Chapter 52 Handling and Follow-up

"He is disloyal as a subject, unkind as a father, and unrighteous as a husband. He has acted arrogantly and rebelliously, deceiving the emperor and committing treason. Effective immediately, Longkodo shall be stripped of all his official positions, flogged thirty times, and exiled to Lingnan. He shall not be pardoned even if pardoned!"

"Tong Guowei has failed in his duty to educate his son and manage his family. Effective immediately, he is stripped of his first-class dukedom, fined for three years, and ordered to reflect on his mistakes in seclusion for three months."

"Furthermore, Hesheli is permitted to divorce Longkodo and will be treated by the Imperial Hospital. The mastermind of the human pig incident, Li Si'er, and a group of accomplices and servants will be arrested by the guards and beaten to death on the spot. The entire Tongjia household will witness the execution."

"Tongjia Yue Xing'a sacrificed himself to save his mother and was specially granted the position of Imperial Guard, Third-Class Bodyguard."

...

After hearing Yue Xing'a's accusation, Kangxi immediately sent people to the Tongjia residence to investigate the truth and save Hesheli. According to the guards' report, when Hesheli was found, she was indeed in a state of utter horror, resembling a human pig, so horrifying that several of the "gilded" guards vomited on the spot.

While the guards were treating Hesheli, an arrogant woman dressed in a bright red Manchu dress made wild remarks and kept obstructing them. After being captured, she was confirmed to be Li Si'er, Longkodo's favorite concubine and the main culprit in the human pig case.

Upon learning of the situation, Kangxi no longer hesitated and immediately decided the fates of those in the hall. Longkodo was exiled, Tong Guowei was stripped of his title, and Yue Xing'a, considering his actions and surname, was given the position of a third-class imperial bodyguard, both as a reward and to leave some opportunity for his maternal clan.

The emperor's edict was law, and no one dared to question it. Tong Guowei's face turned completely ashen. His chosen successor had been exiled, and even if pardoned, he would not be spared. Even if a new emperor ascended the throne, he would never return.

The punishment for him was merely stripping him of his title, which wasn't considered very serious; in fact, Yue Xing'a was even given an official position. But Tong Guowei understood that this meant the Emperor had completely abandoned the current generation of the Tongjia clan and was now supporting Yue Xing'a, clearly not giving him a chance to rise again.

Yue Xing'a clearly harbors hatred towards the Tongjia clan because of his birth mother's hatred, so even if he achieves something in the future, he will not give face to the Tongjia clan.

Your Majesty is... this is only bringing glory to the Tongjia clan. Empress Xiaokangzhang's remaining blessings can no longer protect the Tongjia family...

No matter how disappointed, fearful, and regretful Tong Guowei was, he still had to pull himself together and deal with the aftermath of this matter. Especially the compensation for Hesheli and Yue Xing'a—human pigs! He couldn't understand how Longkodo could, how dare he, allow such a thing to happen. Where did this leave the reputation of the Tongjia clan?

When a wall falls, everyone pushes it down. Tong Guowei knew that in the past, relying on being the emperor's maternal family, the Tongjia clan had done many things that offended people. In order to prevent the family from falling into ruin in an instant, he still had to work hard to find a solution. He couldn't just watch the Tongjia clan collapse like this.

As for Longkodo, he should bear the consequences of his own actions; he has no time to care for his former favored third son.

...

The Tong family was a major force that attracted the attention of the court officials and common people in the capital. As soon as the decree of exiling Longkodo and stripping Tong Guowei of his title was issued, it spread like wildfire throughout the capital in less than an hour, and the Tong family instantly became the focus of everyone's attention.

Under the strange yet gratified gazes of Emperor Kangxi and his two elder brothers, Yinzhen calmly returned to his residence.

Kangxi: My fourth son seems to be a modern-day Bao Zheng, incorruptible and righteous, and he doesn't care at all about the help from the Tongjia clan. He is indeed like me.

Yinreng: As expected of my loyal younger brother. Once I ascend the throne, I will bestow upon him the title of a hereditary prince. However, I'll leave some private matters to Suo'etu; Yinzhen's personality isn't quite suited to it…

Yinzhi: Fourth brother is truly ruthless. He killed Tongjia without hesitation. He's such an upright and outstanding person, but his judgment isn't very good. What future does he have following the second brother...

