Chapter 126: The Fifth Princess Consort

Chapter 126: The Fifth Princess Consort

These letters were ordinary family letters, including those from the Empress Dowager, Concubine Yi, and Xiao Jiu's family, as well as from Guaerjia and Hongsheng, among others. Naturally, they also included letters from Kangxi.

An Qing had heard before that Kangxi expressed his paternal love to his sons through letters. For example, when he was on campaign in Dzungaria, even though the Crown Prince was overseeing the state affairs, Kangxi would send letter after letter to the Imperial City. Later, he became furious when the Crown Prince did not reply.

While there might have been some concern about the Crown Prince overseeing the state, it was said that at that time, the Third Prince was ill, and Kangxi personally wrote a letter expressing his care. This showed that writing letters was a way for him to communicate emotionally with his sons.

He not only did this with his sons but also with the palace concubines. During Kangxi's southern tour in the forty-second year of his reign, Concubine Yi did not go along. When An Qing visited the palace to pay her respects, she saw Concubine Yi reading a letter from Kangxi, with a small wooden box nearby containing all the letters he had written to her during his previous outings. Not only Concubine Yi, but it was said that Huideron and Empress Tongjia also received such letters.

Regarding Kangxi's habit of writing letters, An Qing had only heard about it before and didn't think much of it. But this time, she deeply felt its impact.

Ever since they left the Imperial City, Kangxi's paternal love seemed to have finally found an outlet, sending a letter to Yinqi every now and then.

"Here, read the letter from His Majesty carefully. Don't disappoint his loving fatherly heart." An Qing skillfully picked out Kangxi's letter from the pile and handed it to Yinqi with a teasing tone.

Yinqi's eyes flashed with a hint of helplessness, noticing the playful tone in her words.

His father's letters were indeed...

Initially, An Qing was curious about what Kangxi wrote to Yinqi and would peek at the letters. However, after reading a few times, she stopped looking because the letters were too sentimental, which she found hard to handle.

Perhaps due to different family dynamics, she was close to her parents but expressed their feelings more reservedly. Their letters usually contained daily chatter and occasional expressions of affection, but nothing as overt as "my beloved son," "constantly thinking of you," or "unable to eat or sleep." Such phrases came naturally to Kangxi, but An Qing found them quite uncomfortable.

However, Yongzheng probably inherited his father's penchant for such sentimental expressions. He took it to another level, as evidenced by his famous remarks to officials, calling Longkede the "nation's favorite uncle" and expressing deep affection for Nian Gengyao, referring to him as "My benefactor" and stating, "If I do not become an outstanding emperor, I do not deserve your kindness."

In short, these expressions were extremely sentimental, making one shudder.

"Can I see the letter Fourth Prince wrote to you?" An Qing asked curiously.

Yinqi looked at her, puzzled. "Why do you suddenly want to see Fourth Brother's letter?"

An Qing chuckled, not hiding her intentions. "I just want to see if Fourth Brother is like His Majesty."

Yinqi was taken aback and couldn't help but laugh. "You're overthinking it. Fourth Brother has always been reserved in expressing his emotions."

He wouldn't write such overtly emotional words; he'd rather die than write them.

An Qing sighed, thinking that Yinqi still didn't understand his Fourth Brother. He wasn't reserved at all; he was just constrained by Kangxi's criticism of being "unpredictable" in his youth. Once he ascended the throne, he would unleash his true nature. She hoped Yinqi wouldn't be too surprised then.

After all, someone who could say "I am this kind of man" couldn't be very reserved.

Despite not understanding why An Qing linked his Fourth Brother with His Majesty, Yinqi didn't stop her from reading the letter. He simply found the letter from his Fourth Brother and handed it to her.

An Qing eagerly read the two-page letter but couldn't help feeling disappointed.

It was indeed a plain letter, written in a conventional manner without any sentimentality, merely reminding Yinqi to take care of his health.

However, the Fourth Prince's letter also subtly mentioned the situation in the Imperial City, indicating that things were becoming increasingly tense.

Yinqi had left people in the Imperial City to inform them regularly about the situation. Besides the intensifying conflicts among the princes, the relationship between the Crown Prince and Kangxi was also deteriorating.

This was within An Qing's expectations. When Kangxi decided to execute Suoetu, it set the stage for this outcome.

Suoetu's death made the Crown Prince paranoid and insecure, no longer certain of his position as heir. Consequently, he began to fear failure and lived in constant fear of the unknown, leading to erratic behavior.

Kangxi, being a sensitive and suspicious emperor, grew concerned about the Crown Prince seeking revenge for Suoetu, planting the seed of suspicion that the Crown Prince might rebel.

This was why Kangxi reacted so intensely during the first deposition of the Crown Prince.

Given this environment, how could their relationship return to normal? Kangxi's plan to discipline the Crown Prince through Suoetu's death was bound to fail.

An Qing silently sighed, hoping they could stay away for a few more years, at least until the historical crises involving the depositions of the Crown Prince passed.

The murky waters of the Imperial City were best avoided.

Yinqi's mood was affected by the news from the Imperial City. An Qing patted his hand, signaling him not to worry. "We have plenty more letters to read. Let's continue."

Yinqi nodded slightly, and they continued reading the letters.

An Qing picked up another letter and opened it, exclaiming, "Why is there a letter from Xiao Bao here?"

Yinqi was also surprised. Xiao Bao should still be in Horqin Left-wing Rear Banner, so a letter from him shouldn't be included in the letters from the Imperial City.

They opened Xiao Bao's letter and understood what happened.

