From that day onward, Yinreng officially took up his role as Danqing's "teacher." After finishing his own studies each day, he would make a special trip to Cining Palace to teach Danqing how to recognize characters.
Danqing was still too young to hold a brush properly, so she had someone prepare a small sand tray for her. Every day, she would use a little wooden stick to trace characters in the sand, and indeed, the shapes of the characters could be discerned—though those with slightly more complex strokes would often blur into a messy clump.
One day, Yinreng wanted to teach Danqing how to write her own name. The character "Dan" was straightforward enough, but the character "qing" proved to be a challenge for Danqing.
She naturally knew how to write it, but the sand was too fluid, and her strength was too weak to write quickly. By the time she reached the middle of the character, the earlier strokes had already faded, and by the time she finished the later strokes, the middle ones had disappeared. When Yinreng turned back to look at her after answering Kangxi's question, all that remained on the sand tray were faint, indistinct marks and a little girl puffing her cheeks in frustration.
"This character has too many strokes. It's normal not to be able to write it right away," Yinreng said, not understanding what Danqing was upset about, but trying to console her nonetheless. "Take your time. Galuo is so clever—you'll learn it soon enough."
Danqing stared at the sand tray, pondering for a moment, then suddenly her eyes lit up. She pointed to the water basin and said, "Hemiao, bring the water over and pour it into the sand!"
Yinreng chuckled. "Even if you can't write the character, there's no need to take it out on the sand."
Kangxi, however, stroked his chin thoughtfully. "That's actually a clever idea. Fourth Princess is truly smart."
Under Yinreng's puzzled gaze, Hemiao followed Danqing's instructions, using a small bowl to slowly and evenly sprinkle water over the sand tray. Soon, a small patch of sand was thoroughly dampened.
Danqing then picked up her little stick again and leisurely traced out the character "qing," looking triumphantly at Yinreng.
The dampened sand no longer collapsed easily, allowing even the most complex characters to remain clearly visible.
"So that's how it's done! Galuo really is clever!" Yinreng exclaimed, going over to trace a few characters in the damp sand with his finger. "This makes it much easier to use."
Danqing looked at Yinreng's astonished expression with a hint of sympathy, thinking to herself that this little Crown Prince truly had no childhood to speak of.
This method was just like children doodling on wet ground after rain. In modern times, anyone could have thought of it, but this Crown Prince, who had been raised in luxury since birth, had probably never even stepped on wet soil after rain, let alone doodled on it.
The toys he doodled with as a child were likely priceless brushes and paper.
At this thought, Danqing immediately reined in her overflowing sympathy.
She had been presumptuous—how could she even think of pitying this Crown Prince, who had been born into the highest honor?
If even he deserved sympathy, then there was no one in this world with a fortunate fate.
Kangxi had no idea what his little daughter was silently criticizing. He simply found the damp sand interesting and ordered more water to be brought, thoroughly wetting the entire sand tray. Then, taking the wooden stick from Danqing's hand, he drew an irregular, slanted oval shape on it, with a small tail extending from the lower left corner.
"Can you tell what this is?" Kangxi asked, looking up at Yinreng.
Yinreng thought for a moment. "Taiwan?"
Kangxi nodded in approval. "Well done. It seems you paid attention when I taught you geography before."
Danqing also leaned in curiously, wondering why Kangxi had suddenly drawn the island of Taiwan on the sand tray.
If she remembered correctly, one of Kangxi's achievements in the history textbooks was the recovery of Taiwan, but she couldn't recall the exact timing.
"Today, I received Shi Lang's memorial advocating for sending troops to Taiwan. However, Yao Qisheng believes we could still negotiate with the Zheng family, preferably persuading them to surrender,"
Kangxi continued, "Baocheng, whose suggestion do you think is better?"
Yinreng thought for a moment before replying, "I think both have their merits, though civil officials and military generals simply have different perspectives."
Kangxi shook his head. "Don't learn such ambiguous talk from your tutors. If you were asked to make a decision, would you also say both have their merits? Speak your mind directly."
