Before Yinti could speak, he was kicked out of the dream by a sudden force. His eyes snapped open, staring blankly at the intricately carved canopy above his bed. After a moment, he scratched his head in confusion. "Sleepy Worm Immortal… so hard to understand."
Yinti didn’t understand. Yinti couldn’t figure it out.
Yinti rolled over, determined to find Sleepy Worm Immortal and ask for an explanation—at the very least, he couldn’t just let his gaming rights be stripped away for no reason, could he?
He closed his eyes, trying hard to fall asleep.
By the time he woke up, it was already the next day.
Yinti lay in bed, staring wide-eyed, attempting to close his eyes again. But he had slept soundly all night without a single dream, and now he was full of energy, every ounce of his strength urging him to get up and play.
Yet, compared to the toys piled up in his room, Yinti was more preoccupied with the battle game from his dream.
Suddenly, an idea struck him: last time he encountered Sleepy Worm Immortal in Fourth Brother’s courtyard, it was daytime, and Sleepy Worm Immortal had still come out to talk to him. Maybe he could summon him now too?
At this thought, Yinti grew instantly excited.
Under the puzzled gazes of Nanny Luo and the palace attendants, he lay back down, pulled up his little quilt, clasped his hands over his chest, and silently chanted in his mind: I want to play the battle game.
I want to play the battle game—
Hmph! I want to play the battle game!
Sleepy Worm Immortal?
Sleepy Worm Immortal!
I told you, I’m not Sleepy Worm Immortal!
Yinti had been angry all night and still hadn’t cooled off. He replied irritably: And once you’re awake, get up quickly. Go read or go out and play. No lazing around in bed!
—Sleepy Worm Immortal had appeared, but he wasn’t letting him play and was even urging him to get up.
Tsk, tsk, tsk, Sleepy Worm Immortal was even more nagging than Nanny Luo! Yinti pouted, climbed out of bed gloomily, but before the attendants could step forward to dress him, he thought of something and plopped right back under the covers.
Hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph, hmph—
Yinti had an idea. He crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled inwardly: Sleepy Worm Immortal.
Sleepy Worm Immortal!
Sleepy Worm Immortal—!
What now?
If you don’t let me play the game at night, I’ll keep calling your name!
Yinti initially thought he’d misheard, but after confirming it, he couldn’t help but laugh in exasperation: Go ahead and try.
Sleepy Worm Immortal!
Sleepy Worm Immortal—!
Yinti didn’t hesitate and immediately started chanting.
At first, Yinti could tolerate it, but he hadn’t expected the little rascal to go on endlessly, chattering nonstop like the parrot in the Empress Dowager’s palace.
As he chanted, Yinti even started making up a tune. Gradually, he forgot his original intention and became completely absorbed in his own artistic creation: Sleepy, sleepy worm~ Sleepy Worm Immortal, answer me~
As for Yinti, he was utterly miserable, feeling as if his head was buzzing, with what seemed like a hundred chickens and ducks squawking in his ears. If he had a physical form, he would have lunged forward and clamped the boy’s mouth shut!
Alright, alright, stop singing!
Sleepy Worm Immortal~ Sleepy Wormy Immortal~ Sleepy, sleepy worm immortal~ Yinti, now fully inspired, began singing loudly in his mind.
I’m begging you, please stop. Yinti was desperate. He didn’t remember having such an annoying habit as a child, chattering away endlessly like this.
—Or perhaps, he had already forgotten the things from his childhood. Thinking of this, Yinti shook his head repeatedly. No, he had been quite adorable as a child—how could he have been as detestable as this, disliked by everyone and even dogs?
[…Oh.] Yinti reluctantly stopped, pouting with regret. The expression on his face, which seemed to say "You're so useless" and "You gave up so quickly, I wasn't even satisfied," made others' veins bulge, itching to give him a good beating.
[Can we play tonight?]
[Yes…] Yinti agreed first, then added warily, [But only this once. If you act like this again, I absolutely won't let you play!]
[Tch! Stingy!] Yinti muttered, though he didn’t seem to care much. His eyes darted around, clearly already scheming about other ways.
Meanwhile, Nanny Luo watched her young master’s behavior—now happy, now angry, now opening his eyes, now closing them—and found it quite odd, though she couldn’t pinpoint why.
She suppressed her doubts and said gently, "Young master, it’s time to get up."
