Chapter 12 Kangxi Knows

In the Qianqing Palace, Aisin-Gioro Xuanye, in the prime of his life, was reviewing memorials in his study. The long and tedious memorials of greetings made him impatient, which also indicated that nothing unusual had happened in the court recently.

Just then, Liang Jiugong, who was serving nearby, brought over a cup of Biluochun tea. Kangxi rubbed his temples, picked up the teacup, and prepared to rest for a while. Just then, he heard familiar voices at the door, and soon a young eunuch came in to report.

"Your Majesty, the Eighth Prince requests an audience."

"Yinsi?" Kangxi was unusually curious. He hadn't seen Yinsi do anything during the morning's examination, so he wondered what his eighth son wanted to see him about. "Let him in."

"Yes, sir."

"Your subject greets Your Majesty, may Your Majesty be blessed with ten thousand years of happiness and peace." Although Yinzhi was still somewhat anxious, he did not forget the etiquette ingrained in his bones.

"Get up, what is it?" Kangxi's tone was calm, yet it carried an air of authority.

To be honest, Emperor Kangxi had some fatherly affection for his son Yinzhi, but it wasn't much, even less than for some of his close ministers. In his heart, among his many children, Crown Prince Yinreng accounted for 60%, the eldest prince Yinzhi for 20%, Yinzhen, who was raised by his cousin Tongjia, and the earlier-born Yinzhi for 10%, and the remaining princes and princesses combined accounted for about 10%, which was very little when divided among each individual.

Yinzhi naturally knew that after so many years, he had learned to reconcile with himself and didn't care about Kangxi's attitude. He directly reported, "Your Majesty, Fourth Brother has been assassinated and is unconscious. His condition is critical. I request Your Majesty to send an imperial physician to treat Fourth Brother."

This matter could not be hidden from the Emperor, nor could it be concealed; Yinzhi knew this in his heart. So, after grabbing two on-duty imperial physicians from the Imperial Hospital and sending them to the Fourth Prince's residence by fast horse, he came to meet Emperor Kangxi.

On one hand, he did come to report news, but on the other hand, he had personally witnessed Yinzhen's condition and was afraid that the imperial physicians would be useless, so he specially came to invite the imperial physician.

Imperial physicians were different from court physicians. Imperial physicians were exclusively for the Kangxi Emperor and the Empress Dowager, and their medical skills were the best in the Imperial Medical Academy. They would not treat anyone else unless the Kangxi Emperor gave the order.

"What did you say?" Kangxi slammed down his teacup, anger and suspicion rising within him. Under the very nose of the emperor, how could his fourth prince have been assassinated? "What exactly happened? Where was Yinzhen assassinated?"

"I only know that Fourth Brother was ambushed in his residence. I don't know the specifics. I rushed over after hearing the commotion at Fourth Prince's residence. When I arrived, Fourth Brother was already unconscious." Yinzhi lowered his head and reported the truth, but he did not mention Rouze. After all, the matter was still unclear, and it would be better to say more than necessary.

"The mansion was assassinated?" Suspicion had become an instinct for emperors. At this moment, many conspiracies flashed through Kangxi's mind. He had just begun to give Yinzhen an important position, and now the man had been assassinated. It was hard not to make him think.

Despite still having some fatherly compassion, thinking of Yinzhen, Kangxi instructed Liang Jiugong, who was standing beside him, "Liang Jiugong, go personally and bring all the imperial physicians. I want to see a safe and secure Fourth Prince."

"Yes, Your Majesty." Liang Jiugong knew it was a tough job, but he didn't show it at all and cautiously accepted the task.

"Yin Si, take a squad of imperial guards back and guard the Fourth Prince's residence. Don't let a single fly escape. I want to see who is so bold as to attempt to assassinate a prince!"

"Yes, Your Majesty, I obey." Yinzhi accepted the decree, knowing in his heart that his father's arrangement was seven parts to protect Yinzhen's safety and find out the truth, and three parts to actually be a form of suspicion and surveillance against him.

But this really had nothing to do with him, so Yinzhi was quite at ease. In fact, he thought much the same as Kangxi, suspecting that it was the work of a certain brother or a certain faction in the court.

Meanwhile, Yinzhi, along with Liang Jiugong and two imperial physicians, hurriedly left the palace and headed to the Fourth Prince's residence, ignoring the prying eyes of others.

Kangxi sat in his study, growing increasingly angry. Who could be behind this? Yinzhen had always served the Crown Prince, so it couldn't have been Suo'etu. Perhaps it was Mingzhu, the eldest son? But Mingzhu didn't seem like such a bold person. Yinzhen was always meticulous and strictly adhered to rules. Had he offended someone?

Feeling uneasy with no clue what to do, Emperor Kangxi knew that waiting idly wasn't an option. "Shadow One."

A man with an ordinary face and no memorable features suddenly appeared in the deserted imperial study.

"Send two secret guards to the Fourth Prince's residence. I want to know the truth."

"Yes." After saying that, the man disappeared silently.

After sending out the secret guards, Kangxi finally felt somewhat relieved and waited for news from Liang Jiugong, Yinzhi, and the secret guards. With multiple channels in place, there couldn't possibly be anyone still tampering with things inside.

There are no small matters at the emperor's doorstep, especially since Yinzhi took with him Liang Jiugong, the chief eunuch who served Kangxi, and the imperial physician when he left. This matter must have been quite significant, so everyone who needed to know about it knew about it.

Yuqing Palace, the residence of Crown Prince Yinreng. As the Crown Prince, he was the first to know the news than anyone else.

"What happened? And they even brought Liang Jiugong and the imperial physician. Yinzhi... Could it be the eldest brother?" In the Crown Prince's eyes, Yinzhi was the eldest brother Yinzhi's man. The thought that it might be this mortal enemy who had gotten into trouble made Yinreng unable to control his excitement.

Forget about brotherhood. Yinzhi has been his adversary for so many years; that meager bond has long since been exhausted. Besides, in the royal family, there are no brothers bound by blood.

He didn't lose his mind after all; he was only agitated for a moment before calming down and ordering, "Investigate again. Have Uncle investigate outside the palace to see who the imperial physician was for."

"Yes." The unassuming eunuch went to deliver the message.

The five princes in the East and West Palaces, who are still living in the palace, have also received the news. However, they are still young and there are not many people to help them, so they can only keep an eye on things quietly.

Unlike the imperial court, the inner palace was far more powerful than the imperial court. As Emperor Kangxi's authority grew, few concubines were able to obtain information about what was happening in the inner palace, let alone in important political settings like the Imperial Study. Only a few high-ranking concubines of the fourth rank or above vaguely knew some of the news, but not much.

Outside the palace, where travel was convenient, those who were interested were the first to know the complete story. Seeing that Yinzhi had actually led his men into the Fourth Prince's residence, with a squad of imperial guards watching over him outside, everyone knew that something had happened to the Fourth Prince.

This was clearly quite surprising. Upon receiving the news, Suo'etu nearly pulled his beard off, utterly baffled. He immediately relayed the message to Yinreng in the palace. Mingzhu, too, passed the news to the residence of the First Prince, Yinzhi.

"Fourth brother? What exactly happened?"

At this moment, all eyes in the Forbidden City were focused on the Fourth Prince's residence. A strange atmosphere spread, and those with foresight closed their doors early to avoid a possible storm.