When Yinzhī called another meeting of his frivolous imperial guards, he brought along his three younger brothers.

These young aristocrats all dreamed of accomplishing great things, yet lacked the ability. They wanted to rebel against their families, yet lacked the courage.

The First Prince had offered them an opportunity that wasn't even dangerous, so they eagerly followed him.

When their families asked, they simply said they were supporting the First Prince in his work.

Supporting the First Prince? Wasn't that just following the family's approved path?

Nothing wrong with that!

But when they arrived this time, full of enthusiasm, they discovered that their "secret base" had somehow turned into a children's playroom.

They had to take off their shoes and even their socks to wash their feet before entering?

The carpet felt surprisingly comfortable underfoot.

Why were there so many cloth dolls and soft cushions?

These building blocks and toy carts looked pretty fun.

Damn it! Who were these little kids?!

Yinzhī sat on a tiger-skin chair like some mountain bandit king, carefree and relaxed.

In front of him was Third Prince Yinzhǐ. He was not yet three years old, but he was the steadiest walker of the three. He held the hand of Crown Prince Yinreng, who was still undergoing rehabilitation, while Fourth Prince Yinzhen crawled behind them. The three toddlers toddled unsteadily around the tent. Whenever they grew tired, they plopped onto the floor and rolled around while playing with their toys.

The guards froze for a moment before offering their greetings in a scattered and disorderly fashion.

Nalan Xingde stepped forward, dropped to one knee, and asked, "Your Highness, are you feeling better?"

Yinreng wiped the sweat from his forehead with a handkerchief and smiled.

"Much better. I can get out of bed now. Don't worry about me. If I keep moving around, I'll completely recover very soon."

Cao Yin also knelt before him on one knee, his eyes slightly red.

"It's wonderful to see that Your Highness is safe."

Cao Yin was one of Kangxi's trusted bondservants and knew certain things that Nalan Xingde did not.

If there hadn't been other people present, he would have pulled the Crown Prince into his arms and cried.

Back when he and Nalan Xingde accompanied the Crown Prince on outings around the capital, he'd done plenty of similarly improper things.

"It's fine, it's fine. Sorry for making you worry."

Yinreng reached out his hand. Cao Yin lowered his head, and Yinreng gently rubbed his bald forehead.

"Don't worry. I'm very capable. I'll be healthy again in no time."

Cao Yin let out a choked sob while still kneeling there, looking so much like a giant dog that the other guards were completely bewildered.

Guard Cao, isn't this a bit much?!

Sure, these noble youths didn't think highly of Cao Yin's status as a bondservant, but he was still an Imperial Bodyguard!

After patting Cao Yin's head, Yinreng also patted Nalan Xingde's arm.

"I'm really fine. Don't worry."

Nalan Xingde barely managed to suppress the mixture of joy and concern in his heart.

"Yes, Your Highness."

"Enough already. How could my little brother be in trouble?" said Yinzhī, waving a hand like a bandit chief. "You're all overthinking things. Let's continue our discussion. Ignore them and let them play."

The guards: "..."

First Prince, that's the Crown Prince in front of you! His rank is higher than yours! The Crown Prince is crawling on the floor while you're sitting in a chair! Are you the Emperor?

"That's right, don't mind us," Yinreng said gently. "Big Brother, please continue."

Yinzhī nodded, then scolded the guards.

"Why are you all so shocked? Khan-Father doesn't have time, so as the older brother, I have to look after my younger brothers while working. What's wrong with that? Don't your families have siblings? Haven't you ever been looked after by an older brother or looked after younger ones yourselves?"

Nalan Xingde had already risen to his feet.

"I have."

The other guards exchanged glances.

Thinking about it...

Wasn't that actually pretty normal?

They just didn't expect that life in the imperial palace would be so similar to their own households.

Since both the First Prince and the Crown Prince had spoken, they could only sit stiffly on the cushioned chairs and resume the discussion.

Yet while talking, their eyes kept drifting toward the Crown Prince, who alternated between walking and crawling across the floor.

The Crown Prince really was very weak.

So weak that his walking was less stable than Third Prince Yinzhǐ's, and his endurance was worse than Fourth Prince Yinzhen's, who could only crawl.

