The next day, the contents of Yinzhī and Yinreng's late-night conversation undoubtedly appeared on Kangxi's desk.

Kangxi glanced at the high stack of memorials and said, "I'll read it after I finish reviewing the memorials."

After he finished talking to himself, he picked up the notebook containing the records of Yinzhī and Yinreng's late-night chat.

Liang Jiugong, a young eunuch who had just started serving at Qianqing Palace, almost spilled the tea when his hand trembled as he poured it.

Zhao Chang glared at Liang Jiugong, took the teapot from Liang Jiugong's hand, and personally served Kangxi tea.

Liang Jiugong lowered his head and retreated, his back almost soaked with cold sweat.

Zhao Chang seemed to be reprimanding Liang Jiugong, but was actually protecting him. Kangxi asked curiously, "Who's that person?"

Zhao Chang answered truthfully, "He's called Liang Jiugong, a young eunuch who just entered the palace. His hands and feet are nimble, and his mind is also quite quick. This servant likes him quite a bit."

In the palace, eunuchs addressing nobles typically used a humble self-reference reserved for lower-status servants. But once they held official positions, they could refer to themselves with the term used by bondservants, a humbler form on the surface yet carrying the prestige of close imperial service. This change in self-designation marked the elevated status of a senior eunuch.

Kangxi smiled, "It's rare for you to praise someone. If you like him, then nurture him well. Once you cultivate him into a capable person, I'll give you a new position."

Zhao Chang laughed, "This servant wants to serve His Majesty closely for the rest of his life and never wants to change positions."

"I don't want to waste your talent," Kangxi spoke casually to his close eunuchs and ministers. "Stop the chatter. Turn up the lamps for me. I want to see what Baocheng and Baoqing said that will infuriate me to death."

Zhao Chang didn't dare to answer.

In this palace, the only one who dared to utter the taboo word "death" was the Emperor.

Kangxi opened the small notebook, and after reading barely two lines, he laughed so hard that he couldn't straighten up.

"I never imagined that I was so bad in Baoqing's eyes?" Kangxi looked at Yinzhī's paper full of complaints and laughed uncontrollably. "Does he really hate studying that much?"

Zhao Chang replied with a forced smile, "The First Prince is very skilled in riding and archery."

"He's just a pure and simple military man," Kangxi laughed. "The more you dislike something, the more you should learn it. He wants to lead troops into battle, yet hasn't even read many military classics. How can he succeed?"

Kangxi turned a few more pages, and Yinzhī's complaining expression leapt off the pages of the notebook, vivid and lifelike. Interspersed among them were interludes such as "His Highness the Crown Prince sighs," "His Highness the Crown Prince lies flat," and "His Highness the Crown Prince rolls his eyes." Kangxi laughed so hard that he almost choked.

He could imagine his clever-but-foolish son secretly criticizing this outspoken First Prince.

Kangxi now had an extremely high tolerance for his surviving sons. Even though the First Prince had said so many bad things about other people, in Kangxi's eyes, he was just being straightforward and innocent, so he wasn't angry.

He simply felt more sympathy for Concubine Hui.

"Zhao Chang, in a moment, find the Western kaleidoscope* that I acquired recently and send it over to Concubine Hui." Kangxi wiped away tears of laughter. "She's had it tough." (T/N: 西洋鏡 [xīyángjìng] — Qing-era term for a Western-imported optical curio, typically a peep-show box with painted scenes inside; translated as "kaleidoscope" as a recognizable Western viewing-curio)

Zhao Chang: "Yes."

Kangxi continued flipping through the small notebook, and the laughter that had just stopped rang out again.

"Baocheng definitely doesn't want to tell Baoqing stories anymore," Kangxi said, his shoulders trembling slightly.

The fact that his eldest son could anger Yinreng, whose temper is as soft as dough, to the point of physically covering his mouth with his hand shows just how formidable that son is.

However, Yinreng knows more about overseas matters than I do. It must all be his Grandpa rambling on in his dreams. Kangxi laughed for a while, then felt a little uncomfortable.

