Changtai got up early every day to practice martial arts, while Kangxi rose early every day to review memorials.

The two of them almost always woke up at the same time.

Rubbing his eyes, Changtai said, "Your Majesty, you've never kicked the Crown Prince off the bed before, have you? And your snoring… ow!"

Flushed with embarrassment and anger, Kangxi kicked him. Muttering things like "What nonsense are you talking about," "You fell off the bed yourself and blamed me," and "My sleeping posture is excellent," he then punished Changtai by forbidding him from eating breakfast.

Changtai honestly asked, "Pastries don't count as breakfast, right?"

Kangxi kicked him again before going off to wash up and eat.

Changtai rubbed his nose. The Crown Prince had been right after all. Being a little "improper and informal" occasionally really did make it easier to win the emperor's favor.

By the time Kangxi got up, Zhao Chang already brought fresh clothes from the palace.

Although Kangxi had been drunk the previous night and hadn't bathed, eunuchs had at least wiped him down and changed his clothes.

Silk garments were difficult to wash so clothes worn by the emperor were usually discarded after one use. Only a few non-silk undergarments were kept. If an emperor repeatedly wore the same outer robe, it was considered frugality worthy of being recorded in history books.

Kangxi's thriftiness had not yet reached that legendary level. Instead, he recycled yesterday's white dragon fish robe and bestowed it upon Changtai.

Overjoyed, Changtai carefully enshrined the casual clothes Kangxi had worn alongside the imperial edicts his family had received, recording exactly when Kangxi had gifted them.

The Crown Prince had told him that every imperial gift needed detailed records of the time, place, and circumstances. Otherwise, if the emperor ever became displeased and ordered a confiscation, some official might suddenly accuse the family of "intercepting offerings" or "stealing imperial items."

Although Changtai found such accusations absurd, he obediently followed the advice.

He wanted to become a capable imperial relative, and that meant handling everything with extreme caution.

The Heseri family had always kept records of imperial gifts. Now, they had simply cleared out a special room and installed cabinets to organize and display them.

Before leaving, Kangxi toured the display room with great interest.

Pointing at it, he laughed. "This resembles the 'museum' those Western missionaries talk about. How did you come up with this idea?"

Changtai answered honestly, "His Highness the Crown Prince said he wanted to look at the items, and Yinzhī said the storage room was too dark. I also thought that displaying them like this would let my future children see the former glory of the Heseri family and encourage them to strive harder."

Kangxi smiled. "Imperial gifts represent the honors the Heseri family accumulated in the past. They truly can inspire later generations."

Kangxi forgave Changtai for commenting on his sleeping posture and snoring and magnanimously allowed Changtai to drink one bowl of porridge for breakfast.

Only one bowl. No side dishes. And no eating anything else before lunch, only water.

After issuing the order, Kangxi left with his hands behind his back, looking very pleased with himself.

Kangxi was only a few years older than Changtai. One was nearing thirty, while the other had just entered his twenties.

When they interacted, they felt almost like friends of the same age.

Kangxi never had friends growing up, and even Fuquan treated him with utmost respect. The only people who occasionally failed to "respect" him were the rough hooligan types like Orundai.

Someone like Changtai, proper and courteous yet casually informal in harmless ways, was entirely new to him.

Kangxi asked Zhao Chang, "Is this how relatives of the same age usually interact?"

Cold sweat broke out on Zhao Chang's forehead. How would he know? He was just a eunuch.

But if Kangxi was asking this question, it clearly meant that he was very satisfied with Changtai.

Zhao Chang replied, "This servant has no relatives of the same age, but I've occasionally seen officials at court joking with one another and complaining about tiny little things."

Kangxi laughed. "Rongruo and Ziqing are like that too. The moment I turn my back, they start exchanging glances."

Zhao Chang thought to himself, That's not how you use "exchanging glances." But if His Majesty said they were "exchanging glances," then that was what they were doing.

When Kangxi returned to the palace, Yinreng still hadn't woken up.

"Little sleepyhead." Kangxi crept quietly to the bedside, smiling helplessly.

Yinreng placed Kangxi's portrait opposite the bed so he would see it the moment he opened his eyes.

Yinreng disliked porcelain and jade pillows, so the pillow he used now was custom-made with wheat husks and was replaced every few days.

Liang Jiugong personally supervised the drying of every grain of wheat husk to ensure there was nothing harmful mixed into the pillow.

At the moment, one of Kangxi's old robes had been wrapped around the pillow, and Yinreng was also hugging another old robe in his arms (both were naturally freshly washed).

