Kangxi didn't know what happened to him, but one day when he was flipping the cards, he happened to see Zhang Da Ying who had been talking nonsense that day. Her words "Zhang in Zhang Yuxin, Yu in Zhang Yuxin, Xin in Zhang Yuxin" made him remember this name completely.
He picked up the green card and asked, "Is this Zhang the daughter-in-law from the Imperial Garden that day?"
The eunuch in the Jingshifang naturally didn't know who the emperor was talking about, and could only look at Liang, the chief steward standing next to the emperor, in confusion.
Who is Liang Jiugong? After returning that day, he immediately asked people to investigate the identities of those concubines, and he knew them very well.
"In reply to the emperor, this person is none other than Zhang Yingying, who was talking with the Sixth Prince in the Imperial Garden that day."
"In that case, let's choose her." Kangxi turned over the green card and threw it on the tray.
"Yeah!" The people from the Jingshifang immediately retreated and prepared to leave.
After Zhang agreed to sleep with the emperor, she was rewarded and became the new favorite. What happened in the imperial garden that day spread throughout the palace. Everyone knew that she became favored because she pleased the Sixth Prince, met the emperor by chance, and the emperor even remembered her name.
As a result, more and more people came across Yinzuo every day, and Yinzuo couldn't even enjoy himself.
The Imperial Noble Consort found it funny to see Yinzuo's gloomy look with his chin in his hand.
"What's wrong? They say young people don't know the taste of sorrow, but why does my little six look so worried?"
"My dear mother, what do you think those ladies in the palace are thinking about? They don't go to find my father, but always come to me. Every time I play hide-and-seek with my fifth brother in the imperial garden, they always try their best to appear in front of me, and my fifth brother finds me right away! This has happened many times, it's so boring."
The Imperial Concubine was amused by his words and laughed so hard that her body shook. It took her a while to recover.
"That's because you can not only give them children, but also help them win the emperor's favor. Your father favored a lady named Zhang these days. It is said that when she was talking to you in the imperial garden, she said a few words to the emperor, which made the emperor remember her. Now everyone wants to be like her, so they have to come to you."
Only then did Yinzuo understand what was really going on!
"I didn't help her! It's just that she and others always come to block me, and I wanted to play a trick on her once, but who knew that the emperor actually favored her."
It seems that there is a reason why so many people love to watch idol dramas. Look, the emperor was bewitched by just one line from the heroine.
"So it was an accident. She was blessed by you. Look, many concubines sent food to me today. But you are the only one in Chengqian Palace who likes to eat these snacks. So, these are not for me, but for you. I asked them to send them to you. You can eat them yourself or give them to the servants. It's up to you."
After the Imperial Concubine finished speaking, there were more than a dozen food boxes on the table. Shunfeng Shunshui, who was watching nearby, was stunned. He thought that his young master was too popular.
However, Lu Wu, who was standing by, was a little nervous. She couldn't help but complain in her heart why these ladies were competing for work with a small servant like her. If the Sixth Prince liked the snacks they made, then what use would she be.
"Your Majesty, it's time to take the pregnancy-preserving medicine." The maid beside the Imperial Concubine stepped forward and reminded her at the right time.
"Then I will return to the main hall first."
"Xiao Liu respectfully sends off the Imperial Noble Mother~"
The imperial concubine rubbed his little head, then with the help of the maids, she slowly stood up and left with her belly.
"Sixth Prince, what do you think we should do with these snacks?"
"Let's open it and take a look first. After all, it's a gift from someone with good intentions." Yinzuo had no plan to go out anyway, and he was free anyway. Since there were delicious foods delivered to his door, he might as well try them one by one.
These foods were usually tasted by Shunfengshunshui and others first, and then sent to Yinzuo. Yinzuo was very smart and would judge whether the food was delicious or not based on the expressions on their faces.
Then I picked out the ones that seemed good and tasted them.
He even invited his brother to rank the craftsmanship of the ladies in each palace.
You have to know that Yinzuo has a sweet tooth. After eating so many sweets for nearly half a month, Yinzuo's teeth couldn't take it anymore.
“It hurts! It hurts so much~ oooooo~”
When Yinzuo woke up in the morning, he felt unbearable toothache, and Nanny Cheng was extremely worried.
"I will report this to the Imperial Concubine right away!"
