Kangxi stepped out from the Imperial Palanquin, only to see a sea of officials in stone-blue official robes kneeling en masse.
Against the backdrop of the pristine white snow, it was a truly magnificent sight.
But Kangxi’s eyes didn’t fall on any of them.
Instead, his gaze landed on the little dumpling standing at the very front, dressed in a golden-yellow jacket.
Er Bao wore a thick hat made of fox fur, and over his jacket was a heavy little cape, revealing only a small, round face, flushed red as if from the cold.
Maybe he was bundled up too much and looked just like a ball, unable to stand steadily, so Suo’etu and Mingzhu had to stand on either side of him to keep the precious little Bandit from falling on his bottom.
As for why he was called a bandit…
Kangxi’s eyes fell on the banner Er Bao was gleefully holding above his head.
On it was written: “This road is opened by me; if you want to pass, pay the toll!”
Kangxi’s eyelids twitched furiously. ‘Who had written these words?’
They were utterly lacking in character, no better than Fang He’s first attempts at calligraphy when she had just started learning to write after heading south.
Inside the Imperial Palanquin, Fang He cradled Jiujiu, secretly lifting the curtain to peek outside.
When she saw what was written, Fang He drew a sharp breath.
Wonderful—Er Bao’s courage surpassed even hers back in the day.
To rob the Emperor himself, and not just any emperor, but his own father…
Truly, there might be only one such filial child in the world.
Those characters… did indeed bear her style from years past.
Jiujiu, at four years old, had only just begun learning the San Bai Qian and only recognized the characters ‘this’ and ‘open.’
Anxiously, she whispered to Fang He, “Mother, Mother, what did little brother write?”
“This moment I wish for a beating, let’s begin,” Fang He said seriously, considering Jiujiu’s limited vocabulary.
Jiujiu was stunned, ‘Did my little brother hit his head or something?’
Outside, Kangxi had no time to worry about the mother and daughter inside the palanquin.
He looked instead at Suo’etu and Mingzhu kneeling on the ground with heads bowed, along with the officials who refused to look up, and he almost laughed in anger.
These two old foxes dared to bring the little prince out of the palace on such a cold day; who could believe they didn’t have an ulterior motive?
Not to mention Er Bao’s obvious, expectant eyes, sparkling as if begging for praise.
He’d wager on the smack Er Bao was bound to receive next that this silly child had no idea what the banner actually said.
For such a thing to be brought out of the palace by Er Bao, and even displayed in public…
Kangxi’s gaze swept coldly over Suo’etu, though his face betrayed nothing.
In a moment, he was all smiles.
He descended from the Imperial Palanquin, scooped Er Bao into his arms, and asked with a laugh, “Did you write these words, Yin Hui?”
Er Bao shook his head honestly and replied, “No~ Seventh Sister, she helped baby~”
“Oh? What does it say?” Kangxi gently rubbed Er Bao’s rosy cheeks, realizing now the child wasn’t cold at all—he was probably overheated from being bundled up in the carriage.
Kangxi subtly shifted to block the wind from behind and looked at Er Bao encouragingly.
Er Bao shouted loudly, “Long live Father Emperor! Long live, long, long live!”
Although Er Bao couldn’t read, under Fang He’s guidance during parent-child activities, he’d learned to count characters.
From the number of words, it matched up perfectly.
No problem!
Kangxi laughed even harder, pinching Er Bao’s chubby cheeks affectionately.
“Coming out of the palace on such a cold day to deliver a banner for Father Emperor—such filial piety! But who gave you permission to leave the palace?”
Flattered, Er Bao first lifted his head, then shrank his neck, immediately forgetting the promise he made to that long-bearded old man earlier.
He pointed without hesitation at Suo’etu and Mingzhu, selling them out.
“Grandpa Suo said to line up neat and tidy, Grandpa Zhu said… said… chicken.”
He really couldn’t remember that much, so he simply pointed to the tall, burly man behind them, whose head was about to be buried in the snow.
“Uncle E said, eat your fill!”
That’s a generational slip—was his own son helping Erlundai take advantage of him?
