Yin E rubbed his eyes with his chubby little hands. Was he seeing things? But the specks were still moving, and some were even burrowing into the dirt.
Yin E couldn’t help but lean closer. He finally saw clearly that there were many ants inside. It turned out the moving specks were food being carried by the ants.
“So this is an observation box!” Yin E clapped his hands and laughed. “Ninth Brother is so amazing, to think of such a clever way to watch ants!”
Yintang smiled without saying a word. This was just the beginning. Once the ants fully acclimated to the observation box’s environment, they would dig tunnels, lay eggs, and pupate. He could even catch another colony of ants and make the natives fight the outsiders.
After a while, Yintang went out of his way to rummage under a tree in the courtyard. He picked out the carcass of a bug the size of a thumbnail and tossed it into the observation box. In no time, it was torn to shreds by the ants.
“Wow, ants are so strong!” Yin E clapped his hands and laughed. He never imagined that tiny ants could devour a bug so much larger than themselves. Ninth Brother was amazing, too. He had no idea how he came up with such a marvelous idea.
The two little ones stayed lying on the stone table, watching the ants until it was time for their meal. Only when Niohuru sent someone to call Yin E back did the little chubby ball of a boy reluctantly return to Yongshou Palace.
Yintang watched the ants for a while longer, then suddenly remembered something. He called for Lian Zhu to bring him a brush and paper, and to find a literate eunuch.
He sat on the stone stool in front of the table, his two little legs swinging back and forth. When the literate eunuch arrived, Yintang pointed to the stone stool opposite him, gesturing for the eunuch to sit. In a childish, yet serious tone, he said, “I’ll dictate, you write.”
No one understood what the Ninth Prince was up to. The literate eunuch, who was in charge of Yintang’s preliminary education, knew that this little master had the most ideas. He probably thought of a recipe for some new dish, so he calmly ground the ink, moistened the brush, and looked at Yintang. “Ninth Prince, you may begin.”
Yintang cleared his throat. “Fourth Brother, come quickly. There’s a surprise. Yintang.”
The literate eunuch finished writing in a few strokes and looked up. “Ninth Prince, what’s next?”
“Next? That’s it.”
That’s all? Fine, fine. In Consort Yi’s words, as long as their Ninth Prince didn’t tear the glazed tiles off Yikun Palace, nothing he did was a big deal. The literate eunuch shook his head and presented the paper to Yintang.
Yintang looked it over and nodded. The calligraphy wasn’t beautiful, but it was neat enough. He took the brush and drew a crooked cartoon head of a child wearing a melon-rind cap at the bottom of the paper. He waved the paper in the air a few times to let the ink dry completely before carefully folding it.
Though he tried to be careful, he was, after all, a three-year-old child with poor fine motor skills. To Lian Zhu and the literate eunuch, it just looked like he had crumpled it a few times.
“Go, get an envelope, put this paper inside, and deliver it to the Fourth Prince.”
After finishing all this, it was time for his appointment with Ashumuergen. He had to go practice archery.
After so many years, Yintang once again felt the sentiment of going to school being as grim as going to a funeral.
The princes who lived in the A’ge Institute practiced riding and archery in the open space in front of the Archery Hall. The younger princes found another spacious place nearby to practice. Firstly, they were young, and their training content was very different from that of the older princes, making it convenient to differentiate their instruction and training. Secondly, it was to protect the younger princes. After all, the older princes trained with real weapons that could injure people. Swords and blades had no eyes, and some accidents had to be prevented.
Walking was out of the question. Yintang was carried all the way by Baofu, and only when he estimated they were almost there did he slide down from Baofu’s arms.
Yintang pounded his short little legs. Hiss, they were sore and aching.
Seeing his little master walking with a limp, Baofu almost shed tears. From the moment he was born, the little master had been raised in the palm of Consort Yi’s hand. When had he ever suffered like this! This Ashumuergen Anda was simply too heartless!
Ashumuergen had already arrived and was sitting casually on a large rock nearby.
Seeing Yintang arrive, he stood up to greet him. As he got closer, he noticed the little one was walking with an uneven gait, much like a waddling duckling. He couldn’t help but ask with concern, “Are you injured?”
These servants were truly too careless in their duties.
Yintang pouted, his little face scrunched up. “Legs are sore, legs hurt.”
He then held his little arms out to Ashumuergen. “Hands, sore.”
Seeing that Ashumuergen still hadn’t reacted, he simply plopped down on the ground, kicked his little legs, and got his pants covered in dirt. “I’m not practicing. It hurts, it’s sore, woo woo woo.”
Ashumuergen: …So the culprit was me.
Ashumuergen looked down at Yintang. The little one’s eyes were moist, and his fair, tender little face seemed to have gotten a tiny bit tanner.
Alas, it seemed it was indeed his oversight. The little one was so fair and tender; how could he be as tough as the Emperor was in his childhood? This kind of training was indeed a bit too strict for the little dumpling.
A rare look of chagrin appeared on the iron-blooded Anda’s face. Looking at the little dumpling’s teary-eyed appearance, Ashumuergen hesitated before speaking. “How about… we just practice for one hour today?”
Huh? This was negotiable? Yintang’s eyes widened.
Seeing Yintang remain silent, Ashumuergen thought he still felt it was too long. He coughed and said, “Half an hour. No less than that.”
