Chapter 243 Live Broadcast from the Sky (23)

As the "Tong Family Rebellion Case" was being explained on the screen, the officials in front of the Qianqing Palace were not concerned with why Emperor Yongzheng trusted Consort Tongjia. What they were concerned with was whether their names would appear in the case mentioned earlier, referring to the "former dynasty" and "imperial relatives"!

They were truly terrified of becoming the next Tongjia clan! They shouldn't have expected the Heavenly Curtain to explain the Qing Dynasty; this wasn't a glimpse into the future, but rather a scheme to wipe out all of them, the courtiers!

There are actually many reasons. Although Yongzheng brought down the Tongjia clan, his main target at the time was Longkodo. To put it bluntly, the Tongjia clan's fate was their own doing. After Yongzheng changed the imperial genealogy, to the people of the world, his maternal clan was the Tongjia clan.

Furthermore, Consort Tongjia was the younger sister of Empress Xiaoyiren, making her Emperor Yongzheng's aunt. Before and after the incident involving the Tongjia clan, she never changed her attitude towards Emperor Yongzheng and always treated him well.

Furthermore, after Yongzheng ascended the throne, she also showed concern for his well-being on a daily basis. However, she rarely caused trouble, so Yongzheng chose to trust Consort Tongjia.

Do you think these reasons are reasonable? They are reasonable, but they are all false.

This was the reason Yongzheng presented to Consort Tongjia, so that she would believe it and he could proceed with his next move. But the real reason was that Yongzheng wanted to give them a stage to showcase their abilities, making it easier to catch them all in one fell swoop and also to purge the spies hidden in the harem.

What was the purpose of Tongjia's control over the harem? On the one hand, it was to hold Yongzheng's children hostage, and on the other hand, it was to investigate Yongzheng's true health condition.

Yes, Emperor Yongzheng had secretly set a trap for them earlier, using a spy planted by Consort Tongjia in front of the emperor to spread the news that he was unwell, albeit in a partially concealed manner.

That's why the Imperial Hospital caught fire. Disrupting the inner palace was one aspect, but more importantly, it was to secretly observe Emperor Yongzheng's medical records.

It was through this circuitous and intricate process of obtaining Yongzheng's medical records that Tong Guowei became convinced that Yongzheng was nearing his end, which led him to launch the palace coup so quickly.

At the grand court assembly at the end of the third year of Yongzheng's reign, everyone was overjoyed to receive news of the successful peace talks with Tsarist Russia when Yongzheng suddenly collapsed, terrifying the court officials.

Prince Youli and Prince Lian stood guard outside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, while Consort Tongjia, who came to inquire about the situation, returned empty-handed.

Then Yongzheng, along with his second and eighth sons, put on a show, vaguely claiming that he was overworked and needed rest, and that his second and eighth sons should oversee the country. He also inadvertently let others know that he had secretly dispatched his thirteenth son on a fast horse to recall Honghui.

This only reinforced the belief that he was truly seriously ill.

It's said that nephews resemble their uncles, and Emperor Kangxi was known for his suspicion of certain individuals. His uncle, Tong Guowei, was no exception. Even at this point, he cautiously wanted to test the waters one more time, given the gravity of the plot – rebellion. Therefore, he encouraged his accomplice among the imperial relatives, the Duke of Feng'en, Man Duhu, to come and investigate again at the Yangxin Hall.

Upon hearing this name, Prince Gong Changning immediately knelt down. There was nothing he could do; his son was named Manduhu, so kneeling was the only option.

Who was this Duke of Feng'en, Manduhu? He was the second son of Prince Gong, Changning. In terms of status, he was also a cousin of Emperor Yongzheng and they were very close.

Why would he participate in the rebellion? The reason is a bit absurd: he envied Yongzheng for his heavy reliance on his own brothers. He felt that Yongzheng could even give important positions to the former deposed crown prince, so why couldn't he see him?

He harbored resentment, and looking at Honghui, who clearly had a good relationship with his brother, he realized that if Honghui were to rise to power, wouldn't he have even less of a place to stand?

So absurdly, after being instigated by Tong Guowei, she agreed to his plan to replace the prince with a "close" one.

"..." Chang Ning's face turned deathly pale, large beads of sweat rolling down his face. He wanted to explain but didn't know how. He could say it happened in another time and space, but Tianmu clearly pointed out that the Manduhu was his son.

Although one cannot judge people based on things that haven't happened, Chang Ning was very clear that the Manchu Protectorate, or rather, their Prince Gong's Mansion, was finished and had no hope for the future.

[Manduhu may lack ability, but he's certainly bold. When Tong Guowei sent him to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to test him, he led a large group of imperial relatives to storm the gate, claiming that he suspected Prince Li and Prince Lian of holding the emperor hostage, and insisted on going in to see for himself.]

As a result, Yun Si stopped him and kicked him to the ground.

All I can say is, well done!

However, it seemed that Yinzhi was forced into a corner by his relatives, so he went in alone to see Yongzheng and came out with the imperial edict summoning his sons to attend to him during his illness, which dispelled the relatives' doubts.

After this incident, Tong Guowei was completely convinced that Yongzheng was seriously ill and that Yongzheng's actions of attending to his sick son were out of concern that someone might harm his offspring.

Reassured, Tong Guowei began their rebellion plan.

First, they lured in fake refugees to keep Yinreng outside the palace. Then, they used the death of the deposed General Sebli to keep Yinsi at the Prince An's residence. At this time, with no one in the palace, it was a good opportunity for them to make their move.

Soon, Tong Guowei's men took control of the entire palace, or so they thought.

Tong Guowei, who had been hiding behind the scenes, reappeared in front of Yongzheng and began to explain his plan, arrogantly talking about the ending he had arranged for Yongzheng, Yinreng, and Yinsi.

Outside the city, a brawl broke out, and Prince Li was unfortunately assassinated; the General's Mansion caught fire, and Prince Lian perished in the flames; the Emperor unfortunately died, and the throne was passed to the Second Prince, Hongyun.

If it weren't for the saying that villains die from talking too much, Tong Guowei would have rambled on and on, even imitating Yongzheng's handwriting to write the imperial edict of succession. But when he lifted the bed curtains, Yongzheng was sitting straight on the bed, with a group of people at the door listening to him boast.

Whether it was Crown Prince Honghui, who he had imagined should have died on the way back, or Yinreng, who was supposed to be stabbed to death, or Yinsi, who was supposed to be burned to death, they all appeared alive and safe before him.

And it brought a series of good news, but of course, all bad news for Tong Guowei. He had no manpower inside or outside the palace, and his rebellion, which he had been planning for so many years, ended at the very beginning.

Yongzheng easily suppressed everything and even had the leisure to listen to Tong Guowei's boastful talk, which infuriated Tong Guowei.

It wasn't until this point that he discovered that Tongjia Yue Xing'a, whom he had always thought was one of his own, had actually been Yongzheng's man from beginning to end. Moreover, Yue Xing'a even changed his surname on the spot, wanting to take his mother's surname, Hesheli.

This completely enraged Tong Guowei, who shouted that Yongzheng was definitely going to die, that he was definitely doomed, and that's why he was dragged away.

Putting everything else aside, Tong Guowei did manage to guess some of the truth by sheer chance. But Yongzheng wouldn't admit it; he had been keeping it a secret perfectly well, so how could he possibly confess just because of a few words from Tong Guowei?

Unfortunately, things took an unexpected turn. At the victory banquet, a peculiar bottle of wine completely exposed Yongzheng's health condition.