In truth, Bao Cheng was actually a very easy child to raise.
After all, with his mental age being what it was, even though his tender young body sometimes caused him to involuntarily act like a baby, overall, he was much more reasonable than other little ones his age.
But he couldn’t help it—Kangxi was completely clueless about raising children.
Kangxi’s impression of child-rearing was still stuck at the stage of picking them up to play with when he had nothing better to do and handing them over to wet nurses when they were hungry. He had completely underestimated the destructive power a little one who couldn’t yet speak could unleash when unhappy.
“Waa—waa—waa—”
Bao Cheng’s wails echoed throughout the entire Qianqing Palace. Kangxi’s face was ashen as he clenched his fists in restraint, while the wet nurses knelt awkwardly on the floor, trembling.
“Why won’t he nurse?”
Kangxi asked through gritted teeth, “Guwen Xing, didn’t you say these wet nurses had all been thoroughly checked?”
Guwen Xing explained helplessly, “Your Majesty, our Imperial Prince Bao Cheng probably just doesn’t like human milk by nature. When he was in Ningshou Palace, the Empress Dowager always fed him goat’s milk.”
So, Your Majesty, why not just go along with the Empress Dowager’s way of doing things?
“How old is Bao Cheng? What does he know about likes and dislikes?”
Kangxi didn’t believe it, “It must be that the wet nurses are afraid of trouble and unwilling to put in the effort, deliberately not persuading Bao Cheng to nurse!”
The wet nurses: …
Heaven and earth bear witness!
Who didn’t know how precious Imperial Prince Bao Cheng was? At this point, if anyone could get Imperial Prince Bao Cheng to nurse from her, she might very well become a respected elder in the future!
How could it be that they weren’t willing to put in the effort? If the Imperial Prince refused to nurse, could they force him?
After crying for so long that his throat was dry, Bao Cheng stopped and waved at Liang Jiugong, who was standing by the bed, signaling that he wanted water.
Seeing this, Liang Jiugong immediately said, “Your Majesty, look—Imperial Prince Bao Cheng agrees with what you said.”
Bao Cheng: … He wasn’t, he didn’t, are you taking advantage of the fact that he can’t talk?
Guwen Xing shot Liang Jiugong a glare, and Liang Jiugong immediately shrank back.
“Your Majesty, Imperial Prince Bao Cheng has been crying for so long. He must be both thirsty and hungry. Why not let the wet nurses feed him as usual for now? As for the future—perhaps you could ask the other ladies in the palace?”
Guwen Xing advised Kangxi.
Bao Cheng almost wanted to give Guwen Xing a thumbs-up!
He wriggled with effort, trying to move away from Liang Jiugong, lest foolishness prove contagious.
“If they knew how to raise children, would I have sent Baoqing away to be raised elsewhere?”
Kangxi was still brooding over this, “Forget it, let’s do it this way for now. Tomorrow, I’ll summon Master Nan to ask him.”
Leaving aside whether it was reliable for Kangxi to ask Nan Huairen, a foreign old man, about raising children, just the first night Bao Cheng spent in the Qianqing Palace nearly drove Kangxi mad.
Although the nursing issue was temporarily resolved, little ones like him—even though they seemed to sleep all day—actually needed to cause trouble from time to time.
Feeding, changing diapers, being too cold or too hot, or simply waking up suddenly and wanting to move around.
When Bao Cheng was in Ningshou Palace, he had his own quarters. His warm chamber was separated from the Empress Dowager’s sleeping quarters by a main hall, so no matter how much trouble he caused at night, it never disturbed the Empress Dowager’s rest.
But when he moved to the Qianqing Palace, Kangxi insisted on keeping his son in his own sleeping quarters, despite all advice to the contrary. As a result, after one night, Kangxi had hardly slept at all. His eyes were bloodshot, and his face was dark with exhaustion.
“Are you doing this on purpose?”
Early morning, Kangxi leaned over the crib, glaring discontentedly at his soundly sleeping son. "You kept fussing all night, and now you're sleeping so peacefully, you unfilial child!"
With that, he reached out to pinch Bao Cheng's cheek, trying to rouse the boy to share his misery.
The forcibly awakened little bundle had an astonishingly fierce temper upon waking. He swung his arm in a wide arc and slapped Kangxi's hand, then opened his mouth to wail.
Kangxi hurriedly covered the child's mouth. In that instant, he suddenly understood Empress Niohuru's actions from the previous day—
This little thing might look tiny, but his cries were truly unbearable. Though Empress Niohuru had acted rashly, it seemed somewhat understandable.
Under Guwen Xing's disapproving gaze, Kangxi sheepishly released his hand. "Take Bao Cheng to Cining Palace later."
Last month, he had already ordered Prince An and Prince Kang to lead troops against the Three Feudatories.
No matter how dissatisfied the conservative faction in the court might be, at this point, Da Qing and the Three Feudatories had reached a point of no return—a bloody battle to the end was inevitable.
Thus, Da Qing needed more support and recognition from the Han Chinese, and establishing a crown prince was a simple, direct, and effective means to achieve this.
Exchanging the position of crown prince for the loosening of stubborn Han factions and winning over some wavering Han Chinese was well worth it.
As for those idle imperial clansmen, the leading ones like Prince An and others with capability had mostly been assigned to lead troops. The remaining ones could only make noise without any real ability.
However, everything was ready except for the east wind.
All conditions for establishing the crown prince were prepared, but his Taizi could not grow up overnight.
