CH 33

Portrait of the Kangxi Emperor in Informal Dress Holding a Brush.

“Your Majesty, the servants in the teaching field have come to report that the seventh brother has fainted,” Li Dequan glanced at the scroll on the table on the emperor’s table from the corner of his eye and saw the majestic momentum of the emperor’s penmanship1.

Kangxi stopped the movements of his hand, and a faint frown appeared between his eyebrows, “He actually fainted? That boy Yinyou can eat and drink, how could he faint, he can’t even eat this bit of pain2?”

“This servant doesn’t know, the report only said that it was because the eldest elder brother taught the seventh brother horsemanship, and the seventh brother, after all, is a little young, he couldn’t stand it, and thus fainted. It so happened that the Crown Prince and the fourth brother were also here, so they called the imperial physician”

After hearing this, Kangxi’s frown became obvious, and he put down the paintbrush, “Zhen will go and see, the Boss is many years older than little seventh3, how could he be so reckless when doing things.” 

Li Dequan bowed, lowered his head, and silently served the emperor to change his clothes.

When Kangxi arrived, several brothers were there. Seeing Kangxi, they all had respectful faces. As for what they were truly thinking, only they knew.

“Imperial physician, how is the seventh brother?” Seeing the doctor coming out of the inner room, Kangxi asked directly without bothering about his greetings.

“Back to the emperor, the seventh brother is still young, falling off the horse caused him inner injuries, and he may need to recuperate for a month or two,” the imperial doctor carefully modulated his tone when replying, “Apart from that, there is no serious problem.”

“His wounds need two months to heal, you say, isn’t this a serious issue?!” Kangxi’s complexion sank, and he turned his eyes to the fifth brother and the eighth brother, “You two were present, what happened?” 

Because he was an elder brother, the fifth brother was the only one who could answer this question, so he said, “Huang Ama, when the seventh brother came to the teaching ground, erchen was practicing bow and arrow with the eighth brother. Later, erchen heard some noises on the seventh brother’s side. Only then did erchen realize that the seventh brother had fallen off the horse. At that time, the Crown Prince and eldest brother were already there. As an elder brother, erchen did not take good care of the seventh brother, erchen is guilty.” After speaking, he knelt down straight.

Kangxi waved his hand, “Forget it, little seventh is also in his teens4, how can you take care of him all the time, get up.” After speaking, he looked at the Crown Prince, “Yinfeng, what’s the situation?”

When the fifth elder brother stood up, his heart was like a mirror5: since Huang Ama asked the Crown Prince at this moment, it meant that he was standing on the Crown Prince’s side. This time, the eldest brother would definitely suffer a loss.

Sure enough, under the Crown Prince’s narration, Kangxi’s face became even darker, “Yinzi, is what the Crown Prince said true?”

“Huang Ama, erchen…” Yinzi had already understood. At this time, no matter whether Huang Ama valued the seventh brother or not, he would be punished. Thinking of this, he prostrated with a gloomy expression, “Erchen knows his crime.” It was useless to try to defend himself at this moment.

“Come here, pass on my will. The eldest brother failed in his words and deeds. Now zhen is suspending his affairs at the Ministry of War, instead, he will be taught etiquette and righteousness.” Kangxi stood up and said, “All of you, step back.” 

After all the princes had stepped down, Kangxi entered the inner room alone, and this time, his complexion really sank. He didn’t expect Yinzi to be so reckless. 

He had thought that since Consort Hui was a woman who knew how to advance and retreat, her child would be the same, yet it turned out that she gave birth to such an impulsive kid. Kangxi had sent Yinyou to the Ministry of Revenue thinking that this would be enough to let the eldest brother restrain himself in court, who knew, Yinzi actually went to trouble little seventh?

Walking to the side of the bed, the child on the bed had already fallen into a deep sleep after drinking medicine. When Kangxi got close, he noticed the bruises on his forehead, and couldn’t help but reach out and lift the corner of the quilt, stroking Yinyou’s sleeve. Noticing that the child had several obvious bruises, his heart was burning from anger; the doctor said before that the wound was inside, how could it look like this, did the Boss6 take the little seventh for an enemy on the battlefield?

“Li Dequan,” Kangxi pressed the quilt for Yinyou, his voice as stagnant as a pool of water.

