After three days of hunting, Yinyouâs bones were almost worn out. In the end, he had quite successfully gotten some furs and was bestowed a bow and arrows by Kangxi. Like this, on the way back to the palace, he no longer had any emotion regarding the hunt and was rather indifferent.
The entourage had both men and women; princesses, and concubines, and the Crown Prince had even brought his Fu Jin to accompany him. Yinyou seldom saw these women. At this time in the reign of Kangxi, people already paid more attention to the separation of the sexes.
In front of him, there were the elder brothers in their horses. Yinyou peeked at the tall horse under Yinzhen enviously. The horse that Huang Ama gave the fourth brother was completely different from the one that was given to him. The fourth brother had an actual horse while he was given a foal.
(Bambi: Guessing Yinzhen got a horse because he was 14 while Yinyou got a foal because he was 11.)
Some people in the later generations said that Kangxi didnât dote on the fourth brother and Yinyou hadnât realized this was a rumor until he transmigrated. In fact, Kangxi had always attached great importance to the fourth brother; although Kangxi was not as good to him as he was to the Crown Prince, he certainly did not have the same attitude he had toward him and the fifth brother.
He remembered that a few years ago when Kangxi had left the palace for business, the second he heard that the fourth brother was seriously ill, he turned back halfway and only left the palace when the fourth brotherâs condition got better.
If the sick person was changed to him, Kangxi wouldâve just sent one or two Imperial Physicians.
âWhat is the seventh brother thinking about?â. The princes were arranged according to their age, so the eighth brother and Yinyou walked side by side. Seeing Yinyouâs absent-minded appearance, Yinsi reminded him, âBe careful when on horseback.â
Yinyou came back to his senses, and tilting his head he smiled at Yinsi, âAh, the weather is so good, maybe it made me a little sleepy.â
âSo itâs like this,â Yinsi raised his head and squinted at the sun in the sky. Hearing Yinyouâs perfunctory answer, his face remained unchanged as he replied, âthe seventh brother is really open-minded.â To be able to get sleepy on horseback, one must have a broad mind besides courage.
While controlling the speed of the horse, Yinyou replied, âItâs probably because of the laziness in the bones.â Can this kind of thing be related to the mind?
Yinsi curled the corners of his mouth. He had also heard about Yinyouâs habit of not going out, he didnât even visit the garden. Yinsi didnât know if the seventh brother was actually lazy, or if he just didnât want to meet certain people. He let out a low sigh, âItâs true, itâs good to steal half a dayâs leisure.â There was a sense of satisfaction on his face.
If Yinyou didnât know the records about Yinsi in history and saw Yinsi looking like this, he would really think that Yinsi was a brother who was indifferent to the world. Yinyou nodded and said, âIt turns out that the eighth brother is also a lazy person.â
âCould it be that in the eyes of the seventh brother in the past, this younger brother was a very motivated person?â In the past two years, Yinsi learned to hide his strength and bide his time, but this also had side effects, one of which was having a reputation for a mild temperament.
Yinyou had a faint smile on his face, âIâve always been very bad at judging people.â So, whether you were motivated or lazy, as long as you were clear, why did you need me to give you an answer?
Yinsi just smiled when he heard his words and changed the subject, such as a certain book, and a certain story, and even discussed the content of the travelogue that Yinzhen gave Yinyou recently.
Yinyou also cooperated with him and chatted peacefully. Since the fourth brother gave the book under the noses of so many people, how could he not read it? There was always someone with some free time to inquire. Yesterday the Crown Prince tried it once, the third brother tried it once, and the eighth elder brother was already too late.
As an experienced uncle, Yinyou was not bothered.
âSeventh brother is very familiar with this book,â the eighth brother smiled softly and even the corners of his eyes were tinged with smiles.
âA few days ago, the fourth brother was afraid that I would be bored at night, so he just gave me this book. Fortunately, there were some annotations by the fourth brother so it wasnât difficult to read,â Yinyou disclosed graciously. During the whole process, it seemed as if he didnât notice the other partyâs intention to inquire.
âFourth brother has always been kind to the seventh brother,â The eighth elder brother smiled and his voice lowered by two notes, seeming envious and melancholy.
