Chapter 109 Extra 1
If there's any difference between Wen Shan's life after becoming Empress Dowager and before, it's that she's finally free from being confined to the Forbidden City and can go out and explore!
Wen Shan first suggested going out for a walk after Ning An turned one year old. The little girl had been close to Wen Shan since she was little, and especially after she could walk and talk, she wanted to stay in Xianfu Palace every day.
Now that the little girl has turned one year old, Wenshan is thinking it's time to go out for a walk.
After Yinzhen ascended the throne, in principle, the imperial concubines in the palace who had princes could leave the palace to live with their sons, while those who did not had princes would live together in Shou Kang Palace. The same was true for Consort Yi. After being promoted to Noble Consort, she could live with either the Fifth Prince or the Sixth Prince. However, Consort Yi felt that living with her son and daughter-in-law was not fun and preferred to live with Wen Shan and others in a lively atmosphere, where they could play cards together when they had nothing to do.
So Consort Yi moved into Shou Kang Palace, where she spent her days playing cards or strolling in the garden. She looked even younger and more radiant than when Emperor Kangxi was still alive.
Consort Yi was Wen Shan's closest sister in the palace, so when she was thinking about going out of the palace for a stroll, she planned to bring Consort Yi along.
Consort Yi's eyes lit up as soon as she heard the news, and she agreed.
“I’ve only accompanied the Emperor Emeritus on a few southern tours before. Along the way, I saw all sorts of beautiful girls. Although they were all beauties, it got boring after a while. Now that we’re going out, we can also see the handsome men of today and feast our eyes,” Consort Yi said with a smile.
Wen Shan was both amused and exasperated. Consort Yi's current roguish demeanor was nothing like the polite and dismissive attitude she had shown when Consort Yi mentioned being allowed to travel outside the palace in the future.
Consort Yi said confidently, "People naturally love handsome men and beautiful women. It's just that in the past, we didn't have the final say, so everyone was beautiful. Now that the roles have been reversed, we naturally have to look at what we like."
Wen Shan gave her a thumbs up; she truly deserved to be her best friend.
Consort Mi's family lived in Jiangnan, and she hadn't been home for twenty years since entering the palace. The Fifteenth Prince and the Sixteenth Prince were still young and studying in the Imperial Study, so when Consort Mi heard that they wanted to go south, she excitedly begged to go with them.
"The scenery in Jiangnan is extremely beautiful. The Emperor Emeritus only saw a small part of it during his southern tour. There are many beautiful landscapes, flowing water and houses there. I will take you to see them all when the time comes." Consort Mi looked longingly when she mentioned Jiangnan.
That was her home, a place she hadn't been able to return to for a long time.
Consort Yi smiled and took Consort Mi's arm, saying, "When you were young, you must have been a famous beauty in Jiangnan, and I wonder how many people secretly admired you."
Consort Mi blushed, too shy to speak.
Wen Shan sighed in regret. After Kangxi abdicated, it was as if some kind of seal had been broken on Consort Yi. She wouldn't be surprised if Consort Yi started hanging out with some handsome young man one day.
Wen Shan had originally planned to take Consort Liang along for a walk. Since Yinzhen ascended the throne, Yinsi had taken Consort Liang to his residence to live with him. Guo Luoluo naturally respected her mother-in-law very much, and Consort Liang was quite comfortable in Yinsi's residence. However, unfortunately, Guo Luoluo was pregnant again, so Consort Liang couldn't spare the time and wanted to stay in the capital to take care of her daughter-in-law. Therefore, she could only regretfully not go with them.
After learning that Consort Yi and Wen Shan were going out to play, the Ninth Prince clung to Consort Yi's leg and wouldn't let go, throwing a tantrum and insisting on going with her.
"You're a prince now, what kind of behavior is this?!" Consort Yi was so angry she almost kicked him out.
The Ninth Prince chuckled and didn't let go: "Mother, why don't you take your son with you? I'll serve you tea and water, massage your shoulders and legs, and protect you along the way."
"Come on, are you thinking of going to Jiangnan to do business again?" Consort Yi saw through her son's intentions at a glance.
Since Kangxi abdicated, the Ninth Prince has completely let himself go and plunged headlong into business. Yinzhi fully supports him, and Yinzhen can only turn a blind eye to the memorials impeaching the Ninth Prince in the court.
Wen Shan had once told them about the benefits of business development, and the brothers had taken it to heart. Since the ninth brother had this talent and was a member of the royal family, why not let him try his luck? Who knows, he might actually be able to create the royal industry that Mother had mentioned, which would control the economic lifeline of the entire Qing Dynasty.
