The new year is coming again
Hongyu was born on September 30th, so winter arrived by the time he had his third bath. The palace's floor heating had already been ignited, and all manner of hand warmers, foot warmers, and hand warmers were out. The women unpacked their gold jewelry and hung their seasonal clothes out to dry. They took out their rouge and powder, opened their eyeglass cases, and drew on their eyebrows, all dressed up beautifully so they could show their faces at gatherings.
The Empress Dowager's birthday was on the third day of October, which meant that everyone had just returned from the third-day baptism banquet and had to dress up in front of the Empress Dowager the next day to entertain her.
This year, Kangxi was away, having taken with him a large number of his close relatives and ministers. The entire capital was deserted. The palace, too, had become considerably quieter with the departure of several princes. For some reason, Kangxi, far away on the grasslands, had issued an order: "No more gatherings, all disperse." This referred only to the external officials.
In the palace, the Empress Dowager's birthday party was still lively and exciting.
The eldest wife was in confinement after childbirth, so of course she couldn't come. Apart from her, all the female relatives who could come were there. Only the eldest prince's daughters were brought by Concubine Hui.
Kangxi's family had quite a few daughters. While Kangxi was a prolific emperor, he also had a high rate of premature death among his children. This was mirrored by the high rate of premature death among his daughters; his first two daughters didn't survive. Adding and subtracting, given the large base number, it's likely that quite a few princesses survived.
Shujia took a quick look and found that the married Princess Heshuo Chunxi (the eldest princess, daughter of Prince Gong Changning and adopted daughter of Emperor Kangxi), Princess Heshuo Rongxian (the second princess, the third daughter of the emperor, born to Concubine Rong), and Princess Heshuo Duanjing (the third princess, the fifth daughter of the emperor, born to noble lady Zhaojia) were all gone. As Emperor Kangxi was on a northern tour, they were probably traveling with their husband on the grassland.
The oldest person present was the sixth daughter of the Imperial Consort Guo Luoluo, already ranked as the fourth princess. Her birthday was May 27th, the 18th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. Shujia remembered it clearly; keeping track of birthdays was a crucial task in the palace. She was already over seventeen, making her considered an unmarried young woman of advanced age. Outside the palace, she could have claimed to be over the age limit and married off on her own.
But her situation was somewhat unique. Kangxi's daughters traditionally married late. Her older sisters all received titles and married off around the age of twenty. Therefore, the four princesses, around the Seventeenth, still lived alone, which was not considered inappropriate in the palace. She sat there, lightly made up, elegantly dressed, a smile on her face but not frivolous. Occasionally, she would turn her head and whisper a few words to the Sixteen-year-old Fifth Princess, the ninth daughter of Consort De.
The Fifth Princess was dignified and beautiful. She was raised by the Empress Dowager. Compared with the Fifth Prince who was also raised by the Empress Dowager, her education in all aspects was obviously much better.
The Sixth Princess (the Emperor's Tenth Daughter, daughter of Consort Nara), the Seventh Princess (the Emperor's Twelfth Daughter, daughter of Consort De), and the Eighth Princess (the Emperor's Thirteenth Daughter, daughter of the same mother as the Thirteenth Prince) were one year apart in age, ranging from nine to eleven years old. The three of them fit perfectly together, forming the small boldfaced figures divided by age.
The Eighth Princess also took a moment to look at her younger sister, the Fifteenth Princess, who was the same mother as the Fourteenth Princess. The Fifteenth Princess was curiously watching the Sixteenth Princess, who was held in her nurse's arms. The child was just over a year old, babbling and unruly. The lively scene excited her, and she spoke in an alien language that only she understood, which greatly interested the six-year-old Fifteenth Princess.
(Someone's random entry: The princesses not mentioned are either dead or have not yet been born.)
Seeing a group of young and beautiful women, and thinking that she was already the mother of a little fat boy, Shujia couldn't help but feel sad.
Over there, the attention of the Fifteenth Princess had been drawn to her niece.
