The arrival of Lunar New Year's Eve plunged the entire military camp into a sea of change. Yin and Qingyan were required to change into bright red palace attire, with two "Fu" characters made of tiny rubies adorning her double buns. This was specially prepared for Qingyan by Emperor Kangxi.
Fei Yanggu had specially brought these from the Imperial Household Department when he returned from the capital. As Qingyan's little head swayed, the two tiny "Fu" characters bounced back and forth.
"Little darling, be good in a little while." Yin was worried about Qingyan and repeatedly emphasized that Qingyan was not allowed to make too many movements.
This year's festival was an exception, as Emperor Kangxi was spending it away from home. Since this place was very close to Mongolia, the Mongolian princes all brought their eldest sons to pay homage to him.
Inside the camp, with the arrival of the princes, there were more and more tents. After Qingyan received this news from Yin'an, she stopped going out and instead spent her time wandering around inside the tents instead of going outside.
"Fourth Prince, I'm scared!" Qingyan found it hard to remain calm in the face of the princes. They had left a very deep impression on her on the grasslands.
Yin patted her shoulder. It wasn't even afternoon yet; he should try to distract her.
"Little darling, shall we go to the backyard to practice archery?" After his rebirth, Yin had been diligently practicing martial arts with Fei Yanggu. His archery skills in his previous life were really too poor; even he, a prince, couldn't compare to his own wife.
Qingyan looked at Yin with surprise. He had only been learning for a short time, yet he was so confident in doing this? Many people said that the fourth son had only a 4.5 level of skill, which was why Yongzheng never went hunting during his reign.
She found this statement highly credible. When the Fourth Prince ascended the throne, in addition to the empty treasury, the biggest reason was his reclusive nature. Many of his fans analyzed that if this man were to travel to the modern era, he would definitely be a homebody. His cosplay was truly amazing. He didn't like going out and could entertain himself in the Yuanmingyuan.
Although Yin is still young, it is normal for him to use a bow with a strength of four and a half. He has not given up riding and archery when he went on military campaigns. Every night before going to bed, he would practice his arm strength so as not to repeat the same mistakes.
Qingyan glanced behind the tent. Kangxi had specially built a training ground for Yin, with straw targets placed not far away. Su Peisheng respectfully handed over the bow and crossbow Yin used. Qingyan, being a princess from a military officer's residence, knew a great deal about archery. A quick glance revealed it to be a 4.5-strength bow, and she exclaimed in surprise.
Could it be that in his past life, Si Si used a child's crossbow?
It was incredibly shameful for an emperor to use such a crossbow.
"Qingyan, this is a crossbow that my fourth uncle gave me. It's said that Eshuo used it when he was young." Yin looked at Qingyan's little eyes and couldn't help but blush. In his previous life, his bow and arrow skills had improved a bit when he was young, but as he got older, his arm strength had become increasingly weak.
Ultimately, his imperial bows were mostly four and a half liters long. During his reign, when there were hunting or other matters, he would send Yinxiang as his representative.
"Fourth Brother...you're so cute!" Qingyan jumped onto Yin's back. Worried that she would fall, he quickly dropped the crossbow in his hand, put his arms behind his back and hugged Qingyan to prevent her from falling.
“Master has grown up.” Yin was very dissatisfied with Qingyan’s description. He was helpless in the face of Qingyan’s way of addressing him. He had corrected her many times, but she was unmoved and continued to call him by that name.
Emperor Kangxi, accompanied by Consort Tong, watched the two little ones from afar. The corners of their mouths turned up slightly. This young couple, Yin and Qingyan, were very similar to them back then.
"Xuan Ye, back then, you were just as spirited and ambitious." Nostalgia shone in Consort Tong's eyes. Back then, Empress Dowager Tong was alive, and Lan Ya was brought into the palace to accompany her.
Initially, the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager hoped that Emperor Kangxi would choose a Mongolian noblewoman as his empress. Lanya's existence posed a great threat to the Mongolian noblewomen, which led the Empress Dowager and the Empress Dowager to disregard Lanya.
In the distance, Yin embraced Qingyan from behind, teaching her the basics of archery. Even though he lacked strength, his fundamentals were quite solid.
"When will those princes arrive?" This was the first time Qingyan had ever touched a crossbow in both her lives, and she didn't want to lose face in front of strangers. She puffed out her cheeks and looked at him with a determined gaze.
"It should be six o'clock in the afternoon." Yin took out a pocket watch from his purse with his left hand and showed it to Qingyan.
From 3:30 to 6:00, there are still two and a half hours left. Are they going to stay here the whole time?
After obtaining the Aristotle pocket watch, Yin began to teach Qingyan to recognize watches. She couldn't help but complain inwardly, "Why didn't I know how to recognize watches sooner?!" In modern times, anyone who can't recognize watches is definitely a fool.
"Two and a half hours? Forty-four, are we going to be out in the sun for that long?" Every night, Qingyan would face the bronze mirror and carefully observe her skin condition. She had to admit that she had really gotten tanned. The ultraviolet rays of the scorching sun on the grassland were really strong. Qingyan bought Lancôme sunscreen from the space system, but in the end, it had no effect.
Yin nodded. He didn't know what else they did when they were bored.
Suddenly, Qingyan felt like she was about to suffer from heatstroke; she felt dizzy and lightheaded.
"Fourth Prince, shall we go inside and play mahjong?" Two days ago, a servant from the Imperial Household Department personally delivered a set of mahjong tiles. With Yin's help, Qingyan's little idea was finally adopted.
Looking at the mahjong set that had been made, the head steward of the Imperial Household Department wondered if his masters would become obsessed with such things. Ever since they got this mahjong set, they had sent servants to Qingyan's room to listen to how to play it. After trying it out, those servants became somewhat addicted and would often gather around to watch.
She beckoned Sulan to take the mahjong set to the imperial tent. She and Yin often played mahjong and cards together, and today, they had finally found the real deal.
Just as Kangxi and Lanya returned to their tent, Qingyan dragged Yinzhen in from outside. Lanya looked happily at the two small red envelopes in front of her. Children should dress festively for the New Year.
"Your Majesty, we've brought the mahjong tiles!" Qingyan's clear voice made Lanya's smile deepen.
Mahjong!
Kangxi's eyes widened. The servants in the Imperial Household Department who were experimenting with the game were all somewhat addicted. Qingyan took the mahjong box from Sulan's hand. In the center of the lid of the box were engraved ten large characters: "Mahjong is fun, but be careful when entering the game."
Upon discovering the warning message on the mahjong tile, Kangxi was completely relieved. Qingyan was a clever man who considered all aspects when handling matters, making him a good match for the mature Yinzhen.
"Little Darling, it's already here?!" Lan Ya thought it would take more time. She remembered that Qing Yan, in addition to praising the benefits, also listed out the harms one by one. Kangxi planned to make mahjong a favorite activity of upper-class noblewomen.
People rarely have large blocks of time, so they start playing mahjong in groups of four.
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