The Virtuous Concubine

The Fourth Prince cleverly took advantage of the situation and quickly followed Malu's words: "Then according to what mother said, I should learn it now, Father Royal————" trying to get Kangxi to support him.

Seeing this, Malu was both angry and amused. He reached out to grab the brat and said, "Mother asked you to study the Four Books and Five Classics. Who allowed you to lose your ambition by playing with things? Come here!"

The Fourth Prince dodged flexibly, avoiding Malu's hand, and turned to Kangxi with a look for help: "Father, look at my mother, I just want to learn more, but my mother won't let me!"

Kangxi couldn't help laughing when he saw the interaction between the mother and son. He hugged Malu and asked her to stop, then said to the Fourth Prince, "Your mother is right. The Four Books and Five Classics are the foundation of life and should not be neglected. You will naturally have the opportunity to learn skills such as firearms in the future. For now, you should focus on the books of sages."

After hearing what Emperor Kangxi said, the Fourth Prince was a little disappointed, but he knew his mother's character. If he didn't seize the opportunity to open a breakthrough in contact with firearms today, his mother would definitely not forgive him. In fact, in his heart, firearms were just a low-level skill. In his previous life, the emperor exiled Dai Zi in the end, and didn't use it much on him in the end.

Compared with Zhang Ying, Zhang Tingyu, Chen Yanding, Li Guangdi and others of the same period, if his mother hadn't mentioned it, he wouldn't have remembered Dai Zi at all. Although he didn't understand why his mother valued this person so much, he would not let her down.

He replied shyly: "I understand, but the emperor is so majestic today——"

Kangxi laughed out loud, and it was obvious that this flattery touched his heart. The two of them persuaded each other again, and Kangxi finally gave in: "Okay, then I will allow you to go to Nan Huairen, Tang Ruowang and others, and learn more about Western learning first. As for firearms, you have to wait until you are older. If you are good at riding and shooting, you can get used to firearms very quickly."

The Fourth Prince was a little unsure whether this result was good or not, but Malu almost couldn't hide her excitement. It was great! With Kangxi's words, Yinzhen must now be exposed to various Western disciplines. She nodded slightly, but said something that was neither painful nor itchy to stop him: "Your Majesty, Yinzhen is still young, and Western learning is profound. I'm afraid he can't digest it for a while, and it will also delay his studies in the study..."

Kangxi waved his hand, signaling Malu not to worry: "Don't worry. Rather than talking about all sorts of things all day, I hope he can have a broad range of knowledge. Western learning has its own subtleties, and it's good for him to broaden his horizons. As for firearms, I know my limits and won't let him come into contact with dangerous things too early."

Seeing this, the Fourth Prince knew what his mother meant, and he made up his mind to study Western learning: "Mother, the emperor is right. I will study hard and live up to your expectations!"

Malu shook her head and said, "It's true what they say, a grown-up son is no longer under the control of his mother. I don't care about you anymore!" After muttering a few more words, Malu took Xiao Si'er away. On the way back, Malu was beaming with joy, so happy!

Does this count as her gently flapping her butterfly wings, gently opening a door to a wider world for the future of Yinzhen and this land?

The Fourth Prince actually didn't know why his mother was so happy, but the mother in this life... was trustworthy. This incident did not cause any waves. Concubine De couldn't control her increasingly independent son, and the Fourth Prince became wild. What a good thing! Concubine Rong and Concubine Hui didn't even dare to make a few sarcastic remarks, for fear that Concubine De would wake up and start to discipline the Fourth Prince strictly.

In their minds, the literary talent should be as elegant as the third prince, and the martial arts should be as brave as the eldest prince. As for firearms and Western learning, they think these are heretical things and not worth mentioning.

Malu naturally didn't care about these things with them. She still maintained her own pace of life, enjoying a comfortable life in the tent or palace, and occasionally going out for a ride on horseback, also in the area specially granted to concubines by Kangxi. The surrounding area was heavily guarded and very safe.

When Mulan Hunting Ground was first established, it was divided into 67 enclosures according to the direction of the mountains and the distribution of animals in order to meet the needs of hunting and training the army. Later, as the demand increased, 5 more enclosures were added, reaching 72 enclosures. People habitually call it the 72 enclosures of Mulan Hunting Ground. The enclosures were separated by wooden fences or willows were planted at the mouth of the ditch, forming the so-called "willow border".

Kangxi generously approved 7 areas for the concubines to ride horses. These areas had been cleared to ensure that there were no dangerous large wild animals, so that the concubines could enjoy the fun of riding horses and feel the grandeur and beauty of nature.

On this day, Malu was riding his red pony, admiring the afterglow of the sunset along the edge of the paddock. Suddenly, Bai Xia ran over in a panic, reporting breathlessly: "Your Majesty - Your Majesty - it's bad - the eldest prince is injured, and the fourth prince is also injured!"

Malu's heart sank suddenly. She turned her horse's head quickly, frowning: "What's going on?"

Bai Xia didn't even have time to catch her breath, and hurriedly explained: "The Fourth Prince was only slightly injured, but the First Prince is said to be more seriously injured. Eunuch Wei Zhu said that the First Prince and the Crown Prince had a dispute while hunting, and an accident happened that affected our Fourth Prince. I don't know the details, but I only know that the Emperor has passed away. Because the Fourth Prince kept crying and calling for the Empress, the Emperor sent Eunuch Wei Zhu to summon you."

Malu felt something was wrong. This was not right for the Fourth Prince! He was not the type who could not protect himself, nor the type who would cry and call for his mother when he was injured. Her son was usually ineffective, so how could he cry and call for her? It was good that he did not hide his injury from her.

But since her little fourth son still had the energy to act, it meant that the problem was not serious. However, Malu still pulled the reins and rode the red pony towards the camp, silently praying that her son would be safe. On the way, she took the time to use the system to check the status of Yinzhen, the prince and the eldest prince, and almost cried out in surprise.

Yinzhen had many scratches and bruises that looked serious but did not hurt his bones. The eldest prince's right hand was shot through, and the crown prince even had a facial injury!

How could it be so serious? Malu quickly got off his horse and ran towards the tent. As soon as he got close, he heard Kangxi yelling in anger: "What are you doing? Don't you know how to stop the crown prince and the eldest prince? Take them all away——"

Malu hurriedly pretended to be ignorant and shouted outside: "Xiao Si'er? Xiao Si'er? Mother is here!" Malu knew that once Kangxi involved the prince, everyone present would be implicated. The lightest punishment would be forty lashes and expulsion from the palace, and the worst would be death.

If the punishment is directed at someone in her Yonghe Palace, then she will suffer a great loss, okay? Malu quickly interrupted Kangxi's spell, risking being affected by Kangxi's anger. Sure enough, Kangxi's anger turned around: "De Fei——"

The Fourth Prince quickly wiped his tears, his other hand hung around his neck with gauze by the imperial physician, and he stumbled out: "Mother, I'm here, Mother——"

Malu came in and saw it, and she was immediately distressed. Although she had seen it in the system and it was not serious, she was still distressed when she really saw it. She quickly squatted down and hugged Xiao Si'er, looking up at Kangxi and the people around her like a lioness protecting her cubs: "What's going on?"