At the Zhongcui Palace.
Consort Hui completely lost her composure. "What did you just say? The Crown Prince presented a box of unhusked rice? Rice 'he' grew? And it's vastly superior to any existing crop?!"
She simply could not process the information. It sounded utterly absurd. The Crown Prince was seven years old! He had merely commandeered a tiny plot of dirt behind his palace to play farmer. How could a child's game produce the finest rice in the empire? The concepts—Crown Prince, farming, and highest agricultural yield—were completely incompatible in her mind.
Her head maid, Fangrui, trembled. "I thought I misheard as well, Your Grace. I double-checked with multiple sources. It is absolutely true. While the Emperor has not made a public announcement, he summoned Minister Songgotu and an agricultural expert named Minister Min right from the Grand Empress's birthday gathering."
Fangrui swallowed hard. "Furthermore, my contacts outside the palace report that Songgotu and Minister Min went straight to the imperial farms. The Emperor issued a direct edict: all unplanted fields must remain empty, and any standard crops already sown must be immediately uprooted to make room for the Crown Prince's new seed strain."
Consort Hui felt the blood drain from her face. She swayed, her mind racing to analyze the political implications.
She didn't understand the science of the rice, but she understood Kangxi. The Emperor adored his heir, but he was a brilliant, pragmatic ruler. He would 'never' sacrifice the imperial food supply or uproot already-planted fields just to humor a child's tantrum. The imperial farms supplied the entire palace. For Kangxi to order such a drastic measure, the Crown Prince's rice had to be exactly what the rumors claimed: an unprecedented agricultural breakthrough.
If this were true, the political consequences for her son, the First Prince Yinshi, were catastrophic.
Consort Hui slumped into her chair. Her carefully curated red coral formation? Worthless. Yinshi's meticulously practiced calligraphy? Pathetic. In the face of a gift that could permanently end famine in the Qing Dynasty, every other birthday present would look like childish trinkets.
Her plan to dominate the Wanshou Festival banquet and win the Emperor's favor was completely annihilated.
But the immediate loss of face was the least of her problems. The true terror was the Crown Prince's momentum. First, he accidentally guided the imperial physicians to cure smallpox. Now, he had magically invented a super-crop. His reputation would transcend the palace and become legend among the common people.
How could her son ever compete with that? Did Yinshi even have a chance at the throne anymore?
Analysis: Consort Hui felt suffocated by a terrifying thought. 'Is Yinreng truly the Mandate of Heaven made flesh? Does he genuinely have divine guidance in his dreams?'
***
The Wanshou Festival (The Emperor's Birthday).
A public holiday was declared. The ministers rested, and the princes were excused from their studies. The Forbidden City was draped in festive lanterns and silk. Emperor Kangxi hosted a grand banquet in the Hall of Preserving Harmony.
The presentation of gifts proceeded strictly by rank. The princes were led by Yinreng. Historically, the eldest son should lead, but Yinreng's status as Crown Prince forced Yinshi to walk behind him, a visual reminder of his permanent subjugation.
Despite having already delivered the hybrid rice, Yinreng presented a secondary, public gift: a piece of his own calligraphy. While a seven-year-old's brushwork lacked the profound maturity of a master, Yinreng's strokes were exceptionally structured and disciplined. It was undeniably brilliant for his age. The attending ministers erupted in genuine praise.
Standing behind him, Yinshi clenched his fists, his face burning with humiliation. He, too, had prepared calligraphy, assuming he could outshine his younger brother. However, despite starting his education years earlier, his writing was noticeably inferior to Yinreng's. Yinshi had no miracle crop to fall back on; he only had this public defeat. Sitting through the rest of the banquet felt like torture.
Yinreng, completely oblivious to his older brother's psychological agony, was having the time of his life. It was a holiday! No tutor, no homework, and excellent food.
Bored with the formal proceedings, Yinreng quietly gathered his two favorite younger brothers, the Third Prince (Yinzhi) and the Fourth Prince (Yinzhen), and snuck out to an empty courtyard. He ordered the eunuchs to set up two makeshift goals and initiated a chaotic, aggressively simplified game of 'Cuju' (ancient football). Yinreng appointed himself the referee and head coach.
"Third Brother, flank him!" Yinreng yelled, waving his arms. "Fourth Brother, don't just stand there! You're younger; I authorize you to use your hands! Tackle him!"
[System: You are an adult soul residing in a seven-year-old body, aggressively tackling toddlers in a game of soccer. Do you have no shame?]
Yinreng ignored the AI completely, deeply invested in the tactical deployment of his two-year-old siblings.
After exhausting themselves, the three boys bathed, changed, and returned to the banquet hall. Yinzhi and Yinzhen, each clutching a small bouquet of wildflowers they had picked, ran to the Emperor's throne.
"Imperial Father!" Yinzhi cheered. "I scored a goal! Crown Prince Brother gave me these flowers as a trophy. I want to give them to you!"
"I scored too!" Yinzhen echoed. "Here, Imperial Father!"
Kangxi laughed heartily, genuinely touched by the simple, innocent gifts. He pulled both toddlers onto his lap, looking at Yinreng with profound satisfaction. He loved seeing his sons bonded so closely.
"In a few years, when our younger brothers are older, we should form an Imperial Cuju Team!" Yinreng suggested enthusiastically. "We could host a royal sports tournament!"
