After Emperor Kangxi assumed personal rule, he hoped to establish a crown prince as soon as possible to avoid a tragedy.

On the one hand, in order to win over the Han people, they adopted the Han people's idea of ​​establishing a legitimate heir to inherit the throne.

Empress Hesheli, the wife of Emperor Kangxi, was the granddaughter of Sony. This was a stopgap measure devised to win over Sony and strike at the associates of Oboi.

The young couple had a deep affection for each other, but unfortunately, Empress Heseri passed away at a young age. Emperor Kangxi felt sorry for Empress Heseri, so he made his one-year-old second son, Yinreng, the crown prince.

Behind the first struggle for the throne, the eldest prince Yinzhi was backed by the powerful minister Mingzhu.

He stood alongside Empress Hesheli's father, Songgotu, as prime minister, and factional strife caused chaos in the court and among the people.

In this struggle, Mingzhu lost, but it also exposed the two major factions in the court. The sheer number of people involved and the wide scope of their influence made Kangxi shudder.

The second struggle for the throne occurred in the 46th year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign. Crown Prince Yinreng attempted to seize power while the emperor was away in Rehe for medical treatment, but Kangxi discovered this and deposed him from his position as crown prince.

The court and the public were shaken, and the Crown Prince's faction and the Eighth Prince's faction, which supported the Eighth Prince Yinzhi, once again formed a factional struggle.

To quell the turmoil, Emperor Kangxi reinstated the crown prince.

The two succession struggles not only cost Kangxi two capable ministers, Mingzhu and Suo'etu, but also made him witness the tragedy of fratricide within the imperial family.

There is also a claim that the Thirteenth Prince, Yinxiang, was imprisoned in the Bee-Raising Alley for many years because he angered Kangxi by blurting out "There are no fathers and sons in the imperial family" when Kangxi was reprimanding the Crown Prince.

In the 51st year of Kangxi's reign, the crown prince was deposed again, and Kangxi vowed never to appoint another crown prince.

At this time, the most competitive candidates are the Third Prince Yinzhi, the Fourth Prince Yinzhen, the Eighth Prince Yinsi, and the Fourteenth Prince Yinti.

The third prince, Yinzhi, was weak and respectful of scholars. Although he was supported by the Qingliu faction, he lacked perseverance and was unable to inherit the throne.

Because of the succession struggle that lasted for 46 years, the Eighth Prince Yinzhi lost Kangxi's trust. Kangxi thought he was cunning, petty, and lacked the demeanor of an emperor.

The Fourteenth Prince, Yinzhen, was the younger brother of the Fourth Prince, Yinzhen, born of the same mother. He was skilled in leading troops and fighting battles, but lacked civil administration ability.

The Fourth Prince, Yinzhen, was a very aloof person who never associated with officials outside the court and focused solely on his duties.

However, in the course of his duties, Yinzhen demonstrated a firm and uncompromising attitude, as well as a reformist mindset that broke with conventions and old customs—in modern terms, an innovative spirit.

Yinzhen was a strict and demanding ruler, and his administration was extremely rigorous. Several honest and capable officials emerged from his ranks.

Emperor Kangxi disliked Yinzhen, but he still needed to use him!

Yinzhen noticed his thoughts; besides running errands, he either studied Buddhism or went to the garden to cultivate rice seeds.

Sherry often goes out with them.

The children were always running and jumping around, and they were quite energetic. Yinzhen mentioned to his wife that he would take the legitimate daughters out to play together.

Ulanara refused.

He bluntly stated that women should be gentle, quiet, dignified, and composed...

Yinzhen was speechless for a moment and never mentioned it again, except that he often took Xue Li and the children out to play.

And so another year has passed.

In the 52nd year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign (1713), the emperor took the name "Ren Emperor." That year, he held a banquet for the elderly, pardoned Oboi, and implemented the policy of "no additional taxes for increasing the population."

At the same time, he began to pay attention to outstanding grandsons.

Sixteen-year-old Hongyi caught his eye.

Compared to Yinzhen, Hongyi was more shrewd, but he was no less cunning.

