Chapter 117

Chapter 117

Emperor Xingwu had initially distributed the little princess’s book only to the imperial family and a select group of high-ranking ministers and nobles. The Directorate of Education’s printing process was slow, and the official printing houses in the capital had just begun preparations, needing to accumulate a substantial inventory before sales could commence. Private printing houses among the common people had received no news whatsoever, awaiting the official launch and the ensuing public fervor before the combined official and private printing initiative would be rolled out.

Consequently, Qin Hong, Qin Bing, and Qin Ren, the three brothers, along with Princess Yong Kang, had not given the matter much thought for the time being. Those with more discerning minds, who had indeed pondered the implications, also found it prudent to remain silent for the moment.

After admiring her newly published work, Qingyang dedicated herself to her duties at the Ministry of Personnel. She and her father had meticulously prepared for the travelogue’s printing and sale, anticipating no major complications.

On the 20th, a day of rest from court duties, Qingyang rose early to request a palace exit token from her father, intending to visit her third sister-in-law, whose due date was fast approaching.

Consort Li was also present. Knowing her daughter would be leaving the palace, she had already prepared a multitude of gifts for her daughter to deliver to her daughter-in-law—each item, be it food, necessities, or toys, chosen with specific consideration. She softly explained the significance of each to her daughter.

Qingyang glanced at her father and suggested, “Mother, since you are so concerned about Third Sister-in-Law, why not accompany me to visit her? She would surely be overjoyed.”

Consort Li wished she could, but how could an imperial consort leave the palace so casually? Even the Noble Consort’s parents resided in the capital, yet she had never once requested to leave the palace to visit them in all these years. Consort Li understood that she could not disregard the rules simply because the Emperor favored her.

Emperor Xingwu observed his daughter’s playful suggestion and his beloved consort’s adherence to propriety. He then decided, “Go ahead. Ling’er is still young and cannot fully grasp how to properly show concern for her sister-in-law.”

No matter how exceptionally gifted his Ling’er was, matters like childbirth truly required personal experience to comprehend.

Consort Li, however, firmly declined to go.

Both father and daughter understood her nature and did not press further. Qingyang obtained her father’s token and set off with Jieyu and four palace attendants carrying Consort Li’s gifts.

Emperor Xingwu watched his daughter’s retreating figure, a faint smile on his face, but his eyes held a complex expression.

Consort Li sensed a subtle shift and asked nervously, “What troubles Your Majesty?” Why did he look at their daughter with such an inscrutable gaze?

Emperor Xingwu sighed softly, taking her hand. “Third Brother is about to become a father, and Ling’er will soon marry. I cannot help but feel a pang of reluctance.”

Consort Li relaxed and comforted him, “Ling’er serves as an official in the court. Whenever you miss her, you can summon her at any time. There is no need for such reluctance.”

Emperor Xingwu chuckled, “You are more open-minded than I am.”

Consort Li wasn’t necessarily more open-minded; it was simply that as children grew, they naturally preferred their own homes. She was merely content that her daughter could be with the one she loved.

.

Qingyang found her third brother and sister-in-law strolling side by side in the garden of Prince Xian’s mansion. Her father believed she didn’t understand matters of childbirth, but Qingyang was confident she knew more than he did. Indeed, when her eldest sister-in-law, Lv Wenrong, was pregnant, Qingyang, excited to become an aunt for the first time, had sought out medical texts at the Imperial Hospital on how to care for pregnant women. When her eldest sister was pregnant, she had been too young, simply overjoyed without the thorough consideration she later developed.

“Has Third Brother been sleeping in lately?” Qingyang asked, joining her brother and sister-in-law as they strolled leisurely.

Yan Zhenzhen glanced at her husband and replied with a smile, “Not too much. He was never one to linger in bed. Usually, we wake up together, unless he has to attend court.”

Qingyang: “…”

Qin Ren looked over his wife’s head at his sister, silently pleading with his eyes for her not to mock his wife, who was also a bit of a sleepyhead.

Qingyang was far too clever for that.

Unaware that she had inadvertently revealed her own habits, Yan Zhenzhen playfully teased the little princess in return: “Aren’t you going horseback riding with Zhang Su today? Could it be that after spending so much time together during the southern tour, you’ve grown tired of him?”

Qingyang replied, “The countryside hasn’t turned green yet. There’s not much worth seeing. We’ll talk about it later.”

Qin Ren then offered, “Shall I send someone to invite Zhang Su over for a banquet?”

Qingyang retorted, “…Third Sister-in-Law could go into labor at any moment. Does Third Brother still have the inclination to entertain friends?”

