On the day before Qingming Festival, all the princes stayed at home. Incense was lit in every room of the Fourth Prince's villa. Even the windows of the three children's rooms were opened, and incense was lit on the high tables in front of the windows.
Yin was very devout and instructed his servants not to let the incense in front of the window go out.
"Sisi, why are you lighting incense in all the rooms? The smell is a bit strong." Qingyan was speechless. It's just Qingming Festival, why make such a fuss?
"Of course we should light incense!" Yin explained helplessly. "You should know that we need to be more careful during the Qingming Festival, as we have three young children in our household."
Ugh!
Qingyan could only acquiesce to Yin's words.
"Are all three children going to the imperial palace tomorrow?" Qingyan asked.
Yin nodded: "Even Hafenga is going there!"
Hafenga was too young to even speak, yet he still had to hold Yin down and drag him over.
"What? The child is so young, and he has to come out with us? It's so cold inside the palace!" Qingyan exclaimed in astonishment.
"Father Emperor said that all the children who came with us must go, even the girls," Yin said directly.
As his return approached, Emperor Kangxi summoned all the princes and told them that the girls would also be going to pay respects to their ancestors.
“Boys, follow me; girls, follow you,” Yin said directly.
Qingyan was stunned: "Isn't Father Emperor afraid of Hafenga and Doxihun causing trouble?"
Yin shook his head directly, saying that everything would definitely be over this year, and that his father hoped all the princes would receive the blessings of their ancestors.
Both princes were young, and Emperor Kangxi was worried about their health, which is why he went to such lengths.
“These two little ones will definitely cry during the ancestral worship ceremony, and that would be embarrassing!” Qingyan said directly.
Yin sighed. When he went there tomorrow, he would just have the head nanny stay by Hafeng'a's side. If Hafeng'a started making a fuss, she would quickly try to appease him.
The next morning, Yin took Qingyan and the children and boarded a carriage early to head to the palace. On the way, Yi Ken wore his golden yellow casual clothes, which was unusual for him.
"Father, how long do I have to kneel?" Yiken asked, tilting his little head up.
"It might take an hour." Yin patted his little head.
"It's so long..." Yiken muttered as he played with the Rubik's Cube.
Yin laughed. This brat actually thought kneeling for too long.
“Alright, this is ancestral worship, it only happens once a year. Look, Hafeng is kneeling there too!” Yin said directly.
Yin treated both children equally, and Hafenga had to endure the same treatment since he was a child.
“Father, I know.” Yiken’e looked at Hafeng’a sleeping in the rickshaw and felt a surge of strength. He felt that as the older brother, he had to set a good example for his younger brother.
Inside the imperial palace, Emperor Kangxi and Consort Tong were already prepared, waiting for Yinzhi's family to arrive.
The carriage stopped at the entrance of Consort Tong's courtyard. Yin and Qingyan led the three children into the courtyard. Kangxi looked at Hafeng'a, who was still fast asleep wrapped in a blanket, and a slight smile appeared on his face. It was really hard on this child.
"Fourth Prince, are the people around Hafenga ready?" Kangxi also understood the potential trouble that might arise from having young children accompany him to the ancestral worship ceremony.
"Yes, I'll have the head nanny accompany her!" Yin said directly.
Kangxi nodded: "Yes, have someone keep an eye on it."
After giving some instructions to Consort Tong, the princes and their primary wives brought their children over, and the wives of the imperial princes also entered. Instantly, the hall became lively.
As the time for ancestor worship approached, Emperor Kangxi first led the princes and members of the imperial family to the Fengxian Hall for the worship, while the women followed behind Consort Tong. Children under the age of six were held in the arms of the nannies.
Inside the main hall, Qingyan knelt on the prayer mat, with Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen kneeling beside her. The little one shifted uncomfortably, looking at the memorial tablets in the hall, feeling somewhat frightened.
As Qingyan listened to the monks chanting sutras beside her, she glanced at Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen out of the corner of her eye and felt a little worried. The little guy's face was already pale, and he looked at his mother with unease.
Half an hour later, Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen was nearing her breaking point. She wanted to cry but couldn't. Before coming here, the head nanny had told her that crying was the most taboo thing to do during ancestral worship.
As the monks' voices grew louder, Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen became increasingly uneasy.
As the ancestral worship ceremony drew to a close, the monks' voices buzzed in her ears. Qingyan felt her heart tremble. Hutu Lifengsheng Zhalafen bit her lip tightly, her eyes filled with tears, and her small hands nervously twisted her handkerchief.
Behind the princes and their wives, some of the young princesses were already crying quietly.
In a place like Fengxian Hall, with monks performing rituals all around, the atmosphere is certainly different from other places.
"Alright!" After Kangxi and the others finished their worship, they got up. The first thing Qingyan did after getting up was to hold her daughter in her arms and slowly move her out of the hall.
"Mother... I'm scared!" Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen whispered directly.
Qingyan sighed helplessly. It seemed that he had really frightened the little girl.
"Little girl, what's wrong?" Yin walked over with Yiken'e in his hand. When he saw that his daughter's eyes were red, he felt a little heartache.
In that kind of environment, girls definitely wouldn't be able to handle it.
"Father, I'm scared!" Hutu Lifengsheng Zhalafen cried out.
Yin picked up his daughter and began to soothe her softly.
"Let's go home right away, okay?" Yin asked softly.
He watched as Yin held Songkelierha in his arms, the two brothers exchanging a helpless look in mid-air, while the girls kneeling in the hall all had red eyes.
"Father, why are there so many monks!" Hutu Lifengsheng Zhalafen said aggrievedly.
The monks' voices grew louder and louder, so loud that they stopped in her ears, making her feel uneasy.
"This is the ancestral worship ceremony!" Yin patted his daughter's back, gently comforting her.
“Father, could you please not come next time?” Hutuli Fengsheng Zhalafen asked directly.
Yin shook his head, looking at Kangxi's posture, he figured that as long as his daughters didn't get married, they would all come to worship their ancestors.
"Hutulifengshengzhalafen, you'll be better next time. From now on, I'll take you to Hongluo Temple often. Didn't you say you felt more at ease doing your morning prayers there?" Yiken'e felt very sad looking at Hutulifengshengzhalafen's aggrieved little face.
“Ah Hun, aren’t you afraid?” Hutu Lifengsheng Zhalafen asked.
"I'm a boy, of course I'm not scared!" Yiken'e felt a chill run down his spine as he listened to the Buddhist scriptures, but he forced himself to act like a little adult.
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