Secrets of Yuqing Palace

As the days passed, Wanyu gradually became more and more familiar with the palace affairs, and some changes gradually took place in the front court and the harem.

First, because the imperial concubine's health was getting worse, the emperor asked the crown princess to take over the palace affairs that were previously in her hands.

He also thought that more and more princes would grow up, and the South Three Residence would soon be unable to accommodate them.

Therefore, in March of the 33rd year of the Kangxi reign, he ordered the eldest prince Yinzhi, the third prince Yinzhi, and the fourth prince to leave the palace and build their own residences.

Each of them was allocated a piece of land, and the Ministry of Works and the Ministry of Internal Affairs took over the construction of the mansion.

He also gave each of the three princes 200,000 taels of silver to build a mansion, which they could use for the construction and decoration of the mansion.

It was considered that the son had grown up, and the money he gave to support the family was divided.

Although the allocation of silver has not yet been officially announced, only a very few people know about it.

Because this money was allocated by the Ministry of Revenue, the prince, who was in contact with the government, was the first to know the news.

After the mansion is built, the three princes will have to move out of the South Three Houses with their wives and children and live out of the palace in their own mansions.

Yinreng felt quite uncomfortable thinking about building a mansion and allocating money.

So after learning about this, he rushed to the Qianqing Palace immediately.

"Khan Ama, your son has seen the places in the Prince's Mansion that you have marked for your eldest brother, as well as your third and fourth brothers."

Kangxi put down the red brush in his hand, not understanding why his eldest son suddenly mentioned this matter, but he still explained his intention.

"Baocheng, your elder brother and younger brothers are old and have already married. It's time for them to go out and be independent."

"If the older prince had stayed in the palace all this time, it would have likely caused some people in the court to think too much."

"And the fifth, seventh, and eighth brothers are not young anymore. It's time for them to move from Qiandong Fifth to South Third."

"It just so happens that the boss and his men left the palace to build a residence, freeing up the South Third House."

Yinreng shook his head and said dejectedly: "Khan Ama, my son has no other intentions."

Seeing that he seemed to be hesitant to speak, Kangxi frowned.

"Between you and me, father and son, is there anything that is difficult to talk about?"

Yinreng looked at him eagerly, his eyes full of envy.

"Big brother, and the third and fourth brothers, their mansions cover a huge area."

Kangxi suddenly choked.

It’s really not small!

After all, it was his own son who left the palace to build a mansion, and he was also the older prince whom he favored more.

When he defined the boundaries of his mansion, he did so according to the standards of a prince.

Even though they can only build the palace according to the standards of a prince's residence now, the surrounding land is reserved for them to build on when they are granted the title.

Not to mention the prince's mansion, even a simple prince's mansion is more spacious than Baocheng's Yuqing Palace.

Thinking of this, he felt that he had indeed wronged his beloved son.

"Baocheng, do you think Yuqing Palace is a bit cramped and not spacious enough to live in?"

Yinreng said embarrassedly: "I am just a little envious of my elder brother and younger brothers."

"Now, only my son and the Crown Princess live in Yuqing Palace. They are not the kind of people who seek pleasure, so a small residence is not a big deal."

"But my son wants to have more legitimate sons and daughters with the Crown Princess. By the time there are so many children, I'm afraid..."

He didn't continue to say what he was afraid of.

But Kangxi understood what his eldest son had not yet said.

But think about it, his prince can only live in a small palace, while other ordinary princes can live in spacious houses. It really shouldn’t be like this!

My Baocheng has been wronged!

So he waved his hand and said, "Don't worry, Baocheng. With Khan Ama here, how can we let the future grandson and granddaughter have no place to live?!"

"I will assign the Zhai Palace west of Yuqing Palace to Baocheng and have the Ministry of Internal Affairs renovate it according to Baocheng's preferences."

(Note: Chengzi also wanted to build a residence for the male and female protagonists. Today, after a detailed investigation, I realized that the Zhai Palace on the west side of the Yuqing Palace was originally a part of the Yuqing Palace and was once the main hall of the Yuqing Palace. The Yuqing Palace area in the Forbidden City is the eastern part of the former Yuqing Palace, where the wives, concubines and children of Prince Yinreng lived. It was not until the Yongzheng period that the Zhai Palace was separated and became a place for the emperor to fast before offering sacrifices to heaven.

But since the Yuqing Palace area has already been decided, let's just treat it as Orange's personal design. (My dears, please be gentle with your criticism.)

"After the renovation, the Zhai Palace can be used as the main hall of the Yuqing Palace, and Baocheng and Guaerjia can move to the west main hall."

"This way, Baocheng can be closer to his father's Qianqing Palace."

"As for your current residence, the West Palace, please leave it for my future grandson and granddaughter."

"However, the Dunben Hall in the front hall must be left to my eldest grandson, and the residence in the back will be left to his younger brothers and sisters."

"Open a door in the front yard between the East and West Halls, and directly connect the two halls in the back yard, so that you can go to the East Hall to visit the children at any time."

What Kangxi didn't say was that such a reconstruction could also effectively isolate the Crown Princess from her future influence on Yinreng, the eldest son.

Yinreng was thinking about the Zhai Palace, which was much larger than the current Yuqing Palace. If the palaces on both sides were connected, the entire East Palace would be more than twice as spacious!

Moreover, the Sai Palace not only occupies a larger area, but also has many houses.

The Zhai Palace is a rectangular courtyard with two entrances, front and back.

The front hall is a five-bay fasting palace with a yellow glazed tile hip roof. There are three porches in front of it. There are partition doors in the main room and the second room, and windows in the two side rooms.

There are three side halls on the east and west sides, and the left and right corner corridors of the main hall are connected to the front corridors of the side halls, forming a three-sided courtyard with corner layout.

The rear hall is seven bays wide, with a yellow glazed tile hip roof and two side rooms on the east and west sides.

There are eleven corridors on the east and west sides, connected to the front hall.

If we want to rebuild it, we definitely can't just do what Khan Ama said.

However, the specific reconstruction methods need to be discussed in detail with the young lady after returning.

Although he had already made up his mind, Yinreng looked hesitant.

"Khan Ama, the fasting palace is where you fast before performing ceremonies to worship heaven and earth. How can you give it to your son to live in?"

"It doesn't matter if my son lives in a cramped environment."

"At worst, my son and the Crown Princess can have fewer children, and there will still be enough for us to live in."

Kangxi's face darkened. "What nonsense are you talking about, Baocheng?"

"I just hope that the Crown Princess can give me more legitimate grandchildren."

"As for the residence, Baocheng doesn't need to worry about it!"

"There are so many palaces in the Forbidden City. Could it be that I can't find one suitable for fasting?"

"Besides, I think the Yangxin Palace is quite good."

Seeing that Khan Ama had made up his mind, Yinreng "reluctantly" agreed to the emperor's decision.

He said to Kangxi with a touching look on his face: "Thank you, my son, Khan Ama."

"Only with Khan Ama can my son speak his mind."

There was a hint of shyness in her tone, "I can be so humble as to say that I envy my brothers."

"Only in front of Khan Ama can my son not worry about losing face or his status as a crown prince."

Kangxi was pleased that his son was so open with him, and he doted on his precious son even more.

"Baocheng was raised by me. Since he was little, he always came to me first when he had problems."

"I am very pleased that you can always be like this!"

Yinreng said seriously, "Brothers all have their own mothers who love them, but a son only has his Khan Ama, so naturally, he and I are connected by heart."