The most important skill for an onlooker is to observe all directions and listen to everything.
The moment Fang He noticed Kangxi heading to the Imperial Study, she quickened her pace and slipped into the Imperial Tea Room.
Kangxi, at this moment, had no time to bother with a little “groundhog.”
The fact that the princes were fighting in the Imperial Study was a serious matter.
It could be dismissed as mere playfulness, but if taken seriously, it would reflect poorly on him as an emperor who failed to teach his own sons.
If he couldn’t even control his children, how could he govern a nation?
The moment he stepped into the study, all the princes immediately stopped fighting and respectfully greeted their imperial father.
With a stern expression, Kangxi stood at the entrance of the study, took a glance at the mess inside, and let out a faint chuckle.
He ignored everyone and ordered the eunuchs to bring them all to Hongde Hall.
Once inside, the doors slammed shut with a loud bang, sending a chill through the young princes.
They knelt obediently in front of the imperial desk, their ranks uneven.
Only the First Prince, Yinzhi, looked defiant.
He was furious that Kangxi had allowed the Crown Prince to remain seated.
That damned Second Brother—his smugness was practically radiating off him.
The Third Prince, Yinzhi, didn’t seem to care.
He kept his head low, looking dejected, which only made the Fourth Prince, Yinzhen, beside him stand out like a stubborn little sapling.
His small face was bruised from being hit by Yinzhi, making the injury even more conspicuous.
The Fifth Prince, Yinqi, and the Sixth Prince, Yinyou, shrank their necks, trying to make themselves as invisible as possible.
The Seventh Prince, Yinyou, still looked a little dazed, as if he hadn’t fully processed what had just happened.
The Four-year-old Eighth Prince, Yinsi, was the most composed.
His chin was slightly lowered, looking as if he was full of remorse and self-reflection.
But if Kangxi remembered correctly, the one who had sneakily stretched out his foot to trip the Crown Prince outside the study was this very same troublemaker.
Tapping his thumb ring against the desk, Kangxi asked coolly, “Speak. Why were you fighting? Who started it?”
The First Prince, Yinzhi, was the first to respond.
“Reporting to Imperial Father, I was the one who struck first. But the Crown Prince provoked me first—he insulted my mother, saying she ‘tried to steal a chicken but ended up losing the rice’ and mocked me for having a lowly status.”
His eyes reddened as he lifted his head.
“Imperial Father, I know the Crown Prince is the legitimate heir and the future ruler. I should respect him. But aren’t we all your sons? In what way am I so lowly?”
“My mother, Consort Hui, has always conducted herself with humility in Changchun Palace. She has never been involved in any scandal.
Even though she is merely a consort, she is still the Crown Prince’s stepmother. His words were not only disrespectful but also unfilial! As his elder brother, how could I tolerate that?”
The Third Prince, Yinzhi, lifted his head, his mouth slightly open in astonishment.
Since when did Eldest Brother become so eloquent?
Kangxi’s expression remained unreadable as he turned to the Crown Prince.
“Baocheng, do you have anything to say?”
The Crown Prince, Yinreng, slowly stood up and carefully knelt down.
His leg injury had not yet fully healed—just two months ago, he had broken it, and bones took a hundred days to mend.
That was why he had been allowed to sit earlier.
But when it came to reporting grievances, kneeling was far more effective than sitting.
With a calm voice, he replied, “Imperial Father, I only wished to encourage my elder brother to focus on his studies. I had no intention of belittling Consort Hui or my brother.”
“Imperial Father can ask the others—this all started during our morning reading session. Eldest Brother was irritated because he was woken up by the commotion of Chen Changzai and Li Daying moving palaces.
He loudly complained that Consort Hui should have them banished to the side chambers.”
Yinzhi hurriedly protested, “I was just muttering in frustration because I didn’t sleep well! I wasn’t fully awake! Besides, I only said it softly—no outsiders heard me!”
Yinreng patiently waited for his elder brother to finish speaking before nodding and calmly replying:
“Even if Eldest Brother was still half-asleep halfway through morning studies, my exact words were simply to remind him to think carefully before acting.
To remember his role as a son and a prince, and to avoid causing trouble for Consort Hui—lest he suffer losses instead of gains and become the laughing stock of others.”
Of course, he had smoothed over his words quite a bit.
As the Crown Prince, Yinreng had mastered the art of speaking.
No one present could openly refute him—not even the furious Yinzhi, whose eyes were red with rage.
If Yinzhi tried to argue, he would only drag up the entire conversation, and he himself had said plenty of things that shouldn’t have been spoken.
Yinreng then turned toward Kangxi with a look of grievance.
“Imperial Father, I meant no harm. Even if Eldest Brother misunderstood me, I didn’t want to argue with him. But he should never have insulted my mother…”
“With the Qingming Festival approaching, I was overcome with emotion and disrupted the rules of the Imperial Study. I ask Imperial Father to punish me.”
Yinzhi fell silent—not because he had nothing to say, but because Kangxi’s expression was growing colder by the second.
He didn’t dare to speak further, only clenching his fists tightly.
Kangxi nodded slightly, his voice indifferent.
“My sons are truly outstanding. They say dragons give birth to dragons, phoenixes to phoenixes. But my sons? They are nothing but insolent, disrespectful brats who neither honor their elders nor respect their teachers.”