After returning to his residence, Yinzhen acted as if all the turmoil had nothing to do with him, performing his duties normally without saying or doing anything extra.

In the eyes of the ministers who knew the whole story, the Fourth Prince was indeed upright, calm in the face of adversity, and devoted to the public good. He was not scheming or treacherous, and his integrity made even those who had the slightest doubt feel a little guilty, and their goodwill towards Yinzhen continued to rise. This was especially true for ordinary ministers who had been oppressed by Longkodo and some upright and pragmatic Han officials.

In the familiar study, it was time to settle accounts again.

This time, his character score didn't increase very much, but Yinzhen was still quite satisfied, since he wasn't the main character in this incident.

By overthrowing Longkodo and suppressing the Tongjia clan, Yinzhen achieved all of his initial goals.

Although he considered becoming emperor his latest goal, he had no intention of feigning friendship with someone like Longkodo. Such a person could only play a brief leading role in his prepared drama. He would not allow anyone more arrogant than himself to exist, especially when he needed to maintain a facade.

In short, I don't like him.

Furthermore, Yinzhen was well aware that if he wanted to ascend the throne as soon as possible, he would essentially be fighting against Kangxi, so naturally he needed to reduce Kangxi's advantages.

To put it bluntly, he didn't think that changing the imperial genealogy would make the Tongjia clan an ally of his. On the contrary, at least for the next ten years, the Tongjia clan would definitely be staunch royalists.

Why bother with something thankless? He already dislikes Longkodo, so he might as well drag the Tongjia clan down with him. As for Yue Xing, he's an interesting little fellow; we could try giving him more screen time later…

[Host, host, when did you persuade Yue Xing to appeal to the emperor? How come I didn't know?]

Just as Yinzhen was thinking about Yue Xing'a, 555 asked a question out of curiosity. The kitten offered its body to Yinzhen, rubbing against him affectionately. Unable to contain its gossip, 556 imitated it, clumsily and stiffly bumping into Yinzhen.

With a flick of his finger, he sent the little pink ball sprawling to the ground. Seeing 556 rolling around a few times, looking angry but unable to speak, Yinzhen said in a cheerful mood, "Yue Xing'er wasn't notified by me; it was a delightful accident."

Yinzhen's plan did not include Longkodo's eldest son. He originally wanted to see Longkodo execute Li Si'er by himself, but he did not expect Yue Xing'a to have the courage to do so. Realizing that Longkodo was going to be in trouble, he stepped forward immediately.

Based on his audacity in striking the drum to appeal, Yinzhen wasn't angry at all that his plan had been foiled. After all, drama needs moments of brilliance like this.

The entire performance was originally Longkodo's highlight, but the second half became Yue Xing'a's show, which was also good; it could be considered a father-son succession. Regardless of Longkodo's thoughts, Yinzhen was very satisfied.

[So, the master gave him a basic infection aura?] 556 learned its lesson and stood still this time, confirming that the naive and innocent behavior was not something it could handle.

"This little fellow who brings me joy certainly deserves a reward," Yinzhen replied with a smile. Those in power are often hard-hearted; since Yue Xing'a had created some surprises for him, he was naturally willing to help Yue Xing'a maximize the effect.

Not only Yue Xing'a, but Longkodo had also been placed under a "silent aura" by him even before meeting the emperor. After all, he needed Longkodo to appear, but he didn't want Longkodo to say anything that would disrupt his plans.

Yinzhen didn't want Longkodo to suddenly change his mind and reveal his story with Uya. It wasn't a big deal if Uya was unlucky, but he didn't want his future path to be more bumpy. More importantly, his dear fourteenth brother hadn't been played with yet... no, hadn't been trained into his own "Great General King" yet.

In conclusion, Longkodo can officially take his leave of absence. The era of Tong Banchao has not even officially begun, so there is no need for it to begin.

As for the minor issues left behind by Lady Wuya, Yinzhen happily decided to leave the women's affairs to the women to handle...