Under the blue sky and white clouds, the little guy sitting on the tall horse has a bright smile.
"Hold on tight." Yinzhi held the little guy tightly in his arms with one hand and reminded him, then he threw the reins and the horse started to rush forward.
Cheng'an felt the bumps coming from beneath him and let out a low cry. He subconsciously stretched out his little hands to hug the person behind him tightly, and buried his little face in him to hide.
"Don't be afraid, big brother is here." Yinzhi noticed his actions and comforted him.
The horse's speed was not very fast to begin with, and Yinzhi's strong arms around him also gave Cheng'an enough sense of security, allowing him to quickly adapt to this feeling.
The little guy first slowly raised his face, and then his little hands left Yinzhi.
"Brother~"
The little guy saw that his other brothers were getting farther and farther away from him. He had already gotten used to the feeling of being on horseback, so he waved his little hands and shouted towards them.
Seeing that he adapted so quickly, Yinzhi lowered his head and rubbed his chin against the top of his head, feeling that he was indeed his younger brother.
"Why--"
Yin'e heard his voice and responded positively.
As the black horse carried Cheng'an farther and farther away, the brothers who stayed behind could no longer see his expression and could only hear his childish voice.
Seeing that the little guy kept calling "brother", Yinreng felt a little worried and simply asked someone to bring his horse over.
It was a pure white horse. Yinreng jumped on the horse and chased after it.
Cheng'an was a very courageous person to begin with, and with his trust in Yinzhi, he now dared to open his two little hands while on horseback to imitate a bird.
While imitating, the little guy would occasionally look back to where his other brothers were. When he turned around again, he saw Yinreng riding a horse and immediately shouted excitedly: "Second brother!"
With him around, Yinzhi didn't dare to ride too fast, but Yinreng had no such concerns and soon caught up with him.
Yinzhi had been enjoying the feeling of taking the little guy for a horseback ride, but when he heard the sound of horse hooves behind him and saw Yinreng coming, he suddenly felt a little unhappy, wondering why he was everywhere.
"Cheng'an, hold on tight!" He said, and flicked the reins to urge the horse to run faster.
Cheng An didn't expect that the horse could run even faster, and he immediately laughed excitedly: "Brother, go, go~"
"What do you mean 'brother, please drive'? It's a horse carriage!" Yinzhi replied to him and continued to speed up.
"Yinzhi——"
Yinreng didn't expect that he would dare to ride so fast with Cheng'an, and frowned and called out to him.
"Why are you calling me? If you have the guts, catch up with me yourself!"
Yinzhi sped up again when he heard his voice, but he still had some sense of propriety. He felt that the wind around him became stronger as the horse's speed increased. The hand holding the reins pressed the little guy's face into his arms to prevent him from choking on the wind when he wanted to speak.
After the two of them had spoken for a few minutes, the other princes could not help but catch up on horseback.
"Brother, please go a little slower. I'm afraid Cheng'an can't bear it." Yinsi reminded loudly.
The little guy was so excited when he saw his brothers riding on horses that he didn't seem to be unable to bear it. Instead, he looked up at Yinzhi and shouted, "Brother, run faster! Brother is catching up with you~"
"Okay." Yinzhi agreed immediately, but he still didn't dare to speed up.
But even so, the brothers behind them couldn't catch up with them for a while, which made the little guy giggle.
After running around the Yushe Palace twice, Yinzhi finally stopped, and got off the horse holding the smiling little kid in his arms.
"Brother Da is riding a horse~" Cheng An saw him bringing him down and pointed at the horse.
"No need to ride anymore. I'll show you how to shoot arrows."
The reason why Yinzhi stopped was that he was afraid that the little guy would feel uncomfortable sitting on the horse's back for too long, and also because the little guy was getting bolder and bolder, and he even tried to stand on the horse's back during the second lap.
It was so much fun riding on a horse, especially the exhilarating feeling when the horse was actually running. Cheng An had never experienced it enough.
Seeing that Da Ge was not going to take him on a horse ride, the little guy twisted his body and got off his arms, ran to Yinreng who had just dismounted, hugged his legs and looked up and said, "Second brother, take An An on a horse ride~"
"Just now, which little rascal prevented my second brother from catching up? Now he wants my second brother to take him riding a horse." Yinreng tapped his forehead with a smile.