Yinyou nodded, âWell, the fourth brother is very kind to me, but the Crown Prince brother, the third brother, and the fifth brother have also sent me a lot of books. If you are interested, itâs okay to send a servant to take a look.â
Brother, you are wrong, I treat you so innocently and kindly, why do you have to play tricks at this time? Although he didnât want to form a clique with the fourth brother, he didnât want to hold back the fourth brother either. This would be a serious crime.
The eighth brother stopped talking. Of course, he didnât dare to say that these elder brothers were also good to the seventh brother, as long as this was said, it may become that the eighth brother was dissatisfied with his elder brothers and how dare he provoke the Crown Prince? After a long time, the eighth elder brother had no choice but to sigh, "Seventh brother had always been very good.â
Yinyou wasnât happy to get a good person card and was confused as to why the eighth elder brother needed to put so much energy into this harmless man. He was an elder brother with no power, ah, could it be possible that he saw his good relationship with the fourth brother and wanted to win him over to be a spy? This was overestimating him! He really didnât have a clue whatsoever of Yinzhenâs activities.
After returning to the palace, Yinyou asked the servants to take a lot of the skins he had obtained, as well as the beaten rabbit meat and roe meat, to concubine Cheng, and to also share some, according to the rules, with the concubine De, and the rest of the concubines. After he sent them out, he asked his servants for hot water. He would go and greet concubine Cheng after taking a bath.
After changing clothes, it was already lunchtime, Yinyou thought that his E-Niang might be waiting for him to come and guessed that he was going to have lunch at concubine Chengâs place.
When he arrived at Yonghe Palace, concubine Cheng really hadnât started eating yet. After seeing Yinyou, concubine Cheng showed a proud smile, âLittle seventh has grown up.â Her eyes were slightly red.
Yinyou felt a little clumsy, so he could only smile and say, âE-Niang, this son is here to rob you of a meal today.â
âYou child," she said, asking someone to bring in the food. There was a small kitchen in Yonghe Palace. Concubine Cheng asked the maid to make some rabbit meat, and when the deer meat was served, she endured the sourness in her heart and said, âNow that you are growing up, E-Niang hopes that you will be healthy, E-Niang doesnât ask for anything else.â
(Bambi: Sheâs saying she doesnât wish for him to be the Emperor and doesnât wish him to be honorable or famous, she only wants him to be an idle prince. Sheâs telling him to stay low and be safe from the throneâs struggles).
Although concubine Chengâs words were cryptic, Yinyou understood immediately and nodded. Looking at the dishes made from the game he caught, he suddenly thought of the parents from his previous life. When they were still alive, they nevertheless had some good times. Thinking about himself and the woman in front of him, although she couldnât keep him by her side, her heart towards him was the same.
The meal was very satisfying. Yinyou was casually chatting with concubine Cheng when he heard that a eunuch had come to announce a decree. It turned out to be Kangxiâs reward from the hunt to the harem ladies. Unexpectedly, concubine Cheng also got some: one rabbit fur, one white fox fur, two rabbit legs, and a catty of venison.
After stuffing the silver taels to the eunuch who announced the decree, concubine Cheng slowly recovered, reached out, and caressed Yinyouâs fair cheek, without saying anything. In the past few years, she could only get what she deserved, and there was no special reward. The Emperor thinking about her share, afraid it was because of Yinyouâs face.
There was comfort and there was worry; thunder and rain were all due to the grace of the Emperor, and who could guess his thoughts?
(Bambi: Kangxi only gave concubine Cheng some game thinking of giving Yinyou some status in the harem, not because he favored her).
Seeing concubine Cheng like this, Yinyou just said some interesting things and didnât dare to say anything else. Who knew that Fu Duo would come in a hurry, saying that Kangxi had summoned him?
After leaving the Yonghe Palace, Yinyou hurriedly rushed to the Qianqing Palace, only to find that several elder brothers who accompanied him to hunt were there. Kangxiâs face showed no joy or anger. After he invited him in, he quietly stood aside.
âZhenâs very satisfied with the performance of you brothers in the paddock,â Kangxi allow them to seat and then spoke slowly, âBut I want to hear from your own mouth what shortcomings you still have.â
Yinyou suddenly realized that it turned out to be a summary meeting.
