Wen Shan was both startled and delighted to hear Yinsi’s childish voice. She rushed over, picked him up, and showered him with kisses.
“Sweetheart, did you just call me Mother? Say it again!”
Surrounded by Wen Shan’s enthusiasm, Yinsi turned his head and saw Fourth Brother watching him expressionlessly. He immediately turned back to cling to Wen Shan’s neck and sweetly called out again.
Wen Shan was overjoyed by his calling and praised him for being clever and adorable, making Yinsi’s little tail practically wag up to the sky.
“Oh, why is there so much water on your face?”
After her initial delight, Wen Shan finally noticed the traces of Yinzhen’s mischief.
Yinsi pointed at Yinzhen pitifully: “Ge… gege.”
He originally wanted to say Fourth Brother, but pronouncing two syllables was still difficult for him now, while repeating the same syllable was relatively easier.
Now it was Yinzhen’s turn to change expression, thrilled that Yinsi had called him brother.
“Little brother, say it again.” Yinzhen eagerly urged, gesturing for Wen Shan to put Yinsi down.
Yinsi looked at him as if he were crazy.
He pointed anxiously at the water on his face: “Gege!”
Then he pointed at Yinzhen.
This person splashed water on him!
Mother, please scold him!
“Mother, I was just playing with little brother.” Yinzhen didn’t shirk responsibility and honestly admitted.
Fuqi, still in the water bucket, also barked twice.
Wen Shan immediately understood that Yinzhen must have been giving Fuqi a bath.
“It’s alright.”
Wen Shan said with a smile, then took a handkerchief and carefully wiped the water from Yinsi’s face.
“Mother will take little brother to Yanxi Palace so Consort Wei can also hear him say ‘mother.’ Yinzhen, be good and finish bathing Fuqi, then go read your books, alright?”
Yinzhen nodded obediently.
Then Wen Shan carried Yinsi away excitedly.
Yinzhen watched Wen Shan and Yinsi depart, pursed his lips as if thinking of something, and continued bathing Fuqi.
Fuqi’s black bean-like eyes watched him, seeming to sense his low spirits and becoming quiet, even coming forward to comfortingly lick his hand.
Yinzhen rubbed its head. Bao Quan, who was helping nearby, noticed Yinzhen’s mood had suddenly changed from earlier excitement and cautiously asked: “Fourth Prince, what’s wrong? Do you want to go with them too?”
Yinzhen shook his head without saying anything, silently finished bathing Fuqi, then returned to his room to study.
Bao Quan and Fei Cui watched from the courtyard.
“What happened? Fourth Prince stopped smiling in just this short while.” Bao Quan wondered, feeling somewhat anxious.
Fei Cui was equally puzzled: “Just now Eighth Prince called him brother and Fourth Prince was so happy.”
“Never mind, never mind. Let’s go make some snacks in the small kitchen. Fourth Prince liked that Hazelnut Crisp yesterday. I’ll make some.” Bao Quan immediately got to work, heading straight into the small kitchen to prepare some treats to cheer up Yinzhen.
When Wen Shan returned carrying Yinsi, Yinzhen had already been in his room for over two hours. Bao Quan pulled her aside to whisper that Yinzhen had been in low spirits since she left, staying alone in his room the whole time, and that he had barely touched the plate of Hazelnut Crisp brought to him.
Yinsi clung sleepily to Wen Shan’s neck. His current body required a stable nap schedule, and it was nearly his usual naptime.
Earlier at Consort Wei’s place, Yinsi had been coaxing and acting cute to cheer up his two mothers, leaving him completely exhausted. So when Bao Quan came to speak with Wen Shan, he barely registered their conversation.
Wen Shan handed Yinsi over to Fei Cui to take him for his nap, then went to knock on Yinzhen’s door.
“Yinzhen, may Mother Xuan come in?”
Yinzhen had been staring at the same page of the Zuo Zhuan for over two hours without turning it. Startled by Wen Shan’s gentle voice, he scrambled to his feet and rushed to open the door for her.
