“I hated him before we became prisoners.”

"I hate him for his greed and lust, I hate him for his utter stupidity, I hate him for shattering all my pride!"

"But with the new emperor's ascension, a nightmare has begun!"

"Our whole family suffered misfortune, and that was bad enough, but our married daughter also disappeared without a trace."

"When he lived a proud and unrestrained life and died a miserable death, I kept thinking, who should I blame?"

"Is it because he was too stupid? Completely used by the Eighth and Fourteenth Princes? Is it because the new emperor was too ruthless? He was ruthless and left no room for maneuver?"

"We are imprisoned within high walls, worse off than pigs raised in enclosures!"

"How interesting! I thought it was already pathetic enough that I was just a soulless matriarch, but little did I know that he would keep courting death, and I would follow him all the way!"

"He's such a jinx!"

The old woman in the shadows suddenly chuckled. She touched her wrinkled face little by little, tears streaming down her face.

"When I saw my old friend again, I was already very old. Although we are sisters, we look like two different generations."

"I wish you wouldn't marry him, but the imperial decree is hard to disobey! He lusts after my beauty, yet he discards me like trash!"

"It doesn't matter! I want my daughter to live a long and happy life, safe and sound! As for that idiot, do whatever you want with him!"

The old woman gazed quietly at the worn-out purse in her hand, as if lost in fond memories.

Sherry nodded in agreement.

The woman was from the Dong'e clan, and was Yinzhen's primary consort.

Dong E Lingyao was a Manchu of the Plain Red Banner. Her father was Qi Shi, a first-rank military officer in Beijing.

In fact, the original owner of this body and Yin Zhi's primary consort came from the same family.

Their family was the highest-ranking branch of the Dong'e clan. Before joining the banner, they were the ministers of the Dong'e tribe. Their ancestor who joined the banner was Heheli, one of the five founding ministers, and was one of the "Eight Great Families of Manchuria" in the Eight Banners.

He Heli's second wife was Princess Gulun Duanzhuang, the first daughter of Nurhaci, the founding emperor of the Qing Dynasty, also known as Dongguo Gege.

His fourth son, Heshuo Tu (born to his first wife), inherited Heheli's title and married Princess Daishan, the first daughter of Prince Lilie.

This Heshuo Tu was the great-grandfather of Yinzhi's principal wife.

Yinzhi's primary consort was a descendant of Heshuo Tu, the fourth son of Heheli, while the original owner of the house was a descendant of Du Lei, the fifth son of Heheli.

Although the two brothers shared the same father, Heshuo Tu was born to Hehe Li's first wife, while Du Lei was born to Hehe Li's second wife, a princess.

Du Lei's grandson was named Qi Shi. Qi Shi's father, Hu Shi Bu, was an adopted son, that is, a son who was adopted by Du Lei. Hu Shi Bu's father was the same person as the great-grandfather of Yin Zhi's principal wife, Dong E Shi: He Shuo Tu.

Born into a noble family, they are certainly proud enough!

Both of them were quite strong-willed, so historically, the relationship between Yinzhen and his wife was not good.

Although the original owner didn't mention how she treated Yinzhen, how could she not care when love turns to hate?

Moreover, to ensure his daughter's long and happy life, the ninth prince must at least not be involved in the struggle for the throne.

Alternatively, Lao Jiu could simply ascend to paradise early.

Be bold, it wouldn't be bad if the ninth prince directly seized the throne.

However, he doesn't have the brains for it. So, the only option is to create a secondary account?

Sherry suddenly wanted to laugh.

Historically, people generally believed that Yin Tang always followed the Eighth Prince.

Later, when the Eighth Prince was trampled into the mud by Kangxi, he turned around and supported the Fourteenth Prince.

Well, to be honest, their judgment is really poor.

Actually, he did have that thought at first, after all, who doesn't have royal descendants?

Yinzhen once tried to "build momentum" for himself by saying that his mother, Consort Yi, was already ill when she was pregnant.

One day, Consort Yi dreamed of a Bodhisattva who fed her a red cake. When Consort Yi woke up, she was cured.

Also, when he was a child, he had a boil behind his ear that caused a persistent high fever, and he almost died.

Unexpectedly, while he was unconscious, he suddenly saw golden light on the ceiling, surrounded by "Great Immortals". When he woke up, the abscess behind his ear had disappeared and his body had recovered.

He used this story to imply to the public that he was "destined by heaven," but apart from the eunuchs and palace maids around him, almost no one believed him.

Moreover, because his methods of accumulating wealth were so unsavory, he was looked down upon by everyone from Emperor Kangxi to his ministers.

Lao Jiu was very greedy, and initially most of his money came from extortion and smuggling.

To put it bluntly, Lao Jiu has high IQ but low EQ. He's loyal but brainless.

Or perhaps they have clever tricks up their sleeves, but they haven't used them for good.

He was loyal and righteous. When Emperor Kangxi reprimanded the Crown Prince and demoted Yinzhi, all the other princes were trying to protect themselves, but he was the only one who stood up for his brother out of loyalty.

Even though Emperor Kangxi disliked him, he couldn't help but admire his sincerity!

At the same time, once the princes enter the court, which one wouldn't try to amass wealth?

In order to strengthen their own power, subjugate other forces for their own use, and also earn money.

As a prince, he attracted many wealthy merchants and ministers who sought to curry favor with him and advance their own careers.

They don't need to do anything; their identity alone is enough to make them highly sought after.

But what about the Ninth Prince? He not only makes money for himself, but he also extorts ministers.

His eating manners were so unsightly that Emperor Kangxi looked down on him even more.

For example, he extorted 600 taels of silver from Minister Chen Rubing, who was a well-known honest and upright official in the Qing Dynasty. The fact that the Ninth Prince extorted him was simply bullying an honest man.

He extorted 120 taels of silver from Li Tingchen. It's shameful for a prince to extort a prefect for 120 taels of silver.

Furthermore, the ninth prince even embezzled Emperor Kangxi's money.

At that time, ginseng was abundant in Northeast China and Manchuria, the places where the dragon rose to power.

The Imperial Household Department would sell some of the ginseng, and the proceeds would go into the emperor's personal treasury.

However, Lao Jiu resorted to another opportunistic trick.

He first sent people to the land of the dragon's birthplace to dig for ginseng, then transported the dug ginseng to Jiangnan to sell at a high price, and used the money to buy silk. Finally, he transported the silk to the north to sell, making huge profits in the process.

Am I smart? Quite smart!

He had gotten so much good food that he hadn't left it all for his myna bird; he had long forgotten about his biggest benefactor.

That's why they were even less favored by Emperor Kangxi.

Moreover, such incidents were not uncommon, and Emperor Kangxi angrily rebuked him for "competing with the people for profit."

He was also saddened and went to find his eighth brother with a pitiful expression, while the tenth brother was wholeheartedly devoted to him.

With just a few words, Lao Ba dispelled his grievances and resentment, and he happily went off to make money again.

Yes, in his eyes.

The fourth brother, who coldly reprimanded him for being heartless, also failed to comfort or show him any affection.

The reason his father, the Emperor, scolded him was because his father had disliked him since childhood, and he was used to it.

The ministers impeached him simply because he hadn't given enough. And the myna bird had to mediate for him each time.

The gentle myna bird is different. When he makes a mistake, the myna bird will make up for him. When he is ostracized by the group, the myna bird will fight against everyone for him.

Yin Tang: Oh, my eighth brother is the best to me.

Original owner: A greedy and lustful fool!