Chapter 204: Coping Methods

The next day, there was a big court meeting.

The ministers and their colleagues chatted casually as they entered the Hall of Supreme Harmony, their relationships as colleagues quite good. There was no other way; every department was too busy, and the Qing Dynasty was developing so rapidly that there was simply too much official business to finish, leaving no time for infighting.

I spend more time at the yamen than at home, and I spend more time with my colleagues than with my family. In order to ensure the smooth progress of government affairs, I don't waste any of my own time. The key is that I can go home before dark. Everyone gets along very politely and is very considerate of each other!

Then, the civil and military officials, who were getting along very well, were surprised to find that the emperor and all the princes had big dark circles under their eyes. Was something big about to happen again?

Looking at the Crown Prince again, he was as handsome and dashing as ever.

That's normal. No matter how tired the Crown Prince is, he doesn't look haggard. Thinking of this, the ministers couldn't help but touch their own faces, which had gotten wrinkled from staying up so long, and they were tired of expressing their envy.

Forget it, we'll deal with whatever comes our way. I already have enough government affairs to handle, so I shouldn't be the one to take on more trouble.

Thus, it was obvious that Kangxi and the others were behaving strangely. However, not a single minister asked any questions, and the grand court assembly passed by without incident.

After the court session, all the princes gathered at the Qianqing Palace.

Kangxi sat high on the dragon throne, his gaze majestic yet somewhat weary. He glanced at Yinreng and said, pretending to be nonchalant, "What happened yesterday was indeed strange, and it's not convenient to say more, lest it cause trouble."

"As for Zhang Xiao, I had someone examine her pulse. She does not have a long lifespan, but she can still live for a few more years. For now, let her be kept in the palace. I think we might be able to pry some other clues out of her."

"Father is right. We will follow Father's orders."

Yinreng and his many brothers responded in unison.

As if suddenly remembering something, Kangxi said, "As for her identity in the Imperial Workshop, that's something I'll need Bao Cheng to handle."

"Your subject understands."

Actually, it was just a small matter, but since Kangxi had already spoken, Yinreng agreed and said, "It just so happens that the Ministry of Works has new ideas about the layout of the railway tracks, and I was just about to go there."

"Then you can go, there's nothing else to do."

Kangxi nodded, and as Yinreng took his leave, everyone breathed a sigh of relief, then turned to look at Kangxi with solemn expressions.

Yinzhi asked directly, "Father, have you interrogated Zhang Xiao? What about the shadowy figure?"

Kangxi, disregarding his eagerness, said in a deep voice, "I already interrogated her last night..."

Kangxi recounted the entire story, including the collusion between the Resurrection Organization, the researchers of observation technology, and the Resurrection Organization, the identity of the shadowy figure, and related speculations.

After hearing his account, the hall fell silent for a moment.

Yinzhen frowned, and asked hesitantly, "Should we ask Second Brother?"

Yin rolled up his sleeves in frustration. "It's not a good question to ask. With Second Brother's abilities, he'll definitely be exposed if he asks. I'm definitely not going to be able to answer."

Yin was very self-aware, while the others were in a difficult position.

They kept it from Yinreng because they didn't want him to be sad, and on a deeper level, they didn't want history to repeat itself.

"Asking or not asking makes little difference," Yinzhen shook his head.

Seeing this, Yinzhen rolled his eyes. "Then what do you suggest we do?"

Yinzhi tugged at his sleeve, signaling him to stop. Now was not the time to quarrel with his fourth brother; his father was already unhappy.

It's fine to joke around and play around normally, but it's not appropriate now.

Having read Yinzhi's eyes, Yintang felt it was absurd. No, when did he ever play around with the fourth prince? He just simply didn't like him!

Yinzhen was already used to the Ninth Prince's occasional eccentricities, so he ignored it and continued, "The key now is how to defend against the emergence of the Resurrection Organization and prevent the Second Brother from getting hurt again."

Kangxi glanced around at his dozen or so sons below him and asked, "What are your thoughts?"

Yinzhi spoke first: "Why can't we let Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu do this? Xiao Liu can even swallow the system."

Yin Zhi shook his head: "That's not appropriate. Putting aside whether Xiao Wu and Xiao Liu will keep it from Second Brother, judging from the previous two observations, it's clear that the two of them have no way to deal with these body-snatchers directly."

Rather than calling it "resurrection," Yin Zhi preferred to refer to the actions of those greedy people as "possession."

“It seems that Xiao Wu and the others can only suppress it temporarily, and the price they have to pay is still very high…” Yinqi couldn’t help but feel sad when he thought of the scene he saw during the first observation. “The key is still Second Brother.”

Yinzhuo thought things were a bit more optimistic: "There's no reason why only that observation technology could evolve. Maybe Second Brother has evolved too. I think he dealt with the system very easily. Will dealing with those who have possessed bodies be just as easy this time?"

Beside him, Yin You frowned and shook his head: "We can't take chances. The system and the body-snatcher are not the same thing."

Yinzhi also agreed with Yinyou's statement: "The system and the body-seizing person seem to be on the same page, but their goals are not the same. Zhang Xiao's existence proves that the person behind the system is still conservative and testing the waters. But the body-seizing person's focus has always been on resurrection, and their moves are always deadly."

“However, Sixth Brother is right about one thing,” Yinzhen said gravely, “Observation technology is evolving. We can’t be sure exactly when these body-snatchers will arrive, whether it will be forty-seven years or earlier…”

Yin scratched his head, helpless, and then looked at Yinzhi beside him.

Yinzhi pursed his lips and said softly, "Actually, the best way is to do what Second Brother did the second time, to create a protective barrier to keep the body-snatcher out... Can we replicate Second Brother's approach?"

Everyone fell into deep thought. Yin Tao murmured to himself, "It seems that my second brother has linked his own fortune with the fate of the nation. Could it be related to this?"

"Jebu Tsundamba!"

Yinxiang and Yinti exclaimed in unison, instantly energizing everyone. "That's right," they thought, "since Jebtsundamba could see it, he certainly understood, even if he couldn't do it."

Having found a somewhat feasible solution, everyone breathed a slight sigh of relief, and Kangxi was even prepared to sacrifice himself. If a sacrifice had to be made, then it should be his elderly father who would do it.

"But without knowing whether my second brother was aware of this, in order to ensure that he wouldn't act behind our backs, he cannot ascend the throne!"

Yinzhen spoke frankly, and Kangxi had no objection. He had indeed intended to give the throne to Baocheng before, but now that he knew the throne might be a necessary condition for Baocheng's sacrifice, he would rather throw it away than give it to Baocheng.

"Ah, then if the throne doesn't go to my second brother, who should it go to?"

Yin spoke his mind freely and asked the question directly.

"At least forty-seven years ago, or before the problem of the body-snatcher was solved, it wouldn't work." Yinzhi's tone was gentle yet uncompromising. As long as the danger wasn't eliminated, the throne would be the greatest danger.

Yinzhen's gaze fell on the large characters on Kangxi's desk, and he seemed to be deep in thought. He looked up at Kangxi and said, "Father, Hongxi is not young anymore, he can start studying now..."

Inside Yuqing Palace, 3-year-old Hongxi, showing his tiny teeth, was playing with the Nine Linked Rings with his older sister when he suddenly sneezed and inexplicably felt a little cold.