Rebirth: I'm a Daddy's Darling in the Qing Dynasty

Chapter 3: A Fulfilling Yet Boring Life of Recuperation

He had pretended to be asleep to avoid some leisure, but because he was injured and weak, he actually fell asleep. When he woke up, it was already dark outside. There were only a few candles lit in the large room, so the light was not strong. Yinzhuo looked around and found that Consort De was not there. He breathed a sigh of relief.

"Young master, you're awake. Now it's time to get up."

As soon as Yinzhuo woke up, Dexi, who had been keeping an eye on the commotion, noticed it. She called for the palace maids serving outside to come in and light the candles in the room. She then quickly walked to the bedside and carefully helped Yinzhuo sit up. She even thoughtfully brought a pillow to support him behind his back.

"Dexi, where is Mother?"

You should know that she is the apple of Consort De's eye. Normally things are fine, but now that he is injured, she is not here to watch over him. This is a bit incomprehensible to Yinzhuo.

"Your Highness, please have some water to soothe your throat. His Majesty came to see you earlier, but seeing that you were sleeping soundly, he didn't wake you. Right now, Consort De is outside talking to His Majesty. I have already sent someone to inform them, and I think His Majesty and Consort De came over as soon as they knew you had been awake for a while."

Just as Dexi had predicted, before Yinzhuo had even finished his cup of water, the door was pushed open from the outside, and then Consort De and Emperor Kangxi walked in.

Yinzhu stopped drinking water and stared intently at the tall man who had entered with Consort De. Good heavens, this was the living Emperor Kangxi! A figure only found in history books. Although Yinzhu had received the original owner's memories and knew what Kangxi looked like, he had never seen him in person. Now that the figure from history books was standing right in front of him, he had to take a good look.

"What's wrong with Xiao Liu? He doesn't recognize his father after only two days?"

When Emperor Kangxi was old, he guarded against his sons like thieves. When he got ruthless, he would even draw his sword and kill his own son without hesitation. If it weren't for everyone desperately stopping him, the fourteenth prince would have been crippled even if he hadn't died.

However, Emperor Kangxi was only in his early thirties at this time, in the prime of his life, and with great power in his hands, he naturally did not have the paranoia that he had in his old age. In addition, he did not have many sons at the moment, and each one was a precious treasure. When he heard that his two sons had fought and the younger son was injured, he still made time to come and see him, even though he was busy with state affairs.

Seeing that her youngest son, despite still having a head injury, seemed to be in good spirits, she felt relieved. However, she noticed that he had been staring at her intently ever since she came in, so she couldn't help but tease him a bit.

"Of course I know you, Father. I just haven't seen you for several days and I miss you so much that I couldn't help but want to keep an eye on you."

Yinzhuo has never been the kind of person who cares a lot about his reputation. Ever since he started to act cute and charming in front of Yinzhen, he has completely abandoned all pretense of dignity. Right now, he is acting like a child without any pressure. Judging from his sticky and affectionate manner, no one would guess that there is an adult soul living inside this body.

As expected, Kangxi was pleased with Yinzhuo's affectionate and doting manner. He smiled, walked to the bedside, sat down, and lovingly patted Yinzhuo's little head.

"Does the wound on your head still hurt? You're lucky it wasn't serious this time. Let's see if you dare to be naughty like this again next time."

The wound was naturally painful, after all, it was fresh from that morning. Yinzhuo always knew that a child had to cry before he could get milk, so he naturally wouldn't hold back this time. Although this father was a bit of a scoundrel later on, he was genuinely heartbroken for his son at this moment. So Yinzhuo acted cute and silly, which not only pleased Kangxi but also brought him a lot of benefits. The biggest benefit was that his miserable trip to the Imperial Study was postponed until autumn.

Because Yinzhu was still injured on his head and body and it was inconvenient for him to move, Kangxi did not care. Consort De, who doted on her child, simply set out dinner in the outer room of Yinzhu's room. The family of three ate a simple meal, and Kangxi played with Yinzhu for a while before returning to Qianqing Palace because he still had official business to attend to.

For the next two weeks, Yinzhuo's days were both fulfilling and boring. They were fulfilling because ever since he was injured, Yonghe Palace had never had a quiet day. Apart from his father, Emperor Kangxi, who came to see him every day without fail, all the concubines in the palace visited him. Even Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang and Empress Dowager Cining, who had long lived in Cining Palace and were detached from worldly affairs, specially sent Su Ma La Gu to visit him.

Of course, his brothers also made a brief appearance during this time, including the eldest prince whose reputation had been damaged. Yinzhuo obediently greeted the people based on the original owner's vague memories, and then paid special attention to his eldest brother, who was said to be exceptionally ruthless.

It was truly boring. As Consort De's precious darling, it was no exaggeration to say that he was treated with utmost care and affection. Although he felt perfectly capable of getting up and moving around, his mother thought he couldn't. For half a month, except when Emperor Kangxi came, he could only move around a little. Otherwise, Consort De didn't give him a chance to leave that exquisitely crafted canopy bed. Although this kind of life of lying flat was what Yin Zuo had always longed for in his previous life, after lying there for half a month, Yin Zuo couldn't help but sigh, "Isn't this lying flat a bit too flat?"

"Dexi, let's make a quick getaway while Mother's not around. Where does Fourth Brother live? I haven't seen him for days. You take Grandpa Lu to go play with him."

He had been lying in bed until his injuries were fully healed, but ever since Physician Li gave him a thorough examination yesterday and confirmed that he was completely recovered, Yinzhuo was unwilling to lie down for even a minute longer. He dreamed of living a life of leisure and waiting to die, not of going straight to the end. What kind of good person wouldn't be allowed to get out of bed for half a month? He wasn't seventy or eighty years old. He hadn't even finished composing the first character of his name, so lying in bed for half a month was already his limit.

"Young master, the Fourth Prince is currently residing in the South Third Palace. This servant will help you get dressed first, and then take you there."

The South Three Palaces were named so because they were located south of the Palace of Tranquil Longevity. They were also known as the Princes' Palaces. When Qing Dynasty princes were young, they would generally live with their mothers. When they reached school age, they would move out of their mothers' palaces and live in the South Three Palaces, which were specially prepared for them. This situation would continue until they came of age and left the palace to establish their own residences.

“Dexi, I’ll be starting school in a few months and will be moving here too. Anyway, it’s still early, let’s take a good look around Nan San Suo. I want to choose a courtyard that I like so I can live comfortably.”

After entering the palace, Yinzhuo didn't rush to find Yinzhen. After all, it was still early, and his fourth brother was still buried in his studies in the Imperial Study. He thought that he would be moving here from Yonghe Palace soon, so he wanted to choose a place that would be close to his fourth brother. Firstly, it would be easier to cultivate their relationship, and secondly, it would be a place he would live in for more than ten years. Although the courtyards here were all similar, he still wanted to choose one that suited his taste!

“Oh, my young master, this is not something you can decide on your own. According to custom, the Imperial Household Department arranges the princes according to their order of birth. You see, the courtyard we just entered is for the eldest prince. The crown prince lives in Yuqing Palace, so the next one is for the third prince. However, he has been unwell and is not staying here recently. Next to the third prince is the fourth prince's courtyard, and then the fifth prince's, and so on. Once this place is full, any more princes who come in will be arranged to stay in the courtyard next door.”

De Xi didn't stop Yin Zuo from wandering around. Since all the people living here were princes, there were no taboos. When he heard that Yin Zuo wanted to choose his own courtyard, he quickly gave him a lesson on Qing Dynasty palace knowledge.