The cannon fodder character in the Dream of the Red Chamber's story of a substitute bride tries to rewrite her life 17...

When he first deposed the crown prince, Kangxi showed great pain and self-blame, feeling that he had failed to educate the crown prince well and had let down his ancestors.

He later fell seriously ill because of this. Although he deposed Yinreng from his position as crown prince, he retained his status as a prince. His words revealed his regret over the father-son relationship.

This time, when he deposed the crown prince, he was resolute and calm, showing no trace of fatherly affection. He made the decision entirely as an emperor.

This also demonstrates Kangxi's zero-tolerance policy towards threats to imperial power. In court, he not only explicitly rejected the ministers' requests to reinstate or appoint a new crown prince, but also severely punished some of them.

His actions made all the ministers realize that Yinreng had no chance and that Kangxi would no longer openly designate an heir.

In the years that followed, Kangxi heavily relied on Prince Yong, Yinzhen, for various purposes, including but not limited to having him perform the sacrificial ceremony to Heaven on his behalf and handling the Jiangnan imperial examination case.

He repeatedly praised him for his "honesty and filial piety" and even took Prince Yong's eldest son, Honghui, under his wing to personally teach him.

On the other hand, he also single-handedly helped the Fourteenth Prince compete against his own brother.

He also delegated government affairs to other princes, partly to prevent Yinzhen from becoming too powerful, and partly to secretly observe Yinzhen's political skills.

Prince Yong, Yinzhen, proved his abilities to Emperor Kangxi through his actions.

In this life, Yinzhen had a clever eldest son and a lively and sensible fourth son, Honghao. He and his wife, Lady Nara, lived in perfect harmony and had a very good relationship.

Although Nian Gengyao was a protégé of Yinzhen, he clearly supported the Fourteenth Prince more. Naturally, Yinzhen looked down on such a sycophantic servant.

In order to help the Fourteenth Prince, Consort De persuaded Emperor Kangxi to bestow Nian Gengyao's sister upon Yinzhen as a secondary consort.

Emperor Kangxi originally intended to bestow Lady Nian upon Yinzhen, but Yinzhen refused on the grounds that his eldest son, Honghui, was about to get married.

Emperor Kangxi thought about it and agreed. His beloved grandson Honghui was about to get married, and it was indeed inappropriate for his father, Yinzhen, to take a concubine at this time.

The matter was dropped, and Lady Nian then entered the Fourteenth Prince's inner courtyard. When Jia Hui's eldest son, Hongke, recounted this news, he looked utterly astonished.

"Are you sure she's Nian Gengyao's sister who married your fourteenth uncle? By the way, how many sisters did Nian Gengyao actually have?"

She asked casually, but Hongke actually knew: "Nian Gengyao has two sisters, one of whom is a half-sister who has already married out. He only has this one biological sister."

Jia Hui clicked her tongue twice, thinking to herself, "Emperor Yongzheng's favorite little rice cake has actually married the Fourteenth Prince."

Emperor Kangxi surprisingly did not promote Nian Gengyao, and the thirteenth prince was put in charge of the logistics of the Northwest army.

This world is truly drastically altered, isn't it? She changed the subject and asked Hongke, "Dabao, how did you know that Nian Gengyao had two younger sisters?"

Hongke smiled and said, "Previously, the Emperor intended to bestow Nian Gengyao's sister upon my fourth uncle as a concubine."

Honghui and I investigated the Nian family and found that Nian Gengyao was a two-faced opportunist.

Fourth Uncle disliked Nian Gengyao, so he used the excuse that his elder brother Honghui was getting married to cancel the emperor's arranged marriage.

The Emperor thought it over and realized it was indeed inappropriate, so he bestowed Lady Nian upon his fourteenth uncle.

The Fourteenth Prince was very fond of his newlywed concubine, Lady Nian, and neglected the other women in the mansion because of her.

Uncle Nine was very curious. What kind of beauty could make Uncle Fourteen lose his mind? So he took us to his mansion to take a look.

She was indeed exceptionally beautiful, but her physique was too delicate. She spoke like a cat, which seemed affected and artificial. Uncle Jiu liked her, but I felt a gentle and graceful girl suited me better.

Jia Hui's eyes lit up: "Da Bao, do you have someone you like? Come on, quickly tell your mother which family's girl she is?"

Hongke gave a helpless, bitter smile: "I'm busy to death every day, where am I supposed to meet girls? Just tell me what kind of girl Mother likes."

In October of the fifty-seventh year, Emperor Kangxi appointed his fourteenth son, Yinzhen, as the Grand General of Pacification, leading a large army into the northwest of the palace.

