The Third Princess was born quietly and attracted little attention, and her presence within the imperial palace remained quite faint. While all the provisions and monthly allowances due to a princess were strictly provided without omission, she was still at a clear disadvantage when compared to the Eldest and Second Princesses, who often received generous gifts and rewards.
The eunuchs and maids serving in the palace were skilled at currying favor with those in power. When Consort Zhaojia was pregnant, she had been treated with great deference and respect by her subordinates. But after she gave birth, and it became clear that none of the high-ranking figures in the court paid much attention to her or her child, their attitude gradually grew cold and indifferent. While they did not dare to withhold supplies or reduce her provisions, the special considerations and conveniences she had once enjoyed were no longer available.
Consort Zhaojia had always been gentle and soft‑natured. When she noticed this change in attitude, she could only advise the people serving in her quarters not to take such matters to heart. Fortunately, while she could not afford to spend money freely, she was not in dire financial straits either. Whenever she needed assistance or special arrangements, she could simply offer money as an incentive, and things would be done as she wished. She had simply returned to the way of life she had known before, and she felt no great sense of loss or disappointment because of it.
However, the wet nurses responsible for caring for the Third Princess were far less content.
These women were selected by the Imperial Household Department from families of bondservants. They were all in their twenties, strong and healthy, and usually their husbands or fathers held official positions. While these positions were not particularly high‑ranking, their families were still well‑to‑do and prosperous by the standards of the common people.
Serving as wet nurse to an imperial prince or princess was considered a great honor. If the young master or mistress grew up to achieve high status and remembered the care they had received, it was only natural that they would later offer official positions and advancement opportunities to the wet nurse’s own family members and relatives.
Some imperial consorts came from powerful and influential families, which allowed them to arrange for one or two trusted people from their own households to be included among the candidates pre‑selected by the Imperial Household Department. When the time came to choose the official wet nurses, they could simply select those people they had arranged for. This ensured that the women chosen would be completely loyal to the child, and that they could be trusted without reservation.
But Consort Zhaojia had no such influence or family connections, so the women selected for her were simply those appointed directly by the Imperial Household Department. These women had originally hoped to serve a child who would one day rise to great prominence and power. Now that they realized the little princess under their care was not valued or cherished by the Emperor or the Empress Dowager, those among them who were honest and sincere felt disappointed but accepted their situation without complaint. However, these two women were not of such upright character, and as a result, they grew increasingly lazy and negligent in their duties.
They cared for the Third Princess in a careless and perfunctory manner. Consort Zhaojia noticed signs of this, but since she had never given birth or raised a child before, and there were no older, experienced matrons around her to offer guidance, the two wet nurses were easily able to dismiss her concerns with a few casual words and excuses. Fortunately, the Third Princess was naturally strong and healthy, and despite their neglect and laziness, she still grew up well and reached the age of one without serious illness or trouble.
“You know,” Matron Qian said to her companion one evening, once they were certain the Third Princess had fallen asleep, “if only we had been more fortunate. We don’t dare to say we could have served the First or Second Prince, but wouldn’t it have been wonderful if we had been chosen to care for the Eldest or Second Princess instead?”
“You’re dreaming,” the other woman replied with a laugh. “The two wet nurses serving the Eldest Princess were incredibly lucky. They were chosen back when the imperial family still lived in the princely manor. Ordinarily, they would never have been qualified to serve a princess, but when the princess moved into the imperial palace, it was decided that she should be accompanied by a few familiar people she already knew. That was the only reason they were given such a good opportunity. As for the Second Princess, Consort Magiya’s family background is far more distinguished than ours. Naturally, she would never have allowed her child’s wet nurses to be chosen at random by the Imperial Household Department.”
As she spoke, she lowered her voice slightly. After all, Consort Zhaojia was still their mistress, and if she were to overhear such remarks, they would surely face punishment and trouble.
Matron Qian grumbled in discontent. “I spent a great deal of money and effort just to secure this position. If I had known things would turn out this way, I would have been better off spending that money buying sweets and treats for my own son Gou’er. If I had kept that money and added a little more to it, I could even have bought a couple of acres of farmland in the countryside outside the city.”
“We two have simply been unlucky, and there’s nothing we can do about it,” the other woman said. “We can only hope that the princess will marry well in the future. If she does, and we become part of her husband’s extended family, perhaps there will still be opportunities and benefits waiting for us later on.”
