Yinzhī sat dazed on the soft couch, with a soft, sweet-smelling little Crown Prince glued to his side.

Meanwhile, his Khan-Father glared at him with a subtle, indirect look, reminiscent of the grief and indignation expression on Garu's grandson's face when Yinzhī, staying at Garu's home, snatched away his beloved toy.

He didn't understand why things had ended up like this.

This grandpa finally got the chance to have an audience with Khan-Father, finally got to show Khan-Father that he was more outstanding than the Crown Prince, so why was the Crown Prince clinging to him now, and Khan-Father glaring at him?

Yinzhī had grown up listening to "legends" about Kangxi, and his expectations of his Khan-Father had been maxed out.

But Kangxi, having lost so many sons, was always sure Yinzhī would die too. So he rarely visited him, treating him as if he didn't exist, so that if Yinzhī died young, it wouldn't hurt as much.

Even when Consort Hui gave birth to Yinzhī, Kangxi was accompanying the Grand Empress Dowager at the hot springs and didn't even return to the palace, only issuing rewards from afar.

It wasn't just Yinzhī who resented this. Consort Hui resented it too.

Who decides the moment their son is born that the boy will die, and then simply pretends the child doesn't exist?

All of Kangxi's children before Yinzhī had died, and Yinzhī held the position of eldest. After some discussion, Consort Hui's family thought the throne might be worth contending for.

They were all from the Ula-Nara clan, sharing the same ancestors. The main branch led by the clan head belonged to the Upper Three Banners, and Feiyanggu's branch had also returned to the Upper Three Banners thanks to his military merit. But their own branch remained bondservants. Consort Hui's father and brothers naturally always wanted to "raise the banner status," otherwise they felt they couldn't hold their heads up at family gatherings.

But they themselves lacked ability and could only rely on Consort Hui and her son.

Earlier, they had secretly contacted the Yehe-Nara clan behind Consort Hui's back, hoping to win Yehe-Nara support.

As for why they didn't seek help from their own clan, that was because their own clan prided itself on its noble status and illustrious military record, and for now had no intention of taking sides.

Feiyanggu's branch was even more arrogant, openly declaring that they would not climb the ranks through women's coattails. And even if they did rely on women, with their abilities, the emperor would surely arrange for women from their clan to marry into the imperial line or to princes directly. They didn't need to actively pick a side. They could just wait it out.

Consort Hui's father and brothers were furious.

Consort Hui had originally resented her father and brothers for acting on their own initiative, but after hearing them weep, her own anger flared.

What? Now that you've made it into the Upper Three Banners' Ula-Nara, you look down on the imperial son I bore?!

With Consort Hui's anger simmering, the people around Yinzhī were naturally influenced by her, dropping suggestive remarks in his ears. As a result, Yinzhī had developed strong hostility toward the Crown Prince.

But Yinzhī was only six years old and didn't understand the source of that hostility. It rose quickly and faded just as quickly.

Like Yinreng, Yinzhī was also a lonely child who grew up without friends. When little Yinreng flopped against him, soft and clingy, calling out "my only big brother" several times, Yinzhī's heart practically soared.

He felt… a little happy.

When little Yinreng pitifully said, "I only have one big brother, but big brother will have lots of younger brothers," Yinzhī actually felt a twinge of guilt, immediately thumping his chest and promising, "Even if I have lots of younger brothers, you'll definitely be my favorite!"

Kangxi watched coldly… no, watched with red eyes as little Yinreng wrapped Yinzhī completely around his finger.

How did he get the feeling that his eldest son was a little bit… no, more like too… simple and gullible?

Whether it was Yinzhī's earlier blunt hostility or the way he now blushed and patted his chest after a few coaxing words from Yinreng, everything about him seemed excessively naïve.

Kangxi hadn't paid much attention to Yinzhī before.

In the Qing palace, princes did not grow up at their mothers' sides. Children of low-ranking consorts were either raised by others or assigned wet nurses by the emperor and raised separately.

Even consorts with ranks high enough to raise their own children would have those princes surrounded by layers of wet nurses and matrons. Every detail of the prince's life would be reported back to the emperor. Consorts rarely had the chance to interact with their children alone, let alone provide proper upbringing.

Kangxi originally thought that this would block the consorts' influence on the princes. But now it was clear that Yinzhī's hostility toward the Crown Prince ran deep, and that absolutely wasn't something a child could have generated on his own.

Someone was whispering toYinzhī's ear.

Even with all those attendants assigned, the maternal-clan influence still couldn't be isolated?

Kangxi frowned. It seemed he had to get the princes out of the consorts' palaces and make them live independently as soon as possible.

"Father, Father, big brother calls you Khan-Father, so should I call you Khan-Father too? But why is it Khan-Father and not Father?" After teasing Yinzhī, little Yinreng turned to teasing his own father.

He'd wanted to ask this for a long time but hadn't found the chance.

Compared with Khan-Father, Father sounded better.

Kangxi came back to himself and explained, "Khan-Father is the Manchu way of addressing me. By Han Chinese usage, you should call me Father-Emperor."

For some reason, hearing Yinreng call him Khan-Father made him slightly uncomfortable.

Yinreng tilted his head. "Why not Emperor-Father?"

Kangxi: "……" How would I know? The books don't say.

Yinreng turned to Yinzhī. "Emperor-Father has more presence, doesn't it? Khan-Father doesn't sound good. It makes me think of a sweat-blood horse*." (T/N: 汗血宝马 [hànxuè bǎomǎ] — "sweat-blood treasure horse," legendary Central Asian breed described in Han-dynasty records as sweating blood. The pun: 汗 [hàn] means both "khan" and "sweat.")

