The 53rd year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign was also a year of many events.
The crown prince was deposed for the second time two years ago, and after a year of testing and maneuvering last year, Kangxi has almost definitively released the message: Yinreng has indeed been deposed and will not be reinstated. As for the position of crown prince, everyone is welcome to compete for it.
Thus, starting from the end of the fifty-second year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the princes began to use all their skills to compete fiercely.
The Third Prince Cheng, who already loved reading, became even more fond of it. He not only read books but also created them, spending his days locked in the garden and not going anywhere else. The Eighth Prince, who was considered the strongest contender for the position of Crown Prince, had no title and was now a bald prince stripped by Emperor Kangxi, yet he was still respectfully called the Eighth Prince by the common people.
Yinzhen naturally had his own faction of the Fourth Prince, but compared to the Third Prince's refined elegance and the Eighth Prince's wisdom, Yinzhen seemed to have never found the right path. However, Qian Shengyan knew that compared to the two's more theatrical behavior, Yinzhen had always been down-to-earth in his work. No matter how troublesome, complicated, or offensive the tasks entrusted to him by Kangxi were, he could complete them meticulously.
But he won't do anything else, like promoting himself.
Fortunately, for the now aging Kangxi, excessive self-promotion was not a good thing. For example, the Eighth Prince, also known as the Eighth Virtuous Prince, was completely disliked and removed from power in the fifty-third year of Kangxi's reign.
The third and eighth princes were not a threat; the most troublesome and difficult one was the fourteenth prince, Yinzhen's younger brother born of the same mother, who later became the Grand General.
Qian Shengyan was lost in thought and didn't respond when Qingxue called her several times. So she reached out and nudged her, startling Qian Shengyan: "What's wrong?"
"It's time for lunch, Your Highness," Qingxue whispered. "But the Prince is still in his study..."
"Let Folgochun eat first, don't let him go hungry. I'll go check on the Prince."
Qian Shengyan sighed helplessly, suddenly realizing that she had more than one son, Hongli.
There's still a big one she needs to coax.
When Qian Shengyan arrived at the study door, only Su Peisheng was there. When he saw Qian Shengyan, it was as if he had seen his savior. He kowtowed frantically with his eyes.
Before Qian Shengyan could figure out what was going on, she heard a loud shout from inside the room: "Su Peisheng!"
Su Peisheng immediately turned around and went inside with a bitter face. A moment later, he came out again with a tense face and frantically pleaded for help with his eyes to Qian Shengyan.
this……
Qian Shengyan didn't dare to go in rashly, and mouthed, "What's wrong?"
Su Peisheng dared not speak ill of his master, so he glared and pouted and demonstrated for a long time, but... Qian Shengyan really didn't understand.
Before the two could even communicate smoothly, another voice called out, "Su Peisheng!" Su Peisheng's legs trembled, and he was about to kneel down in front of Qian Shengyan...
Qian Shengyan couldn't accept such a grand gesture, so she quickly helped him up and then knocked on the door while calling out, "Master? May I come in?"
"...Why are you here?" Yinzhen's tone wasn't very good, but it was still much gentler than when he was talking to Su Peisheng.
Su Peisheng wiped the sweat from his forehead, bowed and scraped as he invited Qian Shengyan inside, then closed the study door and stood at the doorway with a long sigh of relief.
Qingxue couldn't help but roll her eyes at him and pointed at him with her finger. Su Peisheng chuckled, cupped his hands to Qingxue, and made a gesture of begging for mercy.
Inside the room, Qian Shengyan pursed her lips, but still mustered her courage and walked over: "Master, it's time to eat."
"You eat first, I'll be there in a bit." Yinzhen still had his back to her, refusing to turn around, clearly still angry.
Qian Shengyan sighed silently, walked over and gently massaged his shoulders with both hands: "It's a holiday today, Master, want to be happy?"
She was very nervous when she said this, almost gambling that Yinzhen would be somewhat tolerant of her and wouldn't completely disregard her feelings.
At least don't kick her out... Su Peisheng and the others are still watching at the door, that would be too embarrassing.
Unexpectedly, Yinzhen raised his hand, grabbed her hand that was on his shoulder, squeezed it, and sighed softly.
He wasn't angry that she tried to persuade him; he simply said, "Spring is coming soon."
Looking at him, Qian Shengyan almost added, "But Master doesn't know what he can do."
She couldn't help but feel a pang of heartache and harbored some resentment towards Kangxi—so many sons, all of them rising before dawn and sleeping before dusk, studying, learning to read, write, ride horses, and bend bows for decades, and what was the result? All their strength was wasted, let alone being given a position; Kangxi practically wished he could just lock them all up and keep them out of sight.
In previous years, Yinzhen still had some trivial matters such as flood control, collecting payments, and building houses, but in the last two years he has become increasingly idle. Now, the sixteenth and seventeenth princes are favored by Kangxi. It seems that he only likes his youngest son to indirectly show off his youth and vigor.
Qian Shengyan felt sorry for Yinzhen, but she also knew... that she couldn't change anything.
All I can do is struggle in this pain, reflect on myself, and wait day after day, without even knowing what I'm waiting for.
This is so agonizing.
She moved to stand in front of Yinzhen, grabbed his arm, and snuggled into his arms. She pressed her face against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist and back, essentially nestling herself in his embrace.
She began to speak in a muffled voice, rambling on and on: "Spring is here, the swallows will be back, the grass is sprouting, the flowers are blooming, the trees are turning green, everything is coming back to life, the people must be so happy, the crops planted in the fields will also grow, ah, the weather isn't cold, it's even better..."
She muttered a lot, finally making Yinzhen so exasperated that he lowered his head and covered her mouth, then laughed and said, "You're so noisy."
"Hmph." Qian Shengyan hugged his waist and back even tighter, rubbing against his chest. "Or... how about I plant some flowers for you to see?"
As soon as she said it, Qian Shengyan felt something was off. She tilted her head to think about it, when she suddenly heard Yinzhen say, "Flowers can be appreciated, but they are not as useful as grains and vegetables."
"Then shall we grow vegetables?" Qian Shengyan's eyes lit up, but then she looked puzzled.
Wait, Prince Yong... didn't he secretly farm for many years, adhering to the idea that "not competing is competing"?
Why hasn't it started yet?
...Did her time travel change the course of history?
Well, it's not impossible. After all, in history, Consort Li was still a Consort when Yinzhen ascended the throne.
Qian Shengyan was still in a daze when Yinzhen suddenly lowered his head, buried his face in the crook of her neck, and chuckled softly: "You, you... really..."
What is "real"?
Qian Shengyan didn't hear clearly, but... she soon realized that she seemed to have given Yinzhen a terrible idea.
However, Qian Shengyan didn't have the mind to think about these things for the time being.
On the night of the Lantern Festival, Qian Shengyan specially had exquisite lanterns hung on the lake, and curtains hung in the pavilion in the lake and a brazier lit, preparing to hold a lantern banquet there.
...Then she saw Liu come over wearing an outfit almost identical to the purple cheongsam she was wearing, and her hairstyle and makeup were almost entirely copied from her.
"...How could she be so disgusting?" Qian Shengyan murmured, truly unwilling to believe she had to dine at the same table with such a person.
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