Chapter 27: Praise.

Palace of Heavenly Purity (Qianqing Palace).

The Crown Prince Baocheng was still residing with the Emperor in the Western Warm Pavilion. Although there were many voices in court suggesting that the Empress should take over the care of the Crown Prince, or that he be relocated to the Princes’ Quarters for proper upbringing, Emperor Kangxi had yet to agree to any of it. In fact, not only did he stall on the matter, but he also instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs to research a new location for the Crown Prince’s palace, with the intention of constructing a new residence for him.

Of course, given Kangxi’s notoriously meticulous and picky nature, he had been deliberating over this since the end of last year and had yet to decide on a location—let alone begin construction. It was clear that the day the Crown Prince would move out of the Qianqing Palace was still far off. The Hesheli clan was more than happy with this development, though it had begun to stir discontent among the imperial consorts and noble officials of the clan.

For instance, Consort Hui and Consort Rong.

Both of their children were being raised outside the palace. At least Consort Rong had an eldest daughter by her side. Consort Hui, on the other hand, had nothing to do all day except burn incense and pray for Heaven to protect and bless her son Qing. Naturally, she harbored some resentment over the Emperor’s favoritism.

The Emperor, however, paid no mind to the subtle frustrations of his concubines and officials.

After all, the four-year-old Crown Prince was still utterly adorable. Let alone moving him to a palace by himself—Kangxi practically wished he could tie him to his own belt and carry him everywhere. If any foolhardy official dared to speak out against this, Kangxi would be more than happy to show them why the flowers were so red.

After completing state affairs in the Eastern Warm Pavilion, Kangxi stretched out his arms for a rare moment of relaxation. He leisurely made his way toward the Western Warm Pavilion to rest and, incidentally, to engage in some father-son bonding time with the Crown Prince—perhaps to test Baocheng’s studies or to reward him with something new and exciting.

And failure in those tests?

Impossible! His own Baocheng was gifted and clever—no way such a thing could happen.

Kangxi had rose-tinted glasses when it came to his little Crown Prince, and his confidence in him was overflowing.

As soon as he stepped into the Western Warm Pavilion, the Crown Prince came bouncing into view. Baocheng cheerfully offered his formal greeting and immediately clung to Kangxi’s arm, chirping excitedly about his fun time with his younger brother.

Kangxi was in a great mood.

Raised among eunuchs and palace maids, the young Crown Prince had never dared to grow too close to the palace staff. Ninth Prince Wan Fu was truly his first real playmate. Kangxi had worried at first, but seeing the pure and joyous look on Baocheng’s face, those concerns finally began to fade.

His expression softened, and he reached out to ruffle Baocheng’s hair, teasing him deliberately: “So happy today—did you do something naughty and now you’re trying to win my favor?”

Baocheng looked guilty: “Your son did not do anything bad!”

Kangxi raised his brows: “Wasn’t it you who led Wan Fu to strip the plum blossom tree bald the other day?”

Baocheng’s eyes darted around.

He covered his ears and pretended not to hear, hopping away as if to escape.

Kangxi grabbed him in one swift motion.

Lifting him up, he gave him a playful swat on the bottom. “So when I say something you don’t like, you try to run, is that it? Just look at your guilty little smile—you’re clearly up to no good!”

Baocheng squealed in protest: “I did not! Your son wasn’t misbehaving!” At most, he and Wan Fu had caught a koi fish and tried making grilled fish with it.

Of course, that kind of thing couldn’t be told to Father Emperor.

Baocheng’s eyes spun rapidly with thought, but Kangxi—who was no fool—could tell from that expression alone that his son had definitely been up to mischief. While he found it exasperating, he also started to reflect on Wan Fu’s influence. Baocheng used to be so obedient—ever since he started playing with Wan Fu, he had become increasingly naughty.

The real culprit here was you!

Over in Xianfu Palace, Wan Fu was quietly eating fried chicken nuggets when he suddenly felt a heavy weight pressing down on him, as if something invisible had just landed on his head.

That must be… the weight of being blamed.

The little Crown Prince kicked his legs wildly; the sheepskin slippers he wore were already loose, and with all the squirming, they fell to the ground with a soft plop. Liang Jiugong immediately bent down to retrieve the slippers for him, but as he did, he froze: “…What is this?”

Kangxi looked down.

The slippers bore some resemblance to traditional wooden clogs or soft slip-ons, but with notable differences. For instance, clogs typically featured interwoven straps and were more common in Jiangnan regions, with elevated soles to keep feet dry. Soft slip-ons, by contrast, could be made of leather, palm fiber, or even straw; the more luxurious versions used brocade. Kangxi himself often wore these indoors during leisure.

But these were made of lamb fleece—something Kangxi had never seen before. Black and white fleece was pieced together to form the shape of a little lamb, soft and plump in appearance.

Liang Jiugong picked them up and presented them to the Emperor.

Kangxi examined them and nodded. “The design is clever and unique—worthy of praise. Liang Jiugong, reward them.”

Praise was given.

