Chapter 75 And at this time, Kangxi had indeed already begun…
At this time, Emperor Kangxi had indeed begun formal preparations for his second personal campaign against Galdan, determined to annihilate him in one fell swoop.
The steelmaking method and firearms presented by Yinzhen were naturally the most important aspects of this preparation for war.
Although Wang Chongyu and Dai Zi were extremely busy, they couldn't hide their excitement as they watched their ideas come to fruition step by step. Emperor Kangxi also attached great importance to this and would check on the progress every few days.
With Kangxi's strong support, steel and firearms were quickly mass-produced. Since Yinzhen was now in charge of the Ministry of Revenue's grain and fodder allocation, he was naturally responsible for it. Therefore, in the past few days, Yinzhen was often summoned by Kangxi to discuss important matters.
As a result, it wasn't just the Crown Prince and Suo'etu who were restless; Tong Guowei, who rarely met with Yinzhi, also had a rare private meeting with him.
"Eighth Prince, are you aware that His Majesty intends to have the First Prince and the Fourth Prince accompany him on this campaign against Galdan?" Tong Guowei and Yinzhi met in a secluded place outside the palace, and Tong Guowei immediately revealed the truth as soon as Yinzhi arrived.
Yinzhi smiled leisurely, playing with the fan in his hand, thinking that what his father had done these days was indeed unbelievable, even making Tong Guowei panic.
"I've heard about this, Lord Tong, please don't be in such a hurry." Yinzhi sat down, took a sip of tea, raised an eyebrow, and said, "The tea is quite good; it must be this year's new tea?"
Even the new tea from the palace was only delivered a few days ago.
This tastes like Taiping Houkui tea, which is of extremely high quality. It must be a top-grade product from Longmen. The fact that you can drink it right when the spring tea has just been harvested shows how powerful the Tong family is.
Tong Guowei looked at Yinzhi's calm and composed demeanor, even enjoying his tea, and didn't know whether to be happy or anxious. If Yinzhi was calm, he should have reacted at all, given that the Fourth Prince was rising in rank.
"If you like, Eighth Prince, I will have this servant bring some back for you later. But these days, it's probably not something that can be solved with just a little tea, is it?"
Yinzhi smiled slightly: "Lord Tong, please calm down. The situation is still under our control."
Aside from the recent favor shown by Emperor Kangxi, Yinzhen did not cultivate relationships with court officials. On the surface, he had no close confidants in the court, and even rejected some officials who took the initiative to curry favor with him. Naturally, the court officials hoped that the next emperor would be more gentle or easier to talk to. The crown prince was arrogant and Yinzhen was cold and hard, neither of them seemed like the kind of person who would compromise with the court officials after ascending the throne. Therefore, Yinsi, who seemed gentle, kind, and reasonable, became a popular candidate for court officials to befriend.
In particular, those military nobles still followed the system of recommending the emperor by the ministers. It was important which prince Kangxi liked, but the selection of the successor by the ministers in the Eight Princes' Council was the orthodox way. Therefore, their support for Yinzhi also stemmed from a desire to restore the former rights—even the rights that superseded the imperial power.
Although Tong Guowei agreed with what Yinzhi said, he still frowned and said, "It's just that the Fourth Prince has already presented firearms and steelmaking methods, and now he's in charge of the Ministry of Revenue's grain supplies. He'll also be accompanying the Emperor on a personal expedition soon, this..."
"Speaking of this, I'd also like to ask Lord Tong, I've heard that Fourth Brother's followers are all kept in a garden that came with Empress Xiaoyi's dowry. Didn't Lord Tong receive any information about that?" Yinzhi glanced at him and casually tossed the question back to Tong Guowei.
When this matter was mentioned, Tong Guowei also felt ashamed: "This... Empress Xiaoyi had more than a dozen gardens when she was part of her dowry, and they have been vacant for more than ten years since she entered the palace. It was indeed my fault for being negligent in taking precautions."
Yinzhi naturally knew that Tong Guowei was not capable of finding out what was happening in the garden, otherwise he would not have been in such a hurry to invite him over.
But this old guy always tries to use his seniority to put him in a superior position, and he's really getting tired of that lecturing tone. He needs to give him a little nudge, so he doesn't think he's some kind of reincarnation of Zhuge Liang, capable of single-handedly turning the tide.
But he was not Liu Shan, and Tong Guowei was far from being Zhuge Liang.
"Did the Fourth Prince never mention it to you?" Tong Guowei asked cautiously after thinking for a moment.
Yinzhi pretended to be serious: "In the past two years, although my fourth brother and I have remained the same in front of Mother, he naturally doesn't tell me everything about court affairs."
Tong Guowei thought about it and agreed. The Fourth Prince wasn't stupid. In the court today, the only ones who could rival the Fourth Prince were the rightful Crown Prince and Yinzhi, who had the support of the court officials.
