At the end of the year, Wan Liuha gave birth to the twelfth prince, whom Kangxi named Yinzhen. After he was one month old, he was handed over to Sumalagu, who was by the side of the Empress Dowager, to be raised.
On the fifth day of February in the twenty-fifth year of the Kangxi reign, Yinzuo turned six years old. There were many princes and princesses in the palace now, so it was no longer necessary to hold banquets for them one by one. Instead, the Imperial Noble Consort prepared a simple birthday banquet for him in Chengqian Palace, with all the dishes that Yinzuo liked.
Yinzuo started receiving birthday gifts from everyone in the morning. Even though his brothers had gone to the study and were unable to come in person, the gifts were conveyed to them, and Yinzuo spent the whole morning opening and reading the gifts.
Basically, they all suit his preferences, but this time, what his fifth brother gave him was not a toy, but a set of large characters written by him personally. Although they were crooked and not even as good as Yinzuo's own, Yinzuo could feel that this set of large characters was the result of his fifth brother's hard work when he thought about how his fifth brother had never learned Chinese and could not even speak Mandarin clearly.
"Xiaoliu hasn't finished dismantling it yet?" The Imperial Concubine walked in with a smile.
Yinzuo, who was sitting among a pile of gifts, raised his head. Yinzuo had grown up a lot now. At first glance, one would be attracted by his big bright eyes and the two deep dimples at the corners of his mouth. One could not help but sigh: What a noble, handsome, innocent and smiling little boy!
His smile is bright, without a trace of gloom in his expression, and he has a particularly pure temperament. The more complicated a person's heart is, the more they want to get close to him. A simple look and a brilliant smile can easily win the favor of others.
"My dear mother, besides the gifts from my brothers and sisters, there are also gifts from the ladies in the palaces. I have never seen many of them. Why did they give me gifts?"
Yinzuo held his wrist and shook it, his hands felt a little sore.
The Imperial Concubine chuckled and said to him, "It's because you are known as the 'Prince Who Can Give You Children' that everyone likes to be close to you. Well, we will open it later. Come with me to have lunch first."
Yinzuo looked at the half-opened gift box beside him, sighed, nodded and replied: "Okay."
As soon as we arrived at the main hall, there were more than a dozen different dishes on the table, all of which were Yinzuo's favorites.
"In order to celebrate the Sixth Prince's sixth birthday today, the Imperial Concubine personally went to the kitchen early in the morning and has been busy for most of the day."
Yinzuo held the Imperial Concubine's arm affectionately.
"Thank you, my dear lady, for preparing this for me. No wonder today's dishes smell so appetizing. I can't wait to try them."
"Then sit down quickly." The imperial concubine rubbed his head and led him to sit down.
There was such a huge table of delicious food that Yinzuo's mouth was watering just by looking at it.
"This year is Xiaoliu's sixth birthday. I hope Xiaoliu can grow up safely, be carefree forever, and be a happy child."
After the Imperial Concubine finished speaking, she took a box from the maid behind her.
"I have already discussed this with your father, and I will arrange for you to go to the upper study in a few days. You will live in the South Third Building from now on. You must study hard with your brothers."
After saying that, she opened the box, inside of which was a stick of top-quality Huizhou ink with a dark and smooth color, and a faint fragrance.
"This is a lacquer smoke ink stick. It is as hard as jade and has patterns like rhinoceros horn. It does not smudge or fade when applied to paper. I am giving it to you today. I hope you will study hard in the future."
"Thank you, Royal Mother!"
Yinzuo stood up from his seat and solemnly took the precious gift with both hands.
My brother once said that the materials used for lacquer smoke ink are precious. It contains more than ten kinds of valuable materials such as musk, gold foil and pearl powder. The craftsmanship is complicated and the processes are numerous. It takes pounding one hundred thousand times just to mix the materials. It can only be made by a master craftsman with decades of experience in ink making. Therefore, the best ink sticks are extremely rare.
The maid next to Tong Jia said, "This is the Imperial Concubine's dowry. Sixth Prince, keep it well. Don't disappoint the Imperial Concubine's expectations in the future."
"I will keep it carefully and use it when my calligraphy is good enough."
The imperial concubine smiled and nodded.
