After teasing Yinreng for a while, Kangxi picked up a book and started teaching his son.

 

Yinreng went right back to slacking. He twisted his little body around, putting the back of his head toward Kangxi, pretending he didn't want to listen.

 

Kangxi didn't care whether Yinreng listened or not.

 

Yinreng was still small, and his body was weak. Kangxi wouldn't push him to grow up too fast, so he was just cultivating Yinreng's interest in reading.

 

Kangxi chattered through the lesson on his own. Yinreng leaned in his arms and kept dozing off, mouth open wide enough to fit a few eggs.

 

Kangxi was both exasperated and amused. He pinched Yinreng's cheek. "You're the Crown Prince. If you don't like studying, how are you going to be Crown Prince?"

 

Yinreng grumbled to himself. Anyone who wants the Crown Prince spot is welcome to it. But remember to set me up first with a big estate with hot springs as my confinement site.

 

"Alright. About time we went to see your great-grandma." Kangxi pinched Yinreng's cheek again, and with Gu Wenxing's help, personally bundled Yinreng into a small cloak and little leather boots, then patted his round bottom. "Walk on your own."

 

For the Emperor himself to put shoes on his son was a scene so shocking that it made Zhao Chang's heart flutter every time he saw it.

 

He glanced sideways at Gu Wenxing. Gu Wenxing wore the same gentle, refined scholar's smile as ever, not the slightest bit shaken.

 

Zhao Chang immediately pulled himself together. Learn! That unshakable composure, I absolutely have to learn it!

 

His Majesty had said a while back that he wanted to move Eunuch Gu to a different position. That would leave the Chief Eunuch post at Qianqing Palace open, and it would surely fall to him, the Deputy Chief. If he didn't do well, never mind power and status, he would just lose his head.

 

Yinreng kicked his little leather boots. Kangxi told him to walk on his own, but he insisted on being carried.

 

Yinreng kept stretching out his short little arms, facing off against Kangxi, who had his arms folded. The two stared at each other, big eyes against small eyes, for a long while.

 

Gu Wenxing couldn't help smiling and sighing.

 

His Majesty was being playful with the Crown Prince again.

 

The Three Feudatories were not yet pacified, all sorts of work were waiting to be done, and His Majesty often wore a worried face. Only with the Crown Prince did His Majesty regularly show a smile that almost looked like a child's.

 

Remembering that His Majesty had ascended the throne at eight and was still not yet twenty-three, Gu Wenxing felt a quiet sadness. His Majesty never really had a child's life. No wonder the Grand Empress Dowager turned a blind eye when she saw the Emperor doting on the Crown Prince so excessively.

 

The Revolt of the Three Feudatories was still not fully subdued, so there were not many things that could draw a smile from the Emperor. The Grand Empress Dowager also pitied this grandson, who ascended the throne at such a young age.

 

Counting silently in his head, Gu Wenxing measured the standoff between the childish father and son. After thirty breaths, he smiled and smoothed it over: "Your Highness, the sedan chair is just outside Qianqing Palace, only a few steps away."

 

Yinreng scrunched up his face and reluctantly stretched out his pudgy little hand. "I'm telling great-grandma on you."

 

"You think I fear you?" Kangxi raised a slightly smug smile and took Yinreng's small hand.

 

Yinreng tilted his bun-shaped face up, looked at Kangxi's young, handsome features, and let out a world-weary sigh.

 

Ever since he recovered the memories of his previous-previous life, every time he saw emperor-dad's face, he wondered if he really transmigrated back to his previous-previous life.

 

Was emperor-dad in his previous-previous life really this good-looking?

 

Maybe his impression of emperor-dad in old age was just deeper, and he'd forgotten what young emperor-dad looked like?

 

No way.

 

Moreover, Kangxi's excessive gentleness and indulgence toward him ever since he'd been old enough to remember things, plus the childish, playful side Kangxi kept showing during their daily life, Yinreng started to wonder whether he might actually have transmigrated into some parallel-world Qing dynasty.

