Chapter 260 Extra 2: What if Hongzhao died in front of Yinzhen? (4)

Brain storage area.

At this point, the clever ones had already begun to distance themselves from the situation by remaining silent, such as Zhang Tingyu and Zhang Lin. However, the even more astute among them were not willing to remain silent at this time, such as E Min.

He stepped forward, cupped his hands in greeting, but did not speak of matters concerning the Duke of Pei's mansion.

"Your Majesty, I humbly request that you take care of your health. Crown Prince Renxiao would surely not be able to bear seeing Your Majesty so grief-stricken. Moreover, the instability of the foundation of the nation is a grave taboo for the country. I urge Your Majesty to make a decision as soon as possible!"

"You mean I should immediately appoint a new crown prince?" Yinzhen raised an eyebrow and asked. "And what about you all? Do you mean the same thing even if you don't say anything?"

It would have been better if he hadn't asked. But when he did, a few people in the hall actually stood up and echoed his sentiments, saying that they hoped His Majesty would consider the matter of the nation's foundation as soon as possible.

As Yinzhen's lips tightened and his fists clenched tighter, Yunxiang clearly sensed something was wrong and had no choice but to speak up, his own eyes red with anger. "The Crown Prince has just passed away and is still lying in the side hall. His Majesty's health is fine. Why are you all in such a hurry? What we should be doing now is discussing how to properly handle the Crown Prince's funeral."

Amidst the cacophony of sounds, a voice he longed to hear finally appeared. Taking advantage of this lull, Yinzhen forced himself to open his heavy chest and take a deep breath, enduring the pain in his lungs. But this did little to alleviate his near-overwhelming rage.

He waved slightly to his thirteenth brother, signaling him to stand aside and not speak, then turned to Emin at the front—"So, who do you think I should appoint as crown prince?"

Emin stated frankly, "Since ancient times, the principle of establishing the eldest son as heir and the most virtuous son as heir has been followed. The Crown Prince is naturally someone who is both the eldest son and the most virtuous son, and everyone is convinced of his worth. Now that the Crown Prince has passed away, I believe that Your Majesty should establish the eldest son, the Third Prince, as the heir to inherit the throne."

His thinking was easy to understand. When the Crown Prince was alive, he was so dazzling that neither the Emperor nor the court officials considered the possibility of the other princes ascending the throne. But now that he was dead, the position was clearly vacant, leaving no room for others to hesitate.

The sixth and seventh princes were both born of the Empress, while the third prince, Hongshi, was not particularly intelligent but was of suitable status. Although he was born to the Consort Jing, he was only an adopted son. The Consort Jing's family had little influence in the court, and if he were to become the Crown Prince in the future, he would certainly need someone to rely on in the court. Therefore, I, the person who personally pushed him to the throne, was the best candidate.

"Great, that's really great."

Yinzhen, enraged, laughed. Under Yunxiang's worried gaze, he slowly stood up, propped himself up on the table, and leisurely picked up the jade paperweight on the table. He examined it for a long time, and then, without warning, flung it down the steps.

A crisp yet heavy cracking sound exploded in everyone's ears. Apart from the emperor, no one else in the hall was standing; they all knelt down decisively to confess their sins.

Yinzhen coldly glanced at the crowd, especially those who had spoken earlier, his body radiating a distinctly murderous aura—"You think I've punished the Duke of Pei's mansion too harshly? The Crown Prince's body is barely cold, and he's already here in the side hall, and you're already telling me to establish a new heir? You have quite the nerve!"

The Emperor's increasingly loud shouts made everyone's foreheads throb. The ones who throbbed the most were the few who had spoken up earlier. They all shrank their heads as if they didn't exist, secretly regretting why they had stepped forward.

Yinzhen pointed at them one by one, his face contorted with rage, his expression no longer showing any trace of his former composed and aloof demeanor. He now seemed to be filled with a hatred that made him want to devour each and every one of them alive.

"You heartless bastards! Since you sympathize with the Duke of Pei's family, then I will grant your wish. Anyone who pleads for the Meng family will be punished along with their relatives." Yinzhen's voice was ruthless and resolute.

"I never imagined that someone as treasonous and murderous as the Meng family could still have you plead for him. Are you only satisfied when you poison me along with him, so that you can rightfully install Hongshi on the throne and manipulate him at will?"

"Your humble servant would not dare!"

"This servant wouldn't dare!"

Yinzhen rarely showed such anger, but today the burning rage in his heart could not be quelled.