There are five surviving nieces of the Fifteenth Princess, or rather, granddaughters of Emperor Kangxi. Four of them were daughters of the First Wife, who was not present today, and one was a concubine of the Fourth Prince. The eldest prince's fourth daughter, a kindergarten-aged child, was struggling to understand why, despite being the same age, she called her third sister "sister" and the Fifteenth Princess "aunt."
Just looking at this group of aunts, both young and old, one could tell that this birthday party, in Kangxi's absence, would be a blast. One after another, the birthday greetings came in, starting with Yinreng, his brothers who had stayed in Beijing, and the royal family members who were close to him. After their greetings, they left for a family feast. Then came the female family members, a large group, starting with the concubines.
Only then did you realize the fullness of Kangxi's harem: Concubine Tong, whose rank hadn't yet been determined, but who was clearly superior to the others. Two of the Four Heavenly Kings were treated as concubines, six more were treated as concubines, and then there were a multitude of noble ladies, so many that it was almost impossible to tell who was whose concubine or maid. All told, there were over forty of them...
Perhaps, I can use this to tell myself that Yinreng's two concubines are actually nothing. If Yinreng's mother were still alive, she would be disgusted.
Shujia thought to herself, "I'm the empress dowager's granddaughter-in-law anyway, so I shouldn't stand out." Actually, to maintain a good reputation in the palace, besides being kind and avoiding trouble, the key is to stay out of the spotlight. Those who stand out are like turtles, destined to be stewed and eaten sooner or later, nourishing others but sacrificing themselves.
If you behave honestly and do your job well, no one will find fault with you and you will be safe.
This was especially true for the Crown Princess, as she didn't need to compete for promotions! If the Crown Prince was promoted, she would naturally follow suit.
Then again, having completed all the necessary rituals would be enough for her. Counting the heads above, plus those wandering the grasslands, there's someone celebrating a birthday every month of the twelve months, and more than one. Every season, someone catches a cold, and you have to visit. Every year, someone gets pregnant, and once a child is born, you have to prepare for the third day bath, the full month, the hundredth day, the first birthday...
She is too busy to handle all these. She has a little ancestor to look after at home, a big one to worry about and a large group of people in Xiefang Palace to take care of. Then she has to guard the gate and keep an eye on the people below to make sure they don't cause trouble.
There's enough work to do, no need to trouble yourself anymore.
As expected, such a Crown Princess is a delight. When the Empress Dowager questioned her, she spoke in a coherent manner about everything related to Yuqing Palace, without mixing in any details about the harem. "Yesterday—" she put her index finger to her lips, as if thinking, "Hongdan (tears welled up in her heart as she said these two words) made a fuss for a long time, and I tried to comfort him, but he didn't hear about this new news."
This approach was well-received by everyone, and everyone said that the Crown Princess was a gentle and virtuous person, filial to her elders (when the concubines were unable to deal with the Empress Dowager, she was dragged into the fray and accompanied the old lady in speaking an alien language), lenient to the servants (if something not so good happened in the harem, she would not overstep her authority to intervene), and kind to everyone (and she would not gossip about everyone).
That's enough.
Therefore, apart from the necessary social engagements such as paying respects and visiting the sick, the Crown Princess just stayed in her own territory every day, and she was surprisingly well-liked by everyone.
Shujia thought, distance makes beauty, doesn't it? She continued to smile and tell stories with the Empress Dowager, but she couldn't. The Empress Dowager had just said to Concubine Hui, "Just looking at those Chinese characters gives me a headache. Those who can recognize them are already very impressive, don't you think?"
The handwriting of the Eighth Prince, whom she raised, was so bad that it would take a thousand years to retake the exam among the other princes. Concubine Hui was already feeling a little uneasy.
The Empress Dowager, however, was delighted to see her children and grandchildren, and she wanted to show her kindness and protection. She even tried to get others to agree with her. The concubines wanted to laugh but didn't dare. Concubine Yi's cheeks twitched. Her son was spoiled by the Empress Dowager's mentality...
Shujia quickly came to the rescue and said with a smile, "You're right. So, Khan Ama's expertise in Chinese studies is quite remarkable."
The story is going off track, it’s going off track quickly.
