Sorry for the delayed upload. Odyssey was busy.
Translator: Jalyss
Editor: Odyssey
Chapter 59
His eyes were on Yanxi Palace’s plaque?
When had he ever been scolded in such a creative way!
But the one who scolded him was the Supreme Emperor, whom he admired the most. Yinti could only endure it. He opened his mouth, his face turned red with a hint of anxiety.
It was like a bucket of cold water was poured over him. The eldest prince came back to his senses. His impulsiveness slowly faded away, and his red face turned pale.
Now was not the best time to plead for mercy. His imperial father had just issued the decree this morning. He rushed over after his studies and impulsively sought mercy for his mother. It seemed to have added fuel to the fire and may have had the opposite effect…
Yinti carefully picked up the memorial on the ground and stammered, “Imperial father…”
As he said that, he kowtowed deeply and stuttered, “Your, your son was just concerned and spoke out of turn. The remarks made were inappropriate. Please forgive your son, imperial father. But this is about eighth younger brother, and your son would not dare to lie! Mother…is really not that kind of person…”
His voice gradually trailed off.
“Forgive you? You have already tested Our patience.” Kangxi glanced at Yinti and snorted coldly, cutting off his words. He then said sternly, “Kneel for an hour to calm your mind. You’re already thirteen, yet you’re always restless like this!”
The emperor merely threw the memorial casually just now. He wasn’t really that angry.
He just wanted to knock some sense into his eldest son. The imperial edict clearly stated that Consort Hui had been ‘negligent in her duties’. Could it be that Baoqing wanted him to change his decree and revoke the order?
Although he had no intention of forgiving, Yinti couldn’t even find a good reason to plead for mercy…
Feeling resentful that iron could not become steel, Kangxi glanced at his eldest son again, feeling worried and sighing inwardly.
He was the one who misjudged Mrs. Nala. His eldest son still needed a lot more improvement.
…
A month ago, there was the matter caused by favouritism, where Yun Xiu mocked Imperial Concubine Xu for having her eyes on Yikun Palace’s plaque. Liang Jiugong found out about this matter and clearly reported it to the emperor later.
Kangxi found that Yun Xiu’s description was very vivid and appropriate. He repeated it casually and remembered it.
Yun Xiu didn’t know that the emperor had taken inspiration from her remarks and then put what he had learned into practice, thus scolding the eldest prince mercilessly until he was ashamed. Since then, the eldest prince had a deep aversion to plaques. Yun Xiu also didn’t know that, when the eldest prince left the palace to build his own mansion, he rejected the proposals of officials from the Ministry of Works and removed a series of plaques with excellent meanings such as ‘Taoran1 Pavilion’ and “Yanming2 Courtyard”, leaving only the bare red pillars… This decision turned his mansion into a spectacle in the capital and earned him an even fiercer scolding from his father!
Currently, she was watching Yinqi and Yintang playing together with a smile.
Although she described it as playing, but in fact, it was the fifth prince who was playing with his younger brother. Because of his small arms and legs, the ninth prince had no power to resist. His babbling protests were in vain, and he could only stare at his older brother a blank expression akin to a dead fish.
“Mother, imperial father said that after the new year, I will move into eldest brother’s residence and start studying in the study room.” Yinqi held his younger brother’s chubby hand and rubbed it lovingly. He then exclaimed joyfully, “Revered Elder has arranged a large and spacious courtyard for me. It will be next to my third and fourth older brothers, so that it will be convenient for me to visit and play…”
The fourth princess, Yi’erha, was copying characters on the table nearby. She blinked her big eyes when she heard this and said in a soft voice, “Fifth younger brother, you are always thinking about playing. Studying is the most important thing. If you fall behind in your studies, won’t it be embarrassing? Not only is it embarrassing for you, but it also loses face for Mother Yi and imperial grandmother… Also, the crown prince has been teaching you Chinese for so long, so you should also consider his face.”
She was just a few months older than Yinqi, but she already carried herself like an older sister. After saying that, Yi’erha smiled sweetly and said, “Fourth older sister is also keeping an eye on you. You can’t slack off. If you do, I won’t bring you delicious food!”
