When Emperor Kangxi arrived at the Cining Palace, he found Yinreng asleep on the soft couch. The boy's breathing hitched with the residual hiccups of deep weeping, his eyes swollen shut.
Kangxi stepped forward, his expression tightening in alarm. "What happened?"
The Grand Empress Dowager sighed heavily, her tone perfectly calibrated. "He dreamed of his mother. Earlier, he overheard the maids reminiscing about their own mothers back home. It reminded Baocheng that he is the only prince without one. The grief overwhelmed him."
Kangxi's eyes darkened with guilt. "Even so, he should have come to me. Why disturb you, Grandmother?"
"I watched him grow up; having him close is no disturbance," the Grand Empress Dowager replied softly, locking eyes with the Emperor. "A grieving child naturally seeks family. It isn't that Baocheng did not want to find you. He was trying to protect you."
Kangxi froze.
The Grand Empress Dowager drove the emotional wedge deeper. "He knows how deeply you still mourn Empress Hesheli. He saw your sorrow, and he feared that expressing his own pain would only multiply yours. He did not come here to complain. He came to ask me what his mother looked like."
She paused, letting the silence stretch. "He told me that in his dreams, his mother's face is nothing but a blur. He has never seen her. He was begging me to describe her, just so his dreams wouldn't be so empty."
Kangxi's throat constricted, a sharp, physical pain gripping his chest. The boy's filial piety—suffering in silence to protect his father's feelings—shattered the Emperor's composure.
For a moment, Kangxi's grief overrode his reason. "I have heard the late Empress has a younger sister who resembles her greatly," he murmured. "Perhaps... I should bring her into the palace?"
The Grand Empress Dowager instantly glared at him, her aura turning frigid.
Logical Rejection: She crushed the idea before it could take root. "A resemblance is merely an illusion. She is not the Empress. Baocheng is yearning for his biological mother. You cannot simply insert a substitute and expect a child's heart to accept a forgery. An aunt is not a mother."
Kangxi stood stunned. His rationality returned like a splash of cold water.
Self-Correction: The Grand Empress was right. Bringing in a younger sister, no matter how similar in appearance, would only be a hollow imitation. The impulse vanished entirely.
Just then, Yinreng shifted on the couch, rubbing his swollen eyes.
"Imperial Father?" he mumbled, acting groggy. Seeing Kangxi's reddened eyes, Yinreng immediately scrambled off the bed to bow, his face shifting into a mask of pure innocence and confusion. "Imperial Father, what is wrong?"
The Grand Empress Dowager calmly explained the conversation they just had.
Internal Analysis: It took Yinreng half a second to process the Grand Empress Dowager's play. She had masterfully weaponized his crying session. First, it justified his presence in the Cining Palace. Second, and most importantly, it maximized Kangxi's pity and guilt.
Recognizing his cue, Yinreng lowered his head, his small shoulders slumping. "I was wrong. I made Imperial Father sad again."
The display of self-reproach was flawlessly executed. Kangxi's heart ached further. He pulled the Crown Prince into a tight embrace. "It is not your fault, Baocheng. It is your father who has not done enough."
"No!" Yinreng shook his head adamantly. "Imperial Father does everything for me. I may not have a mother, but I have the greatest father in the world. I am not sad anymore, so please, do not be sad either."
Kangxi swallowed hard. "Alright."
***
As evening fell, the three generations shared dinner.
The meals were prepared in the Cining Palace's private kitchen. Concubine Daijia personally served a plate of Crystal Meatballs, placing it deliberately in front of Yinreng. "I heard the Crown Prince favors this dish. I practiced making it myself. Please, try it, Your Highness."
Kangxi's expression softened with approval. "With so many imperial chefs, why trouble yourself to cook personally?"
Daijia bowed submissively. "I wished to learn the craft. I have the time, and it is my duty."
The Grand Empress Dowager smiled, completing the trap. "She is highly dedicated. My appetite has been poor recently, so she has been consulting the chefs daily, trying to invent appetizing and easily digestible dishes for me."
Yinreng's Assessment: Yinreng's eyes flicked between Daijia and the Grand Empress. The situation was heavily orchestrated. Daijia 'had' been cooking one simple dish a day, but presenting an entire banquet and explicitly targeting his favorite food while Kangxi was present? This was pure political theater.
The Grand Empress and Daijia were performing a rehearsed script to elevate Daijia's status as a dutiful, maternal figure in Kangxi's eyes.