Yinzhen lived next door, and rushed over as soon as he heard the noise, arriving even faster than the Imperial Noble Consort.
"What's wrong?" Yinzhen sat in front of Yinzuo's bed, frowned and looked at him worriedly and asked.
Yinzuo covered his cheek with his hands in grievance, and said tearfully: "My tooth hurts~ Xiaoliu, it hurts so much, brother~~"
"Why do you suddenly have a toothache? Your teeth have just grown in, so you're not yet at the age to change teeth." Yinzhen is more than a year older than Yinzuo, and he hasn't changed his teeth yet, so it's even more impossible for Yinzuo to do so.
"I don't know~嘤~It hurts~~" Yinzuo couldn't help but roll around on the bed in pain.
Yinzhen quickly ordered everyone: "Be careful, all of you, stay by the bed and protect him, don't let the Sixth Prince fall down."
After a while, the imperial concubine came over to take a look and saw that the little guy's mouth was red, as if there was inflammation.
"Quick! Go get the doctor."
"Hey!" Shunshui received the order and ran out quickly.
When the imperial physician arrived, he first looked at the Sixth Prince's mouth, sniffed his smell, and then looked thoughtful.
"May I ask what Sixth Prince has eaten recently?"
The Imperial Concubine glanced at the wet nurse who was serving the Sixth Prince. Nanny Cheng quickly stepped forward and said, "There is nothing else. It's just that recently the ladies in the other palaces have been sending snacks to our Sixth Prince. He eats some every day, but I dare not let him eat too much. He only eats three or four pieces a day."
Hearing this, Yinzhen noticed that the little guy lying on the bed had evasive eyes and immediately realized something was wrong. Yinzuo was intelligent by nature, and perhaps he had used some method to avoid Nanny Cheng and ate more sweet snacks. In this case, it was not surprising that he had a toothache.
The imperial physician nodded, checked Yinzuo's pulse, and finally wrote a prescription, admonishing him: "Sixth Prince's toothache is caused by eating too much sweets. Take this prescription to the Imperial Hospital to get medicine. Take it three times a day, and it will be cured in less than ten days. However, I'm afraid you can't eat these snacks for the time being. Even in the future, you have to eat less."
"It hurts~" Yinzuo felt extremely aggrieved. Not being allowed to eat snacks was one thing, but the imperial physician also didn't give him any pain relief. Did he have to suffer in pain for ten days until he recovered?
"Can the Imperial Physician think of a way to relieve Sixth Prince's pain first?" The Imperial Noble Consort wiped the sweat from Sixth Prince's forehead with a loving look on her face. This child was really suffering.
"Sixth Prince is still young, and I dare not use medicine casually. How about putting some ice cubes in your mouth to relieve the pain a little." They are all precious princes, who dares to put medicine in his mouth? These painkillers cannot be taken internally.
"Thank you, Imperial Physician." The Imperial Concubine sent one of her personal maids to follow the Imperial Physician to get the medicine.
After a while, the ice was crushed into small pieces and sent into Yinzuo's mouth, and he finally felt better.
The imperial concubine left when she saw that he was no longer in pain.
However, Yinzhen kept looking at him steadily.
Yinzuo felt uneasy when his brother looked at him, mainly because he had done something wrong and felt very guilty. He was afraid that his brother would blame and scold him, so he pretended to be sleepy.
"Brother, Xiaoliu wants to sleep for a while~" Yinzuo said in a very low voice.
"Go to sleep, I'll stay here to watch over you." Yinzhen didn't stop him from sleeping.
Yinzuo, who was pretending to be asleep, actually fell asleep later, but when he woke up, he still had to endure his brother's questioning.
"Are you awake?"
"......Hmm~" Yinzuo answered in a low voice.
"Tell me, how did you secretly eat those snacks without telling Madam Cheng?"
Yinzuo really didn't expect that his brother would ask so directly, with no intention of using roundabout methods.
"No...no!" Yinzuo pretended to be calm. He glanced at his brother and quickly lowered his eyes, afraid to meet his eyes.
"Really not?"
Yinzuo swallowed nervously and shook his head firmly.
"Su Peisheng, call Shunshui in."
“Yeah.”
"Fourth Prince, you call me your servant?" Shunshui thought it was some good news and smiled happily.