"Put it down and have lunch first. These dishes will not taste good if they get cold." The imperial concubine personally picked up a piece of his favorite sweet and sour pork ribs for him.
Yinzuo handed the food to Shunfeng, who was serving behind him, then sat down again, picked up his chopsticks and started eating.
Although Yinzuo loves to eat, his manners have improved over the years. His back is straight, and even at the dinner table, he does not lose his composure at all. He is graceful and well-mannered, absolutely worthy of the dignity of a prince.
Suddenly he frowned and looked strange.
"What's wrong?" The imperial concubine quickly put down her chopsticks and came over to ask.
After noticing that something was wrong with Yinzuo, the Imperial Concubine shouted, "Quick, bring me a handkerchief!"
Yinzuo took a clean handkerchief from the maid's hand and covered his mouth with it, then spat out a piece of bone with blood on it. He moved slightly, and a tooth was revealed under the bone, which had obviously just fallen out.
"Xiaoliu, you've started to grow your baby teeth. You're really growing up." The imperial concubine was surprised and happy.
"Prepare some water so Sixth Prince can rinse his mouth!"
The maids were busy, and after Yinzuo rinsed the blood out of his mouth, he picked up the tooth that had just fallen out and washed it in the water.
"Is this my tooth? It's so small. Can I roar it...?"
Yinzuo lost his front teeth, and his speech was lisp, which even he found strange.
Nanny Cheng came forward and asked, "Sixth Prince, was it the top or the bottom that fell off?"
Baring teeth seemed a bit indecent, so Yinzuo closed his mouth and licked his teeth one by one. After confirming the position, he replied, "It's the upper front teeth. Why do you ask that, Madam?"
"If you want a new tooth to grow well, there is a rule. If it is an upper tooth, it should be thrown under the bed. If it is a lower tooth, it should be thrown on the eaves. Since Sixth Prince's tooth is an upper tooth, I will throw it under your bed later."
This was the first time Yinzuo had heard such a statement. He looked at the deciduous tooth in his hand and finally handed it to Nanny Cheng.
"Does your mouth hurt? Do you want me to ask a doctor to take a look?" The imperial concubine was still a little worried, after all, blood had just been seen.
"It fell very suddenly just now, but I don't feel any pain. Don't worry, my dear lady. Let's continue with our lunch."
Yinzuo himself did not take this matter to heart. He felt that apart from speaking slower to pronounce correctly, there was no significant difference before and after.
The Imperial Concubine felt sorry for him and wanted to laugh when she saw that he had one missing front tooth, but she managed to hold it back with great difficulty.
Yinzuo, who was concentrating on eating and looking at the table full of delicious food, did not notice her abnormality until he finished his lunch and left the main hall, when he faintly heard the laughter of the imperial mother coming from inside.
He was still puzzled, muttering quietly: "Why is the Royal Mother so happy all of a sudden?"
He took the top-quality Hui inkstone back and looked at it carefully twice, then handed it to Nanny Cheng and told her to keep it carefully.
"When I have mastered calligraphy in the future, I will use this ink to hand-copy a copy of the Book of Songs for your royal mother." After all, what she loved most was reading poetry.
"Yes, I will definitely keep it for Sixth Prince."
The next step was to continue opening the gifts. Yinzuo liked the feeling of receiving a surprise, even if the things inside were not very valuable.
In the afternoon, Qionghua also sent someone to deliver a gift. She now lives in Ciren Palace and is raised by the Queen Mother.
The Defei was now pregnant with another child. The Fifth Prince Yinqi, who was originally raised by the Empress Dowager, also moved to the Nansan Residence. The Empress Dowager had no children. She had always liked Yinzuo, so she discussed with Kangxi and asked for Yinzuo's sister, the Fifth Princess. Qionghua was lively and likable, and the Empress Dowager now doted on her and treated her like the apple of her eye.
Look, the birthday gifts sent were all extremely precious jade ornaments, which were exactly Yinzuo’s zodiac sign of monkey. They were lustrous and shiny, with a delicate and transparent texture. It was obvious that they were treasures taken out from the Empress Dowager’s storehouse.
In the evening, Yinzuo, who was busy opening gifts, was suddenly hit on the head. He covered his head and raised his eyes. He was originally a little angry, but suddenly he smiled.
"Brother! Why are you so fat?"
