[Qing Chuan] The daily life of the seven princes

On the way back to the capital, Yinyou was quite happy.But once in the Forbidden City, Yinyou felt a little close to his hometown.I'm going to see the Empress Dowager and Imperial Concubine soon, and I don't know how excited they will be when they see their sweetheart come back.

Entering the Qianqing Gate, you will arrive at the inner court, where the harem concubines, princes and princesses are waiting to greet you.

The imperial concubine stood at the front of the crowd, staring at the gate of Qianqing eagerly.She hasn't seen her son for more than a year. This is the first time Yinyou has been away from her for such a long time since he was born.

She couldn't eat or sleep well every day, and all she could think about was her spoiled son.

In particular, she also heard that last year, that kid went to Tibet for a stroll on his own initiative. From the Loess Plateau to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the climatic and material conditions became more and more difficult.

How could Yinyou, the little prince who was surrounded by a group of court ladies and old ladies from his birth, suffer so much?

However, every time I heard Kangxi talk about Yinyou's recent situation, the news I got always said that the little boy was happy and was living a good life.

The emperor issued several decrees, asking him to return to Beijing, but he just didn't come back.

The imperial concubine always gritted her teeth and thought: "If you go out, you won't stay home. When you come back, let's see how I deal with you."

But I couldn't help worrying about whether my son had lost weight, whether he was eating well, and whether he was wearing warm clothes.He even wanted Kangxi to send him something.

But after thinking about it, it was the Northwest Military Camp. Since her son took the initiative to go there, he was going to hone himself. How could she drag him back?

Thinking of this, a little bright yellow appeared in the line of sight, and then it spread into a large area, and came slowly from a distance in a continuous line-it was Kangxi's ceremonial guard.

A concubine nearby shouted happily: "The emperor is back, the emperor is back!"

In the eyes of the imperial concubine, she could no longer see anyone beside her. From the very beginning, her eyes were locked on the white figure behind Kangxi.

That was her son, who had been cared and cared for by her since he was a child.

Not seen for more than a year, her Xiaoqi seems to have grown taller again, and she has fully grown into an adult.

She had mixed feelings in her heart, his little tuanzi had become a shadow that was fading away, and walking towards him slowly was a handsome young man.

"Xiaoqi, sister, look, Xiaoqi is back." Concubine Tong who was standing aside gently tugged at the sleeve of the imperial concubine, "Sister, why are you crying?"

The imperial concubine wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes with a handkerchief, and then led everyone to salute Kangxi.

After repeated etiquette, Yinyou rushed to the imperial concubine with one stride: "Emiang!"

The imperial concubine's tears were still rolling in her eyes, but when she heard the sound of "Er Niang", she couldn't control it anymore and rushed down.

Along the way, Yinyou guessed that many imperial concubines would hug him happily, touch his face, and say that he had lost weight with distress.Or slap him twice on the back, scold him for being unfilial, and never come back after running out for so long.

But he never expected that Er Niang didn't say anything, and she burst into tears in front of him, crying so much that he panicked.

"Oh my! What's wrong?" Yinyou stood in front of the imperial concubine and said with a smile, "Are you too excited to see me? There are so many people watching, why don't you cry when you go back?"

The imperial concubine was so teased by him that she laughed, she slapped the back of his hand lightly, and said reproachfully, "Naughty!"

"Okay!" Kangxi stood aside with his hands behind his back, without losing his majesty as an emperor in front of others, "Go to pay respects to the ancestors and the queen mother first."

Speaking of greeting the Empress Dowager, Yinyou couldn't wait.So, the other concubines went back to the palace, and the imperial concubine accompanied Kangxi and Yinyou to the Palace of Compassion.

Yinyou's hearing is very good, as soon as he entered the courtyard, he heard the old voice of the Empress Dowager asking incessantly: "Where is Xiao Qi, is my Xiao Qi back?"

Aunt Su Ma coaxed him: "Hurry up, hurry up, I heard that I have arrived at the Qianqing Gate, and I will come here immediately to greet my ancestors."