He was torn between feeling jealous that he had never been taught by Shunzhi while his son had the privilege of being educated by him, and feeling resentful that teaching his son was his responsibility, and his Khan-Father should stay out of it.

"Khan-Father truly cannot forget those vast overseas lands," Kangxi remarked.

Zhao Chang lowered his head so low that it was almost buried in his chest.

He pretended not to hear about the late emperor instructing the Crown Prince in his dream. If even the slightest word got out, his head would be in danger.

After reading the record book, Kangxi stretched and then began revising the memorials with renewed vigor.

After a large stack of memorials had been reviewed, Kangxi rubbed his tired brow and asked, "Where is Baocheng now?"

Zhao Chang glanced back, and a young eunuch immediately stepped forward and knelt, saying, "The Crown Prince is taking a stroll in the Imperial Garden."

Kangxi kept a close eye on Yinreng, and for every short while, someone serving Yinreng would send a message, waiting for Kangxi to inquire at any time.

After having the memorials taken away, Kangxi stood up and stretched again: "Go check on the Imperial Garden. He was still sick yesterday, but he's already running around today."

Calling that a stroll? Baocheng, that kid, relying on his young age, is even less steady than Baoqing. Can you call his hopping, three-skips-per-step walk a stroll?

Thinking of Yinreng running wildly in the Imperial Garden, Kangxi's fatigue dissipated considerably. The remaining weariness would likely be completely cured simply by witnessing his son's agile figure running freely in the Imperial Garden.

To Kangxi's surprise, Yinreng was not running back and forth in the Imperial Garden.

He had encountered Lady Uya and stopped her to chat.

Yinreng was still young, so he had no qualms about talking to lower-ranking concubines. However, he never normally took the initiative to speak with the consorts and concubines.

Today, Yinreng broke this habit because he had suddenly remembered something very important. That fourth younger brother of mine, the one who'll one day ascend the throne, should already be in Lady Uya's belly, right? I remember he was due to be born at the end of this year, so why haven't I heard any news of Lady Uya's pregnancy?

Yinreng lived in both Qianqing Palace and Cining Palace, so news of any concubine's pregnancy would reach him immediately.

That's strange. It shouldn't be. Women in the palace report their menstrual cycles. How could a pregnancy be hidden so easily?

So when Yinreng met Lady Uya, who was sunbathing in a little pavilion, he didn't leave. Instead, he tilted his head up and curiously looked at Lady Uya.

Lady Uya broke out in a cold sweat from being scrutinized by Yinreng.

She really couldn't hold back any longer and asked nervously, "What instructions does Your Highness have? Has this servant done something wrong?"

Yinreng said with his hands behind his back, "Your face is pale, and your steps are unsteady."

Lady Uya: "???" What is going on? Lady Uya's hair stood on end.

Yinreng said, "Should we ask an imperial physician to take a look?"

Lady Uya's tense mood suddenly eased.

She had long heard that the Crown Prince was kind-hearted and excessively compassionate, unlike any child born in the palace. It seems the rumors were not exaggerated.

Lady Uya hurriedly said, "This servant is fine, there's no need to trouble the Crown Prince."

"The consorts and concubines in the palace should have a wellness pulse-check every month," Yinreng said. "Have you had one?"

Lady Uya wanted to say "I have," but didn't dare deceive Yinreng, so she lowered her head and remained silent.

Yinreng raised an eyebrow: "So she hasn't had one. Eunuch Gu, are there any free imperial physicians at the Imperial Hospital? Have her checked. I noticed that her face is as pale as paper. Her health must be poor."

Yinreng paused for a moment, then said, "Khan-Father said that Lady Uya's grandfather, Ecan, was a meritorious and valiant general. Although he was stripped of his title due to some incident, the granddaughter of a meritorious official should not be neglected."

Gu Wenxing immediately understood Yinreng's meaning.

Ecan followed Hong Taiji on campaigns across the north and south, repeatedly distinguishing himself in battle. He earned the emperor's deep trust and was entrusted with the important position of Director of the Imperial Kitchens. Ecan later rose as an Inner Minister, commanding the palace guards, which were all sons of noble families from the Eight Banners. The fact that he, a bondservant, became the commander of the guards demonstrates the emperor's exceptional favor toward him.

