"Today in the court, His Majesty brought up the matter of personally leading the expedition again. If the situation of the rebellion of the vassal kings is not clear enough, this matter is probably going to be decided."
Because the stalemate in the rebellion of the princes lasted longer than they had anticipated, or perhaps from the very beginning, no one expected that Wu Sangui could withstand it for so long, and even seemed to have the upper hand in the contest with the Qing Dynasty.
It is important to understand that the public opinion of the previous dynasty continued to influence the entire Qing Dynasty.
As the current ruler of the Qing Dynasty, Emperor Kangxi had the responsibility and obligation to ensure the dynasty's continued prosperity, and the rebellion of the princes could not be dragged on indefinitely.
Chunyu whispered about some rumors circulating in the palace, "Is the matter of the Crown Prince really going to be settled?"
It had almost spread to the point that the Empress had not explicitly restricted it.
Xiuning nodded, "Definitely. If it can't be decided, even the Empress Dowager wouldn't allow the Emperor to personally lead the expedition."
Chunyu looked up and glanced in the direction of Kunning Palace, and couldn't help but mutter to herself, "Isn't Prince Baocheng a bit too young?"
Before they even have a formal name, imperial heirs are usually only ranked when they are six years old (because this greatly ensures that the imperial heirs can be raised to adulthood, as children are very likely to die young, especially in a place like the harem).
“Baocheng is of noble birth and is the eldest son of the emperor. Moreover, the Hesheli clan strongly supported the emperor’s personal rule.” If Baocheng cannot be made crown prince under these circumstances, the Hesheli clan will probably feel extremely guilty.
As someone who knew the details of what happened later, Xiu Ning sighed softly, "This is something that most people can't change." Even though Bao Qing was two years older than Bao Cheng, as long as Kangxi needed to maintain the relationship between the legitimate and illegitimate sons, the distinction between sons of the first and second sons had to be clearly made public.
Even though, in the minds of the Manchu nobles, they did not feel that there was any difference between legitimate and illegitimate children.
After all, they lived outside the Great Wall from the very beginning, in a harsh environment where it was not easy for anyone to survive. They had no regard for the nobility or inferiority of bloodlines. It was only after entering the Great Wall that they began to learn Han culture in order to manage the entire country.
But all of this stems from the need to consolidate the regime, and has nothing to do with their own ideas.
Xiuning placed her hand on Chunyu's body, somewhat reluctant to return to the tatami room, and said, "Let's go for a walk in the courtyard."
Chunyu nodded in agreement and carefully helped Xiuning out the door.
In the small courtyard, busy palace servants were sweeping and cleaning.
Xiuning bypassed the crowded areas and simply went to a corner to cool off and rest.
“Yidel has been making a fuss about going to Shou Kang Palace lately. Once or twice is fine, but if it happens too often, it will make others think too much.”
Chunyu, when the nanny and the others return tonight, be sure to remind them that if it happens again, they should find an excuse to refuse.
Now that the child is older and has passed their first birthday celebration, they can only utter a few words here and there.
There was nothing wrong with that; kids will talk, whether they start early or late doesn't matter. But Ider just keeps making trouble for himself. I only took him to Shou Kang Palace once, and now the little guy wants to go there to play every time.
If it weren't for the fact that it was confirmed that Idel was just an ordinary baby, without any signs of being time-traveled or reborn, Xiuning would probably be driven crazy with annoyance.
Chunyu nodded, "Don't worry, Your Highness, I understand."
“Yes, this is no small matter,” Xiu Ning said, letting out a sigh of relief, fearing that Chun Yu might not understand what was going on. “There have been quite a few troubles in the palace lately, so we don’t need to go up there and join in the fun.”
There's never a good thing about joining in the fun; not to mention the cost of being accidentally hurt, the consequences of getting burned are all too common.
While exchanging her thoughts with Chunyu, Xiuning couldn't help but say a few more words. As a result, when she turned around, she saw Xuanying rushing over from outside the palace gate.
Xuan Ying looked anxious and almost tripped and fell on her way there.
Xiuning was taken aback when she saw this. "What's wrong?"
Xuan Ying glanced outside the palace. "Your Highness, something has happened at Kunning Palace."
Something happened at Kunning Palace? At this time, the only one who could have something happen to Kunning Palace is Baocheng.
“Bao Cheng is sick,” Xiu Ning said with certainty, stating her guess.
Xuan Ying looked shocked. "How did you know, Your Highness?"
Xiuning simply waved her hand, "You're very ill, that's why you're so anxious."
No longer caring how her master guessed, Xuan Ying quickly relayed the latest situation at Kunning Palace: "Prince Baocheng has already had several seizures."
There was no reason; he suddenly developed a headache, back pain, chills, and a high fever. The whole thing came on suddenly and violently, and Kunning Palace is now in complete chaos.
Xuan Ying knew the situation because she happened to be returning from the Imperial Household Department and happened to run into the people from Kunning Palace going to fetch the imperial physician.
"When you returned, did you have any contact with anyone from Kunning Palace?"
Xiu Ning's heart skipped a beat. Listening to Xuan Ying's description, Bao Cheng's symptoms didn't seem like ordinary illnesses, but rather resembled smallpox.
Smallpox is a highly contagious disease, and very few people who contract it survive.
Xuan Ying didn't understand why Xiu Ning asked that, but she still obediently shook her head, "This servant was afraid of alerting the enemy, so the information was all obtained indirectly."
Xiu Ning nodded and instructed Chun Yu to immediately go to Shou Kang Palace to bring Yi De'er back. She also subtly reminded Ning Chuge, who was staying at Shou Kang Palace, that it would take several more days for the symptoms of smallpox to appear. Xiu Ning could only take precautions in secret and could not reveal any of her guesses in advance, otherwise she would be framed and have no way to complain.
Later that evening, news came that Bao Cheng of Kunning Palace had fallen ill.
However, the information brought by Xuan Ying was different. The only thing that was said was that Bao Cheng caught a chill from being exposed to the cold, and that it wasn't a big problem.
"Not a big problem?" The problem is absolutely huge.
Xiuning could understand the Empress's concealment, but she herself would certainly have to deal with it.
"Chunyu, make sure to keep a close eye on every palace servant who gets close to Idel."
Furthermore, in recent days, wet nurses and others have been forbidden from taking Idel out of the palace, and all of Idel's food and drink must be carefully managed.
I suspect that Bao Cheng's illness is not as simple as it seems.
With her hands folded in front of her eyes, Xiu Ning thought about the high infectivity of smallpox and was skeptical of the palace's defenses.
Waving her hand, she told Chunyu to do her best to make arrangements. Xiuning then contacted the system in her mind and, with a heavy heart, spent her points to buy appropriate pills for each of the two children.
With her points instantly halved, Xiu Ning could only console herself that as long as the mission was completed, it would all be worth it (the reason she didn't buy it at the beginning was mainly because it was too expensive; the system didn't really have any overpowered items, but medicines and pills like these, which are similar to preventative medicines, exist in some technologically advanced worlds, so Xiu Ning was able to buy and use them).
Over the next two days, before the Kunning Palace officially exploded, Xiuning went to the Shou Kang Palace and secretly gave Ning Chuge the pill.
With everything prepared, on the morning of the third day, devastating news came from Kunning Palace: Baocheng had been diagnosed with smallpox.
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