"Do you know that instigating the prince to harm his own body will result in being taken to the Ministry of Punishment and beaten with a stick?" Yinzhen did not look at him, but instead stared at what Yinzuo said.
"Fourth Prince, please spare my life! I know I was wrong!" Shunshui was just a teenager, and he immediately kowtowed in fear and begged for mercy.
"Brother! Don't punish him to go to the Ministry of Punishment to be beaten with a stick! I asked him to do it! Don't blame him!" Yinzuo knew that the Ministry of Punishment was not a good place. It was even more terrible than the Heavenly Prison. There were so many punishments there, and the ways of torturing people in the palace were endless.
"Now tell me, how did you manage to eat secretly?"
"That's what I said. I always get hungry easily at night, so I asked Shunshui to go to the small kitchen and secretly bring me some snacks. I ate secretly in bed. Madam Cheng thought I was asleep, so she wouldn't lift the bed curtain to look at me."
"Those snacks are made of sugar. You ate them and then fell asleep. Your teeth must be hurting. You deserve it." Yinzhen was angry and helpless.
Yinzuo pouted his lips and tears started falling.
"Brother doesn't love Xiaoliu anymore~ Xiaoliu is in pain, but brother still scolds Xiaoliu, how annoying~" Then he covered himself with the quilt and refused to come out.
Yinzuo was making a fuss, and Kangxi was also extremely annoyed. Ever since he favored Zhang Yuxin, they heard that sentence from somewhere, but everyone bumped into him and introduced themselves to him like a parrot. It was interesting the first time they heard it, but after hearing it too many times, they just found it annoying.
Kangxi wanted to leave the palace to find some peace and quiet, so he planned to take the Empress Dowager with him to Mount Wutai.
Mount Wutai has a long history. From the Sui Dynasty to the present, many emperors in successive dynasties have visited Mount Wutai. This is because people believe that the wise monarchs of all dynasties are the incarnations of Manjushri Bodhisattva. Kangxi went there this time because he quelled the Rebellion of the Three Feudatories and achieved the feat of unifying the world. So he is naturally regarded as a wise emperor. It is natural for a wise emperor to go to Mount Wutai to worship.
Since he was going to Mount Wutai, he should naturally tell the Imperial Concubine, so Kangxi went to Chengqian Palace and had dinner with the Imperial Concubine.
Yinzhen and Yinzuo were also called over.
He didn't talk when he slept or ate. Kangxi didn't say anything during the meal. After the meal, the two adults and two children chatted on the couch.
"I plan to go to Mount Wutai soon. Now most of the concubines in the palace are pregnant and it is not suitable for them to accompany me. I have decided not to bring the concubines this time. I will go with the Empress Dowager only. You should take care of the affairs in the palace. If you feel tired, leave it to Concubine Hui and Concubine Rong."
"Yes! I know. I will definitely control the six palaces for the emperor and wait for the emperor and the empress dowager to return safely."
"Emperor Father~" Yinzuo suddenly called out.
"What's wrong? I noticed that you didn't eat much today. Are you not feeling well?" Kangxi knew that this kid's appetite was not like that.
"Xiaoliu's tooth hurts~" Yinzuo complained pitifully.
Upon hearing this, Kangxi held the little guy in his arms.
"No wonder you look thinner. Your body feels lighter too. Why do you have a toothache? What does the imperial physician say?" This question was naturally directed to the Imperial Noble Concubine.
"You ate too many snacks. The imperial physician said that you will be fine in about ten days. You can only eat light and soft food in the next few days. Doesn't our little Sixth Emperor know this? He likes to eat those with strong flavors. These taste bland to him."
"So it's because you are greedy, you can't blame others." Kangxi scratched his nose.
"That's not the case. Xiaoliu became like this because of the Emperor~"
"Oh? What do you mean? Tell me more. I want to hear it, too."
"It's because Father Royal is so popular. So many ladies want to gain your favor. Since they can't see you, they all come to me and give me so many snacks that Chengqian Palace is filled with the snacks they sent.
If I don’t eat the snack, it will be bad. Xiaoliu knows that every grain of rice is hard-earned, so how can I waste this hard-earned food? I can only try my best to eat more. As a result, my teeth are damaged. Isn’t it for the emperor’s father~”
Kangxi looked at him with interest, and after listening to him, he smiled and said to him: "Hearing what you said, it does make sense. Am I asking you to trouble yourself?"