Hongyi was exceptionally intelligent and talented from a young age, possessed superb martial arts skills, and was worldly-wise yet not cynical! He was clearly the most outstanding talent among the third generation.

Emperor Kangxi's eyes lit up, and he wanted to bring Hongyi to the palace to personally train him.

What angered him was that Yinzhen had not yet chosen a consort for him!

Then, taking advantage of this year's imperial concubine selection, he selected princesses from the Fuca and Niohuru clans for him to choose from.

Hongyi felt somewhat helpless!

"Grandpa, your grandson is still young!"

Meeting Kangxi's gaze, Hongyi picked up the portrait.

"You understand what I mean, don't you?!"

Hongyi nodded and chose the Fucha clan.

He knew, of course, that many of the young members of the Fucha clan were rising stars in the imperial court.

The Niohuru clan can be described as a family of empresses, but at this time, what is needed is to lie low!

If he chooses the Niohuru clan of the direct line today, his father will be attacked by the masses the next day.

Moreover, unless they were in high positions, those powerful families would not sacrifice their carefully raised daughters.

Emperor Kangxi nodded almost imperceptibly.

"You seem to have an older sister?" Kangxi asked, as if he had just remembered.

“Yes, Grandfather, my sister is two years older than me! Her given name is Baoyin.” Hongyi nodded in response, neither humble nor arrogant.

"Hiss~ Wait a minute, is she married? Which family's son is she from?!" Kangxi frowned deeply, lost in thought.

He's really getting old; his memory isn't what it used to be!

"Grandpa, Father thinks it's bad for a woman's health to get married and have children too early, so he's deliberately postponed it and has already found a husband for her!"

At this point, Hongyi suddenly wanted to run away.

Mother said, "Better to die for a friend than for myself; let Father face the storm!"

Then he hurriedly took his leave, saying he had to visit his grandmother!

Emperor Kangxi granted his request and summoned Yinzhen.

No one knows what happened, but Hongyi stayed in the palace and didn't return home. Yinzhen said to Xueli, "The mother pays for the son's debts," and then he started acting all frivolous.

Sydney:……

The next day, I learned that my eldest daughter was getting married.

Sherry prepared some, Yinzhen prepared some, the palace prepared some, and the Fujin (wife) of the mansion prepared some.

Two days later, it is unknown what Yinzhen and his wife said to each other.

However, Yinzhen's complexion was not good those two days.

It was only through Granny Yu that Xue Li learned that Yinzhen was eyeing the sons he had trained, and he wanted Galo and Ning Kuoliqike to choose one.

As a result, the Fujin (wife of the emperor) was furious and said that Yinzhen was biased and did not love her daughter.

They're all from humble backgrounds, and not only that, they even said those people were the ones Bao Yin rejected...

Yinzhen tried to reason with her, but the Fujin finally said she would marry Galo back to her mother's family, Ulanara Xingde.

Yinzhen hesitated, looking at Galuo as if he wanted to say something but didn't.

Galo nodded in agreement.

Yinzhen then requested an imperial decree to grant them marriage, and the two sisters married six months apart.

Sherry shared many of her daughter's fire-avoidance pictures, but unfortunately, her masterpieces were hidden by Yinzhen.

Baoyin blushed and ran away shyly.

Baoyin chose a son from the Amuru clan, and well, the family tradition is that he's henpecked!

Of course, this was discovered by Yinzhen. Usually, the three of them, grandfather, grandfather, and grandson, all had the same expression: serious and rigid!

Baoyin was not afraid, but rather had a strong sense of adventure, perhaps because of Yinzhen.

She often took her younger brother and invited people out for horseback riding and sightseeing, and eventually decided on him.

In 1714, the 53rd year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the "Eagle Killing Incident" caused the Kangxi Emperor to completely dislike Yinzhi, and the Eighth Prince was stripped of his title of Beile.

In his later years, Emperor Kangxi had a strong desire to reform the bureaucracy.

He emphasized that officials must be honest, diligent, and pragmatic, and repeatedly punished corrupt officials.

However, despite his efforts, the results of reforming the bureaucracy were not significant.