The little guy shook his head and said, "It's not An An~"
"We've already ridden a horse today. I'll take you riding again next time." Yinreng touched his head and coaxed him gently.
Cheng An looked at the other brothers again, and saw that they were all smiling and shaking their heads. In the end, he could only say, "Okay~"
Yinzhi said he wanted to show him how to shoot an arrow, and now he really took the bow and arrow, but before shooting he said to Yinreng: "Do you want to compete with me?"
When the other princes saw this scene, they suddenly felt as if they had returned to many years ago, when Yinreng was still the crown prince, and Yinzhi's favorite thing to do was to challenge him to a competition in the Sunshot Hall.
"Not interested."
In the past, Yinreng would still compete with him even if he knew he couldn't win, because he couldn't afford to lose without a fight. But now, Yinreng doesn't care. After all, what if he loses? What if he wins? It doesn't make any sense at all.
Yinzhi looked at his indifferent appearance and felt that he was even more boring than before.
"Brother, let me compete with you!" Yinzhen became interested and took the initiative to speak.
After a while, all the princes started shooting arrows, even Yinreng, who was too lazy to compete with Yinzhi, was no exception.
The scene of so many princes shooting arrows together is still very shocking, at least for Cheng'an.
"Brother is so awesome!" The little guy never stopped clapping.
"Listening to Cheng'an's praise, Yin'e, do you feel ashamed?" Yin'e couldn't help but said after turning his head to look at Yin'e's target.
Yin'e's archery skills cannot be considered bad, but it depends on who he is compared with. Compared with ordinary people, his archery skills are naturally good, but compared with the princes present, his accuracy really needs to be improved.
"I...I have nothing to be embarrassed about." Yin'e was a little lacking in confidence.
Yinzhen didn't say anything else, but instead glanced at the target on which he had never hit a bull's eye.
"I'm just a little tired from riding a horse just now. Please wait for me to rest before watching!" Yin'e found an excuse for himself, put down his bow and arrow and ran to the side to rest.
Horse riding and archery are very strenuous, so there are always tea and snacks available for the princes to enjoy in the rest area of the Yushe Hall.
Cheng'an's eyes suddenly lit up when he followed him over here.
That is to say, the last time he was there, Yin Yi and the others were so energetic that they didn't rest at all. Otherwise, he would have discovered that the Sunshot Palace had this benefit.
"Tenth Brother~"
As soon as Yin'e sat down, the little guy lay on his knees, raised his little face and called him softly.
"Want some pastries?" Yin'e picked him up with a smile, and when he nodded, he pointed at his face and said, "Then kiss Brother Ten first."
Yin'e was extremely envious when he saw the little guy kissing Yinreng and the others before, so he would naturally not let go of the opportunity now that he had it.
"Boo~"
The little guy leaned in without any burden and gave him a loud kiss on the face.
Finally, he got what he wanted, and Yin'e's face was filled with a smile.
However, joy turns to sorrow. The next second he heard a voice that was intimidating without being angry: "Yin'e."
Your Majesty!
Yin'e was startled and when he looked up he saw Kangxi walking towards him from the side. He quickly put Cheng'an down and stood up to salute.
At the same time, the other princes also received the reminder and put down their bows and arrows and walked over quickly.
Kangxi was already very concerned about his youngest son's movements. After finishing his work, he heard that his youngest son had followed a group of his brothers to the Yushe Palace, so he simply came to take a look. Unexpectedly, as soon as he arrived, he saw Yin'e coaxing him to kiss him.
"Yin'e, how can you behave like this!" Kangxi ignored the sons who came over from behind and stared at Yin'e.
"Your Majesty, things are not as you see..." Yin'e tried to explain.
Kangxi's expression showed no emotion: "Are you saying that my eyesight is blurry?"
"I dare not!" Yin'e felt that he was really unlucky. How could he be caught by the emperor?
He subconsciously looked at Yinreng and the others, wanting to explain that he was not the one who took the blame, but when he thought about how he didn't get anything good out of dragging Yinzhi into trouble last time, he finally gave up.
Yin'e sighed in his heart, and finally chose to admit his mistake honestly: "I know I am wrong."
