"Big Brother! I've come to play with you!"

Concubine Hui's hand trembled as she embroidered, almost pricking her finger.

Ever since her eldest son met the Crown Prince, that child's almost mesmerizing voice had been showing up right on schedule every single day.

Concubine Hui felt a pang in her chest.

Her time to connect with her son… was getting less and less!!!

But what could she do? She could only rise with a gentle smile and go to the door to welcome the honored little Crown Prince.

Before she even stepped over the threshold, she saw her son rush out from a side hall, holding a wooden sword in one hand and grabbing the Crown Prince's hand with the other.

"Go, go, go! Hurry! If Mother comes out, she'll nag us for ages again, and we won't get to play!" Yinzhī pulled Yinreng and ran out hastily. "Quick! Don't let her catch us!"

Stumbling as he ran, Yinreng said, "But I think Concubine Hui is already coming out…"

"Then run faster!" Yinzhī sped up.

"Hey, ow! Brother, slow down!"

Concubine Hui stood at the gates of Yanxi Palace, watching her son dash off without a trace, and revealed a kindly smile.

A nanny said worriedly, "My lady, the First Prince, he…"

Concubine Hui smiled gently. "It's fine. It's a good thing that the First Prince and the Crown Prince get along. Let's go back."

The nanny let out a sigh of relief. "As long as Your Ladyship can think things through."

"What to think things through?" Concubine Hui said faintly.

If I can't accept it, would my son suddenly become less foolish? Would he stop selling out his own mother?

That very night, after the First Prince met the Crown Prince, Kangxi came to the Yanxi Palace.

"The First Prince is unfriendly toward the Crown Prince. Whoever has been whispering in his ear, deal with them yourself. For the First Prince's sake, I won't punish you this time," Kangxi said coolly, then turned and went to Concubine Yi's palace.

Concubine Hui was terrified.

If she hadn't betrayed her own family by telling Kangxi that her father and brothers had been bewitched into associating with the Yehe Nara clan, she might have lost her chance to be with her son again. This made Kangxi think she was naïve and foolish enough to be easily manipulated.

Thinking of the Crown Prince's sweet smile and her own son's impatient, goofy face, Concubine Hui's gentle smile turned into one of helplessness.

Everything the First Prince thought was written all over his face, so anyone could read him at a glance. How could he possibly compete? It'd be a miracle if he didn't get used by others.

Fortunately, the Crown Prince was kind and treated him very well, so he hadn't been punished.

"The weather is nice today. I'll go take a walk to Zhongcui Palace," Concubine Hui ordered. "Fetch a few bolts of silk that were just delivered from home. The Third Prince is growing. He'll need them."

After changing clothes with the help of her maids, she set off gracefully toward Zhongcui Palace while being supported by a palace servant.

Concubine Hui had a feeling that Concubine Rong knew some important secret, and her instincts told her she had to learn it.

——————

Yinreng originally wanted to visit his third younger brother, but after Yinzhī was bitten once, Yinzhī found the child especially annoying and refused to go.

Therefore, Yinreng became a master of time management. First, go find Yinzhī to play, and on the way back to the palace, stop by to see the Third Prince.

Yinzhī brought Yinreng to the training grounds and pointed at a little pony. "Khan-Father gave this to me."

Yinreng curiously patted the pony. "Is it a sweat-blood horse?"

Yinzhī shook his head. "No. Khan-Father said I'm not allowed to bring that up again."

"Oh, so Father also noticed sweat-blood horses sounds a lot like Khan-Father."

"Exactly!"

Gu Wenxing and the senior eunuch attending Yinzhī both showed awkward expressions.

If His Majesty or Concubine Hui heard that, they would have headaches again.

Yinzhī was already six and had begun learning riding and archery. Though he hadn't formally started school, Kangxi already arranged teachers for him in advance.

Now, he was mostly confined to studying, and only got to go out when practicing riding and archery. During those times, Yinreng would come along to keep him company.

Yinzhī had little patience for studying, but loved martial arts, archery, and riding.

Yinreng also held a small toy bow and shot arrows at the target. Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh. Not a single one hit.

But he did it on purpose.

If the future Crown Prince turned out to be useless in both civil and martial pursuits, his eventual downfall would be inevitable, right?

Yinreng vaguely remembered being taken to the imperial hunting ground at age five and supposedly shooting several rabbits and a deer, which delighted the emperor.

"Supposedly," because his memories from that age were blurry, and he only heard about it when he grew up.

Hitting rabbits and a deer at five was absurdly impressive, so he must have endured a lot of hardship in his previous life learning martial arts.

In this life? No way. He was absolutely going to embarrass the emperor at the imperial hunting ground.

After playing with the bow and arrow for a while, Yinreng gazed eagerly at the riding Yinzhī.

Yinzhī was exceptionally gifted in riding horses and martial arts. In just a few days, he was already steady on horseback, which earned him constant praise from his instructors.

Seeing his younger brother looking up at him with shining eyes, Yinzhī stretched out a short arm. "Want to ride? Big Brother will take you."

"Brother! You're the best and most amazing brother!" Yinreng bounced excitedly. "I want to ride!"