"That's right. The emperor has to study very hard," the empress dowager was immediately led astray. "I almost vomited blood. They thought I didn't know, but I knew everything. I told them when I came back. How could you do this? You are the emperor, not a scholar..." She continued to ramble on.
Concubine Tong glanced at Shujia: Well done!
As long as you don't try to show off, and don't try to step on others and create a huge difference between you and others when you are superior to them, life in the palace is actually not difficult.
An honest and non-troubling Crown Princess was a boon to everyone in the palace. The concubines were pleased to see her stay out of the way, praising her for her sensible and well-mannered upbringing. Without their influence, Kangxi's opinion of Shujia remained stable. Furthermore, Yinreng appeared more stable after marrying, so the blame couldn't be entirely placed on Shujia; at least they didn't think their daughter-in-law had led their son astray.
When an official opens his mouth, his subordinates run away. If the Crown Princess doesn't make trouble, the subordinates will be happy, at least they won't say bad things about her.
For Shujia, being faultless is a sign of success. Being low-key is the best way forward.
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The days passed by in October without interfering with each other. November came and things happened with it.
No way?
Shujia was a little dumbfounded.
The Crown Princess finally picked up her needle and thread, wanting to make a small piece of clothing for her son. She hadn't used needle and thread for a long time, so her hands were a little rusty.
Before she got married, she made half a box of small items such as purses and headbands, which were more than enough to give away within a year.
After marriage, a new bride would make clothes and shoes for her mother-in-law and husband to show her affection and attitude. In her case, since she had no proper mother-in-law, she made a list of the clothes to be given away and had her servants buy them - this was the local custom.
For example, the embroidery work for Kangxi's birthday, which required a skilled worker to embroider, would take a month or so. If Shujia had done it herself, she wouldn't have had to do anything else—she would have had to leave it to a professional.
At the same time, she didn't have the resources. She started by giving away the things she'd made before marriage, then she started carrying little buns. She became a nationally protected species, and no one advised her to "overwork." The half-finished purse she'd made was confiscated by Hongxiu. After giving birth and confinement, she didn't have the time to care for the child.
The Crown Princess's life was quite rich. She could visit relatives and friends for exercise, drink tea with the Crown Prince, chat with him, do math problems, and discuss the principles of pinhole imaging. Of course, a large part of her time was spent taking care of the children and doing housework. The time she had for needlework was very little.
Finally, the weather turned cold, and November arrived. Everyone was in a state of inactivity, and the Empress Dowager had also begun to hibernate. The warmth of the Ningshou Palace's floor heating had made her want to doze off, and no one bothered to disturb her. Shujia, finding her opportunity, finished half of the purse and began to cut a small dress.
Just as I finished cutting and hadn’t started sewing yet, Yinreng came.
Shujia felt that this man was sometimes like a child, acting on impulse. Regardless of whether he was praised as "wise" when handling state affairs or how wicked he was when scheming against others, sometimes he was just an unreliable child.
Yinreng came in excitedly, and Shujia had no choice but to stick the needle into the fabric and swiftly put the things on the table into the basket. She stood up to greet him: "Why are you here so early today?"
Yinreng walked in headfirst and reached out to take off the crown. Wang Youde leaned forward to take it, placed it on the hat stand, and then bowed and stepped back. Yinreng rubbed his hands, his face full of excitement: "There is big news today."
Then, he pulled a thin sheet of paper from his sleeve and handed it to Shujia. Shujia took it with a puzzled look. The letter, still slightly warm from his body, had a slight curve from being in his sleeve. There were only two things that could have excited Yinreng: one, Kangxi was getting all fussy with him again; two, the eldest son was in trouble.
This time, she was wrong. While Kangxi had undoubtedly written the letter, the content wasn't cloying, nor did it imply dislike for Yinzhi. Kangxi was simply showing off to his son, saying, "This is a great place to stop today. There are so many rabbits. I've shot over a hundred in one day."
Yinreng was envious and wanted to go very much.
Shujia was devastated. Kangxi was expected to return in late November or early December. What time is it now? Did you go to bring your father home? She read the letter and said, "Khan Ama said he gave you a small knife?"
"Ah! It's in the study. Do you want to see it?"