Resting on Kangxi's old clothes and clutching them tightly, Yinreng slept soundly.

"I heard Baoqing disliked this and drove him out to sleep alone?" Kangxi asked softly.

Liang Jiugong stepped out from the shadows and respectfully answered, "The Eldest Prince is somewhat frightened of sleeping facing the portrait."

Kangxi couldn't help laughing.

He looked at his own dark-toned portrait, with a candle burning all night before it. Waking up in the middle of the night and suddenly seeing it really was frightening.

Even he himself had been startled.

"Take it away." Kangxi pressed a hand to his forehead.

When Gu Wenxing delivered the painting, Kangxi already thought that it felt a little strange, even somewhat inauspicious.

Now he understood why. It was simply that the sketch was black and white.

A black-and-white portrait lit by candles… and if there were offerings placed in front of it too… cough.

But who could he blame? He was the one who sent the portrait over, ordered it to be framed, and even approved the candles.

If anyone was to blame, it was this little chubby dumpling for being too timid after seeing his gravely ill grandfather.

Kangxi thought of the aging Grand Empress Dowager in Cining Palace, then of his own half-brother who had never recovered from illness.

He gently tapped Yinreng's cheek with his fingertip.

Being frightened… was only natural.

Baocheng was too much like himself. The only difference was that he would never abandon Baocheng and leave him behind.

"Mmm." Yinreng wrinkled his little face, sniffled, and opened his eyes.

Smiling, Kangxi poked his cheek again.

"Father?" Yinreng said nasally.

"Mm. I'm back," Kangxi said softly.

"Oh, you're back." Yinreng pushed aside the robe in his arms and wriggled laboriously into Kangxi's embrace at the bedside, dragging the blanket with him.

Curled contentedly in Kangxi's arms beneath the blanket, he closed his eyes again. "Huff…"

Kangxi didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "Get up! The sun's already shining on your backside!"

Yinreng buried his head deeper. "With the blanket on, the sun can't shine on Baocheng's butt."

Kangxi wanted to pull away the blanket, but seeing the faint bluish shadows under the child's eyes, he sighed softly.

"Move over. I'll sleep with you a while longer." Since there was nothing urgent today, Kangxi removed his shoes and climbed into bed beside him.

Before falling back asleep, Kangxi suddenly remembered Changtai's words.

"Baocheng, is my sleeping posture good? Have I ever kicked you? Do I snore?"

Nestled against Kangxi, Yinreng mumbled sleepily, "No. Father sleeps very well and very quietly. Didn't Father say Baocheng's sleeping posture is bad?"

Kangxi hugged the child tighter and gave a satisfied huff.

See? My sleeping posture is excellent! Changtai rolled onto the floor himself and still dared blame me! Who gave him such courage?

Satisfied, Kangxi fell asleep.

Standing beside the bed, Zhao Chang's mouth twitched slightly.

How could His Majesty's sleeping posture possibly be good after drinking? The Crown Prince only didn't know because His Majesty never slept beside him while drunk.

Kangxi himself knew his drunken sleeping habits were… average. But hearing someone point it out so bluntly still left him… dissatisfied.

Even in his own thoughts, Zhao Chang dared not use words like "bad" or "embarrassed."

After another half hour of sleep, Yinreng finally woke up.

The moment he did, he reached out and pinched Kangxi's face.

Kangxi pulled away the mischievous little hand. "So naughty? You even dare pinch your Father's face?"

Yinreng hugged Kangxi's face and rubbed against it. "It's Father. The real Father." The young, handsome, good-tempered Father from this lifetime who spoiled me endlessly!

Kangxi said helplessly, "How could your father even be fake? Get up now, little sleepyhead."

He lifted Yinreng up and lightly patted his bottom as punishment for pinching his face.

After accompanying Yinreng through washing up once more, Kangxi led him by the hand to Cining Palace to pay respects.

The Grand Empress Dowager was already waiting. Who would have guessed Kangxi would return to Qianqing Palace only to nap again with Yinreng?

Amused and helpless, she went back for a short nap herself.

"Great-Grandmother!" Yinreng's trademark babyish shout rang from outside the palace gates. "Imperial Father is back!"

"There's no need for you to steal the announcer eunuch's job." Kangxi bent down and flicked Yinreng's nose before scooping him up. "Imperial Grandmother, I'm back too!"

The Grand Empress Dowager nearly stumbled.

Turning to Sumalagu, she said, "Don't you think the emperor is becoming more and more mischievous? Baocheng shouting is one thing, but now he's copying him."