The Ninth Prince neither opposed nor admired Yinzhen becoming emperor.
In his eyes, his fourth brother was an even more serious and old-fashioned man than his father, the Emperor. If his father didn't support him going into business, his fourth brother certainly wouldn't either.
To his surprise, Yinzhen actually let him do it himself, and the Ninth Prince then took the Tenth Prince, who had nothing better to do, and they ran around doing business every day.
So now the Ninth Prince can awkwardly say that his Fourth Brother, the Emperor, is indeed doing a pretty good job.
Upon hearing that Consort Yi and others were going to travel to Jiangnan, the Ninth Prince couldn't sit still. Jiangnan was the most prosperous place, and he didn't know how many business opportunities awaited him!
He had long wanted to go before but couldn't find a good opportunity. Now, the opportunity had come knocking, so he pleaded with Consort Yi until she agreed to take him along.
Consort Yi, driven to desperation by her son's relentless torment, could only turn to Wen Shan with a pained expression to discuss the matter.
Wen Shan was delighted to hear this, thinking that if the Ninth Prince went with them, he would probably just disappear as soon as he arrived, so taking him along wouldn't cause any problems, and she agreed.
As a result, when Yinxiang and Yinsi found out, they also insisted on going along. The two of them took turns acting cute and spoiled with Wenshan at Xianfu Palace every day.
Wen Shan still lives in Xianfu Palace. Ning Shou Palace is where the current Empress Dowager lives. She is getting old and increasingly prefers peace and quiet. Wen Shan is someone who can't stay idle, so she doesn't go over to disturb her Buddhist practice. Instead, she still goes to chat with the Empress Dowager every two days.
Yinzhen originally thought that he would renovate another palace for Wenshan to live in, since it would be inappropriate for Wenshan to live in the place where she was a concubine when she was already the Empress Dowager.
Wenshan, however, couldn't bear to part with the flowers and plants she had planted in the yard; she had lived in this place for most of her life and really didn't want to move.
When Yinzhi found out, he smiled and said that as long as Mother was happy, it didn't matter where they lived.
Yinxiang also wholeheartedly supported it. Not only did Wenshan have feelings for Xianfu Palace, but those of them who grew up there were even more reluctant to leave. Now that their mother was still living there, they could come back to visit her whenever they had a moment to catch their breath.
Moreover, Wen Shan gave a reason that Yinzhen found hard to refuse.
Laifu is now too old to walk. Fuqi left a few years ago, and now only Laifu is left in Xianfu Palace. Wenshan is reluctant to take him away and wants him to leave peacefully in Xianfu Palace.
Yinzhen stared at Laifu, who was lying on the veranda basking in the sun, and remained silent for a long time.
When Fuqi passed away a few years ago, Yinzhen rarely locked himself in his study for an entire day. Fucha Shi naturally knew that Fuqi was not an ordinary dog, but someone who had accompanied Yinzhen since he was a puppy, so she gave Fuqi a proper burial. Fortunately, by then Yi'an and Hongxi were already able to talk and laugh, and the two children kept Yinzhen company, which helped him slowly recover.
Just like Yinzhen had done years before, Yinsi began to come over to see Laifu every few days. Yinxiang would also hide under the eaves from time to time to groom Laifu, only to be picked up by Yinzhen.
"Fourth Brother, please let me stay here for a while!"
Yinxiang struggled. Although Yinzhen ascended the throne ahead of time in this life, many problems left over from the Kangxi era still needed to be solved. The integration of land tax and poll tax, the return of fire tax to the public treasury, and the requirement for officials and gentry to perform their duties and pay taxes together were all put on the agenda.
Moreover, with the assistance of Yinzhi and Yinxiang, Yinzhen was able to implement the entire plan single-handedly this time.
The situation caused both Prince Yinzhi and Prince Yinxiang to complain bitterly.
Even Yinzhi gently advised Yinzhen that he might be rushing things, suggesting that they could do it one thing at a time. Pushing all three together would not only terrify the officials, but also exhaust him and Yinxiang.
Then Yinzhen coldly and ruthlessly rejected it.
Therefore, Yinzhi and Yinxiang planned to go to Jiangnan with Wenshan to escape working for their fourth brother in a 996 work schedule.
"Fourth Brother, please let Eighth Brother and me catch our breath." Yinxiang pleaded pitifully. "Tian Wenjing, Li Wei and the others are doing a good job, so let us rest."
Yinzhi and Yinxiang were indeed conscripted and spent countless sleepless nights with Yinzhen in the Hall of Mental Cultivation. They also had to personally oversee the implementation of policies below. Fortunately, they were saved from being overworked by Tian Wenjing and Ortai, who worked even harder than them.