Understanding the assignment, Yinreng immediately reinforced their play. He grabbed Daijia's sleeve enthusiastically. "The meatballs are delicious! Thank you! I have loved everything you've cooked these past few days!"
Because Kangxi rarely visited due to state affairs, he took Yinreng's vague praise as undeniable proof that Daijia was tirelessly serving the old woman and the Crown Prince every single day.
"Sit down," Kangxi ordered, his smile widening. "Eat with us."
Daijia acted startled. "How could I? It is a concubine's place to serve."
"The Emperor has commanded it," the Grand Empress chuckled. "Do you intend to disobey an imperial decree? The servants will handle the serving. Sit."
Daijia bowed in gratitude and took the lowest seat at the table.
Result: The operation was a complete success. That night, Kangxi returned to his quarters and summoned Daijia to his bedchamber.
***
Yinreng remained at the Cining Palace, lying beside the Grand Empress Dowager.
"You performed perfectly today, Baocheng," the old woman whispered in the dark.
Yinreng hesitated, then asked about the silent contract binding Daijia to them.
"She is a mother," the Grand Empress stated pragmatically. "Her only objective is her son's survival. She came to the Cining Palace to secure his future. But I am old. If I die before her crippled son, Yin You, reaches adulthood, who will protect them?"
She patted Yinreng's hand. "You are the Crown Prince. You are the absolute best investment. I didn't need to explicitly order her loyalty; I simply showed her the path. As long as you treat her son well, she will be an unbreakable shield for you in the inner court. She is smart enough to understand the transaction."
The Grand Empress shifted the topic. "Do you understand why I blocked your aunt from entering the harem today?"
By pointing out that a "resemblance is not the person," she had shattered Kangxi's romanticized illusion. Now, she laid out the cold facts.
"Your aunt is barely eleven years old," the Grand Empress scoffed. "A child's facial structure hasn't even settled. How could rumors possibly be spreading that she perfectly resembles a grown woman? This is a calculated narrative engineered specifically to reach your father's ears."
Yinreng frowned. 'Someone is manipulating the intelligence network.'
"The Hesheli Clan produced one Empress and secured the Emperor's heart," she continued. "They have tasted supreme power. Some within the clan clearly want a second serving."
Threat Assessment: Yinreng processed the variables rapidly. "This cannot be Great-Uncle Songgotu's plan."
Songgotu was currently managing the smallpox inoculation project. He was fully aligned with Yinreng's tech-tree progression and had no time or motive to introduce a volatile variable into the harem.
"It is likely not your Grandfather Gabula either," the Grand Empress agreed. "He is old, retired, and has fallen severely ill multiple times this year. He lacks the energy."
"But the Hesheli Clan is massive," Yinreng deduced. "And this aunt does not share the same mother as my late Empress mother."
Conclusion: "For Songgotu and Grandfather, my position as Crown Prince is enough. They just have to wait for me to ascend. But for my aunt and her mother, my glory does not directly benefit them. To maximize their own power, they need direct access to the Emperor before Grandfather dies and their branch loses influence."
Yinreng sat up, his analytical mind fully engaged, stripping away familial sentiment to expose the political mechanics.
"They are using my mother's ghost as a stepping stone," Yinreng said coldly. "If she enters the palace, leverages the Emperor's grief to gain favor, and eventually bears a son... the Hesheli Clan will fracture. One faction will support me, the established Crown Prince. The other faction will support the new prince, who is directly tied to the aunt's branch. It will tear my maternal support base in half."
The Grand Empress Dowager's eyes flashed with intense pride. "Excellent! Your political vision is absolute, Baocheng. You see through the fog."
Yinreng looked at the frail, seventy-year-old woman beside him. He dropped his childish demeanor entirely.
The Reality: This woman, the legendary Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang, should have been resting in her final years. Instead, she was actively utilizing the darkest, most cutthroat harem tactics just to build a defensive perimeter around him before she died.
"Great-Grandmother," Yinreng said, his voice firm and steady. "I understand everything. I see the sacrifices you are making. But you do not need to fight these battles for me anymore."
He gripped her hand. "Today, you destroyed the threat of the aunt entering the harem. From tomorrow onward, I will handle my own defense. I am capable of calculating these threats and neutralizing them. You said it yourself: I cannot hide beneath your wings forever. It is time for you to truly rest."
Tears welled in the old woman's eyes, but she smiled, nodding slowly. "Alright. I will rest. I will watch you rule."