Sumalagu joked, "Grand Empress Dowager, perhaps it's the Crown Prince who learned it from His Majesty?"

The Grand Empress Dowager nodded solemnly. "That makes sense!" Surely Baocheng hadn't learned it from Fulin who's constantly appearing in his dreams.

Her grandson walked toward her with light steps, carrying her great-grandson in his arms. "Imperial Grandmother, you could have just waited inside. Why come out to greet me?"

"I heard you shouting so loudly, I thought something happened."

Kangxi laughed awkwardly, he really was a little undignified just now.

"Enough. Put Baocheng down. Ah, Baocheng, let Great-Grandmother hold you." The Grand Empress Dowager rubbed Yinreng's little face. "You look much livelier today. Your Majesty, Baocheng relies on you too much."

Kangxi smiled smugly. "Yes. Can't really do anything about that."

Seeing his expression, the Grand Empress Dowager knew that there was no point trying to persuade him for now.

The child was still young. Once he grew up, he would naturally stop depending so much on his elders.

The Grand Empress Dowager doted greatly on Yinreng now. If not for her fluctuating illness and fear of passing sickness to him, she would have slept holding him whenever he couldn't sleep.

The three generations chatted warmly. Soon Yinzhī led Yinzhǐ over to greet Kangxi and the Grand Empress Dowager as well.

But seeing the two boys rush straight toward Yinreng the moment they entered Cining Palace, both Kangxi and the Grand Empress Dowager felt the children clearly had "ulterior motives."

Still, it was good for the children to be close. Neither adult stingily blamed the children. They let the three princes play in Cining Palace while they discussed serious matters.

The Grand Empress Dowager said, "Things became lively in the palace after you left. Several consorts are pregnant and Consort Xuan also gave birth to a healthy little princess."

Kangxi's expression stiffened.

Pregnancies among the consorts were certainly good news, but prefaced with "after you left the palace," it sounded oddly suspicious.

Seeing his expression, the Grand Empress Dowager realized her wording had been ambiguous.

Suppressing her laughter, she continued explaining palace affairs.

Consort Yi and Lady Gorolo, an unranked concubine, were both pregnant. Lady Gorolo was further along and would soon give birth. Meanwhile, Noble Lady Nara's belly was also very large, and she would likely give birth around the same time.

If all the children survived, then next year, the palace would become very lively indeed.

As she spoke, the Grand Empress Dowager glanced at Crown Prince Yinreng, who was happily playing hopscotch with his brothers in Cining Palace.

Ever since Yinreng claimed that he have drawn away all the curses, children in the palace begun surviving one after another, and the consorts kept becoming pregnant.

The tiny shred of doubt they once held was gradually forced aside by repeated evidence. Yinreng truly seemed to have sacrificed something.

Kangxi pressed his lips together as the joy of impending new births somewhat faded.

Then Yinreng's hen-like clucking laughter rang out, washing away the gloom in Kangxi's heart.

Now, Kangxi suddenly wanted to smack his son's backside again.

I was worrying over Baocheng, while Baocheng himself was laughing and playing around like a silly little fool, completely oblivious to my feelings.

But what understanding could one expect from such a small child?

It was all Baocheng's grandfather's fault for failing to teach him properly. Inwardly, Kangxi quietly shifted the blame onto his own imperial father.

"Baocheng has been in good health lately. With Fulin watching over him, he'll surely be fine. Don't worry." The Grand Empress Dowager patted Kangxi's hand. "As for Consort Xuan's daughter, I'd like to request the title of Gulun Princess for her."

Daughters of consorts were normally granted the title Heshuo Princess upon marriage, while Gulun Princess was traditionally reserved for daughters of the empress. However, especially favored princesses could be exceptionally granted the higher title as well.

When the Grand Empress Dowager asked Kangxi for this favor, she was actually making a tactful promise: if Consort Xuan later bore a son, she would absolutely not support him in competing with the Crown Prince for the throne.

The imperial favor could only be granted once. If it went to a princess, it would not later go to a prince.

"If Consort Xuan has a son, I will have him adopted out," Kangxi said just as frankly in response to the Grand Empress Dowager's openness.

The Grand Empress Dowager smiled. "Then choose a hereditary Iron-Cap Prince title for him."

Kangxi replied, "My son will certainly not be treated poorly."

The Grand Empress Dowager nodded lightly.

Since the Qing court did not wish for another emperor to be born from a Mongolian consort, being adopted into an Iron-Cap princely line was actually a good outcome. It would prevent the Mongol Eight Banners from developing dangerous ambitions and angering the emperor.