Yet not one of them felt even the slightest urge to look down on him.

They had all been sick before.

Even when healthy, they often couldn't be bothered to exercise unless their families forced them to.

The Crown Prince was still just a child, yet he possessed such determination.

A child struggling for survival, with no trace of gloom on his face and who could still take care of his younger brothers by making them laugh despite suffering the most himself... How could any normal person not feel affection and pity for him?

Now, they could understand why Nalan Xingde and Cao Yin had lost their composure.

The two men also kept secretly watching Yinreng.

The more they watched, the redder Cao Yin's eyes became, while Nalan Xingde clenched his fists.

Such a good child...

And yet all sorts of ugly rumors were spreading outside.

People claimed that the Crown Prince was arrogant and didn't get along with the other princes.

They said his temperament had changed drastically during his illness, that he threw hysterical tantrums and beat the servants attending him.

They claimed he was so unwell that he lost his appetite, yet he required countless chickens and ducks at every meal merely as accompaniments. He would taste only the flavors without eating the meat itself. Furthermore, delicacies made from rare ingredients were simply discarded and forbidden for anyone else to consume.

They slandered a five-year-old child as if he were an enemy in the court.

If Gu Zhenguan and others hadn't frequently traveled among the common people and noticed the start of these rumors, then reported them to the Emperor, those people might actually have succeeded amidst the chaos following the earthquake.

Just then, Liang Jiugong brought over Yinreng's nutritional meal, since he was currently eating small meals throughout the day.

Yinzhǐ curiously took a bite.

Then he swallowed with difficulty.

"It's awful! Crown Prince Brother, you actually eat this?"

"How bad is it?"

Yinzhī jumped down from his tiger-skin throne and tasted some himself.

"It's really awful! What kind of horrible flavor is this? You eat this stuff? Your appetite was already bad enough! Wouldn't this make it even worse?"

Yinreng smiled.

"I've got used to it. Before, I couldn't even swallow properly. The Imperial Kitchen mashed nutritious meats and vegetables into soups and soft foods so they would be easier to eat. They can't use spices to remove the smell, can't use much oil or salt, and have to add medicinal ingredients. Considering the restrictions, they've already done a decent job."

Yinzhī frowned.

"They should think of a better solution!"

Yinreng continued soothing him.

"I can already walk now. Soon, I'll be able to eat other things. Then Big Brother can treat me to something delicious."

Yinzhǐ hugged Yinreng's waist and rubbed his face against him unhappily.

"I'll give all my tasty cakes to Crown Prince Brother too."

"Thank you, Third Brother."

Yinreng ruffled the back of his head.

"Good. Big Brother will take you to a feast."

Yinzhī took another bite and continued complaining while eating.

"Still terrible! Absolutely terrible*!"

"Don't say things like 'die.' It's unlucky."

Yinreng laughed helplessly.

"If it's so bad, why keep eating it?"

"I just want to see exactly how bad it is and how many times I'd need to eat before getting used to it."

"All right, all right. Big Brother, go do your important work. Don't worry about me."

Yinreng pushed him away, but given how weak he was, there was no way he could actually move Yinzhī.

Yet Yinzhī acted as though he had been shoved forcefully.

"Stop pushing! Stop pushing! I'll walk on my own!"

Watching this, the guards felt warmth well up inside them.

The Crown Prince was wonderful, the First Prince was wonderful, and the Third Prince was adorable. Except for the Fourth Prince, who was impossible to understand and just keeps making random "ah ah ah" noises, all of them were very wonderful and adorable. Except for the Fourth Prince, who was impossible to understand and just keeps making random "ah ah ah" noises, all of them were very wonderful and adorable.

How exactly did the Emperor raise his children? How did he manage to raise them all so well?

And this awful-looking food... This was the "extravagant delicacies beyond ordinary people's imagination" that the rumors described?

The guards suddenly wanted to go home and tell their elders that the princes were extremely close to one another. The Crown Prince was a genuinely good person, so stop playing your petty political games.