This was why Kangxi had been so furious upon seeing Empress Niohuru covering Bao Cheng's mouth yesterday—in his heart, Bao Cheng was already the designated crown prince, and no accidents could be tolerated.
Though Empress Niohuru hadn't caused any real accident this time, if Bao Cheng remained in Qianqing Palace any longer, both father and son might end up with problems.
After a sleepless night, Kangxi decisively packed his son off to his grandmother. Having arrived just over two months ago, Bao Cheng was already facing his third move.
The Empress Dowager grumbled about "all this unnecessary fuss" but still ordered the warm chamber to be tidied up for Bao Cheng's temporary stay.
The Eldest Princess, who had previously occupied the warm chamber, was moved to the secondary room.
The four-year-old Eldest Princess pouted with grievance but dared not complain.
Children in the palace matured early. Though young, the Eldest Princess already understood her circumstances.
She was Prince Gong's daughter, not the Emperor's own child, so she had to be obedient and well-behaved, or she might be sent away from the palace.
Under her nursemaid's earnest guidance, the Eldest Princess mustered her spirits and nestled by the Empress Dowager's side, observing the newly arrived little brother together.
Bao Cheng yawned and looked at the unfamiliar little girl.
This should be his sister, right?
But why did her gaze seem less than friendly?
Could it be that she felt his arrival would steal her affection?
Indeed, whether in ancient times or modern, multi-child families faced the same issues.
In his previous life, when his stepmother gave birth to a younger sister, Bao Cheng had also been deeply saddened for a long time.
Already strained with his father and at odds with his stepmother, after gaining a sister, he became the "invisible child" at home—no one cared about his feelings.
Later, it was only through his own realization that he managed to overcome his inner struggles.
No matter what the adults did, the younger sister was innocent.
She was so adorable, she would grab him with her soft little hands, sweetly smile and call him "brother," secretly hide delicious little cakes and place them in his room, and even stand in front to protect him when their father scolded him.
The younger sister was the warmest presence in Bao Cheng's heart, a closer relative than even his parents.
And in this life, he was destined to have many, many brothers and sisters. Although conflicts among brothers were inevitable in the end, that would not be the case with his sisters.
Looking at the Eldest Princess, Bao Cheng felt as if he were seeing his younger sister from his past life. He couldn't bear to see her suffer the slightest grievance, and when she was unhappy, he felt sad too.
However, Bao Cheng was still too young. He couldn't ask what had happened, nor could he comfort the Eldest Princess with words. The only thing he could do was pull out the string of jade beads Kangxi had placed in his swaddling clothes and push them toward the Eldest Princess with all his might.
The beads were so beautiful. If he gave them to his sister, wouldn't she be a little happier?
"For… for me?"
The Eldest Princess couldn't believe it.
Bao Cheng babbled softly, his eyes fixed intently on the Eldest Princess.
"Our Imperial Prince Bao Cheng cares for his sister,"
Sumalagu said, slipping the string of beads onto the Eldest Princess's wrist. "Didn't the Eldest Princess also prepare a gift for Imperial Prince Bao Cheng?"
With that, she took a small pouch from her sleeve and handed it to the Eldest Princess, signaling for her to place it into Bao Cheng's swaddling clothes herself.
But the Eldest Princess did not take it.
She cherished the string of emerald-green beads on her wrist.
The beads Kangxi used as prayer beads fit perfectly on the Eldest Princess's wrist as a bracelet, as if they had been made just for her.
The young Eldest Princess had been sent to the palace far from her biological parents at an early age. The Empress Dowager treated her well, adding many things beyond the usual princess's allowance and never treating her unfairly, but she had never given her anything particularly special either.
Everything she had, the Second Princess also had. In this palace, there was nothing that belonged solely to her.
But today, she had received a precious, one-of-a-kind gift.
She had seen this string of beads before—on her Imperial Father's lapel. It was certainly something no one else had, and now, it belonged to her alone.
The Eldest Princess was still too young to know how to express her feelings. The only thing she could think of was to give her most precious possession to her younger brother.
She took off a longevity lock from her neck—one her mother had personally placed on her at birth. She had never parted with it and treasured it deeply.
But now, she wanted to give it to her younger brother because she liked him.
Nanny Su had said that this longevity lock symbolized the very best of blessings. She hoped her younger brother would also have the very best of everything.
"This child—"
The Empress Dowager couldn't help but tear up. "She is truly pure and kind-hearted. Even her most treasured possession, she thinks of giving it to her younger brother."
Sumalagu helped the Eldest Princess hang the longevity lock around Bao Cheng's neck and said with tears in her eyes, "Our Eldest Princess cares for her younger brother, and Imperial Prince Bao Cheng cares for his sister. How wonderful—this is a blessing."
Bao Cheng had given the beads to the Eldest Princess only to cheer her up. He hadn't thought the beads were particularly precious, but he never expected that a momentary act of kindness would earn him his sister's most treasured longevity lock.
Looking at his sister, who no longer seemed displeased and instead gazed at him with gentle kindness, he suddenly felt like crying too.
What a fine young lady, it's just a pity she was born in this era, born into the imperial family.
The Imperial Princes can still strive for themselves, but the princesses, from the moment they are born, have their fates predetermined.
The princesses of the Kangxi era were almost all married off to Mongolia.
The sister before him would likely meet the same fate.
What could he do to help this pure and kind-hearted young girl?