Chapter 49 Chapter 49 Concubine Mi hadn't expected this...

Concubine Mi hadn't expected the Emperor would bring up that incident again after all these years.

Kangxi held her wrist, preventing her from even struggling.

"I've always said that what I love most is that you never lie to me."

Concubine Mi shook her head in horror. "No, no one has ever taught me anything."

"If you lie, you're deceiving the Emperor."

Kangxi released her hand, his slightly rough fingertips tracing across her arm, causing a shudder.

Concubine Mi's beautiful eyes welled with tears. "I don't know why the Emperor asks this, but back in Jiangnan, only a few maids taught me the rules of the palace, and nothing else."

Kangxi's tone softened, patting her hand and closing his eyes again. "Nothing, I was just asking."

Concubine Mi breathed a sigh of relief, her back already drenched in cold sweat.

How could she still be as innocent as she was when she first entered the palace after so many years?

Years ago, she'd learned that her aunt had actually taught her the ways of Empress Hesheli, and she also understood why the emperor had initially been so obsessed with her.

Mipin continued massaging Kangxi's head. Kangxi paused for a moment before asking, "I remember that during the southern tour, it was Concubine Xuan who accompanied him and managed the internal affairs."

Mipin whispered, "Yes, Your Majesty, I remember correctly."

"So Concubine Xuan has been very supportive of you."

Mipin's eyelashes fluttered as she whispered, "Concubine Xuan has been very caring towards everyone in the harem, and I'm naturally grateful."

Kangxi remained closed-eyed, his tone flat, and Mipin couldn't hear what he was saying, so she could only reply politely.

"Concubine Xuan is truly upright and honest, a rare and sincere person in the harem," Kangxi said leisurely. "Before the Empress Dowager died, she asked me to transfer one of Concubine Xuan's three sons to her name. Did you hear about that?"

Mipin was truly terrified today. These critical questions came one after another.

"I've heard about it, but I'm not entirely sure."

Kangxi sat up, raised his hand, and motioned for her to come forward and sit.

"Then I'll tell you today. It's true. What are your thoughts?"

Mipin was almost beginning to suspect there was something wrong with the almanac; her palms were sweating.

This barrage of questions was truly troubling her.

"Your Majesty, this concerns the Imperial Concubine and the Prince. I can't intervene."

"Your Majesty,"

Mipin sighed inwardly, saying honestly, "Filial piety is paramount. The Empress Dowager's wishes should not be violated."

Kangxi smiled at her words, propping himself up on his left arm and looking at her.

"You, you're telling the truth,"

Mipin asked cautiously, "but was I wrong?"

Filial piety was paramount, so Kangxi couldn't possibly say she was wrong. He simply waved her off.

As soon as Mipin left, Kangxi's expression darkened.

"Liang Jiugong, keep an eye on Concubine Mi and see if she's contacting anyone."

It was truly a flash of inspiration, a sudden connection connecting many things. Concubine Mi's initial resemblance to Hesheli, and later, during the uproar over who would take care of Yinxiang, Concubine Mi's rare meddling in other people's affairs. Today, seeing the legal battle between Yinsi and Yinzhi, Kangxi, having been an emperor for many years and possessing a keen sense of current events, suddenly had an incredible thought.

Wen Shan certainly didn't have such scheming, but what about her children?

Yinsi, at such a young age, was already so impeccable in his words and deeds. He had been a standout among the princes for the past two years. Zhang Ying and Gu Badai would often praise the Eighth Prince for his intelligence, respect for teachers, and virtuous character.

At the time, he hadn't taken it seriously. How could a seven or eight-year-old child be considered virtuous? He feared the teachers were exaggerating, taking advantage of the fact that they were princes. But seeing Yinsi today, he realized that eight was not a young age after all.

He had ascended the throne when he was eight years old.

Kangxi put this matter aside and spent an hour reviewing memorials before Liang Jiugong came back to report that Concubine Mi had returned to her own tent as soon as she left, and then took a nap and had not woken up yet. She had not seen anyone and had not delivered any news.

If she could still sleep at this time, then she must have no guilt.

"I understand. Go down."

