Chapter 3 Chapter 3 Brotherly Understanding
After the Empress Dowager had finished worshipping Buddha, she was about to go to bed. She was a little surprised to hear that the Emperor and the Empress had come with Yonglian.
"Yonglian, good boy, come here and let Mama take a look..." The Empress Dowager frowned when she saw the wound on Yonglian's forehead.
Yonglian ran obediently to the side of the Empress Dowager. The long-lived and blessed Empress Dowager Chongqing did not look old yet. Although her facial features were not delicate, she was very gentle and amiable. It was just that she dressed a little old-fashioned.
"Mammy, I'm fine." Yonglian said, "Mammy said the bump on my forehead will go away tomorrow or the day after tomorrow."
As he spoke, the Queen Mother had already hugged her grandson tightly in her arms and rubbed his head.
Qianlong said, "Yonglian was reluctant to eat the lychees you sent him, so he sent them back for you to enjoy." As he said this, a hint of pride appeared on his face.
The palace maid had already placed a plate with two lychees on the small table next to the empress dowager.
Yonglian didn't want to push it back, so he took a lychee from the plate, peeled it, and handed it to the empress dowager's mouth, "Ma Ma, please eat it. Lychees don't keep well, they won't be fresh tomorrow."
The Queen Mother smiled as she ate the lychee, the lychee's unique sweet juice bursting in her mouth. Her eyes curved with laughter unconsciously. The Holy Ancestor had said she was a blessed person, and she hadn't believed it before, but now it seemed that the Holy Ancestor was right.
My son and daughter-in-law are thoughtful and filial, and my grandson is so well-behaved and sensible. I can now eat lychees, which I never dared to think about before.
Yonglian went to peel another one, and the Empress Dowager hurriedly said, "Good boy, this one is for you. Just let Mama taste it. This is the last batch of lychees this year, so you'll have to wait until next year to eat it."
Yonglian: "..." For some reason, he felt like a poor family eating dumplings during the New Year.
"Just eat it if the Empress Dowager tells you to. It's okay." Qianlong said with a smile. Lychees are such a delicious thing, of course the prince would try them.
In the past, Emperor Kangxi sent all the good things to the Prince's Palace. Now he can't do so openly, but he can't let his own Yonglian down too much.
Yonglian had no choice but to stuff the lychee in his hand into his mouth.
...Well, it really doesn't taste that good. In modern times, this is considered a lychee that is not very fresh.
Yonglian's hands were sticky from peeling lychees, so he jumped off the bed to wash his hands.
He vaguely heard Qianlong assuring the Empress Dowager that more lychee trees would be sent from Fujian, Guangdong and other places next year.
The Queen Mother said that it was a waste of money and effort and that eating some pickled lychees would be just as good.
Qianlong said that the taste of pickled lychees was not even one-tenth as good as fresh lychees, so of course he wanted the Empress Dowager to eat the best.
Yonglian couldn't help but curl his lips when he heard this. It was as if the lychees were transported just for the Empress Dowager. She only got two, and you ate six...
The bottom line is that there are too few lychees, and half of the lychee trees that were shipped in will not produce lychees.
When he grows up, I must find a way to give Litchi freedom.
He ran back to the Empress Dowager, "Madam, when Yonglian grows up, build a smooth road so that carriages and horses can run faster. Then we will have plenty of fresh lychees to eat."
The Queen Mother smiled and said, "I heard that the road is very flat now."
Qianlong also said: "Yes, the official roads nowadays are wide and flat, which is no longer the case during the Tang Dynasty."
"Yonglian wants to build a smoother road, which can not only transport lychees, but also transport food and supplies, and deliver memorials. Building roads is very important." Yonglian said with a serious face.
"Oh, our little Yonglian is amazing. He knows so much at such a young age." The empress dowager first praised her grandson.
Qianlong didn't think much about it and was still proud of it. He thought that the prince was worthy of being chosen by him. From thinking about lychees to building roads, his vision was something that an ordinary six-year-old child could not compare to.
Yonglian was prepared to be asked "where did you know this?", and at most he would bring up the Emperor's father and the Holy Ancestor. But Khan Ama didn't ask at all, just looked at him with a look of relief and pride.
Yonglian: “…”
The Empress Dowager went to bed early, so Qianlong and the others didn't want to disturb her too much. They told the old lady to rest assured, then said goodbye and walked back leisurely.
Qianlong kept chattering along the way, telling Yonglian about the time when he was a child and was taken into the palace by Emperor Kangxi to live there for a while.