It was only during the Shunzhi reign that the position of Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard was established above the Inner Minister. During Hong Taiji's reign, the Inner Minister was a first-rank official, the top of the imperial guard hierarchy. The defense of the palace, inside and out, rested entirely in the hands of the Inner Minister.

However, precisely because Ecan was Hong Taiji's confidant, the moment Hong Taiji died, Dorgon sent someone to take his position, and even stripped him of his title, leading to his death in despair.

By the time of Lady Uya's father's generation, he was only a fifth-rank battalion commander.

When the Emperor mentioned him, it must have been out of regard for the old subjects of Hong Taiji's reign. The Crown Prince remembered him.

"Yes, this servant will immediately have someone fetch an imperial physician," Gu Wenxing replied.

When Lady Uya heard that the Crown Prince actually remembered her grandfather, her eyes involuntarily reddened.

The Uya clan enjoyed a period of glory. When Hong Taiji had Ecan serve as Inner Minister, they were only one step away from a banner promotion.

However, after Hong Taiji's death, Dorgon seized power, and the Uya clan, having been Hong Taiji's most trusted household servants, was nearly reduced to dust.

They had eagerly awaited Dorgon's downfall. Dorgon did fall, but the late emperor had already forgotten about their family.

Even so, Lady Uya was still a pampered young lady raised at home.

Although she entered the palace as a palace maid, she quickly became the emperor's woman and enjoyed the treatment of an unranked concubine. She even thought that she could rise rapidly through the ranks.

But year after year passed, she still bore no children and gained no favor from the emperor. Even when she fell ill, she couldn't get an imperial physician to come.

During this period, the imperial physicians had all been pressed into service at the Kunning Palace, and the rest had to take care of the princes, the high-ranking consorts and concubines, and the Eight Banner noble ladies whose families had connections in the palace. For the first time, Lady Uya felt the torment of being one of those neglected in the palace.

"Don't cry." Yinreng was extremely surprised to see Lady Uya's tears.

Could it be? He just made up an excuse, and it actually managed to move the future Consort De to tears.

"Your Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince remember this servant's grandfather, this servant..." Lady Uya knelt on the ground and did not get up.

"Get up, get up, what's there to cry about? Shouldn't you be angry?" Yinreng's scalp tingled. Oh no, he'd made his emperor-dad's little wife cry! Would emperor-dad beat him?

"Huh? Why be angry?" At that moment, a shiny head popped out from the dense low shrubbery.

Yinreng was nearly scared out of his wits: "Big brother! What are you doing in the bushes?! When did you hide in the bushes?!"

Yinzhī emerged from the bushes, brushing the leaves off his clothes: "Don't yell. I just pretended to have a stomachache to escape from the study. This grandpa can't be bothered with all that 'the Master said' stuff."

Yinreng said, "...Big brother, you'll get beaten by Khan-Father."

Yinzhī said, "Just pretend to be sick when the time comes. If I'm sick, will Khan-Father still make me study? You still haven't answered me. Why should she be angry?"

Yinreng first told Lady Uya to rise before answering, "Why are you asking?"

Yinzhī replied confidently, "Just curious!"

Yinreng rubbed his forehead with an air of premature maturity and said, "I don't mean she should be angry with me, but with her family. Her grandfather was so capable, so how come the men of the Uya clan in this generation are so useless? Right now, with the Revolt of the Three Feudatories, it's the perfect time to make a name for oneself. If they had even half of Ecan's ability, they should be out making achievements. If the men were capable, how would it come to the point that the women of the family couldn't even get a wellness pulse-check?"

Yinzhī nodded, agreeing wholeheartedly: "That's right! My Mother's relatives are the same! Every day, they go to Mother begging for favors, relying entirely on Mother's and my position in the palace to get benefits for them. Same Ula-Nara clan. Can't they learn from Feiyanggu and establish their own merits?"

Lady Uya broke into laughter through her tears, then dared not laugh, holding it back with great difficulty.

She grew increasingly fond of this kind-hearted Crown Prince, and even developed some affection for the First Prince, who was notorious in the palace for "throwing his mother under the bus."