If she truly wished to see Zhang Su, she could send someone to summon him in her own name. But any meeting should take place elsewhere, not here, disturbing her brother and sister-in-law. Zhang Su also understood boundaries; since Third Brother’s wedding, he had never used the pretext of paying respects to Third Brother to wait for her here.

Yan Zhenzhen also shot her husband a disapproving glare.

Qin Ren felt a little wronged. He had simply never considered Zhang Su an outsider.

After having lunch with her brother and sister-in-law, Qingyang returned to the palace.

A few days later, on the 25th of February, after practicing swordsmanship and bathing, Qingyang was about to have breakfast when Zhao Cai arrived from Qianyuan Hall with joyous news: Princess Consort Xian had given birth to a son around the third quarter of the hour of Yin that day, and both mother and child were safe and well.

Zhao Cai, a disciple of He Yuanjing, held a status among the Qianyuan Hall attendants second only to He Yuanjing himself. Ordinary errands like delivering messages were not typically assigned to him, but the little princess was highly favored, and Zhao Cai took pride in being the one to convey messages to her.

The long-awaited happy news had arrived unexpectedly. Suppressing her urge to immediately rush out of the palace to see her little nephew, Qingyang inquired, “Do you know when the Princess Consort went into labor?”

Zhao Cai smilingly relayed the message from Prince Xian’s mansion: “They said the Princess Consort went into labor around noon yesterday. Because they weren’t sure when the birth would happen and didn’t want His Majesty, the two consorts, the Crown Prince, or the Princess to worry, they specifically waited until after the birth to report the good news to the palace.”

Qingyang felt a pang of sympathy for her third sister-in-law, who had endured over seven hours of labor. And her little nephew was truly something—Third Brother was so lazy that waking at the hour of Yin would half kill him. Why hadn’t the little one learned from his father, who would rather stay up until midnight to finish his tasks than rise at dawn?

In the afternoon, Qingyang left the Ministry of Personnel an hour early and, with the token she had obtained from her father that morning, went again to Prince Xian’s mansion.

Yan Zhenzhen had caught up on sleep during the day and was now awake, looking quite rosy-cheeked. The infant in swaddling lay beside her, sleeping soundly.

Only when Qingyang arrived did Yan Zhenzhen move the infant in swaddling to the outer side.

Qingyang sat by the bed, carefully examining the little one’s features. Zheng Geer had been born with a thick head of jet-black hair, but this child’s birth hair was sadly sparse. However, his face was smoother, with faint eyebrows and long eye slits, and pink lips.

Yan Zhenzhen asked, “Younger Sister, who do you think he resembles?”

Qingyang replied, “Right now, he seems to have a bit of Consort Li’s resemblance.”

Yan Zhenzhen said happily, “I think so too, but the prince insists he looks like him.”

Qingyang added, “We’ll have to wait until he grows up to tell for sure. By the way, where’s Third Brother?”

Yan Zhenzhen explained, “He didn’t sleep all night and was anxious about everything this morning. Just now, I saw he could barely keep his eyes open, so I sent him to the front compound to sleep.”

As they spoke, Qin Ren entered from outside. After yawning, he spotted his sister and was pleasantly surprised.

Yan Zhenzhen asked why he hadn’t slept longer.

Qin Ren sighed, “I thought I heard the child crying and was worried he might be uncomfortable, so I rushed over to check.”

Qingyang finally saw in her third brother some signs of responsibility befitting a grown man.

With a new child in the household, both her brother and sister-in-law were quite tired. Qingyang stayed for dinner before returning to the palace to pay respects to her father and mother, who were waiting for news.

Consort Li was delighted to hear that her grandson resembled her. Her own son took more after the Emperor and had ended up quite useless, while her daughter, who looked like her, was exceptionally intelligent. So it was good that her grandson took after her—hopefully, he would inherit his aunt’s talent for scholarship.

Emperor Xingwu: “…”

Qingyang asked, “Has Father decided on a name?”

Emperor Xingwu replied, “Yes. Your third brother is incorrigibly lazy, so his eldest son shall be named Qin Rui. I hope he will grow up with more drive and serve the court diligently.”

.

By the time Rui Geer reached his full month celebration in late March, the little princess’s travelogue had taken the capital by storm. Every day, officials, nobles, or wealthy merchants sent people to wait at the four official printing houses. Whenever a new batch of printed copies of *Southern Tour Travelogue* arrived, it would immediately be snatched up by the crowds gathered there. The major private printing houses in the capital had long been green with envy and were lining up to sign contracts with the official printing houses.

Among the little princess’s brothers and sisters, Yong Kang was the first to learn of this news because, curious about how well her sister’s book would sell, she had sent people to keep an eye on the official printing houses beforehand.

