My father-in-law is Kangxi

Chapter 1798: Considering the Children
"Humph!"

Kangxi recalled the smug look of the Ninth Prince the day before, snorted and said, "He's already wagging his tail if I don't praise him. If I praise him more, he'll become a flying monkey. Don't praise him!"

Concubine Yi: “…”

No reward, no nice words, this is only because he is close to his father, otherwise the Ninth Prince would definitely remember it.

Kangxi had nothing to say to them about such a tiny child, and ordered Wei Zhu, "Send it to Concubine Min and Concubine Wang!"

Wei Zhu agreed and took people downstairs.

Kangxi said to Concubine Yi: "Pick out some good things to reward Dong E later."

Concubine Yi stood up and said with a smile, "I obey your orders."

Kangxi waved his hand, asked her to sit down, and said, "This year, the governor of Guangdong offered several peep mirrors as tribute. You should keep two more."

Concubine Yi sat down again, touched her face, and said, "In the early years, I loved the mirror the most, but now I am a little afraid to look at it."

Kangxi looked at Concubine Yi carefully and said, "You are just lying. I see that you are no different from a few years ago. You look about the same age as Concubine Min..."

At this point, he sighed and said, "It's Concubine Hui and Concubine De who have aged in recent years..."

Because of the death of Concubine Xi, Kangxi began to feel some sympathy for the old-line concubines and had been extra considerate to them in the past few months.

Concubine Yi smiled bitterly. They were old people, so how young could they be?
Even Concubine Min, who is now a mother-in-law and will soon be a grandmother, has to take a step back in front of a young beauty like Concubine He.

In a few years, when I went to pay my respects to the Empress Dowager, I would find myself surrounded by a circle of old ladies. That scene was truly unbearable to imagine.

Kangxi looked at Concubine Yi and said, "The governor of Zhejiang has presented pearls as tribute. You take two boxes and grind them into powder."

Concubine Yi said happily, "Then I'll be waiting. I usually can't bear to waste money like this."

After the emperor and his concubine chatted for a while, Kangxi remembered that there was someone waiting to see him outside, so he told Liang Jiugong to go and get that person.

After hearing this, Concubine Yi said, "Your Majesty, how about I go back first?"

Kangxi shook his head and said, "No need, they are not others. One is Cao Yin's nephew, and the other is Fushan's son. It just so happens that you can also take a look at Lao Jiu's people."

At this moment, Liang Jiugong brought Cao Shun and Erhe in.

"Your servant Cao Shun (Erhe) pays respects to His Majesty..."

The two men came in with their heads lowered, not daring to look up, and bowed deeply to the throne on the kang.

However, the moment they entered, in addition to the figure on the kang, they also saw a woman in Manchu clothing sitting beside them. They did not dare to go beyond her and just lowered their heads, looking at the blue bricks below them.

"Get up!"

Kangxi called out and looked at Cao Shun.

As Cao Yin's nephew, Kangxi had met him long before he gave Cao Shun to the ninth prince, and had met him several times in recent years.

Seeing that he looked honest and reserved, with some of Cao Yin's demeanor, Kangxi also felt friendly and said, "You have been promoted to the chief master of ceremonies. You should have arranged an audience with the emperor at the Ministry of Personnel, but today you have come earlier."

Cao Shun knelt again and said, "I am a humble servant, mediocre and useless. I am honored by the grace of the emperor and have a bright future. I am overwhelmed with fear and should have kowtowed to the emperor to express my gratitude."

Kangxi waved his hand and said, "I don't need your kowtow, I only need your loyalty. Your uncle is an excellent minister. I have used him for many years. The monarch and the minister get along well. I only hope that you can assist the Ninth Prince well and give him more advice so that he can be more diligent. Not to mention being a role model for the royal family, but also to prevent people from talking about you."

Cao Shun: “…”

This time I was really scared.

I really can't do it!

He did not hide his helplessness.

Kangxi saw this and snorted, "It's all because you guys don't know how to encourage your master, you let him slack off, and you even accompany him in his nonsense, so his body is not well trained."

This reminded me of the Ninth Prince’s “stroke of genius” in the paddock the day before yesterday.

It was really unfair to Cao Shun because he did not go to Nanyuan.

But since the emperor had scolded him, Cao Shun honestly admitted his fault and said, "I am a stupid servant."

But Cao Shun knew his own limitations, and it was not their turn to advise the Ninth Master.

Even the Emperor, his own father, cannot make the Ninth Master diligent, let alone these servants.

Kangxi saw that he was honest, so he looked at Erhe and said, "I heard that you can now shoot a ten-force bow, which is much better than when you were in the palace?"

