After Cheng'an returned to the palace, his life didn't seem to change much. At most, he visited more places. Not only could he run around the harem, eat and drink at the empress dowager and his mother's homes, but he would also occasionally visit the Shangshufang to watch his brothers study, or go to the Yushedian to join in the fun and practice riding and shooting.
Shangshufang.
Yinyi and Yinxi were always happy every time they saw the little guy coming over. At the same time, they envied him because he could come and go as he pleased, unlike them...
The little guy is sensible now and knows not to disturb his brothers when they are reading. In the morning, he would just lie on the window and quietly watch his brothers reading inside. He would leave immediately if he was discovered.
However, he would chat with his brothers in the afternoon when they were learning horse riding and archery.
Kangxi thought that he would enter the Shangshufang next year, and thought it would be good for him to go there and experience it in advance, so he did not stop him.
He didn't care, and no one else in the palace could care less about the little guy. However, the literary master in the Shangshufang and the martial arts master in the Yushedian, although they didn't say it, actually liked this lively yet polite little prince in their hearts, and they were even looking forward to the day when he officially came to school.
Cheng'an didn't know what they were thinking. Of course, for him who hadn't officially started his studies yet, even if he knew, he probably wouldn't take it seriously.
After going to the Shangshufang and Yushedian so often, the novelty suddenly wore off for the little guy. He began to be curious about another thing, which was - what was the court session that his father had to attend every day like?
That night, the little guy lay on the bed and asked Kangxi this question.
No one knew more about attending court than Kangxi. When he heard what he said, he answered it without even looking up.
Cheng An nodded as if he understood, got up from the bed and came to Kangxi, leaned on his shoulder and said, "Father, let me help you turn the pages."
After saying this, he didn't even ask Kangxi whether he had finished reading, and just turned the page.
Kangxi glanced at him and said indifferently, "Turn it back."
The little guy, realizing that he seemed to be making things worse, immediately turned the book back and gave him a well-behaved smile.
Kangxi withdrew his gaze and continued looking down along the direction he had just been looking.
"Ah, have you finished reading? Do you want to turn over the book?"
This time the little guy remembered to ask a question first, but in such a short time, Kangxi couldn't read that fast even if he could read ten lines at a glance.
Being interrupted by him again, Kangxi said unhappily, "If you have something to say, just say it."
Considering that he had just eaten gourd chicken at noon today, Kangxi felt that it was not for eating, and couldn't help wondering if he wanted to go out of the palace to play again.
Seeing that he wanted her to speak directly, the little guy really said directly: "Father, can you take me with you to court tomorrow?"
Kangxi never expected that this was what he was going to say. He turned around and looked at him with a puzzled look on his face: "What am I taking you to do?"
"I want to go to court with my father~" the little guy said while hugging him.
Kangxi rolled up the book in his hand and tapped him lightly, his expression serious: "Stop fooling around, the court is not a place for you to have fun."
"Then why can brother go?" Cheng An said with puffed cheeks and a little expression that said "you take brother with you but not me".
Kangxi almost laughed out of anger at him, especially when he imagined a young man like him appearing in the court.
"Your brothers can help me solve problems when they go to court. You are still young, so let's wait a few more years." After saying this, Kangxi continued to read with his head down.
However, the little guy was not willing to give up and kept pestering him, saying, "I can also help Ama, let me go~"
Kangxi was so annoyed that he could not read at all. He could only raise his hand and threaten: "If you make trouble again, I will not be polite!"
The little guy observed his expression and saw that he seemed serious, so he let go of him and lay back on the bed, but with his back facing him, with unhappiness written all over his body, even the back of his head.
Other things were easy to deal with, but for the serious matter of the morning court, Kangxi naturally would not take him away to play just because he made a few troubles. Otherwise, it would be disgraceful if the ministers saw it.
Cheng An lay down and waited for a while, and seeing that he didn't come to coax her, she pursed her lips and snorted.
Kangxi felt a little amused when he heard this, but still ignored him.