"Hmm~ So, shouldn't Your Majesty give Xiaoliu a little compensation?" Yinzuo gestured with his little finger, as if to make His Majesty believe that it was really just a little bit.
Kangxi was amused by his clever appearance, so he asked him: "Then tell me, what kind of compensation do you want? Food or toys?"
"In the emperor's mind, Xiaoliu is a person who only knows how to eat and play! Xiaoliu wants to go to Mount Wutai with the emperor to see the beautiful mountains and rivers of our Qing Dynasty~"
Yinzuo behaved very uprightly, as if he really wanted to go out with them to broaden his horizons, if he weren't less than three years old.
"Oh? Is that really the case?" Kangxi suddenly glanced at the fourth brother next to him. It seemed that since he came in, this little guy had never paid any attention to his fourth brother. This was very abnormal.
"It's not impossible to take you with me." Kangxi suddenly said.
The Imperial Noble Consort was stunned for a moment. She was about to say that Yinzuo was still young and not suitable for long journeys, but then she heard the Emperor continue, "But it would be boring for you to go alone without a companion. Why not ask your brother to go with you?"
"No!" Yinzuo refused outright.
"Why is that? Haven't you always liked your brother the most?" Kangxi raised his eyebrows and asked him deliberately.
"I... hum~" Yinzuo was too embarrassed to say that he and his brother had a quarrel, so he could only turn his head and sulk by himself.
"I knew you didn't want to see the beautiful mountains and rivers. You clearly wanted to hide from your brother. Tell me, what's the matter? I'm here. If you tell me now, I can still help you get justice, right?"
"Really?" Yinzuo pouted and asked his father seriously while looking at him.
"You are not joking, how can what I say be false?"
"My brother doesn't care about me at all! I have a toothache, but he doesn't come to comfort me. He just keeps scolding me. Wow~" Yinzuo became more and more sad as he spoke. He lay in the emperor's arms and cried loudly.
"Okay, okay, your brother doesn't love you, but the Emperor loves you. Don't cry." It was the first time that Kangxi saw Xiaoliu crying so sadly. He still liked this well-behaved and playful son very much. His chest was suddenly filled with fatherly love.
"In this matter, your brother was indeed wrong, but why did he scold you for no reason?" Kangxi was not confused at this time. After all, he was an emperor who had been in charge of government affairs for many years and would never believe anyone's one-sided words.
Hearing this, Yinzuo felt a little embarrassed. He glanced cautiously at his brother who was sitting upright next to him, worried that he would tell everything in public.
"It's nothing. I was just anxious at the time and thought he shouldn't be greedy, so I said a few words to him." Yinzhen's tone was very flat.
Yinzuo stared blankly at his brother who took the initiative to lie to cover up his embarrassment. He bit his lower lip lightly, feeling conflicted. His brother actually defended him when he clearly didn't care about him that day.
"Look, your brother is just anxious for the moment. In the final analysis, he still cares about you. Mount Wutai is a long way away, so Xiaoliu should not go with us this time. Wait until you are older. You should stay in the palace and take good care of the Imperial Concubine and your mother for me, okay?"
"Well... okay then." Yinzuo nodded his head and stopped asking to go with them.
Kangxi held him in his arms, with both hands busy. Seeing how well-behaved and soft he was, he couldn't help but touch the little guy's chubby face with his own.
"Haha! The Emperor's beard is so prickly, don't come over. Royal Noble Mother, please save Xiaoliu~" Yinzuo laughed and dodged backwards, asking the Royal Noble Consort for help.
"You actually look down on me. No, I must get close to Xiaoliu today, and no one is allowed to rescue Xiaoliu from me." Kangxi said this deliberately pretending to be a villain.
"Giggle, giggle~" It was so itchy being pricked that Yinzuo couldn't help but hold his father's face and push him away while laughing.
The Imperial Noble Consort and Yinzhen beside her were both a little surprised. How could the Emperor be so close to Xiaoliu?
"If you don't want me to stab you again, then tell me what you secretly said to the four concubines in the Imperial Garden that day!"
Kangxi was really curious, but he didn't dare to ask his concubines. This question had been in his mind for a long time.
The Imperial Noble Consort looked at Yinzhen in confusion, thinking that he would know when this happened.
