Once the words were spoken, silence fell over the hall.
Consort De’s expression completely lost control as she stared at Yinzhen in disbelief. “You… you… you—”
Having spoken those words, Yinzhen felt the pent-up frustration in his chest vanish in an instant. He abruptly rose to his feet and, with a stern face, announced, “Your son will take his leave now,” before striding directly toward the door.
At first, his steps were slow, but gradually they quickened, until finally he rushed out of Yonghe Palace like a whirlwind, charging recklessly through the narrow, winding corridors.
“Fourth Brother!?” It wasn’t until a voice called out that Yinzhen managed to regain some semblance of composure. He lifted his gaze to the person before him and said hoarsely, “…Fifth Sister.”
The newcomer was Princess Cerenel, who, like him, was born to Consort De and had also been taken away to be raised elsewhere from a young age.
However, Princess Cerenel had been adopted by the Empress Dowager, who did not hinder the mother-daughter relationship. As a result, Princess Cerenel remained close and affectionate with Consort De, visiting Yonghe Palace daily to pay her respects and offer greetings.
Noticing her brother’s expression and glancing at the eunuch who had been left far behind and was now desperately chasing after them, Princess Cerenel subtly furrowed her brow.
—Judging by Fourth Brother’s demeanor, could he have had a disagreement with Mother? she wondered silently. A trace of concern flickered in her eyes. “Fourth Brother, has something happened?”
“It’s just—” Yinzhen instinctively wanted to vent his grievances, but after uttering three words, he fell silent. He shook his head and muttered, “It’s nothing.”
With that, Yinzhen prepared to leave.
But Princess Cerenel’s gaze fell on his fingers, trembling slightly as if in a spasm, and she knew the matter was far from simple. She quickly reached out and grabbed the hem of Yinzhen’s robe. “Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother, did Mother say something unpleasant?”
Yinzhen remained silent, stubbornly continuing forward.
Princess Cerenel pressed on, “Fourth Brother, these past few days, Mother has been harassed by Noble Consort Niohuru and Consort Yi, and she’s been feeling troubled. Perhaps she spoke without thinking… Please, Fourth Brother, try to understand her this once.”
“Understand? Understand! If it were about that, I would have nothing to say!” Hearing this, Yinzhen’s suppressed anger suddenly erupted. “But when I kindly advised Fourteenth Brother to come down, in her words, it became a grave mistake. Why doesn’t she try to understand me?”
As the words left his mouth, Yinzhen met his sister’s stunned and helpless gaze. Regret washed over him for venting his anger on an innocent person. He forced a bitter smile, turned, and walked away.
“Fourth Brother, Fourth Brother!” Princess Cerenel called after him twice, but Yinzhen acted as if he hadn’t heard, continuing straight ahead.
Sunlight fell upon his shoulders, yet he kept his eyes slightly lowered, his very shadow exuding a chill.
After walking for about the time it takes half an incense stick to burn, Yinzhen finally stopped again and looked back toward Yonghe Palace. Everyone in the palace believed that the little dog Laifu was a keepsake left to him by his foster mother—even Mother… Consort De said so.
But they all forgot that it was Consort De who had first pointed at Laifu and laughed, saying, “This child is a coward who can’t leave his mother.”
Laifu was just like him that year when he secretly ran to Yonghe Palace, tugging at Consort De’s robe with hopeful eyes and asking, “Mother, can you take me back?”
Back then, Consort De would still hold him, still stroke his back, still say…
Yinzhen curled his lips in self-mockery, turned, and continued walking forward.
After parting with Yinzhen, the Fifth Princess hurried into Yonghe Palace. As she stepped through the hall doors, she saw Consort De sitting on the couch in tears, and her heart skipped a beat. "Mother!"
"Tserenel? You're here?" Seeing the Fifth Princess arrive, Consort De quickly raised her sleeve to cover her face. She wiped away the tear stains in a few swift motions, and by the time she lowered her sleeve, she was already wearing a bright smile. "You're here? Why are you dressed so lightly? It's very cold this morning—didn't you think to wear an extra cloak?"
"Fourth Brother wasn't wearing one either," the Fifth Princess replied casually, only to see Consort De's expression stiffen and fall silent.
Though only eight years old, the Fifth Princess already carried the poise of a young adult. She looked at Consort De and spoke seriously, "Mother, I just met Fourth Brother on the road. He was very sad and very angry."
"He dares to be angry? I haven't even scolded him yet!" Consort De couldn't hold back upon hearing this. "Do you know what he said? He said it would be better to watch Fourteenth Prince fall to his death!"
"Last time when the Emperor spoke, he almost pointed at my nose and said I failed in teaching my sons, that my sons don't care about their brothers but value a dog more!"
"If this spreads…"
"What will happen to him? What will happen to me?"
"If Yinzhen studies well, it's because the late Empress taught him well; if there's even the slightest flaw, it's blamed on me, his birth mother."
"Yinzhen is flesh from my own womb. Back then, I missed him day and night, but the late Empress wouldn't even let me see him."
