In the early summer of the thirty-sixth year of Kangxi's reign, the capital had already grown somewhat stifling. The red walls and yellow tiles of the Forbidden City shimmered under the sun, and even the palace attendants walked with a languor that seemed to have been steamed into them by the heat.
Except for one place: the East Warm Chamber of the Palace of Heavenly Purity.
The air was so tense it seemed frozen. The eunuchs and maids standing at the corners held their breath, wishing they could still the slightest rise and fall of their chests.
Emperor Kangxi's face was as dark as water. His clearly defined fingers tapped again and again on the imperial desk of sandalwood inlaid with mother-of-pearl. Each soft knock sounded like it struck the heart.
Two people knelt below.
On the left was Fourth Prince Yinzhen, his back ramrod straight and thin lips pressed tightly together. His usually expressionless face was now covered in an impenetrable frost.
On the right was Ninth Prince Yintang. His head was slightly bowed, but there was no fear in his beautiful, almond-shaped eyes. Instead, they held a trace of barely concealed relief and a hint of sympathy for the Fourth Brother beside him.
"Well, isn't this wonderful! Simply wonderful!" Kangxi finally spoke. His voice was not loud, but it carried the oppressive force of a storm about to break. "One or two of my princes can put on quite a show of 'saving a damsel in distress' in the peaceful sanctum of a Buddhist temple! And they even went into the water, in front of everyone!"
He practically ground out the final words through clenched teeth.
Good-looking, good-looking, good-looking
Super pretty, cheers up
It's beautiful. It's beautiful. It's really beautiful. Brother Jiu and Tana are really a good match. They are very happy. They have smart and lovely children. It's great.
It's beautiful, beautiful, and very interesting. I imagined what the Qing Dynasty was like.