"You've been out for so long, you've already forgotten about me as an old woman."

"Where can it be? Every time Seventh Brother writes back, he greets you."

The Empress Dowager raised her hand: "You help me up, I'm going to wait at the door."

At this time, Yinyou had already walked in from outside the hall, walked to the kang where the empress dowager was sitting, lifted his robe and knelt down: "Mama Ukuma, I'm back."

The Empress Dowager is already 83, her eyes are not good, and her reaction is a little slow.She turned her head slowly and looked at Yinyou: "It's Xiao Qi, it's my Xiao Qi who is back!"

The old lady was wearing presbyopic glasses, and looked at her petite face again and again: "It seems to be thinner, why is it thinner?"

"Not thin." Yinyou straightened his back and raised his arms to show the empress dowager, "He is strong, and he is a Batulu who can protect Ukumama."

The Empress Dowager patted him on the arm twice: "Okay, my Batulu has grown up. Su Moer, quickly serve him his favorite snacks."

As soon as Kangxi entered the house, he greeted his ancestors, but he didn't get a concerned look from the emperor's grandmother.At this moment, they can only sit quietly across from each other and watch their grandparents and grandchildren enjoy the family happiness.

This little brat, Yinyou, has been able to coax the Empress Dowager happily ever since he was a child.The older the old lady was, the more she pampered him without principle.The only time she was cruel to him was to let him move from the Compassionate Ning Palace back to the Chengqian Palace.

The Empress Dowager pulled him and sat beside her: "Don't run away from now on, just stay in the palace and stay with Mama Ukuma."

"Okay." Yinyou replied obediently, "I'm not going anywhere, and I come to say hello to Mama Ukuma every day."

The Empress Dowager smiled like a child: "Okay, my little one, you are the most filial."

The empress dowager pulled him and let him sit next to her.After a while, the maid came up with tea and snacks, all of which were Yinyou's favorite.

"Eat less, it's time for lunch later."

Yinyou accompanied the Empress Dowager to talk all morning in the Palace of Compassion, mainly talking about the Buddhist world in the murals of the Mogao Grottoes, and also talking about the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple, and Ramoche Temple.

It wasn't until after lunch that the Empress Dowager was about to take a nap that Yinyou went to Ningshou Palace to pay her respects to the Empress Dowager with his mother, and then returned to Chengqian Palace with the imperial concubine.

Kangxi was still busy with government affairs, so Prince Xuan went to Qianqing Palace.

The mother and son had just returned to Chengqian Palace, and before they had time to sit down and say a word, the eunuch outside announced that the fourth elder brother had also arrived.

The fourth elder brother didn't even have time to change out of his clothes, he was still wearing court clothes, and came in to greet the imperial concubine first.

The imperial concubine pulled him up and down to look carefully: "This dress is not good, it makes my Xiao Si look old-fashioned."

"Not old-fashioned, not old-fashioned," Yinyou pushed the fourth elder brother to sit down in front of the table, "I think it's pretty handsome."

The fourth elder brother turned his head to the side and ignored him at all.

"Ouch!" Yinyou was thick-skinned, the more people ignored him, the more he wanted to get closer.Putting his arm on the shoulder of the fourth elder brother, "What are you doing, I haven't seen you for more than a year, and my brother greets me with this attitude."

The fourth elder brother simply turned his body around and didn't look at him at all.

Yinyou's whole body was hung on his brother: "Could it be because I was outside the city just now..."

The fourth elder brother quickly pushed him away: "How old is he, he doesn't look good all day long."

Yinyou was overjoyed: "Look, look, I've hit the mark."

The imperial concubine at the side asked curiously: "What's going on outside the city?"

Yinyou waved at her: "It's okay." Then he put on the fourth elder brother like a dog's skin plaster, "Ama said, you have to be polite when you go out, it's not that I don't hug you."

The fourth elder brother glared at him, but this time he didn't push him away. "Okay, okay! Tell me what you have done outside for more than a year."

