The third day of the fifth lunar month, the thirteenth year of the Kangxi reign. Kunning Palace, the Forbidden City, Beijing.
Palace maids and eunuchs hurried in and out carrying hot water, white cloths, medicinal decoctions, and other supplies. Their expressions were panicked, yet none dared to raise their heads.
The Kangxi Emperor, who had just passed his twentieth year, sat upright at the entrance of the delivery room, his face grim and silent.
“Your Majesty, Prince An requests an audience.”
Guwen Xing, the Chief Eunuch, entered from outside and reported as he approached Kangxi.
With a sharp crack, Kangxi snapped the armrest off his chair and hurled it to the floor. “Tell him to get lost!”
He did not believe Prince An Yue Le was unaware the Empress was in labor. To request an audience at such a time—what were his intentions?!
Several young eunuchs nearby fell to their knees in terror, their faces pressed to the ground. Only Guwen Xing’s expression remained unchanged as he continued his report: “Prince An said that Your Majesty should not neglect state affairs for minor matters of the inner palace. He said if Your Majesty refuses to see him, he will wait outside indefinitely.”
“Minor matters of the inner palace! The birth of my Empress’s legitimate son is a matter of national destiny! In his eyes, it is so insignificant!”
Kangxi rose in a fit of rage. “Then let him wait at the palace gates! I want to see exactly how long he can wait!”
Guwen Xing gave the kneeling eunuch Liang Jiugong a quick kick. Liang Jiugong immediately scrambled up, swiftly dragged away the chair Kangxi had broken, and replaced it with one that looked sturdier.
Kangxi shot Guwen Xing a glare, let out a cold snort, and sat back down.
At that moment, a cry of pain from Empress Heseri echoed from the delivery room. Kangxi gripped the armrests tightly, struggling to maintain his composure.
He was the Emperor; he could not rush inside.
He had to endure.
“He’s born! He’s born! Her Majesty has given birth to a little Agé!”
A cheer erupted from the delivery room. Kangxi could no longer restrain himself; he stood up to head inside, but as he took a step, he found he couldn’t move.
Kangxi looked down at Liang Jiugong, who was kneeling on the ground hugging his feet. His eyes twitched.
Guwen Xing knelt with a beaming smile. “Your servants congratulate Your Majesty on the birth of a legitimate son!”
The others in the hall finally came to their senses and knelt in unison, shouting, “Your servants congratulate Your Majesty on the birth of a legitimate son!”
Kangxi laughed heartily. “Good, good, good! Everyone shall be rewarded!”
In the time it took for this brief delay, the palace maids had already wrapped the newborn little Agé and carried him out.
Kangxi was no longer in a hurry to go inside. Instead, he took his newborn younger son from the maid’s arms and cradled him, observing him closely.
Although the old saying goes “cradle the grandson, not the son,” this was his legitimate son, naturally different from the others.
What was wrong with him holding his child?
Would anyone dare to speak up against it?
Kangxi locked eyes with the little son in his arms, while at that moment, the son in his arms was in a total daze.
Yin Cheng tried his best to open his eyes wide, but the world before him remained a blur.
What was going on?
Had he suddenly become nearsighted?
Yin Cheng felt like his brain was short-circuiting, like the feeling of being suddenly startled awake after a long sleep, his mind a jumble of mush.
He couldn’t quite understand his current state. He felt a swaying sensation; he didn’t feel like he was lying in a bed, but rather like he was on a boat.
Suddenly, something appeared before his eyes, getting closer and closer. He used his muddled brain to think for a long time before realizing it was a human face.
Yin Cheng felt the hair on his body stand on end. He opened his mouth wide and let out a loud cry—
“Waa— waa— waa—”
Wh-what on earth?
Was that high-pitched, childish explosion of noise coming from him?
Just as Yin Cheng was questioning his life, the face in front of him moved even closer and planted a wet kiss on his cheek.
Yin Cheng: …Help, I’m tainted!
“Congratulations, Your Majesty. The little Agé is full of life; his voice is exceptionally loud and clear.”
The Imperial Physician who came to check the baby offered a smiling compliment.
Many children had been born in this palace, but few were healthy from birth. Aside from Baoqing Agé, born to Nala concubine of Yanxi Palace, this newborn little Agé looked to be the most blessed.
No, wait—this one was the legitimate son. In terms of fortune, he was naturally one of a kind under heaven.
What a wonderful reincarnation!
The Imperial Physician marveled inwardly while carefully checking the little Agé’s hands and feet. He even took the infant from Kangxi’s hands and gave him a little jiggle to check his reflexes, startling Kangxi into quickly pulling his son back close.
“Rest assured, Your Majesty. The little Agé is healthy and robust; there is nothing amiss.”
The Imperial Physician finally finished his prodding, tucked the swaddling clothes tight, and retreated to the side.
If not for the fact that this Imperial Physician Li had looked after Kangxi since he was a child, Kangxi would have certainly had someone drag him out for a beating.
His son was precious; how could he be handled so roughly?
What if he got hurt!
Kangxi rocked his son with heartache, trying to soothe him, but the boy only yelled louder.
Yin Cheng: “Ahhh, ah—” Stop shaking me, I’m dizzy!
Kangxi didn’t quite understand what his son was shouting about. He leaned in closer to look, only to have a tiny hand hit him on the chin with a smack.
Yin Cheng: “Ahhh, ahhhh!” Get back, you’re scaring me!
Kangxi: “…”
Why did it feel like his son was so fierce?
Though he already had several sons, Kangxi simply felt that this red-faced little fellow in his arms was the one closest to him—
Because he had played with him for so long, and his son hadn’t cried!
Wait, no, why wasn’t his son crying?
