Making the tree walk two steps was impossible, but the First Prince could walk on his own.
He gave Yin You one last glance and concluded about this younger brother—dull-witted by nature, unlearned and unskilled.
Even though he was young now and could win the favor of the Grand Empress Dowager and Han Ama by acting cute, who knew what he would be like when he reached the age for studying.
The other princes and princesses nearby didn’t spare their eldest brother any face either. Realizing what Yin You had said, they burst into a roar of laughter.
After all, Yin E was the eldest brother and couldn’t argue with his younger siblings. He snorted lightly and turned to leave.
Yin You watched his eldest brother’s retreating figure, tilting his little head in confusion. He didn’t understand what he had said wrong or why he had suddenly left.
The Crown Prince walked over and patted the little dumpling’s head, asking gently, “Is Xiao Qi full?”
The Crown Prince and the First Prince had never been close since childhood, and Han Ama often compared the two of them. Although Yin E couldn’t match him in literary talent, he slightly surpassed him in horsemanship and archery.
Seeing the First Prince being embarrassed by a child under three years old, the Crown Prince couldn’t help but feel a little pleased.
Yin You was holding a tree branch he had just used to poke into a tree hole. Now, he said, “E’nang usually calls Xiao Qi ‘baby.’ Crown Prince Brother can call me that too.”
Yinreng was puzzled. “Why?”
Yin You puffed out his frog-like belly to show him. “Because I eat until I’m full every day.”
“Hahahaha!” Not only the Crown Prince but also the Second Princess, Third Princess, and Fourth Princess nearby were utterly charmed.
The two older sisters gathered around him, eagerly stuffing sachets, pouches, dolls, and even the exquisite palace lantern from the Second Princess’s hands into his arms…
Yin You was overjoyed. The Third Princess even plucked an autumn begonia and tucked it behind his ear.
Not far away, Consort Niohuru, also heavily pregnant, happened to pass by and witnessed this scene.
She was the daughter of Ebilun, one of the four regents in the early years of Kangxi’s reign, and the younger sister of the late Empress Xiaozhaoren, a true noblewoman from a prestigious family.
During the evening banquet, the Grand Empress Dowager had spoken about the matter of appointing an empress. In the harem, whether in terms of status or position, only she could compete with the Imperial Noble Consort.
She held herself in high regard, neither flattering nor currying favor, and rarely interacted with other consorts.
Watching Yin You surrounded by several princesses—aside from the Third Princess, who was Consort Rong’s daughter, the other two were born to lower-ranking consorts—Consort Niohuru paused for a moment, unable to understand why the Seventh Prince, as the Imperial Noble Consort’s child, would play with princesses born to lower-ranking consorts.
Yin You was just a child. His only criterion for choosing playmates was—whoever was good to him, he would play with them.
His older brothers and sisters liked him, and he liked them too.
Yin You was holding many things in his arms and was about to happily share them with Yinzhen.
Suddenly, a figure darted out from the side and snatched something from his hands without a word.
Yin You was startled. Before he could react, the items in his hands were taken away.
Looking closely, it was Yinzuo again. He hadn’t taken anything else—only the tree branch Yin You had used to poke the tree hole.
???
Yin You breathed a sigh of relief. Good, good. He had thought Sixth Brother had taken a fancy to the little gifts from his sisters, but it turned out he only wanted that bare tree branch.
Yin You truly couldn’t understand why Sixth Brother liked snatching his things so much, and even a tree branch at that.
At that moment, Consort De was over there speaking with the Emperor and hadn’t paid attention to what her son was doing.
It wasn’t until the banquet ended that she noticed Yinzuo holding a dirty-looking withered tree branch in his hand.
When asked where he got it, he only said it was from his seventh brother.
By then, the Mid-Autumn evening banquet had concluded, and the Grand Empress Dowager, Empress Dowager, various consorts from the rear palace, as well as princes and princesses, began to leave one after another.
Yin You, holding a palace lantern in his left hand and a sachet in his right, hopped and skipped alongside the Grand Empress Dowager as they headed toward Cining Palace.
Consort De, unusually, snatched the branch from her son’s hand and tossed it by the roadside: “Why do you pick up every piece of trash? Aren’t you disgusted by how dirty it is?”
It was unclear whether she was scolding her son or implying something else, but regardless, the maids, eunuchs, and nannies trailing behind the mother and son fell silent, not daring to utter a word.
Apart from allowing everyone to admire the moon, chat, eat, and drink, the Mid-Autumn evening banquet served to add a bit of gossip to the otherwise dull entertainment lives of the consorts in the rear palace.
Naturally, everyone was most concerned about the topic of appointing a new Empress, as it directly affected their interests.
Among them, Consort Hui was undoubtedly the most aggrieved. She had entered the palace at the same time as the previous two Empresses and had watched her two competitors pass away. By seniority, it should have been her turn, yet the Emperor seemed to have lost interest in appointing a new Empress.
If he wasn’t going to appoint one, so be it. Since she couldn’t have the position, neither could anyone else. Thinking this way provided her with some self-consolation.
With everyone full and nothing much to do, those with children focused on them, while those without hoped for the day the Emperor would summon them. Gossip spread quickly among them.
Within a couple of days, rumors about appointing an Empress had shifted: it wasn’t that the Emperor didn’t want to appoint one; fearing he might bring misfortune to a new Empress was just an excuse. In reality, it was because he disagreed with the Grand Empress Dowager and Empress Dowager on the matter.
The Grand Empress Dowager favored the Imperial Noble Consort, while the Empress Dowager leaned toward Consort Yi. As for whom the Emperor preferred, the consorts didn’t say it aloud, but each secretly believed she was the most special one.