But then they thought, what if their elders learned the truth, and they devised an even more disgusting scheme? Perhaps it was better to let them remain in the dark, continuing to smugly choose sides among the princes.

The guards hadn't done anything at all, yet they somehow felt as if they had successfully tricked their own elders.

It was strangely satisfying.

Yinzhī resumed discussing his plan to compile a grand collection of ancient myths, replacing narrow ethnic divisions with the concept of a unified descendants-of-Yan-and-Huang civilization.

The guards didn't really understand why he wanted to do this, but it just sounded interesting.

Unfortunately, their enthusiasm was directed the wrong way entirely.

Their knowledge of Chinese mythology was shallow, so they simply threw out random ideas based on instinct.

Yinzhī himself was still young, and before long, the discussion had devolved into storytelling and boasting. Nobody talked about division of labor or implementation plans.

Nalan Xingde and Cao Yin were originally assigned by Kangxi to assist Yinzhīzhī. But since neither fully understood his reasoning and assumed he was merely playing around, they allowed him to do as he pleased rather than taking charge of the meeting.

Listening to all this gave Yinreng a headache.

He clapped his hands: "Excuse me."

Yinzhī immediately shut up, and so did everyone else.

Wait, why was the Crown Prince's presence so overwhelming?

"You people haven't offered a single useful suggestion."

Even now, Yinzhī remembered to shift responsibility away from Yinreng.

"Little Brother, teach them!"

He instructed a eunuch to place Yinreng on his lap, and the other two little princes immediately demanded to join as well.

Thus, on the enormous tiger-skin chair, Yinzhī sat in the middle. Little Crown Prince Yinreng sat on his lap, while Third and Fourth Prince occupied the side, one sitting and one lying down.

The chair really was big enough.

With one prince in his arms and two more at his sides, Yinzhī looked like a man surrounded by beauties.

If they weren't his younger brothers, it would have been a truly enviable scene.

In any case, Yinzhī looked immensely pleased with himself, and the guards nearly failed to suppress fatherly smiles.

"I'll start from the beginning," Yinreng said, sipping warm goat's milk to moisten his throat and gather some strength.

Then, slowly, he began explaining why he wanted to compile the myths.

But before that, he needed to guide the thinking of these young nobles, make them genuinely commit themselves to the project, and become people he could rely on.

If they couldn't understand its significance and they didn't sincerely want to do it, the results would be greatly diminished.

How could they persuade others to believe something they themselves didn't believe?

This matter was important.

Since Kangxi already realized that Yinzhī was acting under Yinreng's "instructions," there was little point in hiding too much.

He might as well involve all his brothers and share the credit equally later.

First, he had tea served to the guards. Only after they had calmed down from their earlier nonsense did he finally speak.

"Aside from Rongruo and Ziqing, all of you are known in the capital as playboys. Even this lone one has heard of it within the palace."

The guards' expressions immediately turned ugly.

Yinreng looked at Nalan Xingde.

"Rongruo may not technically be a playboy, but among the capital's nobility, his reputation is even worse. To many nobles, someone who spends his time reading books and writing poetry can hardly be considered a proper man."

Nalan Xingde smiled bitterly, and the other guards looked slightly relieved.

Yinreng glanced at Cao Yin. Since Cao Yin was a bondservant, it wasn't appropriate to lump him together with the aristocracy.

Cao Yin smiled and winked, signaling that Yinreng needn't worry about him.

After a moment's thought, Yinreng continued:

"As for Ziqing, there's even less to say. In the past, among the Han Chinese, apart from military commanders who already possessed their own armies, those most trusted by the Emperor entered the Upper Three Banners as bondservants.

Others entered the Han-martial Banner or the Lower Five Banners. Some bannermen from the Upper Three Banners, after being entrusted with important responsibilities, also entered the bondservant system to serve the Emperor directly.

And yet nowadays people talk as if bondservants of the Upper Three Banners are servants of all bannermen.

Are they worthy of that?"

His gaze swept across the guards, and their faces instantly burned with embarrassment.

For some reason, it felt as if his question wasn't "Are they worthy?"

It felt more like: Are you worthy?

After all, they had never treated Cao Yin particularly well.

Cao Yin's fists tightened on his knees as his smile faded.