“The servant is here,” Li Dequan, who was outside the curtain, entered the room and stood still five steps away from the bed.

“The seventh brother Yinyou is sensitive and eager to learn, behaves well, and speaks kindly, he respects both old and younger brothers; zhen bestows him two pairs of Jade Ruyi, ten bolts of palace satin, and ten sets of pens and inks. The Crown Prince and the fourth brother will receive the same.” Kangxi’s voice paused for a moment, and then continued, “The seventh brother’s mother, Dai Jia shi, is respectful and rigorous, cautious in words and deeds, she is virtuous and taught her child well; she will be promoted to Consort, and moved to Xianfu Palace7. Tong Jia shi is gentle and virtuous, she will be raised as Noble Consort Jin8. Wang shi is virtuous, her son, the fifteenth brother, will be given the name of Yinxu and she will be promoted to Imperial Noble Consort9.” ① Then, Kangxi proceeded to promote an older concubine to a Noble.

After hearing these decrees, Li Dequan was secretly startled, but he didn’t dare to show half of it on his face, he just listened quietly. The emperor’s decree was obviously to uplift Dai Jia shi and Wang shi. He glanced at the sleeping seventh brother on the bed. Everyone in the harem thought that the emperor didn’t pay much attention to the seventh brother, but he faintly felt that in the emperor’s heart, this seventh brother might hold some weight, otherwise how could today’s decree come down?

“Send my decree to the Empress Dowager, and if the Empress Dowager has no objection, then you will pass on my will and prepare for the conferment ceremony in the spring of next year.” Kangxi stretched out his hand and pressed Yinyou’s quilt, “Send someone to take good care of the seventh brother, if something happens to the seventh brother, all the slaves here will be demoted to xinzheku slaves.10”

The Empress Dowager lived in the deep palace and never had any objection to Kangxi’s decisions. Although Kangxi’s decree had indeed surprised her, it was not too much. She asked some questions, and after a while, she agreed to this decree and continued praying in the Buddhist hall without mentioning the matter anymore.

On the contrary, when Yinyou woke up and heard this, his eyeballs almost fell out from shock. He remembered that at this time in history, Kangxi did not promote anyone in the harem. Zhang Jia shi, who was not even an Imperial Concubine at this time, was now a Noble Consort. This was enough to surprise him, but he didn’t expect that even his own e’niang would also be promoted at this time.

He was a very honest butterfly11 who hardly dared to flap his wings, so where did all these changes come from?!

When Fu Duo, who was serving at the side, saw that his Master’s complexion was contorting, he thought he must be in pain, so he said, “Master, you lie down and don’t move, the imperial physician is waiting outside, this slave will call him to prescribe medicine for you.” 

Yinyou was too stunned to stop him. Lying on the bed in a daze, he pondered on this matter. The two Noble Consorts and the five Consorts ② seemed to be very different from the ones shown in historical dramas shown on TV. This arrangement was also different from what previous life his ex-girlfriend12 had said to him. Did he remember wrong, or did history take a small turn?

Because Yinzhen was drinking tea and playing chess with the Crown Prince in the Yuqing Palace, they both found out about this decree at the same time. After hearing the eunuch speak, the chess piece in Yinzhen’s hand was placed in the wrong place.

Seeing this, the Crown Prince smiled and bestowed a reward on the little eunuch. After he waved away the servants around, he slowly sipped his tea, “Seventh brother’s matter is a blessing in disguise.” 

At this time, Yinyou could be regarded as being half on his side. The fact that Concubine Cheng had risen also meant that Yinyou’s status was different from the past, this made Yinyou’s help ten percent more valuable to him.

Yinzhen looked at the black and white pieces on the chessboard, “It’s just that the suffering of the seventh brother makes people feel distressed.” He secretly squeezed the piece in his hand.

The Crown Prince didn’t know how true Yinzhen’s words were, so he simply smiled, “Bitterness first and sweetness later, this injustice is worth it.” 

Yinzhen still felt a little uneasy. Things in the harem, who can say for sure whether Concubine Cheng’s promotion to Consort would be a good thing, it may also be a troublesome thing. He knew the seventh brother’s temperament. Yinyou would not want to get involved in this muddy water. Now that the Crown Prince had set his eyes on the seventh brother, afraid that the peaceful days of the seventh brother would come to an end.