 

Like, the Qing dynasty of an idol drama or something?

 

Was some modern girl going to transmigrate and have an epic, cross-dynasty romance with emperor-dad or with one of his brothers?

 

"What are you thinking about?" Kangxi asked. His son had drifted off into a daze again, almost missing his footing on the steps several times, only to be caught in time. He started to wonder if he let go and let his son take a tumble, would the kid cry?

 

Steer the angle a bit, drop him into a swept-up snow pile, no injury, no pain. He probably wouldn't cry, right?

 

Kangxi was a little tempted to try.

 

Yinreng had no idea what bad ideas his dad was cooking up. He shook his head furiously without thinking. "I wasn't thinking about anything!"

 

His future was pretty clear, which wasbeing confined to a big estate with hot springs. He absolutely did not want to get beaten first and then casually dumped into some cramped little courtyard instead. He absolutely mustn't let others know about his fantasizing that his emperor-dad fell head over heels for some Qing-transmigrating heroine.

 

"Oh." Kangxi drawled the syllable out and let go.

 

Plop. Yinreng fell into the snow pile and left a little person-shaped imprint.

 

The servants nearby kept their eyes down, not daring to move.

 

Gu Wenxing let out a long sigh. When he saw His Majesty deliberately steering the Crown Prince off course, he knew nothing good was coming.

 

Kangxi fished Yinreng out of the snow pile, brushed the snow off him, and put on a stern face to scold him for not watching where he was going.

 

Still dazed from the fall, Yinreng reflexively admitted he was wrong.

 

Gu Wenxing immediately offered a cup of hot goat's milk. Yinreng took a sip to warm up, then Kangxi tucked him into his coat, carried him into the sedan chair, and they ambled toward Cining Palace beside a warming brazier.

 

Beijing winter snow doesn't melt right away. It can be brushed off like sand and gravel, so there was no need to worry about wetting Yinreng's little clothes. Between the warm goat's milk and the brazier, Yinreng didn't feel cold at all.

 

However, the face-plant in the snow had knocked his nose red.

 

Yinreng touched his nose, and his adult intelligence finally came back online. "Father, you let go on purpose, you made me fall on purpose, and then you scolded me!"

 

Seeing that Yinreng had finally caught on, Kangxi guiltily looked away. "You were the one not watching where you were going."

 

"Hmph! I'm telling on you!" Yinreng huffed through his nose like a furious calf.

 

Kangxi pulled the furious little calf of a son into his arms and rubbed him while laughing.

 

Yinreng squawked in outrage.

 

Trotting alongside the sedan chair, Gu Wenxing and Zhao Chang heard Kangxi's cheerful laughter coming from inside. They exchanged a glance and saw a shared helplessness in each other's eyes.

 

Why did His Majesty enjoy teasing his son so much? It was fortunate that the Crown Prince wasn't a crier, because any other child would have been bawling already.

 

Yinreng wouldn't cry. But he was definitely going to tattle.

 

He didn't care if it made him look frivolous and unsteady, and it was actually better. Best if he could leave the Grand Empress Dowager with the impression that "this great-grandson is cute, but he's flighty and not steady enough, not fit to be emperor, better to keep him on as a comfortable, idle prince."

 

Everyone knew Kangxi took the Grand Empress Dowager's opinion very seriously. Working through the Grand Empress Dowager (coaxing a big estate with hot springs that way) might be the easier route.

 

The moment the sedan chair stopped, Yinreng leapt down and went pounding up the swept steps on his short little legs. "Great-grandma! Great-grandma! Father bullied me!"

 

Kangxi stepped gracefully off the sedan, using a young eunuch's bowed back as a stool, and ambled along after Yinreng at his leisure.

 

Yinreng ran at his top speed, but his legs were just too short. Kangxi caught up in a few long strides.

