Chapter 86 Chapter 86 What even Kangxi didn't expect...

What even Kangxi didn't expect was that even with the Crown Prince's serious mishap, Soetu remained completely silent, not even stirring.

The other ministers under the Crown Prince's command frantically sought an audience with the Crown Prince's great-uncle, but were turned away, claiming he was recuperating.

Upon learning of this, Kangxi sent some medicinal herbs as a gesture of comfort.

Soetu then entered the palace to express his gratitude, but again, he didn't mention the Crown Prince at all. The two of them exchanged a few polite words and then dispersed.

Wen Shan had even profited from the Crown Prince's misfortune, freeing herself from the tedious wedding preparations. This gave her more time to figure out how to cool down Xianfu Palace.

The day proved just as Wen Shan had feared. A few days earlier, it had been just appetizers, but now it was getting hotter by the day. Even Yinzhen, who always dreaded the heat and believed in calmness, often found himself sweating profusely just sitting there.

Yinsi also brought in a lot of ice from outside the palace, sending a good deal to Concubine Min and Concubine Liang, worried they'd get too hot.

Especially since Concubine Min was now keeping the Fifth Princess in the palace, Yinxiang, though reluctant, still asked Yinsi to send more.

He worried the Fifth Princess would steal the ice from his mother and two younger sisters.

Yinsi: "..."

"You, I don't know what to say to you."

Yinsi rubbed his head, but ultimately, he gave in and sent more.

Yinxiang also found a moment to visit Concubine Min.

"Why are you here in this heat?" Minconcubine Min, seeing Yinxiang's arrival, hurriedly invited him inside to cool off, urging a palace maid to bring him a cup of cold tea.

Yinxiang arrived after finishing school in the Shangshufang. It was already dark, but the air was still sweltering with heat. Concubine Min had planted some grape trellises in the courtyard, imitating Wenshan's example, hoping that summer, with its abundant fruits, fragrant and beautiful, would bring her the chance to chat and relax beneath the vines with the children. But this year, she couldn't leave the house at all.

The vines were wilted from the sun.

Dunke and Wenke were playing with the building blocks Yinxiang had carved for them in the hall. When they saw him, they rushed over.

"Thirteenth Brother!"

"Thirteenth Brother, you haven't been here for a long time. Wenke has missed you."

Yinxiang held his sweet, soft sister in each hand, his heart overflowing with joy.

His sister was truly adorable; every time she saw him, she'd act coquettishly and say she missed him.

Concubine Min watched the three siblings clinging to each other, feeling both amused and embarrassed.

"Alright, let your Thirteenth Brother go! He was just complaining about the heat, and now he's back together again."

Yinxiang looked at the four or five jars of ice placed in the hall. Atop them stood small fans, which palace maids could swirl to create a cool breeze.

The abundance of ice made the room quite cool indeed.

"Mother, don't be reluctant to use the ice in this scorching heat. If you run out, just let me know," Yinxiang warned. The

small amount of ice allocated by the Imperial Household Department was barely enough to use, and many palaces were frugal. But ice, after all, couldn't be saved; it melted.

This incredibly hot weather was causing considerable trouble for the imperial concubines, not to mention the common people.

Concubine Min smiled and said, "The Imperial Concubine sent some more a few days ago to fill our needs. Don't worry."

While Yinsi had actually brought the ice into the palace, Wenshan officially delivered it to Concubine Min and Concubine Liang.

Concubines from families in Beijing like Concubine Tong, Concubine Hui, and Concubine Yi also sent ice to the palace.

It wasn't noticeable these days and it was normal. Concubine Min's place was one of the few places in the palace that had the least amount of ice. She had three princesses in her palace, so the Imperial Household Department took extra care of them, and Wen Shan was always thinking about them, so she was living a relatively comfortable life.

Yinxiang nodded and asked his two sisters, "Is it hot lately? Can you sleep at night?"

Wen Ke said obediently, "Mother put a lot of ice in my and my sisters' rooms, and the palace maids fan us at night, so it's not hot."

Dun Ke also nodded in confusion.

"What about the fifth sister?"

Yinxiang looked up at Minpin, who was serving ice cream to the children. Hearing this, she smiled gently and said, "The fifth princess will naturally be treated the same as Dunke and Wenke. She will not be allowed to suffer any grievances." Wenke

snorted and pulled Yinxiang's clothes to complain, "It's cooler in the fifth sister's palace than in ours. Mother gives the good things to the fifth sister first."

"What nonsense are you talking about, girl?" Minpin poked Wenke's little head, "Fifth sister has just arrived, so of course we have to treat her better. You say it seems like mother has treated you two harshly. Hasn't it always been the same?"

Wenke's words were indeed a bit exaggerated. Minpin would not care about the fifth princess and neglect her own daughter. She was just trying to be fair in terms of food, clothing and other expenses so as not to leave anyone with any handle.

