The Imperial Noble Consort's health gradually improved. Two days later, the brothers Yinzuo and Yinzhen returned to the upper study to continue studying with their teachers. Before leaving, they made a special trip to Yonghe Palace.
"Mother, where are my snacks?"
"I knew you were thinking about it, so I prepared it for you early in the morning. By the way, the pot of daylilies that you two brothers gave to mom is about to burst. Why don't you help mom divide them into two pots now, Xiaoliu?"
"Okay, no problem." Yinzuo didn't think much about it and went out to work.
Yinzhen wanted to follow, but was stopped by Concubine De.
"Fourth brother, please stay. Mother has something to tell you."
Yinzuo looked at his mother and then at his brother with a smile. He was very happy to see them so close and now they even had something to talk about.
"Then brother, you just stay and talk to mother. I'll be there soon." After saying that, he walked out without looking back.
Defei looked at his back with a smile, how could she not know what this child was thinking, it was hard for him to be so young, yet still worry about herself and the fourth child. Defei turned around and gave instructions to everyone first.
"You all should withdraw."
After all the palace servants had left, Concubine De looked at her eldest son and walked up to him to straighten his folded collar.
"Come in with mother, let's sit down and talk slowly."
Yinzhen looked at his collar which had just been straightened and replied, "Yes."
The mother and son sat on the couch, one on each side, but the atmosphere was not very warm. Instead, there was an inexplicable awkwardness, as if neither of them felt comfortable without Yinzuo.
In the end, it was Concubine De who spoke first.
"Yinzhen, you are already ten years old and a big boy. Although you don't like to talk much on weekdays, I know that you are a child with a plan in mind, so I won't beat around the bush with you."
"I will listen to whatever you have to say, mother."
"The struggle between the eldest prince and the crown prince is getting more intense. Mother is a woman in the harem. Although she doesn't understand the affairs of the court, she also knows what this means. Are you on the side of the crown prince?"
Defei looked at her eldest son in front of her with a rare serious expression. If Yinzuo was present, he would probably feel unfamiliar.
"Mother, you worry too much. My son is still young and has not been formally involved in government affairs. How can we talk about which side he stands on? It's just that my son's arithmetic is pretty good. Last time, the Ministry of Revenue was short of manpower, and the prince asked for a little help."
"So that's how it is." Defei breathed a sigh of relief.
She smiled and said, "Fourth Brother, don't blame me for telling you this. Last time, a maid in our Yonghe Palace saw you interacting with someone from the Eastern Palace. I'm worried that you might be involved in the fight between your eldest brother and the crown prince.
Although Mingzhu seems to have lost his power, there is no guarantee that he will not make a comeback one day. After all, he has been in the court for so many years. You know, a centipede is still alive even after death. Mother is afraid that you will be in danger."
"Don't worry, mother. I don't want to interfere in the fight between my elder brother and the crown prince. I just want to study hard, share the worries for my father, and protect Yinzuo."
"It's great that you think so. Lao Si, are you interested in that position?"
"Mother! Brother! Have you finished talking? Why did you chase everyone out? What are you whispering about? I want to hear it too!"
Yinzuo ran in with a smile, and Defei's words were interrupted. It was not appropriate to continue asking in front of him.
"It's getting late. Let's hurry to the training ground now and practice with Waian Da for half a day." Yinzhen put down the teacup in his hand.
"That's right, mother. My brother and I will leave first and come to pay our respects to you another day."
Concubine De nodded.
"Don't delay your work, go quickly and remember to bring snacks with you!"
The two brothers then went out.
Yinzuo stared at his brother and smiled foolishly all the way.
"Why are you smiling at me? Is there something growing on my face today?" Yinzhen said helplessly.
"Brother, do you feel that mother still cares about you?"
Yinzhen paused for a moment and replied softly, "Yeah."
"Don't blame mother. Although she is a little partial to Little Fourteen, she loves the other four of us equally. Although I don't know what you talked about today, mother is definitely doing this for your own good. If you think what she said is wrong, just ignore it and don't take it too seriously. Be happy and smile~"
"I'm not unhappy." Yinzhen was just shocked by her last question.
"Then why are you so absent-minded? You even made an excuse to take me away quickly. I was planning to have lunch at my mother's place before leaving."
Yinzhen glanced at him and reminded him, "The Emperor has already returned from Jiangnan. He will arrive in the capital in a month at most. When that happens, he will definitely check everyone's homework. You haven't even touched the book for such a long time. I'm afraid you can't even recite it forward, let alone backwards."