Yinzhen said, "Now is the time when everything needs to be rebuilt and people are needed. Neither of you can run away."
If we don't give the Qing Dynasty a serious setback, we might repeat the same mistakes.
Yinzhi and Yinxiang were on the verge of tears, and Wenshan felt sorry for them when she saw their thick dark circles under their eyes.
Advising Yinzhen to reform the bureaucracy is not something that can be accomplished overnight; if it damages his health, it will be a real problem.
On the surface, Yinzhen agreed, but in his heart he was more anxious than anyone else.
I had only heard Yinzhi and Yinxiang talk about how chaotic the bureaucracy was in the later years of the Emperor's reign, but after actually taking over, I realized that it was more than just chaotic; it was full of pitfalls. If we didn't start filling the gaps soon, the court probably wouldn't last much longer.
If it started early in this life, it's still easier to correct. But we must take advantage of the mild symptoms and treat the root cause to root out all these malignant tumors.
In the end, Yinzhi and Yinxiang could not escape the clutches of their fourth brother and were taken to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to stay up all night with him.
However, the effect was quite remarkable. Wen Shan traveled to Jiangnan for more than four months, stopping and playing along the way. When she returned, several new policies had been implemented. Yin Si and Yin Xiang were finally able to catch their breath and would often come to Wen Shan's place for meals.
When talking about the wonderful journey Wenshan had taken, she couldn't stop smiling.
"When you have more free time in the future, your mother will take you and your wife out for a stroll to relax."
Yinzhi smiled and said, "I heard that Ninth Brother is thriving in Jiangnan and hasn't returned yet."
Wenshan laughed heartily when she thought about it.
“The Ninth Prince opened his business in Jiangnan in just over a month. When we left, it was a critical time for his businesses. There was no way he could come back.”
To some extent, the Ninth Prince was indeed a talented businessman. He held his own against so many prominent merchants in Jiangnan and ran his business with great success.
Yinxiang suppressed a laugh and said, "Ninth Brother is now staying in Jiangnan and won't leave. I don't know where he heard that there is still plenty of business overseas and he is having people speed up the construction of ships to prepare for going to sea."
Wen Shan was shocked and looked at Yin Si: "You didn't tell him, did you?"
Wen Shan did talk to them about those overseas countries and maritime trade, but the Qing Dynasty was already too busy dealing with domestic affairs to attend to these matters.
Yinzhi quickly protested his innocence: "I didn't say that. This kid is exceptionally quick-witted when it comes to business. He probably found out about the merchants in Jiangnan himself."
Wen Shan thought to herself that if Consort Yi found out, she would definitely faint from anger again.
The fact that the Ninth Prince stayed in Jiangnan instead of returning to the capital had already infuriated Consort Yi. Now that he was going to go to sea, she was bound to be furious.
As they were talking, Yinzhen entered with a livid expression.
Yinzhi and Yinxiang weren't so formal in private. They even leaned over to ask Yinzhen what was wrong as he sat down on his own.
Yinzhen squeezed out each word through gritted teeth.
"That old ninth brother actually went to smuggle himself out to sea!"
When Consort Yi found out, she was indeed terrified.
The overseas world is so vast, who knows where this kid has run off to?!
“He abandoned his family and loved ones in such a dangerous situation, only caring about his own pleasure.” Consort Yi cried until her eyes were swollen: “There hasn’t been a single piece of news for so many days. We don’t even know if he’s been swallowed by a fish or sunk to the bottom of the sea.”
Wen Shan was both amused and exasperated: "How can you curse your own son like that?"
"The Emperor has already sent people to search for him. He said that the ship that Yinzhen used to go to sea was also extremely sturdy. This child is very clever and values his life, so he must have made full preparations before going."
Consort Yi had already mentally hanged the Ninth Prince up and beaten him eight hundred times over. She secretly vowed that if he returned, she would move into his residence and keep a close eye on this troublemaker from morning till night.
The Tenth Prince, who had been the Ninth Prince's "friends" since childhood, was also dragged out of the mansion by Consort Yi. She questioned him until he was dizzy and almost cried, saying that he knew nothing.
The Tenth Prince has been living a very comfortable life these past few years. He has a title but no official duties. He spends his days walking his birds, shopping, and having children. In just two or three years, he has already had five or six children. This has made many of the imperial concubines sigh with regret. Many children bring many blessings, and many children bring many blessings.
Even Consort Yi was curious and asked Wen Shan why she wasn't in a hurry for Yinzhen to have children.