Erlundai looked like he might cry, but he didn’t dare claim seniority over the Emperor.
Gritting his teeth, he raised his head and declared, “Reporting to Your Majesty, this servant told the Fifteenth Prince, ‘the bold eat their fill, the timid go hungry.’ Coming out to greet Your Majesty, it is all the Fifteenth Prince’s filial piety!”
Kangxi didn’t need Erlundai’s explanation; he already knew how they had coaxed the child.
It must have been Erlundai who spotted Yin Hui in the Jing Consort Palace and got the idea to bring him out to display his filial piety, while the Tong Family showed signs of choosing sides.
Suo’etu, catching wind, quietly smoothed things along for Yin Hui, talking about ‘the whole family together’ while secretly encouraging the Seventh Princess Uxihan and Yin Hui to make a spectacle.
Word of what happened at the city gate wouldn’t stay hidden; once it got out, Yin Hui’s reputation as a little bandit and wastrel would spread far and wide—a cunning plan indeed.
As for Mingzhu, hm… this surely bore his touch as well.
This old fox was even better at reading people’s minds than Suo’etu.
He knew that Kangxi, upon seeing the child, wouldn’t hold it against him but would instead discern Suo’etu’s intent, and so encouraged the child to play along with the trick.
Erlundai only cared about furthering Yin Hui’s future, while Mingzhu simply hoped for a conflict between the Imperial Noble Consort’s faction and the Crown Prince’s faction, so he could carve a path for himself and Yinzhi.
In a flash, Kangxi had unraveled the origins of this little bandit’s ‘robbery,’ his expression unchanged but a coldness in his heart deeper than the snowy landscape.
He didn’t care about the others’ schemes—there was never a shortage of plotting at court—but did the Crown Prince know about this?
If Yinreng knew, or even orchestrated it himself, showing no reverence for his royal father and sparing no mercy toward his brothers, how could Kangxi entrust the empire to such an unfilial, unbrotherly man?
Kangxi’s mood grew heavier, but his smile grew even broader as he lifted Er Bao up.
“Very good, my Fifteenth Prince, your filial piety is commendable! At such a young age, you dare to come out to greet me with them—such boldness is truly remarkable!”
He didn’t lower his voice at all, nor did he shy away from displaying his favor for Er Bao before the assembled officials.
“What reward would Yin Hui like?”
In the carriages behind, the imperial consorts all lifted their curtains to watch.
The Eldest Prince and the Crown Prince had already gotten down and were approaching.
Hearing Kangxi’s words, the consorts seemed indifferent; they were used to Kangxi’s favoritism toward the Imperial Noble Consort, and loving the house meant loving its crow as well.
But the princes felt a mix of emotions.
In the past, they had never seen Father Emperor hold any of his sons—except for the Crown Prince.
Bitterness crept into their hearts, and their eyes drifted toward Yinreng.
Yinreng maintained the look of a gentle breeze and clear moon, seemingly unaffected, smiling mildly at Yin Hui, though there was no warmth in his eyes.
Er Bao paid no mind to what his brothers thought.
Hearing his father’s question, his eyes lit up and his head craned toward the Imperial Palanquin.
“Father Emperor fly-fly, Mother fly-fly, Sister fly-fly!”
Er Bao didn’t understand the machinations of adults, but he was sensitive to kindness and malice.
Those three long-bearded uncles were nothing special, but Mother Consort Jing had told him: before Father Emperor returned, they were villains who would try to harm him. Now that Father Emperor was back, no matter how bad they were, they had to behave themselves—or they’d go hungry forever.
Er Bao felt it had been ages since he’d seen Mother and Sister.
He couldn’t wait any longer for them to return to the palace, so he’d come out with the others.
Kangxi burst out laughing.
He knew what ‘fly-fly’ meant, but no matter how much he doted on his son, he wouldn’t kiss Er Bao in front of everyone.
He simply tossed Er Bao up playfully, then cradled him in his arms and strode toward the Imperial Palanquin.
“Mother and Sister are too weak—come, Father Emperor will fly you over.”