Liang Jiugong responded respectfully and stepped aside.

Kangxi thought a lot more after calming down. Even if Yinsi had the intelligence now, he was only three years old when he went on the southern tour. Now it seems that he was overthinking it.

Speaking of Yinzhen, after leaving Kangxi's tent, it was free time for them to go hunting or relax.

"Third brother, fourth brother, do you want to go hunting with me in the northern forest?" The prince greeted the third prince and Yinzhen with great interest.

Seeing Crown Prince Yinsi standing next to Yinzhen, he raised an eyebrow and said, "Eighth brother, you're still young. The brothers won't take you hunting."

What did he mean by "young"? It was just that the Crown Prince was ostracizing him because of what had just happened.

But it also showed that he'd been doing well recently.

Didn't you see that the eldest prince hadn't received an invitation either?

He'd only been punished by Kangxi to not hunt the next day, but not to be confined to his house. So the Crown Prince simply skipped him and ignored him.

Naturally, the eldest prince wasn't interested in going hunting with the Crown Prince.

"Hunting is fun only when you're equally skilled. His Highness the Crown Prince will select the participants. So, I won't go with my brothers, so as not to spoil everyone's fun." "

Who wants to go hunting with a bunch of you noobs?"

Despite being scolded by Kangxi, the eldest prince still had a harsh word.

The Crown Prince smiled and continued to ignore him.

The eldest prince left in anger.

The Ninth and Tenth Princes were not old enough to ride horses, nor could they hunt. This time they came with their mother to relax and enjoy the scenery.

So apart from the eldest prince, Yinsi was the only one left.

The Third Prince could not refuse the Prince's invitation and had to accept it, but Yinzhen did not express his opinion.

"I will go to accompany Mother later, Fourth Brother, you go." Yinsi said with a smile.

Yinzhen frowned and opened his mouth to refuse, but the Prince suddenly put his hand on Yinzhen's shoulder.

"Fourth Brother, since Eighth Brother has other arrangements, let's go."

Yinsi nodded gently at him.

Yinzhen sighed, and then left with the Prince, Third Prince and others.

He was quite comfortable being alone. Yinsi stretched and prepared to go pick some beautiful flowers nearby to please Concubine Wei. Unexpectedly, when he strolled to a camp at the outermost part of the Emperor's tent, he saw a familiar figure.

"Longkodo?"

Yinsi whispered in surprise, and quickly wondered in his mind why Longkodo appeared around the emperor now?

Longkodo was the son of Tong Guowei. He had recently joined the imperial court as a first-class guard under Emperor Kangxi. This morning, he happened to be in the camp, leading everyone in preparing for tomorrow's hunt.

Yinsi's appearance quickly caught their attention.

"Good luck to the Eighth Prince,"

Longkodo said neatly.

Yinsi came to his senses and raised his hand: "Get up."

"Who are you? I've never seen you before."

Yinsi began to ask knowingly.

"I'm Longkodo, a servant who has just been transferred to the Emperor's service," Longkodo said respectfully.

Yinsi nodded, pretended to think for a moment, and said in surprise: "Longkodo, you are the son of Lord Tong Guowei, right? I seem to have heard the Emperor mention him."

Longkodo had just come to Kangxi's side and had not had much close contact with him. He was overjoyed to hear the Eighth Prince say that the Emperor had actually mentioned him in front of him.

Longkodo quickly replied, "My father is indeed Tong Guowei."

Yinsi glanced around at the people around him, hummed, and then said, "Then you go ahead and do your work,"

before continuing to stroll off to the side.

Longkodo watched Yinsi's departure, a trace of something in his mind. He had heard of the Eighth Prince, too. Though of humble origin, he had been raised by Noble Consort Xuan from birth, and known for his natural beauty and virtuous character. The Emperor had publicly declared that, of all the other princes except the Crown Prince, he was his favorite.

Before he entered the palace as a guard, Tong Guowei had held long conversations with him. Now that the other princes in the palace were grown, the Tong family had to consider how they would survive the Emperor's death. Their current status was due to the birth of a son, Aisin-Gioro Xuanye, by Longkodo's aunt, Empress Xiaokangzhang. However, the current Imperial Noble Consort, Tong Jia, Longkodo's biological sister, was childless, and their only adopted son, the Fourth Prince, had been taken away in a moment of confusion.

