak, what brings you to me, or what trouble have you gotten yourself into this time?"
The fact that his son, whom he rarely saw, suddenly came to the Qianqing Palace made Emperor Kangxi doubt that Yin'e was simply there to pay his respects. Knowing Yin'e as he did, he could guess with his eyes closed that Yin'e had ulterior motives; after all, his son never visited the palace without a reason.
Yin'e still didn't look up, but cautiously said, "Father, I would like to return to Yongshou Palace this afternoon."
"Aren't you going to your riding and archery class this afternoon?" Kangxi frowned subconsciously, his first reaction being his dissatisfaction with Yin'e's "aversion to learning".
However, Kangxi always had a good memory. Although Yin'e had not yet revealed his true purpose for returning to Yongshou Palace, Kangxi quickly remembered what was special about today and why Yin'e insisted on returning to Yongshou Palace.
After a moment of silence, Kangxi said in a low voice, "Go, I grant your permission."
Emperor Kangxi's feelings for Empress Xiaozhao were indeed not as deep as his feelings for Empress Renxiao. However, the fact that he elevated Empress Xiaozhao to the position of Empress Xiaozhao also demonstrates his affection for her.
In Kangxi's heart, he still acknowledged Empress Xiaozhao as his wife.
Out of respect for Empress Xiaozhao, Emperor Kangxi generously granted Yin'e's request. Otherwise, if Yin'e had pleaded on another day, Emperor Kangxi would never have agreed; he would have simply sent Yin'e back to the Imperial Study and forbade him from skipping classes.
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