After calming down, Kangxi led the concubines to Changchun Garden again. Of course, Consort Tong, who had just been reprimanded, was left in her palace, as was Consort Zhangjia. However, the Thirteenth Prince was taken to Changchun Garden by Consort Ping.
When paying her respects to the Empress Dowager, Wan Anran met the thirteenth prince, Yinxiang, who was one year younger than Yintao. Yinxiang had delicate features and a round, adorable appearance. Perhaps because his mother, Consort Zhangjia, was not present, he seemed somewhat nervous.
Yinxiang blinked his slightly curled eyelashes nervously and answered the Empress Dowager's questions in a soft voice. Everyone in the hall could see that the child was trying very hard to please the Empress Dowager.
Unfortunately, the Empress Dowager is not the Empress Dowager of the past, and the palace is not the palace of the past either. In the time of Yinzhen and Yinqi, the little princes were so few that they could be counted on one's fingers. From the Empress Dowager down to the concubines, they were all held in their hands for fear of being hurt, and kept in their mouths for fear of melting. No matter how naughty they were, they were still their precious children.
By the time of Yinxiang, there were already fourteen princes in the palace. Moreover, Yinxiang's birth mother was being disliked by the emperor, and his adoptive mother was not very popular either.
Not to mention compared to the other princes.
If we're talking about those who are highly favored by the Emperor, then there's the twelfth prince, Yin Tao, born to Consort Qi. He's known for his intelligence and wit, and he's also one of the Empress Dowager's favorite princes.
If we're talking about those who receive the Emperor's special attention, it has to be the eleventh prince, Yinzhi, born to Consort Yi. He is frail and sickly and needs careful care, so the Empress Dowager always mentions him whenever she sees him.
These two are one thing, but there's also the Fourteenth Prince, Yinzhen, who was even younger and raised in the Cining Palace. He directly attracted the attention of the Empress Dowager and others.
In addition, with more and more grandchildren, the Empress Dowager could not take care of everyone. Therefore, she naturally did not pay as much attention to some children who were not close to her or were strangers, and appeared much colder.
Poor Yinxiang, he was quickly forgotten by everyone.
Seeing that the Empress Dowager had shifted the topic to the Fourteenth Prince, Yinzhen, and everyone's attention was focused on the plump and robust Yinzhen, Yinxiang pursed his lips, his eyes reddened, and lowered his head in silence.
He gripped his trouser leg tightly with his small hands, staring blankly into space.
After a long while, Yinxiang returned to his seat after being reminded by the palace servants, staring blankly at the little hand on his knee.
At that moment, a faint creaking sound came from the table.
Yinxiang looked up blankly, only to find that the plate of pastries on the table had been moved toward him.
Yinxiang's eyes widened.
He quickly realized that it was the Twelfth Prince, Yin Tao, who had pushed the plate over. Yin Tao winked at his Thirteenth Brother and said, "Thirteenth Brother, eat up!"
Yinxiang stared at the pastries for a long time.
Since moving to Yonghe Palace, he had hardly eaten any pastries. Thinking of this, Yinxiang couldn't help but swallow and reached out to pick up a pastry.
The pastries have a sweet aroma.
Yinxiang took a big bite. It was very crispy, and soon the rich aroma of peanuts and cream spread in his mouth. The two flavors blended perfectly and melted between his lips and teeth with almost no chewing.
This was the first time Yinxiang had ever tasted such delicious pastries.
His eyes sparkled, and his surprised expression made Yin Tao proud: "Isn't it delicious?"
Yinxiang nodded: "It's delicious."
Yin Tao became even more smug. He held his head high and smiled excitedly at Yin Xiang: "It was made by my mother."
Twelfth Brother's Mother...
Yinxiang blinked, and it took him a while to come to his senses: "Huh? It's, it's, it's Consort Qi? Does Consort Qi know how to make pastries?"
Yin Tao nodded emphatically.
Yinxiang was completely bewildered. Whether he lived in Chengqian Palace or Yonghe Palace, he had almost never seen Consort Qi except for a glimpse from afar during festivals. He had no idea that Consort Qi's mother had such culinary skills, let alone had ever tasted them.