[Hurry up and get out of bed!]
[I know.] Yinti opened his eyes and sat up.
Only then did Nanny Luo breathe a sigh of relief. She helped him dress and put on his boots, then carried him to the main hall to pay respects to Consort De.
After paying his respects and finishing breakfast, Yinti first returned to his room to play with some newly delivered toys, then explored Yonghe Palace for a while. Next, he went to the Imperial Garden, intending to crack the ice to tease the koi fish. After that, he wandered into Fifth Princess’s room, where she caught him and dragged him off to play Eagle Catches Chicks with her sisters.
Yinti, of course, was the little chick at the very end of the line. But he could proudly say he was the number one little chick in the world—never once caught by the eagle.
After all this running around, only half a day had passed.
By noon, when he returned to Yonghe Palace, Yinti finished his lunch, and a young eunuch cautiously asked, "Young master, would you like to play in Yonghe Palace this afternoon, or go to Ningshou Palace, or perhaps play in the Imperial Garden?"
The servants in Yonghe Palace all knew that the Fourteenth Prince was full of energy. A morning of play was never enough to wear him out—usually, he would go out to play in the afternoon and evening as well.
In fact, as the young eunuch asked the question, some servants had already begun preparing clothes for going out.
The next moment, Yinti shook his head. "No!"
The surrounding servants immediately grew uneasy, fearing that the Fourteenth Prince would say he wanted to go to Agesuo. The young eunuch forced a smile and asked, "Then where would the young master like to go play?"
"I want to draw!"
"Huh? Draw?" The young eunuch was taken aback at first, then heard a chorus of relieved sighs. Belatedly realizing the good news, he happily ushered Yinti to the study, swiftly arranging the Four Treasures of the Study.
Soon, Yinti leaned over the desk, clutching a brush and scribbling randomly on the paper. He drew with such focus that those around him watched curiously. When Yinti had been drawing for nearly an hour without moving, the servants couldn’t help but whisper among themselves, "The young master is so quiet today."
"He looks so adorable sitting there obediently. I wonder what he’s drawing?"
"All of you, stop chattering." Nanny Luo glanced at the servants crowded at the study door and scolded them coldly.
The servants immediately fell silent, shrinking back to their places and standing properly. After scanning the room, Nanny Luo lifted the curtain and entered. She approached and said, "Young master, you’ve been drawing for over half an hour. Would you like to take a break?"
Yinti raised his little head, not answering Nanny Luo's question, but instead holding up his drawing high: "Nanny Luo, is it pretty or not?"
"…Pretty." Nanny Luo praised with her words, while feeling quite guilty, afraid that her young master would ask her to explain what everything on it was.
Mainly… what even is all this?
Nanny Luo racked her brains, straining every nerve, barely recognizing those things with circles and lines as people. As for the circles beneath their feet, what were those? Could they be houses? Or farmland? Wait? Looking at it, maybe they're cattle and sheep… Hold on? Has the Fourteenth Prince ever seen live cattle and sheep?
Nanny Luo inwardly groaned in distress. Fortunately, Yinti didn't notice her embarrassment. He held the painting high with both hands, his face beaming with a bright smile: "Right? I knew I drew it especially well!"
"Here in front, there were bad guys. I was steering the big ship, leading many, many soldiers charging forward to fight, wiping out the bad guys completely!"
—So these are ships and waves? Nanny Luo's face went blank for a moment, then she quickly controlled her expression, clapping like a seal: "As expected of the Fourteenth Prince, truly amazing!"
"Hehe!" Yinti puffed out his chest, his round face full of pride. The more he looked, the more he felt his work was very excellent, very outstanding. So he jumped down from the stool, holding the painting and rushing straight ahead, planning to show it to Consort De.
"Mother, mother, mother—" Yinti dashed in like a whirlwind, excitedly showing the painting in his hands to Consort De: "Look, look, isn't it amazing?"
Of course, Consort De couldn't understand it either.
Similarly, the Fifth Princess sitting nearby couldn't understand it either.
Mother and daughter exchanged glances, both feeling troubled, especially as they noticed the expectation in Yinti's eyes from the corners of their vision, making them even more reluctant to shatter it.
So Consort De turned her thoughts and tossed this difficult question back to Yinti: "Truly amazing! How did our baby think of such an amazing thing?"