Yinyou then told Er Niang and his elder brother what happened after he arrived in the Northwest in detail.He met two friends along the way, and later one became the Great Khan of the Heshuo Special Department and lived in the Lhasa Khan Palace.One became the sixth Dalai Lama and lived in the Potala Palace.

The imperial concubine looked surprised: "What? You said you made a friend, and he is now the sixth Dalai Lama, whose Dharma name is Tsangyang Gyatso?"

Yinyou blinked: "I really don't think his legal name has been mentioned yet."

The imperial concubine immediately made love: "I heard your Ama mention this name, but I didn't expect it to be your friend."

The fourth elder brother sighed, and stretched out his hand to straighten the collar of his normal clothes: "It is said that your parents are not traveling far, so you should stay in the capital honestly from now on, and don't let Erniang worry about you."

"Know it!"

The fourth elder brother stood up and bowed to the imperial concubine again: "The imperial father has also given other errands, so I will go right away, and I will come back another day to pay my respects to Emiang."

The imperial concubine nodded: "Go, take care of yourself, don't work too hard."

Yinyou also stood up: "Then I will be with you."

The fourth elder brother pushed him back again: "You just came back, talk to Er Niang more."

This said, the mother and son talked from afternoon to night.Yinyou told the imperial concubine all the people and things he met, as well as his own thoughts in detail.

"I left the amulet given to me by Lazang Khan to Dorje. I hope that if there is such a day, that thing can save his life."

The imperial concubine held his hand: "He is younger than you, just a child. What kind of reincarnated soul boy is just a political tool of the Tibetan king. I am very happy that you can plan for his future."

Hearing that she was happy, Yinyou laughed: "There is one more thing that I have never mentioned to others."

"You said."

"I have been with General Fei Yanggu for more than a year. I think he is a good general who has courage, courage, integrity, loyalty and patriotism."

"That's natural."

Yinyou frowned, "I grew up in the Palace of Compassion and Ning, and I heard too many stories from Aunt Ukuma. For example... Concubine Dong E who also lived in this palace."

"The late emperor chased her to be a queen, but she didn't have the posthumous title of the late emperor. I know that Ukumama doesn't like her, and thinks that she has delayed the late emperor. However, during these days with General Fei Yanggu, I I respect him very much. I think his elder sister must also be a gentle and dignified woman, so that the late Emperor admired her so much and never forgot her."

The imperial concubine picked up the teacup and took a sip: "I am also very happy that you think so. Whether it is King Shang Zhou or Tang Minghuang. Throughout the ages, those who perish are incompetent emperors, but the history books want to shift the responsibility to women .”

"Er Niang..." Yinyou suddenly squatted in front of her, lying on the imperial concubine's lap just like when she was a child.

The imperial concubine looked down at her son's well-behaved appearance, her heart softened, and she gently touched his head: "What's wrong?"

"I remember, you were born in the second year of Kangxi, eight years younger than my Ama."

In this deep palace day after day, even the imperial concubine has forgotten the passage of time.Only when she saw her son's growth, did she suddenly realize that time flies by like a fleeting moment.

But Yinyou remembered Erniang's birthday and age very clearly, he said: "You are still very young, why don't you have another one, maybe you are as smart and cute as me."

The imperial concubine kicked him on the leg: "Get lost!"

Yinyou naturally didn't leave, stayed in Chengqian Palace, and ate his mother-in-law ruthlessly, then left the harem contentedly, and returned to his own small courtyard in Ganxi Wusuo.

As soon as he came back, all the brothers surrounded him.The yard was quite lively, with the fifth elder brother, sixth elder brother, eighth elder brother, and several younger brothers all surrounding him.

Only then did Yinyou know that the fifth elder brother and sixth elder brother Ama had already given marriages, and the marriage date was set for the second half of the year.

The fifth elder brother's direct wife, Fujin, is the daughter of Zhang Baozhu, a member of the Tara clan.The sixth elder brother's direct wife, Fujin, is the daughter of the Hadanala family, the vice-dutong Faka.