Beside him, Nalan Xingde gently patted his fist and gave him a reassuring wink. Cao Yin returned a look that clearly said, Stop fooling around.

Yinreng nearly went blind from watching the two exchange glances.

No wonder his father was always complaining that Cao Yin and Nalan Xingde constantly exchanged meaningful looks whenever they were on duty together.

Yinreng had once insisted that Kangxi was misusing the expression. But if this wasn't exchanging meaningful looks, what was?

The friendship between ancient scholars was astonishingly clingy.

Yinreng remembered the poems Cao Yin would later write about Nalan Xingde.

Ten years after Nalan Xingde's death, Cao Yin wrote a poem mourning him. It began, "The Lengqie Mountain Recluse has a lovely face," and continued, "Every household competes to sing the Drinking Water Lyrics; who has ever known Nalan's heart?" If they weren't friends...

Never mind. The Manjianghong poem Nalan Xingde wrote for Cao Yin wasn't any better.

Because Nalan Xingde praised Cao Yin so excessively, some people claimed that he was flattering one of Kangxi's senior ministers. But they should have looked at Nalan Xingde's status.

This was simply two friends chatting, praising each other, and putting on a show. Nalan Xingde was just an ordinary young man, too.

The poems Nalan Xingde wrote for his other friends described them as lofty in ambition and another as brilliant in talent, all filled with the restrained subtlety of literati. But when Cao Yin asked him to write a poem praising Cao Yin and his ancestors, what did Nalan Xingde write? First he showered Cao Yin with wild praise, then said that the plaque bearing the Emperor's calligraphy was beautiful, that he envied him, and that he wanted one too.

Yinreng wondered whether, when Cao Yin saw that magnificently ornate and "flattering" poem that was rarely seen in a lifetime, he had taken down the plaque bearing the Emperor's calligraphy and smacked his unbearably mischievous friend with it.

Perhaps he really had.

Kangxi assigned Nalan Xingde to manage the horses and Cao Yin to manage the hunting dogs. The two mocked each other as "Horse Cao" and "Dog Supervisor," then challenged each other to a fight when the teasing went too far. Kangxi found it hilarious and later told Yinreng the story as a joke.

In Cao Yin's eyes, Nalan Xingde was truly nothing like the Nalan Xingde known to the public through the Drinking Water Lyrics.

As Yinreng briefly drifted off into thoughts about historical gossip, cold sweat broke out among the guards.

Strategic pauses were far more terrifying than endless chatter.

Kangxi often did the same. Stopping halfway through a statement and make the ministers stew in anxiety until they were drenched in sweat before finally continuing.

The Crown Prince was truly personally taught by the Emperor. Even their speaking rhythms were identical.

After finishing his momentary distraction, Yinreng resumed: "All of your confusion, and all of your inability to fit in with your elders, stems from a single reason."

Every guard immediately looked up, and their gazes shot toward him.

"The times have changed." Yinreng tapped the table with his finger.

His chubby fingers weren't wearing an archer's thumb ring, so they didn't make much sound.

Yinzhī immediately smacked the tabletop with a loud slap, providing the sound effect for him.

Yinreng suppressed the twitch at the corner of his mouth and continued.

"All these conflicts exist because the times have changed. Your elders and this lone one's elders grew up herding and hunting among remote mountains and rivers. Their hearts remain in those harsh lands. Even after entering and ruling the Central Plains, they never adjusted their mindset. They still think of themselves as free nomads, and they view everything in the Central Plains as if it belongs to outsiders, or even enemies.

But you are different. Since the day you can remember things, you have been people of the Central Plains. You grew up on this prosperous land. In your hearts, the vast territory of the Great Qing is your homeland, not some small patch of mountains and rivers. The flourishing culture of the Central Plains is the cultural foundation you were raised with, not the Later Jin, which didn't even possess its own writing system before entering the Pass.

The times have changed. You are not barbarians beyond the Pass, nor hired soldiers. You are the nobles of the Great Qing. You are aristocrats and the future of great families and powerful houses.

Your vision reaches farther than that of your elders, because your learning surpasses theirs. Compared to your ambitions, theirs are like sparrows being compared to swans."

