The fourth princess's soft, sweet voice echoed in my ears.
Yinzhen couldn't help but yawn, letting his mind wander amidst the chirping of insects and birds, lost in his own thoughts.
So this is what Ke Jing looked like when he was a child?
In his previous life, Yinzhen had a distant relationship with his brothers, let alone his fourth sister, Princess Kejing, who came from the Yikun Palace. He only had a slight impression of her after the 48th year of Kangxi's reign, when Kejing actually submitted a memorial to her father, the Khan, and with his permission, the "Great Laws of the Three Banners of Khalkha" were formulated. Among the many sisters who married into Mongolia, she was the first and only one who was able to participate in court affairs.
Even the Empress Dowager remarked upon hearing this that Princess Kejing resembled the Empress Dowager, and as a result, Consort Yi, who raised her, became the most popular woman in the palace, and even Yinzhen was quite pleased with herself.
Strong-willed and competitive, no less so than men.
These are roughly Yinzhen's impressions of his fourth sister. As for when they were younger? To be honest, Yinzhen had never played with her like he does now.
My past life self...
What is he doing at this time? Yinzhen thought back carefully, and realized that at this time in his previous life, he was living in Chengqian Palace.
Yinzhen didn't have many memories of his childhood. He only remembered being confined to the study to study from a young age, with piles of homework.
As a child, he naturally refused.
She had cried and made a fuss, but the wet nurses always had a stern face and earnestly instructed her: "Fourth Prince, you must study hard so that you will be successful in the future and live up to the care of the Imperial Concubine."
It seems a bit ridiculous now that I think about it.
However, at that time, Yinzhen felt that the relationship between mother and son was generally like that.
It wasn't until the New Year, when he saw Yinzhi chatting endlessly with Consort Rong in Cining Palace, and Yinqi rushing into Consort Yi's arms upon their long-awaited reunion, that Yinzhen realized something was amiss.
He secretly raised his head to look at Consort Tong.
Yinzhen's eyes were deep, as if he were recalling himself in another time and space, and he carefully reached out his small hand to hold Consort Tong's hand...
Then it was dodged.
That version of myself felt a heavy weight settle on my heart.
He didn't understand why, only thinking that he wasn't obedient enough, serious enough, or hardworking enough. He buried himself in his studies and tried to build a good relationship with the Crown Prince. It wasn't until his mother, who had become the Imperial Noble Consort, became pregnant that he finally learned from others that he was not the Imperial Noble Consort's biological child.
At that time, Consort De already had the sixth prince.
Consort Tong gazed tenderly at her pregnant belly, while Consort De held the Sixth Prince's hand in a joyful embrace. Only he stood quietly in place, his vision obscured by darkness.
It was as if no one had ever expected anything from him.
Yinzhen was lost in thought, his eyes fixed on a distant place... a shadow fell over his brow.
"Fifth Brother! Fifth Brother!" the Fourth Princess shouted angrily. She clenched her chubby little hands into fists and pounded them on Yinzhen's chest: "It's your turn."
Yinzhen, pulled back by the pain: ...
He remained silent for a while before slowly responding. Then, Yinzhen, expressionless, operated the little puppet to eat. Under the watchful eye of the Fourth Princess, he had no choice but to earnestly add the voiceover: "Aww, the food made by the Fujin is so delicious."
If you had a hard life in your past life, you'll have a hard life in this life too.
For example, playing house is something he's never experienced before, either in his past life or this one. :)
Yinzhen sighed secretly.
His gaze fell on the pile of toys, and his thoughts quickly expanded.
Why does the princess still need to cook?
Don't they have servants or cooks in the courtyard? Oh, right, this must be a poor, destitute scholar who can't even afford to cook.
As Yinzhen listened to the Fourth Princess's rambling, he couldn't understand why she had so many whimsical ideas. What, a poor scholar marrying a prince's daughter? That's impossible! Manchus and Han Chinese don't intermarry, and the husbands of princesses are carefully selected. How could a prince's daughter marry a poor scholar?
The Fourth Princess doesn't care!
She mimicked the lines from the play, chattering away for a good while, vividly portraying a talkative and nagging princess. After finishing the scene of breakfast, the Fourth Princess took Yinzhen's hand and said, "My lord, let's go for a walk together."
Why don't poor scholars study hard?
Yinzhen inwardly complained, but outwardly remained calm and composed: "Fine."
The palace servants couldn't help but offer a word of praise.
Perhaps only the Fifth Prince had such patience; the other princes didn't have it, and they would flee in terror every time the Fourth Princess brought it up.