Kangxi chuckled, his mood excellent. "With your terrible Cuju skills, Baocheng? You want to coach them? You'll embarrass the royal family."
Yinreng immediately puffed his cheeks in mock outrage. "My skills are excellent!"
"Yes they are!" Yinzhi defended him loyally.
"Crown Prince Brother taught us everything!" Yinzhen added.
Kangxi rolled his eyes affectionately at the blind loyalty. 'Tackling and carrying the ball is not Cuju.' "What about First Brother?" Yinreng suddenly pivoted, gesturing toward Yinshi, who was sulking in silence. "He's great at martial arts. He can be our head coach!"
Kangxi looked at his eldest son, trying to bring him into the fold. "Yes, Baocheng is right. Yinshi's Cuju skills are vastly superior to yours."
Yinshi jolted, completely unprepared for the sudden inclusion. He stared blankly, unable to process the shift in conversation or formulate a response. The moment passed awkwardly.
The other harem women observed this exchange with varying degrees of anxiety. Consort Rong (Yinzhi's mother) was thrilled by her son's closeness to the Crown Prince. Consort Tongjia (Yinzhen's adoptive mother) felt a deep, twisting panic as Yinreng continually hijacked her son's affection. Concubine De (Yinzhen's biological mother) remained perfectly stoic, analyzing the power dynamics. Consort Hui silently shredded her silk handkerchief under the table.
Later that night, soaking in a hot bath, Yinreng debriefed with the System.
[System: Attempting the 'Loving Brother' route is a valid strategy. However, by actively favoring the Third and Fourth Princes, aren't you intentionally isolating the First Prince?]
"I gave Yinshi a chance," Yinreng argued defensively. "He's nine. He understands court politics. When we went out into the city, I included him in everything, but he viewed it as a competition for the spotlight. Today, I actively invited him to be our coach in front of our Father. It was the perfect opportunity for him to demonstrate brotherly leadership. Instead, he sulked and played the victim."
[System: He is nine. He likely couldn't process the sudden pivot in conversation. You could have warned him beforehand instead of putting him on the spot.]
"I am the Crown Prince, not his nanny," Yinreng scoffed. "I handed him the opportunity on a silver platter. I refuse to chew his food for him. If he wants to alienate himself, that is his choice."
[System: Fine. If you cannot recruit him, you must crush him. Accept a new technology mission! It has been a year since you invented anything. The empire needs progress!]
"Absolutely not," Yinreng refused flatly. "In one year, I produced glass, mechanical clocks, a smallpox cure, and hybrid rice. If I introduce another world-altering technology right now, the sheer logistical strain will break the imperial bureaucracy. The ministers need time to process and implement these changes."
[System: Do not use the ministers as an excuse for your own laziness!]
"I am seven!" Yinreng shot back. "I study martial arts, Confucian classics, mathematics, and foreign languages. I spend an hour every day assisting the Emperor with state affairs. I am actively managing the emotional development of two toddlers. If you overwork me, I will literally stunt my physical growth!"
The System fell silent, unable to argue against the biological limitations of a child's body.
***
Yinreng's "short break" from technological advancement lasted for two highly productive years.
Timeline of Events:
• July, 20th Year of Kangxi (1681): The first large-scale harvest of the F1 hybrid rice at the imperial farms was an explosive success. Kangxi personally harvested the first stalks, weeping tears of joy over the permanent elimination of famine.
• September 1681: Yinreng's maternal grandfather, Gabula, passed away.
• November 1681: The rebel leader Wu Shifan committed suicide, officially ending the traumatic, eight-year-long Revolt of the Three Feudatories. The empire was finally at total peace.
• December 1681: In celebration of the military victory and the agricultural miracle, Kangxi massively promoted his harem. Consort Tongjia was elevated to Imperial Noble Consort, placing her just one step below Empress.
During this time, Yinreng focused heavily on deepening his bond with the Third and Fourth Princes. Consort Tongjia, terrified of losing Yinzhen's loyalty, repeatedly tried to block their meetings by falsely claiming Yinzhen was "sick."
Yinreng countered this brilliantly. Whenever Tongjia claimed Yinzhen was ill, Yinreng immediately rushed to her palace with imperial physicians in tow, loudly expressing deep concern to the Emperor about Yinzhen's "fragile health." Kangxi, alarmed, began sending daily medical delegations to check on the boy. Unable to maintain the lie under such intense medical scrutiny, Tongjia was forced to abandon her interference.
• Spring, 21st Year of Kangxi (1682): The agricultural theories were proven. The first-generation (F1) hybrid seeds yielded massive crops, but the replanted seeds (F2 generation) failed miserably, validating Yinreng's warning about genetic degradation.
• September 1682: Kangxi militarized the imperial farms, building fortified walls and permanently dedicating the land to the controlled, manual crossbreeding of F1 hybrid seeds. This facility secretly became the Qing Dynasty's first National Agricultural Research Institute. Eunuch Meng Jixiang, despite his physical status, became its undisputed chief instructor.
• Winter 1682: Massive news shook the harem. Imperial Noble Consort Tongjia, after six years, was pregnant.
Terrified of a miscarriage or assassination, Tongjia went into absolute lockdown, refusing to leave her palace. Her obsessive focus on protecting her unborn child forced her to completely abandon her psychological warfare against Concubine De and her manipulation of Yinzhen.
Soon after, Consorts Yi and Niohuru also announced pregnancies, sparking a fierce, silent war of succession within the inner palace.