Yinreng looked exhausted, pausing frequently between sentences, yet the guards became increasingly excited.

Their eyes grew brighter and brighter, as if they were suddenly enlightened.

"A person's way of thinking is forged by experience. They grew up in a narrow world and could only develop narrow minds. You were born into privilege and raised beneath a broader sky. What you have seen, thought, and imagined completely differs from theirs, and this conflict of thought cannot be reconciled.

So you drift. You become playboys and rebel against convention. Because no matter how hard you struggle, those old men whose eyes are clouded by the past will dismiss everything you say."

Yinreng took a deep breath.

"Stop eavesdropping at the door. This lone one is not Khan-Father. I will really punish you severely."

Orondai entered awkwardly and saluted.

"Your Highness wrongs me. I came under His Majesty's orders to deliver a verbal decree."

That's right. The troublemaker Orondai had once again been reinstated.

Kangxi truly loved his maternal relatives.

"Speak," Yinreng said bluntly. "Other than 'Have you eaten? Have you had anything to drink? Don't overwork yourself,' what else is there?"

Orondai answered honestly: "Nothing else. Your Highness, may I sit and listen too?"

Yinreng pressed a hand to his forehead.

"If you want to listen, then listen."

Orondai immediately kicked off his boots, rinsed his feet in the hot water brought by a eunuch, squeezed a guard aside, and plopped down next to Nalan Xingde.

Nalan Xingde: "..." He instantly felt uncomfortable all over.

Orondai rubbed his hands eagerly: "Please continue, Your Highness! I think what you're saying is excellent! Those old fossils are useless!"

The guards: "..."

The capital's most infamous father-tormenting playboy had joined the private chat, causing Yinreng's headache to worsen.

Forget it. If anyone gets a headache from this, it'll be Father. I'm only here to cause trouble, not clean it up.

Five-year-old Yinreng continued to stir up trouble.

What he was saying wasn't entirely fabrication. Much of it was true.

The Eight Banners system originally rose because the Later Jin had pitifully few people and desperately limited strategic resources.

There were so few of them that organizing everyone into Eight Banners was sufficient.

When Nurhaci first established the system, he never imagined that he would conquer the Central Plains, and he considered even less what should happen afterward.

That man, who despised Han Chinese and scholars alike, probably assumed that if he somehow conquered China, he would simply enlist everyone into the Eight Banners.

By the Shunzhi reign, the Great Qing had officially become master of Huaxia, yet the old Manchu nobles never adjusted their mindset.

They still regarded the Central Plains as stolen land belonging to someone else, and viewed the people living there as outsiders and enemies.

So they built walls around themselves, sought to preserve the Eight Banners system that should have been dissolved after entering the Pass, and cut themselves off from the broader world.

This task should originally have been completed by Shunzhi, but he died young, leaving the burden to Kangxi.

If Kangxi failed to finish the job, reforming the Great Qing later would become extraordinarily difficult.

Historically, Kangxi had indeed introduced changes despite his conservatism.

Yongzheng inherited his father's work. Though his foreign policy and military affairs were disastrous, his domestic reforms were quite effective.

Then came Qianlong, who began turning backward. He completely overturned the efforts made by Yongzheng, almost to the point of digging up Yongzheng's grave.

Qianlong had been a decent emperor in his early years. But later, the succession of revolutions abroad frightened him so badly that he wanted nothing more than to shut his eyes and dream of an eternal empire.

From Qianlong onward, the education of imperial princes no longer included knowledge of foreign countries.

Future generations could never understand it.

Restricting contact between commoners and foreigners because you feared foreign ideas and technologies entering the Great Qing, at least that made some sense.

But forbidding the princes themselves from learning such things?

What kind of logic was that?

Kangxi and Yongzheng were skeptical too, but their caution came from understanding the outside world. Both they and their princes were well informed about foreign nations, world maps, and international politics.

Kangxi even corresponded with several foreign monarchs, while Yongzheng collected information from abroad and showed it to Qianlong.

But when Qianlong read it, he got scared. So he waved a hand, shut his eyes, pretended it didn't exist, and locked away all the materials.