Tong Guowei meticulously explained the strengths and weaknesses of the Crown Prince, the eldest prince, the eighth prince, and even the tenth prince. He believed each of them had the potential to ascend the throne in the future. While the Emperor was still in his prime, everyone had their mortality, and they had to plan ahead.

However, the situation was uncertain, so Tong Guowei only discussed it with Longkodo. Ultimately, he instructed Longkodo to serve the Emperor well and cultivate good relationships with the princes, neither being overly close nor overly indifferent. This would allow him to choose a wise leader once the situation became clearer.

While Longkodo outwardly agreed with his father's advice, he harbored different plans.

He considered Tong Guowei's approach too conservative. He believed that waiting for a clearer situation was pointless. He considered it merely following the crowd. It would be better to support the Emperor while he was still weak—the true merit of following the Emperor.

However, the crown prince's position remained secure, and the emperor favored him. No matter how one looked at it, he was the most likely successor. Yet, Longkodo was unwilling to add fuel to the fire. The reason was simple: there were too many other people to worry about; a nobody like him couldn't possibly even get close to the crown prince. Furthermore, the crown prince's primary patronage must be his mother's family, the Hesheli clan, with the Tonggiya clan inevitably relegated to the back.

So, on his first day with Kangxi, Longkodo carefully observed the other princes and chose a virtuous one to support.

□□ is a form of wisdom, but Longkodo clearly lacked it.

Regardless of his earlier grandiose ambitions, his ultimate choice was the eldest prince.

Yinsi strolled to the stream, gathering flowers, with little Shunzi following behind to collect them for him.

Yinsi brushed the dirt off his hands and said calmly, "Go and find out what Longkodo has been up to since entering the palace."

He looked at the boy with a strange look.

Xiao Shunzi: "Hey, Master, should we send a message back to the palace to tell the Thirteenth Prince?"

Yinsi shook his head: "Behave yourself lately. Why does it seem to me that the Emperor is suspicious of us?"

He was all too familiar with Kangxi's suspicions; it was arguable that no one understood them better, so he had keenly sensed something was amiss when they dispersed this morning.

Thinking about it, he realized there had indeed been a lot of activity in the past two years, so it was natural for the Emperor to notice. Might as well play dumb for a while.

While Yinzhen and Yinsi were busy at the Mulan Paddock, Yinxiang remained at the palace, relaxed and at ease.

The Imperial Noble Consort remained in the palace, but she had been confined to her room for years due to illness, so Wenshan was effectively the highest-ranking official in the harem.

With Kangxi away, the concubines no longer had to fight for favor and bicker; they were all, for once, at peace. Wenshan couldn't help but sigh that without Kangxi, the world was truly at peace.

Yinxiang, still young and free from the imperial study, was at his happiest. Especially without Kangxi in the palace, he let loose. A restless and thriving person, Yinxiang had volunteered to walk Fuqi and Laifu since he could run and jump. After the Mulan hunting party set out, Yinxiang began taking the two dogs for morning and evening runs in the Imperial Garden. Yinxiang's enthusiasm only served to tire Fuqi and Laifu out.

The dogs shook their heads at the nearly four-hour daily walk.

Laifu, especially, who couldn't get enough of a walk, was daunted by Yinxiang's energy. He returned from outside, panting, and sprawled on the ground, seemingly drained of all strength and energy.

So, after only three or four days, Laifu and Fuqi had shunned Yinxiang, finding a spot to lie down and recuperate.

Yinxiang was still searching for them, wondering, "Mother, Laifu and Fuqi are in such poor health. They're tired after two days of running around. They need some training."

Wenshan was taking a rare break from attending to palace affairs. These were usually handled by Yinsi, and thankfully, the troublemakers were all at Mulan Paddock, so the tasks were simple and Wenshan could manage them.

Yinxiang leaned over, watching Wenshan rack her brains, and then stepped forward, patting his chest and declaring that he could handle the situation, too.

