The next morning, Yihua had breakfast with Yinzhen and Honghui.
After so many years of training her biological clock, Yi Hua can now get up at four or five in the morning. If Hong Hui hadn't also gotten up early, she was 100% sure she wouldn't have been able to get up.
Fortunately, she has more free time than the men, and can take a nap for an hour every noon, which keeps her energetic.
"Shrimp wontons, have a few more." Yi Hua saw that Hong Hui was only focusing on the millet porridge, so she scooped a bowl for him. This child really had a hard time eating breakfast, but you can't blame him. Who can eat breakfast at this hour?
By the time they reached Yinzhen's age, they were already used to the hustle and bustle of the morning court sessions, doing so every day to maintain their appetite.
Yinzhen's gaze fell on Yihua's hair bun, and he saw the gift he had sent yesterday. He smiled slightly.
Indeed, it suits the Princess Consort very well. Yinzhen nodded in satisfaction. Perhaps he could look for a purple one as well, which should also be suitable.
Seeing that Honghui was eating absentmindedly, Yihua asked curiously, "What's wrong with Honghui? The exam is coming up soon. Could it be that you've been slacking off lately and are now cramming at the last minute?"
“No, that’s not it.” Honghui was unusually conflicted. “My son made a bet. If he doesn’t get first place in this ten-day exam, he has to pass on the Analects that his grandfather gave him to everyone.”
Yinzhen raised an eyebrow: "Is our Honghui so confident that we can definitely win first place?"
Honghui shook his head: "The difficulty of the archery on horseback has increased this time, and my son lacks confidence."
Yi Hua took a sip of goat milk: "How did something given by your Grandfather become a prize?"
Honghui put down his chopsticks: "It was Brother Hongxi who provoked me, and Hongqing impulsively agreed on my behalf."
The matter is actually very simple. Every ten-day exam is a nightmare for these princes and grandsons of the emperor. Those like Honghui, who are at the top of the class, don't take it seriously, while those at the bottom always get punished with a beating.
Unexpectedly, Hongxi came over and proposed that if Honghui could still come in first place, he would give Honghui the Mongolian scimitar from his place. However, if Honghui failed to retain his first place, he would circulate the Analects with the Emperor's annotations to everyone.
It was all because of Hongqing's big mouth. He once saw Honghui's treasured books and carelessly let it slip. During the time when everyone thought Honghui had fallen out of favor, he meant well, saying that even the Emperor had given Honghui his own primers, so how could he have fallen out of favor?
These words immediately enraged everyone, which is why Hongxi came up with this crooked scheme.
Honghui didn't want to pay any attention to him at all, as it wouldn't do him any good. The Mongol scimitars were plentiful in the Prince's mansion, and he didn't want them at all.
Who would have thought that Hongqing, who couldn't stand being provoked, would agree immediately after being swayed by a few harsh words from Hongxi.
Honghui tried to stop him, but it was too late. He couldn't very well disrespect his brother and say that his promise was no longer valid.
That's how it was settled.
Yi Hua smiled after hearing this: "Hong Qing's impulsive nature will cause him to suffer sooner or later."
Honghui, unusually lacking confidence, asked, "Mother, what if I lose?"
"Do you think the most important thing right now is the ranking in the exam? I don't think so." Yi Hua peeled an egg for Hong Hui. "If I were you, I would go to another place before the exam."
Honghui slapped his head: "Oh dear, the Hall of Mental Cultivation."
Yinzhen watched from the side and found it interesting, but did not interrupt.
"Grandpa won't find out so soon, will he?" Honghui said angrily, taking a bite of an egg.
"All land under heaven belongs to the emperor. Is there anything in the Forbidden City that your imperial grandfather doesn't know?" Yi Hua finished eating, leaned back gently in her chair, and gave a delicate yawn.
"My son understands."
This was the first time Kangxi had ever seen Honghui kneeling on the ground in such a fearful manner, begging for forgiveness.
He didn't mention Hongqing at all, only saying that he was wrong and shouldn't have publicized the Emperor's handwritten letter everywhere.
Emperor Kangxi found out yesterday. He was initially quite angry, but when he saw his grandson come to apologize early in the morning, his discomfort lessened considerably.
"As long as you can win the championship, there will be no problem." Kangxi also put pressure on Honghui, and then, seeing that it was almost time, he hurried to court.
In the Imperial Study
Before the master arrived, Honghui pulled Hongqing aside and bowed to him, saying, "Brother Hongqing, it was my fault for giving you croton seeds last time. I apologize to you."
Hongqing jumped up immediately: "What are you doing? We're brothers, I know you're doing this for me."
Upon hearing this, Honghui's eyes reddened: "That's good. I thought you were still blaming me. Otherwise, how could you and Hongxi have betrayed me yesterday?"
"I just couldn't stand them." Hongqing felt a little guilty. He hadn't realized it at the time because he was in the heat of the moment, but after he got home, he felt more and more uneasy and realized that he had been used as a pawn. "Besides, you're so capable, I believe you can definitely do it too."
Honghui turned his head away: "Grandpa Huang knows, and he's going to be angry with me this time."
"How could this happen!" Hongqing's eyes widened. "Come on, I'll go with you to see the Emperor and tell him it was all my idea, and has nothing to do with you."
“We are brothers, and your idea is my idea.” Honghui looked at Hongqing. “In the future, could you please listen to your brother and not make promises lightly, so as not to hurt our brotherly relationship?”
Hongqing raised her hand and swore: "Honghui, I was reckless this time. I swear that I will follow your lead from now on."
Honghui squeezed his shoulder: "What are you saying? You're the older brother, I have to listen to you. Let's go."
What about the exams in that ten-day period?
"Doesn't Brother Hongqing have any information about his younger brother?"
"Yes, yes!" Hongqing felt relieved seeing Honghui's confident demeanor.
******
Yuqing Palace
The Crown Prince has recently fallen ill. He claimed to be sick and did not attend court, and the Crown Princess took care of him without taking off her clothes.
Yinreng was deeply moved. During the time he was bedridden, he only allowed the Crown Princess to attend to him, and none of the concubines in the Eastern Palace were allowed to enter the room.
This means that the Crown Princess's favor has been restored after her previous miscarriage.
The Crown Prince didn't know what illness he had contracted. He only said that he felt dizzy and couldn't get out of bed. The Imperial Hospital consulted with him several times but couldn't find a solution. They could only prescribe medicine to see if it would alleviate his symptoms.
One of the things the Crown Princess had to do every day was to test medicines on the Crown Prince. Originally, this job was done by the Crown Prince's personal eunuch, but the Crown Princess took over the task in order to please the Crown Prince.
Sure enough, the Crown Prince felt that he had seen the Crown Princess's true feelings and began to treat her differently.
So, these past few days, every time the herbal medicine was ready, the Crown Princess would drink the first sip before it went into the Crown Prince's stomach.
Several days passed, and the Crown Prince's illness showed no improvement, while the Crown Princess grew increasingly haggard.
The Crown Princess's wet nurse advised her to take care of her health, but the Crown Princess insisted: "This is a chance to turn things around. As long as the Crown Prince recovers and remembers my kindness, he can give me another child, even if it's just a princess."
And so, the Crown Princess diligently and attentively served him medicine, until finally, on the day Honghui was suffering from a headache during the mid-term exam, she collapsed in front of the Crown Prince's sickbed and coughed up a mouthful of hot blood.
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