At the same time, the brothers Hongke and Hongduo were appointed as vanguard generals. The thirteenth prince, Yinxiang, was put in charge of the army's supplies and provisions.

With both sons going to the battlefield, Jia Hui was extremely busy. Swords and spears are indiscriminate on the battlefield, so she had to make sure her little rascals were properly armed from head to toe.

When the army set off, the Fourth Princess Consort felt something was strange. Why was her most boisterous son, Honghao, so quiet today? When she went to his courtyard, she was so worried that she fainted.

It turned out that this brat had disguised himself as Hongduo's deputy general and run away with him. Prince Yong was quite helpless with his youngest son, and could only send someone to tell his beloved thirteenth brother to take the boy to the rear.

Hongke and Hongduo were both gifted in leading troops into battle. From their very first battle, they were unstoppable, and they were especially adept at winning battles with fewer troops than their opponents.

The two brothers and the fourteenth prince split up into two groups. The fourteenth prince recaptured Lhasa and escorted the seventh Dalai Lama to the Potala Palace for his enthronement.

Hongke then led Hongduo and Honghao to the north, swiftly eliminating the Dzungar forces, pacifying the Dzungar Khanate, and bringing Xinjiang into the Qing Dynasty ahead of schedule.

Jia Hui had no worries about her two little ones' military abilities, knowing that their master was a certain General Huo, who was known as the "limited-time cheat code" of the Han Dynasty.

The Shennong system has a military side quest where you can choose a virtual mentor. Jia Hui chose the strongest dowry duo of a certain Empress Wei.

Both were fighting nomadic peoples, but the uncle and nephew duo were able to drive the Xiongnu into a panic.

The brothers Hongke and Hongduo, who had inherited their skills, led elite troops that were strong, well-equipped, and possessed powerful weapons such as lucky charms provided by Jia Hui. It would be strange if they couldn't win the battle.

The military talent and achievements of the three young men who were just starting out were so outstanding that they made the fourteenth prince, who was excellent and daring to fight, look like a mediocre person.

Even officials who supported the Fourteenth Prince could not honestly say that he was more outstanding than the three young generals who had swept through the entire Dzungar Khanate and pacified Xinjiang.

Emperor Kangxi was overjoyed. The Dzungars had been a major threat to him for many years, but he never expected that three young generals, leading several thousand elite troops, could wipe them out so easily.

It wasn't a defeat, but rather the complete annihilation of all tribes except for some that surrendered.

Emperor Kangxi couldn't help but sigh, "Young people are so quick-witted. The three of them don't follow the old methods of warfare, but they are brave and resourceful, and they can always make the right judgments at crucial moments."

They employed various tricks to feint attacks, completely outmaneuvering the main force of the Dzungar Khanate. They pretended to attack from the front, but in reality, they launched both a frontal assault and a flanking ambush.

The long-distance raids and flanking maneuvers I learned from my master were incredibly useful against nomadic tribes; I didn't even need to bring provisions or supplies.

Emperor Kangxi recalled the old priest's words that Jia Hui's children would be the great fortune of the Qing Dynasty, and silently crossed her two daughters off the list of those to be sent to serve the Mongols.

The lessons of the past were still fresh in his mind; he hadn't forgotten how Jia Hui had taken away the Jia family's good fortune when she married. Sending them to Mongolia would be like sending blessings to Mongolia, wouldn't it?

This is absolutely impossible. Kangxi felt that such a blessed person should marry into their Aisin Gioro family.

When news of the three children's victory and the destruction of the Dzungar Khanate reached the capital, Yinzhen and his fourth wife got completely drunk.

When he got drunk, Yinzhen became a chatterbox, holding the Fourth Prince's hand and talking non-stop. The Fourth Prince looked at him tenderly and listened quietly as he vented his frustrations.

When the three led their army back to the capital, Emperor Kangxi bestowed upon them a dazzling array of rewards.

Because Mingrui submitted a memorial, the title of Prince Rui was inherited by Hongke. Emperor Kangxi directly bestowed upon Prince Rui the title of a hereditary prince with an iron cap, and granted him the salary of a prince with two princely stipends.

Honghao and Hongduo were granted the title of Beile, and were showered with countless gold, silver, jewels, silks, and satins. They even said they would personally select wives for the three of them.

Honghao and Hongduo were one thing, but Hongke, the youngest iron-capped prince in the history of the Qing Dynasty, was the dream son-in-law of every mother-in-law.