Since then, Qianlong truly built up his confidence and firmly believed that he could become a wise ruler like Emperor Kangxi.
Yonglian rolled his eyes inwardly. Speaking of Emperor Kangxi's favorite grandson, Khan Ama wouldn't even be ranked first. The reason he was bragging about this today was because he had a good father who won the battle for the throne and became emperor.
Yonglian did not believe the claim that Kangxi passed the throne to Yongzheng because he valued Qianlong. Qianlong was at most one of the points that helped Yongzheng win the throne.
Qianlong didn't mention Yongzheng, but little Yonglian insisted: "... Khan Ama's Mafa likes you, and Yonglian's Mafa likes Yonglian. Khan Ama and I are both good grandchildren who are loved by Mafa!"
Upon hearing this, Qianlong was not angry at all. Instead, he smiled and rubbed his head. "Yes, your Emperor Mafa loves you the most. He personally gave you this name."
He didn't tell me the meaning of it, but the little guy must have heard it from others.
The late emperor valued Yonglian, firstly because he was the eldest grandson, and secondly because the late emperor knew that he liked his son Yonglian.
Although Qianlong did not agree with some of the previous emperor's policies, he had to admit one thing - the previous emperor was very good to his sons.
——Of course, except for a certain brother who is a disloyal person.
When the late emperor was choosing his wife, he had consulted him and Hong Zhou for their opinions. That was how they were lucky enough to marry the woman they loved as their legitimate wife.
The late emperor knew that he valued Fucha and her children, so he paid more attention to Yonglian when he was young.
Thinking of this, Qianlong sighed somewhat sadly.
"Khan Ama, what's wrong with you?" Yonglian was curious.
The queen also looked at Qianlong with concern.
"It's all right," Qianlong said. "In a few days, I will go to the Yonghe Palace for the lunar festival. Yonglian will go with me."
The coffin of the late emperor was placed in the Yonghe Palace. According to etiquette, Emperor Qianlong would go there in person to pay homage every month.
But the two little princes don’t need to go.
Yonglian didn't know this, but when Qianlong asked him to go, he obediently agreed. It's said that making a wish in the Lama Temple is effective...
Well, at this moment, the Lama Temple was not a temple yet, so he could not make a wish in front of Yongzheng’s coffin.
Seeing her son's agreement, the empress hesitated. After arriving at Changchun Palace and sending Yonglian back to sleep, the empress hesitantly discussed with Qianlong, "Isn't it a bit inappropriate for you to take only Yonglian with you?"
Qianlong thought about it and decided to take Yonglian with him in other months. It would be normal for his grandson to burn incense and kowtow to the emperor.
But the next day he announced that he had appointed the crown prince, and within two days he brought Yonglian to pay homage to the late emperor. The court officials connected the two events and thought, wasn't this secret appointment of the crown prince in vain?
Of course, there was no suspense at first. Anyone with a brain knew that he would choose the legitimate son.
But we still have to do what we should do.
"Then take Yonghuang with you," said Qianlong.
Queen: “…”
Why does it feel a little familiar? The late emperor made my own grandfather the crown prince, but he was afraid that if it was too obvious, some officials would come to curry favor with him, and whenever there was something going on, he would drag the prince into it.
But this is just an attempt to cover up one's mistakes. The court officials knew very well who was the crown prince and who was just a by-product.
Yonghuang and Yonglian would probably follow the same routine in the future.
This is good. The emperor values Yonglian, and Yonghuang is in sync with him, so he will definitely not ignore Yonghuang.
The next day, when Yonglian woke up, Qianlong had already gone to court.
The concubines came to pay their respects to the queen, and Yonglian ran to play with his sister after breakfast.
The Third Princess looked at him strangely, "Second Brother, why aren't you studying today?"
Yonglian: "..." I almost forgot. I was originally studious. Although I didn't enter the Shangshufang, I started to preview "The Analects of Confucius" after breakfast every day, and occasionally read "Court Instructions" by Emperor Kangxi.
He scratched his head and said, "My second brother will be entering the Shangshufang in a few days. I won't have many opportunities to play with you in the future, so I want to take advantage of these few days to spend more time with you."
When the Third Princess heard this, she puffed her cheeks and said, "You and Big Brother are going to study, so I'm the only one left."
"You can also read and write." Yonglian said.
The third princess raised her chin proudly and said, "I know quite a few words."
"A few words aren't enough. You need to know a lot of them." Since you have the opportunity, it's always good to learn more. Although Princess Hejing lived a pampered and happy life, if she could read more, she could set a good example for her younger sisters.