But in fact, Yinzhen had no idea that since the Royal Mother returned to the palace, he had privately begged her to assign Yinzuo a eunuch with good skills to stay by his side when Yinzuo went out to play. Yinzhen never accompanied Yinzuo to play again, so he had no idea that the Royal Father had met Yinzuo in the Imperial Garden, and it seemed that something else had happened.
"Father, how did you know I talked to them?"
Yinzuo rolled his eyes and said with a smile: "Xiaoliu knows! It turns out that the emperor was hiding in the corner and eavesdropping that day! The emperor is so ashamed~"
Yinzuo had an expression on his face that said "I've caught your pigtail", which made everyone present laugh.
"I happened to pass by that day, and you were talking in an open place. I didn't eavesdrop. I was listening openly." Kangxi was now very shameless. He could even lie in front of those ministers, let alone in front of a child who was less than three years old.
"If you tell me, I will bring you delicious and fun things, how about that?" Kangxi even used bribery.
The father and son seemed to become closer because of what happened that day. Yinzuo nodded and glanced at his brother beside him, just not wanting to tell him.
So she leaned close to the emperor's ear and whispered something in a very low voice.
Kangxi had a very strange expression on his face, from surprise at first, to unable to hold back laughter later, and finally he even burst into laughter.
"Okay, now Xiaoliu and the emperor and his son have a little secret, and they don't tell us."
"Your Majesty, this is the Emperor's privacy. If you really want to know, please~" Yinzuo paused here deliberately, then sighed in a fake manner for a while.
Then he said: "Xiaoliu hasn't eaten delicious food for a long time~"
"You! Didn't I stop you from eating because I was afraid your teeth would hurt again? You actually use this to threaten me. Fine, fine, tomorrow I'll ask the kitchen to make you a dish of soft and tender steamed pork with rice flour to satisfy your craving."
"Royal Mother is the best~" Yinzuo clapped his little hands.
"Can you tell me now?" The Imperial Concubine was also a little curious.
Yinzuo shook his head.
"Since the steamed pork with rice flour can only be eaten tomorrow, I will naturally tell the Royal Mother tomorrow. Father Royal, do you think Xiaoliu's behavior makes sense?" He even asked the Royal Father to act as his lobbyist.
"Well, I think what Xiaoliu said makes sense."
Kangxi thought Xiaoliu was very interesting and quirky. Although he was such a small person, he had so many strange ideas. He even taught his concubines how to make him remember their characteristics. Although the final result was not ideal, it must be said that it was still a success.
The prince is the heir to the throne, and it is impossible to get along with him so easily. Although he is very proud of the prince, he has not really enjoyed the father-son relationship. Xiaoliu is extremely intelligent. Not only is he not afraid of him, but his words and actions are also very pleasing. Now he has just made up for this shortcoming.
"Father Emperor, you must come back soon."
"Why is this?" Kangxi asked puzzledly.
"If you go out for too long, the ladies in the palaces will not see you anymore, and then they will turn their attention to me. That will put a lot of pressure on me. You see, I can't stay at home all the time, right? But if I go out, I will meet them. If they say something by accident, don't be scared when you come back~"
Yinzuo blinked his eyes, looking innocent.
Kangxi couldn't help but shudder as he recalled the embarrassing scene in the Imperial Garden that day that made him want to find a hole in the ground to crawl into.
"I will only stay in Mount Wutai for a few days and then I will be back. You are not allowed to teach them those nonsense things."
Kangxi thought about it, and added with concern: "Don't you like to grow flowers? I can bring you some golden lotus flowers from Mount Wutai."
"That's settled~" Yinzuo raised his little hand.
"What does this mean?" Kangxi was puzzled.
Yinzuo took the emperor's big hand and slapped him with his own small hand.
"This is called a high-five oath. If anyone breaks the agreement, he will be a puppy!"
"That's quite interesting. Your little head is always thinking of weird things. I'll remember it and bring it back to you."
"Father Emperor, what does Mount Wutai look like? Is it a mountain with five terraces?"
"Of course not." Kangxi explained to him what Mount Wutai was with a smile on his face.
"But this is my first time going back too." Kangxi said, and there was no response from the little guy. He lowered his head and saw that the little guy in his arms had fallen asleep. Kangxi pinched his little face, smiled, and then asked the wet nurse to take him away.
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