Yinzhen was quite frank, saying directly, "I am not good at riding and archery. I never won first place among my brothers when I was young, so I don't want to do this. It just so happens that Father Emperor said that I should continue to plant two more rice crops. When Father Emperor sets off for Rehe, we will go to the estate to stay."
"Great! Great!" Qian Shengyan was more than happy to agree!
The famous "falcon killing incident" in history occurred during this autumn hunt. It was around this time that Kangxi angrily rebuked the eighth prince, Yinzhi. It would have been best if Yinzhen hadn't gotten involved, and Kangxi was well aware that he had always been at odds with Yinzhi, so he couldn't blame him.
He'd better just stay in his farming job.
"The estate is good, the two seasons of rice are good, and Your Highness is the best! We're not going. I'm tired of staying in Rehe anyway, and the hot springs are wonderful!" Qian Shengyan smiled so broadly that her eyes disappeared. She thought that Yinzhen was really good, no wonder he was the final winner.
It seems her position as Empress Dowager is secure.
If the Eighth Prince had been demoted, and the Fourteenth Prince had been smart enough not to associate with him, and had a better relationship with his Fourth Brother, and ideally persuaded Consort De to be more lenient with Yinzhen so as not to leave a history of discord between mother and son, that would have been perfect!
Qian Shengyan's wishful thinking and everything going smoothly made time fly by. In the blink of an eye, October arrived, and the Golden Festival was just around the corner.
Yinzhen and Qian Shengyan even had a good discussion about Hongli's fate, simply because the Emperor and Consort De both wanted to meet Hongli.
It's just that Kangxi missed his grandson, while Consort De was simply curious because she couldn't remember whether she had ever met Hongli.
In fact, if Qian Shengyan directly told Consort De about the matter, she would definitely give it to the Emperor. However, she felt that it was not impossible to have both – she was now a secondary consort of a prince, and it was not entirely impossible for her to enter the palace to request an audience with a concubine.
So the two of them chose the ninth day of the tenth month to submit their petitions to the palace. Then, Yinzhen, along with Qian Shengyan, Hongli, and Fuerguochun, went to the palace to pay their respects to Consort De.
At first, Consort De was a little puzzled as to why she had come at this time, but after Qian Shengyan once again used her silver tongue, she made Consort De laugh with delight, hugging one child in each arm and calling them her darlings, clearly showing that she liked them very much.
After Qian Shengyan finished showering him with compliments, she turned around with satisfaction and happened to see Yinzhen's expression. Seeing that he was staring blankly at the scene of Consort De teasing Hongli, Qian Shengyan knew that Yinzhen was thinking about the past again.
With a slight sigh, Qian Shengyan spoke again, subtly steer the conversation toward Yinzhen, drawing him into the chat. However, Yinzhen was clearly a master at arguing but not at chatting. He completely ruined Consort De's good mood with just a few words, and without even offering her lunch, he dismissed them from the palace.
When Yinzhen entered the palace, he naturally sent a message to Kangxi, but Kangxi clearly had no intention of seeing his son. No decree was issued by Kangxi until the group left the palace.
Yinzhen was somewhat melancholy, so Qian Shengyan had to use all her skills again to coax him into smiling again.
After the Golden Festival on October 19th, Kangxi announced that he would go on an autumn hunt. The list of those accompanying him did not include Yinzhen's name, but he brought several young princes, including Yinti.
Qian Shengyan hesitated whether to remind the Fourteenth Prince, lest she end up making a fuss for Yinzhi in vain, but ultimately she couldn't find an opportunity and could only give up and let it go.
After Emperor Kangxi departed from Beijing, Yinzhen also took Qian Shengyan to the estate. However, this time he claimed that he was going to check on the rice planting, so he did not bring many people with him—no, it should be said that he did not bring anyone else, only Qian Shengyan and the two children.
Not to mention the reactions of the rest of the household, even Ulanara was somewhat displeased. She immediately submitted her petition to the palace and asked Consort De to keep two more people for the next imperial concubine selection.
As for the excuse, it's the same old one—the family has few heirs, and there are only three princes now.
This time, however, Consort De did not agree immediately.
She hesitated for a moment and said, "Actually, it would be good if all three princes could establish themselves... Rather than going to great lengths to bring in new talents, it would be better to properly train the existing princes."
At first, Ulanara didn't quite understand, but she quickly realized it after being prompted by Consort De.
Before the Golden Offering Festival, Consort De met the clever and witty Hongli and was very fond of him. She couldn't help but be curious about the other children in the mansion. However, when she saw Hongshi and Hongzhou again during the Golden Offering Festival, she felt dissatisfied.
Hongshi was mischievous, and Hongzhou was timid. The two of them combined were not as lovable as Hongli. No wonder Kangxi didn't even like to see Hongshi, who was his eldest son, and specially sent Yinzhen to take Hongli to the front.
Consort De's original words were: "As the principal mother of the princes, regardless of whether they are your own children, you have the responsibility to educate them. As far as I know, Hongli's early education was entirely taught by Niohuru. Hongshi is much older, but his knowledge is not very profound—that Li woman, right? She is indeed lacking, no wonder she can't become a secondary consort."
Upon receiving these words, Ulanara felt as if she had received a royal decree. Upon returning to her residence, she took over all matters concerning Hongshi's upbringing in the main courtyard. After consulting with Yinzhen, she even moved Hongshi's residence to the rear hall of the main courtyard and personally supervised his upbringing every day.
Yinzhen probably changed Hongshi's teacher again as the New Year approached, probably because of Consort De's comments. Hongshi then began his endless study and running around every day, and could not even see his own mother.
Geng was also summoned by Ulanara several times for instruction. After learning about the intentions of Consort De and the Prince, she changed her previous pampered attitude towards Hongzhou and became stricter with him.
Those in the household with children all took action, while the few without children, except for Madam Guo who could remain carefree, did not fare so well.
Missing her deceased daughter, Madam Song didn't like to go out, and Madam Wu also had nothing to do all day. But one day, for some reason, she ran into Madam Nian.
The two women got into a fight in the Prince's Garden. Lady Nian even had her face scratched by Lady Wu, which made her faint on the spot. Because of Lady Nian's behavior, the nanny next to Lady Nian refused to let Lady Wu off the hook. After a shoving match, Lady Wu somehow fell into the water.
It was already the winter month, and Wu Shi nearly lost her life after falling into the water. Ulanara couldn't pretend she hadn't seen what happened, so she summoned everyone and questioned them, only to receive a reason that was both laughable and pathetic—
It turned out that Nian met Wu while strolling in the garden. Wu didn't recognize Nian at first, so Nian got angry and started cursing Wu for being old and blind, saying she didn't deserve to live.
Wu Shi used to have a fiery temper, and she happened to be in a bad mood lately, so how could she tolerate this? They immediately started arguing, which turned into a fight, and the fight... ended up like that.
Ulanara was extremely troubled, so she wrote a letter explaining the situation and sent it to Yinzhen at the estate.
At this moment, Yinzhen was enjoying a private hot spring with Qian Shengyan.
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