Two years into the Opium War, Qianlong's grandson Daoguang* was still foolishly asking where England was, but he had never even seen a world map.

If you're going to dream, the first step is putting yourself to sleep. Ridiculous!

Yinreng took a deep breath.

Change it! It must be changed!

We'll begin by dismantling the Eight Banners' privileged dragon-people system!

Every institution rotted from within. He would unite all the young people dissatisfied with their elders' endless nagging and drive a dagger into the backs of those old Manchu and Mongol aristocrats.

"You've probably already heard what they intend to do with the bannermen. Bannermen are going to live solely on fixed stipends and grain allowances, and they won't be permitted to farm, engage in crafts, trade, or commerce.

Sounds wonderful, doesn't it? Receiving money for nothing feels very aristocratic.

But calculate it. How many bannermen will there be after several generations? How many people can actually be supported by those stipends?

Han Chinese become landlords and wealthy merchants, dressed in gold and silver and eating their fill. Yet bannermen are expected to fence themselves in, forbidden from doing this and forbidden from doing that."

"Exactly! Why should we?!" Orondai slammed the table.

Startled, Yinreng glanced at him before continuing.

"Do you truly want your descendants to be forever confined to this small section of the capital? Officials may have money, but among the direct heirs, resources will only go to the most capable.

You're all playboys looked down upon by your families. Surely you've already experienced the unfairness of resources being concentrated elsewhere. Sometimes, even your own father helps cousins, or distant relatives, instead of helping you."

"Exactly! It's outrageous!" Orondai said indignantly.

Yinreng: "..."

Of everyone present, only Orondai had probably never experienced unfair treatment in his life.

After taking another breath, he continued at the same pace.

"This lone one understands them. They claim to despise others, but in truth they fear them. They should be integrated into this vast land that already belongs to all of us.

Yet they think that stepping outside means losing the tiny piece of territory they're still clinging to.

The bannermen are penned up inside the capital, as if we possess all under heaven. Yet all under heaven still belongs to the previous dynasty's people and has nothing to do with us."

Orondai slammed his fist on the table again, his beard bristling and eyes wide with fury: "Well said! A bunch of cowards!"

The guards all shot him strange looks.

Yinreng: "They say they don't want to become Han Chinese. But what are Han Chinese? Do they even understand? Orondai, since you're shouting the loudest, tell us, what were the original Han people?"

Orondai laughed and said, "This one can answer that. Han people were simply the people living under the Han dynasty founded by Liu Bang*."

Yinreng nodded.

"After the Han Dynasty came the chaos of the Three Kingdoms, Jin, and Northern and Southern Dynasties. The people longed for a unified realm and never truly identified with the short-lived regimes that followed, so they continued calling themselves Han.

From south to north, east to west, as long as you identified with the Han Dynasty, you were Han. The Han identity is a cultural concept, which is why it possesses such tremendous inclusiveness.

If you dislike the term 'Han,' then replace it. Reach farther back in history. That is why I want you to compile mythological texts.

The Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors. Yan and Huang. Huaxia. Were the Zhou foreigners to the Shang? Was Qin foreign to the other six states? But once they took root in this land, how could they still be considered foreign?

Even the Yuan Dynasty. Can its people truly be called foreigners? They had submitted to emperors of many dynasties before. They were subjects, not foreigners.

Tracing history backward, the land from which we rose was Han Dynasty Youzhou and Zhou Dynasty Yan territory. Since ancient times, it has been part of the legitimate Huaxia tradition. So we must continue searching, back into antiquity, back to the Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, and even earlier.

If the Great Qing's nobles refuse to bear the title of subjects of the Han dynasty, then we must establish a new cultural orthodoxy. Huaxia people, Yan and Huang people, our ancestors were originally the same"

Yinreng paused to catch his breath.

"Give those stubborn conservatives a way to save face while forcing them to shatter the cage they've placed over our heads. Everything enjoyed by the great aristocratic families of previous dynasties can be enjoyed by you as well. Everything they accomplished, you can accomplish too.