Suddenly, more and more families sent invitations to Jia Hui's banquets, including many close relatives. Jia Hui was caught in a dilemma: should she go or not?

Finally, Mingrui came up with a plan. He submitted a memorial to Emperor Kangxi, saying that Jia Hui had accidentally discovered cowpox on the estate and had been in contact with old farmers who had contracted the disease. The symptoms were almost identical to those of smallpox, but the disease was milder and the patients could recover quickly.

Through interviews with these elderly farmers, it was discovered that as long as one had contracted smallpox, being in the same room as a smallpox patient would not result in infection. This is in contrast to the fact that having contracted smallpox, one would not contract it again.

The couple had recently gained some insights and wanted to move to the estate to experiment further. If there was progress, they hoped to test their hypothesis on death row inmates in the imperial prison.

When Kangxi heard this, he was extremely excited. Back when the country was first established, smallpox was rampant. To put it simply, five of his father Shunzhi's fourteen children died from smallpox, and even he himself died of smallpox.

When smallpox breaks out, a person's whole body is covered in smallpox pustules. When they burst, white pus comes out, and the skin will slowly swell and ulcerate. In the end, most patients die from viremia. Of course, the Qing Dynasty did not know what viremia was.

In modern medical terms, because the smallpox virus can kill all cells in the human body, it has a rapid onset and a particularly high mortality rate.

Emperor Shunzhi died just six days after falling ill. The Imperial Medical Academy had many experienced physicians and doctors, but they were helpless.

The reason why Emperor Kangxi was able to become emperor was that he survived smallpox. After he ascended the throne, he vigorously promoted the inoculation of humans with smallpox, but the risks of smallpox were too great.

Now that Mingrui has suddenly proposed smallpox vaccination, even though there is only a sliver of hope, Kangxi is overjoyed and immediately agrees to his request.

As for his children's marriages, Kangxi said he would leave it all to him.

This also reassured the couple, allowing them to focus on their research without worrying about their four children. They also assured them that their daughters, Little Star and Little Pearl, would not be allowed to marry far away.

So Jia Hui and Mingrui packed up their four children and sent them to Prince Yong's mansion, handing them over to Yinzhen and his wife. Then they slowly moved their belongings to their estate in Xiaotangshan.

A year later, the smallpox vaccination trial was officially declared a success. Through repeated trials, Mingrui and the imperial physicians of the Imperial Hospital discovered that smallpox vaccination was highly safe.

Usually, only mild local reactions occur and heal quickly. Subsequent exposure to the smallpox virus will not result in infection with smallpox.

Apart from the death row inmates in the imperial prison, Jia Hui's family was among the first to be vaccinated against smallpox. Subsequently, the Yong Prince's Mansion, the Ninth and Tenth Princes' Mansions, and the Nersu family were also vaccinated against smallpox one after another, and all of them were safe.

Seeing that several families were safe and sound, more and more people began to get vaccinated against smallpox. Only after most of the imperial family and relatives had been vaccinated did Emperor Kangxi order the establishment of vaccination centers, starting in the capital.

Of the quadruplets, Little Star Wuxiha married Honghao, and Little Pearl Ningchuhe married Hongming, the eldest son of the Ninth Prince.

When Jia Hui learned that her daughter had been betrothed to Honghao and Hongming, her first reaction was, "What a joke! They share the same ancestor."

Mingrui sighed, "According to your logic, wouldn't Fourth Brother and Fourth Sister-in-law be like a niece marrying her uncle?"

Jia Hui immediately became interested: "Tell me more!"

"Fourth Sister-in-law's mother, Lady Jue Luo, was the great-granddaughter of Prince Guanglue, Chu Ying, and was a cousin of Fourth Brother, within the five degrees of kinship."

Her mother also had an older sister who married Eshuo as his second wife. In other words, Fourth Sister-in-law and Empress Xiaojingxian were cousins ​​without blood relation.

I know you often talk about the harms of consanguineous marriage, but don't worry about it. Our family is exactly five degrees of kinship with Fourth Brother and Ninth Brother's families.

Jia Hui started counting on her fingers, but she got so confused that she still couldn't figure it out.

Mingrui told her that the five degrees of mourning are centered on "oneself", going back to the great-great-grandfather (four generations) and down to the great-great-grandson (four generations), a total of nine generations of kinship.

If the common ancestor of two people is more than four generations beyond their great-great-grandfather, then they are considered to be "outside the fifth degree of mourning". Their family is more than four generations beyond the families of Yinzhen and Yintang, so they are considered to be outside the fifth degree of mourning.

Jia Hui was still completely confused. What was all this about?