Speechless, Yinzuo could only pout his lips to express his resentment.
"Why does the Emperor love to listen to people reciting books so much? How about I raise a parrot, teach it to recite books, and then give it to the Emperor, what do you think, brother?"
"If you are not afraid of being beaten, then go ahead." A faint smile appeared in Yinzhen's eyes.
Yinzuo subconsciously covered his buttocks and said angrily: "Forget it then."
Having said that, a month later, Yinzuo still received a parrot from his brother. It was snow-white with a wisp of yellow feathers on its head, just like it was wearing a crown, and its cry was unique.
After school every day, Yinzuo rushed back to teach the bird to recite poems. All the princes were amazed. After a few days, almost everyone knew that Yinzuo had raised an extremely smart bird.
Kangxi finally arrived in Beijing. As expected, he summoned all the princes to his presence the next day to check how they were doing with their studies.
"Finally, I'm not the last one this time." The fifth brother Yinqi whispered to Yinzuo, and the gloating in his tone was obvious.
Yinzuo did not understand the meaning at first, until it was the turn of the ninth and tenth children to recite, then he suddenly realized that the two children must have played too much in the past two months and could not even recite a short passage.
"Can't you two give me some peace of mind? Xiaoliu's parrot can recite poems, but what about you two? You can't even recite such a simple article. You just play around all day and tease your master. You are simply lawless!"
In a rage, Kangxi immediately punished them by making each of them receive ten slaps on the hand, and confined them to their own rooms to copy fifty times. They were not allowed to leave until they finished copying. He also specifically ordered that no one was allowed to visit them.
This is to guard against the Imperial Concubine and the Concubine Yi. A loving mother often spoils her son. Look at what has become of Yin'er and Yin'e now?
Such happy and pleasant days lasted until June. The day before everyone was about to go to Changchun Garden to escape the summer heat, the Imperial Concubine fell ill again.
Moreover, the disease came on very rapidly and lasted for a whole month without any improvement. On the seventh day of July, the Imperial Concubine became seriously ill, and the Emperor and the Empress Dowager hurried back to the palace.
When Kangxi arrived at Chengqian Palace, he saw Tong Jia, who could die at any time, and Xiao Liu, who was haggard and crying.
"Father! Is the Royal Mother going to leave us?" Yinzuo's eyes were red and swollen.
Kangxi opened his arms and hugged him tightly.
"Don't be afraid, she'll be fine."
Two days later, the Imperial Noble Consort still hadn't woken up, so Kangxi went to the Ciren Palace and talked with the Empress Dowager for a while. After that, as soon as he returned to the Qianqing Palace, he suddenly issued an edict to make Tong Jia the Empress and announced it to the world, granting amnesty and praying for the Empress.
After that, Kangxi handed over all state affairs to the cabinet and lived in Chengqian Palace to accompany the seriously ill queen.
When Yinzuo went in to deliver the medicine, he saw the emperor crying. The emperor had only cried when Ukumama passed away.
"…Your Majesty" Yinzuo could not imagine that he would actually witness such a scene.
"Your Royal Mother is my cousin. She has been by my side for so many years. My parents have a shallow relationship with me, and your Ukuma Mama is also very strict with me. Before giving birth to you children, she was my only relative. She was the closest to me and understood my thoughts the best.
Xiaoliu, I feel sorry for her. I couldn't give her a child, leaving her alone. You are a lucky person. You were on the verge of death several times, but you were able to escape danger in the end. I want you to be her child, just as a blessing for her. Can you offer incense to her in the future?"
Yinzuo looked at the imperial mother who was breathing weakly on the bed, and thought of his own mother. He struggled in his heart. Both mothers were very good to him, one was the one who gave birth to him and the other was the one who raised him.
The Imperial Noble Mother has no sons or daughters, and this is probably the reason why she has always been depressed and unhappy. However, the Imperial Noble Mother still has her brother, Little Fourteen, Yaohua and Qionghua to take care of her...
"Father, can your son think about it again?"
Kangxi frowned, but finally couldn't bear to force him and let him go.
Yinzuo ran to Yonghe Palace. It rained a lot in the summer, and bean-sized raindrops hit his face and body on the way. Soon he was soaked all over.
"Sixth Prince! Why are you running here in the rain?" The maid of Yonghe Palace looked at him in surprise and asked.
Through the rain, Yinzuo saw Concubine De standing in the corridor, instructing the eunuchs and palace maids to move the flowers and plants planted outside into the house.
