Yintang stole a glance at Ashumuergen, thinking to himself that this old master seemed rather kind.
Moreover, even the usually domineering Eldest Prince had to obediently follow his instructions, making him appear quite formidable… Yintang felt he might have accidentally boarded a pirate ship.
Ashumuergen noticed Yintang peeking at him and winked in his direction.
Yinreng observed the interaction between the old and young pair.
Ashumuergen had always been strict. Though he treated Yinreng with courtesy, there was always a sense of distance in his politeness. In the past, when Yinreng had conflicts with Yinti, Ashumuergen never took sides, at most giving both parties twenty lashes each before sending them on their way. Yet now, having just established a master-disciple relationship with Yintang, he was already proactively protecting him.
Why?
As the Crown Prince, shouldn’t everyone naturally support and like him? How could this man show such favoritism toward a newly acquainted youngster?
Yinreng felt inexplicably irritated.
His lips unconsciously pressed together as he gazed at Yintang holding Ashumuergen’s hand. His beautiful eyes narrowed slightly, his long eyebrows furrowed for a moment before quickly returning to a calm expression.
Yintang noticed the Crown Prince watching him and clearly saw the subtle changes in his expression when he instinctively looked over.
Was the Crown Prince… jealous?
Though he didn’t understand why the Crown Prince would be jealous of Ashumuergen Anda protecting him, Yintang didn’t want the Crown Prince to develop hostility toward him.
As he pondered how to diffuse the Crown Prince’s emotions, a steady voice came from inside the Archery Hall: “So lively here. Who will tell me what’s going on?”
The Princes, who were about to disperse, froze upon hearing this familiar yet awe-inspiring voice, exchanging uncertain glances.
Who knew how long Kangxi had been here? Had he witnessed the entire scene?
Yinzhen, Yinqi, and Yintang immediately straightened up, lining up respectfully below the steps to welcome the emperor. Only Yinreng showed no fear—instead, his face lit up with joy as he strode up the stone steps, took Kangxi’s hand, and descended with him, his expression overflowing with pride like a child showing off a limited edition toy to his peers.
Kangxi, too, wore a smile, looking at Yinreng with an indulgent expression.
Yinzhen and Yinqi had long grown accustomed to such scenes.
But this was Yintang’s first time witnessing it, and he couldn’t help but suck in a sharp breath.
Yinreng was already thirteen years old.
In ancient times, a thirteen-year-old boy’s thinking approached adulthood, and physiologically, he was transitioning from childhood to adolescence. At this stage, boys typically developed much stronger independent consciousness, hoping to establish equal relationships with their fathers rather than maintaining the dependent relationships of childhood.
This manifested externally as most boys of this age deliberately reducing public hand-holding with their fathers, transitioning to more “manly” or “buddy-like” physical contact methods.
Moreover, among peers, they might even be dissed as “daddy’s boys.”
Like right now—
Yinti, hearing the commotion, turned and saw Kangxi, quickly dismounting to approach. As he passed Yintang, Yintang happened to hear him snort and mutter under his breath, “Tch, still holding Han Ama’s hand at thirteen—probably not weaned yet.”
Yintang: …
Though there were indeed families with exceptionally strong bonds, where father-son relationships were so intimate that holding hands was merely a normal expression of affection, anyone with eyes could see that Kangxi and Yinreng clearly did not fall into this category.
Of course, in his view, Kangxi’s behavior wasn’t entirely normal either. Though he hadn’t yet figured out exactly what was off about it.
Yintang was somewhat shaken by this display of father-son affection. His memory of what happened after that day was hazy, only recalling Kangxi personally announcing that Ashumuergen would become his Anda. Then, with grave sincerity, Kangxi urged him to remember that Ashumuergen Anda had been his own former tutor, and that Yintang must obey diligently and study earnestly.
…
Yintang lay sighing in the rocking chair in the courtyard.
His small arms were spread out to either side, his legs propped up on a small footstool, his entire body having melted into a semi-fluid state.
Lian Zhu was massaging his little arms while a young eunuch attended to his legs.
He really should have asked his fourth and fifth brothers beforehand which Andas at the venue were absolutely not to be chosen. While they might not have known which one would suit his preferences, they would certainly have been clear about which ones to avoid.
How did he end up choosing Ashumuergen Anda of all people?
Indeed, someone capable of being Kangxi’s tutor—the king of all overachievers—was bound to be an overachiever himself.
Just in the first lesson, Ashumuergen had him practicing for a full two hours!
He was only a three-year-old child! How was he supposed to maintain his lazy persona like this?!
Could it be that his path of leisure was destined to be cut short before it even properly began?
Yintang tilted his head back to stare at the grape trellis overhead, Ashumuergen’s smiling face appearing in his mind as he recalled their parting words: “Though your Han Ama used to practice for at least three hours when he was young, managing two hours is quite good for you!”
Listen, just listen to what he said!
As if practicing for only two hours was some special favor he’d granted!
That very day, Yintang’s arms and legs had lost all strength. The next day, he couldn’t even get out of bed, frightening Consort Yi into summoning the imperial physician.
Under the massage and bathing treatments prescribed by the physician, Yintang finally managed to move somewhat normally by the third day, though his arms and legs ached as if they’d been pickled in lemon juice for a month.
Climbing trees was out of the question—better to just lie beneath them and enjoy the breeze.
Yintang felt that, at least in the physical sense, he currently resembled a salted fish quite well.
