Kangxi was startled into stillness by Yinti’s howling and wailing. Watching Yinti rolling around on the floor, his raised finger trembled. “Yinti?”
“Wahhhhhhh—” Yinti’s cries shook the heavens, reaching even Concubine Min in the rear courtyard of Yonghe Palace, who lifted the curtain to look outside.
Soon, she learned from the palace maid who came to report that it was the Fourteenth Prince who had suddenly burst into tears.
“The Fourteenth Prince is too unruly, not like our little master…” Before the reporting maid could finish, she fell silent under the nanny’s furious glare, her expression tinged with grievance.
Concubine Min paid no attention to the small actions of those around her, instead pricking up her ears to listen. Faintly, she could make out the Fourteenth Prince’s accusations mixed within his sobs: “Wahhhh, Imperial Father is bullying me!”
She couldn’t help but chuckle, turning back into the room with a smile.
After dealing with the tactless maid, the nanny followed her into the hall. Though she had disciplined the maid, she privately agreed with her opinion. “Our little master is much more sensible. The Fourteenth Prince’s tantrums might cost him the Emperor’s favor, and could even implicate Consort De…”
“Nanny, have you lost your senses too?” Concubine Min waved her hand dismissively. “Do you prefer children who fear you like tigers, or those who can be close to you?”
“Imperial princes cannot be compared to children from ordinary families,” the nanny replied after a moment’s hesitation.
“That’s a matter for when they grow up. The Fourteenth Prince is still young now.” Concubine Min lifted her gaze toward the window and smiled. “The disputes between the Crown Prince and the First Prince are growing fiercer, and the Emperor’s temper is worsening by the day. Do you think, at a time like this, a Fourteenth Prince who acts cute and throws tantrums might remind the Emperor of the old days?”
“This…” The nanny’s eyes lit up. “Should we have our little master try it too?”
Concubine Min laughed softly. “What I can think of, others in the palace might not have overlooked. Consort Yi dotes on the Eleventh Prince and doesn’t want him to do such things, but what about Noble Lady Yuan, Noble Lady Tong, and Lady Wan? Why haven’t they tried it?”
Hearing this, the nanny instantly calmed down.
Concubine Min gazed in the direction of the front courtyard, her eyes complex. After a long while, she sighed. “Consort De’s luck is truly remarkable.”
Meanwhile, inside the room, Kangxi wore a stern expression as he scolded the tantrum-throwing Yinti rolling on the floor before him. “Yinti, stop this at once! A man should not cry at the drop of a hat!”
Kangxi could hardly believe it—this was the first time he had ever seen a son dare to throw a tantrum in front of him.
Even more absurd was that after he spoke, Yinti not only didn’t stop but cried even louder. “Wahhhhh—Imperial Father made a mistake and is scolding Yinti! Imperial Father is bad!”
“Yinti!” Emperor Kangxi raised his voice, his tone sharp and severe. “Nonsense! When did I make a mistake? Stop this! No more crying!”
“Wahhh… Imperial Father is bad! Imperial Father must pay for my drawing—” Yinti paid no heed, his cries piercing Kangxi’s mind like a little trumpet. Rubbing his temples, Kangxi had no choice but to turn to Consort De for help. “Consort De, you tell me—when did I bully him?”
“Your Majesty…” Consort De immediately noticed the crumpled paper in Kangxi’s hand and lowered her voice. “That in your hand is a drawing Yinti just finished. He brought it especially to show me.”
As soon as she finished speaking, Kangxi’s anger froze.
His neck creaked as he lowered his gaze, unable to hold back an exclamation. “Isn’t this just a piece of scrap paper?”
Yinti's crying softened for a moment before rising again in pitch. Kangxi, feeling guilty, stopped mid-sentence and hurriedly placed the crumpled paper on the table, trying to smooth it out with both hands.
But no matter how he unfolded or flattened it, the drawing paper remained wrinkled, the image on it blurred into a mess. It was impossible to make out the content, let alone discern any clear outlines.
Emperor Kangxi’s vision darkened—this was a disaster.
As Yinti’s wails grew increasingly pitiful, piercing his temples, Kangxi truly wanted to just walk away.
But when he glanced to the side and saw his beloved consort frowning with a hand over her heart, he forced himself to stay. An emperor simply dumping a mess on his consort and running off… that would be too shameful. How could he face anyone afterward?
Kangxi thought for a moment, then leaned close to Consort De’s ear and whispered, "Have you seen this drawing? What is it supposed to be?"
"A ship," Consort De replied softly.
"A ship?" Kangxi looked even more puzzled. Never mind whether Yinti had ever seen a ship—the image on the crumpled paper bore no resemblance to one.