Even if the two were close when they were young, they must have grown distant now.
The struggle for the throne has always been like this.
Tong Guowei sighed: "I only learned about this from Longkodo. If he hadn't gone there with the Emperor and the Fourth Prince that day, we wouldn't have known about this place."
"Why didn't Lord Tong consider why Father Emperor wanted Longkodo to go along?" Yinzhi asked.
"..."
Tong Guowei was rarely stumped by the question. After a moment, he said awkwardly, "This old minister understands what you mean. As the saying goes, those involved are often confused, while bystanders see things clearly. I did not expect that the Eighth Prince would be so quick-witted."
Having spent many years in officialdom, Tong Guowei boasted that he could accurately grasp Kangxi's thoughts, but Yinzhi only needed to give him a hint and he understood.
The Emperor deliberately brought Longkodo along to the Tong family's dowry garden, intending to leak this information to him.
"Eighth Prince, do you mean the Emperor knows about our secret meetings?"
Tong Guowei's heart sank immediately. The Emperor's probing was clearly a sign that he had sensed something.
Looking at Tong Guowei's expression, Yinzhi tilted his head and thought to himself that Tong Guowei was too confident in himself. Even if they were secretly communicating, it was impossible for Father Emperor not to know anything about it.
Tong Guowei let out a breath and immediately felt his mind clear.
"The Emperor's decision to have the Fourth Prince reside in Chonghua Palace after his wedding is a favor to the Crown Prince..."
Yinzhi nodded; the old man wasn't too senile after all.
That was Kangxi's style; he was suspicious and liked to test people's hearts again and again. Once he had a handle on someone, they would be in control.
Tong Guowei nodded repeatedly, finally understanding why Yinzhi was able to sit still for so long.
"The Emperor is testing us and the Crown Prince at the same time. This is to see if anyone will prioritize personal gain over the overall situation."
Anyone who fears the Fourth Prince can only make their move on the matter of this expedition against Galdan. Whether it's provisions or weapons and muskets, any tampering with them would be a grave offense against Emperor Kangxi.
"The Emperor is truly audacious, actually using such a significant matter to test us." Tong Guowei felt that he still knew too little about Kangxi, never expecting that Kangxi would use such a major matter to set up a scheme.
However, this also proves that Kangxi was very confident in his ability to control the Arhats.
“Therefore, everything that Fourth Brother has gone through this time must have been backed by Father Emperor. Whoever makes a move will be breaking a taboo,” Yinzhi said.
Although he had figured out what had happened, Tong Guowei was still somewhat worried.
"That being said, this old minister is still worried that the Fourth Prince's momentum is currently too strong..."
“Lord Tong, there’s no point in overthinking. We can’t move now,” Yinzhi interrupted him.
Tong Guowei nodded, knowing that Yinzhi was right, and that he could not possibly disagree at this point.
Yinzhi fiddled with the folding fan in his hand and continued, "But if we don't move, we can take this opportunity to make the Crown Prince move."
Even before Kangxi's second campaign against Galdan, the wedding of Yinzhen and the Third Prince took place.
The wedding of the two princes was of paramount importance, especially since the Fourth Prince was highly regarded by the Emperor and would be moving into Chonghua Palace. The people of the Imperial Household Department were extremely busy, and Wen Shan had been busy since the end of the year. Fortunately, Lady Tongjia was very interested in palace affairs, and when she heard that Wen Shan was too busy to handle the preparations for Yinzhen's wedding, she happily took over all the palace affairs.
The Empress Dowager also helped Wen Shan prepare a lot. Yin Zhen was a child whom the Empress Dowager had watched grow up. Although he certainly couldn't compare to the Fifth Prince in the Empress Dowager's heart, Wen Shan often took Yin Zhen to Cining Palace since he was a child, so the Empress Dowager still loved Yin Zhen very much. She prepared many gifts for Yin Zhen's primary wife and secondary wife. The Empress Dowager also specially added a lot of things to Chonghua Palace.
Privately, the Empress Dowager also instructed Wen Shan that now that Yinzhen was attracting attention, she should pay more attention to him.
As Wen Shan agreed, she thought to herself that she didn't need him to worry about anything; Yin Si and Yin Xiang had already arranged everything perfectly for their dear fourth brother.
Consort Yi also helped Wen Shan a lot, coming to Xianfu Palace for several days in a row to help Wen Shan prepare things.
"I'm just getting some practice. Yinqi will be getting married in less than two years." Consort Yi was happy that her son was about to get married and have children, but she was still a little disappointed. "I just don't know if I can prepare anything for Yinqi's wedding."
