The Calculus of the Throne Room
Outside the Qianqing Palace, Crown Prince Yinreng observed the eunuch sliding the meditation cushion beneath the kneeling 4th Prince, Yinzhen. Assured that Yinzhen's physical baseline was protected from the scorching stone, Yinreng analyzed the anomaly: Snowball was heavily guarded and trained. A sudden, unprovoked attack on the 1st Prince, Yinshi, was a statistical improbability. The variables did not align.
However, investigating the cause was a secondary objective. The primary objective was extracting Yinzhen from Kangxi's punitive oversight.
Yinreng entered the main hall. Emperor Kangxi sat in severe silence, while Yinshi stood nearby, a visible laceration on his forehead. Both men were acutely aware of Yinreng's intervention outside. Kangxi, pragmatic at his core, had tacitly permitted the cushion; he wanted to punish Yinzhen's insubordination, not inflict permanent thermal damage to his knees. Yinshi, however, harbored silent resentment. His bleeding head wound was being treated with less urgency than Yinzhen's comfort.
Yinreng bowed. "Imperial Father."
"Should you not be studying?" Kangxi's tone carried a heavy, almost petty resentment. "I visited you personally to mandate rest, which you refused. Yet, the moment Yinzhen kneels for mere fractions of an hour, your intelligence network alerts you, and you abandon your texts."
Internal Monologue (Yinreng): The Emperor is displaying symptoms of possessive paternal jealousy. An illogical but exploitable emotional state.
Yinreng maintained a flawless, deferential posture. "I operate on a strict, optimized schedule, Imperial Father. My designated tasks for this solar cycle are complete. Furthermore, I prioritize your instruction to balance labor with rest; falling ill would only burden you further."
Mollified by the logical display of filial piety, Kangxi's expression eased. "Are you here to plead for Yinzhen?"
"Negative," Yinreng stated firmly. "Striking an elder brother is a severe violation of hierarchy. He merits punishment." He then executed his first tactical pivot, turning to Yinshi. "Eldest Brother, has the imperial physician sanitized the wound? Animal bites carry high infection risks. It must be flushed with alkaline water immediately."
This overt display of fraternal concern further neutralized Kangxi's hostility.
Yinreng then knelt. "However, Imperial Father, if culpability is measured, I am the root cause. I instructed Yinzhen to be aggressive."
Kangxi frowned. "You taught him to assault his siblings?"
"I taught him imperial dignity," Yinreng corrected. "I instructed all my younger brothers that, as princes of the Qing Dynasty, they must never display cowardice. If provoked, they must strike back relentlessly, regardless of the opponent. I promised to absorb any political fallout. I issued this directive because the capital is currently flooded with Mongolian princes and foreign dignitaries. We cannot afford to look weak before external factions."
Kangxi nodded slowly. The logic appealed to his imperial pride. A subservient prince was an embarrassment; calculated arrogance against foreign powers was preferable.
"But Yinzhen attacked Yinshi, not a Mongolian noble," Kangxi countered.
"Precisely. Yinzhen misapplied the protocol," Yinreng agreed smoothly, setting his trap. "This mirrors a theoretical discussion Yinzhen and I once had regarding authority. We concluded that even if an asset—say, a dog—bites someone, the victim must report it to the dog's master. Allowing the master to execute the animal shows respect for the hierarchy. Bypassing the master to slaughter the beast independently is a direct insult to the master's face."
Yinshi's face lost its color. He recognized the snare.
Internal Monologue (Yinshi): He is shifting the paradigm. He is turning my justified self-defense into an act of political disrespect against Yinzhen.
Yinreng did not let up. He turned to Yinshi with an apologetic smile. "Of course, Eldest Brother, I merely spoke in metaphors back then. I know you did not intentionally disrespect Yinzhen. Had you informed him, Yinzhen would have executed the dog himself."
It was a flawless verbal checkmate. Yinreng had verbally cornered Yinshi into acknowledging that acting unilaterally was a slight.
Before Yinshi could formulate a defense, Yinreng delivered the final, fatal variable. "Furthermore, Imperial Father, Yinzhen's emotional volatility stems from the dog's origin. When Yinzhen was an infant, he grasped a dog embroidered on a pouch. You mocked his ignorance, but immediately ordered the breeding facilities to send him a perfectly tempered pup. To Yinzhen, Snowball was not a mere animal; it was a physical manifestation of your paternal love."
Kangxi froze. The memory resurfaced. He 'had' gifted the dog.
The political reality shifted instantly. Yinshi hadn't just beaten Yinzhen's dog to death without permission; he had destroyed an imperial gift without consulting the Emperor.
Having dismantled Yinshi's moral high ground, Yinreng bowed deeply to his older brother. "Eldest Brother, I apologize on Yinzhen's behalf. Please show magnanimity."
Yinshi's chest tightened with suppressed rage. The Crown Prince himself was kneeling and apologizing. If Yinshi refused to forgive Yinzhen now, he would be labeled petty, vindictive, and blind to the Emperor's favor.
"The Crown Prince jests," Yinshi gritted through his teeth. "I bear no grudge. Imperial Father, please summon Yinzhen inside. Let us conclude this matter."