Cheng'an looked at him, then turned to look at Kangxi, and suddenly rushed over and said, "Father, don't be angry!"
Seeing that he still had the nerve to speak, Kangxi tapped his forehead and said, "You should also learn some rules and etiquette."
"An An knows, Daddy, can you please let your brother get up?" The little guy looked at him obediently.
Kangxi had no choice but to say, "Everyone, get up."
"Thank you, Father Emperor."
As soon as the princes stood up, Kangxi's eyes swept over them: "Are you all free?"
It's no wonder that Kangxi was looking for trouble. It was because the princes gathered too many people. Plus, on his way here, he heard that Cheng'an almost cried in the Imperial Garden.
"I saw that the peach blossoms in the Imperial Garden were in full bloom, so I invited them to enjoy the flowers together. Please forgive me, Your Majesty." Yinreng thought that it was he who had asked someone to pass on the message, so he stepped forward and said.
Previously, someone submitted a petition proposing to reinstate Yinreng as the crown prince. Although Kangxi did not vent his anger on him, he was still somewhat unhappy. This time, when he met him and took the blame on himself, he thought about how he had no brotherly affection for his younger brother in the past, and felt that he had made a lot of progress now, and was somewhat relieved.
"The peach blossoms in the Imperial Garden are indeed blooming beautifully this year." Kangxi echoed his words, obviously not intending to care about it anymore.
Yinzhi heaved a sigh of relief when he saw this, but he couldn't help but glance at Yinreng, thinking that the emperor was still as tolerant of him as before...
Even if Kangxi didn't care, the princes didn't dare to waste any more time here. After making sure that he had no other instructions, they bowed and left.
After leaving the Sunshot Hall, Yin'e patted his chest and said thankfully, "It was a close call. I almost got punished again."
"I gave you nothing to do so I coaxed Cheng'an into kissing you." Yinzhen glanced at him, feeling a little jealous when he thought that the little guy had never kissed him before.
Seeing him mention this, Yin'e immediately laughed, and then said: "He doesn't just kiss me. It would be so unfair if I was punished by the emperor..."
Hearing their conversation, Yinzhen, who was two steps behind, unconsciously raised his hand and touched his face. He seemed to be able to still feel the touch and milk fragrance of the little guy's kiss.
Yinxiang noticed his movements and asked curiously, "Fourth brother, how does it feel to be kissed by Cheng'an?"
Just as Yinzhen was about to say "Don't say anything inappropriate" to him, Yinzhi next to him said first: "Apart from the fragrance and tenderness, there is no other feeling."
Of course, Yinzhi would not tell them about the heartbeat and joy he felt when the little guy kissed him.
But even if he didn't say it, Yinxiang knew from the smile on his face when he spoke that he must feel very good.
I wish I could let Cheng An kiss me someday...
Yinxiang couldn't help but think in his heart.
When all the princes left the palace together, Cheng'an was also taken back to the Qianqing Palace by Kangxi.
"I heard that you cried in the Imperial Garden?" This was the first thing Kangxi asked as he held him and sat down on the couch.
Cheng'an now has some sense of shame and knows that crying is a shameful thing.
Hearing Kangxi's words, he did not answer, but said: "An An and brother are riding horses~"
Seeing that he had learned to change the subject, Kangxi pinched his face and asked, "You still feel embarrassed?"
Kangxi had actually already understood the general situation from the people below him, so he did not continue to ask, but instead talked about another issue with a slightly stern face.
"Next time, don't be so careless with your relatives, it's not..."
Before Kangxi finished speaking, the little guy spoke in a baby voice, "Don't touch me without permission!"
"You know not to touch someone when it's inappropriate, but you still kiss him." Seeing that he was knowingly committing the crime, Kangxi patted his little butt and asked, "Who did you learn this from?"
Cheng'an smiled at him, and while smiling he suddenly leaned close to him and kissed him several times on the face, making a "bo bo bo" sound.
"Yinmi, are you itching for trouble?" Kangxi saw that he was kissing him even though he had told him not to kiss random people, so he dodged and said seriously.
It would have been fine if he didn't hide, but as soon as he dodged, the little guy suddenly found it more interesting and kissed him on the other side of the face.
