After the Fourteenth Prince's wedding, Emperor Kangxi felt that his sons were a bit idle, so he issued an imperial edict, sending Yinzhen to the Ministry of Revenue to work under Yinzhen, the Tenth Prince to the Ministry of War to do odd jobs under Prince Zhi, and the Eighth Prince to the Imperial Household Department.
The three men had different attitudes upon taking office. The Eighth Prince was courteous and treated people with kindness, and within a month he had become close with the old hands in the Imperial Household Department.
The Ninth Prince liked making money and spending money. He thrived in the Ministry of Revenue, and with Yinzhen's overt and covert support, he had a smooth and successful career.
Only the tenth prince encountered a setback with Prince Zhi. The Ministry of War had been under Prince Zhi's control for quite some time, and even if it wasn't entirely united, it was basically a monolithic entity. They were very resistant to the tenth prince, who had been parachuted in.
Old Ten wasn't the kind of person who had the patience to be on duty every day. He couldn't stand being idle, so after going a few times, he never went again and continued to loaf around every day.
When Emperor Kangxi found out, he simply turned a blind eye. That was just the nature of his son. He would be surprised if his son suddenly became ambitious one day.
The ninth brother followed the fourth brother with great skill and had an amazing talent for business. Placing him in the Ministry of Revenue was not a waste of his abilities.
It's the Eighth Prince... No matter how gentle his appearance is, it can't hide his ambition. A hint of mockery flashed in Kangxi's eyes. "If that's the case, then let's see what you can do."
******
After finishing the wedding of the Fourteenth Prince, Yi Hua was able to relax at home taking care of the children. All she had to do each day was watch Liu Liu run around. The child was never still for a moment and was always covered in dirt, as if he had crawled through a mud pit. She didn't know where he got all the energy.
Sure enough, Liu Liu came running over with a big flower in her hands: "Mommy, Mommy, wear a flower!"
Upon hearing this, Yi Hua turned her head to look over. The flower looked somewhat familiar, so she leaned closer to take a look.
Oh my, isn't this the Azure Dragon Lying in the Ink Pond that the Crown Princess bestowed upon us before? Such a precious variety requires a very delicate growing environment, and under Yinzhen's personal care, it blooms profusely every flowering season.
If she remembered correctly, this flower was grown separately, so how did Liu Liu pick one?!
Seeing that her mother's expression was not right, Liu Liu felt a little guilty. She put her hands together and handed them to Yi Hua: "Mother, the most beautiful flowers are for the most beautiful mother!"
Yi Hua was eating fruit when she almost spat out a grape. This child was so young and already knew how to be so flirtatious; she wondered who she took after. "Stand still," she said, "don't think you can get away with being sweet-talking. Didn't your mother tell you that you can't pick these flowers?"
Liu Liu tilted her head, blinked her big eyes, shook her head, and the bell on her head jingled: "Mother, Liu Liu doesn't remember."
“Mother, remember this again.”
Yi Hua scooped the little girl up and laid her on her lap, gently patting her bottom: "Don't remember? Don't you remember you went to pick this? I think you did it on purpose."
"Hahaha, it tickles." Yi Hua's movements were very gentle, and when she touched Liu Liu, it was like tickling her. The little girl laughed so hard that she shrugged and snuggled into Yi Hua's arms.
For a moment, the laughter of the mother and daughter echoed throughout the garden. The eldest princess stood on the other side of the rockery, staring at them for a long time before turning and leaving.
That evening, Yihua and Yinzhen had a late-night talk.
"My lord, the eldest princess is now ten years old. Do you have any thoughts on her marriage?" After finishing arranging the fourteenth prince's wedding, Yi Hua suddenly remembered that the eldest princess was not young anymore and it was time to start making preparations.
After the candidate is confirmed, it will take several months to complete a series of procedures, and with the addition of the dowry preparation, it will take several years to be finalized.
Yinzhen shook the rattle drum left behind by Liu Liu, clearly having considered this matter long ago: "All of our royal princesses have been sent to serve in Mongolia, but I want my eldest princess to stay in the capital."
“The princesses raised in the Forbidden City were all beautiful as flowers, but they would die within a few years after arriving in Mongolia. To appease the Mongols, the Emperor kept sending his daughters to Mongolia. But when the real fighting broke out, his daughters were always the first to be sacrificed to the flag.”
As Yinzhen spoke, he gritted his teeth, clearly furious. He might not have had any feelings for those royal princesses, but he couldn't accept the fact that members of the Aisin Gioro family were being looked down upon and trampled on.
"To be honest, I have my eye on someone. Your eldest brother's eldest son is twelve years old this year, which is the right age for our eldest princess. I've heard he's very diligent in his studies, and there aren't any servants in his room yet. What do you think?"
"Mingxuan?" Yihua racked her brains, but she really didn't have any impression of this nephew. She only remembered that her sister-in-law was very proud of this son every time she went home.
"It is an honor for my family that Your Majesty can entrust your daughter to marry into the Ulanara clan. However, Your Majesty must personally oversee the selection of this child." Marriage is not a trivial matter; it must be to the satisfaction of Yinzhen himself.
"Your Majesty, I'll take the eldest princess back home again, just to catch a glimpse of her from afar. It would be wonderful if she were willing." Yi Hua always felt that arranged marriages were a natural form of oppression for the woman. If the man didn't like the woman after the marriage, he could find someone else, but the woman could only endure it if she didn't like her.
Yi Hua hopes that the eldest princess can choose the person who best suits her within the limited options, so that it won't be in vain that she has watched the eldest princess grow up since she was a child.
As Yinzhen watched Yihua talk about trivial matters concerning their children, his heart softened as if floating on clouds: "You seem so familiar, my lady. Did you perhaps secretly see me back then?"
“Your Majesty, what you’re saying is irrelevant. Our marriage is bestowed by the Emperor. Whether I look at it or not makes no difference.” After Yi Hua finished speaking, seeing that Yin Zhen’s expression had darkened, she immediately added, “Of course, the first time I saw Your Majesty, I felt that this handsome and rich man was a bargain for me.”
"Tall, rich, and handsome?" Yinzhen repeated, the term being straightforward and obvious.
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