No one knows what Niohuru and the Crown Prince said that day. But from the next day onwards, the Crown Prince had a maidservant by his side. Everyone called her Tong'er. It is said that the Crown Prince brought her back from the border and doted on her, keeping her with him almost all the time.
Tong Guining was somewhat surprised when she heard about this. At this critical juncture, was there someone more important than the child in her womb?
Moreover, this palace maid was very mysterious. Tong Guining had never seen her before. After making some subtle inquiries, she discovered that this person hardly did any servant work, and the Crown Prince even assigned a maid to serve her.
Perhaps beauty has led people astray; Tong Guining completely abandoned the matter, and she couldn't control it anymore.
However, Tong'er quickly made a name for herself in Yuqing Palace. For her sake, the Crown Prince personally slapped Hongxi's hand three times, which was a very serious punishment.
Even Emperor Kangxi had heard about it, but his feelings were somewhat complicated.
After all, Bao Cheng had spoken so passionately to him earlier, specifically mentioning how he was not interested in women, and of course, men as well. He was focused entirely on conquering the Dzungar Khanate, and he felt that his son had indeed grown up.
Unexpectedly, he played the role of keeping a mistress in a golden house. Not only did he accept women given to him by others, but he also dared to bring them directly into the palace and joke with him without batting an eye.
How much of what Bao Cheng said can be believed?
Liang Jiugong quietly replaced Kangxi's cup of warm tea. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed that the emperor looked somewhat depressed, and his heart jumped into his throat. They had just won a battle a few days ago, so why was the emperor angry again?
Just as the palace servants in the Hall of Mental Cultivation were trembling with fear, the Tenth Prince made a dazzling appearance. Liang Jiugong suddenly became very enthusiastic when he saw the Tenth Prince walking over unsteadily.
The Tenth Prince patted his little belly with satisfaction. Although he hadn't come to his father's place to make his presence known for a while, his father still liked him very much. Even Eunuch Liang was acting like this.
And so, the self-satisfied Tenth Prince entered the Hall of Mental Cultivation. He had just said that he was short of money and wanted to ask his father for an advance on his salary, which meant that his father should reward his son with something nice.
As a result, Emperor Kangxi smashed cups and threw dishes at him, scolding him for at least an hour before he finally emerged from the Hall of Mental Cultivation looking utterly defeated.
The Tenth Prince rubbed his knees, which had gone numb from kneeling, and couldn't help but turn around to look in the direction of the Hall of Mental Cultivation. Where did the old man get so angry that he took it all out on him? What bad luck!
Not only did they fail to get the money, they also lost three years' worth of salary.
The Tenth Prince mentally calculated how many more years it would take before he could properly receive his salary, but in the end he realized he couldn't figure it out. So he turned around and left the palace to find the Ninth Prince, mainly to share the gossip about how angry his father was, not to ask him for money.
Having a cunning son is troublesome, but having no cunning is even more troublesome. After scolding the Tenth Prince, Kangxi felt much better. Right now, he didn't want to see his sons, but he also didn't want to be alone. Thinking that Hongxi had been wronged, he needed to comfort him properly, so he sent someone to summon Hongxi.
Hongxi was a frequent visitor to the Hall of Mental Cultivation since childhood. He was not afraid of Emperor Kangxi at all and answered him fluently, just like an ordinary grandfather and grandson.
As Kangxi looked at the angles of his face, he seemed to see a miniature version of the Crown Prince, a naive Bao Cheng who trusted him wholeheartedly.
Looking at the similar face, Kangxi lost interest in conversation. He asked a few perfunctory questions about the students' studies and then dismissed him.
Hongxi came and went in a daze. He only relied on his intuition to judge that his grandfather was in a bad mood, so he did not try to keep him. He kept it in mind and thought he would tell his father.
After Hongxi left, the Hall of Mental Cultivation returned to its tranquility. Kangxi flipped through the memorials, becoming increasingly irritated with each reading. Finally, he put them all aside and wanted to call upon the women of the inner palace to relieve his boredom. He thought of several names over and over, but none of them seemed interesting.
"Is Honghui still in class? Call him here!" Kangxi thought for a moment and then said.
Seeing Honghui hurrying over with the little eunuch, Liang Jiugong whispered a reminder to him: "The Tenth Prince just requested an audience with the Emperor and was punished with a three-year salary reduction. Prince, be more careful."
"Thank you, Eunuch Liang." Honghui understood and took out a pouch from his pocket, handing it to Liang Jiugong. "This is an imported product, cigarettes sent from the sea. They have a mild flavor, please try them."
"Thank you for the reward, Your Highness." Liang Jiugong did not refuse. He could not accept a large sum of silver notes, so this little thing was just right.
"Honghui greets His Majesty the Emperor." Because he was called over during class, there was still some ink left on Honghui's hands.
Emperor Kangxi, with his sharp eyes, noticed the marks beneath the ink: "What happened to your hand?"
Honghui pulled his hand back slightly, a little embarrassed, and said, "Grandpa, please don't laugh at me. My maternal grandfather said he dreamed of a chubby baby chasing him with a wooden sword, which happened to coincide with my mother's pregnancy. I was thinking of making a set of wooden swords for my little brother, the kind he can play with from childhood to adulthood."
"The large ones are fine, but the small ones are easy to prick your hands. These are all signs that Honghui is not skilled enough."
"Feiyanggu is dreaming of having a grandson," Kangxi said with a smile. "You went to see him; how is his health?"
Honghui shook his head honestly: "Reporting to Grandfather, my grandfather's wound is still festering after so long. The other sword wounds are fine, but the musket wound under his armpit is getting infected repeatedly. Fortunately, he has finally stopped having a fever all the time."
Kangxi nodded to indicate that he understood. He looked at Honghui's serious little face, which was just like a replica of the fourth prince, and thought to himself that blood relations were truly wonderful.
"Oh, right, Grandfather, please try this." Honghui suddenly pulled out an oil paper bag from his bag with great excitement. Inside were braised peanuts, each one plump and looking very appetizing.
“A few years ago, Honghui planted potatoes, corn, and sweet potatoes. This is the first time he’s planted peanuts. His grandson and Hongyun planted together, and their yield was half a bag more than Uncle Fourteen’s. Father teased Uncle Fourteen for a long time.” Honghui recalled Uncle Fourteen’s incredulous look and couldn’t help but laugh.
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