Even the eighth elder brother and Baotai's heir Fujin candidates have been finalized, but the marriage will be postponed until next year.

The eighth elder brother belongs to the Guo Luoluo family, the granddaughter of Prince An Yuele.Baotai is the Guerjia family, the daughter of the general uncle Shi Wenbing, and the younger sister of the concubine.

Yinyou frowned when he heard this, pointed to himself and asked, "What about me, should I just go out and Ama will forget about me?"

The eighth elder brother asked him: "Does the seventh brother want to get married too?"

Yinyou immediately shook his head: "That's not true, I'm just curious, why did you skip me."

The fifth elder brother pushed him: "How can it be, I heard from Huang Mama that the emperor's father picked some girls of the right age in the upper three banners, and even the imperial concubine felt dissatisfied."

As soon as he said that, Yinyou understood.His mother-in-law has always opposed the premature marriage of princes and princesses.At that time, Concubine Hui and Concubine Rong were in a hurry to assign elder brother and third elder brother Gege to sleep in, but the imperial concubine refused to agree for various reasons.Later, everyone also understood her rules and painstaking efforts, and the next few elder brothers didn't mention this matter again.

The girls of the right age chosen by the emperor are usually between the ages of thirteen and 16, and what the imperial concubine is dissatisfied with is only age.

Her precious son is not yet seventeen, so it doesn't matter if he stays for two more years.

Yinyou looked at his small courtyard, and smiled: "You guys say, if I don't get married, can I live here for the rest of my life?"

Everyone was shocked, Brother Nine asked, "Brother Seven actually wants to live in Brother's house for the rest of his life."

"What's wrong with living in elder brother's house? It's very close to the Palace of Compassion and Peace, and the Palace of Qianqing. It's also not far from Yuqing Palace and Chengqian Palace. I can still see my brothers at any time... Oh, yes, you're married I'm going to move out of the palace later, so I can only play with them little ones."

Having said that, Brother Ten mentioned another matter to him.Elder brother had a serious illness last year and almost died, but finally the imperial concubine managed to cure him.

Although Xiao Shiyi still looks weak now, luckily he is hugged by fate.

The brothers chatted and laughed, and it got dark after a while.So, everyone went back to their own small courtyard, only the sixth brother stayed.

Yinyou is holding his little fox in his arms. Yingning hasn't seen him for a long time, but he is not unfamiliar at all, but very clingy.

"Brother Six, is there anything else?"

Sixth elder brother sat opposite him: "It's nothing, it's just that I haven't seen you for a long time, and I want to chat with you."

Yinyou knew that Brother Six must have something to tell him, so he didn't just chat casually: "If you have anything to say, Brother Six can just say it."

Sixth elder brother thought for a moment, then threw out a jaw-dropping sentence: "I don't want to get married."

Anyone who heard this would be shocked, the emperor had already proposed a marriage for him, but he actually said that he didn't want to get married, could it be that he wanted to resist the order.

But there was no surprise on Yinyou's face, instead he was a little excited: "What a coincidence, actually I don't want to either."

Brother Six asked, "Why don't you want to?"

"No reason, I just don't want to establish an intimate relationship with someone I've never met before, and then be bound for a lifetime."

Brother Six didn't understand what he was talking about: "Isn't the emperor's father referring to marriage like this?"

"So, the prince doesn't like Di Fujin and Side Fujin. If he doesn't like it, he can still have a bunch of Shu Fujin. What about the girl? She doesn't seem to have the right to say no."

The sixth elder brother couldn't understand even more, and he didn't seem to have the right to say no.No one has this right, not even the prince, and their marriage is just a political tool.The so-called tied marriage is to rely on marriage to tie those relatives, so as to consolidate the imperial power.

Yinyou waved his hand: "Don't mention this, let's talk about you, why don't you want to get married."

