Yinsi had been in a bad mood and feeling depressed earlier, which was why he had insisted on being carried by Yunxiu. Not long after leaving Cining Palace, he started fussing to be put down again.
He was almost three years old now—what if he tired out his E'niang?
Yunxiu set him down and straightened the round, fluffy bear-fur hat on Yinsi's head.
Then she said with a smile, "Alright, the small kitchen has prepared your favorite sweet osmanthus glutinous rice balls. Let's head back for lunch first, shall we?"
Yinsi nodded sullenly, tightly holding Yunxiu's hand, and deliberately walked through the snowy ground, stepping heavily into the snow and ice as they made their way back to the palace. Yunxiu indulged him—his boots were made of deerskin and wouldn't let water in, so they could just change into another pair later.
Inside Changchun Palace, Yunxiu's two remaining personal maids, Doukou and Tiandong, were leading the palace servants in hanging lanterns and colorful tassels in the courtyard. The two now-bare apricot trees in the yard were adorned with festive paper cuttings and red lanterns. A few days earlier, Yunxiu had led them in making some small decorations shaped like glutinous rice balls during her free time, and now these round, white ornaments hung under the eaves and on the tree branches. At a glance, the scene was filled with the joyful atmosphere of the Lantern Festival.
"Your Highness and the Eighth Prince are back!"
As soon as Doukou saw Yunxiu and Yinsi returning, she hurried over to greet them. Unaware of what had happened in Cining Palace, she assumed Yunxiu had just picked Yinsi up from the Imperial Study.
"The small kitchen has already prepared lunch. Your Highness and the Eighth Prince should come inside to warm up first. This servant will arrange for the meal to be served right away," Tiandong also stepped forward, curtsied, and said with a smile.
Yunxiu nodded and led Yinsi into the hall by the hand. Inside, the underfloor heating system kept the hall as warm as early spring. Although Yunxiu lacked favor, her high rank, being the Empress Dowager's niece and the Grand Empress Dowager's grandniece, ensured that no one in the palace dared to slight her. The items sent to Changchun Palace by the Imperial Household Department were no less than those delivered to the favored consorts.
Yunxiu removed her cloak, then bent down to take off Yinsi's cloak and hat. She then nudged him toward the charcoal brazier to warm up and instructed Banxia to fetch a new pair of shoes and socks for Yinsi.
Back in Changchun Palace, Yinsi's expression improved significantly. After warming his little hands by the fire for a while, he climbed onto the couch by the window on his own and obediently removed his shoes and socks. Banxia helped him put on warm, soft cotton socks and said with a smile, "The Eighth Prince is growing so fast these days. This servant thinks we'll need to make a new batch of shoes and clothes soon."
Yunxiu was sipping hot tea to warm herself. Hearing this, she raised an eyebrow and said, "Yinsi spends his days like a little pig, eating and sleeping all the time. No wonder he's growing taller—otherwise, all that food would just go to waste."
"E'niang!"
Yinsi's little face flushed red from her teasing, and he pouted, looking aggrieved.
"Finally willing to talk to your E'niang?" Yunxiu walked over with a smile, pinching his cheek. "Alright, I don't know who you're trying to compete with."
Yinsi had been angry ever since leaving Cining Palace and hadn't said a word. Now that he was back in his own territory, he began pouring out his complaints to Yunxiu like beans from a sack.
"Imperial Father favors Sixth Brother! Fourth Brother was bullied so badly—E'niang, you saw how smug Sixth Brother looked!"
"Fifth Brother and I are going to be laughed at by him!"
Yinsi and Yinqi, these two brothers, had originally thought that with the Empress Dowager and Grandmother making the decision, they could surely secure justice for Fourth Brother. Who could have imagined that Imperial Father would still shield Consort De and Sixth Brother?
Moreover, although Kangxi appeared to favor Sixth Prince over Yinzhen on the surface, in reality, Yinzhen, Yinsi, and Fifth Prince combined were still unable to make Sixth Prince face punishment. How could Yinsi not be furious?
Yinsi grumbled and complained, finally muttering in a huff, "Even after Grandmother spoke up, Imperial Father still protected Sixth Brother. E'niang, why does Imperial Father like Sixth Brother so much? Is it just because Imperial Father favors Consort De?"
Everyone in the palace knew that Kangxi favored the Crown Prince the most. The Crown Prince was the Heir Apparent, born of the empress, and raised personally by Kangxi. The other imperial princes couldn’t say much about it. However, after Sixth Prince was born, he clearly became the most favored prince after the Crown Prince, leaving the others a step behind. This was somewhat difficult for the remaining imperial princes to accept.