But then his tone shifted, slightly displeased: “However, the craftsmanship is quite crude. If Baocheng liked them, he should’ve instructed the Ministry of Internal Affairs to remake them properly.”

He then ordered Liang Jiugong to take the slippers away.

At this, the Crown Prince panicked. He quickly stopped Liang Jiugong: “Father Emperor, they weren’t made by the seamstresses—Wan Changzai made them! She made a pair for me and my little brother!”

Kangxi’s expression stiffened.

He smiled faintly, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes. “Wan Changzai made them? And why would she suddenly make shoes for you?”

Why would Wan Changzai be making things for the Crown Prince?

Items for the Crown Prince naturally underwent strict inspection and selection. It was absolutely forbidden to use anything from questionable sources. Moreover, a minor consort unrelated by blood shouldn’t be sending him anything. Kangxi’s brows furrowed faintly in displeasure.

Could Wan Changzai be trying to use the Crown Prince to rise in status?

If favorability ratings were visible, there would now be a string of negative signs appearing above Kangxi’s head. His impression of Wan Changzai had basically dropped to zero, with a faint trend toward the negatives.

The room’s temperature seemed to plummet.

Liang Jiugong and the palace attendants in the Western Warm Pavilion all lowered their heads, staring hard at their own feet, nervous and uneasy.

The Crown Prince Baocheng, however, didn’t notice anything odd about his father.

He slipped out of Kangxi’s arms and happily shoved his feet back into his soft little lamb slippers. He tapped his feet cheerfully as he walked a circle around Kangxi, proudly showing them off. Then he loudly declared, “I went to Xianfu Palace to play with my little brother today, and I happened to see Wan Changzai making insoles.”

Kangxi paused.

He instinctively responded, “Does everyone in Xianfu Palace love making insoles that much?”

Why did insoles leave such a deep impression?

Because it was the first time a consort had given him homemade insoles and had even proudly presented them as a gift. That was why he remembered this woman—Xu Changzai from Xianfu Palace. The insoles were extremely ordinary in design, hastily made even, yet Xu Changzai had been so pleased with herself. In the end, Kangxi just gave them to Liang Jiugong without even trying them on.

“But Wan Changzai said you told her to make insoles,” Baocheng tilted his head, slightly confused.

Kangxi looked completely bewildered.

He instinctively denied it: “Nonsense! When did I ever tell her to make insoles?”

Kangxi and the Crown Prince stared at each other.

Then Liang Jiugong suddenly recalled: “Your Majesty, the last time you went to Wan Changzai’s palace…”

Kangxi’s expression grew stranger by the second until he fell silent in speechless realization.

He had only seen a pair of gloves hanging on a snowman that happened to be his size and, thinking Wan Changzai timid and reserved, casually mentioned something in passing.

How did that get turned into him instructing her to make insoles? Kangxi had a million thoughts and nowhere to begin. In the end, he concluded that Wan Changzai was just… dumb.

Since she was clearly dumb, maybe this whole matter with the Crown Prince really was unintentional? Kangxi mulled it over and finally grabbed the Crown Prince again to clarify: “Even if she did make insoles for me—what does that have to do with the lamb slippers you’re wearing?”

Baocheng planted his fists on his hips and replied loudly, “Of course it’s related! Most of the material for these slippers came from your insoles, Father Emperor!”

Kangxi looked stunned.

Baocheng chattered on, explaining everything from beginning to end. The key points: Wan Changzai had originally embroidered two male mandarin ducks; when she learned she didn’t need to do embroidery, she felt relieved, took the materials apart, and made the slippers instead.

The thoughtful Crown Prince even skipped over the part where Wan Changzai had to take off her own shoes—ahem! He truly was a considerate and loving child! He’d eat two extra pieces of fried chicken tonight!

Compared to the pleased Baocheng, Kangxi suddenly felt disgruntled.

Even knowing Wan Changzai had acted improperly, and that she’d repurposed the materials for the princes’ slippers rather than waste them, the fact remained: he hadn’t even gotten a single insole for the New Year. That stung.

Why?!

Why is that?!

Do you even care about me anymore?! Those three rapid-fire questions made it clear just how irritated Kangxi was.

It was true that he didn’t pay much attention to the concubines of the inner palace.

But for the concubines not to care about him—that was a huge mistake. Kangxi’s face darkened considerably again, the chill in the air reappearing with a vengeance. Liang Jiugong bowed with trembling hands, on the verge of dropping to his knees.

The Crown Prince Baocheng didn’t notice a thing.

In fact, in his innocent, romantic way, he drove yet another arrow deep into Kangxi’s heart by cheerfully exclaiming, “Wan Changzai even said she’ll make two more pairs for me later!”

Kangxi’s mental state completely collapsed today!

His expression darkened as he grabbed the delighted Crown Prince Baocheng by the collar. “Baocheng, have you finished your lessons today?”

Only then did Baocheng realize something was wrong.