Yinti raised his chin even higher, radiant and extremely proud: "Since Mother asked so sincerely, I'll tell you!"
"Mhm, mhm."
"This was dreamed in a dream! It was Sleepy Worm Immortal who took me there!"
Hearing Yinti's childish words, mother and daughter immediately smiled until their eyes curved. The Fifth Princess barely held back her laughter, pretending to be curious: "Really? Then, Fourteenth, tell us what happened at that time?"
Yinti had been waiting for them to ask. Instantly full of energy, he began recounting the story from his dream. He didn't mention what Sleepy Worm Immortal had muttered, focusing on describing his own battle scene: "I was wearing a set of small armor, holding a long sword in my hand."
Saying this, Yinti gestured animatedly.
He vividly described himself holding a giant sword forward, giving one command, and thousands of troops charging forward together, making waves surge to the heavens.
"In just a short while, the enemy army was defeated and fled, and then everyone cheered my name together." As Yinti spoke, he couldn't help but giggle a couple of times.
Consort De clapped her hands and laughed: "So this painting is the scene from that time?"
"Exactly." Yinti placed the painting on the table, huffing and puffing as he climbed onto the stool, pointing with his little finger: "See, this is the Big Ship Number One I was riding at the time, and this is me."
"Here, here, and here…" Yinti's little hand pointed around, "are all my troops! Isn't it amazing?"
Consort De looked at the ship that resembled a field? and nodded seriously, "Mm, very impressive."
Fifth Princess had another question, "You also dreamed of fighting scenes? Have you fought against enemy troops?"
"Of course!" Yinti immediately straightened his back, afraid that Fifth Princess wouldn't believe him. He jumped off the stool, looked around, and quickly selected the paperweight on the desk.
Holding the paperweight like a sword, Yinti began to brandish it with enthusiastic sound effects. He lunged forward at times, ducked at others, swinging the paperweight with such vigor that it whistled through the air.
Consort De and Fifth Princess watched with great interest, not noticing the scroll that had fallen to the floor with Yinti's movements, nor the announcement that had just begun and stopped outside.
A palace attendant gently pushed open the door, and Kangxi stepped inside, immediately spotting Yinti leaping up and down like a lion dancer.
Kangxi: ?
What is he doing?
He made no sound to disturb them, crossing his arms and watching with amusement until he noticed the scroll at his feet and bent to pick it up.
Kangxi: ?
What is this thing?
Looking at the messy drawing, Kangxi couldn't make out what it was supposed to be. Assuming it was just Yinti's scribbles, he casually crumpled it into a ball and continued watching the performance.
Admittedly! Though Yinti was young, his movements were swift and precise. Whether it was flipping, jumping, kicking, or punching, he executed each move with remarkable flair.
As Kangxi watched, he gradually fell into thought. This demeanor, this posture, reminded him of how the Crown Prince and the eldest prince had looked in their childhood.
At this thought, Kangxi's eyes darkened slightly, his good mood fading. In the twenty-seventh year, he had dismissed Nalan Mingzhu from his post, not only for his abuse of power and self-serving actions but also to quell the increasingly heated disputes between the Crown Prince and the eldest prince.
Who would have thought that after suppressing Nalan Mingzhu, Suo Etu would become even more aggressive within two months of behaving himself, even causing trouble in the pursuit of Galdan.
Emperor Kangxi was displeased and demoted Suo Etu by four ranks while retaining him in his position. Yet this move seemed to embolden Yinti once again, leading to frequent maneuvers.
The troubles of the court weighed on his mind, but as he looked at the harmonious trio of mother and children, the smile that had faded from Kangxi's face gradually returned.
For a moment, Kangxi thought: If only children never grew up, remaining forever this innocent and adorable.
Consort De sensed the change in the atmosphere behind her and quietly sighed in relief. Pretending to call Yinti over for tea, she turned to instruct the palace attendant and only then caught sight of Emperor Kangxi, springing to her feet, "Your Majesty?"
Yinti, who had been bouncing around, also stopped at the sound and rushed forward excitedly, "Imperial Fa…ther?"
His gaze fell on the crumpled paper ball in Kangxi's hand, and his eyes widened instantly, filled with shock and disbelief.
The next second, an earth-shattering wail erupted in the room, "Wahhhhhhh—Imperial Father is a big dummy—Wahhhhhhh—Give me back my drawinggggg—"