Emperor Kangxi, who had many children, knew that newborns were all pretty much the same, but seeing Consort Tongjia in such high spirits, he didn't want to spoil the fun, especially since Consort Tongjia's mental state was clearly much better.
After hearing Liang Jiugong recount what happened to He Xue during her third birthday celebration, he also wanted to see if He Xue was truly different from the other children.
He then looked at He Xue in Consort Tongjia's hand. Sure enough, it was similar to the other children, except that it was a bit whiter than the other children, but he couldn't see any other difference. "My cousin is right!"
"Mother, I want to see too!" Fourth Prince Yinzhen also ran over curiously.
"Alright! Fourth Prince, come and see your sister too!" Consort Tongjia turned around so that the Fourth Prince could see He Xue clearly.
"She's so tiny!" the Fourth Prince said, looking at the little one in his mother's arms.
“You looked just like this when you were little, but you grew up as you got older!” Consort Tongjia patiently explained to the Fourth Prince.
The Fourth Prince reached out his little hand and touched He Xue's face. "It's so fun, just like the sponge cake I ate!"
The fourth prince turned to his three older brothers and called out, "Eldest brother, second brother, third brother! Come and see for yourselves!"
The three princes were also very curious, but they felt that they were no longer children like the Fourth Prince, so they were a bit reserved and hesitated whether to go over. Just then, the Fourth Prince called them and they hurriedly went to Consort Tongjia's side.
"Crown Prince, First Prince, Third Prince, please come over here too!" Consort Tongjia called to the three princes.
The three princes were genuinely curious about what a newborn baby looked like. Although babies were born all the time in the palace, they had never actually seen a newborn baby before.
Their younger siblings were well protected by their mother and rarely appeared in front of them. Moreover, they had a lot of schoolwork to do and didn't have time to visit their younger siblings.
“Tong E’niang is so small!” the Third Prince said after looking at He Xue.
"Third brother, didn't Mother Tong just say that she'll grow up soon? If you keep saying she's too young, she'll be sad! She'll cry then!" The eldest prince kindly reminded the third prince, looking very knowledgeable.
He's the eldest brother; he watched his younger siblings grow up, so he knows kids very well.
"I won't say anything more!" The Third Prince quickly covered his mouth, afraid that he would make the little child cry.
"Mother Tong, what is her name?" the Crown Prince asked from the side.
“Her name is Unaxi, but the Crown Prince can also call her Hexue!” Consort Tongjia said.
"What a fine name!" the crown prince nodded in agreement.
He Xue opened her eyes at this moment, and as soon as she opened them, she saw four hard-boiled eggs dangling in front of her, which frightened her so much that she closed her eyes again.
It took her a while to realize that she was in the Qing Dynasty, where a shaved head was a common hairstyle.
"Mother Tong, did we frighten Hexue?" the Crown Prince asked anxiously. He had just seen Hexue open her eyes, so why did she close them again?
Consort Tongjia had been watching Hexue the whole time. When she saw Hexue close her eyes again, she became nervous and looked at Consort Tongjia for help.
Lady Tongjia said with a smile, "Your Highness, His Highness the Crown Prince is fine. Perhaps this girl is still half asleep!"
He Xue opened her eyes again and looked at the people in front of her. These should be the characters from the Nine Princes' Succession Struggle, except that these people are still children now.
Xue had just heard her mother mention the Crown Prince, so the one wearing the yellow python robe must be the Crown Prince.
The one next to the Crown Prince who is bigger and taller than him must be the First Prince! The other two are the Third Prince and the Fourth Prince.
She heard someone call Consort Tongjia "Mother," and the current Fourth Prince should be raised under Consort Tongjia's name.
Modern people don't know much about the First Prince and the Third Prince. They only know that in the "Veritable Records of Emperor Kangxi", it is recorded that Kangxi's evaluation of the First Prince was: "Yinti is impatient and stubborn, and cannot be established as the Crown Prince!"
He Xue thought that Kangxi said this because he hated the eldest prince for cursing the deposed crown prince and said it in a fit of anger. Kangxi should still value the eldest prince quite a bit, since the eldest prince accompanied Kangxi on two personal expeditions against Galdan.
As for the impression of the Third Prince and Xue, they were fond of literature and calligraphy, more like scholars, and probably didn't have much ambition for the throne.
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