After learning about what Tong Guowei had done, Kangxi became completely disheartened with the Tong family.

He had already instructed Yinzhen to help Orondei cover up, and he could not take back this order, but he gave up the idea of ​​letting the secret guards clean up Orondei's mess.

Not only that, he also asked the secret guards to keep a close eye on Tong Guowei's every move.

It would be best to collect some evidence that Tong Guowei bribed witnesses and bribed Yinzhen.

After arranging everything, Kangxi assigned another group of people to secretly investigate who was the murderer who killed those playboys.

Before he could figure out everything, Yinreng came back with Yinxiang.

Only then did Kangxi realize that it was already the twelfth lunar month.

There is still more than half a month left before the Chinese New Year.

It has been forty-nine years since he ascended the throne at the age of eight. Except for the time when his mother passed away, this was the first time he felt such intense sadness and anger.

There was also a loneliness that penetrated deep into his bones, making him feel more and more panicked.

As soon as Yinreng and Yinxiang entered the imperial city, Kangxi sent someone to call them into the palace. The two did not even have time to go back to wash and change clothes.

Yinreng began to have doubts in his heart.

Ever since he confronted Kangxi over three years ago, Kangxi had never been so attentive to him again. Something was not right today—

Could it be that the old man has been provoked again?

Yinreng's mind was full of mixed thoughts, but his steps did not stop at all.

No matter what stimulated Kangxi, as long as it didn't happen to him, he would pretend to be stupid and get away with it.

Warm room in the Qianqing Palace.

When Yinreng and Yinxiang arrived, Kangxi was staring blankly at the snowy scene outside.

Yinreng glanced and looked away, but Yinxiang was excited.

"My son pays homage to the Emperor!"

Yinreng brought Yinxiang to kowtow to Kangxi.

Kangxi came back to his senses and turned his gaze to Yinreng and Yinxiang. The silence on his face finally disappeared.

"Baocheng, and Old Thirteen, get up..."

"Bao Cheng?!"

As Yinreng stood up, his brows twitched rapidly.

"How many years has it been since the old man called me by that nickname? Five years? Or ten years? It seems the old man is really upset."

When Kangxi heard Yinreng's thoughts again, he felt no ripple in his heart.

With a kind expression, he asked the two to sit down and ordered the palace maid beside him to serve them tea.

"Did you encounter any trouble on the road? I heard that banditry has resurfaced near Tianjin."

"No, the bandits only targeted merchants, but they didn't dare to stop the official vehicles."

Yinreng picked up the teacup and took a sip.

"You have to send troops to clear out the bandits after the New Year. Otherwise, the banditry will be rampant and merchants will be afraid to do business. The court will still have to pay for these losses."

"Um."

Kangxi nodded, then looked at Yinxiang who was beside Yinreng.

"Thirteen, you seem to have grown a lot stronger. I heard that you often lead troops to the sea?"

Yinxiang nodded quickly.

"My son is leading his troops out to sea to eliminate pirates on the shipping lanes near the Qing Dynasty, and to explore the islands a little further away. My second brother said some islands are suitable for growing rice, so he asked me to explore them first."

As he spoke, his gaze fell on Yinreng again, his eyes full of respect and admiration.

Kangxi pulled the corner of his lips,

"That's right, Thirteen will be able to become a great general like your elder brother in the future."

"My son will work hard."

Thirteen felt a little embarrassed when Kangxi praised him.

Afterwards, Kangxi talked with Thirteenth Prince for a long time, leaving Yinreng aside. But after dinner, Kangxi sent Thirteenth Prince away.

Only Kangxi and his son Yinreng were left in the warm room.

Yinreng's heart was filled with alarm bells -

"Well, something must be wrong, otherwise the old man wouldn't leave me alone."

Kangxi sighed.

"Baocheng, you said... becoming an emperor means one must be alone?"

Yinreng was stunned for a moment, and he became more and more certain that Kangxi was stimulated, but his mouth was faster than his thoughts.

"Why does the Emperor ask this?"

"I just want to hear your thoughts."

"In my opinion, the emperor should be a solitary man, but that will never become a reality."

"Why do you think the emperor should be a solitary man?"

Kangxi asked.

"Because there's a saying that goes 'Love the house and love the dog.'"

Yinreng curled his lips.

"Take your attitude towards the Tong family, for example. You consider them your maternal family and have always taken good care of them. But do you think you are partial to them? Regardless of whether they are capable of holding important positions, you cram them in. Is this fair to those truly talented people?"

"I'm not saying you're wrong to promote them, but you should at least check whether they are capable of doing the job. You can promote someone as stupid as Shun Anyan. Do you think that's right?"

"When you were selecting talents for the imperial examination, you insisted on both ability and moral integrity. How come you ignored the meaning of 'both ability and moral integrity' when it came to the people around you? And Tong Guogang, he died on the battlefield, a sacrifice for his country, but did you ever understand the real reason? Or did you..."

Yinreng was now fearless, so he dared to say anything to Kangxi.

As Kangxi listened to Yinreng's words, his face became increasingly gloomy.

After Yinreng finished spraying, he glanced at Kangxi's face and felt a pang in his heart.

"Oh no, why are all these words coming out of my mouth...Is this old man's defense going to break down?"

Kangxi held the teacup lid for a long time to calm himself down. When he looked up again, he found that Yinreng was too guilty to dare to look at him. The unspeakable annoyance in his heart suddenly dissipated a little.

But he still wanted to make amends for his behavior.

"So, do you also think that I am too partial to the Tong family? But the Tong family is my maternal family. If it weren't for the Tong family's help back then, how could I be where I am today?"

Yinreng heard this and knew that Kangxi was not angry, and his anxiety finally dissipated a little.

"According to what you said, Mingzhu, Suo'etu, and Shi Lang are all your benefactors. Where are they now? Do you want me to remind you?"

Mingzhu died of illness two years ago, leaving behind only one son, Nalan Kuixu, who was infertile.

If it weren't for the eldest son, Nalan Rongruo, who left behind two sons, Nalan Mingzhu would have had no descendants.

After Mingzhu died, Kangxi only sent Yinzhi to pay tribute, and after that he seemed to have forgotten the Nalan family.

As for Soetu, because the rumor that Yinreng was infertile spread in the capital, Soetu gave up the idea of ​​pushing Yinreng to the throne. It has been seven or eight years since he retired, but the Hesheli family has become deserted because of his departure from the court and Yinreng's loss of power.

Although Soetu escaped the fate of being killed, he still had a hard time in the past two years.

He was bedridden all day and was depressed.

Apart from sending imperial physicians a few times initially, Kangxi never asked about Soetu's affairs again.

As for meritorious officials like Shi Lang, Yao Qisheng, and Yu Chenglong, Kangxi was sad for a while when they died. However, the longer time passed, the more Kangxi forgot about them.