The problem was, while The First Princes practiced riding and archery daily, the younger princes practiced with small bows. Though not required every day, they still had to undergo training and inspection every other day.
Which meant that this very afternoon, he would have to face Ashumuergen’s smiling face again.
He had only himself to blame for forgetting that those with narrow eyes were always monsters.
Amid Yintang’s continuous sighs, Baofu arrived leading a young eunuch.
The eunuch carried a medium-sized wooden box, approaching Yintang and respectfully opening it to reveal a medium-sized glass container inside.
Yintang immediately forgot all his aches and pains, scrambling upright in excitement.
Inside was the observation box he had designed some days ago. The Imperial Workshop’s glass factory had finally produced it before the ants Yinzhen caught for him all died.
Though current technology couldn’t achieve seamless molding for the various openings in the observation box, through piecing and gluing, they had managed to recreate about ninety percent of his design.
Yintang had never studied or learned about glass manufacturing, and naturally had no intention of following in the footsteps of those time-traveling protagonists from his previous life’s novels by making money from it or pushing the dynasty toward industrialization. Since he didn’t know how, there was no need to make things difficult for others. Yintang smiled and nodded, considering the inspection complete.
The little eunuch visibly sighed in relief.
Fortunately, this Ninth Prince was easy to deal with. Unlike some princes and consorts in the palace who would assign tasks to the Imperial Workshop, then upon seeing the results weren’t to their liking, wouldn’t state clearly what they wanted but would instead repeatedly demand changes here and there, deliberately making things difficult for them. Although the drawings provided by the Ninth Prince earlier were somewhat abstract, the general proportions were accurate. This item wasn’t particularly difficult to fire, though the internal partitions and channels were a bit troublesome, requiring just a couple extra days of work. If all the masters were as reasonable as the Ninth Prince, their lives would be much easier.
Thinking this, the little eunuch wiped the sweat from his forehead and followed Baofu out of Yikun Palace. When Baofu returned, he saw the Ninth Prince had already taken out the glass container and placed it on the stone table in the courtyard. At this moment, Yintang had his sleeves rolled up high, holding a small clay jar as he prepared to pour something into the glass container.
He hurried forward to help but was stopped by Yintang.
He could only stand by carefully watching, afraid the young prince might drop or bump into these jars and containers and cut himself.
He watched as Yintang carefully tilted the clay jar, aligning its mouth with the glass container while gently tapping the bottom. Sand and soil came pouring out with a rustling sound.
Looking closely, there were numerous ants mixed in the soil.
After transferring the ants to the observation box, Yintang casually picked up a small twig to level the soil. He admired the completed observation box for quite some time, watching as the ants adapted and began crawling up and down inside, before finally nodding with satisfaction.
Lian Zhu quickly brought a basin of water for him to wash his hands.
Yintang looked around the courtyard and selected a shady corner. He asked Baofu to summon several little eunuchs to move the stone table there, then instructed Lian Zhu to fetch some pastries. He crumbled them with his fingers and scattered the crumbs over the soil surface.
Sure enough, when the ants discovered the food, they immediately became busy.
Watching ants is an incredibly addictive activity, whether for adults or children.
Yintang was lying on his stomach watching with great interest when a loud voice came from the entrance: “Ninth Brother, I’m here!”
Before the words faded, a chubby little figure came rushing in like a whirlwind.
Yin E had a black short bow less than two chi long strapped to his back, followed by several eunuchs panting heavily.
Yin E ran up to Yintang, took the small bow from his back, and handed it to him: “Ninth Brother, this is from my mother for you!”
Yintang’s archery lessons had been arranged recently, and the Imperial Household Department hadn’t prepared a bow in advance. During the first lesson, they had to temporarily find one from the imperial stores – it was made of ordinary materials, both heavy and awkward to handle. Yintang even suspected that his arms nearly gave out during practice was partly due to that terribly heavy bow.
He had been considering asking Consort Yi to help him find a better one, and unexpectedly, just when he needed something, it appeared.
He took the small bow from Yin E’s hands, finding it both lightweight and flexible. The entire bow was made of black birch bark, with thin horn plates embedded in the bowback to enhance local hardness. The grip was wrapped in a layer of thin brocade, and the bow tips were decorated with silver filigree cloud patterns that reflected silvery light in the sun.
Yintang gently plucked the bowstring, producing a crisp sound like jade striking sandalwood clappers. Even without expertise in archery, he could tell this was an exceptional bow.
Knowing it was Niohuru’s gratitude for his earlier rescue of Yin E, he cheerfully accepted it, saying, “I truly like it. Please convey my thanks to the noble consort on my behalf.”
Yin E responded with “Alright,” then noticed the observation box beside Yintang and exclaimed, “Eh? Ninth Brother, what’s this?”
Yintang grinned widely. “Does it look familiar?”
Yin E tilted his small head, trying hard to recall.
“Ninth Brother, I can’t remember,” Yin E said somewhat dejectedly.
Yintang shifted slightly aside, pulling Yin E closer and pointing at the observation box. “It’s the observation box I sketched that day. Remember now?”
“Ah!” Yin E slapped his round little head. “I remember now, I remember!”
Widening his eyes, Yin E carefully examined the transparent container before him.
Wasn’t it just filled with mud? Nothing particularly remarkable at first glance.
Suddenly, he noticed some white and pink fragments moving across the soil surface – and they were actually shifting on their own.