Yinqi, who was standing to the side, also felt bored.
Taking advantage of Yinzhen and the Fourth Princess's absence, he leisurely walked to the pile of toys. Yinqi flicked his finger, and the small furniture that had been neatly arranged was all overturned, the mud in the bowl spilled onto the bamboo mat, and much of it splattered onto the dolls.
Hearing the noise, the Fourth Princess turned around and her face immediately turned red. She angrily released Yinzhen's hand and ran back, shouting as she ran, "Master! Come quick! Bandits have come to our house!"
Yinzhen: …………
Even at this point, are you still not forgetting the role you're playing?
The bandit Yinqi was not afraid of the two.
He stuck his tongue out at Yinzhen and the Fourth Princess, picked up the doll, and ran away.
The fourth princess was now in a panic.
These little dolls were made by her mother! Apart from playing house with them, she washes them clean every day and sleeps with them. They are the Fourth Princess's most treasured possessions.
She chased after him with her short legs.
In fact, Yinqi was half a year younger than the Fourth Princess, but he was well cared for in Yikun Palace and was very strong, so he looked to be about the same height as the Fourth Princess.
The two children were running around the garden.
The Fourth Princess blushed and insisted on stopping Yinqi. After the two of them had run around for a while and were panting heavily without anyone stopping, Yinzhen, who was standing to the side, couldn't stand it anymore.
He gestured for a palace servant to step forward and stop them.
The palace servants of Yikun Palace were in a panic. They were already constrained in Cining Palace, and the Fifth Prince's spoiled nature meant that they would be the ones to suffer if they were stopped, so no one dared to step forward.
But the palace servants in Chuxiu Palace were different.
Their attitude towards the Sixth Prince, Yinqi, was much colder. When the young master said he wanted to stop him, they stood in front of him like door gods.
Yinqi was startled.
Surrounded and pursued by the crowd, his already exhausted body slowed down considerably. The Fourth Princess, with her fifth brother standing proudly with his hands on her hips, pressed closer to Yinqi, demanding, "Hand over my doll!"
"No way!" Yinqi said unhappily.
"Hand it over!" The fourth princess was even more displeased, and in the blink of an eye, the palace servants saw the two of them rolling around together.
Yinzhen: "You two, stop fighting!"
Shouting didn't work; the two little ones actually got really angry. If you punch me, I'll bite you, and they grabbed their toys and wouldn't let go no matter what.
Yinzhen called for the palace servants to come forward.
The palace servants of Yikun Palace tried to coax and persuade them, but they didn't even dare to pull them.
Yinqi and the Fourth Princess both gripped the doll tightly, neither willing to let go. The fragile doll couldn't withstand such a tug-of-war, and with a tearing sound, the doll's arm and body were completely separated in two.
Yinqi felt guilty for a moment.
He then threw the broken doll on the ground: "Tsk! It's all your fault, why did you come over to snatch it? Now it's all broken!"
They're even turning the tables on me!
The Fourth Princess had never seen such a shameless person. Her eyes were already brimming with tears, and now she burst into sobs. She rushed forward and slammed her head against Yinqi's body, yelling, "I'll fight you to the death!"
"Fourth Sister!"
"The Fourth Princess!"
"Ouch—are you a dog?" Yinqi cried out in pain and bit back without hesitation.
The two started fighting again.
If last time it was just playing around, this time the Fourth Princess was really angry, biting and tugging at me and refusing to let go.
Yinzhen hugged the Fourth Princess, trying to calm her down. Unfortunately, the Fourth Princess, enraged, had already transformed into a fierce tiger. "You pulled my baby's arm, didn't you? Then I'll pull your pants down!"
Yinzhen elevated the Fourth Princess.
The fourth princess forcefully pulled on Yinqi's pants.
All that could be heard was a tearing sound.
Yinqi's white buttocks were then completely exposed!
The entire room fell silent.
Stunned, Yinqi felt the coolness of the bedclothes, and his round cheeks flushed red. His eyes reddened even more, and then a heart-wrenching cry pierced the sky.
Yinzhen: ...
The fourth princess gave a disdainful snort and casually threw the rag on the ground: "Serves you right!"
Yinzhen: …………
He covered his face in anguish—in his previous life, Yinqi and the Fourth Princess had always had a very close relationship.
How did my life turn out like this?
Yinzhen felt exhausted. To make matters worse, as Yinqi's crying grew louder, he also saw several palace servants from Yikun Palace rushing towards the front hall.
It's obvious they're planning to file a complaint.
In the front hall of Cining Palace, Wan Anran sat with a teacup in her hand, listening with great interest to Consort Yi's amusing words.