Kangxi had a stern face at first, but when he was kissed twice more, his expression softened unconsciously, and his tone changed from serious to helpless: "Don't make trouble anymore."
"An An likes Grandma~" The little girl kissed him again and then hugged his neck softly, her eyes curved into crescents, innocent and pure, full of dependence.
As an emperor, one must have a strong heart, but at this moment, Kangxi felt that his heart was turned into a puddle of water by these words and his expression.
"I just say nice things to please my father." Kangxi's voice softened unconsciously, with a barely perceptible hoarseness.
At this moment, he threw all the rules and etiquette out of his mind. After all, who would be willing to use such an old-fashioned and boring thing to restrain such an innocent and pure child?
After Cheng An raised his head and rubbed his chin with his soft little face again, he suddenly remembered the pastries he had not eaten in the Yushe Hall before.
"Ama Anan wants to eat cakes~"
At this moment, let alone if he just wanted to eat pastries, even if he wanted to eat cuckoo chicken, fried dough sticks, or candied haws, Kangxi might give them to him.
Unfortunately, the little guy didn't know how effective his kisses and sweet words were to an old father. He was already satisfied when he saw Liang Jiugong personally bringing up the pastries.
"Dad, eat it~" The little guy held a piece of dessert in each hand, and while eating himself, he did not forget Kangxi.
"Cheng'an is still filial."
Kangxi looked at him in a very positive way at this moment. He lowered his head to eat the pastry he handed over, with a slight smile on his lips.
After this day, while the princes were busy with their official duties, they used the rest of their time to prepare for Cheng'an's birthday ceremony.
Originally, except for the first birthday, other birthdays of children are not actually important days. Those who are particular about it will just celebrate it simply, and some will not even celebrate it specially.
Cheng'an's second birthday was given great importance by the princes and their family also attached great importance to it.
Not only that, even the former dynasty and the harem were affected and started preparing birthday gifts for Cheng'an, the favored little prince. For a time, foreign merchants in the capital became welcome.
Kangxi doted on Cheng'an as much as his other brothers. Considering that Cheng'an liked lively occasions, he decided to hold a banquet in the Palace of Heavenly Purity that day and invite his other sons to the palace to celebrate his birthday with him.
That morning, when Kangxi woke up, his first reaction was that today was Cheng'an's birthday.
Thinking that the little child had grown one year older in the blink of an eye, Kangxi couldn't help but smile. When he opened his eyes, he found that the little guy who usually liked to curl up in his arms had his back to him today.
Kangxi raised his head slightly and found that he had released the dragon's horns and tail at some point. That would have been fine, but he was holding the tip of the tail as if he was biting it for fun.
"Is the dragon's tail delicious?" Kangxi joked.
When Cheng An saw him wake up, he quickly put down his tail and said, "You can't eat the tail!"
Considering that today was his birthday, Kangxi stopped teasing him and motioned for him to put away the dragon horns and tail before taking him out of bed.
When Kangxi was about to go to court, he ordered Liang Jiugong to send him to the Empress Dowager.
This was the Empress Dowager's intention. Although she had recovered now, she was old after all and could not stand too much noise, so she did not plan to attend the birthday banquet in the Qianqing Palace, and wanted to celebrate Cheng'an in her own palace.
When Cheng'an came, his mother, Concubine Mu, and the mothers of other princes were all in the Empress Dowager's palace.
"Mother, mother..."
Concubine Yi and others were originally talking to the Queen Mother. When they heard the little guy's childish voice, they turned around and looked over with smiles on their faces.
The little fellow was wearing an especially exquisite little dress today, a thin hat inlaid with gemstones, a small and exquisite jade pendant and purse hanging around his waist, and a small ring on his right thumb. The queen mother liked him very much and waved, "Cheng'an, come to Mama quickly."
Cheng An ran towards her, but when he got close to her, he slowed down and leaned gently against her.
"What a good boy." The Queen Mother liked him so much that she would take some effort to personally carry him to sit beside her, and then put the cakes specially prepared for him on the table into his hands.
"Mammy is so nice~" the little guy said but didn't eat by himself. Instead, he pushed the pastries to her.
The Queen Mother accepted his gift with a kind smile and gave him two more pieces.