 

The moment the Grand Empress Dowager heard Yinreng's energetic, full-volume voice, a fond smile spread across her face. "Quick, help me over. I want to see how Kangxi has been picking on poor Baocheng now."

 

Sumalagu smiled and supported the Grand Empress Dowager's hand. "His Majesty really is getting livelier and livelier."

 

"Lively is good," the Grand Empress Dowager said. "Same with Baocheng. Lively is good."

 

The children in the palace were all sickly, which always made the Grand Empress Dowager sad. Only Baocheng, even though he was physically delicate, could still eat, drink, and sleep through a low fever, then still climb onto his Khan-Father's back and play around as if nothing was wrong. He looked easy to raise.

 

And sure enough, Baocheng had recovered fully, and his voice was already this loud.

 

Yinreng came barreling into Cining Palace like a (self-proclaimed) little cannonball. Spotting the Grand Empress Dowager walking over from afar, he quickly slowed down and came to an abrupt stop in front of her: "Greetings, great-grandma!"

 

Before he could even bend down, the Grand Empress Dowager scooped him into her arms. "Aiya, Baocheng, what happened to your forehead?"

 

Yinreng immediately complained, "Father bumped me!"

 

After paying his respects to the Grand Empress Dowager with a smile, Kangxi said, "Don't listen to that little brat's nonsense. He was half-asleep and rammed his head into your grandson's chest, giving himself a bump."

 

Yinreng said indignantly, "And the rattle drum!"

 

Kangxi sighed. "Eunuch Gu just rubbed that bump out, and then he(YR) lost his footing and knocked his head on the rattle drum. There you have it, another bump."

 

Yinreng: "..." That sounds about right?

 

"Father, Father threw me into the snow pile too!" Yinreng finally remembered another grievance.

 

Kangxi sighed again. "He wasn't watching where he was going. Missed a step and went headfirst into the snow, which gave me a real fright."

 

Yinreng: "..." My fault.

 

He tilted his head up to look at the great Grand Empress Dowager and silently asked her to take his side.

 

The Grand Empress Dowager shot Kangxi a sidelong look. "Is bullying children fun?"

 

Kangxi rubbed his nose. He knew he couldn't fool the Grand Empress Dowager, but he still had to put up a tough front for the sake of imperial dignity. "Grandma, you've wronged me. Your grandson absolutely did not bully him."

 

"Come, your great-grandma has fruit. We're going to eat fruit, and we're not giving any to your father." The Grand Empress Dowager shielded Yinreng as she walked inside.

 

Kangxi trailed sheepishly beside her. "This time it really was Baocheng's own doing, isn't that right, Baocheng?"

 

Yinreng touched his forehead. "It was not!"

 

Anyone can shirk responsibility. So can I.

 

Watching Kangxi and Yinreng "argue" back and forth, the Grand Empress Dowager smiled even more fondly.

 

While quarreling and chattering, the father and son followed the Grand Empress Dowager into the warm Cining Palace, looking like an ordinary three-generation household.

 

 

Once the Grand Empress Dowager settled onto her soft couch, Yinreng, entirely without manners, climbed straight into her lap and snuggled.

 

Whenever Yinreng was about to come pay his respects, the Grand Empress Dowager would take off her false nail-guards.

 

Her aged hands sheltered him in her arms, and she affectionately ruffled the little tuft of hair on top of his head, her expression utterly doting.

 

Watching this, Kangxi didn't know whether to envy the Grand Empress Dowager or his own foolish son.

 

The Grand Empress Dowager had been very strict with Kangxi, but with her great-grandson, she was deeply indulgent, exactly like a great-grandmother in an ordinary household. Kangxi felt a small pang of jealousy.

 

But Kangxi also wanted to hold his son and ruffle the little tuft on his head.

 

Today, the Grand Empress Dowager and Kangxi had real business to discuss.

 

There weren't many heirs in the palace at the moment. The Grand Empress Dowager certainly wasn't going to look for the cause in Kangxi himself, so she wanted to bring more women in this year.