Since Emperor Qianlong doted on his daughters, he would not object to the princesses studying.
When princesses read books and gain knowledge, they may have the opportunity to display their talents.
Yonglian knew it was difficult, but he decided to plant a seed first.
The third princess was really a studious girl. She immediately took out the "Hundred Family Names" and asked Yonglian to teach her how to read it.
After the concubines left, the queen heard from the nanny that the second prince had gone to play with the third princess. She was a little surprised. Why was the child so lazy today?
When I arrived at the east side hall, I saw the brother and sister reciting "Hundred Family Names" together. Yonglian recited a sentence, and the third princess followed suit in a baby voice.
The queen couldn't help but smile.
At this time, Qianlong had just finished writing the secret decree in front of the nine ministers, and placed it carefully behind the plaque "Zhengda Guangming".
This is easier to guess than when the previous emperor chose the crown prince.
The emperor now has only two sons. The eldest prince's mother died early and his family background is not high. The second prince was born to the empress and was named by the late emperor.
Of course, the name written on the secret decree was the latter's.
After the court officials dispersed, Emperor Qianlong kept Prince Zhuang Yunlu and Prince Hongzhou to talk.
"Yonglian is interested in mathematics and geometry. There aren't many officials proficient in this area, and I don't want missionaries to teach him. After much deliberation, I think it would be more appropriate to choose a member of the royal family to teach him."
Qianlong said, glancing at his younger brother Hong Zhou. "Fifth brother, you are free, but you haven't touched mathematics or geometry in a few years. I guess you have almost forgotten it, right?"
Hong Zhou's head hurt when he heard about mathematics. Even his fourth brother couldn't understand it, so he was even more clueless. It would be too difficult for him to teach his two nephews.
Besides, Yonglian is an extremely intelligent kid. If his master turns out to be worse than his student, wouldn’t that be a joke?
Hong Zhou hurriedly said, "That's right. I have long forgotten all the arithmetic we learned when we were young." Not only had he forgotten all the arithmetic, he had almost forgotten the Four Books and Five Classics as well. After all, there was no rule in Prince Yong's Mansion that required reading a book one hundred and twenty times.
As expected of good brothers who grew up together, they have a tacit understanding. Qianlong was satisfied, but frowned in embarrassment, "What should I do? I was thinking of letting you take care of Yonghuang and Yonglian."
"Don't we have Uncle Sixteen? Uncle Sixteen is the best at these things." Hong Zhou looked at Yunlu.
Without waiting for Yunlu to speak, Qianlong frowned and said, "Letting Sixteenth Uncle be a master to these two young kids is really a waste of his talent." Prince Zhuang was one of the regent ministers appointed by the late emperor.
Hong Zhou immediately said, "I heard that Sixteenth Uncle was also a teacher to my brother."
"Uncle Sixteen taught me back then, and now he's teaching my prince. If you tell anyone about it, it'll be a good story." Qianlong smiled, "Then I'll trouble Uncle Sixteen."
Yunlu: "..." Although he felt something was wrong, he knew that he was better at it than Hongzhou, so he took the order seriously.
Qianlong said, "It is estimated that the two children will not be able to officially enter the Shangshufang to study until next month. Uncle Sixteenth, please do not rush to prepare for now."
Yunlu nodded and said that he would find the mathematics textbooks used by Emperor Kangxi to teach the prince. After finishing the introductory textbooks, there would be a complete set of "The Essence of Mathematics and Physics" to learn.
Qianlong readily agreed.
After Yunlu left, Qianlong curled the corners of his lips.
Although his sixteenth uncle had no ambitions, his seniority and reputation were there, and with the late emperor's will in front of him, many members of the royal family gathered around him.
It looks like they are just having fun together, but who knows what they are discussing behind closed doors.
Qianlong wasn't worried about his sixteenth uncle having any ill intentions, but he was afraid he would be exploited by someone with ulterior motives. It would be better to assign him some important but low-power tasks, keeping him busy so he wouldn't have time to hang out with the other members of the imperial clan.
Moreover, Sixteenth Uncle is indeed the best at mathematics and geometry among the royal family, and his ability is unmatched.
If Yonglian can successfully succeed to the throne in the future, Sixteenth Uncle can barely be called the imperial tutor of two generations, how honorable it would be!
There is really no one more suitable than Uncle Sixteen!
He looked at Hong Zhou who was drinking tea beside him and said with a smile: "Fifth brother is smart today. He understood my intentions."
Hong Zhou was confused. "Ah? What look? Did your Royal Brother give me a look?"
Qianlong: “…”
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