“Why have you been reading for so long? Bao Quan said you didn’t even touch the hazelnut crisps he brought you.”
Sure enough, the plate of hazelnut crisps sat untouched and perfectly arranged on his desk.
“My tutor said he’ll test our understanding of the Zuo Zhuan tomorrow, so I didn’t dare slack off. I forgot about the snacks,” Yinzhen explained. Nothing seemed amiss—he was usually this diligent with his studies.
But Wen Shan’s intuition told her he was unhappy.
“What’s wrong? Mother Xuan senses you’re upset. Has someone been unkind to you?” she asked, pulling him closer.
Yinzhen shook his head. “No one has been unkind to me.”
Not wanting to press him, Wen Shan simply ruffled his hair and took his hand, leading him to the main hall for lunch.
Fuqi, having just been bathed and dried, was sunbathing outside to fluff up his fur. Clever enough to know he was still damp and shouldn’t get too close to people, he merely wagged his tail and barked twice in their direction.
Yinsi had woken from his short nap and was sitting on the daybed. Since he couldn’t sit upright for long yet, Wen Shan had specially sewn him a soft backrest with straps on both sides. Whenever Yinsi sat up, she would secure him with the straps to prevent him from toppling over.
“Mother!”
With that first cry, Yinsi felt his numb tongue and teeth finally obey him. Drawing on his past life’s experience, his speech was becoming increasingly fluent.
Yinsi could now eat some solid foods, and Wen Shan had been experimenting with various recipes for him. During lunch, she held him in her arms, making sure the little master was fed first.
Yinzhen ate quietly, occasionally glancing up. Amused, Wen Shan asked, “What are you looking at?”
Yinzhen pursed his lips and took a bite of mushroom. Though the savory juice burst in his mouth, he found it tasteless.
“May I… Mother… take Fifth Brother and Fuqi to the Imperial Garden this afternoon?” he murmured hesitantly.
After speaking, he quickly bowed his head and shoveled a large mouthful of rice into his mouth.
Wen Shan nearly dropped her spoon in shock. Yinsi shot him a sidelong glance and smirked coldly. Hmph, so now he’s calling her “Mother”?
Trying to compete for her affection?
After her initial astonishment, Wen Shan was overjoyed. Initially, like the other princes and princesses, Yinzhen had called her “Consort Xuan.” After she had cared for him for a while, he switched to “Mother Xuan.” Several months had passed since she formally took him into her care from Chengqian Palace, yet he had never called her simply “Mother.”
Truthfully, Wen Shan hadn’t minded much. After all, Yinzhen had been shuffled between Consort De, Noble Consort Tong Jia, and her palace—a taxing experience for a three- or four-year-old. She believed it didn’t matter what he called her; it was just a title. But hearing “Mother” from both Yinzhen and Yinsi today made her realize that this joy and emotion were beyond compare.
“Of course, Mother will make some snacks and chilled fruits for you to take along.” Wen Shan promptly accepted this form of address.
What a wonderful day this is, Wen Shan thought cheerfully, deciding she must circle today’s date on the calendar later.
Today definitely brings her good fortune!
After feeding Yinsi, Wen Shan barely ate a few bites herself before eagerly rushing off to prepare food for him. Yinsi sat on the couch for a while feeling warm, then slowly crawled a couple steps over to the cool mat Wen Shan had laid out, which was closer to the ice blocks.
Yinzhen jumped down from his chair to play with Yinsi, coaxing him to call him “brother” a few more times. Yinsi maintained an aloof demeanor, ignoring him as he leaned against a small pillow pretending to nap.
Yinzhen had long felt his eighth brother was exceptionally clever, completely different from other children. Not only did he never cry or fuss, but even before he could roll over, he seemed to understand their words like a little adult.
For instance, right now he sensed Eighth Brother was displeased because he had called Wen Shan “Mother.”