Erhe nodded and said, "Since I started working in the Prince's Mansion, I have changed to a new bow and received guidance from Lord Heishan. I have doubled my daily archery practice time. After three years, I have finally stopped embarrassing the Emperor and Master Jiu."

Kangxi was very satisfied after listening to this and said, "You know your own shortcomings, learn from others' strengths, and are diligent and persistent. Not bad, not bad."

He thought of Erhe's father, Fushan, the minister of the imperial guards.

Fushan's eldest son is sickly and weak, and his eldest grandson is of average talent, not as talented as his second son Erhe.

Erhe had to separate from the family because the court respected Confucianism and valued the crown prince. The Eight Banners royal family and nobles also changed the old custom. They no longer chose their sons or the youngest son to inherit the title and family property. Now there was no room for choice and the title would only be passed on to the legitimate son.

Kangxi fell into deep thought.

The titles of the Eight Banners were all conferred based on military merit.

People like Fushan's eldest son, even if he inherited the first-class dukedom, would not be able to fill the vacancy.

Should we set other rules for this nobleman to inherit the title?

For example, in the case of Fushan's family, the eldest son cannot fill the vacancy and cannot follow the flag, so he should not be allowed to fill the vacancy.

The throne could be inherited by someone else, such as Fushan's second son Erhe.

However, in order not to violate the Confucian law of primogeniture, a hundred years after Erhe, this "succession" ended and the title could be returned to the eldest son's lineage.

For the nobles, this system of inheriting titles has hidden dangers, but for the court, the benefits outweigh the disadvantages...

*
When Concubine Min saw the Seventeenth Princess being brought over, she was speechless.

What is this thing called?
This time the emperor moved to Changchun Garden and brought few concubines with him, and the mother of the Seventeenth Princess was not among them.

But she still looked happy, and she took the Seventeenth Princess's hand and said to Wei Zhu, "Who are you going to pick up? You've worked hard in this cold weather. The Seventeenth Princess is really well taken care of. It's really troublesome for the Ninth Prince and the Ninth Lady."

Wei Zhu said, "I went to pick it up. The Emperor ordered me to deliver it to the Empress."

Concubine Min nodded and signaled for someone to give Wei Zhu a purse.

After settling in the Seventeenth Princess, Concubine Min breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, she brought several carts of things to Haidian, otherwise it would have been really difficult.

However, thinking of the sensitive and thoughtful Seventeenth Princess's biological mother, Liu, Concubine Min still planned to send someone back to the palace tomorrow to ask Liu to pack some of Seventeenth Princess's things and tell her the news about Seventeenth Princess to put her mind at ease.

Concubine Wang is the biological mother of the Nineteenth Prince, so there is no need to think too much.

She hugged the Nineteenth Prince tightly and couldn't let go.

When the Nineteenth Prince yawned and fell asleep, his nanny went to Concubine Wang and told her in detail about her daily life over the past month and a half.

Lady Wang’s rank is not high at the moment, but no one dares to look down on her.

Everyone knows that Qixiang Palace is being renovated and is prepared for Concubine Wang.

These maids in the Imperial Household Department are all human sperm, so naturally they are happy to heat the stove.

Lady Wang listened and was very grateful to Shushu.

Even though this task was assigned by the emperor, she should be grateful for the fact that he was doing it with such dedication.

After the nanny left, Wang Guiren said to the palace maids around her, "Remind me when we get back to the palace. I'll find some good things in the storehouse and prepare them for the Ninth Lady's birth next year. I'll send an extra gift in the name of the Nineteenth Prince."

The palace servant took note and said to Lady Wang, "My lady, since the Nineteenth Master has started eating supplementary food, should we send someone to the garden kitchen to let them know?"

The ingredients in the palace are fixed.

The level of the master determines the amount of food allocated every day.

The eunuchs and palace maids were also divided into different levels.

Although the Nineteenth Prince was the master, he had used a wet nurse before, had not started eating, and did not have a daily meal ration.

Concubine Wang thought for a moment and shook her head, saying, "No need to make a big fuss. Just follow me and eat first. I'll ask Concubine Yi later."

Not to mention that she is only a noble lady now, even if she is truly conferred the title of imperial concubine, it would not be easy for her to bypass Concubine Yi and directly give orders to the people in the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Concubine Wang is now a noble lady, but since she became pregnant with the Nineteenth Prince, she has been provided for according to the rules for concubines.

Not to mention raising just a child, it would be enough to feed a few adults...

*
Jiubele Mansion, main room.

Shushu and the Ninth Prince were talking about the Seventeenth Princess and the Nineteenth Prince who had left.