When she learned how exceptionally well her sister’s book was selling and how praises for both the travelogue series and her sister filled every street and alley, Yong Kang’s left eye turned green with envy at the large sums her sister was about to earn, while her right eye turned green with jealousy at the reputation for virtue and praise her sister was gaining. She grew so envious that she even dreamed at night of publishing her own book that sold just as well.

Because of this, Yong Kang went to the palace to discuss the matter privately with her brother: “If our sister can write a book, why don’t you and I each write one too? The amount of money earned isn’t important; the key is that the reputation for virtue among the imperial children shouldn’t all go to our youngest sister. You are the Crown Prince, and I am the eldest princess. In terms of virtue, we should be more virtuous than her, the youngest sister.”

Just hearing this made Qin Hong feel a headache coming on. He patiently explained to his sister: “Little Sister’s book was inspired by her experiences during the southern tour—it has substance. What could you and I, who have long lived in the capital, possibly write about? Moreover, if we write nothing earlier or later but suddenly decide to write just after Little Sister’s book becomes a huge success, anyone with eyes will guess that we’re seeking fame or profit. Leveraging our status as imperial children to publish books for profit is something the Emperor would never permit.”

To publish a book through an official printing house, one must first obtain the court's permission, which means gaining the Emperor's approval.

Yong Kang understood, and she protested, having anticipated that their father would not agree. She gritted her teeth and said, "Then I'll hand my book over to a private publisher and let them sell it for me. I won’t trouble Father with this."

Qin Hong said urgently, "No, that would only make Father angrier. You—"

Before he could finish, Qin Hong suddenly clutched his head, the visible part of his face instantly turning pale.

Yong Kang panicked and wanted to summon the imperial physician, but Qin Hong stopped her in time, managing to say: "Don’t call the physician. If Father finds out, he’ll blame you."

Yong Kang’s heart ached for her brother, and she was even more afraid that his pain might lead to complications. "Then you’re just going to endure it like this? Is there medicine prepared in the palace?"

Qin Hong, with his eyes closed, pointed toward the curio cabinet where a brocade box specifically held pills to relieve his headaches.

With trembling hands, Yong Kang opened the brocade box, took out a porcelain bottle, poured out a pill, and helped her brother swallow it.

The headache didn’t subside quickly, and Qin Hong broke out in a sweat. He looked at her pleadingly: "Don’t publish the book. Otherwise, neither of us will be able to withstand Father’s wrath."

His elder sister lacked both the literary talent and the heart for serving the country and its people. Forcing such an endeavor would only bring shame upon the royal family—a grave offense for which their father would not show leniency.

Though reluctant, Yong Kang agreed to her brother’s request.

But the more she and her brother failed to earn recognition for virtue or earn silver, the more Yong Kang became convinced that their father was biased toward their younger sister—excessively so. She even felt that the name their father had given to their new nephew was better than the one given to her own nephew. Qin Rui—how impressive it sounds! In contrast, Qin Zheng seemed dull. The son of the Crown Prince, yet it sounded as if he ranked below the son of an ordinary prince.

So, when Prince Xian’s residence held the full-month celebration for Rui Geer, seeing everyone flatter Third Brother and his wife—especially when Princess Yong vividly described how commoners outside were scrambling to buy *Southern Tour Travelogue* and openly praised the little princess’s talent in front of the Crown Prince and his wife—Yong Kang found it impossible to smile.

Six-year-old Zheng Geer could detect Princess Yong’s overt praise of their little aunt and subtle disparagement of his father. He also noticed his father’s embarrassment and forced smiles.

This made Zheng Geer deeply upset.

It was all their little aunt’s fault. Why did she have to write a travelogue? As a woman, she should have followed the examples of his mother or eldest aunt—marrying, having children. What business did she have attending court or writing books?

Unable to contain his anger, Zheng Geer, at one point, couldn’t help but glare at his little aunt.

Little did he know that what a six-year-old could perceive, a seventeen-year-old little princess had naturally discerned even earlier—Princess Yong’s attempts to sow discord.

Regarding this aunt-in-law, Qingyang had long been aware of her tendency to stir up trouble. Previously, Auntie had mostly targeted Eldest Sister, but today was the first time she had so openly directed it at Qingyang herself. And unfortunately, it was indeed perfect timing—Auntie was speaking the truth. If Eldest Sister spoke up, it would seem like jealousy toward her younger sister; if Qingyang acted modest, it would only come off as hypocritical.

Eldest Sister-in-law, like Eldest Brother, had always shown respect to Auntie. Second Sister-in-law, Third Brother, and Third Sister-in-law tried to change the subject, but it was useless and couldn’t overpower Auntie’s loud voice.

As time passed, even silencing Auntie would be pointless, for Eldest Brother already looked ashamed.

It was at that moment Qingyang finally met Zheng Geer’s resentful glare.