He looked like a kitten being grabbed by the scruff of the neck—weak, pitiful, and helpless. Baocheng was carried off to the study. Normally, nine out of ten of his father’s words were praises, but today, they were barely a few. He ended up completely dejected after being scolded, and even by the end, he still didn’t understand what he had done wrong.

Baocheng was aggrieved.

Baocheng wanted hugs and kisses from his little brother to be happy again!

---

Busy as ever, Wan Anran sneezed.

She took out all the stored fabrics. The lambswool slippers she had just made were only clever in design but clearly lacking in detail.

Since she was making them, Wan Anran figured she might as well make several pairs.

For instance, she could make matching parent-child slippers—maybe a pair for Sister Nara and Wan Fu? Oh right! She should make a pair for Consort Xuan too… Hmm, maybe just go all out and make matching slippers for the entire Xianfu Palace?

Wan Anran counted on her fingers.

These lambswool slippers were still unique in the palace, and if it was a one-of-a-kind item, shouldn’t the Empress receive a pair too? Thinking of how the Empress of the Niohuru clan had always looked after her, Wan Anran added her to the list as well.

And if she made some for the Empress, how could she leave out the Empress Dowager and the Grand Empress Dowager? Unless she wanted trouble! So, Wan Anran added their names too.

When all was tallied up, the quantity she needed to make had increased severalfold. Fortunately, slippers didn’t use much material, and lambskin and cashmere products had a certain scent, making them unpopular among the palace’s mistresses. Wan Anran had Ju Bai go ask the Imperial Household Department, and soon after, the leather warehouse from the Grand Storage Division sent over a large batch. The eunuch who delivered them even said that if Wan Changzai needed more, they could send another load.

And they didn’t just send lambskin.

Perhaps thinking that lambskin wasn’t particularly useful, the Grand Storage Division also included a batch of cashmere products.

This was an unexpected surprise.

Wan Anran carefully examined the pieces of woolen cloth and balls of cashmere yarn. These were all made from what was called combed live-cashmere—very lightly scented, and dyed in various colors using madder root, safflower, indigo, gardenia, and turmeric. The woolen cloth was delicate and smooth to the touch, and the yarn balls were fluffy and soft in the hand. In modern times, these would be raw materials for a pure, luxury cashmere sweater that could easily fetch five figures. Now, they were just casually piled up in front of her—take as much as you want.

Such was the treatment afforded to imperial consorts.

In the palace, she was only a minor consort, a Changzai, but the entire Qing Empire funneled resources to support the imperial authority. What others saw as treasures worth a fortune were merely items considered too smelly or unwearable by the palace mistresses.

Wan Anran stroked the cloth, then the yarn balls.

If she could get two knitting needles, couldn’t she knit a cashmere sweater? Unfortunately, now that spring had come, even if she made one, there wouldn’t be much time left to wear it.

Wan Anran sighed in disappointment.

She set the cashmere yarn and cloth aside and turned her attention back to the lambskin. To remove the smell, it needed to be washed in salt water and then dried and combed under the sun…

Wait a minute? Sun-dried?

She glanced out the window. The sky was gloomy, and Wan Anran instantly deflated. With this kind of overcast weather, processing lambskin would be impossible—pure fantasy!

Alright then, the original plan was scrapped.

Reluctantly, Wan Anran turned her attention back to the cashmere yarn.

Fine, fine, she might as well get some practice in. She instructed someone to go to the construction department to fetch a few thin wooden rods, sharpened them into knitting needles—pointed in front and thicker at the back—and began to experiment.

She immediately ran into several issues.

First, the yarn was too thin. That could be solved by using three or four strands together. The bigger problem came next:

Wan Anran couldn’t quite remember how to knit… cough.

Was it loop around the finger and tie a knot? Or was it wrap three times, then tie a knot around the finger?

Wan Anran tried to recall the tiny bit of memory she had on the topic. She fumbled and fiddled with the yarn for most of the day. Not only did she fail to create anything recognizable, she ended up tangling several yarn balls into a giant mess.

When Kangxi pushed open the door and walked in, he thought Wan Changzai had adopted a new kitten. How else could the room be such a chaotic mess? He frowned as he looked around the room. After standing there for a while, it was only when Liang Jiugong gave a deliberate cough that the busy mistress and her three servants finally noticed the emperor’s presence.

Wan Anran was startled.

She quickly put down her things and stepped forward, kneeling in greeting. “This servant pays respects to His Majesty. May Your Majesty be forever blessed and in good health.”

Kangxi casually nodded.

He walked over to the soft couch and sat down. Haitao quickly got up and deftly poured him a cup of tea, then presented it with both hands.

Kangxi accepted the cup.

After taking a sip, he set it down on the side table and sat in silence, his gaze sweeping around the east chamber.

Wan Anran felt confused.

She hadn’t… done anything wrong recently, had she? Then suddenly, a light bulb went off in her mind. She hurried over to the antique shelf. “Your Majesty, this time I’ve placed all the treasures you rewarded me with on display.”

Her tone had a hint of pride.

Wan Anran looked at Kangxi, her eyes sparkling. The left side of her face said “Praise me,” and the right side said “Hurry up.”