Yinzhen now only has the twins from Empress Fucha and a son from Empress Ulanara, named Honghui just like in his previous life. Fortunately, the child looks healthy and doesn't seem like he will die young, so Yinzhen and Empress Ulanara take good care of him.
There were no other children besides them.
“The emperor doesn’t have many concubines in his palace, and he’s busy with state affairs. Besides, he’s still young, so what’s the rush?” Wen Shan said with a smile.
Logically speaking, since Yinzhen's throne was abdicated by Kangxi, there was no mourning period. In the first year, Yinzhen should have selected concubines to fill the harem.
But no one knew the state of the national treasury better than Yinzhen, who was in charge of the Ministry of Revenue. A bunch of princes and ministers borrowed tens of thousands of taels of silver from the national treasury. In order to maintain the face of the emperor's benevolence, Kangxi always let it go, since all the wars that needed to be fought had been fought and there was nothing else to spend big money on.
However, it has always been easy to borrow money but difficult to repay it. As soon as Yinzhen came to power, he dragged Yinsi and Yinxiang along to start demanding repayment.
They must return all the money owed to the national treasury!
As for the remaining silver, which is needed for water conservancy projects, building colleges and hospitals, which all require money, let alone talent shows?
The minister from the Ministry of Rites was immediately and coldly rejected by Yinzhen when he brought it up.
With the time and money spent on the imperial concubine selection, why can't these ministers do something else? They don't do any real work; they just keep an eye on the affairs of his harem all day long.
A bunch of parasites who live off the emperor's wealth but do nothing for the country—arrest them all, confiscate their property, and fill the national treasury!
Using this as a starting point, Yinzhen arrested another batch of corrupt officials, completely silencing any mention of the imperial concubine selection process among the court officials.
Empress Dowager Wen Shan wasn't in a hurry; she wouldn't be so virtuous as to urge her son on matters of the bedroom.
In particular, Hongxi, as the eldest son, was already seven years old. He was handsome, intelligent, and diligent in his studies and writing. He had read all the books and was just as hardworking as Yinzhen was when he was young. He was clearly a promising talent, and Yinzhen was very fond of this son. He often took him by his side and taught him personally.
The quality of offspring is more important than the quantity. Since he already had a suitable successor, Yinzhen was not in a hurry to have more children.
With neither the emperor nor the empress dowager in a hurry, the pressure fell on Empress Fucha.
The ministers dared not urge Yinzhen, so they sent their wives and concubines to urge Lady Fucha.
Nowadays, among the high-ranking concubines in the palace, besides the Empress, only Ulanara was granted the title of Noble Consort Shu, and Ma Jia was granted the title of Consort Jia. The rest were the two concubines whom Kangxi had forced upon Yinzhen during his time as a prince, who were granted the title of Noble Lady.
It's really inappropriate to have only a few people in the harem.
Naturally, these women in the inner palace were also thinking about how to get their daughters and sisters into the palace. With so many high-ranking concubines vacant, what a great opportunity it was!
Even Fucha, who was usually eloquent, was having trouble dealing with these princesses and their wives. One of them was accused of violating the rules of womanhood and was overwhelmed. However, there were many elders among the visitors, and she couldn't refuse to see them. She was having a terrible headache every day. In the end, it was Princess Yi'an who came out to protect her mother.
Over the past few years, Yi'an has been spoiled by Wen Shan and Yinzhen and Yinsi, and has become quite the spoiled princess. She is not afraid of even her own father, the Emperor, so she is naturally not afraid of these aunts and uncles. However, although Yi'an is spoiled and has a fiery temper, Fucha Shi has not let her fall behind in her studies. She is a polite and reasonable child. Her barbed words of sarcasm about their meddling made the princesses and concubines feel ashamed and angry. They did not want to argue with a child, especially since she was the Emperor and Empress's darling. So they could only leave in a huff.
"Mother, don't be sad. They'll come to Yi'an again next time to keep you company!"
Yi'an ran up angrily and hugged Fucha's arm.
Lady Fucha smiled and picked up Yi'an, tapping her forehead: "You, you're getting more and more cunning as you grow up. Don't do this in the future, who knows how they'll talk about you. A young lady should pay attention to her reputation."
"I don't care about any reputation for being virtuous and kind." Yi'an waved her little fist. "If they dare to say such nasty things again, I'll beat them up and kick them out!"
Her father and mother are a harmonious and loving couple; it's none of their business to lecture her.
When Yinzhen came in the evening and heard about what had happened during the day, he praised Yi'an highly, saying that she knew how to protect her mother and was a filial child.