Wen Shan understood that Consort Yi meant that she was worried that the Empress Dowager was making all the decisions, leaving her, her own mother, with nothing to do but watch.
"Ever since Consort Wenxi passed away, the Empress Dowager has become even more indifferent, spending her days eating vegetarian food and chanting Buddhist scriptures. I don't think she'll be too troubled," Wen Shan comforted her.
When Consort Wenxi and Consort Yi were mentioned, they also sighed.
"Sister Niohuru also passed away suddenly. She seemed so healthy and strong, but she just left us like that."
The passing of Consort Niohuru caught many people off guard. Empress Tongjia, after all, had been bedridden for four or five years before passing away. Just two months before her death, Consort Niohuru was still organizing the first birthday banquet for the fifteenth prince, who was born to Consort Mi the previous year.
Unexpectedly, he suddenly collapsed.
“Life is unpredictable. Now that our children are about to get married, we are getting on in years and should pay more attention to our health,” Wen Shan said. “We should have the imperial physician check our pulse more often.”
Although they are not yet forty and are in their prime in modern times, they certainly need to be careful in ancient times, where the average age is less than fifty.
Consort Yi also shared the same sentiment: "Last year, Consort Hui was also feeling unwell and said she had a headache. Consort Rong seemed to be doing well, but Consort Duan also fell ill a few days ago."
These are all elderly people from the palace. They may have schemed and fought among themselves, but they have also genuinely lived together for almost twenty years. It's quite sad to see them all suffering from illness.
Wen Shan and Consort Yi have always been in good health, never suffering from any serious illnesses or much hardship, so they have a good mindset.
"I heard that the Seventh Princess has also fallen ill recently?" Wen Shan asked suddenly while packing her things.
It's currently the transition period between winter and spring, and the weather is fluctuating between cold and hot, making children more susceptible to illness.
Therefore, Consort De has not gone out much in the past few days and has been taking care of the Seventh Princess at Yonghe Palace.
“The Seventh Princess has always been in poor health since she was a child,” Consort Yi said helplessly. “Fortunately, Consort De has been quite meticulous in her care, otherwise the epidemic three or four years ago could have taken the Seventh Princess’s life.”
"However, as long as the Fourteenth Prince is well, Consort De will surely be well too."
Just as Consort Yi was speaking, Amber walked in.
"Your Highness, Consort De has sent some gifts to congratulate the Fourth Prince on his wedding."
As Yinzhen was about to get married, the concubines in the palace sent him various gifts. However, because of Consort De's special status, there had been no news of her for the past few days, and Wenshan thought that she would not go through this procedure.
Wen Shan and Consort Yi exchanged a glance, and Wen Shan asked, "Has Consort De arrived?"
"The Seventh Princess is currently ill, and Consort De is unable to come and offer her congratulations in person due to her busy schedule."
Wen Shan nodded to indicate that she understood, and soon after, Consort De's personal maid, Xia Yun, entered with several other maids.
"Greetings to Consort Xuan and Consort Yi."
Consort Yi rested her chin on her hand and smiled, saying, "It's not easy for your mistress to remember the Fourth Prince amidst her busy schedule. How is the Seventh Princess?"
Faced with Consort Yi's obviously barbed words, Xia Yun simply lowered her head and replied, "Consort De is naturally concerned about the Fourth Prince's marriage. She searched for the items for several days before preparing them and then immediately had this servant deliver them."
"The Seventh Princess's illness has improved considerably. Thank you for your concern, Consort Yi."
Wen Shan glanced at the gifts sent by Consort De and found that there were indeed quite a few. In any case, this was a token of her goodwill towards Yinzhen.
"I have two old ginseng roots here. Please take them back as a small token of my appreciation to the Seventh Princess," Wen Shan said with a smile.
After thanking them, Xia Yun learned that Xianfu Palace was not very welcoming to people from Yonghe Palace, so she did not stay any longer and left quickly.
"Amber, bring it up so I can see what's inside," Consort Yi beckoned.
Wen Shan sighed helplessly, "You know, after all these years, I think you and Consort De are still the biggest enemies."
Consort Yi had many rivals, but some had passed away and others had long since given up on the matter. Only Consort De remained steadfast; even mentioning Consort Yi would inevitably elicit sarcastic remarks from her.
"Let's not talk about those of us old folks who have already passed away. Although Consort Hui was a bit frivolous, she wasn't as ruthless as Consort De. Over the years, many people have suffered at her hands, both openly and secretly." Consort Yi looked through the things Consort De had sent. "I think you should also pay more attention to these things she sent, and make sure there's nothing amiss."
Wen Shan thought it made sense and went to take a look. They were all ordinary silk and jade. Among them was a white jade Guanyin statue that gave birth to a child. Although it was not large, it was carved from a single piece of jade and looked to be very finely crafted.