It turned out that when Xiao Bao wrote letters to Concubine Yi, the Empress Dowager, Honghui, and Hongsheng, he also wrote one to Kangxi. Kangxi replied and instructed the messenger to deliver the letter to Horqin Left-wing Rear Banner first, allowing Xiao Bao to send a reply.

As for what Xiao Bao wrote, it was actually a drawing.

Since he was young, An Qing had drawn Q-version comics to entertain him, and he learned to draw with charcoal. Over time, his drawings improved, though they were still abstract compared to hers.

The drawing in this letter was particularly abstract, and anyone else might not understand it.

"Xiao Bao is complaining that we don't miss him and didn't invite him for the New Year," An Qing said with a helpless expression.

Seeing the little figure crying on the ground in the drawing, she felt bad. They realized how harsh the conditions were here.

It was likely below forty degrees outside, and even adults needed to bundle up tightly to venture out. Bringing Xiao Bao here would be too difficult.

Let's wait until spring to bring him over.

Yinqi also held up the letter, saying, "He went to His Majesty to complain that we don't take care of him."

An Qing: "..."

This little rascal must have complained to Concubine Yi and the Empress Dowager as well.

Hmph! Tattletale!

However, she had one question: Could Kangxi really understand that drawing?

Yinqi replied, "Emperor Father asked Honghui and Hongsheng to translate it."

Ah, no wonder.

In the Imperial City, the three of them often played together. Xiao Bao’s drawings were familiar to them, and they always managed to decipher most of it by guessing. After they left the Imperial City, Xiao Bao continued to write letters in this manner.

However, when they wrote back to Xiao Bao, they did so normally. Xiao Bao, that illiterate, always needed someone to read the letters for him.

When An Qing saw the letters from the Empress Dowager and Concubine Yi, as she expected, that little brat had tattled. Both of them scolded her and Yinqi in their letters, and even Hongsheng’s letter contained some veiled complaints.

Tsk! Compared to that little brat, they were indeed out of favor.

This New Year’s Eve was spent reading and replying to letters. When they finished, fireworks lit up the sky in the front courtyard, marking the end of the old year and the beginning of the new one.

Yinqi looked at An Qing with gentle eyes and said, "Happy New Year."

An Qing smiled and replied, "Happy New Year!"

Another year passed, and the gears of history turned into the forty-fifth year of Kangxi’s reign.

After the New Year, the black soil was still covered in snow until April. As soon as it thawed, An Qing got to work immediately.

The original military fields needed to be sown with spring wheat quickly. Heilongjiang has long, cold winters, making winter wheat unsuitable. However, once the spring temperatures rose, spring wheat grew rapidly, making it the ideal choice.

These wheat seeds were specially transported from her Royal Manor in the Imperial City. Over the years, she had been working on cultivating frost-resistant wheat seeds, achieving some success, which could now be used here.

While the spring wheat planting went smoothly on An Qing’s farm, the surrounding villagers faced difficulties. Due to last year’s frost damage, they had eaten the wheat seeds they had saved to survive the winter, leaving them with nothing to sow.

Boding, aware of the villagers’ plight, was powerless. Frankly, if not for the wheat seeds An Qing sent, the military fields would have had none either. So he sought help from An Qing.

Without hesitation, An Qing handed over the seeds to Boding. The planting season was crucial, and missing it would spell disaster for the year.

Fortunately, they had brought enough seeds, and since there weren’t many villagers, everyone could share. An Qing also sent a team of farmers to guide the locals on how to soak and sow the seeds and prevent frost damage.

Although Boding understood the villagers’ hardships, he didn’t want to take advantage of An Qing. Initially, he proposed returning the seeds with a 20% interest after the harvest. An Qing refused, insisting they return only what they borrowed. She wasn’t interested in profiting from this.

Besides, the local villagers already lived in hardship. A single wheat crop yielded little, and taxes further reduced their earnings. She couldn’t bear to add to their burden.

After sowing the spring wheat, An Qing led the soldiers to clear more land near the military fields. Her goal this year was to establish the first military farm, and the existing fields were insufficient.

As for the newly cleared land, it was too late to plant spring wheat. Therefore, An Qing planned to sow corn in May or June.

The frost period usually began in October, and corn could be harvested in September, fitting perfectly within the timeframe.

To clear more land before the corn planting season, they worked day and night. Boding kept his word and mobilized all available soldiers, but manpower was still short.

What surprised An Qing most was that the villagers, grateful for her generosity with the wheat seeds, came to help clear the designated area after sowing their own crops, significantly speeding up the process.

The pioneers of the Great Northern Wilderness once sang a song: “Rise at three-thirty, return under starry skies; eat frozen bread, snow as soup...”

Their situation was similar, though their diet was better. An Qing knew that clearing land was hard labor, so she had Yinqi send a request to Kangxi in the Imperial City for additional food supplies, including corn and sweet potatoes, ensuring everyone had enough to eat while working.

One day in early May, while leading the soldiers in clearing the land, An Qing saw a carriage approaching in the distance.

"Madam, is it Beile?" Cui Liu exclaimed excitedly.

An Qing looked up. Since the carriage was still far away, she couldn’t see who was driving, but considering the timing, it was possible.

Yinqi had gone to Shengjing in February to set up an agricultural experiment station, as they had agreed. He had been away for over two months and had written recently that he was almost back, but first had to pick up Xiao Bao from Horqin Left-wing Rear Banner. Thinking about seeing her son again, An Qing felt a surge of excitement.

As she was lost in thought, the carriage’s curtain lifted, and a small head popped out.

"Mother, I’m here!"