Empress Fucha looked at Yinzhen holding Yi'an with great affection and trying to make her happy, and shook her head helplessly, saying, "If Your Majesty continues to spoil this girl like this, I'm afraid no one will dare to marry her in the future."
"If she doesn't even have this much courage, she's not worthy to marry my Yi'an." Yinzhen pinched Yi'an's little face and said, "Besides, even if Yi'an doesn't get married in the future, she will still be the most noble princess of the Qing Dynasty. Let her do whatever she wants."
Upon hearing this, Yi'an cheered and hugged Yinzhen's neck, saying that she loved her father the most.
Yinzhen was usually quite stern and rarely smiled, but Yi'an had never been afraid of him since childhood, and he was most susceptible to Yi'an's coquettishness. Yinzhen even joked that he could never be a strict father in front of Yi'an.
"Father, Uncle Ba said that Ningning wants to play with me. Can Yi'an go to Uncle Ba's house to play tomorrow?"
Yinzhen nodded and said, "Go ahead, you can stay at your eighth uncle's for a few days."
Fucha hurriedly instructed, "Your aunt is pregnant now, so you must not bother her."
This is Guo Luoluo's second child, and she is about to give birth. Fucha thought about it and still felt uneasy, so she said, "Why don't we bring Ning'an to the palace so you two can play together? Your eighth brother's residence must be very busy right now."
“But there’s a huge flower garden in Uncle Yinzhen’s mansion, even more beautiful than the Imperial Garden, and there are swings and little butterflies!” Yi’an blinked her eyes and coaxed Yinzhen, “Father, please let me go, I promise I’ll be good and not be naughty.”
Yinzhen patted her head and said gently, "It's alright, let her go play. Since Eighth Brother sent a message to this girl, he must also want her to go."
Yinzhen pondered for a moment and then said, "Take your brother along for a couple of days too. He's been studying hard these past few days."
Yinzhen's philosophy on educating children was very different from Kangxi's "tiger parenting." He was more willing to understand the hardships children faced and paid more attention to teaching according to their aptitude. Now there were few children in the palace, and Hongxi was the only one who studied diligently day and night before Honghui was old enough to be considered. This child also adhered to the principle of a gentleman being cautious even when alone, and he continued to study poetry and books diligently even when he was alone without ever relaxing.
Yinzhen even specially appointed Zhang Tingyu, the "King of Scrolls," as Hongxi's teacher. As a result, even Zhang Tingyu was humbled, saying that the eldest prince's diligence in studying made him, as his teacher, feel somewhat ashamed.
So Yinzhen thought it would be a good opportunity to let Yi'an take Hongxi out to play.
Yi'an clapped her hands and laughed, "My brother only knows how to study all day long, and he even bullies me when we play. This time, my sister and I are going to bully him together!"
Lady Fucha stepped forward and took Yi'an from him. Yi'an was now seven years old and was quite heavy to carry.
"When you get to your eighth uncle's house, you mustn't cause any trouble. You have to listen to your brother, understand?"
Hongxi's presence along put Fucha's mind at ease.
As it turned out, Lady Fucha's concerns were somewhat justified. The day after Yi'an and Hongxi arrived, Lady Guoluo went into labor. Fortunately, she was alone when the children discovered her, otherwise, it would have been a real problem.
Yinzhi was busy working as a laborer because Yinzhen had arrested him. Guoluo was also a bit irritable in her late pregnancy. Seeing a bunch of maids and servants following behind her tremblingly made her even more irritable. So she dismissed everyone and took her personal maid to a pavilion in the backyard to catch her breath.
Below the pavilion was a lake with specially diverted running water, in which many koi were raised. After watching for a while, Guo Luoluo became interested in feeding the fish and sent a maid to fetch them fish food.
The maid was initially reluctant to go, fearing that something might have happened to Guo Luoluo.
Guo Luoluo was already annoyed by the crowd of people whispering in her ear, so she put on a stern face and said, "What could possibly happen in our own residence? Go and come back quickly, it'll only be a short while."
The maid had no choice but to run off, thinking that nothing would happen in less than a quarter of an hour. But as luck would have it, Guo Luoluo went into labor in that very quarter of an hour, and the pain was so intense that she almost fell over.
Yi'an Hongxi and Ning'an were catching butterflies in the flower garden below when they heard Guo Luoluo's voice and rushed over to check. Hongxi immediately called for help, which prevented any trouble from happening.
Guo Luoluo also gave birth to a boy safely.
Several children surrounded the newborn baby brother, looking him over from all angles. Yi'an pretended to be serious and said that they had rescued the baby brother and that he should repay them when he grew up.
Hongwang, still an infant, had no idea that he had been destined to live a life of servitude for the next ten years or so.
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