"Your Majesty may not know," Consort De explained helplessly, whispering into his ear, "Yinti has been dreaming these past few days, insisting he is General Yinti, leading warships into battle."
"This drawing is of the army he commands."
"This little one is only a few years old, and he’s already calling himself a general?" Hearing this, Kangxi forgot about the crying for a moment and couldn’t help but chuckle.
Once he understood the reason, Kangxi immediately had an idea. He walked forward unhurriedly, but before he could speak, he noticed the little fellow was all noise—not a single tear had fallen!
And when he got closer, Yinti was even sneaking glances out of the corner of his eye!
Kangxi was so angry he laughed. His hand shot out like lightning, covering Yinti’s mouth and forcibly cutting off his cries.
Yinti broke free and continued to howl at the top of his lungs.
Kangxi raised an eyebrow and this time directly pinched Yinti’s mouth shut. Caught off guard, Yinti’s little mouth was squeezed into a duck-like shape, emitting a strange sound: "Ooooh quack?"
Yinti, who had been pretending to cry, widened his eyes in surprise. His mouth quivered, and his tearless eyes gradually reddened, on the verge of genuine tears.
"Enough of that. How can you be a general if you cry like this? Aren’t you afraid your future subordinates will laugh at you?" Kangxi quickly spoke up to prevent real tears from falling.
He released his grip and patted Yinti’s head. "Speaking of which, you answered questions very well yesterday. Your Imperial Father hasn’t given you a reward yet."
Yinti perked up, his eyes filled with curiosity.
Kangxi smiled at him. "In a couple of days, I’ll take you to see a real big ship. How does that sound?"
"A real—big ship?"
"Yes, a real big ship."
"A ship that can fight in battles?"
"A warship? Not quite possible now." Kangxi thought for a moment. "Most of the river surface is frozen, so big ships can’t come in. We can only look at some smaller boats."
"Ah…" Yinti’s little face fell.
"We’ll start with the small boats." Seeing that he still dared to sigh, Kangxi tapped him lightly on the forehead with a bent knuckle. "When you perform well in your studies, I’ll take you to see the big ones. How does that sound?"
Yinti’s eyes lit up. "Okay!"
The next day, Yinti was carried into the main hall by Nanny Luo while still half-asleep.
"Mother, I’m sleepy…" He stumbled drowsily onto the floor, swaying unsteadily, instinctively mumbling his complaint. Before he could finish, something suddenly appeared before his eyes: "This, this, this!"
"Seeing the object and you can't even speak?"
"You silly child." Consort De smiled broadly, chiding gently, "This is a ship model specially sent by His Majesty. Come quickly and thank the Emperor!"
"Thank you, Imperial Father!" Yinti's spirits soared. He scrambled up Kangxi's dragon robe and into his arms, planting his wet lips with loud smacks firmly on Kangxi's cheek. "Imperial Father is the best, best, best, best, best!"
Not to mention Kangxi's frozen smile, Consort De was so startled her scalp tingled. Just as she stepped forward to pull down the audacious Yinti, she heard Kangxi's light chuckle: "Yinti, you have quite the nerve!"
Consort De breathed a sigh of relief, her heart leaping with joy.
Yinti clung to the ship model, refusing to let go, carrying it everywhere he went, even reluctant to part with it when sleeping at night.
Upon learning this, Kangxi felt comforted, while Consort De could only sigh helplessly, muttering complaints to herself. Unaware of others' thoughts, Yinti was still scheming in his mind: if he could see a real ship in reality, even touch it, then he wouldn't need to seek out the Sleepy Worm Immortal anymore.
Hmph, let's see how the Sleepy Worm Immortal would gloat then—maybe he'd even beg Yinti to play!
The thought of seeing and even touching a real ship made Yinti lose interest in the ship from his dreams. He played along whenever Yunti let him, and for days afterward, he eagerly looked forward to visiting Xiyuan soon, hoping to see the ship from his dreams.
Little did he know, Yunti saw right through his thoughts and sneered inwardly: given his understanding of Kangxi, the "big ship" shown to a three-year-old… ha, was likely just those few small boats on Xiyuan Lake.
Now, with the freezing cold, they were probably stuck in the ice. How could those shabby boats compare to the warship he could control?
Thus, Yunti remained calm, waiting to easily manipulate Yinti in the future.
While the two, one big and one small, harbored their own thoughts, days flew by. After New Year's Day, Kangxi issued an edict: the next day, he would accompany the Empress Dowager, consorts, princes, princesses, and ministers to Xiyuan to watch the Ice Frolic Ceremony.
Going to Xiyuan the very next day thrilled Yinti, who had been longing for the ship. He was so excited he couldn't sleep.
Worried that Nanny Luo and others might notice, he burrowed under the covers and incessantly pestered Yunti with his thoughts: Tomorrow we can go to Xiyuan!
