"Imperial Father. Concubine De."
Yinreng entered the room and offered a polite half-bow to them both. Concubine De immediately stepped aside, refusing to accept the gesture. Yinreng's eyes narrowed slightly in observation. Despite his youth, he was the Crown Prince, the rightful heir. Concubine De was of lower birth. Her evasive movement was a calculated display of impeccable etiquette and extreme caution.
"Baocheng, come here," Kangxi said, smiling as he called Yinreng by his childhood milk name and pulled him into a warm embrace. "What brings you here?"
Yinreng buried his face against Kangxi's chest, acting the part of an anxious child. "I heard Sixth Brother was ill. I wanted to see him." He peeked toward the cradle. "How is he?"
"He has taken his medicine, and the fever has dropped. The imperial physicians say it is temporarily controlled," Kangxi reassured him.
'Temporarily.' Yinreng analyzed the word. That meant a relapse was highly probable. His own recent brush with death had been exacerbated by multiple relapses.
Gripping Kangxi's robes, Yinreng forced his eyes to water, letting out a soft, choked sob. "Imperial Father!"
Startled by the sudden distress, Kangxi tightened his hold. "What is it?"
This single question was the opening Yinreng needed. To survive the palace, he had to control the narrative before it controlled him. He let the tears fall freely. "Today, Aunt Lan took me to the Imperial Garden. I heard the palace maids talking. They said my illness was caused by Sixth Brother's birth."
Kangxi's expression darkened instantly. Beside them, Concubine De's heart leapt into her throat.
Before Kangxi's anger could fully materialize, Yinreng pivoted, turning the logic back on himself. "But I don't understand! The physicians say everyone gets sick. I had smallpox two years ago, and it was just as dangerous, but Sixth Brother wasn't even born then. How could it be his fault? They said our fates clash. Imperial Father, is it true? If fates clash, then because I recovered, Sixth Brother fell ill. Does that mean I am hurting him?"
"Nonsense!" Kangxi slammed his hand onto the table. "Who dared speak such treason?"
The servants in the room immediately dropped to their knees, trembling in terror.
Yinreng did not flinch. He knew the rumor of him cursing the Sixth Prince had not fully spread yet, but he had to preemptively strike. He clung tighter to the Emperor, unleashing a heartbroken wail.
"It must be true! Why else would I have lost my mother the moment I was born? Imperial Father, I killed the Empress! It's all my fault! I am a jinx! I don't want to be here anymore, please bring my mother back!"
Mentioning the late Empress Hesheri, the love of Kangxi's life, was a calculated, lethal blow. Seeing his precious heir sobbing uncontrollably, begging to trade his own life for his dead mother out of misplaced guilt, shattered Kangxi's heart. Any lingering suspicion about 'clashing fates' evaporated, replaced entirely by protective paternal fury. He held Yinreng tightly, whispering fierce words of comfort.
While the modern soul of Ren Jiashi orchestrated the timing, the tears were genuine. The residual emotions of the six-year-old Yinreng provided real grief. But unlike the naïve child from a month ago, the current Yinreng knew that in the imperial palace, the child who cries the loudest secures the safest position.
Exhausted from the emotional purge, Yinreng eventually fell asleep in Kangxi's arms. Left with no other choice, the Emperor carried the Crown Prince back to Yuqing Palace himself.
***
Watching the Emperor's retreating back, Concubine De stood by the cradle, her mind churning with frustration.
Her trusted maid, Yuchan, poured her a cup of tea. "Your Highness, look on the bright side. After the Crown Prince's outburst, His Majesty will certainly not send the Sixth Prince away."
"Exactly. He won't," Concubine De sighed, rubbing her temples.
Her entire plan had just been dismantled. The initial rumors of her son being a "lucky star" were dangerous—they painted a target on his back. When the rumors evolved to suggest her son was cursing the Crown Prince, it became lethal. She knew Kangxi favored the Crown Prince above all.
To survive, Concubine De had deliberately allowed her son to catch a mild chill. By making the Sixth Prince sick right after the Crown Prince recovered, she intended to create a narrative of 'mutually' clashing fates. Her ultimate goal was to tearfully beg Kangxi to foster her son outside the palace with a powerful minister's family. This would remove her son from palace crosshairs while securing a powerful political ally for his future.
It was a perfect, self-sacrificing scheme. But Yinreng's crying fit had destroyed it.
If Kangxi sent the Sixth Prince away now, it would be a tacit admission that he believed in the "clashing fates." Acknowledging the clash meant acknowledging that the Crown Prince was indeed a jinx who killed his own mother. Kangxi would never allow such a stain on his heir's reputation. Therefore, to prove the rumors entirely false, the Sixth Prince 'must' remain in the palace.