Yunxiu patted Yinsi’s head, thought for a moment, and said softly, "Yinsi, you’re still too young. The reasoning behind this is something you don’t understand yet. Although Grandmother is Imperial Father’s grandmother, and your Imperial Father is very filial, he is still the emperor, the greatest under heaven. Naturally, his word is final. Can you understand that?"
These words were indeed a bit too difficult for Yinsi, who was not yet three years old. He blinked, nodding as if he understood but not quite.
Yunxiu sighed helplessly in her heart. She still remembered when she first entered the palace. At that time, Kangxi was not yet twenty years old. Although he had already taken over governance, he was inevitably inexperienced, and many major state affairs still required consultation with the Grand Empress Dowager. But now, the situation was completely different.
Even though the Grand Empress Dowager had long ceased to concern herself with state affairs, focusing only on enjoying the company of her grandchildren, Kangxi, now firmly in power, inevitably shared the common trait of all emperors—suspicion.
He was naturally filial to the grandmother who had raised him, but there was also a degree of wariness, coupled with the emperor’s authoritative decisiveness. He would no longer listen to the Grand Empress Dowager in all matters. The Grand Empress Dowager, for her part, did not take this to heart and would not truly challenge Kangxi. Just like today’s incident, it was merely an inconsequential trivial matter.
However, Yinsi clearly couldn’t understand any of this now. He only saw that his Imperial Father favored Sixth Brother and didn’t care about Fourth Brother, Fifth Brother, or himself at all, which made him angry.
They were all young children, naturally craving their parents’ affection. Speaking of which, Yinsi had received little attention from Kangxi since childhood. One reason was that Yunxiu was not favored, so Kangxi rarely visited Changchun Palace. The other reason was that Yinsi was the only imperial prince born to a Mongolian consort and had been raised by the Grand Empress Dowager since childhood. In terms of lineage, he was even more distinguished than the Crown Prince. To ensure the Crown Prince’s stable position, Kangxi would never show Yinsi too much favor.
Thinking of this, Yunxiu felt a pang of heartache for Yinsi. In history, Yinsi endured cold treatment due to his birth mother, Consort Liang, being from the Xin-zhe Storehouse, and was angrily denounced by Kangxi as the son of a lowly woman from the Xin-zhe Storehouse, unfit to inherit the throne. Now, Yinsi had become the imperial prince with the most distinguished status in the palace, yet he still couldn’t earn his Ama’s affection. Truly, fate played cruel tricks.
Fortunately, Yinsi was not lacking in affection. E'niang loved him dearly, and the Empress Dowager and Grandmother doted on him even more, so after complaining for a while, Yinsi quickly put Kangxi out of his mind.
Hmph! He didn’t care about Imperial Father’s favoritism—plenty of people adored him!
However, Yinsi couldn’t help but worry about Yinzhen.
He tugged at Yunxiu’s sleeve and whispered, “E'niang, after Consort De returns to her palace, she will surely scold Fourth Brother. Fourth Brother is so pitiful. Is there any way we can help him?”
Yunxiu truly felt powerless in this matter.
After all, Consort De was Yinzhen’s birth mother. Even though he had grown up under the care of the Imperial Noble Consort, his birth mother’s name on the imperial genealogy had not been changed. It was perfectly reasonable for Yinzhen to live in Yonghe Palace under Consort De’s care, and no one could find fault with it. Moreover, Kangxi was currently favoring Consort De.
Meanwhile, the Imperial Noble Consort was bedridden with illness and seemed to have little energy to intervene in this matter.
Yinsi blinked his eyes, looking at Yunxiu with a pleading expression.
Although he didn’t particularly like Fourth Brother, who was usually temperamental and cold-hearted, this time Fourth Brother was truly pitiful. Besides, it was partly because of him and Fifth Brother that the matter had escalated, so Yinsi couldn’t help feeling a bit guilty.
Yunxiu thought it over. Today’s incident had reached Cining Palace, even alarming Kangxi, and nearly caused Sixth Prince to stumble. Consort De was unlikely to treat Yinzhen kindly. And such a young child was still injured…
Moreover, when it came down to it, her own son’s good intentions had led to trouble. Whether it was to clean up Yinsi’s mess or out of pity for Yinzhen, Yunxiu nodded in agreement.
“Today is the Lantern Festival, and there will be a Grand Palace Night Banquet tonight. Consort De won’t make things too difficult for Fourth Prince. Tomorrow, E'niang will personally go to Yonghe Palace to check on him, alright?” Yunxiu said gently.