It was Yinxiang's reaction that shocked Yintao.
His eyes widened, and he looked at Yin Tao with a hint of disbelief: "Thirteenth Brother didn't know?"
“No, I don’t know…” Yinxiang blushed.
He felt like a country bumpkin and was momentarily uneasy.
Just then, a soft laugh came from the side.
Yinxiang's ears turned bright red, and with a hint of embarrassment, he looked up and just happened to meet Wan Anran's gaze.
It was Wan Anran who laughed out loud.
Seeing her son, Little Thirteen, blushing from his cheeks to his ears and then to his neck, how could she resist? Wan Anran reached out and patted the sensible child, urging him to eat two more pieces while smiling and saying, "Next time you come to Consort Qi's place, we can make some snacks together."
Yinxiang's eyes lit up, but he quickly became somewhat disappointed.
Previously, when he lived in Chengqian Palace, he was too young to go out, and after moving to Yonghe Palace, his mother, Consort Ping, forbade him to go out even more.
Thinking of this, Yinxiang's eyes dimmed.
Seeing his younger brother's unusual behavior, Yin Tao thought for a moment, then reached out and pulled Yin Xiang: "Thirteenth Brother, shall we go out and play now?"
"Now?" Yinxiang was taken aback.
"Is it alright, Mother?" Yin Tao looked at Wan Anran expectantly.
Wan Anran, of course, would not refuse Yin Tao's request.
She smiled and agreed, then turned to the Empress and asked, "Your Majesty, how about we go for a walk?"
The Empress smiled and nodded.
Just then, the Empress Dowager was still showing off the chubby Fourteenth Prince. What was Consort Ping doing bringing the Thirteenth Prince over? Of course, it was for the Fourteenth Prince. Following the Empress Dowager's topic, Consort Ping's mind was entirely focused on the Fourteenth Prince, and she had no time to care about her adopted son, Yinxiang, whom she had only recently acquired.
It should be said that she wished the Empress and Consort Qi would stay far away so as not to get in the way of her trying to please the Empress Dowager.
The Empress Dowager stopped speaking, somewhat hesitant.
Looking at the fourteenth prince, who could only walk slowly, the Empress Dowager thought for a moment and then waved her hand: "Go."
The group bowed and led Yin Tao and Yin Xiang outside.
Yin Tao skipped ahead, a very curious child who paid great attention to all the wildflowers and weeds by the roadside. Yin Xiang, who was a little reserved at first, couldn't help but jump for joy and eagerly joined the group to take a look.
After admiring the wildflowers and weeds for a while, their attention was drawn to the butterflies. They chased the butterflies all over the yard. Yinxiang was no longer the timid person he had been just moments before; his face was beaming with joy.
A clear voice called out from afar: "Twelfth Brother!"
Yin Tao paused, then happily ran towards the approaching figures. It was Consort Yi, Consort Ning, and the Eleventh Prince, Yin Zi.
The three of them bowed in unison.
The Empress laughed and called out, "The Empress Dowager was just thinking about you. Go quickly."
Consort Ning and Consort Yi both agreed.
Yinzhi watched Yintao and Yinxiang playing with longing eyes, and was pulled away by Consort Yi with every step he took, looking back three times.
Yin Tao waved his paw regretfully.
Yinxiang looked at Yintao with a blank expression, and then waved his little hand at his eleventh brother.
Unfortunately, the former received a sorrowful look from Yinzhi, while the latter received an angry look from him.
Yinxiang: …………?
He blinked, thinking he was seeing things. Less than a cup of tea later, Yinzhi came bounding over, throwing himself at Yintao: "Twelfth Brother!"
"Eleventh Brother! This is Thirteenth Brother."
"Oh..." Yinzhi grunted, showing little interest in his new younger brother, and held onto Yintao's arm with extreme nervousness.
The Empress and Wan Anran, who were watching from the sidelines, found the scene quite amusing. Yinzhi's awkwardness didn't last long; children's friendships are so simple, and soon they were all together again, chattering and playing around.
As Wan Anran played, she made a different discovery.