As this topic gradually died down, a new one began to spread like wildfire—the Seventh Prince might not be quite right in the head. He had actually called a tree “Grandpa” and asked it to take a few steps.
After all, he was a royal descendant. If he truly had mental issues, wouldn’t it disgrace the imperial family?
Bai Lu, the chief maid serving the Imperial Noble Consort, was furious when she heard this rumor and immediately scolded the junior maids who had been spreading it.
The Imperial Noble Consort, however, was unfazed. In the depths of the palace, children as young as a few years old were raised to act like adults. Only her precious son remained innocent, imaginative, and full of humor. As a doting mother, she was willing to protect her son’s innocence until he grew up.
In Cining Palace, the Grand Empress Dowager was listening to Li Xi recount the events of the Mid-Autumn evening. When she heard Yin You say, “If it’s not sick, make it walk a few steps,” she laughed so hard she nearly doubled over.
“The First Prince must have been furious at the time. That child has always been proud since he was young, always trying to compete with the Crown Prince.”
Although the Grand Empress Dowager spent her days in Cining Palace and rarely ventured out, she understood the personalities of every consort, prince, and princess in the Forbidden City as clearly as if looking into a mirror.
Yin You, his mouth stuffed with a piece of mung bean cake, mumbled, “Big Brother said I’m an idiot.”
“Nonsense!” The Grand Empress Dowager affectionately patted his head. “Our Xiao Qi is very clever.”
At this moment, Kangxi came to pay respects to the Grand Empress Dowager when two young eunuchs from the Palace of Established Happiness arrived, saying the Crown Prince had something to send to the Seventh Prince.
The two brought in a wooden box containing a set of wooden toys.
Kangxi immediately took interest: “I recall this was a gift presented to the Crown Prince by missionaries years ago.”
Yinreng had been raised by his own hands—whether it was food, clothing, daily necessities, or toys, all the finest things were reserved for him alone.
And from a young age, Yinreng knew that Han Ama treated him differently from others. His belongings were exclusive, and he never shared them with his brothers.
In Kangxi’s memory, this set of wooden toys was already several years old. Initially, the Crown Prince had been particularly fond of them, but as he grew older, his interest gradually waned.
Even retrieving it from storage would have taken some effort—Yinreng truly had put thought into this gesture for his younger brother.
Overjoyed with the new toy, Yin You turned around, took Li Xi’s hand, and pointed to a plate of air-dried beef on the table: “Send this to Crown Prince Brother. This is Xiao Qi’s favorite food—Crown Prince Brother will surely like it too.”
It was hardly proper to send leftover food to the Crown Prince, but since the Seventh Prince had ordered it, the palace maids below busied themselves. Soon, two food boxes were prepared, containing not only beef jerky but also some small pastries. These were handed to the eunuchs from the Palace of Established Happiness to take back for the Crown Prince to taste.
Yin You eagerly opened the box. The toys inside were somewhat similar to tangrams, except the wooden pieces were all three-dimensional.
Kangxi sat down, intending to offer his son some guidance.
To his surprise, as soon as the boy sat, he immersed himself completely in the world of toys, treating his Ama as if he were air.
Yin You was in no hurry to play with the blocks. Instead, he picked up each one, examined it carefully, and then sorted them by shape and size.
The ruler of an entire nation, ignored by his young son, had no choice but to turn aside and chat with the Grand Empress Dowager.
The grandmother and grandson first discussed the recent conditions of Noble Consort and Consort Yi, both of whom were pregnant. Then, the conversation circled back to the little fellow beside them.
Kangxi said, “Next spring, when Old Fourth goes to the Imperial Study, I’m thinking of having Old Fifth, Old Sixth, and this little one begin their initial enlightenment studies together.”
The Grand Empress Dowager smiled, “The idea is good, but I’m afraid it won’t be easy to realize.”
“How so?”
“Your E’nang is reluctant to part with Yinqi, and Consort De dotes on her son, so naturally she won’t want to let go of Yinzuo. As for the youngest one here, I’d like to keep him with me for a couple more years.”
Kangxi understood—the emphasis was on the last sentence. “Then we’ll postpone it a bit longer.”
Yin You fiddled for a long time, but no one could tell what exactly he was assembling.
Kangxi glanced back and couldn’t help but speak up, “You there—”
Unexpectedly, his son didn’t even look up. Instead, he raised an index finger to his lips and softly went, “Shh.”
From the side, the child looked entirely like a delicate, jade-like steamed bun—his face round and plump, glowing with a soft pink hue, his glossy lips slightly pursed, his expression utterly focused.
The Emperor felt he couldn’t quite control his hands, always wanting to reach over and pinch his son’s cheek.
“Ama, look!”
At this moment, Yin You finally completed his construction project. Not only Kangxi, but also the Grand Empress Dowager, Sumala Gu, Li Xi, and all the servants in the room couldn’t help but crane their necks, eager to see what this Western toy would ultimately assemble into.
It appeared to be a building, with a pointed roof and arched windows. The structure was quite distinctive, clearly not in the architectural style of the Great Qing. Where had the Seventh Prince learned such a design?
Kangxi was also somewhat curious: “What is this?”
Yin You couldn’t quite explain what it was either, so he simply picked up the wooden box that had held the building blocks, turned it over, and showed the back to his Ama.
There, sketched in simple lines, was a European castle.
And Yin You had precisely recreated this castle in its entirety using the building blocks.
Kangxi couldn’t help but be greatly astonished. The Crown Prince had played with this toy for many years, yet he had never realized there was such a secret hidden on the back.