After saying that, Minpin felt something was wrong and said, "How do you know that your fifth sister's palace is cooler? Did you go to your fifth sister's palace without telling mother?"

Wen Ke hid behind Yinxiang: "Thirteenth brother, look at mother!"

Yinxiang patted Wen Ke and said with a smile: "Mother, why can't Wen Ke and Dun Ke go to the fifth sister's palace?"

Minpin sighed, handed the ice yogurt to the three little debt collectors, and saw that Wen Ke and Dun Ke put these things behind their minds and became happy as soon as they had something to eat, then she said to Yinxiang: "You don't know, Wen Ke sneaked in with Dun Ke some time ago, and the three of them started quarreling for some reason. Dun Ke is okay, but you know Wen Ke, she is very talkative at a young age." "

She is indeed a sharp-tongued little girl." Yinxiang laughed when he heard it, and he could already imagine what the scene was like at that time.

Wen Ke, though young and usually well-behaved, could be quite blunt when things got heated. The Fifth Princess might seem overbearing, but she was likely no match for her.

Concubine Min was left in a state of confusion: "I ended up making the Fifth Princess cry. She refused to eat for two days straight."

"Oh, is that true?"

Yinxiang raised an eyebrow. What had Wen Ke said to irritate her so much? Concubine

Min was horrified by the Fifth Princess's refusal to eat. She couldn't bear the consequences if something went wrong with her. Seeing the Fifth Princess's stubbornness, no amount of persuasion could help, leaving her with Wen Ke to apologize. Frightened,

Wen Ke reluctantly apologized, and the matter was finally resolved.

Yinxiang held his forehead. He explained that leaving the Fifth Princess with her mother was a problem. Even though he had already warned the Fifth Princess last time, it seemed to have had little effect. Since

there were no outsiders in the palace, Yinxiang spoke directly.

"Mother, if you think it's too much trouble for your son to raise the fifth sister, then you can find a way to ask the emperor to move the fifth sister to raise her somewhere else."

Minpin didn't know her son's ability. When she heard Yinxiang say that, she thought he was going to ask Wenshan for help, so she hurriedly said: "There is no need to trouble the imperial concubine. It's just a princess and it's just a matter of one more person to eat."

What Minpin said was also sincere. Although they were both heirs to the emperor, there was still a big difference between a prince and a princess. As long as the princess was served with good food and drink, she would be fine after she got married in two years. In addition, now that Uya was in such a bad situation and no one supported the fifth princess, she, a little girl, could not cause any trouble.

Dunke ate until she looked like a little cat. Concubine Min gently wiped her daughter's mouth and said, "Eat slowly. No one's trying to snatch it from you."

Dunke didn't care about anything else. She pulled Yinxiang's clothes and said nervously, "Thirteenth brother, can you please not send Fifth Sister away?"

Yinxiang said, "...Dunke likes her very much?"

Wen Ke pursed his lips and snorted, "Don't be fooled by her looks!"

Dunke quickly shook his head, "Fifth Sister is a very kind person. Give Dunke a little butterfly!"

"Little butterfly?"

Dunke nodded and rummaged in her small bag, finally pulling out a very delicate butterfly hairpin.

"Isn't this the Fifth Princess' birthday gift from the Emperor last year?" Concubine Min recognized it at a glance.

At that time, Uya was still the triumphant Consort De, and the Fifth Princess was favored, so the birthday was a grand occasion, and Minpin naturally attended the banquet. The Emperor had the palace maids of the Imperial Household Department craft this butterfly hairpin for the Fifth Princess. The gemstones inlaid on it were all rare and precious, and the Fifth Princess treasured it dearly, wearing it only on her birthday and keeping it safe on other days.

Wen Ke came up to examine it, his hands on his hips, and exclaimed in shock, "Fifth Sister actually gave this to you! How is that possible?"

Minpin clearly didn't believe it. With a serious face, he took Dunke in his arms and asked, "Is this really from Fifth Sister?"

He wondered if Dunke had sneaked in to take it out of fun, which would be troublesome.

"It's really from Fifth Sister!"

Dunke, young to begin with, spoke in a flurry, his words stammering for a while before Yinxiang and the others finally understood the whole story.

It turned out that Wen Ke had argued with the Fifth Princess, and after the Fifth Princess began her hunger strike, Dunke had sneaked into the West Wing Hall one day.

At that time, the Fifth Princess had driven all the servants out of the palace. Wen Ke's words that day had been quite harsh, tearing apart the dignity that the Fifth Princess had so diligently maintained and trampling underfoot. The Fifth Princess had never felt so embarrassed before. She drove all the palace servants out and curled up by the window, staring blankly at the sky.

This was the scene that Dun Ke saw when he entered, and she was a little frightened.