Wenshan was skeptical. Although Yinzhen and Yinsi were both adults who had experienced life's ups and downs, their personalities were vastly different. No matter how much Yinsi tried to pretend to be a child, he lacked Yinxiang's natural youthfulness.

"Mother, don't look down on me. After all, I've been the Minister of General Affairs for so many years. Harem affairs can't be any more difficult than those of the previous dynasty, right?" Yinxiang puffed out his cheeks, disapproving of Wenshan's suspicious look.

Myna had never managed palace affairs before. If myna could do it, surely he could, too!

Everyone in the harem noticed a sudden shift in Concubine Xuan's management style.

From her previous gentle, yet ruthless, style, she became clean, efficient, and swift, with a touch of vengeance and a clear sense of reward and punishment.

Wen Shan watched the tiny Yinxiang, hunched over his desk, grunting and slurring as he reviewed official documents, and felt a strange sense of guilt, like she'd hired child labor. But then she remembered that Yinsi had also taken on palace duties at a similar age.

Yeah, she was a repeat offender.

"Yinxiang, let's go to the Yanxi Palace to see Concubine Min

later." While Yinxiang was busy, Wen Shan wasn't idle either, packing some food to take to Concubine Min. Her pregnancy had been tough, and her tastes were changing day by day. The last time she'd visited, she'd said she was craving sweets again, so Wen Shan had specially prepared some sweet, soft pastries for her.

Yinxiang finished his work and ran over to help Wenshan clean up.

"Mother, any news on when Fourth Brother and Eighth Brother will be back?"

Wenshan glanced at him and said with a smile, "They've only been gone a few days. They probably just arrived at Mulan Paddock. Why do you miss them so much?"

"I'm thinking about Fourth Brother." Yinxiang's face flushed slightly, not wanting to discuss the topic anymore. He urged Wenshan to hurry to Jingren Palace to see Concubine Min.

Concubine Min's due date was estimated to be another two weeks away, but with her late pregnancy, labor could occur at any time, so Wenshan was keeping a close

eye on her, visiting her every now and then. Concubine Min was delighted to see Wenshan bring Yinxiang with her, and even more heartwarmed to see the palace maids behind them, laden with gifts.

"The Imperial Concubine always brings so much stuff; I can barely fit it all in."

Wenshan placed the snacks she had brought on the table for Concubine Min to try. Concubine Min truly loved the flavors, eating two or three pieces before putting them down.

Yinxiang ran over to Concubine Min and gently touched her belly.

Yinxiang's expression was filled with sorrow. This was Wen Ke, his poor sister who had died in childbirth in her twenties.

This time, he would make every possible preparation. If Wen Ke still chose to marry in Mongolia, he would ensure she didn't die in childbirth.

Concubine Min touched Yinxiang's head and said softly, "In a few days, you'll be able to see your brother or sister. Are you happy, Yinxiang?"

Yinxiang nodded.

He was naturally happy to see his sister again.

Wenshan could see how hard she'd been working. After two or three days of not seeing her, Concubine Min's face had become sharper.

"Look, you've lost weight again. How can this be? You won't have the strength to give birth then."

Concubine Min was also helpless: "This naughty thing in my belly is making me unable to eat."

Yinxiang touched Concubine Min's belly again and said seriously: "Sister, be obedient."

"How do you know it's a sister?" Concubine Min laughed.

Yinxiang pursed his lips and whispered, "I feel it, it's a sister."

Concubine Min was also hoping for a daughter so that he could raise her by her side. Having both a son and a daughter is what many people hope for. Concubine

Min was about to speak when her expression suddenly changed. She screamed, holding her belly, and looked at Wenshan in panic.

"Your Highness, I... I think I'm going to give birth."

Wenshan:!

Is it such a coincidence that it happened today?

Fortunately, the midwife had already prepared all the necessary supplies, so although she was a little flustered, she still managed to escort Concubine Min to the delivery room in an orderly manner.

Yinxiang clenched his palms tightly when he heard Concubine Min's cries of pain in the delivery room, and he forgot to blink in nervousness.

