"Okay, let's begin."
At Kangxi's signal, the baptism of the two little ones began.
At first, the baptism was supposed to involve holding the two princes and the princess and washing their faces with cotton cloths soaked in willow leaves. However, due to Kangxi's strong refusal and tenderness, it was changed to simply dabbing the foreheads of the two children with slightly damp cotton cloths. The process was over quickly, and the two little ones didn't even notice it was over. The two babies stared curiously at the nanny's hands. What was that warm and soft thing just now? Why is it gone now?
Looking at the two curious babies, Kangxi first took Yin Hong, who was still struggling to find a cotton handkerchief, and placed little Yin Hong in the center of the red blanket for the first birthday celebration.
A carpet covered with red-dyed wool was meticulously laid out for a full ten meters, and filled with various precious jade artifacts: two jade fan pendants, two gold keys, a silver box, a pair of rhinoceros horn clubs, a bow, a lost item, a set of writing implements...
The clever little Yin Hong looked at the jade pendant in his hand, then at the sparkling treasure not far away, blinked his big eyes, and then looked at his beautiful mother.
Looking into Xiao Yinhong's innocent eyes, Qingyin suddenly had a bad feeling.
Sure enough, Xiao Yinhong took the jade pendant first and crawled shakily toward Kangxi. Kangxi thought that his youngest son was being silly and missing him again. He opened his big hands, ready to welcome his clingy youngest son, but then he felt the lustrous gold-inlaid jade pendant in his hand and his youngest son turning away mercilessly.
Liang Jiugong was about to offer his congratulations when he abruptly stopped at the young prince's actions. Everyone was astonished. What they then witnessed was the young prince's audacious maneuvering: he kept handing things off the red carpet to Kangxi and Qingyin. It was impossible for him not to empty the carpet completely.
Looking at Xiao Yinhong's resolute eyes, Qingyin couldn't help but want to facepalm. This child had always loved sparkly and pretty things; when she was holding him outside, he wanted to pick all the pretty flowers he saw. Sure enough… Qingyin then turned to look at her well-behaved little daughter, who was being held obediently, and noticed the thoughtful look in Mattina's eyes. Qingyin…
Okay, this little one has learned something.
The most astute Liang Jiugong praised, "Filial piety is the foundation of human relations. The young prince is so young yet already knows how to be filial to Your Majesty. He will surely grow up to be a virtuous and talented gentleman, skilled in both literature and martial arts. He is truly a blessing to the nation!"
"Good! Well said, everyone will be rewarded!" Kangxi said happily.
After everyone expressed their gratitude, they showered Yin Hong and Mattina with auspicious words one after another, and the two children's first birthday celebration ended amidst Kangxi's capriciousness.
Qingyin's life returned to being secluded. Apart from the ever-present courtyard, everything was the same as before. Several uninvited concubines, along with several young princesses and princes, crowded into Qingyin's palace. Fortunately, the palace chosen by Kangxi was large, otherwise, it really wouldn't have been able to accommodate so many people.
Mattina, being kissed and hugged, was undoubtedly the most popular little ornament in the entire courtyard. Emperor Kangxi would always have to see his beloved little daughter before going to court each day.
Martina, the little dumpling, has a good personality but also loves to be lazy. She will never crawl if she can be held. When she wants to play or eat something, she will point with her soft, fleshy little finger and will never move an inch on her own. Qingyin wondered if she had given birth to a little lazybones. She was so lazy that she probably wouldn't even open her mouth to wait to be fed if a snack was offered to her!
While Qingyin expressed her doubts, the other concubines and princesses were clearly preoccupied with other matters. They were all vying to hold the soft and cuddly Mattina, feeding her all sorts of toys and treats. Undoubtedly, these people, including Kangxi, were the culprits behind Mattina's predicament.
Kangxi chuckled and said, "Oh dear, so what if our Martina just doesn't want to move? Our little princess is born of noble birth, so it's alright to pamper her a little. She'll be fine when she grows up."
There was no way he could resist spoiling his youngest daughter, whose face resembled that of his beloved concubine. Thinking of this, Kangxi suddenly envied his uncle Tong Guogang and aunt who raised Yu'er. Yu'er must have been just as adorable when she was little.
Kangxi looked at Qingyin, who seemed to glow under the lamplight. As the saying goes, a beauty looks more beautiful under the lamp. Yu'er had also finished her confinement period. His eyes darkened, and he put his large hand around Qingyin's slender waist, caressing it a few times with an ambiguous meaning. He then leaned close to Qingyin's ear and said, "Yu'er, is it alright now?"
Old men always have so many tricks up their sleeves. Qingyin nodded shyly at Kangxi's aggressive gaze. The moment Kangxi received Qingyin's nod, he picked her up and carried her to the bed.
The room was filled with enchanting beauty, and even the moon seemed to blush as it hid behind the dark clouds.
The following day, the Imperial Observatory was solemn.
"Do you think I have the appearance of someone who will bring misfortune to my wife?"
Wang Jianzheng knelt before Emperor Kangxi, his tone full of respect and insistence: "Your Majesty, Your Majesty is not a person who brings misfortune to his wife."
"Alright, get up. Liang Jiugong, reward him!"
"Yes, Your Majesty."
As Liang Jiugong listened to Kangxi's majestic words, a bold guess suddenly came to his mind: it seems that the Qing Dynasty is about to change.
After Kangxi left, Wang Jianzheng wiped the cold sweat from his back. The emperor suddenly asked about fortune-telling, which was probably related to Consort Qiong in the palace. It seemed he had to talk to the princess about it. The Tong family was about to rise to prominence.
Soon, an imperial edict was issued from the palace, bestowing the title of Empress upon Consort Qiong. Yin Hong and Mattina's status was directly changed to that of the legitimate son and legitimate daughter. The Emperor seemed to be getting younger and younger, and the situation in the struggle for the throne was becoming increasingly ambiguous. With a legitimate son in the palace, even though he was still young, it was hard to guarantee that the Emperor wouldn't live to see that day. Although the merit of supporting the emperor was brilliant, it was really difficult to decide. As a result, the officials in the palace began to calm down, and more and more officials chose to remain neutral.
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