Weren't the women of the harem actively scheming for the sake of sheltering their families?

But when they were feeling miserable in the palace, they couldn't help but think that making achievements and establishing careers was a man's job. If the men didn't work hard, why should the women make things difficult for themselves?

If we were men, we certainly wouldn't be like them.

But this could only be a dream.

Even children understood this, so why did the men in their family not understand it?

"Each of the Eight Banner military officers has their own duties. The Eight Banner bondservant officers under Uya Weiwu* guard the capital and have no opportunity to go to the front lines." Kangxi's voice came from behind the two of them. (T/N: 烏雅魏武 — apparently the head of the Uya clan branch, likely Lady Uya's father, the fifth-rank battalion commander mentioned earlier)

Yinreng and Yinzhī both jumped up like frightened rabbits at the same time.

Kangxi grabbed one little rabbit in each hand and sneered, "If you're not studying, what are you doing wandering around the Imperial Garden?"

Yinzhī trembled like a quail, not daring to answer.

Yinreng pleaded, "My elder brother and I just recovered from a serious illness. We should be going outside to walk and jump and exercise our bodies, not be locked up in a room reading."

Even though Yinzhī was trembling all over, he still craned his neck to chime in with Yinreng: "That's right!"

Kangxi released his grip and gave each of them a flick on the forehead.

He said to Lady Uya, "Since even Baocheng can see that you are sick, the Imperial Hospital clearly needs to be disciplined."

Lady Uya, the moment Kangxi had arrived, had been kneeling on the ground and didn't dare speak.

"Get up. You, take a look at her and see what's wrong," Kangxi said to one of the men behind him.

When Yinzhī jumped out, Kangxi had already arrived.

He was hiding in a corner with a group of attendants, listening intently to his foolish son's eloquent speech, nodding as he listened.

Look, not to mention Baocheng, even the foolish Baoqing knows this. Those men are even worse than the foolish Baoqing!

Concubine Hui's relatives are really a handful. She's had it tough.

Kangxi originally didn't know what the Uya family did. When he heard Yinreng mention Ecan, he quickly asked those around him.

Zhao Chang, as the head eunuch of Qianqing Palace, knew the family backgrounds of all the consorts and concubines in the harem perfectly and immediately answered Kangxi's question. Only then did Kangxi realize that Lady Uya had a powerful grandfather.

The old imperial physician had been running all the way over when the Crown Prince sent someone to fetch a doctor. Halfway there, he was stopped by Kangxi. After Kangxi finished eavesdropping, he let the physician go out with him.

The old imperial physician took Lady Uya's pulse, checking both her left and right hands, and stroked his own beard so much that he snapped off two strands.

Lady Uya was so frightened that her lips turned white.

The imperial physician is so serious... could it be a terminal illness?

Kangxi sat down in the pavilion, and Yinreng leaned against his chest. Yinzhī kept a foot's distance from Kangxi, not daring to get too close to a Kangxi that might spank his bottom or punish him by making him copy books.

Kangxi frowned and asked, "What illness?" Could it be that Baocheng had really stumbled upon a concubine who was about to die?

What bad luck.

The old imperial physician trembled, then knelt and kowtowed: "Answering Your Majesty, it's not an illness. It's a joyful pulse."*  (T/N: 喜脈 [xǐmài] — "joyful pulse"; the pulse pattern in traditional Chinese medicine indicating pregnancy)

Lady Uya's eyes suddenly widened.

Kangxi was also stunned: "A joyful pulse? Are you sure?!"

The old imperial physician was terrified: "It's a joyful pulse."

If it were merely an illness, the Imperial Hospital would have just received a reprimand for not having time to give Lady Uya her wellness pulse check. However, Lady Uya is not ill. She was pregnant, which significantly altered the situation.

If Lady Uya miscarried due to the imperial physician's negligence, people in the Imperial Hospital would surely die. The old imperial physician was scared half to death.

Kangxi was first delighted, then his face turned dark and grim, like the eve of a storm.

Yinreng looked up at Kangxi's face, then scooted his bottom to the side.