Yinreng bowed in apology and then said, "I believe the Qing has given the Zheng family enough opportunities. There's no need to wait any longer."
With these words, he expressed his support for war.
Kangxi then asked him about the current combat capabilities of the Fujian navy versus the Taiwan navy and the Qing's chances of victory. Yinreng hesitated for a long time but couldn't provide an answer.
A hint of disappointment flickered in Kangxi's expression.
Yinreng's face visibly flushed with shame as he lowered his head, not daring to speak.
Danqing blinked, looking at Yinreng and then at Kangxi, before speaking up to ease the tension. "Emperor Kangxi, is the navy a lion in the water? Does it eat meat or fish?"
Yinreng: …?
Kangxi: Pfft.
Amused by his little daughter's childish words, Kangxi could no longer keep a straight face. He picked Danqing up and chuckled, "Why are you always thinking about feeding something? The other day you were clamoring to feed wolves, and now you want to feed lions. What, besides wanting to be the wolf king, do you also want to be the lion king?"
Danqing: …
Thanks, but she had no desire to be Simba.
Kangxi wanted to spare Yinreng some embarrassment and avoid lecturing him in front of others, so he used the excuse of explaining things to Danqing to briefly outline the situation in Taiwan, allowing Yinreng to listen once more.
Mindful of his daughter's young mind and its limited capacity to absorb too much information, he explained things in simpler terms, often comparing combat capabilities using straightforward numbers. Yinreng understood better this time and nodded repeatedly.
Danqing had no real concept of terms like this ship or that vessel, but seeing Kangxi speak about them with such familiarity and pride, she didn't need to think deeply to know what choice Kangxi would ultimately make.
If they intended to offer amnesty, why spend money and effort training so many naval forces? Kangxi knew the situation of the Taiwan navy inside out. Who would believe he had no intention of using military force to conquer?
"I've said so much, and you haven't responded at all, little one. I really don't know if you understood or not,"
Kangxi finished speaking and tapped Danqing's forehead with his finger. "Staring with those big eyes as if you know everything, but you probably didn't take in a word, did you?"
Danqing opened her mouth to bite, but Kangxi deftly avoided her once again. She bared her teeth and said, "I've been listening the whole time!"
Kangxi teased her with a smile, "Then tell us, should we fight or not?"
Danqing scratched her head and glanced at Yinreng.
Just as Yinreng was about to speak up to help his sister, Kangxi cut in, "You're not allowed to say anything. Let her answer herself."
Danqing snorted, no longer hesitating, and said directly, "Fight!"
Kangxi grew intrigued and asked, "Oh? Why fight?"
Danqing waved her little hand. "Because Emperor Kangxi wants to fight, and Second Brother wants to fight, so let's fight!"
Yinreng covered his mouth to stifle a laugh, while Kangxi burst into laughter.
"Haha, you clever little thing, you may not understand political affairs, but you can certainly read me!"
He lifted Danqing by her armpits and tossed her upward, then caught her steadily as she gasped in surprise. "Alright, if our Fourth Princess says we should fight, then we fight! I remember your birthday is coming up soon. I'll capture Taiwan as your birthday gift!"
Danqing, dizzy from being tossed, quickly wrapped her arms around his neck to prevent him from throwing her again, but she replied, "That sounds great! Today is the 22nd, and my birthday is on the 27th—just five days away!"
Kangxi: …
Yinreng: Snort.
Clearly, no matter how confident he was, it was absolutely impossible to issue orders from Beijing, relay them to Fujian, and have the Fujian naval forces mobilize and capture Taiwan—all within five days.
Kangxi had gotten overly excited and made a promise to his daughter, only to realize he was about to contradict himself.
The situation became quite awkward. After listening quietly for a while, the Grand Empress Dowager spoke up to rescue her unreliable grandson: "What your Emperor Father means is that he will issue the order to attack before your birthday. It will likely take a few months at most to capture it."
Danqing, still wanting to play along, continued, "How many months is 'a few months'?"
Kangxi was amused again and pinched the tip of her nose. "Danqing, guess how many months it will take. Let's see if you can guess correctly."
