Chapter 19 Ordered to Visit Before dawn, several young men were in the Imperial Study…
Before dawn, the young princes in the Imperial Study began their studies, continuing until sunrise. During the breaks, the six- or seven-year-old boys would drink water or chat.
Don't let their young age fool you; they're all precocious and have already started forming cliques.
The Imperial Study was roughly divided into two groups: the princes, who, though young, held high seniority and did not interfere with the lower ranks; and the grandsons, who, though young, were quite shrewd. Among the grandsons, there were further factions: one led by Hongyu, son of Prince Zhi, was the eldest grandson's faction; the other was the eldest grandson of the deposed Crown Prince, Hongxi. Normally, the two groups disliked each other, but their conflicts remained covert. However, now that Hongxi had clearly lost power, the eldest grandson's faction had begun to rise to prominence.
Hongxi didn't want to cause trouble at this time, so during a break he whispered to Hongjin, "I'll go to the South Study to ask my master for leave and then I'll leave." Hongjin always listened to his brother, so he nodded and said okay. Then Hongxi led his men out the door and headed towards the South Study.
The two studies in the Qianqing Palace are both located on the south side, on either side of the Qianqing Gate. The Upper Study was specifically for the princes and grandsons to study, while the Southern Study was the domain of the tutors.
Hongxi went to the Southern Study to ask his tutor for leave for the morning. After coming out, he asked his personal eunuch, Delu, to bring Hongjin out. However, Delu returned shortly afterward, anxiously saying that Hongjin was being blocked by the other princes and couldn't get out.
Hongxi frowned immediately and strode into the study. As soon as he entered, he heard Hongsheng, the son of the Third Prince Cheng, ask in a cheeky tone, "Brother Hongjin, aren't you waiting for class? Where are you going?"
As soon as he said that, everyone's eyes fell on Hong Jin. Many people were openly or secretly watching the show, with Hong Yu being the most obvious. Although he didn't say anything, his face was full of blatant mockery.
Hong Jin was stopped and didn't know how to respond for a moment. He stammered and smiled awkwardly. Just then, he saw Hong Xi and immediately called out "Brother".
Hongxi knew in his heart that they must have seen Eunuch Liang come to deliver the Emperor's message yesterday afternoon, which was why they were deliberately waiting here today to see the two brothers make a fool of themselves. Thinking this, he walked in with a gloomy face, disgusted by Hongsheng standing up for Hongyu and also disgusted by Hongjin's incompetence and weakness.
With Hongxi's arrival, the others no longer dared to openly block Hongjin. In front of everyone, Hongqing scolded her younger brother, "Hongsheng, do we brothers need to tell you what we're going to do?" Hongjin, relieved of his predicament, immediately gave Hongqing a grateful look.
Hongqing looked at Hongxi and apologized to him, saying, "Hongsheng misspoke when he was young, and I, as his older brother, apologize on his behalf."
Since he had said that, Hongxi had no way to vent his anger, so he could only pretend to be magnanimous and wave his hand, then said to Hongjin, "Hongjin, let's go."
As soon as the two brothers left, the study returned to its usual tranquility. The Fifteenth and Sixteenth Princes, who had been watching the farce from outside the window, exchanged a glance. These two brothers, born of the same mother and older than the other children, knew exactly what the other was thinking and burst into laughter.
Hongqing and Hongsheng, from the Chengjun Prince's family, are also brothers. One of them had long stood by Hongxi's side, while the other entered the study last winter. Instead of following his brother, he simply and directly clung to Hongyu's coattails.
These two brothers are really interesting. Hmm, their father, Prince Cheng, seems quite interesting too. Do children always do things according to what adults teach them?
Even after leaving the study, Hongxi's face remained composed as he strode towards Xiefang Palace. Hongjin could only keep up by running in small steps, and by the time they reached Xiefang Palace, he was already out of breath.
"Brother." After finally stopping, Hong Jin called out pitifully, only to see Hong Xi glaring at him angrily.
Hongxi glanced at him, and the eunuchs serving him immediately knelt down. He first punished his own eunuch, Delu, saying sternly, "Useless thing, go and get twenty strokes of the cane." Then he punished even the eunuchs around Hongjin, saying, "Those who cannot be loyal to their master, go and kneel under the eaves now." After venting his anger, he finally calmed down and called Hongjin in to change his clothes with him.
The two brothers were talking through a screen, while outside, the sound of slapping hands was crisp and loud.
Hongxi said, "They only dare to bully you because you have a good personality. If you stand up for yourself, no one can suppress you."
Hongjin knew this principle, but he couldn't put it into practice. He said dejectedly, "Brother, I'm bad with words." Every time someone asked him a question, he would be dumbfounded, and by the time he thought of how to refute it, it was too late. Although it is said that one learns from one's mistakes, he remembered this incident, but the next time someone asked him a different question, he was dumbfounded again.
Hongxi was speechless after his younger brother's words, and said with exasperation, "You, you!"
Hong Jin smiled ingratiatingly and said in a low voice, "Isn't there you, brother? I'll listen to whatever you say."
Hongxi sighed upon hearing this, but the anger in his heart remained unvented. He vowed that one day he would make those who looked down on them pay!