The instructor quickly objected. "Your Highness the Crown Prince is still too young…"

"I trust Big Brother! And it's not high, I won't get hurt if I fall!" Yinreng grabbed Yinzhī's hand, who helped him climb up.

But with Yin's short legs, it was clearly impossible for him to climb onto the foal's back.

Gu Wenxing stepped forward and lifted him onto the pony.

Yinreng sat in front. Looking down at the small bundle in his arms, Yinzhī grinned so widely it nearly reached his ears. "Hold on tight!"

Clutching the saddle nervously, Yinreng replied, "O-okay, Brother!"

"Hyah!" Yinzhī flicked the small whip, and the pony trotted off.

When Kangxi came to check on his sons, he saw the two riding around the field.

Yin was full of pride, waving his little whip like a powerful general commanding the troops, while Yinreng gazed at him with endless admiration, his little mouth chattering nonstop.

Even without hearing him, Kangxi knew that he was definitely praising his brother.

Kangxi felt a twinge of jealousy.

It's just riding a pony. A very slow pony. What's so exciting?

Have I never taken you riding on a proper horse?!

…Come to think of it, he really hadn't.

"Greetings to Your Majesty!"

Everyone in the training grounds dropped to their knees.

Yinzhī slowly brought the pony to a stop, hopped down neatly, tucked the whip into his belt, and held out his arms. "Come down. Don't be scared, Big Brother will catch you."

Yinreng immediately jumped into his arms and was caught steadily.

Only then did the two bow. "Greetings, Father-Emperor."

Emperor Kangxi stood aside and waited for them to dismount and pay their respects before saying, "The Crown Prince is still young. Don't take him riding,"

"Khan-Father is bullying me!" Yinzhī protested.

Kangxi's veins throbbed. Why did he drag out the Khan like that? Was he deliberately reminding him of the sweat-blood horse?

"Baocheng, you're still young," Kangxi said. "And since when did you start calling me 'Khan-Father'?"

"Great-grandma said that outside, I should mind Father's imperial dignity."

Kangxi: "…" There was nothing wrong with that statement, but why do I suddenly feel like hitting someone?

Yinzhī stepped in front of Yinreng protectively, ready to grab him and run at any moment.

Recently, he'd often seen Kangxi chasing Yinreng to beat him. It was far too brutal.

A big brother had to protect his little brother! Great-grandma said so! Any time Khan-Father went after his Crown Prince little brother, he'd just drag him to great-grandma for help!

Kangxi shot him a helpless glare.

"If you want to ride, I'll take you," he said, revealing his real motive. "When I'm not around, you're not allowed to ride."

"Khan-Father, you're just jealous that I can take my little brother riding, aren't you?" Yinzhī asked bluntly. "Father, you should focus on your important matters and leave the matter of taking care of little brother to me."

Kangxi: "???"

He studied his eldest son carefully.

That guileless expression was clearly sincere. He hadn't even considered that he might get beaten for saying it.

Yinreng could hardly contain his laughter.

This is a case of a cunning person meeting a naturally cunning one, and the latter is completely outmatched.

Of course, if the emperor just flipped the table and started hitting, none of that would matter.

"Alright, we understand," Yinreng cut in. "Father, do you have time now? Can you take us riding on real horses? My brother and I both want to ride a big horse."

Yinreng tugged at Yinzhī's sleeve.

"I do! I want to ride a big horse!" Yinzhī quickly agreed.

Given a way out, Kangxi's mood finally improved.

He reached behind Yinzhī to scoop up Yinreng, holding him like a small animal, and patted his bottom. "Always being naughty with me, and you've even corrupted your elder brother!"

Seeing this, Yinzhī shuffled anxiously, wondering whether he should seek help from great-grandma at this moment.

Kangxi glared at him, then grabbed both boys on each arm. "Baoqing, don't you want to ride a horse anymore?"

Yinzhī immediately replied, "Yes!"

Kangxi had his horse brought over and carried the two children around the track a few times.

After dismounting, Yinreng clapped happily, but Yinzhī tilted his head back and frowned. "That's it? It's not even that fast. I think I was faster when carrying my brother."

Kangxi: "...The field is too small to run properly."

This eldest son really wasn't endearing.

Yinreng wanted to cover his eyes and cry.

Big Brother, show Father some respect! I'm worried that before I even get put under house arrest, you'll get there first!

"Your Majesty! Her Majesty the Empress is ill!"

Just as Kangxi was considering disciplining his son, a eunuch rushed in, saving Yinzhī from punishment.

Even when his sons made him angry, Kangxi was in a good mood. He'd been threatening to beat Yinzhī, but he was actually enjoying the rare warmth of a normal father-son moment.

At the news, his expression immediately darkened, frightening Yinzhī into trembling and stepping back without thinking.

Seeing the fear on Yinzhī's face only made Kangxi's expression colder.

"Father, go see Empress Mother already. Why are you still standing here?" Yinreng tugged his sleeve.

Looking down at the child who showed no fear of him, Kangxi's mood softened slightly.

He patted Yinreng's head. "Alright, I'll go. You're not allowed to come. No matter whose decree it is, you're not allowed to go to Kunning Palace."

Although Yin was puzzled, he still nodded and agreed, "Okay."