With a hereditary Iron-Cap Prince title, that child's future would not be any worse than the children who remained in the imperial line.

As for whether there would even be an Iron-Cap Prince position available for the child to inherit, the Grand Empress Dowager was not worried in the slightest.

Most of the current Iron-Cap Princes were descendants of disgraced princes from the Shunzhi era. After Kangxi ascended the throne, they started acting up again. Finding an excuse to strip them of their titles would conveniently deal with them.

The Grand Empress Dowager had never forgotten the Iron-Cap Princes who had bullied her and Fulin during the Shunzhi reign.

While Kangxi and the Grand Empress Dowager discussed the imperial heirs, Yinreng played with his brothers while secretly pricking up his ears to eavesdrop.

Though his memories were vague, he could tell that the order of the children's births was already somewhat different from his previous life.

Perhaps it was because Empress Xiao'an died at a different time than before. Perhaps it was because the smallpox outbreak had caused such turmoil in the palace. Perhaps it was because Consort Xuan suddenly gained favor… Oh, and it was probably also because Yinreng himself had been born as a full-term, chubby baby, making Consort De's delivery especially difficult.

In the original timeline, Consort De should have already been pregnant again with a daughter who would soon die young. But now, she was lazily recuperating in her palace, not even having restored her name plaque for imperial summons yet.

Consort De become mistress of her own palace ahead of schedule and had a healthy, plump son. Her father, Wei Wu, had earned military merit on the battlefield, and even her teenage younger brother Boqi had performed surprisingly well.

She was fully satisfied now and was no longer driven to desperately claw her way upward. Naturally, she had no desire to hurry back into the emperor's bed before recovering physically.

With a son, status, and capable family members, Consort De was clever enough to know that restoring her health and protecting her precious chubby son were the true keys to surviving in the palace.

Yinreng irresponsibly speculated that if Consort De recovered properly before conceiving the Sixth Prince, then perhaps the Sixth Prince would no longer be born frail.

And if Fourteenth Brother ended up with two healthy, lively, energetic older brothers, would he still become so arrogant?

Well… perhaps even more arrogant. Or perhaps he would be bullied by his wicked older brothers into becoming a prematurely world-weary little old man.

Among the six principal consorts of the palace (Consort Rong, Consort Hui, Consort Yi, Consort De, Consort Xuan, and Concubine Wen), only Concubine Wen remained as low-key as ever, practically invisible. Since Consort Yi was the only one who had not yet borne a child, she was extremely anxious.

Now that both she and her elder sister were pregnant one after another, she finally relaxed.

Consort Yi was extraordinarily careful with this pregnancy and sought advice everywhere on how to stabilize it.

And while investigating, she also learned about the strange miracles the Crown Prince had once displayed.

Unfortunately, she somewhat misunderstood the situation. She came to believe the Crown Prince was a little lucky charm. Whoever treated him well would bear healthy children, while anyone who bullied him would end up like Empress Xiao'an.

Consort Yi racked her brains trying to remember whether she had ever offended the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince was Kangxi's treasured darling, so of course she had never offended him. But as a childless consort, and unlike the socially uninhibited Consort Xuan, she had never had much contact with him. If she suddenly started sending him gifts now, it would seem abrupt and suspicious.

After much thought, Consort Yi finally came up with a good excuse to interact with the Crown Prince more often.

She and her elder sister began frequently visiting the Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager to pay respects, ensuring they would occasionally run into the Crown Prince.

"Since becoming pregnant, this concubine wishes to move around more. I hope the Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager won't mind my frequent visits," Consort Yi said.

She visited at regular times every day. If she happened to encounter the Crown Prince, she would casually praise him a few times; if not, she let it go without forcing the matter.

The Grand Empress Dowager could more or less guess Consort Yi's intentions, but since she behaved appropriately, the older woman pretended not to notice.

The Crown Prince liked his younger siblings and had sacrificed so much for them. It would only benefit him if these pregnant consorts remembered his kindness.

Consort Yi was charming and well-read, and Yinreng enjoyed listening to her chat.

Compared to Consort Yi, her elder sister Lady Gorolo, an unranked concubine, seemed rather unremarkable.

That was the trouble with sisters entering the palace together. If the sisters looked too similar, it became like wearing identical outfits, far more awkward than when Consort De and Consort Yi once overlapped in personality and style.