After that, the only sound in the bedroom was the occasional turning of pages.
After reading for a while in the quiet atmosphere, Kangxi turned around and saw that the little guy was still motionless. He leaned over to look over and discovered that he was indeed asleep.
"Where do I get so many ideas every day..."
Kangxi whispered something to him, put down the book and covered him with the quilt.
The next day.
The little guy always had a good memory. When Kangxi woke up in the morning, he was a little worried that he was still thinking about going to court with him, and was afraid that he would bother him again, but it turned out that he didn't.
If he hadn't mentioned it, Kangxi would naturally not have reminded him, and he even had two extra plates of his favorite snacks served at breakfast.
The little guy ate his breakfast very quickly today. He finished before Kangxi had finished eating, put down his chopsticks and left the table directly.
Kangxi was a little surprised to see this. After all, usually the little one would continue eating after he finished eating. He immediately motioned Liang Jiugong to go over and take a look.
"The young prince is playing the Nine Rings game on the Arhat bed." Liang Jiugong went over to take a look and replied.
When Kangxi heard this, he thought the little guy was throwing a tantrum because he remembered that he refused to take him to court, so he didn't take it to heart.
However, when he set out for court, Kangxi felt a little uncomfortable seeing that the little guy, who usually had to send him out unless he slept in, didn't react at all.
Why is he thinking about going to court with me for no reason? Could it be that Yin'e said something to him again?
As Kangxi sat on the imperial sedan chair heading to the Golden Throne Hall, he couldn't help thinking.
Fortunately, Yin'e didn't know what he was thinking at the moment, otherwise he would definitely want to carve the word "injustice" on his forehead.
The morning court session that made the little one curious had become a daily habit for Kangxi, and was nothing new at all.
He had thought that today's morning court would be no different from usual. It would simply be that the civil and military officials below would pay their respects to him and he would exempt them from the greetings. If they had something to report, they would do so. If they had nothing to report, they would leave the court.
However, when Kangxi walked to the throne and prepared to sit down, he brushed his dragon robe and keenly felt that something was wrong.
Kangxi looked down suddenly and saw a little golden dragon that was trying to hide but was too late to hide and was playing dead on his dragon robe.
Not to mention, if the dragon pattern on the dragon robe was not much larger than the little golden dragon, he might have been able to get away with it.
In fact, the little guy hid very well along the way. It was mainly because he couldn't help looking around curiously after arriving here, and he found his brother was right below, so he was distracted for a moment and was discovered.
At this moment, there was nothing Kangxi didn't understand. It turned out that the reason he didn't mention it when he got up in the morning was not because he forgot, but because he had been prepared for it.
After Kangxi figured it out, he almost laughed out of anger.
The civil and military officials below suddenly felt the pressure coming from above their heads, and their hearts skipped a beat. They didn't understand why the emperor suddenly became unhappy.
Cheng'an also noticed that his father was unhappy, and couldn't help but quietly crawl to his side and rub his head against him.
Kangxi wanted to just wave away this disobedient little guy with his hand, but he couldn't bear to do it.
With his stern face, those ministers who had nothing important to report did not dare to speak. Some even lowered their heads deliberately, as if they were afraid of being noticed.
In the past, there would be situations in the court where ministers would argue over certain matters, but that didn’t happen today.
The little guy listened and found that going to court was somewhat similar to his father discussing matters with others in the imperial study, except that there were more people here. He immediately found it boring.
After satisfying his curiosity, he began to do his best to coax his father who was angry with him.
At first, the little guy rubbed his head and gently scratched Kangxi's hand with his dragon claws. When he saw that he had no reaction at all, he climbed up his arm again.
The little golden dragon was relatively small, and the people below did not dare to look directly at the dragon's face, so no one noticed it.
However, Liang Jiugong was waiting nearby, and he quickly noticed when he moved, and he secretly cried out in his heart.
Kangxi had a stern face and was not going to pay any attention to the increasingly daring little guy. However, he was not satisfied with just climbing onto his shoulders and also rubbed against his neck.