What Khan-Father wants is for the Great Qing to become a new glorious dynasty in the history of the Huaxia people, a dynasty even more brilliant than those that came before. And you should become the celebrated heroes and statesmen of that glorious age, not men cowering behind the high walls of the capital in the name of some so-called Manchu orthodoxy.

Besides, the so-called Manchu nation is less than fifty years old, which was defined by Emperor Taizong. It has very little to do with ancient traditions or ancestors."

Yinreng took a sip of goat's milk and licked away the foam on his lips.

"Our history is far longer than that."

This time even Orondai didn't dare cheer.

Every guard present wore expressions of shock and uncertainty.

Yinzhī hugged Yinreng and rubbed against him, then secretly stole a sip from Yinreng's cup.

"Ahem. Understand now?" Yinreng summarized after Yinzhī nudged his chin.

"This matter is extremely important to the Great Qing. Whether the Great Qing truly becomes master of this land, or remains huddled in the capital watching the descendants of previous dynasties govern themselves, depends on you.

Don't think that simply appointing officials is enough to rule people. Think about it. If you send someone to an unfamiliar place where they know no one and understand nothing, do you really think they'll be able to govern it? Don't be ridiculous."

Yinzhī swept his gaze over the room.

"We'll end here today. My little brother is tired. Think it over yourselves. If you want to participate in something that will leave your names in history, come back tomorrow. If you don't come, then just keep your mouths shut.

I remember every one of your names. If word of today's meeting leaks from anyone's family first, then that person is his father's and mother's precious little darling, a good child who hasn't even been weaned yet.

I'm praising you, not insulting you."

The guards: "..."

First Prince, you're ruthless!

Orondai scratched his head: "Perhaps I shouldn't have barged in halfway through?"

He was starting to regret it.

Yinzhī rolled his eyes: "You're already here."

Orondai laughed heartily, "Exactly! I'm already here! I'll go report back now."

Yinreng was speechless. The man supposedly came to deliver an imperial message and kept the Emperor waiting this entire time... The fact that Kangxi hadn't executed him already was proof of true affection.

Kangxi felt the same way.

After reinstating Orondai, he'd merely sent him to deliver a verbal order, so where did the man go?

Busy with state affairs, Kangxi resisted the urge to send someone after him and waited for him to return.

He waited and waited. By the time Kangxi finished all his own work, Orondai finally strolled back in, looking rather carefree.

Kangxi immediately grabbed a whip and lashed him.

"I told you to deliver a message! Why did it take so long? Were you off fooling around again? I personally guaranteed to Tong Guogang that you could at least handle proper work, and this is how you repay me?!"

If Yinreng was present, he would have sighed. He had learned to use a whip in his first life entirely from Kangxi.

Orondai ran around while protecting his head and shouting: "His Highness spoke so well that I got completely absorbed!"

Kangxi tossed aside the whip: "What was the Crown Prince talking about?"

Orondai replied, "Can't say. If it gets out, I'll become my father's precious little darling and a good child who hasn't been weaned yet. I'd rather just die."

Kangxi: "..."

Those words definitely didn't come from Baocheng... Those absolutely came from Baoqing!

Kangxi took a deep breath and ordered Orondai to get lost.

Orondai immediately fled. Kangxi watched the scoundrel-like figure disappear and pressed a hand to his chest.

If not for feeling sorry for Tong Guogang, would he really put up with this?

"Go see what Baocheng and Baoqing are doing." Kangxi slammed his hand on the table.

Anything that was capable of keeping that rascal Orondai sitting quietly for so long gave him a very bad feeling.

..

Kangxi found the children.

Kangxi listened to the reports.

Kangxi pondered.

Kangxi... Kangxi genuinely didn't know what to say.

Was what they were doing wrong? Not really. In fact, if it succeeded, it would greatly assist his future reforms.

But when did Yinreng become so persuasive?

Kangxi remembered the late Shunzhi Emperor, who had apparently spent years lecturing his son in dreams. Perhaps even Yinreng's early eloquence was Shunzhi's doing.

Kangxi suddenly understood.

Without realizing it, his imperial father had already stolen away his precious son's early education. Now the boy had practically become Shunzhi's reflection.

(Yinreng: That's really not the case...)