Khan-Father is angry, it's scary, I want to run away.

"She doesn't look well. Can she carry this pregnancy to term?" Yinreng asked, interrupting Kangxi's brewing storm. "She can definitely carry it to term, right?"

The old imperial physician immediately replied, "Yes! Although the mother is a little weak, the fetus is fine. A few doses of pregnancy-stabilizing medicine will be enough to settle it!"

Kangxi angrily rebuked him, "Then hurry up and prescribe the medicine!"

"Yes!" The old imperial physician crawled backwards out of the pavilion. He ran toward the Imperial Hospital, not daring to follow the original procedure of writing down a prescription and having others fill it.

Lady Uya placed her hand on her belly, her expression vacant, still in shock from discovering her pregnancy.

Kangxi looked at Lady Uya's state and felt a pang of tenderness.

After all, Lady Uya was his woman, and now she was carrying a child. If she had suffered any injustice, of course, Kangxi would feel for her.

Moreover, Yinreng had pointed out that Lady Uya's grandfather had been Hong Taiji's confidant, who had suffered misfortune because of Dorgon. Kangxi, mindful of those old ties, valued Lady Uya even more.

"Yonghe Palace still doesn't have a principal seat, so you'll move there today." Kangxi paused, then said, "Take good care of yourself during your pregnancy. If your father and brothers are truly capable, I'll permit them to go to the battlefields of the Revolt of the Three Feudatories to earn merit."

Lady Uya immediately knelt and kowtowed excitedly, "Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Kangxi said, "No need to thank me. It was the Crown Prince who saved you."

Lady Uya immediately kowtowed again, "Thank you, Crown Prince! Thank you, First Prince! Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Yinreng waved his hand: "Don't get excited. Take good care of my younger brother or sister. If you're truly grateful to me, promise me one thing. No matter how beloved a child you may have in the future, please treat this one child well, too."

Lady Uya immediately replied, "This servant will certainly treat the child well..."

"Not necessarily. People all favor the youngest son, and the early-born children always get overlooked. If that child has a bad personality, he's even more likely to be compared unfavorably." Yinreng sighed at the thought of the Fourth Prince's later experiences. "Not all mothers love their children."

Yinzhī nodded vigorously: "That's right. The Empress doesn't love children. My Mother also always compares me to others, saying that if she had another child, she absolutely wouldn't bother with me. Look, she doesn't even have any other children yet, and she's already disdaining me!"

Yinreng: "..."

Kangxi: "..."

Lady Uya lowered her head so low that it almost buried itself in her ample bosom.

The three of them shared the same sentiment: Concubine Hui, you've had it tough!

"Alright, Baoqing, shut up!" Kangxi scolded. "Don't talk nonsense."

"I..." Yinzhī was about to say he wasn't talking nonsense when Yinreng leapt into his arms and covered his mouth.

Yinzhī held his tiny dumpling little brother, at a loss for what to do.

Kangxi was amused: "Baocheng, get down, and don't fall. Lady Uya, treat the child in your belly well. Your child was saved by the Crown Prince, remember that."

Lady Uya immediately kowtowed, "Yes!"

She covered her belly, her heart overflowing with gratitude towards the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince remembered her grandfather, secured opportunities for her brothers to earn merit, and had even saved her child.

If it weren't for the Crown Prince's kindness, she wouldn't have known she was pregnant and might have accidentally miscarried.

The thought that her first child might have died inexplicably filled her with dread. She had been in the palace for five years, suffering for a full five years, and the child she had finally longed for had almost died inexplicably! Lady Uya trembled with fear.

When the imperial physician arrived with medicine, Kangxi sent people to take Lady Uya directly to Yonghe Palace and reassigned several palace maids and eunuchs to her.

Lady Uya's status was promoted in one leap from unranked concubine to Concubine.

Kangxi first sent Yinzhī back to continue his studies, then carried Yinreng to the Cining Palace to tell the Grand Empress Dowager the good news.

Before leaving, Yinreng was still shouting at the top of his lungs, "You must treat this child well, you're a good Mother, right?"

Kangxi was so embarrassed that he kept patting Yinreng's bottom.