"For Yinzhen's future, I had to endure, endure until the late Empress passed away, but in the end… I ended up raising such a thing!"
"Mother—that's all in the past."
"I know." The more Consort De spoke, the more aggrieved she felt, her eyes reddening. "I knew before that he was teaching the Eleventh and Twelfth Princes in Agesuo. Did I stop him then? But when this incident happened, did Consort Yi remember that? She still trampled him into the ground!"
"Besides, I know he's close with Yinzhi."
"Could it be that since Concubine Min lives in Yonghe Palace and I once raised Yinzhi, I would stop him from tutoring Yinzhi here in Yonghe Palace?"
"I just wanted him to stay away from that sickly Eleventh Prince!" Consort De pressed her forehead, her anger giving her a headache. "If something like illness happened, with Consort Yi's temperament, she'd definitely pin all the blame on him. One accusation of mistreating his younger brother would make the Emperor even more displeased with him."
"If he came to Yonghe Palace to tutor Yinti in his studies, I could mention it when the Emperor visits later, and the Emperor would take note and change his impression."
"For his sake, how much grievance have I endured!"
"For the sake of the Fourth Prince, how much grievance has Her Ladyship De endured."
Behind the curtain, Yinti opened his eyes.
He remained silent, only curiously looking beyond the curtain, listening to the conversation between the two palace maids.
"Shh—why are you saying this?"
"Sister Tong Yun, I just feel wronged for Her Ladyship De!"
"We're both servants, yet here you are feeling wronged for our mistress." Tong Yun looked at the palace maid before her and shook her head inwardly. "Xiao He, I think you should first mind your tongue and not gossip carelessly outside. Now that Nanny Luo is in charge—Nanny Luo is not someone to be trifled with!"
"Don't worry, Sister Tong Yun. It's just the two of us in the room—I wouldn't say this outside." Xiao He lowered her voice and continued, "I heard Her Ladyship De was crying earlier."
"Fourth Prince even lost his temper with Consort De, not knowing the grievance she endured that day when Consort Yi made veiled criticisms."
"Ah." Hearing this, Tong Yun also sighed: "After all, Fourth Prince was raised by the late empress, so he isn't close enough with Consort De."
"Poor our Consort De, she could only endure it then, and still has to endure now. How can the living ever compare to the dead… mmm!"
Tong Yun hurriedly covered Xiao He's mouth, lowering her voice: "Are you mad? Daring to speak ill of the late empress!"
The room fell quiet for a moment. Soon after, the two palace maids switched to gossiping about palace affairs, never mentioning Consort De and Yinzhen's past again.
Unbeknownst to them, Yinti had overheard most of it, and his opinion of Fourth Prince Yinzhen grew even stronger.
Yinti held not the slightest fondness for Fourth Prince. Every time Fourth Prince saw him, he wore a cold expression, often coming over to scold him as he did today: forbidding him from climbing trees to catch birds, forbidding him from catching insects to play with, even forbidding him from competing with the little eunuchs to see who could pee farther.
Looking back now, Yinti felt he hadn't disliked the wrong person—no! Fourth Prince was just a nuisance!
He grumbled inwardly that if he had to have a brother sharing both parents, he'd want the brave eldest brother or the formidable ninth brother!
As he thought, drowsiness washed over him again. Yinti turned over and soon fell back asleep.
When he woke again, the sun outside the window was already setting in the west. Hearing movement from the bed, Nanny Luo quickly drew aside the bed curtains: "Has the young master awakened?"
"Mmm…" Yinti rubbed his eyes, his voice still soft with sleep: "I'm hungry."
"Young master slept through the entire morning and even missed the midday meal." Nanny Luo smiled, hastily calling attendants to help him wash and dress.
Yinti didn't see his wet nurse or other familiar palace servants but didn't dwell on it. Dozens of attendants, large and small, served him, with frequent rotations and replacements.
He lazily yawned, stretching out his little hands to let the attendants serve him. Once dressed and washed, palace maids set the meal on a small table: a bowl of colorful cat's ear soup, a plate of finely shredded braised pork ribs, a plate of steamed perch, and a plate of yam tofu cake.
Nanny Luo picked up a spoon to feed him, but Yinti turned his head away: "I'll do it myself!"
"Young master, better let this servant feed you?"
"No!" Yinti raised his voice. He knew that if he made a fuss, most people around him would indulge him.
Well, except for Fifth Sister.
Pouting, Yinti silently repeated to himself that a real man doesn't fight with women, suppressing the urge to rebel.
Seeing Nanny Luo step back, Yinti picked up the spoon and began eating heartily. The cat's ears were brightly colored, chewy and refreshing; the braised pork ribs rich and fragrant; the steamed perch sweet, tender, and fresh; and the soft, sticky yam tofu cake. The more Yinti ate, the happier he became, clearing the table of food and feeling satisfied, ready to begin his post-meal activities.
When he stepped out of his chambers and looked up, he found the 'snow mountain' he had played on that morning had vanished without a trace, the snow on the ground completely shoveled away.
