16. Chapter 16
Winter Warmth
The imperial court issued the "Expanding the Seas Order," opening ports like Guangzhou and Quanzhou to Western trade. At the same time, Emperor Kangxi issued an edict to Ryukyu, allowing students from the Tokugawa shogunate to study in the Qing Dynasty.
Qi You really wanted to go to the port open for trade, but unfortunately he was too small and could only stare at his short legs and sigh.
After winter came, the weather was too cold, and Qi You was wrapped up like a bear every day. In addition, he ate too much milk tea and cheese at the Empress Dowager's place, so Qi You's face was red every day, just like a doll in a New Year's picture. When he looked in the mirror, he was embarrassed by himself.
After the Chinese New Year, Qi You was about to turn six years old, but he was still often held under the armpit by the eldest brother, who would lift him up with one arm: "Come on, follow your brother to play Cuju on the ice, and you will be the goalkeeper."
The weather in winter is really too cold. Although there are regulations, the afternoon horse riding and archery classes are still subject to change according to the weather conditions.
After all, a group of princes were riding horses in the middle of winter, facing the cold wind, and their faces felt like they were being scraped by knives.
Kangxi couldn't bear to see his sons' red-faced faces starting to chapped, so he just let them practice archery for a while when the weather was a little warmer.
The boys had no time to sit idle. As the eldest brother, they would call their friends to go to Shichahai to play ice skating and Cuju as soon as they had no classes.
Cuju on ice had been popular since the time of Nurhaci, and it was continued by Huang Taiji. Kangxi followed the tradition of his ancestors and turned a blind eye to the princes' outings for fun as long as they did not cause trouble.
The eldest prince stared at Qi You, looked at his legs, then looked at his body shape, and made a quick decision: "Seventh Brother, you guard the door. You don't need to run, just roll at the door, and I guarantee you can hold it."
The goal was simple, with two poles on either side, and a net tied to the poles. Qi You looked down at his body, which was about the same size as the ball. He wrapped his fur coat tightly around him, fastened his hatband, leaving only his eyes exposed, and slowly squatted down, saying in a muffled voice, "Okay."
The Third Prince looked at Qi You and laughed.
The Fourth Prince also laughed, a rare occurrence. The Fifth Prince, who was dragged along by the Eldest Prince to join in the fun, didn't understand what they were laughing at, but when he saw his brothers laughing, he laughed along too.
Qi You saw the smile on the Fourth Prince's face and sighed slightly. After the Sixth Prince passed away, they met several times in Chengqian Palace. When Qi You saw his forced smile, he knew that he was not doing well.
Since the death of the Sixth Prince, Concubine De has often been bedridden. When the Fourth Prince came to pay his respects, he couldn't even enter the room and could only kowtow outside the door.
Dai Jia privately told Qi You, "Yonghe Palace has lost two children in succession. They went through ten months of hardship to carry them and give birth to them. Who wouldn't be heartbroken? The Fourth Prince is being raised under the name of Chengqian Palace, and they're holding on to their dignity."
Qi You could understand Concubine De's idea, but he did not agree with it. The Fourth Prince was not the first prince to be adopted out. The Fifth Prince was raised in the Empress Dowager's palace. Even after Concubine Yi gave birth to the Ninth Prince, she still went to the Empress Dowager's palace every day to pay her respects and chat with the Fifth Prince. The mother-son relationship was harmonious and harmonious.
Besides, the foster mother was actually just a favor out of respect. The prince had been carefully served by a group of eunuchs and maids since he was a child, and the foster mother was just a figurehead and took care of him a few more times.
Who can’t recognize his or her biological mother?
Qi You had seen people with Defei's personality. To put it nicely, she was stubborn and insisted on her own ideas. To put it bluntly, she was stubborn and arrogant.
It is very tiring to deal with such a person. No matter what you say to him, he will not listen to a word others say and will only keep complaining about his own grievances.
The Fourth Prince has really worked hard.
Due to a shortage of players, the eldest prince brought in the eunuchs and divided them into two teams. The fifth prince was assigned by the eldest prince to guard the other team's goal. The rules were simple: whoever scored the most goals won.
At the eldest brother's command, the game began. Undeterred by the cold, the group began to writhe on the ice. The ice was slippery, and people often fell flat on their faces. Everyone stopped to play and laughed.
