My father-in-law is Kangxi

Chapter 1752: Before the Emperor (Seeking a monthly ticket)

The third prince glared at Tian Gege, feeling sorry for his daughter.

The next morning, the Third Prince arranged for someone to send the Fourth Princess to the Haidian Prince's Residence.

Haidian South Second Institute.

The Third Lady was talking to the maid next to her: "No one came to the Fourth Prince's mansion? Didn't we see someone cleaning it yesterday?"

The result was always empty.

I thought the two families could still be together, but it turned out that they were the only one living here.

The maid said, "Yes, people from the Fourth Prince's Mansion came yesterday and cleaned three rooms. Maybe they didn't want to travel at night, so they came today."

The Third Lady felt something was wrong and asked, "What about the North Fifth House? How many families have come?"

The maid also asked around in the morning and said, "We only went to the Fifth Prince's Mansion and the Seventh Prince's Mansion. The other courtyards have not been cleaned up yet."

The Third Lady frowned, not being able to understand the reason for a moment.

Why are you all still dawdling?

The children of the Ninth Prince's Mansion and the Prince of Dun's Mansion are all biological.

At this moment, there was movement outside.

The Fifth Lady is here.

The Third Lady was a little surprised and invited someone in.

The Fifth Lady looked worried and said to the Third Lady, "My Ninth and Tenth Brothers' Sisters didn't come out, so I went to ask my Seventh Brothers' Sisters, but she didn't know the reason either. Should we send someone back to the capital to ask?"

The Third Lady said, "I should ask, what are you waiting for? If something goes wrong, who can take the responsibility?"

The Fifth Lady hesitated for a moment and said, "My ninth brother's wife is in her advanced period. Is it inconvenient for her to leave the city?"

The Third Lady said, "Then we should ask the county lady to bring the children out. She should know the priorities."

Having said that, she became worried, so she told the nanny beside her, "Mammy, please go to the Ninth Prince's Mansion on my behalf and ask about the situation there. If the Ninth Concubine is not feeling well, then please ask the county lady to bring the children out. I will take care of them when we get to Haidian."

The nanny agreed.

The Third Lady said again: "Let's go to the Fourth Prince's Mansion and ask the Fourth Lady why she was delayed..."

The sisters-in-law are close in age and were neighbors in the prince's residence in their early years. Their relationship is better than that of other sisters-in-law.

Now the Fourth Prince happens not to be in Beijing, and the Third Lady is worried that the Fourth Lady may encounter some inconvenience.

As for the Tenth Lady, the Third Lady was not worried.

The Prince Dun's Mansion and the Ninth Prince's Mansion have always been in and out of the same place.

Once the Ninth Prince's Mansion takes action, the Prince Dun's Mansion will follow suit.

The nanny went downstairs to call a car, and before she left, she saw the carriage from the palace coming over.

Seeing the Fourth Princess's wet nurse getting off the carriage with the baby in her arms, the nanny felt worried for the Third Lady, but she did not dare to delay and had to go back to report.

The Third Lady was so angry that her face turned red. She said in a hateful voice, "What does this Tian Shi mean? Yesterday, I asked them to come out, but they couldn't do anything. Today, they directly sent the child over. Do they think that I am a nanny?"

The Fifth Lady was nearby, so it was difficult for her to respond.

I really didn't expect to catch up with the family affairs of Prince Cheng's Mansion.

The Third Lady cursed, but there was nothing she could do.

Who told her that she was the legitimate wife of the Prince's Mansion? All the illegitimate sons and daughters in the mansion were also her children.

If she takes good care of the child, it is her duty; if she does not, it is dereliction of duty.

She was in no mood to chat with the Fifth Lady about such a troublesome matter as hers, so she just served tea and sent the guest away.

The Fifth Lady came out with a hot face.

The sisters-in-law have always been polite to each other. This is the first time she has encountered someone as impolite as the Third Lady.

She couldn't help but feel a little regretful that she shouldn't have taken this trip.

The Seventh Lady has always been on good terms with Shushu, and she will also arrange people to inquire about the matter.

This is true.

Just when the Fifth Lady came to the South Third House, the Seventh Lady had already sent people back to the capital.

*
The main courtyard of the Ninth Prince's Mansion.

Shushu and Ninth Prince will start being full-time Enie and Ama today.

There are two courtyards, with an open space in front of the main courtyard and behind the main house.

The only difference is that the ground is paved with blue bricks, which is different from the lush vegetation in the East Road Garden.

Fengsheng and his friends walked around twice and then found it boring.

It was just windy outside, so Shushu held one of her sons in each hand, while the Ninth Prince held Niguzhu, and the five of them went back to their room.

Shushu asked someone to take out several pitching pots from the warehouse and played the game with a few children.

On the table next to the kang, there are a few freshly made steamed buns.

There are crispy red bean cakes and rose cakes, sticky donkey rolls and custard rice cakes, leavened chestnut cakes and red date cakes, and salty meat floss cakes and egg yolk cakes.