After listening to the modest self-examinations of each brother, Yinyou got up and reported back, âHuang Ama, Erchen has benefited a lot from this hunt. Erchen hunted by himself, but the prey was less. Erchen roasted meat by himself, but some meat seemed to be burnt.â Then, there was no more to say, let him say that he was lacking, he was only really lacking hunting skills. He did not speak about whether his body or character had gotten better. To a certain extent, he was honest.
Kangxi raised his eyebrows and looked at Yinyou, âAre you done?â
Yinyouâs face turned pale, âAnd... Erchen hid some of the rabbitâs hind legs.â There was a trace of admiration and panic in his eyes that Huang Ama already knew about this and also fear of being punished.
âOh?â Kangxi's expression was very serious, but there was an unspeakable smile in his eyes, âWhy didnât you share these with the brothers?â
Yinyouâs face turned red and then white, white and red again, his eyes glanced at the Crown Prince and at the fourth brother, seeing that neither of them had any intention of helping him, he knelt down and said, âErchen wonât dare next time.â
âForget it, as a son of my Aisin Gioro family, you must not be petty. If Zhen finds out that you have such careful thoughts in the future, Zhen will let you try the board.â Kangxiâs expression had become sterner the more he spoke and caused the child on the ground to look paler. He slowly eased his expression, and said to Li Dequan, âLi Dequan, give little seventh two of my rabbit legs so that he wonât secretly hide those two little rabbit legs in the future. Heâs still an ignorant child after all.â The emperorâs words could sentence you and it was up to him to decide whether you were an ignorant child or a selfish person who didnât love his siblings.
Yinyou kowtowed very knowingly, âErchen thanks Huang Ama.â
Kangxi waved his hand as if saying âyou should hide away and stop provoking meâ, he then added, âThe Crown Prince and the fourth child will take care of little seventh more in the future. You canât let him learn these petty tricks.â
The Crown Prince forced his smile down and stated, âHuang Ama, Gu thinks the seventh brother must not be a stingy person, itâs just that this is the first time he hunts something and found it rare, heâs still young. Gu hopes Huang Ama is not bothered by him.â But luckily the seventh brotherâs mischief made Huang Amaâs complexion better. Moreover, Huang Amaâs words revealed the meaning of trusting him and the fourth child. Fortunately, the fourth child was on his side, so he didnât have to be afraid that his opponent would have another bargaining chip.
Kangxi also saw that Yinyouâs ideological awareness was not high enough, and didnât hear the hidden meaning in his words. He only replied dryly, âForget it, Zhen also knows that you brothers have always loved little seventh. Now, little eight, you speak nextâ.
The Crown Prince smiled when he heard the words, and glanced at Yinyou who was burying his head; it seemed that Huang Ama watched carefully over Yinyouâs matters and was not as indifferent as he acted, indeed this brother wasnât as invisible and useless as he appeared.
Yinyou took a seat back with the elder brothers with his head lowered. Although he looked as if he was repenting and punishing himself, he was greatly relieved. At this time when Kangxi was asking the elder brothers to talk about his shortcomings if he was not careful, he might offend the other brothers. The best solution was better to place himself as the worst and make a fool of himself.
Anyways, in front of Kangxi, he had always maintained an image of being honest, petty, and occasionally silly.
In short, Kangxi should be able to accept this. When he was a child, he wrote crooked, later, in school, he drew little cartoons, and now, he hid some rabbitâs legs. Anyway, there was a tenth brother who was more reckless, impulsive, and simple-minded than him, so Kangxiâs ability to accept his own shortcomings should not be too low.
And, it was always a good feeling to have someone be worse than you, Yinyou thought without feeling ashamed.
***
The author (Butterflyâs Shadow Beneath the Moon) has something to say:
Butterfly: Your Majesty, why did you give the fourth brother a horse, the seventh brother a small bow, and the eighth brother furs?
Kangxi: I have a deep meaning.
Butterfly wiped her tears, roaring in her heart: The horse was here to ride, the bow was here to shoot, and the fur was here to wrap. Asshole! You are against my CP*!
*CP means couple/ship.
(Bambi, the translator: I have⌠no clue what she means.)