Only then did Yinsi cheer up, hugging Yunxiu’s neck and cooing that E'niang was the best.
Doukou and Tiandong lifted the curtain and entered, announcing that lunch was ready in the outer room. They had specially prepared Yinsi’s favorite sweet osmanthus glutinous rice balls. Upon hearing this, Yinsi beamed with joy and tried to jump off the couch to eat them.
Yunxiu held him back. “Wait a moment. Change your clothes first—look how dirty you are.”
The stains on Yinsi’s sleeves were from when he and Yinzhen fell to the ground while trying to break up the fight. Fortunately, Yinzhen had cushioned his fall, so he was unharmed, only his clothes were soiled. Yinsi hadn’t dared to mention this to Yunxiu, fearing she would worry.
Now that Yunxiu brought it up, Yinsi remained silent, obediently letting her change his clothes.
Meanwhile, the atmosphere in Yonghe Palace was far from gentle.
After Consort De returned to the palace with Yinzhen and Sixth Prince, Imperial Physician Jiang, whom Sumalagu had summoned earlier, had redirected his path to Yonghe Palace. Consort De settled Sixth Prince on the couch, tucking a hot water bottle beside him to keep him warm. When she felt his forehead and noticed a slight fever, she panicked and exclaimed, “Why is Yinzuo running a fever? Come and examine him quickly!”
Imperial Physician Jiang had initially thought he was there to treat Fourth Prince and had even prepared ointments for bruises and injuries. Hearing Consort De’s words, he was momentarily stunned before hurriedly stepping forward to examine Sixth Prince.
Yinzhen watched his E'niang's face full of worry, treating even the slightest discomfort of his sixth brother as a grave crisis, feeling a pang of bitterness in his heart. Standing alone and desolate in the hall, it was Ruyi, the chief palace maid by Consort De's side, who cleverly guided him to sit down at the side.
Consort De and the Sixth Prince were deeply favored by the Emperor. Today's incident had also reached Imperial Physician Jiang's ears, so when he heard the Sixth Prince was feeling unwell, he felt somewhat anxious. It was only after taking the Sixth Prince's pulse that Imperial Physician Jiang finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Your Highness, the Sixth Prince is fine and does not have a fever. Your concern has clouded your judgment. If Your Highness is still uneasy, this subject will prescribe a few doses of calming herbal medicine. Once the Sixth Prince takes it and rests, he will be perfectly fine."
Only then did Consort De set her mind at ease, repeatedly saying, "Indeed, Yinzuo must have suffered quite a fright today. Make sure to prescribe a good calming formula."
Imperial Physician Jiang repeatedly agreed but did not forget that Sumalagu had asked him to come to examine the Fourth Prince's injuries. Thus, he tentatively said, "Then this humble subject will go to attend to the Fourth Prince."
Consort De was busy instructing the palace servants to add blankets and serve hot tea for Yinzuo, paying little attention to this side. Upon hearing Imperial Physician Jiang's words, she merely nodded.
Imperial Physician Jiang examined Yinzhen's wound and took his pulse before rising and respectfully replying, "Your Highness, the Fourth Prince's injury is superficial and not serious. It only requires daily application of medicine and bandaging. This humble subject will prescribe a few doses of medicine shortly. Once the Fourth Prince takes it, the wound will heal more quickly."
Consort De sat on the couch, with the Sixth Prince bundled up tightly beside her, his eyes darting around as he watched the Imperial Physician examine Yinzhen and apply medicine.
Regarding Yinzhen's injury, Consort De remained expressionless. She nodded slightly and asked no further questions.
Imperial Physician Jiang did not stay long either. After leaving the prescription, he took his leave. Upon exiting the main hall of Yonghe Palace, he saw Consort De's chief palace maid, Ruyi, following him out. She stopped him under the corridor, took a silver pouch from her sleeve, and pressed it into Imperial Physician Jiang's hand.
Ruyi: "Imperial Physician Jiang, you've worked hard coming all this way. This is a reward from Consort De."
Imperial Physician Jiang repeatedly declined: "I dare not, I dare not. This is merely my duty. I dare not accept Her Highness's reward."
"Please accept it, Imperial Physician Jiang." Ruyi smiled slightly, but her tone carried a hint of warning. "Our mistress says that not only is Imperial Physician Jiang highly skilled in medicine, but you are also tight-lipped and understand the principle of discretion. This little thing is nothing. There will be more rewards from Her Highness in the future."