Consort Yi is very capable.
She was very quick-witted, chattering non-stop from the beginning until now. One moment she was talking about amusing things in Yikun Palace, the next she was telling jokes about the Sixth Prince Yinqi, making the Empress Dowager laugh and also increasing the Empress Dowager's goodwill towards Yinqi.
The Empress Dowager thought of the chubby child, and her smile grew even brighter. At the same time, her gaze towards Consort Yi softened considerably: "Consort Yi is good at raising children. I think the Fifth Prince is round and chubby, and very cute!"
"It is my honor to receive praise from the Empress Dowager," Consort Yi replied with a smile, glancing at Consort Qi as she did so. "If the Empress Dowager is pleased, I will bring the Sixth Prince to visit her more often in the future."
"Good, good, good." The Empress Dowager nodded with a smile. The Fourth Princess was well-behaved and obedient, and the Fifth Prince, Yinzhen, was steady and sensible. Neither of the children was the type to cause trouble; they could play by themselves for most of the day, making Cining Palace rather quiet.
The Empress Dowager was actually quite pleased, thinking about what would happen if the troublesome Yinqi came too...
Oh, of course, I should also comfort Consort Qi later.
The Empress Dowager looked at Consort Qi with affection, indicating that she felt most sorry for the taciturn Consort Qi.
The weak, helpless, and pitiful Consort Qi: Hmm, I got up a little late this morning, and I'm a bit hungry now.
Wan Anran fell into deep thought.
Should we have a more elaborate lunch today? But it's almost the end of summer, and she's wondering if she should take advantage of this time to eat some summer-specific foods.
Hmm... how about lotus leaf cake?
Chef Zhao's lotus leaf cakes are also exceptional, with a soft and chewy outer layer, available in both sweet and savory flavors.
The sweet ones are filled with candied dates, red beans, or dried fruit, offering a rich and lingering sweet aroma. The savory ones are filled with pickled radishes, olives, pickled mustard greens, or fillings like pork floss and egg yolk, making them savory and appetizing. Wan Anran can eat a lot of them in one go!
Just thinking about it made Wan Anran's mouth water.
She smacked her lips and swallowed. Since she had decided on the refreshing lotus leaf cake as a dessert, the dishes beforehand should also be light. She made cold lettuce salad, cold tofu skin salad, and finally a pot of fresh and spicy cold pot skewers.
Consort Yi noticed that Consort Qi was distracted.
She wrinkled her nose, a hint of smugness flashing in her eyes: "Sister Qi, have you thought of something?"
"...Hmm?" Wan Anran blinked and looked up at the Empress Dowager: "Empress Dowager, how about we have cold pot skewers for lunch?"
What is cold pot skewers?
Consort Yi looked bewildered, but what surprised her even more was that the Empress Dowager's spirits lifted, and she beamed with joy: "You must prepare more of my favorite lotus root slices and potatoes."
"Yes—how could I forget? Also, make some bean curd sheets, wood ear mushrooms, quail eggs, lettuce, cauliflower, oyster mushrooms, winter melon, bean sprouts, and chicken feet..." Wan Anran recited the menu as if it were her own treasure. The Empress Dowager had no mind to chat with Consort Yi. Her mind was on lunch, and her stomach was rumbling with hunger.
Consort Yi's face turned ashen.
She never expected that a single dish would instantly capture the Empress Dowager's attention.
What cold pot skewers!
Consort Yi suppressed her displeasure and secretly pondered how to assess the enemy's situation: "Oh dear, this is the first time I've heard of this. What is this cold pot skewers again? May I have a taste?"
Wan Anran looked conflicted.
"Shall we invite Consort Yi to a meal?" The stingy Wan Anran was unwilling. Just as she was pondering how to refuse, a commotion arose outside, and soon a maid rushed into the main hall.
Consort Yi's expression changed drastically.
She naturally recognized this as the wet nurse who served her sixth prince, and asked urgently, "What's the matter with you in such a hurry?"
The wet nurse knelt down on the ground in one swift motion.
She kowtowed heavily: "The Fourth Princess and the Fifth Prince not only pushed the Sixth Prince down, but also took off his pants! How could the Sixth Prince bear such humiliation? I beg the Empress Dowager to do justice for the Sixth Prince!"
Consort Yi's face paled.
She glared angrily at Consort Qi, her eyes practically spitting fire.
Wan Anran's eyes widened as well.
The difference was that she covered her lips, overjoyed: "Oh my! Did the sun rise in the west today? Yinzhen actually bullies people?"
We should go back and celebrate.
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