Kangxi, who was feeling tickled, could no longer remain indifferent, so he raised his hand and grabbed him off.
The little guy was unusually well-behaved at this moment. When he was caught, he curled up obediently in his palm.
Kangxi lowered his eyes and looked at him acting cute. He wanted to hit him twice, but he didn't know where to start. He could only remember it for the time being.
When the morning court finally ended, Kangxi stood up and left immediately, so fast that all the civil and military officials below were somewhat puzzled.
"Could something have happened to Cheng An?"
"It shouldn't be the case. If he really has something wrong, I'm afraid the Emperor won't even come to court."
The princes also felt that the emperor was unusual today, and after leaving the hall, they couldn't help but chat about it, with a hint of worry in their tone.
"Twelfth brother, what do you want to say?" Yin'e noticed that Yinlu seemed to be hesitant to speak, so he couldn't help but ask.
Yinluo: "I just seemed to see a hint of gold in the Emperor's hand..."
He didn't look up on purpose, but when he bowed and saw Kangxi off, his eyes accidentally swept across the road.
When the brothers heard his words, they looked at each other and guessed something, and then looked at each other in confusion.
"The Emperor won't bring him to court, right?" Yinzhi said with uncertainty in his tone.
Yinzhen directly affirmed: "No."
"I guess Cheng'an followed here secretly..." Yin'e couldn't help but sigh in his heart while guessing that he was really brave.
The other princes thought of the majestic aura that the emperor exuded when he attended court, and felt that it was probably as Yin'e had guessed.
"Then should we go to the Qianqing Palace?" Yinsi was worried that the little guy would be punished, so he asked the brothers present.
Finally, the princes decided to go. If nothing happened, that would be the best. They could just treat it as paying respects to the Emperor. If the Emperor really wanted to take ruthless action, they could at least plead for mercy for the little guy.
They had good intentions, but unfortunately it was too late when they arrived. They heard the little one crying before they even entered the door.
The princes originally thought that the emperor doted on the little guy so much that he might not be willing to do anything to him, but when they heard him crying, they suddenly became anxious.
Fortunately, Liang Jiugong felt sorry for the little prince whom he had watched grow up. In order to prevent him from continuing to be beaten, he told Kangxi the first time he saw the princes coming.
Kangxi endured it when he left the Golden Palace, but when he returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, he immediately ordered Cheng'an to change back.
Seeing that he had a stern face and a serious voice, the little guy didn't dare to disobey and changed back obediently.
Before he could act coquettishly and admit his mistake, Kangxi picked him up and put him on his lap, then raised his hand and slapped him on his little butt.
As soon as the little guy realized what was happening, he started to cry loudly. His cry was so loud that Kangxi was unable to get off the third blow after the second one.
After hearing Liang Jiugong's report, Kangxi put down his hand that was suspended in the air, but did not ask the princes to come in. It was obvious that he guessed what they came for.
But when the little one heard his brothers coming, he immediately got off his legs and ran towards the door crying and shouting.
"Brother, wuwu, brother..."
When the princes heard his crying of grievance, they felt extremely distressed, especially Yinreng, who squatted down and wiped his tears.
"Cheng'an, be good and stop crying."
After Yinreng was released from confinement, he did not have to attend the morning court. It was only after the other princes sent someone to deliver the message to him that he hurried over from Xian'an Palace.
"Wuwu, second brother, wuwu... Father hit me, wuwu..." The little guy was coaxed by him and threw himself into his arms and cried even louder.
In the palace, Kangxi heard that he still had the nerve to complain, and shouted, "Come in!"
He had spoken, and the brothers had no choice but to go in first, but all their eyes were on the little guy's aggrieved face.
The Emperor is really something. Cheng'an is still young. If there is anything wrong, just teach him slowly. Why bother to use force...
Seeing that the little guy’s eyes were red from crying, Yin’e couldn’t help but mutter in his heart.
The first thing the princes did after entering was to pay their respects. However, when Kangxi saw Yinreng coming in with the little guy in his arms, he said first, "Why are you holding him? Let him stand by himself."
