Chapter 106 Face Reading

From the moment Yinzhen asked that question, Yinreng was stunned for a long time, unsure how to answer.

Yinzhen didn't press the matter further, as if it were just a casual remark to appease Yinreng. Seeing that he had stopped making a fuss, he picked up his chopsticks and continued eating.

Yinreng sat there from dawn till dusk, not even noticing when Yinzhen left. He just sat motionless at the table, lost in thought, seemingly not knowing what he was thinking.

The question about Yinzhen kept echoing in his mind, and faces, some familiar and some unfamiliar, surged from his memory. The ideals and ambitions of his youth still resonated in his ears...

Yinreng suddenly realized that his dream of a peaceful and prosperous future had quietly faded away. How had he ended up in this situation?

As night deepened, Yinreng's figure gradually hunched over, sinking into the boundless silence of darkness...

The dethronement of the crown prince had far-reaching consequences. All of the crown prince's cronies, regardless of their relationship with him, were punished accordingly, and Lingpu was no exception.

Lingpu, the crown prince's wet nurse, was of low status, but Emperor Kangxi had worried that his beloved son might be neglected in the palace. Therefore, he specially promoted Lingpu to the position of head of the Imperial Household Department.

Lingpu lived up to expectations, serving the Crown Prince diligently, so he sent the best things to Yuqing Palace. Of course, relying on the Crown Prince's power, he also embezzled a lot. After all, everyone knew how lucrative the Imperial Household Department was.

Moreover, his methods were not sophisticated, and everyone, including Kangxi, spared him punishment out of consideration for the Crown Prince. But now that the Crown Prince has been deposed, Lingpu has naturally reached his end.

Kangxi first dismissed Lingpu from his post and imprisoned him, and then appointed the Eighth Prince Yinzhi as the Minister of the Imperial Household Department, in charge of the case of the Crown Prince's wet nurse's embezzlement.

By this time, the atmosphere in the previous dynasty had become quite delicate.

Having weathered the initial shock of the deposed crown prince, the court officials were now filled with conflicting thoughts and restless desires regarding the next heir. However, seeing that the emperor was still enraged, no one dared to bring it up.

But the tense atmosphere meant that even the smallest thing could cause a ripple. This was especially true when the Emperor suddenly promoted the Eighth Prince, Yinzhi, to such an important position as the Grand Steward of the Imperial Household Department.

A thorough investigation into Ling Pu's embezzlement case—what a thing to do! It was a sure thing. In the eyes of those with ulterior motives, this was entirely the Emperor's way of boosting the Eighth Prince's prestige; it showed how much he valued him.

With the crown prince deposed and the heir apparent still undecided, isn't the emperor's action a signal?

Among the civil and military officials, this wasn't an isolated thought. Therefore, more and more people were now siding with the Eighth Prince, and even Tong Guowei, who was confined to his home, couldn't hide his interest.

After all, the Eighth Prince Yinzhi's maternal clan was not strong. If they were to side with the Eighth Prince now and put him in that position, wouldn't the glory of their Tongjia clan be able to continue?

Therefore, during this period, the Eighth Prince's mansion was bustling with people, all wanting to get on board.

Those who came to visit were not people that Yinzhi could easily refuse or offend. Even if he did not want to arouse Kangxi's suspicion, Yinzhi, who was being fawned over by everyone, could not help but feel conceited.

To avoid appearing to be forming cliques for personal gain, Yinzhi held a banquet to celebrate the first birthday of his hard-won son, Hongwang. Countless princes, ministers, and members of the imperial family attended the event.

After the festivities had subsided, the women retreated to the backyard, leaving a group of men at the table, clinking glasses and becoming slightly tipsy.

At this moment, a man from the lower seats stood up and came to the center. Judging from his seat being relatively far away, he was not a high-ranking official, and not many people knew him, but he was one of Yinzhi's confidants.

"Your Highness, on such a joyous occasion, my salary is meager, and I truly have nothing of value to offer. However, I recently met a rather extraordinary fortune teller who can read your face and predict your future."

As they spoke, they attracted a fortune teller with an air of otherworldly wisdom. Judging from his appearance, he did indeed have the demeanor of a hermit.

Yinzhi smiled, but in reality he didn't believe these things and was about to refuse when the current Prince Yu of the First Rank, Baotai, suddenly stood up, looking like he had drunk quite a bit.

"Is this true? Does this person really know how to read faces?"

"Your Highness, I dare not speak presumptuously. It was only after witnessing the Taoist priest's abilities that I dared to recommend him to Your Highness."

"Alright, let's test it and see what kind of future we can predict for the myna bird!" Bao Tai jeered drunkenly.

“Baotai…” Yinzhi said with some helplessness.

"Don't panic, myna, it's just for fun." Bao Tai waved his hand. He didn't actually believe in these so-called fortune tellers, but people like that usually spoke nicely. Bao Tai just wanted to add a bit of joy, and he figured the Taoist wouldn't dare say anything bad.

The others at the table joined in the commotion, urging the Taoist priest to read Yinzhi's face. Unable to refuse their insistence, Yinzhi turned to the Taoist priest below and asked, "May I ask your name, Master?"

"This humble Taoist priest, Zhang Mingde, greets Your Highness."

"Then I'll have to trouble Master Zhang to take a look at it for me."

"You're too kind, Your Highness."

After receiving permission, Zhang Mingde stepped forward, flicked his whisk, and carefully examined Yinzhi's face while counting on his fingers, looking rather intimidating.

A short while later, Zhang Mingde stepped back and returned to the center. Bao Tai, who was most impatient, asked, "Well? What did you see, Daoist Master?"

"The Eighth Prince is handsome and refined, kind and honest, blessed with long life and good fortune—truly a noble appearance!" Zhang Mingde stated his assessment of the face, and as everyone expected, it was all good news.

Once Baotai's curiosity was satisfied, he lost interest, said nothing more, and continued drinking.

"Thank you, Daoist Master. Please take a seat and rest." Yinzhi didn't mind and politely invited Zhang Mingde to leave, treating him as just a subordinate who had brought him to add icing on the cake, no different from a theatrical troupe or a variety show.

Yinzhi paid no attention to the face reading, nor did the others at the table.

After the banquet, Yinzhi felt that he had made contact with most of the necessary connections. At this point, he should focus on the corruption case and show his father, the Emperor, his abilities.

So he devoted himself entirely to the investigation, while also trying to avoid attracting the attention of Emperor Kangxi.

But to his surprise, the story of his face reading somehow spread throughout the capital. Normally, the face reading techniques would become increasingly outrageous as they were spread, directly pointing to the position of Crown Prince.

By the time Yinzhi received the news and, terrified, prepared to salvage the situation, the rumors had already reached Kangxi's desk...

The Lingpu case is still under investigation, but Kangxi seems to have seen the desire of the court officials. During the grand court assembly, he suddenly asked the officials to recommend a new crown prince, catching everyone off guard and making them very excited.

A flurry of recommendation memorials flew to Kangxi's desk, the first of which was a recommendation for Yinzhi. In addition to praising his virtue, it also stated, "The physiognomist Zhang Mingde once predicted that Yinzhi would become very noble."