"Mom, do you want to eat it?" Cheng'an held two pieces of cakes and thought of his mother again.
Mupin smiled and waved at him, indicating that he should eat by himself.
"I really envy Sister Mupin for having such a lovely son. He is unlike my ninth son." Concubine Yi looked at the little guy sitting next to the empress dowager and couldn't help shaking her head when she thought of her own ninth son's restless personality since childhood.
Mupin also knew that the other princes were good to their own sons. Hearing this, she quickly said, "Sister Yifei, you are joking. Every time Cheng'an sees me, he tells me how good his ninth brother is..."
"Hello, Brother Nine~" The little girl overheard their conversation, swallowed the pastry and continued.
The Queen Mother's place was a good place for Cheng'an, because she was the only one who dared to defy the rules Kangxi set for him and occasionally gave him extra snacks.
From the fact that the little guy was holding a piece of cake in each hand and happily swinging his little feet while eating, it was obvious how relaxed and happy he was next to the Queen Mother.
Even though Concubine Yi said she disliked Yinzhen, he was her own son after all. She would not be happy if someone really agreed with her and said bad things about Yinzhen. When she heard Cheng'an's words, the smile on her face became even more intense.
"Who is better, your ninth brother or your third brother?" Rong Fei couldn't help asking.
The Queen Mother saw that she was asking this question to embarrass the child, and was about to say something to her when she heard the little guy beside her answer in a baby voice: "Ninth brother and third brother are both fine~"
"Look at her sweet little mouth. No wonder your fifth brother and ninth brother like her so much." Concubine Yi said with a smile.
Concubine Hui laughed when she heard this: "Who says it's not true? When Yinzhi came to pay his respects to me, nine out of ten sentences mentioned Cheng'an."
"Hello, Fifth Brother, Hello, Da Brother~" Cheng An continued to speak sweetly while eating pastries.
Dingpin smiled and said, "Why bother with so much effort? Just say that all the brothers are fine."
"Hello, brothers. Hello, Father, Ma, and Mother..." Cheng'an swung her little feet and talked about everyone present one by one, making the Queen Mother and the concubines present laugh so hard.
"Oh, oh, oh, this little mouth is so sweet, it seems that it will be difficult not to spend money today."
After Concubine Yi finished speaking, she asked someone to bring out the birthday gift she had prepared.
After she started, the other concubines followed suit, and soon the center of the hall was filled with gifts.
The little guy is young and everyone knows his preferences, so they give him interesting toys or things made of gold and jade.
"Wow--"
When Cheng'an saw so many golden and sparkling gifts, he was so happy that he jumped down and ran around the center of the hall.
Seeing him so happy, Concubine Mu showed a gentle smile on her face.
The little guy came to the Queen Mother empty-handed, but when he left, he had a lot of stuff and a bulging belly.
So when he returned to the Palace of Heavenly Purity, the first reaction of Emperor Kangxi, who had already finished his morning court, was to touch his stomach and said helplessly: "How much did you eat? Are you going to have lunch?"
"It's An An who wants to eat..." The little guy tried hard to shrink his belly, and there was a hint of guilt in his tone.
There was no way. The Queen Mother had prepared too many delicious foods for him, including all kinds of cakes, biscuits, candies and candied fruits. Plus, today was his birthday and she was reluctant to take care of him. The little guy without self-control would just eat too much.
Even so, Concubine Hui noticed that his stomach was slightly bulging and quickly stopped him, otherwise the little guy could have eaten a few more bites.
Today was his birthday, so Kangxi would not scold him for such a small matter. He picked him up and said, "For lunch, we have your favorite... Gourd Chicken, Lipu Taro, and Fried Dumplings..."
When Cheng An heard that he listed all the dishes he liked to eat, his mouth was watering even though his stomach was full.
"An An wants to eat~"
"I'm just worried that you can't eat." Kangxi said while gently rubbing his belly.
The little guy immediately hugged him and said, "An An, eat it!"
"Little greedy cat." Kangxi smiled and scratched his little nose, then turned his attention to the pile of gifts he brought back.
Upon seeing this, Cheng An immediately got down from his arms and took out the gifts to share with him: "Ama, look~"
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