Concubine De looked at her sleeping son. She had calculated every angle, only to be effortlessly outmaneuvered by a weeping six-year-old.
***
Yuqing Palace.
Yinreng was awakened by a loud commotion. He rubbed his eyes and slid out of bed just as Aunt Lan burst into his bedchamber, throwing herself at his feet.
"Your Highness! Save me! I am innocent! I am your servant, how can they treat me like this?"
Yinreng yawned lazily. "How are they treating you?"
Aunt Lan froze. This calm, detached reaction was not what she expected.
Little Li, a young eunuch apprenticed to Head Eunuch Liang Jiugong, hurried into the room. He looked furious at Aunt Lan but immediately bowed respectfully to Yinreng. "Your Highness. By His Majesty's decree, my master ordered me to bring Aunt Lan in for questioning."
"Questioning?" Aunt Lan sneered, her eyes red. "You intend to drag me away like a criminal! You disrespect me!"
Yinreng looked down at her. "It is merely a summons from Imperial Father. Why are you panicking, Aunt Lan?"
"Your Highness, I dare not disobey the Emperor," she wept. "But Eunuch Li mentioned the incident in the Imperial Garden. He is implying that I harbored malicious intentions and schemed against you!"
"Did you?" Yinreng asked flatly.
The two words hit Aunt Lan like a physical blow. The rest of her plea died in her throat. The Crown Prince felt entirely different.
By the door, Little Li was sweating profusely. His master had ordered him to arrest Aunt Lan quietly to avoid upsetting the Crown Prince, who was known to be deeply attached to his nanny. Instead, Aunt Lan had bolted straight to the Prince's bedroom, using the boy as a human shield. Little Li feared he would be punished if the Prince demanded to protect her.
"Wait outside," Yinreng ordered the eunuch. "I will speak with Aunt Lan."
Relieved but anxious, Little Li bowed and exited, shooting Aunt Lan a venomous glare.
Once the door closed, Aunt Lan scrambled closer. "Your Highness, I do not know those gossiping maids. It was a pure coincidence. You decided to go to the garden on a whim, how could I have planned it?"
Yinreng tilted his head. "Was it my whim?"
"You said—"
"After the midday meal," Yinreng interrupted, his voice devoid of emotion, "you noted that I looked depressed. You suggested I go for a walk. You specifically suggested the Imperial Garden because it is the third month and the flowers are blooming. You planted the idea."
Aunt Lan's mouth fell open. She had raised the Crown Prince since birth. She had relied on his childish trust to assume she was merely following his orders.
She quickly changed tactics, weeping harder. "Yes, I suggested it! But I only wanted you to relax! I am Empress Hesheri's person! When her ladyship passed away, I promised—"
"Are you?" Yinreng cut her off again. "Just because you served my mother in the past, does that mean your loyalty remains pure today?"
Aunt Lan choked.
Yinreng stood up, his gaze chillingly rational. "I am young, Aunt Lan, but I am not stupid. Perhaps you didn't know those two maids. But experienced palace servants know how to hold their tongues. Those maids were clearly new, easily manipulated into walking near us to gossip. Furthermore, when we heard them, you were holding me."
He stepped closer, listing the logical flaws in her defense. "If you truly wanted to protect me from those rumors, you would have carried me away immediately. Or, you would have silenced them the moment they opened their mouths. Instead, you stood perfectly still. You waited until they finished reciting every single poisonous word before you finally stepped out to scold them. And when I asked you about it, you immediately pointed out that Imperial Father treats the Sixth Prince differently, deliberately inciting my jealousy."
Aunt Lan shook her head violently. "No, Your Highness, you misunderstand—"
"If I misunderstand," Yinreng said softly, "then tell me this: when I ran out of the garden toward Yonghe Palace in a blind rage... why didn't you stop me? I was running. But you are an adult. Are you telling me a grown woman cannot outrun a six-year-old child?"
Aunt Lan stared at him, paralyzed by terror. The Crown Prince had dismantled her entire scheme with ruthless precision. She had orchestrated the event to force Yinreng into a confrontation with Concubine De, betting that her status as his beloved nanny would shield her from the Emperor's wrath. She never expected the boy to see right through her.
Without giving her another glance, Yinreng called toward the door. "Eunuch Li. Take her."
Little Li entered, surprised by how easily the situation was resolved.
Yinreng smiled, adopting the flawless persona of an innocent, filial son. "Imperial Father is only asking her questions. If she is innocent, he won't harm her. I trust Imperial Father completely! The whole world might try to harm me, but Imperial Father never would. If he finds no fault in her, she will return. But if Imperial Father decides she is guilty, then she must be guilty. Imperial Father is never wrong."
His voice was childish, but the political declaration rang with ironclad finality. He had cleanly severed ties with a traitor, leaving his reputation spotless.