As they were talking, their voices woke the Third Princess. But she was naturally good‑natured and gentle, and even after waking, she did not cry or make a fuss. She simply looked up at the two matrons standing beside her bed, watching them speak and blowing tiny bubbles from her mouth from time to time.
Matron Qian noticed that the child was awake and signaled to her companion. Both women showed expressions of annoyance and irritation. While the Third Princess was easy to look after and caused very little trouble, the fact that they had spent so much money and effort to obtain their positions, yet had received absolutely no benefits or rewards in return, left them feeling frustrated and dissatisfied.
“Since she’s not crying, she obviously isn’t hungry,” Matron Qian said casually. “Just leave her there to play by herself.” She tossed a small cloth doll beside the Third Princess and then continued chatting with her companion as if nothing had happened.
While the princess was still small and too young to understand what was being said, they could speak freely without worrying about being overheard. But once she grew old enough to remember things and understand speech, they would have to be far more careful.
As Baocheng approached his first birthday, Kangxi finally made up his mind to name him Crown Prince. At the same time, he decided to give both of his sons new formal names, feeling that their original names, Baoqing and Baocheng, sounded somewhat plain and lacking in dignity for members of the imperial family.
He selected characters from those proposed by the Ministry of Rites, deciding that both sons’ names would begin with the character Yin. Having settled on this first character, he then began to consider the second character for each of their names.
After long and careful thought, Kangxi chose the character Ti for his eldest son, which carries the meaning of peace and stability. Since he had already decided that his second son would be the heir apparent, he thought it fitting that his eldest son should live a life of peace, prosperity, and security as a noble prince.
As for the character for his second son, he pondered the matter even longer before finally selecting Reng, a character meaning good fortune and blessings.
From that time onward, their original names Baoqing and Baocheng were treated only as childhood nicknames, while Yin Ti and Yin Reng became their formal official names.
It was exactly two months after Yin Reng’s first birthday that the imperial edict formally establishing him as Crown Prince was issued. This child, who had only just begun to babble his first words and learn to speak, became the designated successor to the imperial throne. The court officials, observing the young prince, were far from satisfied, as they felt it was impossible to judge his character or wisdom at such a tender age. However, Kangxi was not a weak or easily swayed ruler; once he had made a decision, he would not change his mind simply because others offered advice or objections.
As for Yiqing, she found it difficult to fully grasp the significance of the fact that her younger brother, who was still crawling about on the floor, had been named Crown Prince. At that moment, the child had just picked up a small bead and was trying to put it into his mouth, causing his wet nurses to panic in alarm. They quickly took the bead away from him, and fearing that he would throw a tantrum or cry in protest, they hurried to soothe and comfort him with gentle words and promises.
Yiqing is now three years old. Looking back, she realized it had already been three years since she first entered the imperial palace. The greatest privilege she had gained after turning three was that her nurses and the Grand Empress Dowager had finally given her permission to play and explore areas beyond the grounds of the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility.
Previously, she had been restricted entirely to that palace compound, with the furthest place she was allowed to visit being its small private garden. If she wished to go anywhere else, she had to be accompanied by her nurses or the Grand Empress Dowager.
Now, as long as she was accompanied by attendants and did not wander outside the palace grounds, she was free to go wherever she pleased. In recent days, she had visited and explored all six palaces of the eastern and western sections of the inner court. Many of the imperial consorts she encountered found her a delightful and curious sight. Life within the palace could be long and lonely, and everyone was eager to play with and amuse a small child.
She had even visited the Palace of Heavenly Purity many times, sometimes going there on her own, but more often being carried there by her Imperial Father.
“Wait~” little Yin Reng, who had been stopped from putting the bead in his mouth, showed no sign of anger or displeasure. Instead, he laughed happily and crawled over to Yiqing’s side. The side halls of the Palace of Heavenly Purity had all been covered with soft carpets, just as the Palace of Compassion and Tranquility had been, allowing Yin Reng to crawl and move about freely and safely.
Even though the floors were carpeted and all sharp corners of furniture had been wrapped in soft cloth, the wet nurses still worried constantly that he might injure himself. They followed him closely wherever he went, ready to intervene and protect him, terrified that this precious Crown Prince might be hurt or harmed in even the smallest way.