Lady Uya nodded vigorously, laughing and crying at once, her hands gripping the clothes at her chest so tightly that she could hardly breathe.

Whether the child was a boy or a girl, she would love them dearly.

This child, rescued by the Crown Prince, was the starting point of her changing fate, the lucky star of the Uya clan.

I hope my brother can seize this opportunity to restore our grandfather's glory.

"May the Eternal Heaven bless the Crown Prince, may he live a life free from worry and illness." Lady Uya murmured to herself, her hands clasped together in prayer.

...

On the way to the Cining Palace, Kangxi scolded his rule-breaking son all the way.

Yinreng held his head high, extremely arrogant. What rules? Are they more important than younger brothers and sisters?

Kangxi was "so angry" he slapped Yinreng's bottom a few more times.

So when Yinreng arrived at Cining Palace, he wailed loudly: "Great-grandma, save your poor grandson! Your poor grandson's bottom is about to be beaten into eight pieces by Father!"

Kangxi kept spanking him: "Where did you hear such vulgar language! Truly asking for a beating!"

The Grand Empress Dowager was instructing Noble Consort Tong on palace affairs when she heard Yinreng's shout. She immediately stood up and went outside: "Your Majesty! Stop! Baocheng has just recovered from his illness!"

Noble Consort Tong was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly followed her out.

Her heart was sour with jealousy.

Kangxi's other favored consorts only made her a little sour, but the existence of the Crown Prince made her practically drown in a vat of vinegar.

Noble Consort Tong was one of the very few consorts and concubines in the palace with genuine romantic feelings for Kangxi, so she was jealous of Lady Heseri's special place in Kangxi's heart.

During Empress Heseri's lifetime, Kangxi respected her more than he loved her. Once Empress Heseri died, she became the white moonlight in Kangxi's heart, the cinnabar mark on his chest, an eternally frozen image of his perfect, beautiful first wife.

Noble Consort Tong discovered that unless she also died, she would never be as important as a dead person in the emperor's heart.

Moreover, this dead woman had a favored son, while she herself, still alive, did not have a single child of her own. That made her situation all the more tragic.

She stepped forward and saw the Grand Empress Dowager, Kangxi, and Yinreng laughing and joking together, like three generations of an ordinary family. Her heart grew even more bitter, and she immediately made an excuse to leave in a hurry.

Before she left, she had assumed that Kangxi would try to persuade her to stay. But to her surprise, Kangxi casually waved her off, seemingly not noticing Noble Consort Tong's emotions at all.

After returning to her palace, Noble Consort Tong couldn't help but cry.

But Kangxi's decision to let Noble Consort Tong leave wasn't because he was disregarding her feelings.

It was actually quite the opposite. Although the unranked concubines had been unable to receive their wellness pulse-checks due to the Empress's illness and the chaos in the palace, Noble Consort Tong had just received the imperial mandate to manage the harem. Now that she was in charge, it was her responsibility to take on this task.

Kangxi brought up the matter after letting Noble Consort Tong leave, precisely because he didn't want Noble Consort Tong to be punished unfairly.

When Kangxi told the Grand Empress Dowager about Lady Uya's pregnancy, he also told her about the unruly thing Yinreng had done, which was shouting at Lady Uya in the Imperial Garden, "You must be a good Mother!"

The Grand Empress Dowager, however, just dabbed her tears with a handkerchief, "How can this be considered as Baocheng lacking manners? Baocheng was terrified by Lady Niohuru and only wanted to protect his younger siblings. Baocheng did the right thing!"

Yinreng leapt into the Grand Empress Dowager's arms and turned to stick his tongue out at Kangxi.

Hehehe, wicked Father whose tattling failed.

Kangxi clenched his fist with a cold smile.

If it weren't for your merit today, I would have already spanked you right now!

 

 

Author's Note:

Consort De's (Lady Uya) grandfather fought against Korea, and her younger brother's grandson also rendered meritorious service when he was sent as an envoy to Korea, so Consort De's younger brother must have some ability.

The strongest among Consort De's clan members is Uya Zhaohui. Those interested can look up his deeds.