Yinzhī asked, with the simple innocence of a child, "What's a sweat-blood horse?"

Yinreng said, "A horse that sweats a lot."

Yinzhī nodded earnestly. "Then it really doesn't sound good."

Yinreng looked up. "Father, see? Big brother says it doesn't sound good either. Let's just call you Emperor-Father!"

Kangxi: "……" Why are you so fixated on Emperor-Father? Did your Grandpa say something to you again?

Yinreng started counting on his fingers. "Grandpa is Emperor-Grandpa, Grandma is Emperor-Grandma, Great-Grandma is Emperor-Great-Grandma, so Father should be Emperor-Father. Khan-Father doesn't fit in with the group."

Yinzhī's eyes went wide. "Oh! That's right! He really doesn't fit in! Was there a mistake? It should be Emperor-Father!"

Kangxi: "……" One bad son, one foolish son. Double the headache.

For the moment, Kangxi no longer felt like reclaiming his sons. He just wanted to throw both of them out before they drove him to death.

Kangxi first scolded Yinreng, "Either call me Father-Emperor or Khan-Father, forget it just call me Father, you can switch to Khan-Father once you start formal studies." Then he flicked his sleeve and sent both sons out to play on their own.

Gu Wenxing was once again summoned by Kangxi to look after the children.

As the eunuch in charge of managing eunuchs, palace maids, and the imperial study, Eunuch Gu, the Chief Steward, was constantly handing his actual duties off to his deputy. Kangxi had essentially reassigned him to be a eunuch with one full-time job: taking care of children.

Gu Wenxing wasn't troubled by having his power diluted. He had no real ambition for power. He only wanted to live peacefully in the palace. Being assigned to take care of the children, he was perfectly happy to do so.

Yinreng took Yinzhī's hand as the two of them were ushered out of Qianqing Palace. The two exchanged a bewildered look.

Yinzhī asked worriedly, "Is Father angry? Let's just keep calling him Khan-Father."

"But Khan-Father always makes me think of a sweat-blood horse," Yinreng said. "I wonder if there are still sweat-blood horses around now. Let's go ask Father to give you one. I heard Big Brother is amazing at riding."

Yinzhī couldn't help puffing out his chest with pride. "I am pretty good. Why only give one to me? Don't you want one?"

Yinreng shook his head. "My health won't be good in the future. Riding and archery probably won't be possible."

Yinzhī looked puzzled. "Why won't your health be good? Are you sick?"

Yinreng replied, "I absorbed the curse on the children in the palace… Ah, Father told me not to talk about that. Pretend you didn't hear. If Father finds out I let it slip, he'll spank me."

Although Yinzhī wanted to keep asking, he was afraid of Kangxi. At the mention of a spanking, he immediately nodded. "Okay, won't ask, won't ask."

"Let's go play with our third brother. We'll have lots of healthy younger brothers in the future. It'll be so lively." Yinreng smiled brightly.

Hand in hand, instead of taking sedan chairs, they ran straight off in the direction of Zhongcui Palace.

The two children had their heads together, whispering. The eunuchs and matrons trailing behind them couldn't catch a word of what Yinreng was saying.

As Yinreng pulled Yinzhī along in their wild dash, he glanced sidelong at his big brother.

He hoped today's words would leave some mark on Yinzhī's heart, so that Yinzhī, remembering the (false) curse, would never again say something like "please execute the Crown Prince."

If Yinzhī said something that foolish, Yinreng himself would be fine, but Yinzhī would certainly be placed under house arrest.

No matter how much a father dislikes his son, he wouldn't want his son to openly kill each other.

——————

Zhongcui Palace was neither too far nor too close to Qianqing Palace. For the emperor and consorts, they would have to take a sedan chair, but for two energetic children, the distance wasn't even enough to warm them up.

The two boys were small and the rules of Kangxi's harem weren't yet strict. They charged straight into Zhongcui Palace and bumped right into Consort Yi and Lady Uya, who were visiting Consort Rong.

Consort Rong wore a dignified smile, and her listening pose was like a clay Bodhisattva in a temple. Consort Yi smiled brightly, lively and lovely as a young maiden. Only Lady Uya kept her eyes lowered, her expression somewhat awkward.

Yinreng froze.

Aiyaya, did he just stumble into one of those legendary harem-intrigue scenes?

Yinreng looked up and asked, "Did we come at the wrong time?"

Yinzhī was also stunned. With this many of Khan-Father's consorts present, was this grandpa supposed to pay his respects? But this grandpa hadn't even learned how to pay respect to Khan-Father yet!

Consort Rong, however, broke into a radiant smile, as if the clay Bodhisattva had come to life. She immediately rose and gathered both Yinreng and Yinzhī into her arms. "No, you've come at just the right time. Are you here to see little Third? Come, little Third happens to be awake."

Consort Yi and Lady Uya: "……"

You just told us the Third Prince was already asleep, and we couldn't see him!

 

 

 

Author's note:

In actual history, the status difference between Upper Three Banners bondservants and regular bannermen was minimal. This novel is purely dramatized fiction.

Today's @ to last time's note: I've stopped updating the author's notes. I'm not the kind of author who keeps writing them. Author's notes "in fact, history isn't this way" plus correcting other people's research, strikes me as a bit too much, and a bit too much like wallowing.

If we're not researching, let's not research at all. What I write is a parallel world. (Stern face.)