Tomorrow we can see the big ship!
I must board the big ship and make everyone call me General!
What will the real ship be like?
Will it be exactly like in the dream? Will there be other soldiers on it?
Yinti seemed to have endless questions, his little mind chattering nonstop. If it were artificial intelligence, it might have been fine, but Yunti, with his independent thinking ability, suffered greatly. He was so disturbed he felt dizzy, developing a phantom migraine, and wished he could materialize just to gag him.
—And contrary to expectations the System was bound not to him, but to Yinti! Glancing at the System Panel, Yunti felt frustrated. After these days of tinkering, he had mostly familiarized himself with its functions, but until Yinti fully determined his goals, most features remained grayed out. He could only watch some videos, many of which were just previews!
Sleepy Worm Immortal?
Sleepy Worm Immortal!
Are you still there?
Did you sneak off to play games again?
Before Yunti could ponder for long, Yinti's murmurs once again echoed in his ears, cycling endlessly without pause.
Yunti: …
This is really annoying!
I was definitely not this kind of person a hundred percent of the time before. This Yinti from the parallel world must be a variant, right?
Damn it, why doesn’t the System have a function to block the host? That’s not reasonable, is it!
Yunti endured and endured until he could endure no more.
Gritting his teeth, his voice softened as he spoke, fearing it might backfire: 【Hurry up and sleep, or you won’t be able to wake up tomorrow.】
【But I can’t fall asleep!】
【If you can’t sleep, close your eyes and rest. Don’t let your thoughts wander, and you’ll fall asleep soon.】
【No! I just can’t sleep!】 Yinti rolled over on the bed, too embarrassed to admit he wanted to play a naval battle game. After thinking for a moment, he suddenly spoke up: 【Sleepy Worm Immortal, can you tell me a story?】
【Tell… a story?】
【Yes! Hurry up, tell me a story! You’re the Sleepy Worm Immortal, after all. You must have lots and lots of stories to tell.】
—A story? Yunti fell silent instantly. Where would he know how to tell a story?
In his previous life, he married at sixteen and had his eldest son at seventeen. Logically, he should have been overjoyed, but that happened to be the forty-second year of Kangxi’s reign.
The forty-second year of Kangxi was a tumultuous year. At that time, the rift between Kangxi and the Crown Prince was deepening. Although Yunti had not yet developed ambitions to contend for the throne, he couldn’t help but focus his attention on this upheaval. Then, amidst wars and the series of events surrounding the Crown Prince’s deposition, he left all matters of child-rearing to his wife. Forget telling stories—he rarely even spoke to his children.
Yunti tried hard to recall but realized he couldn’t even remember what Hongchun and Hongming looked like in their childhood.
Yinti waited for a long time without any response and urged impatiently: 【Sleepy Worm Immortal? Hurry up and speak!】
【Sleepy Worm Immortal!】
【Sleepy Worm Immortal—!】
【Slee—eepy Worm Immortal—!】
【Alright, alright, stop shouting. I’ll tell you, okay?】 Yunti glared at the innocent-looking Yinti before sinking into deep thought.
Help! Stories, how do you even tell stories?
Steeling himself, Yunti racked his brains and slowly began: 【Once upon a time, there was a great general who was very skilled in warfare and won many battles…】
Yinti asked curiously: 【What was the general’s name? Where did he fight? Why did he fight? Who did he fight against? And also…】
Faced with the barrage of questions, Yunti was momentarily stumped and had no choice but to start improvising: 【The general’s name was Dali. He fought… on the grasslands, yes, because someone invaded…】
Yinti listened in confusion, his little face scrunching up as he struggled to make sense of it. After thinking hard for a while, he felt not only were his questions unanswered, but he had even more now: 【So the great general—】
Seeing Yinti about to ask another question, Yunti hurriedly sped up his speech: 【General Dali rode a white horse, leading countless soldiers to fend off the invading enemies… After fighting many battles, the general grew old and returned to his hometown in glory, never fighting again. The story ends, now go to sleep.】
【That’s it?】 Far from feeling sleepy, Yinti grew even more energetic: 【This doesn’t sound like a story at all.】
【Tsk, that’s all there is.】
【Sleepy Worm Immortal.】 Yinti blinked, suspicion in his eyes: 【You don’t know how to tell stories, do you?】
Yinti had no physical form, yet he felt his face grow hot. Flustered and angry, he retorted, "Who says I can't? It's just… you're too young, you wouldn't understand complicated stories!"
"I'm not young at all!" Yinti rolled over on the bed, full of disdain. "You just can't tell stories well, not as good as me anyway."
Yinti was so angry he laughed instead. "Then you tell one."