When Lady Niohuru was crowned as Empress, she was already pregnant.

Kangxi didn't particularly like Empress Niohuru.

Back when he first ascended the throne as a child, four ministers from outside the imperial clan governed in his name as regents: Sonin, Oboi, Ebilun, and Suksaha.

As the chief regent, Sonin was the first one Kangxi sought to win over, so he married Sonin's granddaughter, Lady Heseri, as his empress.

After Sonin's death, Oboi falsified an imperial edict and unjustly executed Suksaha. Ebilun sided with Oboi, allowing Oboi to monopolize power.

Kangxi eventually managed, with a group of young guards under the guise of games, to catch Oboi off guard and eliminate him, reclaiming imperial authority. With three of the four regents gone, Kangxi spared Ebilun from execution to placate the Manchu nobility, stripping him only of his office.

Three years after Empress Xiaochengren (Heseri) passed away, the position of empress remained vacant. With the Revolt of the Three Feudatories underway, Kangxi urgently needed to win over the Manchu aristocracy. So he brought Ebilun's daughter into the palace as a consort and then elevated her to empress in the following year.

As a capable ruler, Kangxi always placed imperial interests above personal feelings. Though the past still bothered him, he visited Ebilun when he fell gravely ill. After entering the palace, Lady Niohuru also enjoyed a period of favor and became pregnant.

For the Niohuru clan, having once backed the wrong side and nearly faced destruction, the emergence of an empress from their family made them somewhat… impatient.

Empress Niohuru immediately petitioned to build a family temple for Ebilun after she was crowned empress.

That left Kangxi rather uncomfortable.

Everyone knew Ebilun was a disgraced minister. Kangxi had already shown considerable leniency, overlooking his crimes for the sake of political stability and restoring his titles after removing him from office. He had done more than enough.

While it was true that titled officials could establish family shrines, the Niohuru clan had been so cautious before that they hadn't dared to do so.

Kangxi didn't forbid it, but did it have to be so soon? She just recently became empress, and she already disregarded my feelings?

Uncomfortable as he was, this was still an act of filial piety. Not only could Kangxi not oppose it, but he also had to praise it.

Kangxi was relatively broad-minded and tolerant. Although he was dissatisfied with Empress Niohuru, his dissatisfaction didn't last long.

But soon after, Empress Niohuru did something else that displeased him.

Bearing the heavy burden of restoring her clan's fortunes, she clung tightly to her authority as empress. Despite being pregnant, she insisted on personally managing palace affairs. The first pregnancy was already difficult, and after exhausting herself, she began to show signs of miscarriage.

Kangxi had few heirs and certainly didn't mind having more sons. But Baocheng was already established as the Crown Prince and was raised at his side. No matter how many sons a later empress bore, Kangxi was confident none would threaten Baocheng's position. As long as he protected him, there would be no issue.

But seeing Empress Niohuru nearly lose her child because of her obsession with power, Kangxi began to grow genuinely impatient.

Fortunately, she eventually came to her senses and realized that the child mattered far more than palace affairs. She finally focused on nurturing the pregnancy, though it was already too late.

Around this time, she somehow learned of the Crown Prince's "extraordinary nature" and asked Kangxi to let her share in his good fortune. When Kangxi was away, she requested that the Crown Prince stay in her palace.

She made the request with complete confidence.

The child in her womb was also a legitimate heir, no lower in status than Yinreng. She herself was alive, while Heseri was dead, and the living could serve Kangxi better than the dead. The Heseri clan relied mainly on the ill-reputed Songgotu, while the Niohuru clan had more capable members.

It was just borrowing a bit of good fortune. It wouldn't harm the Crown Prince in any way. Surely Kangxi wouldn't refuse.

Besides, it was only natural for the empress to raise the Crown Prince.

But the still-young Empress Niohuru failed to realize just how deeply Kangxi doted on the Crown Prince that he personally raised. This request struck directly at one of his sorest spots.

Kangxi was furious.

First Concubine Rong, now Empress Niohuru. Both, upon suspecting something unusual about the Crown Prince, had sought to make use of him.

Unkind!

Still, considering she had only just become an empress and was carrying a child, Kangxi suppressed his anger. He simply forbade Yinreng from going to Kunning Palace.

Yinreng didn't put any skill points into palace intrigue, and his memories from his earlier lives didn't include this short-lived Empress Niohuru, so he had no idea Kangxi had begun to resent her because of him.

In that previous life, Kangxi had treated Empress Niohuru and her clan quite well, granting generous rewards. There was even a favored Noble Consort Wenxi later on.

So Yinreng carried on as usual, eating, drinking, and playing with his brothers, without a care in the world.

What could he worry about? He was still just a child.

Who would have thought that if he wouldn't go to Kunning Palace, then Empress Niohuru would come to him instead.

Kangxi wasn't always in the palace. With tensions on the frontier, he frequently patrolled the border area to check on the defenses.

That winter, he even traveled to Changbai Mountain to consecrate the mountain god, leaving the palace once again.

The journey was long and bitterly cold, so Yinreng naturally didn't go along to suffer, and he stayed in the Cining Palace with the Grand Empress Dowager.

Although Empress Niohuru was in poor health, remaining bedridden wasn't good for the pregnancy either, so she still came every few days to pay her respects.

Inevitably, she and Yinreng crossed paths.