Hongzhao was lying in the side hall. If the main hall was loud enough, the sound could be heard directly in the side hall. Before Hongzhao's body was even placed in the coffin, these people started spouting nonsense in front of him.

The more Yinzhen thought about it, the more he couldn't control his heaving chest. His eyes seemed to be burning with both fire and ice. He was certain that blood would be drawn today.

"Dare not? I see you have nothing you dare not do, on the contrary, you are extremely bold!" Yinzhen slammed his hand on the table, the force of which made his hands go numb, but he seemed not to feel it at all, staring intently at the people below as he spoke word by word.

"Isn't it time to establish an heir? Hongzhao is the crown prince of the Qing Dynasty. Since you are so worried about him, go and take a look for me first."

"Su Peisheng! Draft the decree. Remember all those who spoke just now. I am grateful for their loyalty to the emperor and for sharing his burdens. I hereby grant them permission to be buried alive with the emperor. Their property shall be confiscated. All adult males shall be beheaded. Their family members and servants under the age of fourteen shall be exiled to Ningguta and never be returned."

With a wave of his hand, Yinzhen gritted his teeth so hard they almost bled—"Drag them out and beat them to death! I want everyone to see it, to witness their fate!"

The hall was already relatively empty, and with a third of them being dragged away while pleading for mercy, their mouths covered, it felt even more spacious. Yinzhen, however, did not want to see them again at this moment.

He slumped back onto the dragon throne as if all his strength had been drained. The shouting and yelling had left him breathless, but he still forced himself to turn his head, his sharp gaze sweeping over everyone present—"Do any of you have anything else to say? Would you like to come with me to the Crown Prince to discuss this in detail?"

...

In just two days, the Forbidden City was filled with blood.

Countless palace servants and guards were executed or exiled. The Ministry of Rites, the Imperial Household Department, and the Imperial Kitchen were stained with blood. Not to mention those who pleaded for mercy for the Duke of Pei's family in the Hall of Mental Cultivation that day. In essence, the tenth clan of the Meng family was wiped out.

Those who were close to the Duke of Pei's family or his relatives lived in constant fear, with many being beheaded or exiled. Being demoted was considered lucky, as at least they had saved their lives.

Even more noteworthy was the scene in front of the palace that day. The phrase "beaten to death in front of the palace" was just a few words, but the guards, who had been instructed to do so, managed to control their strength and took turns beating him for several hours, leaving him unable to live or die.

It was not yet springtime, and the officials stood outside with their hands hanging down, listening to the cries of pain, high and low, in the cold wind. Not one of them dared to look up.

The Emperor is like an aging dragon whose Achilles' heel has been touched. Before, if you approached him with ulterior motives, he might have turned a blind eye. But now, even those without ulterior motives will be slapped hard, let alone those who harbor ill intentions.

Everyone outside is on edge, but inside the Hall of Mental Cultivation, it remains quiet.

Yinzhen stroked Hongjin's forehead, looking at her eyes, which were swollen from crying over the past two days, and then looked at Hongzhao, who was about to be buried.

"I never realized it before, but you and Hongzhao are indeed twins. Now that I see it so closely, you really do look alike. It's just that your eyes resemble mine, but Hongzhao's eyes resemble his mother's."

Hearing his father say this, Hongjin's already unstoppable tears were about to burst forth.

She never told anyone that on the day her brother died, the excruciating pain nearly made her faint. The churning in her stomach and the burning sensation in her esophagus were unusually pronounced, manifesting inexplicably in her body.

So she knew how much pain and sorrow her brother was in, and that's why she couldn't hold back her emotions any longer.

They were twins, natural playmates since childhood. Even after her younger brother moved to the Hall of Mental Cultivation, that didn't change; from now on, she would be all alone.

She forced a smile, tears streaming down her face—"Shu'er heard from her mother that we were most alike when we were little, sometimes even the nanny couldn't tell us apart, and it wasn't until we grew up that we started to change."

Yinzhen remained silent for a long time, then his gaze turned sadly toward the coffin. He sighed heavily but said nothing.

Historical records.

When the Crown Prince passed away, Emperor Yongzheng personally posthumously honored his beloved son as the Changhe Emperor, suspended court for seven days, and personally escorted the Crown Prince's coffin to the Western Qing Tombs. He did not open any special venue for the coffin, but instead sent it directly into the underground palace he had prepared for himself.

The father and son lived together in the Hall of Mental Cultivation during their lives, and continued to stay together in the underground palace for three hundred years after their deaths.

This is also the only emperor in history who was not buried with any of his concubines, but instead was buried with his son.