Yinqi was stunned at first. By the end of her words, he looked completely dejected.
Yun Xiu suppressed her smile and solemnly agreed when she saw a girl, just a few years old, earnestly advising her younger brother to study. It was quite amusing. “What your older sister said is right. Your mother’s face is in your hands. You must strive to be on the same level as your second older brother. It is good to be diligent and progressive.”
Feeling the sadness radiating from Yinqi, Yintang in the cradle pondered: “…”
What was the point of studying? It was better to learn foreign languages… No wait, being a playboy was more enjoyable!
With that in mind, Yintang kicked his legs, let out a long sigh, and let out a “Ah-“.
Yes, fifth older brother was very honest. He would believe whatever mother said. His brain was incomparable to his own. Yinqi couldn’t possibly become a playboy. Although honest people were easily deceived, shouldn’t he, as a younger brother, be considerate of his older brother’s feelings?
The ninth prince felt a little proud and a little superior, so he generously forgave Yinqi for putting on his pants backwards.
At that moment, the honest child in his eyes had a puffy face, with ‘I’m not happy’ written on the left and ‘I don’t want to study’ written on the right. Yinqi moved his hands down and began to rub his younger brother’s fair and tender chubby feet.
The wet nurse at the side was calm and composed, presumably because she was used to such scenes.
No one had ever questioned this. Although the fifth prince was young, he was considerate in his actions and his movements were very gentle… The most important thing was that they had never seen the ninth prince cry when he was with the fifth prince!
Yun Xiu had laughed enough, and then comforted her son gently. “Don’t be afraid. Studying is not that boring. You have Fulu from Uncle Tuyue’s family to accompany you, and there is another study companion who was appointed by the emperor. You will have classes together with your peers and that should be fun.”
As she said that, she smiled. “The other mother doesn’t know much about it, but that kid, Fulu, is mischievous like a monkey. Who knows how many sheets of paper your uncle has wasted when he writes to me to complain… With him around, you can relax. You will definitely not be punished by the masters.”
At this time in the dream, the dispute between the imperial noble consort and Consort De was at its most intense.
The fourth prince started studying at the beginning of the year, and the number of study companions had not yet been determined. Consort De had intended to let her nephew from her mother’s family enter the palace as a companion. She had already asked the emperor about this matter, but the imperial noble consort used a trick to stop this and replaced him with a young man from a branch of the Tong family.
After such an incident, and the fact that the children of the Tong family were not the imperial concubine’s direct nephews, the emperor himself praised the imperial noble consort for her ‘equal treatment of both close and distant relatives’. Yun Xiu had thought about it repeatedly and decided to give up on the idea of letting Fulu enter the palace.
Fulu was a child who grew up in Shengjing. He was very resistant to studying. His family even invited several teachers to no avail. After that, he joined the army. During the expedition to Zhunga’er, he made moderate achievements with his youthful bravery and became a moderate official. He was not qualified enough to lead the army, but he was more than enough when compared to others.
But if he was to be appointed as Yinqi’s study companion, he needed to have shown his face in the palace since he was a child in order to leave an impression on the emperor. His starting point was already completely different.
Because of this incident, she was filled with resentment in her dream. Although it gradually faded away, there was always a knot in her heart. Now that heaven had eyes and bestowed this grace upon her, she had the opportunity to erase her regrets. How could she not grasp it firmly?
Besides…
The teachers were no ordinary teachers in the study room. Moreover, the emperor often went to inspect the children. Fulu couldn’t resist!
…
After listening carefully to Yun Xiu’s words, the little pudding, the fifth prince, fell into deep thought.
Yinqi: This seems to make sense.
Yintang: Don’t listen to mother’s deception!!
When he heard the word ‘Fulu’, Yinqi’s eyes were bright. He stopped playing with his ninth younger brother’s feet and ran forward. He raised his head and asked Yun Xiu, his eyes filled with expectation, “Mother, when is uncle’s family arrive in the capital?”
“They will be here soon. They will spend a good year here after all, and Yinqi will meet Fulu soon…”
Chengqian Palace.