Shushu said, "Niguzhu just sent someone back, and they all looked depressed. Go back and tell Cao Shun to find out about the girls from the banner families and the bondservants, and choose two playmates for her, and pick a few little maids."

The Ninth Prince asked, "Where is the eldest princess of the Erhe family? She is one year younger than Niguzhu..."

The eldest princess of the Erhe family is about the same age as the Nineteenth Prince and is two years old this year.

After Ninth Prince finished speaking, he thought of the drooling appearance of Nineteenth Prince and rejected it, saying, "Forget it, he is too young and needs someone to take care of him."

Shushu also felt that it was not appropriate.

One is age, the other is identity.

If she was just the daughter of an official, there would be nothing to worry about, but there is also Princess Guizhen.

By then, they will be half master and half servant, and I'm afraid Princess Guizhen will feel uncomfortable.

Shushu said, "We'll see when Niguzhu goes to school. If my cousin doesn't have other plans by then, she can study with him. Now it's better for Niguzhu to be with older children..."

Having said that, she glanced at the Ninth Prince.

Unfortunately, the male owner of this mansion is young, and it is not a good idea to choose someone who is too old, in case he has other ideas in the future and causes people to worry.

Shushu said, "Forget it. Let's just look for them among the families of the bondservants. Pick children between eight and ten years old, whose parents are honest and simple. Once they learn the rules, we can give them to Niguzhu directly."

The bondservants of the lower five banners needed to be selected and sent to serve in the government.

The bannermen’s families had a different way of serving.

They need to pay respects on a daily basis, and when there are important events like weddings and funerals in the Beile's Mansion, as well as officials from the bannermen's families and imperial edicts and decrees, they need to come to the mansion to help.

The Ninth Prince said with some disdain, "You can't just play with slaves, you still need friends of similar status, like me and the Tenth Prince, who grew up together since childhood. The relationship is deep and cannot be compared with others."

Shushu thought about Niguzhu's cousins ​​and said, "Then I'll take Niguzhu with me to see if I can play with the Third Princess when we go to Seventh Sister's house again."

The princess of the Fourth Beile's Mansion is much older than Niguzhu, and only the Fifth Beile's Mansion and the Seventh Beile's Mansion have princesses of similar age.

However, the daughter of the Fifth Prince is a concubine. If Shushu really takes Niguzhu to make friends with them, she will become an uninvited guest, and the Fifth Lady will feel uncomfortable.

On the contrary, Seventh Lady and Shushu are very close and they feel comfortable with each other.

The Ninth Prince nodded and said, "Well, by then, with a Seventeenth Princess and a Little Princess from the Seventh Brother's family, our Niguzhu will have two more good friends."

As for Fengsheng and Akdan, Shushu and the Ninth Prince are not worried.

When they go out to study in the future, they will have many opportunities to meet new friends.

The next day, Ning'an Hall was cleaned and the furniture was replaced with new ones, and then Lady Bo moved back with Niguzhu.

But now Niguzhu can no longer be kept at home. He refuses to stay in Ning'an Hall anymore and is looking for his brother every day.

Mrs. Bo also knew that she was lonely and was willing to indulge her, so she went along with her wishes and sent her to the back building of the main courtyard every day.

All of a sudden, the three brothers and sisters became close.

Seeing this, Madam Bo thought that the rooms behind Ning'an Hall were empty, so she mentioned it to Shushu and asked, "Should we move Fengsheng and Akdan over there as well?"

Shu Shu knew that children were difficult to raise, so she quickly shook her head and said, "No, no, don't bother. Master Jiu said that when the weather gets warmer next year, he will have someone clean up the yard, and the year after that, he will move them to the front yard."

Mrs. Bo asked, "Where are you going to place your little one?"

Shushu thought for a moment and said, "Then let's put it in the west wing..."

The lady of the Bo family said, "If the prince is to be placed like this, the little princess can be placed in Ning'an Hall. What are those idle rooms over there for..."

This was the first time the mother and daughter mentioned the gender of their unborn baby.

Shushu looked down at her belly and said, "Amu, everyone says that I am pregnant with a prince, and I hope so. If I am a princess, I am afraid I won't be able to stay in the capital."

After hearing this, Mrs. Bo knew what she was worried about.

For example, among the sisters of the Bo Lady, only she married to the capital, and the others were all raised in the capital, but now all of them have died.

In the same way, if a princess was granted the title of a princess, she could open a residence; if she was granted the title of a county lady, her family was the residence of a prince, but most of the concubines of the county prince's residence were given a low-ranking title. When they arrived in Mongolia, they were separated from their relatives and had a hard life...

(End of this chapter)