He didn’t even glance at the Crown Prince and other princes, who had reached the palanquin.
Instead, he smiled and instructed the officials, “It’s freezing. Disperse! Anything else can wait until tomorrow.”
Suo’etu frowned, watching as Kangxi carried the giggling Fifteenth Prince into the palanquin.
He exchanged a look with the Crown Prince.
Yinreng shook his head at him, smiled at the Eldest Prince, then slowly returned to his own carriage.
The Eldest Prince Yinzhi didn’t feel the complicated mix of jealousy and bitterness his younger brothers did.
He was already used to Father Emperor’s favoritism.
His wife was right—even without the Fifteenth Brother, Father Emperor wouldn’t favor him; it was never his turn to worry.
He smiled and nodded at Mingzhu, then turned to lead the pouting Yin Xiang and the envious younger brothers back.
Erlundai breathed a sigh of relief, wiped the cold sweat from his forehead, and muttered to himself that he would never bring children out to play again.
This was truly beyond the rules of virtue!
But the other civil and military officials, even those accompanying the northern tour, were not so calm.
The Manchu people valued hugging grandsons, not sons—they had never seen the Emperor dote on a prince like this.
Especially now that the Imperial Noble Consort was the unrivaled favorite of the harem and the Fifteenth Prince had a place in His Majesty’s heart…
Many glanced at the Crown Prince’s carriage, a ripple of unease growing in their hearts.
Yinreng appeared calm and composed outside, but as soon as he entered his carriage, his face turned dark and thunderous.
He understood Suo’etu’s intention: to force his hand by leveraging Yin Hui’s favor.
Father Emperor raised the Fifteenth Prince so high, caring nothing for the Crown Prince’s dignity.
‘Fatherly kindness and filial piety, ha… What a farce. If the father is unkind, how can the son be filial? Uncle was right—better to act than wait for death.’
If the Father Emperor could abdicate, if this world belonged to him… then he’d never need to resort to underhanded means again.
He would make Father Emperor fully aware of his abilities.
***
Inside the Imperial Palanquin, once Kangxi entered holding Er Bao, his expression darkened for a moment before he nonchalantly handed Er Bao to Fang He, his playful tone restored.
“Look at this silly son of yours, so easily taken in by others’ schemes. Soon the entire Jingcheng will know—the son of the Imperial Noble Consort conned his own father!”
Fang He was unimpressed, retorting swiftly, “Listen to yourself, as if he isn’t the Emperor’s son. Even if people talk, they’ll just say a loving father spoils his son—what’s that got to do with me?”
Before Kangxi could respond, Fang He bent down and planted a firm kiss on Er Bao’s face.
She hadn’t seen her son in a while and missed him dearly.
Jiujiu came over for a kiss as well.
But only after Fang He gently unfasten Er Bao’s thick cape, set him on the luohan couch, and patted Jiujiu.
“All right, go and shower your brother with kisses, fulfill his wish.”
Even as oblivious as Er Bao was, he sensed something was wrong and tried to crawl away.
But he was no match for his four-year-old sister; before he could go far, Jiujiu pinned him to the couch.
“Come, come, though I’ve never heard of such a strange wish, I’m your big sister, so I’ll grant it—smack!”
“Wah, Sis… don’t hit me, why?!”
“Didn’t you ask for it yourself?”
“No… wasn’t me…”
As Chunlai and Xinke kept the two children entertained on the couch, Fang He and Kangxi walked around the screen to the other side.
Seeing Fang He crossing her arms and raising an eyebrow at him, Kangxi smiled and explained, “If I scolded the child outside, it would hurt Er Bao’s feelings and also give the officials the wrong impression.”
“I praised his filial piety and treated him well—no matter how much people gossip in private, no one would dare make an issue of it in public. It’ll just be a joke that passes in time.”
Fang He smiled, finally getting her turn to say those three words to Kangxi.
“Tell the truth!”
Kangxi: “…..”
He was amused but didn’t follow her lead.
Instead, he asked, “If you were me, what would you do?”