In recent days, during the midday break, Honghui has been summoned to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, with only one task: to read.
Honghui noticed that the lights in the Hall of Mental Cultivation were much brighter than before, and sometimes when he stood at the wrong angle, they would dazzle his eyes.
On this day, he was reading a Buddhist scripture. Yes, his work gradually expanded from reading memorials to travelogues, Buddhist scriptures, autobiographies, and even musical scores. As long as Kangxi wanted to hear it, Honghui would read it.
On one occasion, Honghui picked up a beautifully packaged book and read a few sentences aloud. Honghui was unusually stumped. It turned out to be a collection of erotic novels wrapped in ornate language. He had read a few of these before, but none of them were as well-written as the ones in Kangxi's book.
Kangxi looked up and saw that Honghui's face was red all the way to his neck. He teased, "With such a thin skin, don't tell me you haven't seen these before."
Honghui turned a page without changing his expression, ignoring the illustrations in the book: "Grandpa, Honghui will get a beating from Father if he looks at these."
Kangxi suddenly became interested in Honghui's private life: "Come, tell Grandfather, what kind of woman do you like?"
Seeing that Kangxi insisted on speaking, Honghui reluctantly said, "It's all arranged by parents and matchmakers. As long as Mother likes it, Honghui will like it."
"You're not being honest." Kangxi chuckled. He had also been a boy once, and he knew that Honghui was just trying to fool him.
"How many women do you have in your household now?" Kangxi continued to ask.
Honghui put down the book in his hand: "Grandpa, Honghui wants to change his clothes. You should rest first."
After saying that, he left in a hurry, his back view looking like he was fleeing in panic.
Emperor Kangxi was in a rare good mood: "How did this book end up here? Look how embarrassed Honghui is."
Seeing that Kangxi was in a good mood, Liang Jiugong also said a few words: "It is my fault. Perhaps I have a bad memory and put it in the wrong place."
"You've been with me for so many years, you're not young anymore, you're getting old!" Kangxi sighed, rubbing his uncomfortable eyes.
"This servant is no longer young, but I can still serve Your Majesty. Your Majesty, please don't despise this servant for being stupid and clumsy." Liang Jiugong played the victim to express his loyalty.
"How is Doctor Ye doing?" Kangxi asked.
Liang Jiugong immediately became alert and carefully said, "Doctor Ye is making pills. He said they will be ready in three days. Your Majesty, please wait patiently for a few days."
"I've heard that Doctor Ye has a great reputation in the Jiangnan region. I hope he lives up to that reputation," Kangxi said calmly.
Liang Jiugong felt apologetic towards the simple old doctor and prayed that his medicine would be effective for the emperor.
"Dr. Ye is good in every way, except that he is a bit too bold," Liang Jiugong said.
After all, this was a ruthless person who suggested cutting Kangxi's eye after taking his pulse. It's only because Kangxi had some magnanimity that he could have gone straight to meet the King of Hell.
"Those who study medicine must have an innovative spirit. As long as they can cure my eyes, they will be meritorious." Kangxi did not accept the risky "surgery" but chose conservative treatment.
"By the way, how many women does Honghui have in his household?" Kangxi was genuinely curious.
Liang Jiugong gave an awkward laugh: "Not yet."
"Hmm?" Kangxi was genuinely surprised. Royal children usually had a maidservant around the age of ten to teach them about human affairs. He calculated in his mind that Honghui was almost fifteen years old this year and was still a virgin. This was probably an oddity in the entire Aisin Gioro family.
That very evening, Emperor Kangxi chose Yonghe Palace.
Consort De had not received the Emperor for a long time. Nowadays, the Emperor usually had young and beautiful noble ladies accompanying him. If he came to her, it meant that something was wrong. She wondered what it could be.
"So that's what it was about. It's strange, Your Majesty. I once thought of giving Honghui a few palace maids. But the Fourth Prince's wife said that Honghui was too young and that she was afraid that the immoral maids would corrupt his character."
"Don't laugh at me, Your Majesty, but back then, the Fourth Prince was also impatient with those palace maids. Every time it was time for a palace maid to serve him in bed, his face would turn ashen, as if someone owed him a lot of money."
“Honghui has taken after the fourth brother; he doesn’t care about women and is honest and prudent.”
Emperor Kangxi still agreed with Consort De's assessment of Yinzhen: "The fourth prince is very much like you, cautious and careful in everything he does. The eldest prince is just like his mother, audacious and reckless!"
Consort De could not comment on Prince Zhi casually, so she changed the subject: "Speaking of which, Honghui is almost fifteen now. Why don't we wait for the next imperial concubine selection and have His Majesty keep an eye out for a good one for him?"
"Hmm, keep an eye on them, and report back to me if you find a good candidate." Kangxi nodded.
******
At this moment, Yi Hua and the others are eating crabs.
Impatient with having the servants dismantle the crabs, Yihua personally demonstrated to the children how to eat them. Seeing this, Yinzhen also took the tools and dismantled the crabs little by little, which was quite interesting.
The eldest princess used her tools meticulously, thoroughly cleaning the meat from the crab legs.
Liu Liu, on the other hand, had a completely different style. She ate all the easily detachable crab meat, throwing away the scraps and corners without even glancing at them.
The little wolf sat on his specially made little chair, feeling that Yi Hua was feeding him too slowly. He stretched out his chubby little hand and forcefully smashed the crab shell. The original chunks of crab meat were smashed into pieces. He looked up at Yi Hua with some confusion, as if asking, "Where did my crab meat go?"
Yinzhen watched with amusement, able to discern the children's temperaments from such a small matter as eating crabs. The eldest princess was disciplined, Liu Liu was unconventional, and Xiao Lang was exceptionally brave—all good children.
If Hongyun were here, he'd probably eat it without thinking about anything else. As for Honghui, he'd give all the best crab roe to Yihua, the younger siblings would get some crab meat, and he'd probably only get the crab shell.
Liu Liu and Xiao Lang were impatient with eating such delicate things, and after only a few bites, they went out to play hand in hand. Liu Liu was still a naughty little girl in front of Yi Hua, but she was already a very qualified older sister in front of Xiao Lang.
Seeing this, the eldest princess tactfully wiped her mouth and made an excuse to leave, leaving only Yihua and Yinzhen at the dinner table.
Yi Hua poured wine for Yin Zhen: "The moon is very beautiful tonight. Your Highness should drink more. Maybe you'll dream of Chang'e in the moon palace."
"You mean to say that I am Pigsy, huh?" Yinzhen had also heard Yihua tell stories to the children, and he could never forget the story of Pigsy carrying his wife after hearing it just once.
Yi Hua shook her head, firmly denying it.
Yinzhen placed the plate next to Yihua, then began to dismantle the crab himself: "Eat up, this is all we can have. Crab is cold in nature and not good for your health."
Yi Hua knew that things were changing rapidly outside recently, and she was originally worried about Yin Zhen, but now that she saw him calm and unhurried, she felt relieved.
Yi Hua chuckled to herself. What did he have to worry about? As the victor in history, the last thing Yi Hua needed to worry about was Yinzhen's patience.
Yinzhen rarely talked to Yihua about matters of the court. Recently, he only told her to keep a low profile and gave no other instructions.
Perhaps it was the gentle moonlight, or perhaps it was the wine that made him drunk, but Yinzhen suddenly started talking about the Crown Prince.
Yi Hua was able to glimpse some of what Yinzhen looked like as a child from this.
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