He didn't care that he was talking and started to leak air again. He quickly stood up, pulled his brother Yinzhen, whom he hadn't seen for a long time, and gave him a bear hug.
Yinzhen almost lost his balance and was knocked to the ground by him. Fortunately, the horse stance he had practiced for more than a year was not in vain, as he finally managed to keep his balance.
"Today is your birthday, so of course I have to come back to celebrate for you." After saying that, he took out a small toy from his arms and handed it to Yinzuo.
"Is that so? Brother, didn't you ask Su Peisheng to send a gift this morning? Why is he sending it to me~"
Although he said that, the expression on Yinzuo's face could not hide his happiness.
"I just made this casually and gave it to you for fun. It can't be considered a formal gift."
This little thing is a small building block. It is not very exquisite, but it is polished very finely without any burrs. Yinzuo likes it very much.
"Thank you, brother!" Yinzuo looked at his brother with sparkling eyes.
"Did you... lose a front tooth?" Yinzhen then noticed that there was a small black hole on Yinzuo's tooth.
Yinzuo didn't have any idol baggage in front of his brother. He bared his teeth and showed them to his brother.
Pointing to the place where a tooth fell out, he said to him: "This tooth fell out by itself when I was having lunch today, and it was bleeding~"
When complaining in front of his brother, Yinzuo's tone unconsciously became a little coquettish.
"I don't think it's red or swollen, but remember, don't lick it easily with your tongue. If it grows crooked and becomes buck teeth, it will look ugly."
Buck-toothed Xiaoliu, after thinking about that scene, Yinzhen couldn't help but smile.
"Brother is making fun of me?!" Yinzuo looked incredulous.
He quickly ran to the mirror, bared his teeth and looked at himself carefully. It seemed that he really didn't look good and looked a little funny. He had just talked to his brother for such a long time with this look on his face. No wonder his brother couldn't help laughing.
Yinzuo was extremely disappointed.
Yinzhen walked up to him, patted his shoulder, and comforted him: "I'm not laughing at you. You're fine. You'll grow out of it in a few days."
"I've lost my front teeth too, it's nothing." Yinzhen added at the end.
Yinzuo, feeling a little better, asked, "Did your brother also start changing his teeth when he was six?"
"Yeah, about the same."
Yinzhen's voice suddenly became softer. Yes, Yinzuo is six years old this year. He only lived to the age of six in his previous life. It’s just that he couldn’t remember the exact time when he died in his previous life. Yinzhen was worried in his heart. The unspeakable anxiety became more and more uncontrollable in recent days.
"Oh, brother, I, Ma Sang, will also move to the South Third Residence. The Imperial Noble Mother told me today that she wants me to go to the upper study with you in a few days. Then I can stay with you every day like before."
At this moment, Yinzuo was like a bird about to fly out of a cage and roam freely in the world. He became extremely happy.
"Really?" Yinzhen frowned. But in the previous life, Yinzuo didn't have time to enter the study room. Does that mean he had an accident recently? !
"Brother? What's wrong with you? You don't seem happy... Don't you want to see me every day?"
Yinzuo pouted, looking like he was angry and would ignore you if you didn't coax him.
Yinzhen rubbed Yinzuo's head and tried his best to calm his little emotions.
"No, I'm happy. Did the Royal Mother tell me the specific date? I can ask Su Peisheng and Aunt Xie to help you clean the room next to mine in advance."
After Yinzuo's hair was stroked, he returned to his soft and sticky appearance.
He said softly: "The royal mother hasn't said anything yet~"
"Yinzuo, remember not to get sick recently. Don't play with water when bathing. Don't eat too much ice. Don't play by the pool in the Imperial Garden. In short, remember to protect yourself carefully. Do you remember?"
Yinzhen held his shoulders and gave him these instructions in a very serious tone.
Yinzuo hesitated for a while, but finally nodded obediently.
"Brother, why do you suddenly ask me to be careful about these things?" It was not like this before.
Yinzhen couldn't explain his worries to Yinzuo, so he could only find another reason.
"If you suddenly get sick during this period, you will have to postpone going to the South Third Institute, and you won't be able to live with me sooner. Didn't you just say that you wanted to be like before?"
"Yeah, I've remembered it all! Don't worry, brother, I won't get sick!"
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