Rong Fei is not honored

Chapter 696 The Taste of Saliva

Saiyinchahun interjected, "Yinhua occupied a bedroom in Shou Kang Palace and even tricked Grandmother Huang into thinking he would stay there often. If I hadn't stopped him, he would have wanted to help Yinfu and Yinzhi occupy a room as well, and then he could have them all.

This brat even dared to set his sights on his bedchamber. Hmph, doesn't he know who is the most important child in the Empress Dowager's heart?

"Yinfu didn't say a word all afternoon. When he was hungry or thirsty, or wanted to change his clothes, he only used his eyes to signal. This startled the Empress Dowager, who thought he was unwell and almost summoned the imperial physician."

Sainchahun then carried Yinzhi to Kangxi, took out his hand which was tucked into his sleeve, and asked, "Father, can you smell anything? It's all Yinzhi's saliva."

Emperor Kangxi's face turned green, and he scolded, "Knowing it's all saliva, you still deliberately put it in my face!"

Yin Zhi was directly hit, and his eyes welled up with tears, but he dared not cry out loud.

Kangxi was taken aback. He had seen this expression on many people's faces before. It was fear and alienation. Among those people were his children, like Chenghu from before, and his princesses.

However, this group did not include his and Ji Nai's children. Even Rong Xian, Yin Hua, and Yin Fu, who were close in age, were not treated as well as Cheng Rui and Sai Yin Cha Hun in terms of care or closeness.

But they were still not afraid of him, because in Zhongcui Palace, Kangxi was just a father, and even more so than a strict mother.

Kangxi suddenly remembered what Ji Nai had once told him: "Don't think that children don't understand anything. In fact, they are the most sensitive to emotions and likes and dislikes."

Although Ji Nai had said this to him to avoid intervening when he was disciplining the children, so that Cheng Rui and the others would feel that they had something to rely on, Kangxi now truly understood the meaning of those words.

Emperor Kangxi was somewhat distressed.

When Sainchahun and the others saw that their father looked unwell, they thought he was angry. Rongxian quickly snatched Yinzhi back from his second brother and protected him behind him.

"Does Second Brother really want to see Yinhua and the others get beaten up?"

Ji Nai was still thinking to himself: He usually ignores Yin Zhi, but he still expects Yin Zhi to treat him the same way as the other children. How can he be so shameless? He's heartbroken now, he's upset now, he deserves it!

But when she saw Rongxian, who was already adept at playing the role of guardian, her nose tingled and she felt a pang of sadness.

Yinfu glanced deeply at his second brother, who was still gloating, and decisively betrayed him. "Before, my second brother held a grudge because he was beaten and scolded by Father. He spread rumors that Father would secretly hide in Mother's arms and cry."

Today, he took us to Shou Kang Palace not to visit the Empress Dowager, but to find out if Father had cried. He had no good intentions at all.

Saiyinchahun's smile froze. The sense of crisis he had developed from being beaten for so long made him want to run away, but he was stopped by his older brother.

"Brother!" Saiyinchahun felt his heart breaking. Not only did they abandon him to be with Yinreng, but they also betrayed him at this crucial moment!

Looking at Saiyinchahun's broken eyes, Chengrui said with a headache, "What did I tell you before? Even if you don't want to take care of your younger siblings, don't make things difficult for them."

"Hmph! I don't have such a good personality; I can be a good older brother to anyone."

During this time, Saiyinchahun had been acting strangely. Chengrui had explained many times that his relationship with Yinreng was just a formality, a so-called "fake affair," but Saiyinchahun still wouldn't stop. Now, Chengrui had truly reached his limit.

The already somewhat depressed Emperor Kangxi was reignited in anger by Yin Fu's tattling. Enraged, he was about to give Saiyinchahun another lesson when his eldest son struck first.

Judging from this, he had truly taken drastic measures, rather than putting on an act to protect his younger brother as before. Kangxi felt gratified, but when he turned around, he saw that Ji Nai's expression was somewhat downcast.

Was it for Yin Zhi?

He thought that Ji Nai had already yielded many times on the issue of Yin Zhi, and each time he was in a dilemma, but in the end he chose to be tolerant of him. So as his husband and father, he couldn't be stingy either.

"I……"

"Does Your Majesty feel that there's something off about the way Rongxian and Yinhua get along?"

Kangxi swallowed the words that were about to come out. It was already difficult for him to put aside his grudges, let alone say that he would try to accept Yinzhi. Ji Nai spoke at just the right time.

"Something's not right? Wasn't everything fine? Rongxian is much more sensible than those brats."

Ji Nai looked at Kangxi with a reproachful gaze and said, "You said before that Rongxian is our only daughter, a little princess who should be cherished and pampered."

"She's our little princess now. Isn't it good for her to be sensible? Do you really want her to be as troublesome as her brothers?"

Kangxi glanced at the wailing and howling Saiyinchahun, then at Yinhua and Yinfu, who were on guard against him making trouble, and felt that his head was really starting to hurt.

He wants harmony and happiness, not chaos and turmoil.

Ji Nai's tears fell directly down his face. "You were sensible to ascend the throne at the age of eight, but you... for a child, being sensible is not a good word."

Emperor Kangxi wanted to wipe away Ji Nai's tears, but he was stunned by her words.

He knew from a young age that he did not have the right to act recklessly, so he was always obedient and well-behaved. After becoming emperor, he had to be even more mindful of his status.

Kangxi knew he had done a good job. The Empress Dowager's gratified gaze and the satisfaction on the faces of the court officials all indicated his success. But when he first ascended the throne, he was still just a child.

But because he had to shoulder the responsibility of the Qing Dynasty, he lost the chance to be a child. Apart from Ji Nai, who else felt sorry for him?

Now he is pleased with Rongxian's understanding and thinks she is a good older sister. But in a way, doesn't being understanding mean being easy and worry-free?

Even though her older brothers, who are several years older than her, are still causing trouble every day, Rongxian, who is only seven years old, is already used to protecting her younger brothers behind her, even though Yinhua and the others are not much younger than Rongxian.

Her mother is the favored Consort Rong, and the brilliance of Zhongcui Palace is no less than that of Kunning Palace. She is not a pitiful little thing that is ignored by others, and she also has five brothers to rely on. Does Rongxian need to step forward and take on the role of protector?

If it were just innate, that would be fine, but...

Kangxi understood why Ji Nai was so distressed. It wasn't just Rongxian, but also Yinhua and Yinfu. These three children had been neglected by their fathers and mothers.

The impact of Yinzhi's affair extends far beyond his relationship with Ji Nai. It's not just the two older children who are worried and fearful because of it.