Chapter 70 Consort Hui's Marriage and the Crown Prince
The Ninth Prince and his wife were huddled together in their room in broad daylight.
Don't get the wrong idea, I'm doing something serious.
The two men each carried a box, and a small table was set up in the room, covered with various things such as house deeds and land deeds.
The Ninth Prince took out his abacus and started calculating rapidly. “Father gave me 200,000 taels of silver to establish my residence. I have 30,000 taels in my own private savings. My eldest brother is in charge of supervising the construction and purchasing materials such as rocks and timber. We can’t do without these. I will use half of my 230,000 taels to build the residence and the other half for household expenses.”
Although the kind of mansion he wanted, complete with furniture, artificial mountains and water features, couldn't be bought for 110,000 taels of silver.
But he still has nine wives.
She was quite generous, and took out her dowry list and began to count: "All the things I have here add up to 100,000 taels. Add to that the 50,000 taels that the clan raised before my marriage, and we can spend 80,000 taels to build a mansion. In addition, I have two estates. After we leave, we can get firewood, rice, oil, salt, vegetables, fruits and the like from the estates without spending any money."
Of course, she kept all of this from the maids and nannies she had brought from home. If they found out, they would nag her for months, saying she was naive and didn't know how to leave herself a way out.
But the Ninth Prince said he would repay her double the amount of money he borrowed.
Who can resist this temptation?
The Ninth Prince didn't hesitate. He picked up the paper and pen that were placed aside, quickly wrote out the IOU, stamped it with his personal seal, and handed it to the Ninth Princess Consort.
Then I watched as Ninth Prince's wife carefully took the IOU, put it into the box that originally contained the banknotes, and locked it with a small lock.
It was impossible to tell the Ninth Prince the location of the box and the key.
The Ninth Prince was clearly very happy to receive the silver notes: "Don't worry, my lady, I will definitely build the mansion beautifully, with a main courtyard and a small garden."
That map was actually a joint creation of him and his wife.
They were both fed up with the small territory of the Prince's Residence and wanted a large and suitable mansion after leaving the palace. The two of them discussed it for three nights before coming up with this idea.
The Ninth Prince's wife also contributed some money, which the Ninth Prince lent her. The backyard was decorated and built according to her wishes. After the Ninth Prince left the palace and established his own residence, he would go out and earn money to make up for the double amount owed to the Ninth Prince's wife.
However, this matter is not easy to talk about. Otherwise, if a prince misappropriates his wife's dowry, his father, the Emperor, would scold him severely.
With money, things became easier. In just a year and a half, the Ninth Prince and the Tenth Prince moved out of the palace and officially settled down outside the palace.
From then on, Emperor Kangxi particularly liked to assign Baoqing to construction projects by the Ministry of Works. First, he arranged for him to supervise the construction of the Huayin Xiyue Temple, and later he sent him to Rehe to supervise the construction of the imperial palace.
In short, there are tasks to be done, but they're not good ones.
Emperor Kangxi kept his sons busy in the imperial court, and he was not idle in the inner palace either. In July of the 45th year of his reign, he had another son, born to Consort Gao, who was the 20th in rank.
Fuling brought the gift list over for Yunyun to look at: "This jade ornament carved from bamboo, symbolizing continuous growth, was given to you by the Prince before the New Year. However, you said it was quite childlike and more suitable for your youngest son, so you put it away. Giving it to the Twentieth Prince now is not a waste."
Other items include jade safety buckles, high-quality silver ear fungus, lotus seed tonics, and the Four Treasures of the Study.
Yunyun nodded.
She and Consort Gao had hardly ever met.
Firstly, Consort Gao's rank was not high; she was merely a concubine without a formal title and could not even step into the Cining Palace on ordinary days, so naturally she had little chance of meeting anyone.
Secondly, the layout of the harem had already been quietly divided, and everyone in the palace tacitly followed the unwritten rules. In the early years, most of the concubines who entered the palace and gained favor were from the bannermen, while in recent years, the ones who have enjoyed the emperor's favor are mostly women from the Han bannermen.
The two groups were separated by an invisible boundary, keeping to themselves and rarely interacting.
As they were talking, Lingzhi came to ask about the lunch arrangements: "The master said that the braised pork knuckle with ham that he had last time was quite good. Should we have the kitchen prepare it again?"
If you think about it carefully, she is already fifty years old. When she was young, she preferred chewy foods that could help pass the time, but now she has to accept that she is getting old. Stewed ham hock until it is soft and tender has become her favorite lately.
When the topic of food came up, Yunyun perked up again: "Now that the weather is hot, we'll have lotus leaf porridge as our main dish, and some melons and fruits to chill in the ice chest. We'll have it with the eldest princess this afternoon when she comes; she likes these."
Baoqing's eldest daughter will turn eighteen in two months, and Emperor Kangxi has already arranged her marriage to Dorji Sereng, a Taiji of the Khorchin.
The eldest princess learned riding and archery from Baoqing from a young age. After leaving the palace, she let loose and often went horseback riding and spring outings with her Manchu aunt from a military family.
The First Princess turned a blind eye to this.
Most of the royal girls are sent to serve the Mongols. She can't gamble with her daughter's life. Now she's learning to ride horses and shoot arrows. It's good that she's independent and doesn't submit to fate. Even if she marries into the Mongol tribe, she won't suffer any injustice because of her personality.
Baoqing also secretly prepared several strong maids and nannies for his daughter, and his dowry was also full of whips and weapons. He would rather have his daughter beat his son-in-law than hear his daughter come back crying and complaining that her son-in-law bullied her.