"I haven't seen any real ones yet."
Yinreng was temporarily distracted and asked someone to bring a knife. When Shujia looked at it, it was a knife with a strong Mongolian style. Yinreng also said, "Be careful, don't pull your hand. You don't know that Mongolian sabers are not sharp, but knives are extremely sharp."
Then he muttered to himself, "My eldest brother has been in the imperial court, and I don't know how much he has gained and how much he has spoken. No, I have to go! I want to ask for permission, and I'll leave the family to you."
Is this the reason?
Shujia asked, "Isn't Khan Ama coming back soon?"
"Then I have to go too."
Shujia saw that persuasion was useless and simply kept silent. Kangxi would not agree anyway. This also meant that a bystander could see things more clearly. The emperor was away, and if the crown prince continued to be away, it would be fine at another time. It was almost the New Year, so there had to be someone in charge, right?
Sure enough, Kangxi teased Yinreng for a while, and then told him to stay in Beijing.
Yinreng: ...
However, there was good news: Kangxi would be returning soon. Furthermore, judging by the words, his affection for the crown prince remained undiminished. Yinreng suppressed his anxiety and began making arrangements for welcoming the emperor and welcoming the New Year. He also checked the inventory at the Ministry of Revenue and the Imperial Household Department. Fei Yanggu had been out there cleaning up, demanding military supplies and rewards from time to time. He needed to be prepared for another battle next year.
When you have something to do, your anxiety will be reduced a lot and the days will pass by extra quickly.
Finally, as Yinreng expected, Kangxi returned.
At the same time, the 36th year of the Kangxi reign was approaching.
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In the freezing cold, Yinreng, along with his younger brother and other ministers, went to greet Kangxi. It was so cold that, although Kangxi was excited, he still took into consideration the health of his ministers, especially the elderly and frail ones. He said, "The Crown Prince, please come and talk with me in the carriage." Then he told everyone to hurry into the city.
After returning to the palace, he did not take time to rest and went to see the Empress Dowager first. The old lady scolded him for a while and kept him for dinner before letting him go.
When they arrived at the Palace of Heavenly Purity, they summoned all those who stayed behind. Among them, Yinreng had already expressed his farewell feelings to Kangxi while they were in the same carriage, and also briefly explained the general situation. The next question was about the ministers.
Kangxi first praised: "While I was away from Beijing, you assisted the Crown Prince and did a great job."
Everyone claimed that they did not dare to take credit for it, saying that it was the Crown Prince's cleverness and the Emperor's good influence.
Kangxi was delighted and sent his sons back to their wives. Then he said to Yinreng, "You have told me everything else. Now I want to ask you: How are the Crown Princess and Hongdan?"
Yinreng said proudly: "Hongdan can sit and crawl now."
Kangxi was very interested and asked to be brought in. Shujia dressed him in a small jacket and wrapped him tightly in a small quilt, covering his face to prevent the wind. She also instructed the nanny for a long time before letting him be taken away. She waited anxiously in Yuqing Palace.
The little fat boy was actually quite well behaved. Even after not seeing him for a while, he wasn't shy at all. Seeing Kangxi's clothes look familiar, similar to his father's, the little fat boy wasn't at all put off by him. He just wanted to go up to him... pull his beard (I'd never seen a bearded creature before, so I was curious), and tug at his imperial beads (they're round and must be fun).
The temperature in the Palace of Heavenly Purity was very high, making people drowsy. The little fat boy began to doze off. Kangxi was reluctant to let him go, so he put him next to his seat, with the grandfather and grandson on each seat, one sitting and the other lying. The little fat boy lay down and fell asleep, but he was still not quiet. He kicked the quilt loose and then started to perform acrobatics. He lay down and his right leg stretched out to the side of his head. He stretched out his right hand and grabbed it. Yinreng's eyes almost popped out. Who does this child look like? ! ! ! [1]
The author has something to say: [1] I have personally seen my cousin perform this way. According to my aunt, he was just bored and had nothing to do.
PS: Regarding the plot issues that some students are concerned about, starting from the next chapter, there will be a big development... The thrilling work begins~~~
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