Yinreng wanted to put the person down, but when the little guy heard Kangxi's voice, he immediately buried his face in his arms and hugged him tightly.
"Your Majesty, please calm down. Cheng'an is still young. If there is anything wrong, we will teach him slowly." Yinreng felt that the little guy in his arms was still crying in his arms, and his body was shaking slightly because of crying. He felt very distressed.
Seeing that he was just thinking about it, but his second brother dared to say it directly, Yin'e couldn't help but secretly give him a thumbs up in his heart.
"It's all because of you!" Kangxi couldn't help but raise his hand and point at them when he heard Yinreng's words.
"I know I was wrong."
The princes thought that it was better for the emperor to scold them than for him to continue to beat the little guy, so they did not argue and admitted their mistakes directly.
The little guy was crying intently, but when he heard Ama talking about his brother, he finally raised his head: "Wuwu, it's none of my brother's fault... It's... It's my own fault for not listening..."
"Did I tell you last night that the morning court is not the place for mischief? Have you ever seen a child as disobedient as you?" Seeing that he still had the nerve to protect his brother, Kangxi's anger, which had subsided a little, flared up again.
Yinreng patted the little fellow's back soothingly and said, "Hongxuan and Honghuang were like this when they were young. They only got better in the past two years when they started studying."
Yinzhen couldn't help but look at him when he heard this, and then said, "My son's Hongli and Hongzhou broke the vase in my study a few days ago."
This really happened, but it had nothing to do with disobedience. After all, they had a father like Yinzhen who always had a cold face. Hongli and Hongzhou were so well-behaved in front of him. Breaking the vase was purely an accident.
Upon hearing this, Yinzhi and the others began to criticize their own sons, implying that it was normal for children to be disobedient and that Cheng'an was considered a well-behaved child in comparison.
Although Kangxi knew that their words were definitely exaggerated, he had to admit that he felt a little relieved after hearing them.
Thinking that the little guy was more well-behaved and considerate than disobedient, Kangxi's anger gradually subsided. He looked up and saw that he was still sobbing in Yinreng's arms, and he regretted whether he had hit him too hard just now.
In fact, Kangxi did not hit the little guy hard just now. It was mainly because the little guy had grown up and knew how to save face. He felt a little painful after being spanked and felt wronged, so he started crying.
When people feel wronged, it is better not to comfort them. If you comfort them, the more they cry, the more aggrieved they will feel.
However, when he heard his brothers talking about his nephew's misbehavior, his crying subconsciously became quieter, and it was obvious that he was distracted.
After the brothers finished speaking, the little fellow sniffed and looked up and asked, "My... my nephew is disobedient... will my second brother beat him?"
Yinreng had never really hit his son, mainly because he didn't keep his son by his side. His son was usually very obedient in front of him, and even if he was disobedient in private and heard about it, he would at most scold him.
He subconsciously glanced towards Kangxi, and finally told the truth: "No."
When the little guy heard him say no, he immediately burst into tears again, as he was about to stop crying.
Kangxi also began to feel distressed at this moment and couldn't help but glance at Yinreng.
Yinreng was so busy coaxing the little one in his arms that he had no time to notice his gaze.
"Don't cry anymore. If you keep crying you'll get hoarse."
Yinzhi and the others didn't expect that the little one would start crying again out of nowhere, so they quickly gathered around and tried to comfort him.
"Cheng An, be obedient and stop crying..."
"Cheng'an, be good. Brother Ten will bring you some candied haws when he goes to the palace tomorrow, okay?"
No matter how the elder brothers tried to comfort him, the little guy continued to cry: "Wuwu, my father doesn't like me anymore, wuwu..."
"When did I not like you?" Kangxi finally couldn't sit still anymore, he stood up and walked over and said.
The little one stopped crying for a moment when he saw him coming, but there was still a sob in his voice: "My second brother never beat his son, but my father beat me..."