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In recent years, the relationship between Emperor Kangxi and the Crown Prince has become increasingly strange.
Sometimes he would show concern for the crown prince, behaving like a loving father; other times he would scold the crown prince harshly, as if he were extremely disappointed in this son.
Baoqing, whose daughter had just married, was quite emotional. She felt from the bottom of her heart that her father, the Emperor, had gone too far. She privately comforted the Crown Prince: "You shouldn't listen to your father too much. I think it's because you're too obedient to him that you've spoiled him and made him more and more irritable. You should talk back to him a couple of times and let him know that you're not someone to be trifled with."
If someone else were to instigate him to go against his father, the Crown Prince would feel that the person had ill intentions.
But this person is the eldest brother...
Even the usually naive and oblivious eldest brother sensed that the Emperor disliked him, which shows just how obvious the Emperor's bias and harshness were.
The prince felt a pang of sadness. He composed himself and sincerely thanked Baoqing, saying, "Thank you for your guidance, elder brother."
The next day, when Emperor Kangxi was thoroughly reprimanding the Crown Prince for a trivial matter, the Crown Prince, imitating Bao Qing's past behavior, said with a face full of arrogance and defiance: "Father, it is the father's fault if the son is not taught. You cannot only blame your son without reflecting on your own actions."
He thought about it all night yesterday.
After his great-uncle passed away, he became increasingly obedient to his father, accepting all reprimands without daring to harbor any resentment.
But such forbearance only led to further encroachment; his father, the Emperor, tightened his control, frequently changing his attendants and subjecting him to constant reprimands…
Perhaps, as his older brother said, he is just too mild-mannered.
How can a crown prince simply be obedient? He must have his own sharp edge.
Emperor Kangxi stood there, stunned.
He never imagined that the refined and considerate Crown Prince would say such a thing.
And those words sounded quite familiar.
Before Kangxi could even find that familiar feeling, the Crown Prince pressed on, sneering, "If Father Emperor doesn't want me to be the Crown Prince anymore, just issue an edict to abolish me. Why force me like this? No matter what I do, Father Emperor will not be satisfied. Why not choose someone else that you will be satisfied with? As for me, this child who is not favored by Father Emperor, whether I am deposed as a commoner or imprisoned, it all depends on Your Majesty's will."
Bear with me.
He had been enduring it ever since his great-uncle passed away.
Even though his great-uncle was gone, he still had family and children. He didn't want Hongxi to end up like his two uncles, so he tried to understand his father's wishes and, true to his former pride and dignity, lowered his head and served his father with care.
But even so, the Emperor was still not satisfied.
He finally understood that the old man was power-hungry and was treating him as a rival.
Why should we tolerate this? Father Emperor has the right to be filial and has ministers in the court. He has been on the throne for over forty years and his word is law in the court.
What does he have as a crown prince who exists in name only?
The Empress's mother died in childbirth when he was born, and her maternal family was almost completely destroyed by the Emperor. The Crown Princess, of the Guarjia clan, has been wavering in recent years, even among the ministers in the court who claim to support him.
Hmph, who can go against Father Emperor's wishes?
The more the Crown Prince thought about it, the clearer his mind became. His words seemed to pierce Kangxi's heart: "If Father Emperor has any concerns, I will submit a memorial another day stating that I am unworthy of the position and request to be deposed. Your Majesty is still a wise and virtuous ruler. As for the deposed Crown Prince who is arrogant, extravagant, and incompetent, I beg Your Majesty to consider Mother's sake and not involve the deposed Crown Prince's family."
After saying this, the crown prince respectfully knelt down and lightly touched his head to the floor.
When Liang Jiugong sensed that something was wrong, he gave a signal to the servants around him to leave.
Now he wished he could go out with the palace servants himself. How could he possibly listen to such a crucial matter?
Kangxi's initial astonishment had turned into rage, chilling dismay, and endless heartache.
The legitimate son he had raised with high hopes was actually asking to be crippled!
"Do you know what you're saying?" The atmosphere in the imperial study was as frozen as ice. Kangxi's words seemed to be squeezed out through his teeth, each syllable distinct, "Deposed...Crown...Prince?"
“When you were three, I personally taught you your first lessons. You said you would grow up well and share my burdens. At six, you entered the Imperial Study. I selected ministers and famous teachers for you. You said you would study hard and make me proud. At fifteen, you took charge of the country. I was worried that you were too young to control people. You said you were taught by me and would never let me down.”
Kangxi paced back and forth in anger, then stopped and looked down at the bent back, his gaze as sharp as a hawk's.
"I've devoted half my life to teaching you the ways of governing the country, and this is how you repay me?"
The prince remained unmoved, still lying steadily on the ground.
Emperor Kangxi was so angry that he blurted out: "I was afraid you would do something wrong, so I disciplined you strictly. But what are you thinking? Do you think I dislike you and am harsh on you? Is Suo'etu really that influential to you?"
When Suo'etu was mentioned, Kangxi believed that the Crown Prince had been corrupted by him: "Were all those crimes of Suo'etu fabricated by me out of thin air? He did those heinous things for power, did I do the wrong thing in punishing him?"
The charcoal fire crackled and popped in the corner of the Qianqing Palace, and the Crown Prince's heart was also crackling, like a firecracker about to explode, just waiting for the fuse to be lit.
Kangxi believed he was right from the bottom of his heart, but he found Suo'etu really hateful. He also recalled the source of the familiarity from when the Crown Prince first talked back: "Go and call Prince Zhi here."
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