Kangxi looked at his son, who was flailing his limbs and howling, and asked Imperial Physician Li in a panic, “The little Agé hasn’t cried once. Is there something wrong with him?”
Not crying was considered bad? How could that mean something was wrong!
Imperial Physician Li suppressed the urge to complain and said with a smile, “Rest assured, Your Majesty, the little Agé is fine. Children only cry when they are uncomfortable. The little Agé is so spirited because he feels close to Your Majesty.”
Only then did Kangxi feel relieved. He began to rock the baby again with a pretense of expertise, as if he were very skilled at soothing children.
However, at this moment, Yin Cheng only wanted to vomit.
Unfortunately, as a little bun who hadn’t even had a drop of milk yet, he couldn’t get anything out.
Just before Yin Cheng was completely shaken into a stupor, a sudden cry of alarm came from the delivery room. A palace maid stumbled out, knelt on the floor, and wailed, “The—the Empress is hemorrhaging!”
Kangxi’s rocking motion stopped instantly. “Imperial Physician Li, go quickly!”
Yin Cheng didn’t know what happened after that, because he successfully succumbed to the dizziness.
…
When Yin Cheng woke up in a daze, he had already been placed in a small crib.
Although his brain was still not functioning at full capacity, he had a rough idea of his current situation—
He had become a newborn infant.
He didn’t know if he had traveled through time or if he had forgotten to drink the soup of oblivion before reincarnating, but in short, he was no longer a model youth of modern society. He was in the Qing Dynasty.
While he didn’t know what year it was, he had just heard words like “Emperor,” “Agé,” and “Imperial Physician,” which were enough to indicate the era.
Actually, it wasn’t too bad?
Yin Cheng comforted himself. Following the trend to visit the Qing Dynasty and being born an Agé was considered a very good lot in life.
He just hoped it wasn’t the late Qing, because he didn’t want to face that dark period of history.
He was just an ordinary person and didn’t feel he had the ability to move the gears of history.
Yin Cheng still couldn’t see the world clearly, but he could hear.
Someone walked in from outside.
An elegant, pleasant woman’s voice spoke near Yin Cheng: “Where are the people serving the little Agé? How could you leave him here all alone!”
Another gentle female voice replied, “Grand Empress Dowager, please do not worry. I expect the delivery room was short-handed, so they all went to help. I shall go and inquire about the situation immediately.”
Grand Empress Dowager?
Yin Cheng smacked his lips. He remembered there were two Grand Empress Dowagers in the Qing Dynasty. One was the grandmother of the Kangxi Emperor, who assisted three generations of emperors and was renowned for ages.
The other was—
The last Empress Dowager of the Qing Dynasty, whose name would live in infamy.
Between the two choices, if the correct answer was the latter, Yin Cheng requested to delete his save file and start over immediately.
“Forget the others. Sumala, have the wet nurse come and serve first. Don’t let my little grandson go hungry.”
Sumalagu gave her assent and walked out of the hall. At that moment, Yin Cheng’s eyes lit up.
Sumala?
He had watched The Secret History of the Empress Dowager! This hint was practically hitting him in the face!
His luck was incredible; the person beside him was actually the legendary Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang!
So this was the Kangxi era, and the one who had shaken him into a stupor earlier was the Kangxi Emperor?
Not bad, not bad. Kangxi had many sons; he wouldn’t be needed at all. He just had to lie flat and enjoy the wonderful life of a prince.
If he could stick close to Yongzheng’s side in the future, he could live out his life in peace and comfort.
Yin Cheng felt blissful. He couldn’t help but wave his little paws, wanting to embrace the wonderful life within his reach. However, the Grand Empress Dowager watching over him misunderstood. She took his little hand with aching tenderness and said softly, “Be good, little Agé. You’ll have milk to eat in a moment.”
No, he didn’t want to drink milk, but he did want to give his great-grandmother a hug.
Wasn’t the skill of acting cute to please the elders a mandatory course for a modern youth?
Back in the day, even his sternest grand-uncle would smile upon seeing him. To curry favor with his own great-grandmother was nothing to be ashamed of!
The little bun, who still couldn’t see the world clearly, began to act cute and act spoiled. He grabbed the Grand Empress Dowager’s hand with his tiny paws, making soft woo-woo and ah-ah sounds. If he could control his body, he would have definitely lunged forward to hug the Grand Empress Dowager’s arm and nuzzle against her.
The Grand Empress Dowager had raised many children, but she had never seen one so affectionate right after birth.
The little great-grandson was soft and sweet, like a large milk bun, cute enough to melt one’s heart.
The Grand Empress Dowager smiled as she coaxed the little Agé, but her heart was filled with pity.
Although the Empress was still clinging to life, she had just asked Imperial Physician Li; it was only a matter of time now.
Her little great-grandson had lost his mother just as he was born. How pitiful!
“Her Majesty the Empress has passed—”
Before Sumalagu could return from finding someone, a wail erupted from outside. Immediately, everyone in Kunning Palace fell to their knees, and the sound of weeping was endless.
The Grand Empress Dowager closed her eyes and swayed slightly.
Empress Heseri was a good Empress. What a pity.
But at this moment, Yin Cheng’s entire body went stiff.
The Empress?
His mother was the Empress?
How many Agés were born to the Empress during the Kangxi era?
No… it couldn’t be just that one, could it?
Just a moment ago, he was celebrating being born into the Kangxi era with its many princes so he could lie flat without working. Just a moment ago, he had decided to stick close to the future Yongzheng Emperor to ensure a life of ease. Now he was being told that he was Yinreng?
The Yinreng who was Crown Prince for decades, only to be established twice and deposed twice by Kangxi, and finally imprisoned until death?
Was his life goal about to change from “happy lying flat” to “finding a more comfortable place to be imprisoned”?
Was there any way he could not be the Crown Prince?