She frowned slightly, carefully examining the three children in the room. After a moment, Wan Anran asked hesitantly, "Your Majesty, speaking of which... is Eleventh Prince's health still as poor as before? He's only as tall as Thirteenth Prince now."
Yinzhi was clearly the oldest one.
When the three children are together, at first glance you might think that the eleventh prince and the thirteenth prince are the same age.
The Empress also said helplessly, "After all, it's an illness that she was born with, and there's no other way but to take good care of her."
Wan Anran recalled the rumors circulating in the palace.
She frowned slightly: "I heard that wet nurses are still used for breastfeeding these days?"
The Empress nodded: "Indeed."
Wan Anran shook her head: "Even with careful care, you can't raise a baby like this. Breast milk is only good for infants. Now it's better to drink cow's milk."
The Empress recalled something: "Consort Yi mentioned that she heard that the Eleventh Prince suffers from severe diarrhea after drinking milk."
Does the eleventh prince have lactose intolerance?
Wan Anran thought for a moment and said, "If cow's milk doesn't work, perhaps goat's milk would be a better option."
The Empress seemed to be deep in thought: "I'll bring it up later."
As for whether or not to try it, that depends on Consort Yi. The palace still believes that human milk has the highest nutritional value. Besides, it's not uncommon for children to be wet nurses even at the age of eleven or twelve, let alone five or six.
The Empress did not believe that Consort Yi would change her mind.
Wan Anran only mentioned it casually; over the years, she had come to understand that some things couldn't be forced. The two chatted back and forth, their eyes never leaving the three children.
I chased butterflies for a while, and then caught cicadas for a while.
The three of them started catching caterpillars on the tree again... Wait! Wan Anran quickly interrupted them, saying that if they caught caterpillars randomly, they might have an allergic reaction.
Although the probability is very low, in a world where even antibiotics are unavailable, Wan Anran doesn't want to consider the probability issue.
The three children were just bored.
Yin Tao raised his hand: "Your subject wants to play on a skateboard."
"Can't."
"swim?"
"Of course not—how about we go to the slide?"
"No, I'm tired of this and it's too hot." Yin Tao shook his little head like a rattle drum.
Wan Anran had no choice.
However, skateboarding was still a bit too early for them, so she had someone make several pull-out water guns out of bamboo tubes, and then called over a large group of eunuchs for a water gun battle in Changchun Garden.
At first, everyone was a bit reserved.
When Wan Anran formed a team for them and the three armies began to clash, the only sound in the courtyard was the splashing of water. As for Wan Anran and the Empress, they simply found a safe place to sit down, eat snacks, and watch, occasionally offering their comments.
The water fight escalated further and further.
When Yinzhen and Yin'e first entered school, neither of them liked studying and they couldn't sit still in the classroom. When they saw the lively scene after class, they practically screamed and rushed in.
The moment the two entered, chaos erupted.
Then came Yinqi and Yinyou, and finally even Yinzhen was forcibly dragged in, making the scene a chaotic melee.
Of course, having older children like Yin Tao would put him at a significant disadvantage.
Wan Anran's eyes darted around, and he simply distributed buckets and ladles to Yinzhi, Yintao, and Yinxiang. These two things combined were much more powerful than water guns, and in no time, wherever the three young princes went, chaos ensued.
Of course, after the water in the bucket is gone...
Yin Tao, Yin Zhi, and Yin Xiang were quickly surrounded by their brothers, and under their kind smiles, they could only huddle together, trembling with fear.
Wan Anran had absolutely no intention of stepping forward to save them.
She even laughed so hard she bent over. The Empress, seeing Consort Qi's childlike behavior, couldn't help but laugh out loud as well.
Emperor Kangxi heard the commotion from afar.
He paused slightly, then turned and walked in this direction. Looking at the courtyard, which looked like it had been flooded, and his sons, who were soaked to the bone, several veins bulged on his forehead.
Emperor Kangxi was about to lose his temper.
As a result, he glanced to the side and happened to see the Empress and Consort Qi sitting there eating snacks and drinking tea, looking exactly like two bystanders.
Kangxi: …………
Kangxi was both amused and annoyed; his anger vanished instantly.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
