Chapter 78: Old Ten's Lazy Instructions...
Yin'e noticed that the Imperial Concubine had suddenly become somewhat silent after meeting the Consort of Chuxiu Palace. He didn't ask any questions, but silently tightened his grip on the hand he was holding with the Imperial Concubine.
As they left Cining Palace, they encountered the Crown Prince, who was surrounded by a group of people in the center of the room, near the West Three Palaces.
Since the Crown Prince left the palace to study at the end of last year, he has rarely been able to find time to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager at Cining Palace.
Every day, he had to study with the Han officials in the imperial court. Although the crown prince was well-versed in the Four Books and Five Classics and understood the knowledge taught by the ministers, he didn't pay much attention in class. However, he still had to be in the imperial court, and the formality of studying outside the palace was unavoidable.
The Empress Dowager was seriously ill. Although the Crown Prince spent most of his time being taught by Han officials from the previous dynasty, he still managed to find time to visit the Empress Dowager at Cining Palace. Over the past month or two, the Crown Prince had also become quite haggard.
Upon seeing the Crown Prince in a yellow python robe from afar, the Consort Gui, who had just met with Consort Chuxiu, subconsciously frowned.
What a coincidence! The Crown Prince happened to run into Consort Chuxiu at Cining Palace. Now Consort Chuxiu doesn't need to do anything outrageous, venturing out of the inner palace to find the Crown Prince at Yuqing Palace and rushing to offer him comfort.
If the Crown Prince were a wise man, he would know that he should not be close to Empress Heseri. Whether it was Suo'etu or Consort Chuxiu, Kangxi did not want to see them get close to the Crown Prince, nor did he want to win them over.
The Crown Prince's greatest reliance has never been his maternal clan, but rather the Emperor's favor. For the Crown Prince to become close to his maternal clan would alienate the Emperor from him, which would be tantamount to suicide and utterly unwise.
"Greetings, Your Highness." Upon seeing Yin'e and his entourage, the Crown Prince stepped forward to greet the Imperial Concubine.
"Greetings, Your Highness the Crown Prince." Yin'e and the Ninth Prince exchanged a glance, then released their hands and respectfully clasped their hands in greeting to the Crown Prince.
When facing the Crown Prince, they both treated him with respect, courtesy, and distance, regarding him only as the heir apparent and adhering to etiquette and rules.
Yin'e and the Ninth Prince were ten years apart in age from the Crown Prince. They didn't have much of a relationship, unlike the older princes who at least grew up alongside the Crown Prince and were practically classmates in the Imperial Study.
For the younger princes under Kangxi, the crown prince was just the crown prince, never their second brother. They had no brotherly affection for the crown prince and could not get close to him, nor did they have the opportunity to do so.
The Crown Prince lowered his head and smiled faintly at the two little radish heads, Yin'e and the Ninth Prince. His handsome and refined features exuded an undeniable noble and otherworldly air: "Ninth Brother, Tenth Brother."
The Consort's slightly furrowed brows had long since relaxed, and a gentle smile appeared on her beautiful face. She nodded slightly to the Crown Prince in return for the half-bow and said in a warm voice, "The Empress Dowager was just talking about you, Your Highness. She will be very happy if you visit her at Cining Palace."
The Crown Prince, exuding an air of elegance and nobility, smiled with a hint of pride upon hearing this, but said nothing more. He simply remarked on the Consort's hard work in caring for the Empress Dowager, and exchanged a few pleasantries with her, neither of them truly taking it to heart.
The Crown Prince was extremely busy with his studies, and he didn't have much time to spare each day. He was in a hurry to pay his respects to the Empress Dowager at Cining Palace, so he didn't exchange many pleasantries. He only stopped briefly to say a few words to the Consort before bidding farewell and rushing off to Cining Palace.
After bidding farewell to the Crown Prince, the Imperial Concubine, along with Yin'e and the Ninth Prince, continued towards the Western Six Palaces.
After a while, just as they were about to step into the Western Six Palaces, the Imperial Concubine suddenly whispered, "The wind is picking up."
The Imperial Concubine's voice was very soft, and only Yin'e, who was walking to her right and holding her right hand, heard what she said. Even the Ninth Prince, who was holding Yin'e's right hand, did not notice what the Imperial Concubine had suddenly said.
Yin'e was momentarily stunned, not feeling any wind. Or was he dressed too warmly, his cashmere cloak too thick, so he couldn't feel the wind?
It seems the Imperial Concubine was dressed too lightly. He should remind her to wear an extra layer next time she goes out.
Her cherry lips pursed slightly, and the Imperial Concubine felt a little heavy-hearted: In the first half of the year, after the eldest prince's wedding, he had already begun working in the Ministry of War. In the second half of the year, the Empress Dowager fell seriously ill, and the Crown Prince lost his support. Now he was besieged on all sides, facing internal and external troubles.
Hopefully, the conflict between the Crown Prince and the First Prince won't escalate and affect the other princes, especially Yin'e. Let them fight it out; as long as they don't try to drag the other princes into it or force their brothers to choose sides, their rivalry is none of their business.
Yin'e later accompanied the Imperial Concubine to the Cining Palace several more times, but it wasn't until early November that the Empress Dowager heard the Fifth Prince sing the authentic Mongolian long song.
The Empress Dowager sat half-reclined on the canopy bed with its curtains drawn, her back against a soft, sturdy headrest. The Fifth Prince, Yin'e, and the Ninth Prince surrounded her, noting that she seemed to be in relatively good spirits that day, and offered to sing her a song.
As soon as the Fifth Prince spoke, the Empress Dowager's eyes clearly became lonely and distant.
As the Fifth Prince sang in his youthful yet melodious voice, the Empress Dowager stared intently in one direction, lost in thought for a long time. Her gaze was unfocused, but her eyes held an indescribable melancholy and longing, filled with remembrance and yearning.