 

The Grand Empress Dowager had originally tried to slot more Mongol women into Kangxi's harem, but Kangxi resisted strongly. Remembering the old harem disputes she'd had with her late son Fulin, she lost heart and let it go.

 

The Aisin Gioro emperors probably weren'tgoing to allow another Mongol empress in the harem, and neither would their sons nor grandsons.

 

If the Mongols couldn't take high-ranking consort positions, then it didn't really matter who Kangxi picked.

 

Watching her grandson, she noticed he didn't seem to favor Manchu women from prominent families either; rather, he leaned toward bondservant women. The Grand Empress Dowager mulled it over and figured that her grandson probably didn't want women in the harem to come from a particularly high background, lest the inner palace influence the outer court.

 

Considering that there was already a Crown Prince in the palace whose maternal family was powerful but whose own mother had passed away, this was for the best. So the Empress Dowager then went along with Kangxi's wishes, and all the women who entered the palace this year were bondservantes, entering the palace as palace maids.

 

Yinreng nestled in the Grand Empress Dowager's arms. With a full belly, his brain finally had room to work.

 

Going by his previous-previous life memories, the imperial selection system at this point was still not fully set up. The Emperor's women either came in via direct delivery from ministers or vassal states, or were chosen from the better-bred bondservant women.

 

Consort Yi was entering this year as a palace maid. Consort De had also entered the palace, specifically aiming for consort rank. There would be plenty more bondservant consorts to come.

 

The difference between this kind of "palace maid" and an ordinary palace maid was that her father held an actual official rank, so on entry, she could dress slightly more elaborately, wear jewelry, andwear patterned robes. Even when assigned to a titled consort's palace, her treatment was about the same as that of an unranked low consort. She wouldn't have to do any actual maid work.

 

For an actual serving palace maid to become a consort directly was nearly impossible. Kangxi didn't even keep palace maids around to attend him, only eunuchs.

 

Thinking about how emperor-dad would later end up with over fifty children, including the ones who died young... uh, who would have guessed emperor-dad wouldn't even let palace maids serve him? Was emperor-dad lustful or not?

 

While Yinreng was idly snarking at Kangxi in his head, he heard the Grand Empress Dowager say half-jokingly, "The matter of your women is your own decision. Just don't be like your father, loving one woman to the point of dying for it."

 

Yinreng's eyes lit up. He'd just thought of a bright idea to keep both emperor-dad and the Grand Empress Dowager fond of him while wildly undermining his odds of inheriting the throne!

 

Matters concerning gods and ghosts have always been taboo.

 

But seeing the spirits of his ancestors... wasn't that taboo, yet not so much as to constitute witchcraft and cause him to be shunned?

 

He opened his mouth and said, "Great-grandma, grandpa said, no loving-to-death."

 

The Grand Empress Dowager didn't catch on. "Hm?"

 

Kangxi looked at Yinreng. "Baocheng, what did you say? What grandpa?"

 

Yinreng spoke very slowly and seriously, one word at a time. "Grandpa said, there was no loving-to-death. Grandpa said, 'did it on purpose, to make great-grandma angry'. Grandpa also said, 'next time, still be great-grandma's son. Next time, still make great-grandma angry.'"

 

Between the history books I've read, my history-major textbook knowledge, and a kid's body and a kid's act for cover, there's no way I can't pull off this fake-medium routine!

 

The Grand Empress Dowager: "..."

 

Kangxi: "!!!"

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note:

Due to his physical condition, the male protagonist's behavior tends to resemble that of children his age. (Frankly speaking, a twenty-year-old boy, aside from intelligence and knowledge, is as childish as a kindergarten child in front of his family.)

Note: In ancient times, people used the lunar calendar for age, but for ease of understanding in writing, the actual age is used in this text. Ancient people also spoke a mix of classical and vernacular Chinese, but for ease of understanding and writing, it is translated into plain language in this text.