Yinti instinctively pouted. Though he didn't want to play now, having the snow pile removed without his permission still left him feeling displeased.
Yinti thought it over and decided it was all Fourth Brother's fault! Recalling the palace maids' whispers, he toddled on his short legs toward the main hall and threw himself into Consort De's arms: "Mother—!"
Consort De was speaking with Concubine Min and swayed slightly from the impact, then chided, "You child, what should you say when you enter?"
"Greetings to Mother~" Yinti obediently nuzzled Consort De's arm, then continued without waiting for her to speak further: "And greetings to Consort Zhangjia, greetings to Consort Zhaojia…"
The palace consorts in the hall hurriedly rose to respond, with Concubine Min even smiling as she tugged his little hand: "Fourteenth Prince is so clever, unlike my two blockheads who get shy around people, hide behind others, and can barely utter a few words after ages. I just hope the one in my belly will have even a third of Little Fourteen's cleverness."
"Listen to what you're saying." Consort De hugged Yinti and chided Concubine Min: "When Yinzhi comes, I'll definitely lodge a complaint with him."
Concubine Min was originally a secondary consort who had previously lived in Yonghe Palace, and even Thirteenth Prince Yinzhi had been raised with Consort De's help.
Remembering her own past suffering of not being able to see Yinzhen, Consort De never prevented Concubine Min from meeting Yinzhi, allowing the mother and son to maintain a very close relationship.
Thus, even after Concubine Min was later promoted in rank, she did not move away from Yonghe Palace and would regularly come to pay respects to Consort De and chat.
Hearing this, Concubine Min quickly smiled and begged for mercy, and everyone in the hall laughed along, making the atmosphere much livelier.
During this, Yinti tilted his little head up and carefully observed Consort De's face. The powder on her face was applied thicker than usual, completely covering the fine wrinkles at the corners of her eyes, but it couldn't hide the redness in her eyes.
Yinti could sense that the palace maids in his room hadn't been wrong—Mother really had been crying.
Yinti fumed, thinking of Fourth Brother who always wore a cold expression whenever they met. He wished Fourth Brother were right in front of him so he could give him a few punches and teach him a lesson.
But then he thought about Fourth Brother's height and looked down at his own chubby little hands, only to dejectedly lower his head: revenge seemed a bit difficult.
After causing a ruckus in the hall for a while, Yinti slipped out. He wandered aimlessly along the palace paths, poking at the bricks on the walls with his fingers one moment, sliding on ice patches on the ground the next, then shaking off the palace maids and eunuchs behind him and dashing forward.
The palace maids and eunuchs followed behind, panting and exhausted, while Yinti seemed unaffected, hopping and skipping farther away.
After many twists and turns, the group soon found themselves in front of Agesuo. At this time, the princes were still studying in the study hall, and the entire Agesuo was quiet.
"Is this Agesuo?" Yinti looked around, his eyes full of curiosity.
"Yes," Nanny Luo said with a smile. "Does the young master wish to play with Thirteenth Prince? Thirteenth Prince is studying in Shangshufang and hasn't finished his lessons yet."
Thirteenth Prince Yinzhi was four and a half years old and had previously lived in Yonghe Palace, where he was closest to Yinti.
However, after turning four this spring, he moved into Agesuo to formally begin his studies, and his meetings with Yinti became increasingly rare.
"Oh, I'm not looking for Yinzhi." Yinti's eyes darted around, and he immediately had an idea. He hopped and skipped inside, looking left and right: "Yinzhi lives here, so where does Fourth, Fourth Brother live?"
"Fourth Brother?" Nanny Luo was taken aback, instinctively pointing toward the courtyard diagonally ahead. Before she could say another word, Yinti had already shot forward like a little firecracker, charging straight ahead.
The young eunuch guarding the gate had spotted them earlier but pretended not to see, hoping they would leave on their own.
But Yinti had already dashed right up to him, and the eunuch could no longer keep up the pretense. Bending into a deep bow to greet him, he blocked the way: "This servant pays his respects to the Fourteenth Prince."
Unexpectedly, Yinti placed both hands on the eunuch's back, pushed off with his feet, and leaped over him as easily as if playing Jump Horse, landing steadily inside the courtyard.
Raising his hands triumphantly, he boasted: "Ta-da!"
The young eunuch, caught completely off guard, fell to the ground and sat there for a long moment, unable to process what had just happened.
Author's Note:
*After the Qing Dynasty entered the Shanhai Pass, the names of princesses were gradually no longer recorded. The name Tserenel for the Fifth Princess here is one I chose, considering she was raised under the Empress Dowager's care and given the Mongolian name Tserenel, meaning "treasured pearl."
*Although the Qing Dynasty officially stated that children began schooling at age six, they calculated by nominal age, which means they actually started studying at around four years old.
*To avoid accusations of whitewashing Consort De, let me clarify: Consort De's favoritism was internal—meaning she showed bias among her three children. However, externally, she favored all her own children equally.