“The Crown Prince doesn’t know something, the seventh brother, alas…” Yinzhen showed a wry smile on his face, but seemingly realizing that his words were wrong, he shook his head and kept quiet. 

“Why?” The Crown Prince dropped a white stone, and stared at Yinzhen, “My own brother, what can’t you say?”

“I simply worry about his simple temperament, I really don’t know what will happen if he makes a mistake in the future.” After speaking, Yinzhen dropped his own black stone next to the white stone. His maneuver followed very closely the Crown Prince’s but still left room for his opponent.

“The seventh brother’s temperament is indeed simple,” the Crown Prince pressed down on a white puck and his brows slightly frowned. It seemed that this seventh brother was really useless. Well, just letting him stay in his party was also alright, it was far better than putting him with the boss’ faction.

The matter ended like this. Yinzhen looked at the Crown Prince’s slightly frowning brows and slowly relaxed.

It’s just that after this incident, the eldest prince’s influence gradually died down, and the balance in the court slowly tilted toward the Crown Prince.

In the spring of the 33rd year of Kangxi, the harem changed, but the Masters of the palaces still maintained calm, and no one wanted to look for trouble. After that, the fifth brother got married and went to the Ministry of Rites to do errands. The seventh brother and the eighth elder brother were now on the waiting list to get married.

After Dai Jia shi was promoted to Consort, the emperor did not favor her much, but her position in the big and small banquets changed. Fortunately, Consort Cheng was as tranquil as before and kept to her own. The other concubines were also polite to her.

Time passed, and soon it was the 34th year of Kangxi13. Yinyou’s body gradually grew. He was tall and healthy, handsome, and well-behaved. Even that small limp seemed insignificant. He was a dazzling young man, provided that he didn’t speak.

Everyone in the harem knew that the seventh brother was gentle, courteous, and friendly. He had followed the fourth brother to work in the Ministry of Revenue from early on. He had many advantages. It’s just that this person was a bit too frank, and even in front of the emperor, he had something to say. How to put it, speaking nicely, well, he was an honest person; saying it badly, this seventh brother had few twists in his mind.

Although an unscheming elder brother was not destined for the throne, he was still favored by those Mongolian nobles who were sending his daughters to the draft. After all, this elder brother had a high status and it would be a good thing for their daughters to marry him.

So in the 34th general draft of Kangxi, the seventh brother, eighth brother, and ninth brother ③ who still didn’t have a Fu Jin became the fragrant buns watched by the empresses of the palaces for their relatives14.

Of course, a leisurely person who practiced calligraphy and painting in his own courtyard was unaware of it, but another person was worried instead.

Watch at a higher definition in Imgur here.

The author has something to say: I posted! I actually posted it! I thought I couldn’t get in tonight!!!15

① The novel’s events are different from those that happened in history. In fact, Dai Jia shi and Wang shi were promoted to Consort and Noble in the 57th year of Kangxi, while Tong Jia shi who was the younger sister of Tong Jia shi, the fourth brother’s adoptive mother, was promoted to Imperial Consort in the 39th year of Kangxi. At that time, the eighth brother’s biological mother Liang shi was also promoted. As for the thirteenth brother’s biological mother, Zhang Jia shi, historically, she was made a Consort after her death and was conferred the title of Imperial Noble Consort after Yongzheng succeeded to the throne. 

In addition, if the readers feel like the content of the imperial decree was superficial: as long as the meaning comes to mind, it’s okay. As for looking for fancy words, I am just useless.

② The rules of the Qing Dynasty were one Empress, one Imperial Noble Consort, two Noble Consorts, and four Consorts, but at this time there were no Empress or Imperial Noble Consort, and there were vacancies for the number of Consorts and above. For example, in the 57th year of Kangxi, there were seven living Concubines, but there was no Empress, Imperial Noble Consort, or Noble Consort, so I guessed it would be possible to have five Consorts here.

③ At this time, the 9th brother was a little bit older than 13 years old, and he could already be given a marriage in the Qing Dynasty. For example, in history, Yinzhen was only 13 years old when he married Ula Nara shi16. In order to let little seventh grow up and develop feelings with little fourth, I postponed it for two years.

Cough, cough, the general situation is like this. 

Everyone who loves Qing history, please ignore me and fan your wings ~(@^_^@)~