Dun Ke was very smart. Although Concubine Min hadn't mentioned it to her, even at such a young age, she understood that it seemed that her sister had angered the Fifth Princess, which was why she refused to eat.

But how could someone not eat? They would starve.

So Dun Ke secretly brought his favorite snacks to visit the Fifth Princess.

The Fifth Princess noticed her as soon as she entered, but she ignored Dun Ke. She

just glanced at her and continued to curl up by the window in silence.

Dun Ke thought for a moment, but he mustered up the courage to climb onto the couch, sit beside the Fifth Princess, and tug at her clothes.

"Fifth sister, eat some pastries!"

Dunke was only three or four years old, so the Fifth Princess naturally didn't take her anger out on her. She simply pulled her clothes out coldly and said nothing.

Dunke continued to pull her: "Fifth sister, if you don't eat, you'll feel hungry, your stomach will ache, and you'll have no strength."

"..."

Dunke, confused as to why Fifth Sister wouldn't eat so many delicious treats, continued to chatter.

"These are snacks made by Xuan's mother. They're delicious. My sister and I love them."

"Brother Zhenzhu just sent them over. I brought the best ones for Fifth Sister."

"Fifth sister, have you tried Xuan's mother's sweet and sour fish? It's so delicious! Next time Xuan's mother comes, come and have it with us!"

The child's voice was so soft and nagging that the Fifth Princess was already annoyed by her words. Just as she was about to have her sent away, she looked down and saw Dunke clutching the hem of her skirt, saying he could hardly keep his eyes open.

Then he quickly fell asleep.

Fifth Princess: "..."

These two sisters are really something.

The Fifth Princess cautiously tried to free her skirt so Dunke could be sent back, but the moment she moved, Dunke woke up like a kitten, blinking and looking at her. "Fifth Sister, do you want something to eat?" He

then struggled to raise the cake he was holding towards her.

The Fifth Princess was silent for a moment, half-dazed, as she thought of her deceased sister.

She said nothing, but she picked up a piece of cake. As expected, it was delicious.

Seeing her eat, Dunke clapped his hands in delight. He stayed in the west wing for over half an hour, finally fetching a box of pastries for the Fifth Princess, filled with the same delicious treats she had just mentioned. The

Fifth Princess disdained to owe favors, but her only possessions were clothes and jewelry. She loved beauty, and Kangxi and Uya had made her many pieces of jewelry. So, she opened her jewelry box and let Dunke choose.

Dunke immediately fell in love with the butterfly hairpin, as she already loved butterflies, and the delicate and graceful design of this hairpin captivated her.

"So Fifth Sister gave this to you?" Wen Ke was incredulous.

Dun Ke nodded and said, "Yes, I said I liked it, so Fifth Sister gave it to me."

"..."

Minpin touched Dun Ke's head and said, "This hairpin is very important to Fifth Sister. Let's go and return it to Fifth Sister, okay? If you like it, Mother will ask someone to make you a few similar ones." Dun Ke

was very sensible and understood immediately, and immediately ran out to return the hairpin.

"The Fifth Princess is not a bad person by nature, she is just a little spoiled." Minpin said, "Let her stay here."

Minpin was worried that if the Fifth Princess went to another concubine's palace with such a temper, she would really suffer.

Yinxiang did not speak.

Minpin continued, "Since the Fifth Princess came, she has never missed the morning and evening visits. She is a very well-behaved child. You don't have to worry. It will be more lively in Yanx Palace with one more person." As soon as Minpin finished speaking,

Dun Ke ran back.

"Fifth Sister said she wouldn't take it back after giving it to me."

Yinxiang sighed. "Alright, Mother,

as long as you and your sisters are happy." His eight-year-old brother had been right again, his worries were unnecessary.

Well, since the Fifth Princess was, after all, born of the same mother as Fourth Brother, he'd be more tolerant.

A few days later, the weather grew increasingly hot. Even the elaborate designs of the Qianqing Palace and the Yangxin Hall couldn't withstand the heat, so Kangxi decided to escape

the heat. The renowned Chengde Mountain Resort wasn't yet completed, so he usually went to Changchun Garden to escape the heat.

Outside the palace, Wenshan felt much freer, and even managed to tinker with a magical device to beat the heat.

Steam engine research was becoming increasingly sophisticated, with even miniature models being developed. These looked small and portable, but their horsepower was significantly reduced.

Wenshan pondered this and drew a few more abstract drawings. After several days of research, the craftsmen finally created something resembling a fan. The fan blades

could be powered by the horsepower of a small steam engine, eliminating the need for manual operation and providing a more powerful wind.

Placing them in front of ice provided a refreshing coolness.

Yinzhen, Yinsi, and Yinxiang each took several home.

It was their first personal experience of the convenience brought by technological advancement.