“Ahem… We thought that Consort Hui was a rare smart person, but We didn’t expect that she was also stupid, and was being plotted against without even realising it.” The imperial noble consort folded her handkerchief slowly and laughed sarcastically. “She shouldn’t be too arrogant. Did she really think that after giving birth to the eldest prince and having Ming Zhu as a shield that she could sit back and relax?”
Without the eighth prince, not only did she lose face, but she also lost a big helper for her son. This was a bit of a fall, but the imperial noble consort was happy to see the success and felt extremely happy.
Although there were no tangible results now, with the ambitions of Consort Hui and Ming Zhu, the eldest prince would definitely fight with Suo Etu and the crown prince until death to seek the throne. The eldest prince was now missing the eighth prince, and he would surely extend an olive branch to the other princes. If this continued, Yinzhen’s road would be much smoother.
Consort Hui’s arrogance was also suppressed. For the imperial noble consort, this change was of great benefit and of no harm. When she thought of this, she smiled happily. Her smile widened a bit as she thought of the layout at Yonghe Palace.
“Are all the sachets in place?” she asked.
“Everything is in place. On the fourth prince’s side, due to his frequent visits, the nanny of Second Rank Prince Rong discovered the ‘clues’ created by Wet Nurse Xu. After several twists and turns, it finally reached Yonghe Palace…” Wet Nurse Zhen whispered, “With the traces of Mrs. Liu, Imperial Concubine Wu immediately lost her composure! Imperial Concubine Wu then requested an audience with His Majesty at noon. Now it is time to await the good news.”
“That’s very good.” The imperial noble consort smiled slightly, suppressing the excitement that the great revenge was about to be repaid. She lowered her head and touched her belly. Her eyes were fierce and her tone was soft. “Anle, are you looking at mother from the sky? Are you not happy? Mother is venting anger on your behalf. It doesn’t matter who is related to this, none of them can escape…”
By the time Imperial Concubine An and Imperial Concubine Xi finally copied the Buddhist scriptures and were no longer grounded, it was already December.
Just when they breathed a sigh of relief, they were shocked by the news of Consort Hui’s punishment. A few days had passed since the eighth prince and Noble Lady Liang had moved out of Yanxi Palace. Then, the emperor arrived at Yonghe Palace!
This was the first time Kangxi had set foot in Yonghe Palace after more than a month.
As the emperor left sullenly, rumours and speculations swept through the harem. Some people said that Imperial Concubine Wu had given up and angered the emperor. Others said that Imperial Concubine Wu tried to regain his favour, but the emperor was unmoved and scolded her coldly… There were all kinds of rumours.
The next day was a rare sunny day.
In Yuqing Palace, it was not yet 5 in the morning and the sky was still dark. The crown prince had dressed and washed, ate hot congee and a few side dishes, and was preparing to go to the study for morning studies.
As he put on a thick coat, the crown prince was surprised when he walked out of the palace gate. He asked curiously, “Steward Liang?”
Liang Jiugong was waiting a short distance away and was followed by a large group of people. When he saw the crown prince, he seemed to be relieved. He took a few steps forward with a wry smile and said respectfully, “This servant pays respects to the Crown Prince.”
The crown prince realised something extraordinary. This early in the morning, and Liang Jiugong came in person…
His expression changed slightly, and he asked in a low voice, “What orders does imperial father have?”
“This matter has something to do with Second Rank Prince Rong, but it has nothing to do with the Crown Prince.” Liang Jiugong bowed. “This servant has been ordered to search the residence of the people in Yuqing Palace, and this servant needs the Crown Prince’s permission. His Majesty has given orders and the Crown Prince needs to obey. If the Crown Prince refuses, this servant will leave immediately…”
The crown prince curled his fingers thoughtfully, and said nothing for a while.
A while later, he said in a clear voice, “Go search then!”
———————————-
The author has something to say:
Eldest prince: Take it off. Don’t let me see any more plaques…
1.(陶然) Taoran: happy and carefree.↩
2.(燕鳴) Yanming: swallow’s cry.↩
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