Chapter 16 – Night Thoughts

After Consort An left, the other two seemed unable to remain even a moment longer and hurried away.

Yu Ying collected herself and, with Qing Tao accompanying her, entered Shu Consort Zhangjia’s bedchamber.

Zhangjia looked as though she was in fairly good condition, though her complexion was still poor. She half-reclined on the bed, her eyes fixed intently on the small cradle beside it. The child she had fought so hard to bring into the world was lying there, sleeping soundly.

It was only when she heard movement that she was willing to lift her gaze.

“Sister, you’ve come.” Her voice was still gentle and soft.

Yu Ying went over and sat by the bed, but didn’t know how to begin speaking.

Perhaps seeing the conflicted look on Yu Ying’s face, Zhangjia spoke first:

“Did you get a look at our Thirteenth Prince, Sister? Thanks to your kind words, I bore a prince!”

“Sister…” Yu Ying looked at this woman, radiant in the glow of maternal love. She was barely of age—still a student, if she were living in modern times. But here, in this man-eating Qing dynasty, she had already become a mother, and now she had to endure the pain of being forcibly separated from her own flesh and blood.

In the end, she finally spoke:

“Today His Majesty said that after the third-day bath, the Thirteenth Prince will be handed over to Defei to be raised.”

The woman who had been smiling moments ago suddenly had reddened eyes.

“Is that so? That’s good… Following Defei, the Thirteenth Prince will surely receive better care.”

Yu Ying truly didn’t know how to offer comfort.

At that moment, she hated herself for being such a block of wood!

But in reality, Zhangjia wasn’t nearly as distraught as Yu Ying imagined.

When parents love their children, they plan far into the future.

She understood clearly that there was an enormous difference between leaving the Thirteenth Prince here in Changchun Palace and entrusting him to Defei.

Defei had favor but no children. Her own son, the Fourth Prince, had been given to the Imperial Noble Consort, and the Sixth Prince had only recently died. Now that she had been granted an imperial son to raise, she would surely treasure him dearly.

And in Yonghe Palace, the Thirteenth Prince would have more chances to see His Majesty.

Affection is cultivated over time.

In this harem, the difference between a prince who regularly saw the emperor and one whom the emperor neglected was like heaven and earth. Changchun Palace had already fallen out of favor. She could not let her son end up the same way.

Moreover, being raised under a high-ranking consort was always better than staying under a mere concubine, wasn’t it?

Yu Ying didn’t stay long. She’d been standing for half the day, tense the entire time. Now that she finally relaxed, she felt exhaustion washing over her.

After having supper, Yu Ying extinguished the candles early and lay down to rest.

She soon fell into a deep sleep. But not everyone shared her peace of mind that night.

That night, in Qianqing Palace.

When the emperor returned from Changchun Palace today, his expression had been dreadful. The servants of Qianqing Palace waited on this temperamental sovereign with extreme caution. Clearly, the palace had just gained a new prince—wasn’t that supposed to be a joyful occasion? So why had His Majesty come back with such a dark face?

Could it be that he truly no longer valued having more sons?

The servants of Qianqing Palace all harbored this fleeting question.

But that shouldn’t be right.

Whether commoners or emperors, wasn’t it always considered a blessing to have many children?

Puzzled, they only grew more careful in their service.

That night, Qianqing Palace closed its doors early. Kangxi had no thought of summoning anyone to warm his bed.

In the vast bedchamber, he was alone. Liang Jiugong had been sent out to stand watch at the door, with strict orders that no one be permitted to disturb him under any circumstances.

Kangxi did not sleep. He stood by the window.

His face, half-lit and half-hidden in the dim candlelight, looked dark and brooding.

By habit, he reached for the jade ornament usually hanging at his waist, only to grasp at empty air.

He’d forgotten that he had changed into his sleeping robes, with no adornments at the waist.

The events of the day still echoed in his mind. He could even recall every thought of that Wei woman. He’d observed carefully—besides himself, no one else in the room had shown any reaction. So it must be that he alone could hear her inner voice.

Indeed, he thought, I am favored by Heaven.

Still—how dare she? That Wei woman was astonishingly bold. Just because no one knew, a mere servant dared to curse her master in her heart! Whenever he remembered the way she had insulted him inside her thoughts, Kangxi’s anger rose again. He wanted nothing more than to decree her immediate execution!

But when he recalled her ability to foresee the future, he had to restrain himself.

Forget it. He would wait and see.

It was a pity—she had said so many useless things, and in the end, the information he could glean was all too limited.

Xipin would die childless—that suited him just fine. As for why she had no children, he didn’t care in the least.

The fact that the Thirteenth Prince would live to see the next emperor ascend the throne—and even have the power to “provide for her old age”—meant that the boy would survive the struggles for succession unscathed, perhaps even become deeply trusted by the next emperor, holding real authority.

Lastly, there was his own reign.

Thirty-six more years—that truly was a long time.

At first, he felt glad. From ancient times, no emperor had reigned longer than he. Perhaps no one in the future would, either.

If Yu Ying knew what he was thinking, she would have nodded vigorously and told him: Yes, that’s right. You are the longest-reigning emperor in all of history. No one before you, and no one after you. Your good grandson might have surpassed you, but he was too filial—he abdicated early so as not to exceed your reign. Bet you didn’t expect that!

Power was addictive. As the man who held the greatest power of all, Emperor Kangxi knew that taste better than anyone. All the more, he was reluctant to let it go, wishing his reign could last forever.

Look back—how many emperors in history had sought immortality?

Countless.

And he believed himself to be an enlightened sovereign.

As an enlightened sovereign, he had his own ambitions and principles to fulfill. The longer he ruled, the better. He could do more for the Aisin Gioro dynasty and more for the people of the realm.

But after that brief joy came a surge of worry.

What about Baosheng?

My Baosheng—will he be Crown Prince for more than forty years?

Kangxi’s heart clenched tight.

He was afraid.

In history, how many Crown Princes had been ruined by their own fathers? Far too many to count. An aging emperor and a vigorous, ambitious heir—he didn’t have to guess the outcome.

More than at any other time, Kangxi now wanted to see his Baosheng.

“Liang Jiugong,” Kangxi called toward the doors. “Go quickly and summon the Crown Prince to return to the palace to see me!”

“At once, Your Majesty!” Liang Jiugong’s voice came from outside, followed by the sound of retreating footsteps.

Kangxi stopped paying attention to the noises beyond the hall and continued thinking.

Suddenly, he remembered something.

The moment when that “system” first appeared had been after that Wei woman had served him in bed. Perhaps it had not been a coincidence, though at the time he had thought nothing of it.

Recalling how the “system” had told him of a “future already decided,” it must have been referring to Wei’s inner thoughts.

But now, through her, he had learned about the future in advance…

With that knowledge, there was so much he could do.

For now, Wei could not die.