Yinreng's eyes narrowed. Yinshi's request to bring Yinzhen in was a counter-attack. If the stubborn Yinzhen entered and refused to apologize to Kangxi's face, Yinreng's entire carefully constructed defense would collapse.
Kangxi ordered Eunuch Liang Jiugong to fetch the boy. As the eunuch passed, Yinreng issued a quiet, precise command: "Eunuch Liang, his legs are likely numb. *Support him* and guide him carefully."
Liang Jiugong, a veteran of palace survival, understood the subtext immediately. He would brief Yinzhen on the way in.
Moments later, Yinzhen entered. Pre-warned of Yinreng's massive sacrifices on his behalf, Yinzhen swallowed his pride and delivered a textbook apology. Kangxi, satisfied, dismissed them all.
***
The Logic of Pain
Inside the West Five Palaces, Yinreng dragged Yinzhen into a chair and immediately stripped the boy's upper garments.
Massive, dark contusions covered Yinzhen's chest and back. The physical trauma was severe.
"The imperial physician examined you at the Qianqing Gate," Yinreng stated, his voice dropping to a dangerous temperature. "Why did he not report this blunt force trauma to the Emperor?"
"He only checked my torn lip," Yinzhen muttered. "I did not inform him of the rest."
Yinreng struck the back of Yinzhen's head. "Tactical idiocy! If you possess a wound, you utilize it. Displaying this damage would have immediately inverted Kangxi's perception of the event, rendering Yinshi the aggressor."
Yinreng turned to the eunuchs. "Summon the physician. Do it loudly. Ensure the entire administrative wing knows the 4th Prince requires immediate, severe trauma care."
The physician, realizing he had missed massive injuries on an imperial prince, would be terrified of a malpractice charge. He would have no choice but to report his failure—and Yinzhen's true condition—directly to Kangxi to save his own life.
***
The Reality of the Kill
The 3rd Prince, Yinzhi, barged into the room, oblivious to the tension. "Yinzhen! Why did you fight Big Brother? He is seven years older and physically superior. Engaging in a battle with a guaranteed zero-percent win rate is highly irrational."
Yinreng sneered coldly. "Indeed. I was unaware our bloodline could produce such strategic incompetence."
Yinzhen's hands gripped his knees. He looked up, his eyes bloodshot, dropping all pretense. "I did not fight him because he killed Snowball in self-defense, Second Brother. I fought him because of 'how' he killed him."
Yinreng paused. "Clarify."
"When I arrived, Yinshi was ordering his servants to secretly dispose of the corpse. He claimed he threw the dog in a reflex action and misjudged his strength. But a simple impact against a wall does not produce the results I saw. Snowball was lying in a pool of blood. His skull was shattered. Yinshi's boots and robes were coated in blood and fur."
Yinzhen's voice cracked, raw with disgust. "He didn't just throw him. He stomped him to death. He mutilated him. And when I confronted him, he looked at the blood and smiled, telling me he would just buy me a new toy tomorrow. That casual, sociopathic dismissal... that is why I picked up the inkstone."
Internal Monologue (Yinreng): The variable is identified. Yinshi engaged in gratuitous cruelty, likely venting his frustrations regarding my authority onto Yinzhen's asset. Yinzhen's reaction was not mere grief over a pet; it was a violent rejection of Yinshi's sadistic hypocrisy.
"I understand," Yinreng said simply, placing a hand on Yinzhen's shoulder. He did not offer hollow platitudes. He merely provided validation of the facts.
***
The Quarantine Protocol
The heavy atmosphere was broken by the successive arrivals of Consort De (Yinzhen's biological mother) and Imperial Noble Consort Tong Jia (his adoptive mother). The factions gathered, enforcing a polite, operational distance. Yinreng and Yinzhi quietly exited the perimeter to allow the matriarchs to manage the situation.
After assessing Yinzhen's physical status, Tong Jia shifted the agenda to logistics, addressing Consort De. "In three days, the 6th Prince, Yinzuo, must be transferred to the Pox Palace. Ensure his logistics and personnel are prepared."
World Context: Following the successful development of the cowpox vaccine, Emperor Kangxi established the 'Pox Palace'—an isolated medical facility. All royal family members, upon reaching the age of five, were mandated to undergo systematic inoculation and quarantine there to ensure permanent immunity against smallpox.
Yinzuo, having just turned five, whined immediately. "I refuse. The facility is barren and devoid of entertainment."
Consort De frowned. "It is a mandatory medical directive. You will comply."
Recognizing he had zero leverage to refuse, Yinzuo instantly pivoted to extortion. He pointed at a wooden contraption in the corner. "I will comply if I am supplied with that prototype scooter."
Consort De sighed. "That is a mechanical prototype the Crown Prince gifted to your brother."
"He is too old for it," Yinzuo countered flawlessly.
Yinzhen, observing the negotiation, stepped in. His mind, sharpened by the day's brutal lessons, applied a basic control mechanism. "You may have the prototype, Yinzuo. However, the asset will not be transferred today. It will be transferred on the exact hour of your departure to the Pox Palace, contingent entirely upon your absolute obedience over the next seventy-two hours. Deviate, and the offer is voided."
Yinzuo stomped his foot in frustration, realizing he had been outmaneuvered, while Consort De and Yinzhen shared a brief, calculating smile.