However, with the Grand Empress Dowager watching over things, they never met in private.

The Grand Empress Dowager was elderly, and her health declined every winter. Not long after Yinreng moved in, she fell ill again.

Yinreng was playing with the Cining Palace nannies when the Empress Dowager sent for him.

The Empress Dowager Borjigit was practically invisible in the palace and spoke neither Manchu nor Chinese, so she rarely interacted with Yinreng.

Since she had rarely invited him before, Yinreng happily went.

But the moment he arrived, he saw Empress Niohuru standing there.

The Empress Dowager spoke a string of Mongolian, and Gu Wenxing, who had practically become Yinreng's personal interpreter, translated:

"The Empress Dowager says Her Majesty the Empress mentioned you. Since the Grand Empress Dowager is ill, she wishes to share the burden."

Yinreng was puzzled.

Share the burden? Does that mean she wants to take me to Kunning Palace to stay?

The Empress Dowager said more, and Gu Wenxing translated: "She says you'll stay here for a while. Her Majesty the Empress will come to take care of you."

Covering her mouth with a handkerchief, Empress Niohuru smiled. "His Majesty values the Crown Prince most. The prince is still young, and if he were to catch an illness, that would be unfortunate."

Yinreng scratched his head. It made sense, but something felt off.

The Grand Empress Dowager was indeed worried about passing illness to Yinreng and had considered sending him elsewhere temporarily.

The only suitable people to care for him were the Empress Dowager and the Empress.

But the Empress Dowager spoke only Mongolian, which Yinreng (pretended he) didn't understand, and the Empress was pregnant and lacked the energy. Kangxi had also specifically instructed that she must be kept away from Yinreng.

After weighing things, the Grand Empress Dowager had decided that if she didn't recover in a few days, she would have Sumalagu bring Yinreng to the Empress Dowager's palace to stay for a while. With enough attendants arranged, even that timid grand-niece who couldn't manage things should be able to look after him.

But now, it seemed that the Empress Dowager had come to the same conclusion and had taken the initiative to invite him.

But Kangxi had only told the Grand Empress Dowager to keep the Empress away from Yinreng. He hadn't told this invisible principal mother. To her, the Empress caring for the Crown Prince was perfectly natural, and so she was unwittingly used.

At her daily prayer time, the Empress Dowager went to her small Buddha hall to chant. Empress Niohuru asked to spend more time with the Crown Prince, and the Empress Dowager, thinking this a good thing, took all her attendants with her, leaving the room to Empress Niohuru and the Crown Prince to "bond."

Yinreng was stunned while sweat formed on Gu Wenxing's forehead. Kangxi had warned him before leaving, but in this situation, he had no way to speak up.

Empress Niohuru reassigned the eunuchs and nannies around Yinreng to other tasks, and ordered Gu Wenxing to the small kitchen to prepare milk porridge.

Gu Wenxing lowered his head and didn't move.

Empress Niohuru raised a brow, about to get angry, when Yinreng jumped down from his chair and stepped in front of him.

"Gu Wenxing stays!" Yinreng said, no longer playing the clueless child. Hands behind his back and brows furrowed, he looked like a miniature Kangxi. "Empress Mother, what is the meaning of dismissing all my attendants?"

She froze, caught off guard by his sudden change.

He always seemed like a mischievous, ignorant child, with not a trace of the Crown Prince about him. Now, he suddenly carried the full bearing of one, startling everyone in the room.

Empress Niohuru clutched her handkerchief, forcing a smile. "Crown Prince, what are you saying? I…"

"I'm not a fool," Yinreng sneered. "Does Empress Mother really think someone personally taught by Khan-Father for four years can be tricked by you? You are the Empress of the Great Qing, carrying my younger sibling. Since you've gone to such lengths to meet me alone, I'll give Empress Mother that courtesy. Empress Mother, no need to speak in riddles, say what you want directly."

Empress Niohuru's face turned red in anger from being choked.

She was about to lash out, but her nanny pinched her, forcing her to calm down.

Even as Empress, she couldn't casually reprimand a Crown Prince raised by Kangxi himself.

"Your Highness, Her Majesty is your Empress Mother. You must not be disrespectful to her," the old nanny said sternly.

Yinreng let out a short laugh. "Where have I been disrespectful to Empress Mother? Nanny, you tell me. Is pointing out what Empress Mother is doing now what counts as disrespect?"

"You…!" She slapped the back of her chair in anger.

"What about me? Tell me." Yinreng tilted his head innocently, all traces of coldness gone. "I'll be very filial and listen attentively."

Furious, she clutched her stomach, about to feign pain.

If she could claim that the Crown Prince had angered her into harming the pregnancy, surely the emperor would be enraged!

"Enough! Say another word and she'll start her stomach pains. Then she'll pin a charge on you of disrespecting your principal mother and causing her pregnancy distress, and what will you do then!"

A barrage of words, interspersed with a few coughs, was heard. Supported by a sturdy nanny, the Grand Empress Dowager entered, followed by a line of imperial physicians.

Before Empress Niohuru could react, an elderly physician with snow-white hair had already begun taking her pulse, without ceremony.

"Reporting to the Grand Empress Dowager, Her Majesty shows no signs of pregnancy distress."

The Grand Empress Dowager pulled Yinreng to sit beside her and snorted coldly. "Good."