"Whoever wins gets to eat a piece of cake..."

Shu Shu said.

There were three children. They didn’t need to queue up or fight for the ball. Each of them had a tossing pot and a tube of arrows.

Niguzhu almost jumped up.

They were all her favorite buns. She only ate two of them in the morning, as the others were not available.

Most children love to eat steamed buns, but Akdan is an exception.

Akdan wanted to pick out some steamed buns for Ene to eat, and his little face showed a serious expression.

Fengsheng is here, looking at his younger brother and then at his younger sister, taking care of people out of habit.

Seeing that Niguzhu had thrown the ball three times but failed to make it in, he took two steps back, pulled Shushu's hand, and whispered, "Enie, can you get closer? My sister can't make the shot..."

Shushu felt so distressed when she saw him like this.

The same children, born two hours apart, are distinguished as the elder and the younger.

As the eldest son, Fengsheng does get more than his younger brothers and sisters, but he also has to bear more.

Shu Shu nodded and said, "Okay, I'll listen to you. Then go and help your sister move!"

Fengsheng smiled brightly and went over to move the pot for Niguzhu.

Niguzhu looked puzzled, so Fengsheng patiently explained.

Niguzhu immediately said, "Then move the eldest and second brothers' too, that would be fair..."

They were just learning to speak.

The new word that Niguzhu likes to use recently is "fairness".

Fengsheng nodded, and the three children's pots moved a step closer.

This time when Niguzhu played the pot-tossing game, he made a breakthrough and immediately burst into laughter.

She didn't care much about the accuracy and was very fast.

Akdan threw the slowest but was very patient and had the best accuracy. Except for the first one which was outside, the others were all in the pot.

Fengsheng had to pay attention to his younger brothers and sisters, and his attention was divided, so his speed was not good.

Shushu and the Ninth Prince, the parents, sat on the kang, watching the movements of their three children, and each had their own feelings.

The Ninth Prince whispered, "Feng Sheng inherited his personality from me. When I was a child, I always loved to take care of the Tenth Prince."

Shushu glanced at the Ninth Prince.

I am the eldest daughter and elder sister...

The Ninth Prince has a bit of lack of self-awareness.

The Ninth Prince continued, "It's up to you, Akdan. You may not say anything, but you are strong-willed. You are aiming for the first place."

Shushu nodded and agreed with this.

The second son's personality is indeed somewhat similar to mine. He has plans in his mind and is more intelligent than ordinary children.

When the couple looked at the silly and smiling Niguzhu, they were speechless.

The Ninth Prince was silent for a while before he said, "You have a good temper and love to laugh. You are innocent. Is this what you got from the Fifth Prince?"

Shu Shu: "..."

Children all have silly moments like this. Maybe they will become better when they grow up. There is no need to put the blame on the Fifth Prince.

After the children finished their game and ate their steamed buns, they began to hear some movement outside.

The people sent by the Seventh and Third Concubines arrived one after another and were waiting to see the emperor in front.

There's a smallpox epidemic out there, so Shushu and the Ninth Prince definitely won't see anyone.

Shushu told Baiguo, "Tell the two of you that the mansion is closed and we won't be going to Haidian for the time being."

Baiguo agreed and went to the front to pass on the message.

After everyone left, the children were taken to the west wing by the nanny. The Ninth Prince's face drooped and he said, "What's going on? Fifth sister-in-law is still my real sister-in-law. Third and Seventh sisters-in-law are worried about us. She is really generous."

Shushu said something fair, "Third and Seventh Sisters-in-law are both impatient. They sent people away when they knew we didn't move yesterday. Even if Fifth Sister-in-law was worried about us, she would have sent someone to ask Fifth Brother first."

The Ninth Prince snorted and said, "You two sisters-in-law are getting along, why do you have to pass through a barrier in between? Or maybe she is just being too proud of her status and is not as sincere and close to you as other sisters-in-law."

Shu Shu said, "I'm not a gold ingot. Do I need everyone to smile at me? Relatives get along in all kinds of ways. How can they all be the same? Don't pick on this, and don't mention it in front of Fifth Brother."

The Ninth Prince looked at Shushu and said, "You have good intentions, but you still want others to appreciate your kindness. This is really strange. I think Zhang Baozhu has a good temper. He is not of high rank and is usually very open and generous. Why does the Fifth Sister-in-law act so strangely?"

Shu Shu didn't want to mention the Fifth Lady anymore, so she changed the subject and said, "My master's leave application was submitted yesterday afternoon. It should be in front of the emperor by noon today, right?"

The Ninth Prince nodded and said, "Well, the Ministry of War sent it urgently, so it should arrive before noon. I should be able to get a reply tomorrow afternoon..."

Shu Shu thought about the bodyguards and said, "The Crown Prince and the Thirteenth Prince are less of a worry. The children of the two families are either already born or have not yet been born. As for the Fourth Prince, I have to worry..."