After saying that, he turned his head and leaned on Yinreng's shoulder and continued crying.
This time, Yinreng finally noticed Kangxi's gaze and could not help but look away, not daring to look him in the face.
"Your second brother doesn't beat his son, but he also won't sleep with his son, let alone eat with his son every day. Sometimes he even has to feed him..." The more Kangxi spoke, the more he felt that the little guy with his back facing him was a little ungrateful. If Yinreng hadn't protected him with his hands, he would have really wanted to slap him on the butt again.
"If you want to compare like that, why don't you move out? I promise I won't beat you again."
Kangxi thought it would be a good opportunity to get him to move out, after all, there were only a few months left before he went to the Shangshufang to study.
The little guy heard the seriousness in his tone and stopped crying immediately.
He leaned on his brother's shoulder, blinked his red eyes twice, and turned his head abruptly, "I don't want to move out, Ama, just beat me!"
Yin'e wanted to remind him that he would have to move out sooner or later, so it would be better to exchange it for a promise of not being beaten. However, seeing that he looked like he would rather be beaten than agree, he didn't know what to say.
When Kangxi heard this, he was both angry and amused. He reached out to take him from Yinreng's arms and signaled the princes to leave first.
The brothers felt that his anger had subsided, and after taking one last look at the little guy, they bowed and left.
After everyone left, Kangxi turned around and sat back on the Luohan bed, holding the heavy little one in his arms.
"Father, I was wrong..." The little fellow leaned in his arms, reflecting on himself now. He realized that it was not good for him to turn into a little golden dragon and secretly go to court with him without his permission.
This matter was neither small nor big. After all, he neither disrupted the morning court nor let anyone find out.
After Kangxi calmed down, he heard him admit his mistake in a tearful voice, which made him feel distressed. He lowered his head and asked, "Does your butt still hurt?"
"It doesn't hurt anymore. Dad, please don't chase me away, okay? I'll be obedient." The little guy hugged him and said.
Seeing him say these words with his red eyes, Kangxi felt a little sad. He immediately rubbed his head and said, "When did I say I would drive you away?"
"You said I should move out..." Cheng An pursed his lips and said aggrievedly.
"Even if you move out, you will still be in the palace, just like your second brother. It's not like I won't let you see me."
"Anyway, I just don't want to move."
"Okay, okay, if you don't want to move, then don't move." Kangxi saw tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke, and was afraid that he would continue crying, so he could only coax him first.
After finally coaxing the man into submission, Kangxi began to reason with him.
"If you really want to go to the morning court, you can tell me honestly instead of trying to be clever. Have you ever thought about how anxious the people below would be if you suddenly disappeared..."
The little guy already knew he was wrong, but after hearing this he couldn't help but whisper in defense: "I told my father, but he didn't agree."
"Do you think you can act on your own without my consent? Have you forgotten the lesson from the last time we flew to Great Britain?" Kangxi poked his forehead and said, "Tell me the last time you insisted on doing something and I didn't agree to it?"
The little guy thought about it and found that as long as he kept pestering his father about something, he seemed to agree in the end, and he couldn't help laughing.
It's true. Fortunately, the little guy was able to listen to reason when he grew up, otherwise Kangxi would have to break the rules for him many times, just like the last time they went to the Summer Palace. If the little guy was still as noisy as he was when they went to the frontier, the result would be uncertain.
"Father, I know I was wrong." Cheng An leaned in his arms and rubbed against him gently. This time, his acknowledgment of his mistake was obviously more sincere.
Kangxi stretched out his hand and pinched his little face: "I went to the morning court, what do you think?"
The little guy wanted to say that it was not fun at all, but he remembered that his father had said that the morning court was not a place for fun, so he changed his words in time and said, "My father is so tired, he has to listen to so many people talking every day."
"Today's situation is nothing." Kangxi did not show it on his face, but he was obviously pleased with his words.
"Father has to read memorials after the morning court session. It's really tiring!"
Kangxi chuckled and said, "Would you like to help me pass on the memorial?"
"Yes~"
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