Whoever was less attractive became embarrassed. (Cross out)

At this moment, the Grand Empress Dowager had many opinions she wished to express. (Cross out)

However, the princess in Lady Gorolo's womb was extraordinarily promising. Even Emperor Yongzheng, who deeply disliked Imperial Consort Yi, still promoted this princess, who was Consort Yi's sister's child, to the rank of Gulun Princess. (T/N: Emperor Yongzhen is the current fourth prince, the next Qing emperor after Kangxi.)

A Qing princess…

Yinreng pinched his chubby chin thoughtfully and suddenly felt like causing trouble.

Qing princesses marrying into Mongolia were not like the political marriages of earlier dynasties, where daughters were sent away in exchange for peace. Rather, these were alliances between equals, so Qing princesses could actually wield authority in Mongolia.

Lady Gorolo's daughter, Princess Gulun Kejing, genuinely succeeded in helping the Qing monitor and control Mongolian power.

Later on, as Qing court etiquette became increasingly sinicized, princesses were raised weak and submissive, to the point that they were even bullied by their dowry maids and their husbands' families.

It would be difficult to improve women's status in a feudal society, but princesses had imperial backing, and their marriages carried political importance. If princesses were raised to be as forceful as princes, Father would surely agree.

Yinreng knew he himself was rather useless and incapable of changing the entire era. All he could do was try his best to make life better for his loved ones. Otherwise, returning to suffer through the Kangxi era again would feel completely meaningless.

After all, he acted bravely to save others! He was a hero! Yet Heaven had still thrown him back into the Qing dynasty to become the unlucky Crown Prince again.

I acted heroically! I'm a hero! Wuwuwu…

Once Yinreng decided on something, he acted immediately. Naturally, the first person he recruited was his beloved elder brother.

This was apparently the first time Yinzhī had heard that Qing princesses held such responsibilities.

"Qing princesses can wield power in Mongolia?" Yinzhī exclaimed in shock. "Isn't that even more impressive than us princes? Maybe I should go marry into Mongolia instead?"

Yinreng's jaw practically hit the floor.

Behind him, Liang Jiugong's body trembled slightly as he took shallow breaths.

How is this servant supposed to repeat those words to His Majesty later? If His Majesty gets angry, will he beat this servant in place of Yinzhī?!

Yinzhī excitedly continued, "If I marry a Mongolian woman, could I become king in Mongolia?"

Yinreng manually pushed his own jaw back up.

Ahem. Big Brother's thoughts had become impure.

"Impossible. Mongolia values men over women just like the Qing. The children born to Qing princesses take Mongolian surnames, so Mongolians see it as Mongols still ruling themselves. But if a man married in, they'd never accept it," Yinreng explained. "Still, Big Brother, don't worry. You may not become king in Mongolia, but the world is huge. Father wants to become an emperor remembered for all eternity, with his sword pointed at the entire globe. He'll conquer vast lands for you."

Yinzhī's eyes sparkled. "How vast? My tutors said imperial princes nowadays can't be granted their own territories."

Yinreng silently thought: Big Brother, what kind of questions are you asking your tutors? They were probably terrified.

"Granting territory within the Qing would shrink the empire, so of course that's impossible. But lands outside the Qing are too far away for Father to govern personally. If they aren't granted to us, then who's supposed to manage them?" Yinreng said, dragging Yinzhī toward the study. "I'll draw you a world map, and then you'll see just how much unclaimed land is still waiting for us."

Did colonies already seized by Western powers count as "claimed"? Of course not.

"Big Brother, let me tell you, Father really covets these lands. With the wealth from them, even if the Qing stopped collecting land taxes someday, we'd still become the richest country in the world. We could eat one egg and throw another away… uh, wait, wasting food is bad. Forget that example."

Holding a brush, Yinreng drew a wildly distorted world map for his brother and began assigning territories.

"This area is huge. I want this!"

"This place is smaller. Let's give it to Third Brother."

"Fourth Brother can't even talk yet and he's already so noisy. Give him someplace surrounded by water so he won't bother anyone. An island!"

When Kangxi later received reports about the "secret plotting" between the Crown Prince and Yinzhī, he rested his chin in his hands and pondered seriously for a long time.

The idea of properly educating princesses and using them to divide Mongolian authority was very interesting. Thus, he decided to try it.

But hearing that his eldest son wanted to personally marry into Mongolia… rip!

And then his precious son shouting about becoming an emperor remembered through the ages and expanding territory across the globe… rip!

After tearing up several utterly nonsensical memorials to vent his frustration, Kangxi said darkly, "Imperial Father, exactly when do you plan to return to the Eternal Heaven?"

My sons has been corrupted by you!