"Khan-Father, if this succeeds, all my brothers will share the credit!"

Yinreng's eyes sparkled, and his tiny hands clasped together like a kitten making a formal salute.

"Third Brother and Fourth Brother's names should also appear in the Compilation of Ancient and Modern Myths "

Kangxi opened his mouth, then closed it. In the end, he simply picked Yinreng up and patted him.

"Very well."

He had spent so much time urging Yinreng not to trust his brothers too much. Now Yinreng was finally willing to work hard himself, but he still insisted on sharing credit with everyone else.

The First Prince was one thing. But even the uneducated Third Prince and the Fourth Prince, who could barely speak or walk, were also receiving credit.

Well... So be it. What else could he do?

The officials recording the meeting had already listed the attendees, and the Third and Fourth Princes were both on the roster. They were even recorded as occupying seats of honor.

Kangxi found himself wondering: When future generations studied these historical records, what image would they imagine?

They would never guess what "occupying seats of honor" actually meant.

It meant Yinzhī sitting on a tiger-skin chair with three sleepy younger brothers huddled around him, while Yinreng carried the entire discussion by himself.

Kangxi strongly suspected that Fourth Prince Yinzhen's habit of constantly babbling "ah, ah, ah" from infancy was entirely Yinreng's fault.

He rubbed Yinreng's head again. Yinreng yawned, settled comfortably into Kangxi's arms, and let himself be kneaded like dough.

Just before falling asleep, he asked, "Father, Nalan Xingde and Cao Yin are actually exchanging meaningful glances!"

Kangxi burst out laughing, "You noticed?"

Yinreng grinned, "Rongruo was even secretly touching Ziqing's hand under the table."

Kangxi laughed so hard that he nearly doubled over: "They were making little moves like that too?"

Yinreng nodded: "Father, they have such a good relationship. I'd like to have friends like that too."

After thinking for a moment, Kangxi said, "Then I shall assign you a few reading companions*."

Yinreng shook his head.

"Those aren't friends. My friends should be princes from other countries, at the very least. If our status isn't equal, we can't become true friends."

Cao Yin had introduced many friends to Nalan Xingde, and some even became his sworn brothers. But whenever they exchanged poems or letters, there was always a certain formality to them.

Those people depended, to one degree or another, on Nalan Xingde's influence and status, so their friendships inevitably contained impure elements.

But Cao Yin and Nalan Xingde were different, because they didn't need poetry or paintings to maintain their friendship. They could even spend an entire day happily chatting nonsense, boasting wildly, mocking each other, and laughing together.

Kangxi said, "Very well. I have also been considering corresponding with the rulers of other countries. You can participate as well."

Yinreng rubbed affectionately against Kangxi's arm.

He knew Kangxi had entertained such ideas before. In his first life, those things had happened much later, but this time around, they could begin sooner.

..

Yinreng and his brothers merely started the process, and all the troublesome work that followed still fell upon Kangxi's shoulders.

He allowed Yinzhī to proceed largely because he wanted to see how far the boy could go. In the end, Kangxi reached a conclusion that Yinzhī was probably only capable of driving people mad.

But as Yinreng's deputy, he was extremely useful. One could play the strict enforcer while the other played the reasonable mediator.

Still, my Baocheng was the impressive one! As expected of my Crown Prince!

Even if Shunzhi contributed to his education, the credit still belonged to me!

Kangxi personally attended the third meeting.

Not a single guard was absent, and when they saw the Emperor appear, they were utterly stunned.

At that moment, they were profoundly grateful that they hadn't backed out. Following the Crown Prince really was the right path! What did their elders know, anyway?

Yinreng smiled and said, "Youdon't need to be so surprised. This lone one's Khan-Father is also a young man, just like you."

Kangxi merely smiled without speaking and lightly pinched Yinreng's backside.

The guards immediately felt enlightened.

So that was it! That entire speech the Crown Prince had given about the younger generation and the older generation must have been delivered under the young Emperor's instructions!

Of course! The Crown Prince was only five years old, so what could he possibly know?

If he really understood all those things himself... Wouldn't that make the rest of us look like complete idiots?