"Be careful with those two pots of daylilies!"
"Mother!"
Defei raised her head and looked over here, her smile half revealed and then retracted, she frowned, grabbed an umbrella from the palace maid, and walked quickly towards Yinzuo, her skirt was wet, but she didn't care.
"Child, it's raining, why don't you hold an umbrella? Look at you, you must be soaked. Come in with your mother quickly and take off your clothes. Don't catch a cold!" Defei was reluctant to scold him harshly, so she could only wipe the rain off his face with the handkerchief in her hand.
Yinzuo hugged his mother and said with sobs: "Mother, I have something very important to discuss with you, but I was afraid that you would be angry with me, so I didn't take care of it in my anxiety."
"You are already an adult, and you are still crying. So many people are watching you. Aren't you afraid of being laughed at? Come on, when has your mother ever been angry with you? Change your clothes first and be obedient!"
Yinzuo nodded, and just like when he was a child, he followed his mother obediently, led by her hand.
"Fortunately, mother just made you a set of pajamas, otherwise you wouldn't even have a change of clothes." Defei walked in personally with a set of pajamas.
Yinzuo was soaking in the bathtub, shouting through the screen: "Mother, you are not allowed to come in!"
Concubine De chuckled and stopped.
"What? Are you still shy in front of your mother? How many times did your mother bathe you when you were a child? Are you afraid of your mother seeing it?"
She said so, but she still didn't go in.
"I'm grown up now!"
"You are not even ten years old yet, and you have become so estranged from me. I have sent your clothes inside. Don't play with water like you did when you were a kid. Come out and wring your hair out quickly. Don't you have something urgent to discuss with me? I am waiting for you in the main hall."
"Okay, my son will be here soon."
When Yinzuo walked into the main hall, Concubine De just looked up and smiled at him.
"It fits you well. You've grown so fast these years. I'm afraid the ones I made for you before won't fit you anymore, right?"
"Then I'll keep them all, so I can give them to Little Fourteen in the future."
"That will save mother a lot of trouble." Defei said with a smile.
Yinzuo squeezed in next to his mother and sat on her lap like he did when he was a child.
"Mother, you love me, right?"
Concubine De used her hands as a comb to tidy up his messy hair.
"Of course, you are my mother's child, so naturally my mother loves you."
"What if we are no longer mother and son? Will you still love me?"
"Silly child, we are mother and son, how can we not be mother and son? What nonsense are you talking about?"
"I mean in name only!"
Concubine De paused and asked softly, "But your father wants to transfer your jade disc to the queen's name?"
Yinzuo suddenly raised his head and asked in surprise: "Mother, how did you know?"
Concubine De smiled without answering, patted his head lightly and let him continue to lie down.
"Your Royal Father values the Empress very much. Even though she has no sons or daughters, he has kept her as the Imperial Noble Consort for so many years. He never appointed a new Empress, but only because he was afraid of the saying that he would bring bad luck to his wife. Now that the Empress is seriously ill, he must want to do his best to make up for it. The Imperial Noble Consort's regret is nothing more than the Empress position and the children. Mother is not stupid, so she can guess it naturally."
"Today, my father said that he wanted me to be the Royal Mother's child. I was unfilial and hesitated. Now I feel sorry for you, my mother, and for the Royal Mother's upbringing over the years."
"Silly child, if you refuse outright, then mother will be disappointed. Mother has seen the care and love that the Queen has shown you over the years. She really treats you as her own son. Besides, since your father has spoken, he has already made up his mind. He asked you just to get you to agree. Mother knows what you are thinking. Mother is not angry, and she does not blame you."
Yinzuo's tears flowed uncontrollably again, and he fell on his mother's lap and cried bitterly, just like when he was a child.
Only after his emotions calmed down did he return to Chengqian Palace. He knelt in front of Kangxi and said solemnly: "Father, I am willing."
Kangxi looked at him for a while, then walked up to him, helped him up, patted his shoulder, and noticed that he had changed his clothes.
"Have you seen your mother?"
"Well, my mother gave birth to my son after ten months of pregnancy, and I think it is right for her to know about this."
Kangxi nodded, looked at his still swollen eyes and said, "Very good, you are very good, your mother is also very good, go, kowtow to the queen, and tell her about this happy event in person, she will be very happy."
If Yinzuo had agreed directly, Kangxi might not have been so happy. Instead, he would have thought that he was coveting the status of the legitimate son. This way, his doubts were dispelled.
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