Upon entering the study, Kangxi saw a collection of poems by Su Shi on the desk, the contents of which happened to be Su Shi's poem "Washing the Baby".

Everyone raises children hoping they will be intelligent, but I have been misled by my own intelligence all my life.

I wish my child were foolish and dull, so that he might rise to high office without worry.

Upon seeing it, I was stunned and couldn't help but pick up the poetry collection, reading it for a long time before putting it down.

Emperor Kangxi asked with a complicated expression, "What does my beloved consort think of this poem, 'Washing the Baby'?"

An Ning was also taken aback for a moment, then replied, "Your Majesty, I really admire Mr. Su Dongpo's open-mindedness, and I also hope that Yin Yi can live a carefree life."

Emperor Kangxi patted her hand and sighed, "If everyone were as open-minded as you, I wouldn't have to worry about you so much!"

An Ning looked at Kangxi with concern: "Your Majesty, I..."

Kangxi interrupted her: "My beloved consort, there's no need to comfort me. I understand everything. Bao Cheng used to be so good! I just can't understand how things have come to this."

He's in pain!

Anning looked at Kangxi's distressed appearance with heartache, but her heart was as cold as ice.

How did things get to this point? It's all their own fault, they have no one to blame but themselves.

An Ning: "Your Majesty, I am not familiar with court affairs, but Yin Yi has told me many times that his second brother has taken good care of him in the Imperial Study."

Although Emperor Kangxi deposed the crown prince, he genuinely felt sorry for him. Hearing Anning's positive evaluation of the deposed crown prince made him feel a little better.

Kangxi: "The Crown Prince is indeed quite good to his younger brother. My beloved consort, what do you think I should do about Baocheng? I can't just keep Baocheng locked up in Yuqing Palace."

Although Yuqing Palace was not large, it had political significance, equivalent to the Eastern Palace of the Qing Dynasty. Since the Crown Prince had been deposed, Yuqing Palace was definitely no longer a place for him to live.

But how to arrange them became a problem.

An Ning hadn't expected Kangxi to ask her such a question; how was she supposed to answer it?

After thinking for a moment, An Ning said, "The choice of residence should always be based on the individual's wishes. Why doesn't Your Majesty ask the Second Prince?"

Kangxi hesitated. Since returning from Jiangnan, he had not seen Yinreng. He felt a vague sense of guilt about the decision to depose the crown prince. He knew in his heart that Yinreng's current predicament was largely due to his own actions.

But the emperor can't be wrong, so it can only be that Yinreng himself didn't learn well enough and failed to understand his father's profound meaning.

He dared not see Yinreng, afraid of seeing Yinreng's resentful gaze.

Kangxi was tempted by Anning's suggestion, though he remained noncommittal.

Kangxi: "Go see Baocheng? Wouldn't that be inappropriate? Would I be spoiling Baocheng too much?"

With three questions in a row, Kangxi's heart had already turned away.

He wanted to see Yinreng, but he needed a reason.

An Ning advised, "Your Majesty has been very attentive to the Second Prince all these years. Your Majesty should also go and see the Second Prince. It's good for father and son to talk things out."

If An Ning hadn't known she wouldn't die, she wouldn't have said these things at this juncture; her words had already gone too far.

However, there are some things she still has to say, after all, this is her public persona.

Furthermore, she wasn't simply saying nice things about the Crown Prince.

Emperor Kangxi stayed at Changchun Palace that day, and the next day, he went to Yuqing Palace.

Yuqing Palace was very quiet. The crown prince had been deposed, and no one was allowed to enter or leave Yuqing Palace. It was difficult to even get food delivered, so the people inside could neither eat nor sleep well.

The servants were not very diligent, and the entire Yuqing Palace appeared quite desolate.

Emperor Kangxi felt even more distressed.

In Kangxi's mind, he could reprimand his son, but no one else could neglect him, not even the deposed crown prince.

At this time, Kangxi's mindset was different from that of the first time he deposed the crown prince in history. Because of the peace and tranquility, Kangxi did not feel old and therefore did not fear the crown prince too much.

The reason the Crown Prince was deposed was more because Kangxi saw that the factional strife behind the Crown Prince was too powerful to be controlled. The key issue was that the Crown Prince himself was not very capable, with both good and bad people around him.

Kangxi understood that if he were to inherit the throne, problems would inevitably arise in the court.

He was angry with the crown prince because he was frustrated by his lack of ambition and felt that he had gone astray, but he still felt sorry for him.

Emperor Kangxi was furious: "Liang Jiugong, where are all the servants of Yuqing Palace? How have they been serving you?!"

Liang Jiugong also felt wronged. He had indeed taken care of Yuqing Palace, but the Crown Prince had also offended quite a few people!

Liang Jiugong: "This servant knows his mistake. This servant will go and deal with those unworthy servants."

"Go."

Only then did someone notice that Kangxi had arrived. It was a eunuch from the Crown Prince's side. Kangxi's face looked unfamiliar, so he must have just been replaced.

The young eunuch turned pale when he saw Kangxi: "This servant greets Your Majesty."

Kangxi: "Get up, where is the... Second Prince?"

Young eunuch: "Our master... our master is in the study..."

The eunuch's face turned even paler. Kangxi asked curiously, "What is the Second Prince doing in the study?"

The young eunuch's face changed, and he knelt down with a thud: "This servant doesn't know, this servant doesn't know anything..."

Kangxi naturally knew from this attempt to cover up the truth that something he didn't want to see was definitely happening in his study.

Kangxi's expression, which had been pained, turned blank, and his heart sank. For a moment, he didn't know whether he should go to the study in Yuqing Palace.

As expected of an emperor, Kangxi had excellent mental fortitude. Even though he had a premonition that what he saw would not make him happy, he still went.

As soon as he reached the door of the study, Kangxi heard a plea for mercy coming from inside. It was the voice of a young eunuch. Kangxi opened the door expressionlessly, and the scene inside made him stare in astonishment.

Kangxi pointed at Yinreng: "Yinreng, what are you doing?!"

Upon hearing this, Yinreng looked up and saw Kangxi. A hint of fear flashed in his eyes, but then, as if remembering something, he sneered, "Father Emperor is here!"

This chapter is not finished yet. Please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content!