“Oh.” The sudden bliss left Yintang a little dazed. His obedient nod, in Ashumuergen’s eyes, only made him feel that his little disciple was obedient, well-behaved, and could endure hardship—simply the best in the world.
With the lesson time suddenly cut by two-thirds, Yintang felt he could go on. He tried to stand up, but his legs ached terribly the moment he exerted any force. He had no choice but to remain seated on the ground, pouting and opening his little arms towards Ashumuergen. “Anda, I can’t get up. Carry me.”
Ashumuergen looked left and right. Hmm, no one else had arrived.
Ahem, since that’s the case…
Ashumuergen squatted down, slipped his hands under the little dumpling’s arms, and lifted him up in one go. He was so soft, springy, and milky-smelling that once you held him, you wouldn’t want to let go.
He really wanted to show those old fools who laughed at him for not having grandchildren to hold. Him, Ashumuergen, without a child to hold? With such an adorable child, how dare they show off their own homely-looking ones!
When Yinsi arrived, the first thing he saw was the famously strict Ashumuergen Anda holding a little pink dumpling in his arms. The face that was always stern and unsmiling in front of them was now filled with a benevolent smile.
Yinsi raised a small hand to rub his eyes. Did he study too late last night and was now seeing things?
Yintang’s small hands wrapped around Ashumuergen’s neck. His little face turned from cloudy to sunny, and his tone was joyful. “Ashumuergen Anda is so tall! I can see so high up, too!”
Ashumuergen had only been praised for his height as a child. Although it was an advantage, it wasn’t something adults praised each other for. Now, being complimented by the little pink dumpling, he felt as if he had drunk honey, and his smile nearly reached his ears.
Yinsi, watching the smile on Ashumuergen’s face grow wider: *It must be my imagination.*
The Anda following behind Yinsi was in no better state. He was so shocked that he lost his grip on the bow in his hand, and it fell.
Yintang’s hearing was sharp. Hearing the noise, he looked over in Yinsi’s direction.
He and Yinsi had met a few times before, mostly when Yinqi and Yinzhen came over and brought him along. But ever since Yinzhen moved to the A’ge Institute, Yinsi hadn’t visited Yikun Palace. The two only saw each other at grand banquets.
Whether in official historical records or apocryphal spin-offs, Yintang and Yin E were Yinsi’s loyal followers. Yintang had once specifically analyzed this: if the historical Yintang was as naturally intelligent as the records claimed, he should have seen long ago that in Kangxi’s later years, Yinsi was nothing more than a ship whose hull had been pierced by an iceberg and could sink at any moment. Why, then, did he still resolutely support Yinsi, to the point that even after Yongzheng ascended the throne, he continued to express his dissatisfaction with Yongzheng and his regret over Yinsi’s failure to take the throne, in a manner akin to an ant trying to shake a tree and bordering on self-destruction?
With this curiosity, he had once tried to probe Yinsi in the guise of an infant, but aside from being intelligent and gentle, Yinsi didn’t seem to possess any special charisma.
*Sigh*, Yinsi was only five years old right now and hadn’t even entered the Imperial Study. These questions could be left for future discovery.
“Eighth Brother!” Yinsi saw the little pink dumpling give him a big smile while waving his little hand energetically.
It really was Ninth Brother! Infected by Yintang’s happy demeanor, Yinsi’s usually gentle and quiet features also took on a clear look of excitement. He took a few quick strides forward and responded loudly, “Ninth Brother!”
Yinsi was very happy to see Yintang. Previously, only he and Seventh Brother trained here, and Seventh Brother was as quiet as a clam; if you said three sentences to him, you’d be lucky to get one back. Now that Ninth Brother was here, he would finally have a companion to talk to.
He hadn’t seen Yintang in a long time, so he couldn’t help but look him over a few more times. The little pink dumpling was as fair and cute as ever, his cheeks looking chubby and soft, making one want to give them a couple of pinches.
As he thought this, he really did reach out his hand.
The moment Ashumuergen heard Yintang call out to Yinsi, he quickly put Yintang down and lowered his head to pretend to adjust his clothes. In reality, his old face was already slightly red, and a wild rabbit was racing in his heart: *Ahhh, the Eighth Prince saw me! And that little Anda!! My strict image that I worked so hard to maintain, ahhh!!!*
Of course, because he concealed it so naturally, and because the two young princes were too preoccupied with their long-awaited reunion to pay him any mind, no one noticed his flushed state.
Yintang bounced over to Yinsi, gave him a hug, and then looked up at him.
As a result, both his cheeks were pinched.
“Mmph… Eighth Brother!” the little pink dumpling protested. He didn’t expect that Yinsi, even at five years old, still loved to pinch his face as much as he did when he was two or three. Eighth Brother was usually gentle and polite, but he was quite mischievous when it came to this.
Yinsi chuckled, gave his cheeks two more pinches, and then let go.
After exchanging greetings, they began their official training.
Yinsi had already been practicing with a small bow for two years. Now, in preparation for learning riding and archery in the future, he was training his horsemanship skills. An Anda led a small pony over from the side. Yinsi stepped on the stirrup and swung himself onto the horse.
“Wow, Eighth Brother is so amazing, you can already ride a horse!” Yintang clapped his hands enthusiastically in praise.
Yinsi looked at Yintang’s upturned face and earnest praise, finding it utterly adorable. He couldn’t help but lean down from the horse, extend a hand towards him, and smile. “Ninth Brother, want to come up? I’ll take you.”