“Mother doesn’t belong to you alone,” Yinzhen whispered while watching the palace servants clearing the table. “We’re brothers, little brother.”
“We’ll become the closest of brothers in the future.”
Yinsi rolled his eyes.
Your real brothers are the Sixth and Fourteenth Brothers – oh right, and the Thirteenth Brother too!
Since when did I become your closest brother? Pah!
But after Yinzhen finished speaking, he felt his younger brother did seem less resistant to the idea. Happily, he then took Fuqi out to meet with the Fifth Prince for their dog owners’ gathering.
This made Yinsi’s eyes spark with fury – so much for being closest brothers!
He didn’t even take me along to play!
Since Yinsi began speaking, Yinzhen became even more enthusiastic about teaching his younger brother new words. But he quickly discovered his brother seemed to be a genius – many words required no teaching as Yinsi could already say them on his own.
After uttering his first words, Yinsi’s progress could be described as miraculous. Within just over a month, he could speak quite fluently, leaving Wen Shan repeatedly marveling at how such a clever baby could exist.
Gradually, Yinsi could also stand while holding onto objects and take a few steps. Watching Yinsi grow as if on fast-forward filled Wen Shan with maternal emotion.
However, after Yinsi learned to walk, he inexplicably developed a strong rivalry with Yinzhen’s dog Fuqi. Their encounters always turned chaotic, prompting Yinzhen to unprecedentedly scold Fuqi several times, telling the dog not to bully Yinsi.
Yinsi looked triumphantly at the wronged-looking silly dog, but Yinzhen immediately balanced the scales by scolding him too: “Little brother, you shouldn’t always pull Fuqi’s fur either. What if he bites you when it hurts?”
As if that silly dog could ever bite him!
“Hmph, Fourth Brother should just keep better control of this dog.”
Yinzhen corrected him: “It’s ‘brother’.”
“…”
Yinsi didn’t know what Fourth Brother was playing at – ever since he could speak, Yinzhen kept calling him “little brother” instead of “eighth brother,” and insisted he also call him “brother” instead of “Fourth Brother.”
He was quite determined to correct this while Yinsi was still young.
“You never made Thirteenth Brother call you ‘brother’ before,” Yinsi muttered under his breath.
Yinzhen didn’t catch it clearly: “What did you say, little brother?”
“I said this dog always barks at me!”
Yinzhen said seriously: “Fuqi barks at everyone.”
“Just keep him farther away from me then!”
Yinzhen shook his head helplessly as he watched Yinsi deliberately put on a disgusted expression and run off, wondering what his younger brother was sulking about this time.
He clearly adored Fuqi very much.
Last time when Fuqi fell ill, Yinzhen and his mother had accompanied the Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager to offer incense outside the palace and couldn’t return. Upon coming back, Bao Quan told him that Yinsi had barely slept that night and had secretly slipped out several times to check on Fuqi.
As Yinsi grew more active—running, jumping, and speaking fluently—Kangxi, who occasionally dropped by for meals, gradually began to notice this young son.
Yinsi spoke with clarity and acted with methodical precision, displaying a steadiness and intelligence uncommon for a child his age. Coupled with Wen Shan’s excellent care that left him fair-skinned, plump, and utterly endearing, Kangxi slowly grew quite fond of Yinsi.
Within the palace, aside from the Crown Prince and the Eldest Prince—the former distinguished as the legitimate heir and the latter as the eldest son, both treated exceptionally by Kangxi—the most beloved sons were now the Sixth Prince Yinzhuo and Yinsi.
As for Yinzhen, although his temperament had softened considerably compared to before and he rarely contradicted Kangxi anymore, the emperor remained somewhat indifferent toward him. Fortunately, Yinzhen didn’t mind this, spending his days either attending the Imperial Study or staying with Wen Shan and Yinsi.
By December, the entire palace buzzed with activity, and the imperial consorts grew restless, paying visits to one another.
The grand bestowal of titles upon the six palaces was about to begin.