She often heard people say that she was related to a certain family within five degrees of kinship, but she really didn't know which five degrees of kinship they were.

Jia Hui was worried that Xiao Xingxing and Xiao Zhenzhu would be unhappy with Kangxi's bestowal of marriage, so she asked them indirectly what they thought of Honghao and Hongming.

Who knew that these two children had no idea what shyness was?

They told Jia Hui directly and bluntly that they thought marrying Honghao and Hongming was a good idea.

They had already promised them that they would never take concubines before or after marriage, and that marrying them was better than marrying strangers.

Hongke's wife was named Yunzhu, and her surname was Niohuru. Speaking of this Niohuru clan, they were truly a very famous family.

Her father, Aling'a, was the son of Ebilun, one of the four regents, and the maternal uncle of the Tenth Prince.

Her mother was Consort De's younger sister and Yinzhen's maternal aunt. Her paternal aunts were Empress Xiaozhaoren and Consort Wenxi.

After the imperial decree of marriage was issued, Jia Hui felt that something was strange. Such a distinguished family background seemed to be something she had never heard of before.

One night, she finally remembered who her daughter-in-law was. The future primary wife of the seventeenth prince had now become the primary wife of her son, Hongke.

It is said that Emperor Kangxi really put a lot of thought into choosing a daughter-in-law for his son; he originally intended to choose one for his own son.

Hongduo married Guwalgiya Uyunqimuge. Although her family also bore the surname Guwalgiya, they had no relation to the former Crown Princess.

Uyunqimuge's family belongs to the Bordered Yellow Banner among the Upper Three Banners. Their ancestors served the Taizu Emperor in battle and made meritorious contributions. His great-grandfather was appointed as the Grand Minister of the Imperial Guard.

My elder brother is a first-class imperial bodyguard, my grandfather was once the governor of Shaanxi and Gansu, and my father inherited the title of third-class Marquis of Weiyong. He is now in charge of the firearms battalion.

Her grandmother was from the Khorchin Borjigit clan, and was a cousin of the Empress Dowager. Her mother was a direct descendant of the Shajifuca clan.

With this imperial decree bestowing marriage upon Jia Hui, she once again became the envy of everyone in the capital.

Many people sighed and marveled at her good fortune. From a lowly concubine's daughter in the Rongguo Mansion, a bondservant of the Plain White Banner, she rose to become a princess.

Now, both daughters are married to the Emperor's eldest son, and both sons are married to noble ladies from high-ranking families. The Prince Rui's mansion truly enjoys the Emperor's favor!

Most people would probably think that since their daughter-in-law is of a higher status than them, how can they act like a domineering mother-in-law?

Jia Hui only hoped that her son and future daughter-in-law could live in harmony. Even if they couldn't be a loving and trusting couple, they should at least be a respectful and harmonious couple.

Mingrui laughed at her for worrying unnecessarily. The heroic deeds of their two sons were almost being told by storytellers that they were reincarnations of war gods. They were also good-looking, so their future daughter-in-law would definitely like them.

He was right. Both Niohuru and Guarjia were overjoyed after receiving the imperial decree to grant them marriage.

That was the residence of a prince with an iron cap. Even disregarding family background, just in terms of ability, the brothers Hongke and Hongduo were both promising young generals.

Both families were putting in a lot of effort to prepare dowries for their children, and they absolutely could not let the Prince Rui's mansion think that they were being perfunctory or not taking this marriage seriously.

Jia Hui was also busy preparing dowries, as she was marrying off two daughters. Fortunately, she followed local customs and started saving dowries for her daughters from the time they were born.

She even planted all the precious tree species in her space that are suitable for making furniture.

Several years ago, they started hiring skilled carpenters to make furniture. Now they have quite a few finished products.

The amount of gold, silver and jewelry was countless, and the number of estates and shops was also astonishing.

Over the years, Jia Hui and Cai Shenjiu have done business together and made a fortune. Each of them has 500,000 taels of silver as their treasury stash.

The Ninth Prince said triumphantly to his wife, "Didn't my words come true? Our Hongming is truly remarkable, marrying a little goddess of wealth. He'll never have to worry about food or drink for the rest of his life."

Ninth Princess ignored this fool. Judging from his words, she thought her son would have no worries about food and drink if he didn't marry the little god of wealth.

However, she was happy to be related to Jia Hui by marriage; as a mother, she knew what her son was thinking.

Hongming has liked Xiaozhenzhu, a beautiful older sister, since he was a child. Now that he has finally gotten his wish and married the girl he likes, she can't help but be happy for her son.