When it came to war, the shorter the time, the better. Danqing, wanting to bring good luck, held up one finger and said, "I guess one month—just in time for my full-month celebration!"
Kangxi laughed heartily. "We were talking about your birthday, and now you're thinking of something else. I've never heard of anyone celebrating a full-month ceremony every year!"
Danqing proudly lifted her little chin. "I am Emperor Father's Fourth Princess. Why can't I have a full-month celebration?"
Kangxi, thoroughly pleased, replied, "Yes, yes, as long as our Fourth Princess is happy, she can celebrate her birthday as many times a year as she wants!"
Although he had spoken playfully with Danqing, Kangxi took the one-month deadline to heart. Without further delay, he bid farewell to the Grand Empress Dowager and returned to the Qianqing Palace to handle the matter.
Yinreng stayed behind, leaning against the Grand Empress Dowager, his expression troubled.
He was still dwelling on how he had been unable to answer Kangxi's questions earlier, feeling that he had disappointed his Emperor Father.
The Grand Empress Dowager invited him to sit and have some tea, then asked, "Baocheng, do you know what mistake you made just now?"
Yinreng nodded. "I haven't been diligent enough. Even though I knew Emperor Father has been concerned about Taiwan these past few days, I didn't even understand the situation of the naval forces. I disappointed him."
The Grand Empress Dowager only smiled and shook her head. Suddenly, she turned to Danqing and asked, "Galuo, tell me, why was your Emperor Father unhappy just now?"
Danqing was taken aback. Was this really a question for a young, innocent princess like her?
"Don't pretend to be clueless," the Grand Empress Dowager said, mimicking Kangxi by pinching Danqing's nose. "If you truly understood nothing, why did you bring up the lion earlier to help your brother out of trouble?"
Danqing had been living in the Cining Palace for some time now, and the Grand Empress Dowager had gradually come to understand her great-granddaughter, increasingly realizing that this child was extraordinary.
She appeared innocent and childlike, yet she was far more composed than other children her age. She was exceptionally perceptive, never spoke carelessly, and never interrupted Kangxi's lessons to the Crown Prince without reason.
Other princesses at this age might indeed mistake "navy" for "lion," but Danqing certainly would not. Just two days earlier, when Kangxi came to discuss matters concerning Taiwan, Danqing had been listening intently with pricked ears. If she had any questions, she would have asked them then—why wait until now to speak up?
So this girl knew exactly what was going on. She had sensed Kangxi's displeasure and was deliberately talking nonsense to help the Crown Prince out of a tight spot.
Danqing looked up into the Grand Empress Dowager's eyes, which seemed capable of seeing right through people, and knew she couldn't hide the truth today. Reluctantly, she said:
"I'm just guessing. It's probably because Second Brother said we should fight but couldn't explain why we could win."
Yinreng was Kangxi's designated heir, the future decision-maker of the Great Qing Empire. It was easy for him to make a decision, but he shouldn't make one lightly.
If Yinreng didn't understand the military capabilities of both sides, he shouldn't have advocated for war in the first place. It was worse to insist on fighting and then admit he didn't know the details.
Yinreng was still young. Kangxi wouldn't fault him for not knowing, but he wouldn't be pleased if the boy pretended to understand what he did not.
Danqing's words made Yinreng bow his head in deep thought, while the Grand Empress Dowager reached out to stroke her hair, her eyes tinged with melancholy.
Sumalagu had once said this girl resembled her. At first, she thought it was just flattery to please her, but now she felt those words were indeed true.
When she was young, she too had been this perceptive, easily seeing through the essence of matters and even discerning people's hearts.
This had once been a talent she took pride in, but it had also become the source of her pain.
It is pitiable for a woman to muddle through life in confusion, but to be too clear-sighted yet powerless to change anything—that is truly unbearable agony!
"Galuo, don't think so much from now on,"
the Grand Empress Dowager drew Danqing into her embrace. "Just be a carefree little princess, alright? Let the men worry about those troublesome matters. You only need to live happily."
Don't end up like her—exhausted from a lifetime of toiling, only to weave the bridal gown for others.