Not only the Grand Empress Dowager, but even the Empress Dowager who was accompanying the Grand Empress Dowager had a dreamy look in her eyes when the long and resonant Mongolian long song began to play.
With tears in her eyes, the Empress Dowager seemed to see her long-lost homeland, the Korchi Grassland, and the beautiful days of her youth, as well as the freedom and joy she had before being buried in this deep palace.
Compared to the Grand Empress Dowager, whose life was full of ups and downs, perhaps the Empress Dowager was the more unfortunate one.
She came to the Qing Dynasty from the Khorchin grasslands, but never won her husband's favor, nor did she leave behind any children. She entered the deep palace at a young age and spent half her life in the magnificent yet cold Forbidden City, which felt incredibly cramped compared to the vast grasslands.
The Empress Dowager was always confined to this deep palace. Neither Emperor Kangxi nor his princes and princesses were her biological children; they had no other kinship with her besides the nominal one.
After the Empress Dowager passes away, the Empress Dowager will lose her only blood relative in the palace. She will be left alone in this deep palace, spending the rest of her life in this place far from her homeland, burying the rest of her life in the Forbidden City.
Seeing the tears welling up in the Empress Dowager's eyes, Yin'e was actually somewhat grateful for Kangxi's foresight. He was grateful that he had sent the Fifth Prince to be raised by the Empress Dowager, giving her one more thing to worry about and one more source of comfort in the palace.
After the vast and expansive Mongolian long song was sung, the Empress Dowager came back to her senses from her daze. She smiled and beckoned to the Fifth Prince, inviting him to come closer to her: "Good boy, you sang so beautifully, just like I used to hear you sing on the grasslands."
The Fifth Prince smiled sheepishly, feeling a little embarrassed by the Empress Dowager's praise, and scratched his head shyly.
Looking at Yin'e, the Fifth Prince, who was not so cunning and always spoke his mind, honestly told the Empress Dowager, "It was my tenth brother who asked me to sing a Mongolian long song for you. Ukuma Mama, the one you should praise is my tenth brother."
The Empress Dowager's smile deepened on her wrinkled face. She looked at the Fifth Prince with loving eyes, a hint of pity in them, and gently patted his hand as she spoke softly to him, "You are a good child. Qiqige① has taught you very well."
"You are simple-minded, kind and honest, which is a good thing. You should continue to keep it up." The Empress Dowager gently instructed the Fifth Prince. She seemed to know that her time was running out and wanted to seize the time to leave her grandchildren with some advice and instructions. "It's good to be straightforward. Children who are innocent are the ones who are most lovable."
The Fifth Prince pouted, forcing a simple, honest smile onto his round, chubby face. He held back his tears and nodded vigorously to the Empress Dowager: "Grandma Ukuma, I will remember your words, and I will never forget them."
The Empress Dowager smiled with satisfaction and waved to Yin'e.
Yin'e stepped forward, and the Empress Dowager took his hand in her aged hand and patted it gently, with a hint of comfort in her gesture.
The Empress Dowager had been ill for several months and didn't have much strength in her hands. She held Yin'e's hand loosely, as if they might separate at any moment. But inexplicably, Yin'e felt a force being transmitted from the Empress Dowager through their clasped hands.
"Little Ten, you and your mother are both very perceptive. That's good. You can always live your lives freely in the palace." The Empress Dowager looked at Yin'e with pity, and even a hint of regret.
If the Fifth Prince was a child sacrificed by Emperor Kangxi to the Mongols, then Yin'e was deprived of far too much from birth. If it weren't for the Consort's shrewdness and open-mindedness, the palace might not be in such a state now, and peace might not have lasted so long.
But as the ones who are abandoned, no one ever asks them if they were willing to be abandoned from the beginning, or if they were open-minded about it from the start. Even if they were, the meaning of freedom and rights lies in choosing, not in being chosen and then accepting.
Yin'e lowered his head and remained silent for a moment before raising his head to look at the Empress Dowager. He tilted his little face up and gave her a bright and cheerful smile: "Grandma Wukuma, Yin'e thinks it's perfect as it is now. There's nothing I'm dissatisfied with."
His situation is already a thousand times better than many people's. If he is still not satisfied, then he is greedy to the point of having no bottom line!
The Empress Dowager sighed softly, her eyes, filled with wisdom and the passage of time, gazing quietly at Yin'e: "Being insightful is a good thing, but seeing things too clearly inevitably leads to loneliness. Ukuma doesn't want you to shut yourself away; you should come out and connect with people, or open the door and let others in."
Yin'e glanced at the Ninth Prince and nodded silently: "I understand, Ukuma Mama."
The Empress Dowager also looked at the Ninth Prince and smiled happily: "The Ninth Prince is a kind-hearted and good boy. He is considerate and loyal. Although he is a bit willful, he is very simple-minded. The Tenth Prince should be good brothers with the Ninth Prince!"
The Ninth Prince, bewildered by the stares from Yin'e and the Empress Dowager, tilted his head, a look of confusion on his delicate and beautiful face, unsure whether the Empress Dowager had truly been praising him.
The Empress Dowager then beckoned the Ninth Prince closer and said to him earnestly, "Our Ninth Prince is a lovely and lovable child. Everyone will like you. Don't be afraid, there will always be people with you."
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Author's Note: ①Note: The Empress Dowager's name is Alatanqiqige; the Grand Empress Dowager uses her childhood name. Thank you to all the little angels who voted for me or watered my plants between 11:56:10 and 17:50:02 on March 22, 2023!
Thank you to the little angel who watered the nutrient solution: Ayin (6 bottles);
Thank you so much for your support! I will continue to work hard!
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