Li Dequan and Du Lan also knelt on the ground, their faces full of smiles.

"Rise, all of you. I am in a good mood today, and everyone will be rewarded."

Even though they tried to keep quiet, the congratulatory voices still reached the palace not far from Qingxi Palace, even though it was late and all was quiet.

For example, Yikun Palace.

Consort Yi has completely lost the light in her eyes.

Her son was not close to her, the emperor did not favor her, and her family no longer cared about her.

Guo Luoluo, whom she once looked down upon, is now a concubine with a title, and it won't be long before she can be on equal footing with her.

Guo Luoluo might even have been of a higher status than Consort Yi, because she had the Sixth Prince under her care, while she pushed away her Fifth Prince.

Thinking of Consort Hui who pulled back from the brink, Consort Yi's eyes gleamed.

If she repairs her relationship with Xiao Wu, will the Empress Huang stop making things difficult for her?

In that case, the Emperor might spare the punishment out of consideration for the Empress.

However, this idea was soon completely dispelled, because she still had more than half a year before she could go out.

Although Yinqi went back to see him, the two had already developed a rift because of what happened last time. Whenever the Empress was mentioned, Yinqi would find an excuse to slip away.

Once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, but if she still can't see it after three or four times, then she must be a fool.

Every time Yinqi came out of Yikun Palace, he would say, "Fortunately, my maternal grandmother taught me how to avoid danger, otherwise I wouldn't know what to do."

Every time he came to Yikun Palace, he would tell the Empress Dowager about his whereabouts, and then the Empress Dowager would repeatedly remind him that he must never talk about the Empress Dowager in private.

The Empress Dowager's words were simple and straightforward, and without any bias.

She said: Consort Yi was confined to her quarters because she angered your father, not your mother.

Your mother is so kind and gentle that she doesn't even scold the servants, let alone your mother.

Therefore, you must carefully consider everything your mother says and does, and then make a decision based on your own feelings about your relationship with your mother.

Your Majesty does not require you to be biased towards your Empress Dowager, but she requires you to never listen to Consort Yi's one-sided words.

Your father is extremely busy with state affairs; if your mother hadn't done something wrong, he wouldn't have had time to deal with her at all.

With so many women in the harem, why are others unharmed while only a handful of concubines are reprimanded or even confined by your father, the Emperor?

Yinqi, you are still young and may not understand, but you cannot blindly trust anyone.

The Empress Dowager was among those she mentioned, including herself.

If one day you feel that Grandma is not doing a good job, or that something makes you uncomfortable, you can bring it up.

But when people have questions or doubts, they shouldn't keep them bottled up. They should ask questions and clarify their doubts in a timely manner.

There must be no backlog, or silence.

As for your mother, Grandma can only say that she did something wrong. As for what she did wrong, you will understand when you grow up.

Yinqi looked at the Empress Dowager with a blank expression, not quite understanding, yet it seemed as if he understood.

The Empress Dowager looked at him, sighed, and after thinking for a moment, said only: You must not discuss anything about your mother, the Empress Dowager, with your younger brother and sister.

Once you reveal any information about the Empress Dowager and your younger siblings, you will never be able to play with your older brother and younger siblings again, and you will not even be able to go to Qingxi Palace anymore.

Yinqi nodded repeatedly, covering his mouth and remaining silent.

He loved his younger siblings and also loved his mother, the Empress.

Therefore, every time he came to see Consort Yi, he would stand at the door for a long time and make sure he was mentally prepared before going in.

Because the Empress Dowager said that Consort Yi was his own mother, and no matter what wrong things she did, he, as her son, could not forget her.

Sure enough, he would come to see Consort Yi every three days, but he would not stay for long.

Not very close, but not very distant either.

"Let's go, let's go see my sister."

After leaving Yikun Palace, Yinqi hurried towards Qingxi Palace. He hadn't seen Beibei for two days and missed her terribly.

The servants around him were all handpicked by the Empress Dowager, and they all lowered their heads and chuckled as they watched the Fifth Prince patting his chest.

Emperor Kangxi dispatched troops to attack Taiwan.

On the day of the expedition, he still took Harigana to the city gate. This time, however, he was not as excited as before, and looked at the departing army with some worry.

"Xuan Ye, we will succeed again, don't worry."

I don't know how they discussed it, but since they sent troops, it proves that they have weighed the pros and cons and will not harm innocent civilians.

But if war really breaks out, how could it possibly go unscathed?

"Yes! If Jiaojiao says she will, she definitely will."

After Kangxi finished speaking, he hugged Harigana and leaned his whole body against her: "Jiaojiao, I'm so tired."

This was the first time she had ever heard Emperor Kangxi say the word "tired".

She gently patted him on the back: "Xuan Ye, you've done very well."

When you're tired, you need to learn to rest and let your subordinates do things.

Although I don't understand court politics, the affairs of the harem should be a microcosm of the previous dynasty.

I don't know how, but I have my mother.

You also have Prince Yu, Prince Kang, Lord Mingzhu, Lord Li, and Lord Zhang by your side.

You can try letting them do it themselves and then report back to you.

"You trusted Prince Kang before, and now you have the powerful general Dai Zi, don't you?"

Harigana put it simply, not daring to go into more detail.

She believed that Emperor Kangxi would understand.

The only difference between ancient and modern people is that they dare not relinquish power, for fear of not being able to reclaim it.

But sometimes this is reciprocal.

If you want power, you can't be afraid of hard work, but you might be blinded by a single leaf and end up being autocratic.

However, we cannot delegate too much power, otherwise it may not be able to reclaim it, which could lead to the misuse of power.

Therefore, there needs to be a connection involved, and how to do it specifically depends on Kangxi himself.

Many things have two sides; learning to find a balance is the most important thing.

It's like how some people are just suited for a career in government, while others are only suited to sitting in an office and doing odd jobs for others.

"Jiaojiao, thank you."

Kangxi thought Jiaojiao was right; he was getting a bit stuck on one point.

Perhaps influenced by figures like Ao Bai, they are now afraid to relinquish power.

At that moment, the pressure on him suddenly lessened considerably.

In the past, he had so many memorials to review that he couldn't finish them all and had to stay up all night to review them.

But since those useless memorials were stopped, not only has the national treasury's expenditure decreased significantly, but he also has much more free time.

At first, I was anxious, afraid that something bad would happen, but it's been almost two years now and nothing has happened.

Therefore, he can relinquish power, but he needs something to check and balance those in power.

As long as there is proper checks and balances, there will be no chaos.

"I was just sharing some of my thoughts; I don't know if they'll be applicable."

Moreover, one should trust those one employs and not employ those one one distrusts.

Just like I would trust my mother because I believe she wouldn't harm me.

You just push yourself too hard.