Qi You and the Fifth Prince squatted like a ball beside the goal on both sides, looking at the people on the field and laughing with them.
Qi You was truly delighted. He wore a fur coat, with fur on the outside and wool on the inside, keeping the wind out and keeping him warm. His daily schedule included playtime, and he studied diligently, just as diligently as he played, truly balancing work and rest. As a result, he studied with ease, never feeling tired at all.
As we grow up, it will probably be difficult to see such a happy scene among brothers again.
Today's match was evenly matched, and Qi You squatted for a long time without waiting for the ball to come. The sun shone brightly on his body, not warm but very dazzling. Qi You closed his eyes and almost fell asleep.
Qi You's legs were numb from squatting for so long, so he stood up and bent over to stretch them. Suddenly, something flashed before him, and the eldest prince's roar echoed: "Seventh Brother, stop him!"
Qi You subconsciously threw himself down and hugged the ball. Due to inertia, he and the ball slid forward for a long distance before finally coming to a stop.
The eldest prince let out a strange cry and laughed loudly: "It didn't go in, hahaha!"
The Third Prince was a rival of the First Prince, and he kicked the ice and cursed in frustration.
During the competition, everyone cursed and no one cared. The eldest prince ran forward proudly, grabbed Qi You by the back, put him on the ice and pushed him. Qi You rolled back to the goal and the ball fell to the eldest prince's feet.
Qi You supported himself on the ice with both hands, struggled to stand up, looked at the sun gradually setting in the sky, and said, "Brother, let's go back to the palace. If we play for too long, we will be punished by Khan Ama."
The eldest prince hadn't had enough fun yet, but when Qi You brought up Kangxi, his playful spirit was immediately suppressed. If any of these younger brothers did something wrong, he, the eldest brother, would definitely be in trouble.
"Go back to the palace, we'll play again tomorrow!" The eldest prince threw the ball, waved his arms and shouted.
No one rode a horse, so they squeezed together in two carriages and returned to the palace surrounded by guards.
The Fifth Prince was quick-witted and quick-handed. He quickly jumped onto Qi You's carriage and squeezed in with him.
Qi You held the red copper hand warmer prepared by De Gao in his hand. Seeing the Fifth Prince rubbing his hands and breathing out, he handed the hand warmer to him and said, "Come, let's warm up together. Why didn't you bring a hand warmer with you, Fifth Brother? Aren't your hands warm enough?"
Normally, the Fifth Prince would accompany the Empress Dowager to the Grand Empress Dowager's palace to pay respects, and their frequent encounters led to a familiarity. Qi You spoke Mongolian to the Fifth Prince, and the Fifth Prince begged Qi You to teach him Chinese, and their relationship became closer than with his other brothers.
The Fifth Prince was not polite either. He took off his handcuffs and placed his hands on the hand warmers. He chuckled in comfort and said, "It's warmer in Mama Palace than anywhere else. I'm particularly afraid of the cold outside. I forgot to bring my hand warmer today, so even wearing the handcuffs is useless."
People are afraid of cold when they get older. Qi You thought about the temperature in the Empress Dowager's palace. He would sweat every time he went there, and he guessed that the Empress Dowager was in the same situation.
The Fifth Prince looked at Qi You and lowered his head again. He raised his head again, then lowered it again, repeating this several times, his face full of embarrassment and struggle, wanting to speak but hesitant.
Seeing this, Qi You smiled and said, "Fifth brother, if you have something to say, just tell me."
The Fifth Prince hesitated for a long time before finally saying, "Seventh Brother, I also want to go to school with you. You are good at your studies, and Khan Ama thinks highly of you. Could you please help me mention this to Khan Ama?"
"Okay." Qi You responded with a smile.
The Fifth Prince breathed a sigh of relief and was extremely excited, thanking him repeatedly.
Qi You kept smiling and said, "But Fifth Brother, you have to go with me. Go and get what you want, and I will be there to help you."
The author has something to say:
Thank you to the little angels who voted for me or provided nutrient solution between 2022-09-16 14:18:40 and 2022-09-17 14:40:48~
Thanks to the little angel who cast the mine: it’s a tangerine;
Thanks to the little angel who irrigated the nutrient solution: 5 bottles of Endless Haze;
Thank you very much for your support. I will continue to work hard!
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