Was Prince Yong regarded as someone who had no chance, like the Eighth Prince, or was he valued highly and thus kept alive to serve the country?
Everyone was guessing, but soon, Kangxi gave a clear answer.
In April of that year, Emperor Kangxi dropped another bombshell, shocking the entire court, and this matter was also related to Prince Yong—
The Kangxi Emperor decreed that the population number in the fiftieth year of his reign (1711) should be used as the fixed number for collecting poll tax, and that "no additional tax would be levied for any increase in the population thereafter," thus abolishing the poll tax on newborns.
The decree of "never increasing taxes" shocked the court and the country. However, Emperor Kangxi had Prince Yong supervise the implementation of this decree.
The implications of this action are self-evident.
All the older princes had gone to the frontier with Kangxi, leaving only Prince Yong, who now shoulders heavy responsibilities. In addition, Kangxi had recently reprimanded Crown Prince Yinreng...
For a time, people in the capital were restless, and long queues of people came to deliver gifts outside the Prince Yong's mansion.
However, this gift was not without purpose. Whenever asked, the answer was always that a servant from the palace had come to deliver this year's ice tribute to Prince Yong.
"In summer, we send ice as a gift; in winter, we send charcoal as a gift; and during festivals, we receive a constant stream of gifts. It's still more than half a month until the Dragon Boat Festival, but we've already finished giving out all the Dragon Boat Festival gifts."
Yinzhen sat in the pavilion outside Peach Blossom Village, gulped down the tea in his cup, and complained to Qian Shengyan, "If that's all there is to it, then what about those who borrow 100,000 taels of silver from the national treasury every year? I don't know what they need so much silver for."
Qian Shengyan knew he just wanted to talk to someone and didn't expect her to answer, so she just smiled and poured him another cup of tea: "Drink slowly, sir. Go change your clothes after you finish, they're all soaked."
"Hmm." Yinzhen drank two more cups of warm tea, and Qian Shengyan handed him a bowl of slightly cool mung bean soup, which he drank, and then he breathed a sigh of relief, "It's really hot this year."
"Fortunately, it rained heavily a few days ago, so we're not worried about drought," Qian Shengyan said with a smile.
Yinzhen nodded, his expression relaxing. He looked around and asked, "Where is Yuanshou?"
“You went over there to play,” Qian Shengyan gestured towards the depths of the peach grove. “Ever since I could walk properly, I’ve refused to stay still. I go wherever it’s difficult to walk.”
"That's right, boys should be brave." Yinzhen was clearly in a good mood today, or rather, he had been in a good mood ever since Yuanshou picked up a jade seal during his first birthday celebration. He thought everything Yuanshou did was right, and he wished he could transform into a loving father and start spoiling his child.
Qian Shengyan felt she couldn't bear to look at it, so she had to play the role of a "strict mother" and would grab the little rascal every now and then and give him a spanking.
However, Yuan Shou is now very clever and can tell who will protect him. So whenever Yinzhen is around, if Qian Shengyan tries to hit him, he will cover his buttocks and run to Wanfang Anhe.
Peach Blossom Village is very close to Wanfang Anhe, but even with his short legs, Yuan Shou still has to run there for a while.
At this point, Qian Shengyan stopped chasing. Running was also a form of punishment. She calmly waited in the pavilion in front of Peach Blossom Garden for the man to return with the chubby boy.
After many attempts, the little fat boy learned his lesson. He would run towards Wanfang Anhe, but knowing that his mother wouldn't chase after him, he wouldn't actually run to find his father. Instead, he would stop and play with anything fun he saw along the way, and then return to Peach Blossom Village when he was done playing.
Yuan Shou now has a round face, and his two big eyes are round like black grapes set in his face. Every time Qian Shengyan sees him, she feels that she is good at naming him.
Not long after she transmigrated, she gave Yuan Shou his first nickname, "Yuanyuan." Look how round he is now!
Once in bed, Qian Shengyan couldn't help but mention it. Yinzhen was naturally unconvinced and insisted that the name "Yuanshou" was better, as it was round and long-lived, reflecting both the present and the future.
Qian Shengyan at the time: ...
She only knew that Emperor Yongzheng was meticulous, but she didn't know he was this meticulous! He even argued over his son's nickname!
Of course, Qian Shengyan was also unwilling to accept defeat, so in the end the two could only settle the matter by fighting in bed—and without a doubt, Qian Shengyan lost.
So for the next few days, Yinzhen was not given any mung bean soup. Qian Shengyan's dark thoughts were, "Don't give him any! Let him feel depressed! Let his health deteriorate! Let him bully others!"
As May arrived, the weather outside grew even hotter, but it was said that the scene outside the Prince Yong's Mansion was even hotter than the weather – it was incredibly lively.
Qian Shengyan hadn't returned since leaving the manor in February. The garden was spacious and cool, and she didn't care about Dongyou Courtyard.
However, someone always had to keep an eye on things, so Qian Shengyan had Green Willow and Green Smoke take turns guarding the courtyard with the two children, rotating every half month. When Green Willow came again this time, she brought the latest news from the Prince's Mansion.
“The Ulanara family has come to visit several times, but Granny Lin has not allowed them to enter the mansion.” Green Willow whispered to Qian Shengyan, “It seems to be the Prince’s order. The gatekeeper didn’t even accept the gifts, just left a note and sent them back.”
"Is the Fujin still... still in the main courtyard and not coming out often?" Qian Shengyan asked in confusion.
Green Willow shook her head: "I do often take the Fifth Prince to play in the garden. The Fifth Prince is a bit older now. I met him a few days ago. He's not as fair-skinned or as fat as our Fourth Prince."
Qian Shengyan: ...
Comparing this seems pointless, doesn't it?
"Oh, right, Consort sometimes takes Consort Geng out for a walk. Consort Geng's belly is quite big... I heard that Consort Geng wants to get close to the Fifth Prince, but Consort is very strict and never allows anyone else to get close to the Fifth Prince."
Upon hearing Green Willow's words, Qian Shengyan suddenly remembered Geng Gege. She was puzzled; hadn't Doctor Zhou said that Geng Gege's pregnancy could only be maintained for five months? Counting the days, it had already been over five months…
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