The Ninth Prince nodded and said, "Yes, Fourth Brother is a man who loves children. When he came back from his northern tour, he brought two pairs of rabbits and two cages of birds for the children..."

Just as the couple expected, the memorial from the capital arrived before the emperor at noon.

The emperor's carriage happened to pass through Jingzhou, where there was an ancient temple called Kaifu Temple. The emperor visited Kaifu Temple in the morning and stayed in the south of Jingzhou city that day.

After visiting the ancient temple, Kangxi was in a good mood and even wrote an imperial plaque for the temple.

When he returned to the palace, the Governor of Shandong and the General of Dengzhou came to pay homage.

Shandong Governor Wang Guochang was a Han military officer student of the Plain White Banner and a frontier official promoted by Emperor Kangxi himself.

The general commander of Dengzhou was also from the Han army and was appointed by Emperor Kangxi.

It was because Shandong was adjacent to Zhili and had an important location that Kangxi placed his trusted ministers here.

After meeting the two people, Kangxi was in a good mood.

As for Wang Guochang, the emperor and his minister had met for the thirty-eighth year; as for the general of Dengzhou, they had met in the capital last year.

When the two men went downstairs and saw the memorial from the capital, Kangxi's good mood immediately froze.

When the smallpox epidemic broke out, the people most in danger were not the Eight Banners population in the capital, because 50% to 60% of the people in the Eight Banners in the capital had already been vaccinated.

The most dangerous were the Mongolian princes and taijis who took turns to come to Beijing every year.

Kangxi picked up his imperial pen and wrote an edict to the Lifanyuan, ordering that the princes and nobles who were needed to take turns in the next two years, if they had already arrived in the capital, would leave the capital and be exempted from the turns; the natural population who had not arrived in the capital would be exempted from the turns, and the list of names would be changed.

If there is no suitable candidate, he will report to the Lifanyuan and leave it vacant for a year.

After making arrangements for the Mongolian princes and taijis, Kangxi then took up the joint letter signed by the third prince, the fifth prince, and the seventh prince, regarding whether the seventeenth princess and the nineteenth prince should be moved out of the palace to avoid smallpox.

Although the Seventeenth Princess was sickly in her early years, she is already five years old this year and had planned to choose a day for vaccination.

The Nineteenth Prince, on the other hand, looked strong and sturdy.

Once this smallpox epidemic breaks out, it will take who knows how many months to end.

Kangxi also thought of vaccination to prevent smallpox.

He put down the memorial and picked up the one from the Ninth Prince, and saw that the Ninth Prince had asked for a long vacation for himself and the Tenth Prince to stay at home to avoid smallpox.

Since the Ninth Prince submitted the memorial, he did not hesitate to write five pages of letter, mentioning that he wanted to "vaccinate Fengsheng and his sister to prevent smallpox."

Kangxi pondered for a moment and wrote a few words on the ninth prince's memorial.

Then, he put down the memorial from the Ninth Prince, picked up the joint memorial from the Third Prince and others, and wrote two sentences as well.

Instead of sending the Seventeenth Princess and the Nineteenth Prince to the smallpox clinic for vaccination, it is better to send them to the Ninth Prince's Mansion.

The Ninth Prince is friendly to his brothers and sisters, and Mrs. Dong E is thoughtful and considerate...

*
In the side courtyard of the palace, the Fourth Prince was also reading a letter.

After reading the letter from the Ninth Prince, he read the letter from the Fourth Lady.

Although he had never experienced smallpox personally, he knew the danger of it.

Most of Emperor Taizu's children died young, almost all of them from smallpox.

If an adult gets the disease, it is extremely dangerous, let alone a child.

It is safer to get vaccinated to prevent acne than to leave Beijing to avoid it, but what if something unexpected happens?
When the Fourth Prince thinks about things, he always thinks of the worst possible outcome first.

Perhaps it's because he has experienced so much and doesn't really believe that he has good luck.

Just in case...

We can't let the Fourth Lady bear this blame...

After he made his decision, he wrote back to the Ninth Prince, saying that he would make arrangements and asking the Ninth Prince to take care of his health and not to worry his parents.

In the letter to the Fourth Lady, the Fourth Prince mentioned that a place in the courtyard of the Prince's Mansion was set up to vaccinate the two princes. The Fourth Lady would take care of the Third Prince, while Madam Xie would take care of the Second Prince.

Nanny Xie is the Fourth Prince's wet nurse and also the most trusted elder person in the Fourth Prince's mansion. She holds an extraordinary status in the Fourth Prince's mansion.

The Fourth Lady respected her very much, and the other princesses and concubines did not have the courage to show off in front of Madam Xie...

*
It’s Jiu’s lunar birthday soon. I’ll be having a small gathering with friends and will be back in the afternoon. I’ll update once today and the next one will be at noon tomorrow.

(End of this chapter)