Wen Shan held him in her arms and comforted him: "It's okay, the imperial physician and the midwife said that your mother's baby is in the right position and will be born soon."

Although Wen Shan tried to comfort Yinxiang, she was also very nervous. Over the years, she had seen many concubines give birth, but she was always terrified.

After waiting for nearly half an hour, Baoquan suddenly came in and whispered that the Imperial Noble Concubine had arrived.

Wen Shan, thinking she'd misheard out of nervousness, asked, "Who did you say is coming?"

Bao Quan, somewhat taken aback, repeated, "The Imperial Noble Consort is on her way. She'll probably be here soon."

...

At Mulan Paddock,

Yinsi and Yinzhen separated and happily selected flowers and plants by the stream. Yinzhen, hunting with the Crown Prince and the Third Prince, seemed somewhat distracted.

He wasn't particularly skilled in horsemanship or archery to begin with, and now, worried about his Eighth Brother, his skills naturally declined even further.

The Crown Prince shot a deer, cheered up. Turning to see Yinzhen's nonchalant expression, he sighed, patted him on the shoulder, and said, "Fourth Brother, it's rare for you to be out hunting, why do you look so unhappy?"

"Fourth Brother, are you worried about Eighth Brother?" The Third Prince's horsemanship and archery skills rivaled even those of the First Prince, and he had already shot two roe deer and several rabbits.

Yinzhen was too lazy to draw his bow. He threw it to the young eunuch and followed them on horseback. Hearing this, he said, "Eighth brother is young. Mother specifically told me to take good care of him before I left the palace."

The prince understood, "After all, we were raised together. But fourth brother, you treat him as your own brother from the same mother. I don't think eighth brother thinks so."

Yinzhen's face suddenly turned cold. "What do you mean, prince?"

The prince and the third prince looked at each other. The third prince smiled and said, "Fourth brother, don't say you can't see what eighth brother is thinking. He is now even more so than the eldest brother."

Yinzhen still had a stern face and said that Yinsi was young and ignorant.

In front of the prince, Yinzhen still had to be upright and valued the brotherhood.

The Crown Prince, no longer interested in hunting, glanced at Yinzhen and said, "Did he tell you about his dealings with my eldest brother and Bandi yesterday?"

Yinzhen thought, of course not. He told it right to my face.

But his face, as if he'd been caught off guard, remained silent, his expression sullen.

"Fourth brother, I'm telling you this as though you and Third Brother are my own. I don't mean to sow discord between you brothers. I just wanted to warn you to be wary of Eighth Brother. He's quite cunning."

At first, the Crown Prince had suspected Yinzhen and Yinsi were playing a double game. After all, the two had been raised together since childhood and were known for their close relationship. But ever since Yinsi began to show his brilliance, their closeness within the Shangshufang had diminished. Yinzhen and Zhang Tingyu were closer, while Yinsi stayed with the Ninth and Tenth Brothers. Occasionally, when Yinsi tried to steal the spotlight, Yinzhen would reprimand him.

Everyone in the palace knew Yinzhen's temper. He was a straight-forward, cold-blooded person who didn't care about feelings before right and wrong. So later the prince was sure that Yinsi did have some intentions, but Yinzhen might not go along with him.

They were just raised together, but they were not brothers after all. It was not surprising that they turned against each other even though they were born from the same mother

. So the prince seized every opportunity to pull Yinzhen to his side and away from Yinsi.

Yinzhen still didn't respond to him, but only said: "I don't quite understand what you said, Prince. Since you are going hunting, just focus on hunting."

After that, he rode his horse forward.

The prince and the third prince didn't rush to chase, but talked slowly from behind.

"Don't worry, Prince. Fourth brother has taken it in." said the third prince.

The prince laughed and said, "Fourth brother is a very good person, but he has such a brother with impure thoughts. I think Fourth brother is also very troubled. But Fourth brother will definitely not do anything wrong with Eighth brother. We can only watch and make sure that Eighth brother does not drag Fourth brother into the water."

That night, Yinsi really dragged Yinzhen into the water in a physical sense.

The two went to the hot spring pool together.