“You have really made me proud. When word of this reaches the court, the officials will no doubt praise me as a diligent ruler—so devoted to governing that I don’t even know how to be a proper father, producing a brood of ungrateful little beasts.”
Yinreng’s face turned pale before flushing red, mirroring the expressions of his brothers—each of them a mix of shame and shock.
Their imperial father had lost his temper before, but never had he spoken with such harsh words.
But Kangxi had no intention of letting them off lightly.
Yinreng and Yinzhi were no longer children; in a few years, they would be of marriageable age.
The others were also growing up.
If he didn’t teach them a proper lesson now, they would be ruined for good.
His face remained cold as he made his stance clear.
“It is not your place to speak about the ranks of consorts or palace women. Do you take me for an incompetent ruler, incapable of fairness in rewards and punishments?”
Yinzhi turned deathly pale, realizing that Kangxi was specifically targeting him.
Yinzhi, Yinzhen, and Yinyou also looked uncomfortable.
Their mothers and caretakers had often discussed such matters in the palace, and they themselves had spoken about them in private.
Only Yinyou and Yinsi, whose mothers held lower ranks, remained unfazed.
Hearing the younger princes hurriedly respond with, “We would never dare,” Kangxi let out a cold laugh.
“Oh, I think you dare plenty. But remember this—the Forbidden City is not yours to rule.”
“If you truly want to take charge, I can grant your wish. I’ll have you all leave the palace and establish your own residences. Then you can eat and drink at your own expense. Even if you turn your homes upside down, I will turn a blind eye!”
Yinreng instinctively lifted his head.
That wouldn’t apply to him.
From above, Kangxi took in the expressions of all his sons—including the Crown Prince.
“Go back and reflect on your actions. Copy The Book of Rites: Learning one hundred times. You will not leave your quarters until it is complete.”
Yinreng’s face changed instantly.
The Book of Rites: Learning had over a thousand characters—copying it a hundred times meant over a hundred thousand characters.
It would take at least two months to finish.
But May 3rd was both his mother’s death anniversary and his own birthday.
If he couldn’t attend the ceremony to honor her, how would the court and the harem perceive the Crown Prince?
At that moment, Yinreng and his estranged brothers came to the same realization.
In Imperial Father, the word Emperor always came before Father.
No matter how justified their actions, he would never allow anyone to challenge his authority.
And that authority—so distant, so unshakable—had now planted a seed in the hearts of his sons.
A seed that, with time and the right storm, would take root and grow.
***
Fang He never would have imagined that Master Kang would actually hold a grudge against a face he hadn’t even seen clearly.
She handed over the freshly retrieved Yu Qian Longjing tea to Cuiwei, left Bai Min in charge of boiling the water, and then slipped out to find Wei Disheng.
She had already written down the formulas—along with improvements to the ingredients Wei Disheng had previously brought back.
If they could get the products into a shop, they would sell well among the common folk.
When she found Wei Disheng, he was crouched in a corner of Jiaotai Hall’s outer courtyard, scrubbing boots.
A whole row of them, varying in size, were lined up along the wall.
She frowned slightly.
“Weren’t you off duty today?”
Wei Disheng saw her coming and cheerfully wiped his hands clean before making space on a small stool for her to sit.
Grinning, he replied, “I had nothing better to do. My godfather has been running errands outside the palace a lot lately, and his shoes keep wearing out. If I send them to be properly cleaned, it costs money. So I figured I’d just do it myself.”
Fang He tapped him lightly on the head.
“I might not be as clever as you, but I’m not blind. These aren’t all his shoes.”
She glanced around, then leaned in close.
“Is someone at court giving you trouble?”
Wei Disheng couldn’t resist the concern in Fang He’s big, watery eyes.
He puffed up his cheeks, lowered his head, and tried to hide the redness in his eyes.
“Chief Eunuch Liang and Li Dequan control the imperial court—they don’t let anyone else get close. And since I was promoted by Eunuch Gu, they’ve been making things even harder for me…”
His voice grew quieter as he spoke.
“I don’t even get the cushy jobs in the harem. Whenever there’s work outside the palace or in the government offices, they send me running errands. Otherwise, I just get stuck with random chores.”
Fang He understood immediately.
She might not be as familiar with palace politics as Wei Disheng, but she knew all too well how workplace power struggles worked.
Behind every five-star hotel, there was an underworld of scheming and backstabbing.
Although Liang Jiugong was the Chief Eunuch of the Imperial Court, he was still technically under the jurisdiction of the Office of Attendants.
Even in Kangxi’s presence, Gu Wenxing—who had been half a mentor to the emperor—held more real influence than Liang Jiugong.
On the surface, the two seemed polite and kept to their own lanes.
But even if Wei Disheng handed Liang Jiugong a mountain of gold, there was no way Liang Jiugong would stand by and watch as Gu Wenxing’s people gained power.
After thinking for a moment, she whispered, “Talk to your fellow countrymen. Each of you should take out ten percent of your earnings and offer them to Eunuch Gu.”
“When you go to him, make sure you speak carefully—frame it as earning money to provide for your godfather and older sister in their old age.
Talk about how promising the business is, and how you’d be lost without his protection. You know how to… ahem, pour your heart out properly, right?”
Eunuch Gu might hold a unique position—Kangxi himself respected him—but at the end of the day, he was still a man with needs.
He had to think about his own future.
If his own disciple showed understanding and initiative, he was unlikely to reject such a small token of loyalty.
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