Brother Six bit his lower lip: "The emperor said before the Western Expedition that he wanted to appoint Bai Jin as a special envoy to France. He also specially selected 49 rare books and presented them to the King of France. Let him return to China to recruit more Many missionaries came to the Qing Dynasty." 【Baidu Encyclopedia】

Yinyou immediately sat up straight: "You said that Ama will send Bai Jin back to China and recruit more missionaries to Qing Dynasty."

Brother Six nodded and looked at him strangely: "You seem very happy."

"Of course!" Yinyou put the little fox on the ground and grabbed Brother Six's hand, "Brother Six, this is a great opportunity for us to learn advanced western technology, and it's really not easy for Ama to take this step. "

At this moment, countless thoughts came to mind, and Yinyou said without a clue: "Bai Jin can't go alone, our Qing Dynasty has to send a mission to study with them. Not only to France, but also to England, Italy, Belgium...go to several European countries to learn their advanced technologies. Astronomy, navigation and shipbuilding."

Brother Six looked at him and smiled: "So, do you understand why I don't want to get married?"

"Brother Six means...you want to go too?"

Brother Six did not answer, but said: "I heard that you were stationed in Jiayuguan in the northwest this year. Zhang Qian traveled to the Western Regions for 13 years. If he had the opportunity to go to Europe, I don't know how long it would take to come back. I don’t want to have too many entanglements, or I might not be able to leave.”

Yinyou bit his lower lip: "Sixth brother, I can't make up my mind whether you don't want to get married. But you want to go to Europe, I am willing to fight for you with all my strength."

Sixth elder brother stood up, clasped his fists and bowed to Yinyou: "Then I will thank seventh brother first."

Yinyou grabbed his hand: "You are my brother, what did you say 'thank you' to me?"

Brother Six took a step forward and hugged him tightly: "Xiaoqi, since I was a child, I didn't read well in the sage books, so I can't help the emperor handle state affairs. My ambition is not here."

Yinyou nodded: "I understand."

"I just want to make a little contribution to the Qing Dynasty and its people in my own way."

"it is good!"

Seeing the sixth elder brother walk out of the small courtyard, Yinyou suddenly thought of someone again.In Chengqian Palace in the afternoon, he only talked about his own affairs, and didn't ask how his brother was doing in the past year.

Therefore, Yinyou also went out, ready to go to the next door, and share a bed with his brother tonight.

When I came to the gate of the courtyard, I found that all the eunuchs guarding the gate had changed.Yinyou is still puzzled.His brother is very particular about him, and a servant who is used to ordering him around will never be easily replaced.

It was only when he entered the yard that something went wrong, and even the person who waited on him had changed.

Yinyou was about to ask "Where did Su Peisheng go?" when he heard someone coming out from the room.Take a closer look, isn't this Xiao Shisan?

Yinyou beckoned, and Brother Thirteen ran up to him: "Brother Seven."

Yinyou asked him: "My brother is teaching you how to practice calligraphy again?"

The thirteenth elder brother looked puzzled: "No, the fourth brother should have left the palace by now."

"Huh?" Yinyou was stunned, "Going out of the palace?"

"That's right, I left the palace and went back to the mansion a long time ago."

"Go home?"

The thirteenth elder brother tilted his head and looked at him: "The fourth brother got married last year, and the mansion was built long ago. After the fourth brother got married, he moved out of the palace."

His elder brother is already married and has become someone else's husband, but Yinyou only knows about this now.

In fact, this morning, he should have thought of the fourth elder brother coming to pick him up with the prince.Only princes who move out of the Forbidden City after their wedding can be regarded as courtiers. They wear court clothes and go out of the city to welcome them together with civil and military officials.

He had been away from home for too long, and when he came back suddenly, he ignored all these details when he saw his relatives.

Yinyou patted Brother Thirteen on the shoulder: "Go to bed early, don't study too late, I'm leaving."

As he said that, he turned around and strode away, leaving Brother Shisan behind with a confused look on his face.

Yinyou didn't go back to his small courtyard, but went straight to Qianqing Palace.