After changing their clothes, the two walked towards the Western Six Palaces. Upon reaching the westernmost Xian'an Palace, the gatekeeper eunuch eagerly led them to the study on the east side of the front courtyard. The two hadn't seen their father for half a year; after bowing and paying their respects, they were at a loss for words.
Yinreng was also at a loss, looking at his two sons standing below him. He hesitated, unsure how to treat them. Too lenient, and he feared losing his father's authority; too harsh, and he'd lose his warmth. Finally, he cleared his throat and asked, "How was your study? Did you listen to your teacher? Has anything happened?"
Hongjin had made up his mind to listen to his brother. He secretly glanced at Hongxi and heard him say, "Reporting to Father, everything is fine."
Yinreng didn't say whether he believed him or not, but instructed them, "Don't worry about anything else while you're away. Just focus on your studies and practice riding and archery." As he spoke, he ordered someone to bring over the writing materials that had been prepared for them.
Hongxi thanked the emperor, straightened up, hesitated for a moment, and then said, "Father, on the Emperor's birthday, he asked Hongjin and me to offer toasts to the ministers." He added, "Just the two of us."
Yinreng was taken aback. Two imperial grandsons were going over the princes to offer a toast? He pondered for a moment, speechless. After a long while, he said to them, "Go and see your mother in the back." After the two children left, he suddenly sighed deeply.
Hongxi and Hongjin entered the main courtyard, first paying their respects to their wives, and then each went to their respective mothers' quarters. In the east side hall, Lady Li Jia had been waiting for a long time. Seeing Hongxi enter, she hurriedly said, "Good child, come quickly and let your mother see you." She looked Hongxi up and down, and after a long while asked, "How have you been doing with your studies lately? Have you received praise from your teacher and the Emperor?"
Hongxi said that he had done very well and that his master had praised him. However, perhaps the emperor was too busy to enter the imperial study for the past few months, so his reputation for diligence had not reached the emperor's ears.
Lady Li was visibly disappointed, but when she heard Hongxi say that he had attended the Emperor's birthday celebration and even went down to offer toasts on behalf of the Emperor, she cheered up again. She affectionately patted Hongxi's shoulder and said to him, "Good boy, it's clear that the Emperor values you. But Hongjin went too? Humph, he's just like his mother, a good-for-nothing. He's definitely not as good as you!"
Seeing Li Jia's proud expression, Hongxi couldn't help but puff out his chest.
Lin Jia prepared many pastries for Hong Jin, and knowing he liked milk tea, she even had someone specially buy a jar from the kitchen. Now Hong Jin was enjoying a sip of salty milk tea and a bite of sweet pastry.
Madam Lin gently wiped his mouth. She always felt quite sorry for this son, because in her early years she was not favored, which affected this child, who was also not valued by the Crown Prince. Later, when their family lost power, Hongjin would definitely suffer grievances outside. As his mother, she couldn't help him much, so she could only make him more comfortable when he came over.
Hongjin was almost ecstatic. Because his nanny was afraid of rotting his teeth from eating too much sugar, she wouldn't let him eat too many sweet and soft snacks. But now he could finally eat his fill. He ate like a little hamster, his cheeks puffed out, and he even shook his head, causing the red string binding his braids to sway from side to side.
Lin Jia asked him softly, "Did you eat well outside? Were you bullied?"
Hongjin originally wanted to complain, but remembering how Hongxi had just assured his father that everything was fine, he swallowed his words and imitated Hongxi, saying to Linjia, "Mother, don't worry, everything is fine. It's just that the nanny won't let me eat too many snacks, saying that eating too much sugar will ruin my teeth." He also took the opportunity to complain.
Lin Jia didn't say anything, only saying, "You don't need to worry about these rules here. Since you can't eat much outside, you can eat more here with your mother."
Hong Jin hummed in agreement, then thought for a moment and said, "Will Grandfather still call us over? If so, I can come to see you more often."
Lin Jia couldn't help but harbor some hope, but soon a bitter feeling welled up in her heart. She tightly gripped her handkerchief and said, "Both thunder and rain are the Emperor's grace." She instructed Hong Jin, "Don't be presumptuous in front of the Emperor, understand? Outside, listen to the Emperor. The Emperor likes Hong Xi, so do whatever he does."
Hong Jin nodded and said okay.
At noon, Hongxi and Hongjin visited their mother and returned to the front courtyard, where they had lunch with Yinreng before leaving. As soon as the two children left, Yinreng went to his study.
He thought he should submit a memorial to express his gratitude, but after much deliberation, he couldn't figure out how to write it. Like a headless fly, he put down his pen, then crumpled the memorial into a ball and threw it into the wastebasket.
Finally, Yinreng let out a long sigh of relief, and after calming down, he wrote: "Your subject respectfully wishes Your Majesty good health..." He attributed all the credit for the excellent upbringing of his two children to the Emperor. At the very end, he added a line at the very bottom of the memorial: "Your son was previously bewitched, but now, having regained his senses, he has no face to face Your Majesty."
The memorial had barely been submitted when Emperor Kangxi bestowed gifts upon him. Yinreng looked at the string of sandalwood beads on the tray, and respectfully took it from the eunuch who delivered the decree, slipping it onto his wrist.
He kowtowed and said, "Your subject accepts the imperial decree and expresses his gratitude."
He thought that as long as his father still had a shred of affection for him, he would still have a chance to be reinstated!
A note from the author:
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