As lunchtime approached, Kangxi and Yin entered the palace one after the other. The twins also returned from the study, holding calligraphy practice books in their hands, waiting for Kangxi and Yin's inspection.
After everyone paid their respects, Yin and Qingyan took their seats. Yiken'e glanced at Qingyan and stood properly in front of Kangxi. Kangxi held Hafeng'a in his arms and flipped through the calligraphy practice book with his right hand.
"Your calligraphy practice today is quite good, Fourth Prince, take a look!" Kangxi looked at Yiken'e's notebook and had Li Dequan present it to Yinzhi.
Yin flipped through them and said, "Yiken, there are still some things that are not satisfactory."
As soon as he finished speaking, Kangxi became displeased: "Once we return to the naval port, you can take charge. My side will have already passed the test!"
Kangxi glared at Yinzhen, feeling he was being too strict. Yinzhen was exasperated; when they first entered the Imperial Study to practice calligraphy, Kangxi hadn't said anything like that.
“Father, you once said that if we don’t lay a solid foundation, our handwriting will be the first thing people notice about us!” Yin said.
Kangxi was speechless. Yinzhi remembered all of this, and Kangxi should be happy.
“Your father is right. You haven’t practiced writing properly. When you start doing official business, this is how you present yourself!” Kangxi said, patting Yiken’e’s little head.
“Grandpa, I understand now!” Yiken said, tilting her little face up.
"Grandfather, did I write it well?" Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen's bright eyes stared at Kangxi, making it impossible for Kangxi to utter a word of criticism.
"Of course!" Kangxi nodded quickly. "Hutulifengsheng Zhalafen's handwriting is elegant, and it is plum blossom seal script."
Emperor Kangxi was satisfied with Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen's calligraphy, and Consort Tong also wrote a beautiful plum blossom seal script, which greatly pleased Emperor Kangxi.
The sons of the Eight Banners now yearn for wives who can read and write, a far cry from the previous requirements.
After praising the children, the family happily enjoyed lunch.
After lunch, Yin and Qingyan took Hafenga back directly, and Qingyan talked about the Mongolian women.
"You want to go into Third Brother's backyard?!" Yin stared at her with wide phoenix eyes, puzzled.
Qingyan chuckled inwardly, surprised by the answer Consort Tong gave.
"Fourth Sister, I was also very surprised. Those people looked at me with disrespect. I could see the disdain in the eyes of the noble ladies. Why did they still want to marry Third Master?!" Qingyan could feel the rejection from the bottom of the noble ladies' hearts. Therefore, the noble ladies who were pushed to the front all gave people a feeling of being ready to die.
"The third prince should be relatively easy to control. No matter how many mistakes Dong'e Gege has made, Yinzhi has never let her fall out of favor. There are entanglements between Mongolia and the south, and in addition, the Imperial Household Department has been procuring a lot of beef and mutton from Mongolia, which is very expensive." Yinzhi mentioned that some Mongolian princes might be implicated. "Therefore, Father Emperor is going to use these as an excuse to thoroughly clean up all the Mongolian tribes!"
"Isn't this a bit too far-fetched?!" Qingyan discovered that if Kangxi were to take action against the Mongols, many people would come to plead for him, even the princes from beyond the Great Wall would plead for him.
After all, they had a close relationship with the Mongol princes; if one side was shaken, the other would be dealt with as well.
"Father has issued the order. Who cares if it's far-fetched? If the imperial edict is issued and we don't obey, we're disobeying it!" Yin looked out the window.
The noble ladies of Mongolia were sent as gifts, and they thought they could choose as they always had. In reality, they no longer had that luxury.
"Fourth Prince, we can go back the day after tomorrow!" Qingyan exclaimed. Time flies so fast. When she came to Jiangnan, she was worried that Yin would anger Kangxi and have them put in confinement.
Now, they have come a long way, from being cautious to being relaxed. These past few days have given them a lot to think about.
"Little darling, there's an even tougher period ahead after we get back." Yin sneered, "This time, all the Mongol tribes want to send men to serve as naval troops, and even Father Emperor can't stop them!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Qingyan's eyes widened. Mongolians were coming to be the navy?
"Did you misunderstand, or did I not hear you clearly?!" Qingyan leaned against Yin's side, as if to say, "You must have misunderstood."
"You didn't mishear me, and you didn't misunderstand!" Yin pinched Qingyan's little face. "This is going to be good. None of these people can float, so they'll have to start their training by floating!"
Qingyan laughed heartily: "Isn't the first requirement for our military port to be able to swim? Even if you can't swim when you enter the camp, you have to train for a month and take an exam a month later, and then you have to be able to swim?"
Yin nodded. The Mongol soldiers were all arrogant, believing that the rules in the naval port were set for others.
"When we get back, we need to discuss countermeasures with our elder brother. If we eliminate them all, it might be disrespectful to the Mongol princes." Yin chuckled. "Moreover, the Mongol princes actually demanded that the camp have a Mongol canteen."
Qingyan frowned slightly. Even the Eight Banners' descendants weren't given any extra care. How much more did these Mongols want?
"Fourth Brother, this is very problematic! I simply don't have the capacity to open such a canteen. How many Mongols actually remain? Could it be more than the number of the Eight Banners?" Qingyan sneered.
Emperor Kangxi had previously stated that the sons of the Eight Banners who joined the navy should not receive any special treatment and should be treated equally.
"Do you think Father Emperor is happy about this? The Mongol princes say that it would be a pity if there were no Mongol soldiers in the navy!" Yin rubbed his temples. Those Mongol princes really knew how to find a time to strike.
"So, Father Emperor agreed?!" Qingyan asked anxiously, her almond-shaped eyes wide.
Yin nodded: "It has been agreed. However, he told me that if it doesn't work out, there's no need for special care. The Mongol soldiers will be placed in a separate canteen for meals."
"Where's the food?!" Qingyan asked back.
"We can just use the cooks from the Eight Banners; there's simply not that much funding!" Yin scoffed. He was giving the Mongol princes too much face, making them arrogant and ignorant.
Qingyan was relieved; having received Yin's promise, she felt somewhat more confident.
"Fourth Brother, are you sure?" Qingyan asked again. "Reopening the canteen and just gathering everyone in a tent as a canteen are two different things!"
"Just gather them together. I've already reported to Father Emperor that the budget is too tight lately!" Yin sneered.
Qingyan looked outside: "Recently, the Mongolian princes will definitely come to claim the spots. Fourth Prince, should we leave first?"
"No need. There are only so many spots available. Let the princes handle it themselves." Yin Cai wouldn't interfere; let them deal with it first.
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