“This Guanyin statue that grants children is quite nice,” Consort Yi said. “But this jade looks a bit familiar, like I’ve seen it somewhere before.”
Consort Yi pondered for a while and then suddenly realized.
"I knew it! Wasn't this a gift from Empress Xiaoyi to Consort De after she gave birth to the Fourth Prince?"
Wen Shan leaned closer to take a look, but she didn't remember this thing. She had only been in the palace for a short time when Yinzhen was born, and she was not familiar with many things in the palace.
After comparing them for a while, Consort Yi felt something was off: "That day, Empress Xiaoyi, Consort Wenxi, and I went to visit Consort De, who had just given birth. Empress Xiaoyi brought a lot of things, but this piece of solid white jade was the most eye-catching. I remembered it at a glance."
"It just seems a bit small. I remember that the white jade needed to be a bit bigger."
At that time, Empress Xiaoyi was very happy about being able to adopt Yinzhen and was very generous to Consort De. This jade was very valuable in Empress Xiaoyi's dowry, and the fact that she was able to give it to Consort De left a deep impression on Consort Yi.
"It's normal for there to be some wear and tear during the carving process," Wen Shan said.
Consort Yi nodded in agreement, but still urged Wen Shan to thoroughly investigate these matters, for it is always wise to be cautious.
Especially Consort De, who held the deepest affections in Consort Yi's heart.
For some reason, Consort Yi had a strong urge to confide in Wen Shan today, and told her a lot of old gossip.
For example, Consort Rong was pregnant once in the fifteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, but she miscarried after four months. Consort De was also involved in this. Another example is Consort Mi, who had been in the palace for many years without having a child. Consort De also made some moves. It was only after Consort Tong took charge of palace affairs for two years that Consort De became a little confused about Consort Tong's behavior and temporarily stopped her actions. Unexpectedly, Consort Mi was so lucky that she got pregnant during this period.
Wen Shan had listened to all the gossip all afternoon and was thoroughly satisfied. When Yinzhen and the other two returned in the evening, Wen Shan even asked Yinsi if the matter was true.
Yinzhi gave an affirmative answer, and also told Wenshan why the jade Buddha given by Consort De seemed a bit small.
"Empress Xiaoyi had just delivered the items when Consort De seemed to get angry and smashed them, which is why they are a bit small."
"..."
The gift from Consort De is truly...
Fortunately, Yinzhen didn't care. He glanced at the things piled to one side and said to put them away and put them in the storeroom along with the things sent by the other concubines. Anyway, he wouldn't take them out to use, and they would mostly be used to reward people later.
On the day of the wedding, the palace was very lively. Yinzhen, Yinxiang and the Fifth Prince were the most enthusiastic in making a ruckus. Yinzhen's cold face could not stop their enthusiasm for making a ruckus in the bridal chamber. In the end, Wenshan couldn't stand it anymore and carried them away one by one.
"Mother, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, why are you stopping us?" Yinxiang rubbed his ears, pouted and said, "It's so funny to see Fourth Brother looking so helpless."
Wen Shan tapped his head: "Your mother is doing this for your own good. Wait until your wedding day and see how your fourth brother deals with you."
"..."
Thinking about it carefully, it does seem to be true; Fourth Brother is quite vengeful!
Yinzhi and Yinxiang huddled together, whispering something to each other, before arm in arm they went back to the Fifth Palace in Ganxi to cause trouble for the Third Prince.
The next morning, Yinzhen brought Lady Fucha to Xianfu Palace. Since Emperor Kangxi had stayed there the night before, the young couple didn't need to make another trip to Yangxin Hall.
When Wenshan and Kangxi came out of the inner palace, Yinzhen and Fucha had already been there for a quarter of an hour. She had just finished getting ready, but for some reason, Kangxi suddenly became dawdling and made Yinzhen wait a while.
After the two men paid their respects to Wen Shan and Emperor Kangxi, Wen Shan quickly told them to get up.
Lady Fucha looked rosy-cheeked. Although the wedding ceremony yesterday was complicated, she seemed to be in good spirits today. Yinzhen also appeared more gentle than usual.
Kangxi only said some polite words about marital harmony and that Yinzhen should not slack off on state affairs after his wedding before leaving Xianfu Palace to attend court. The atmosphere immediately eased as soon as Kangxi left.
"Le Jin, your mother has prepared a congratulatory gift for you, Ma Jia, and Ulanara. Please take it back to them later."
Wenshan waved, and Pearl came up with the gifts.
Wen Shan prepared a pair of gemstone-inlaid ruyi bracelets for Lady Ma Jia and Lady Ulanara, one for each of them, which was just right. For Lady Fucha, she gave a pair of Hetian jade twin lotus hairpins, which were given by Emperor Kangxi when Wen Shan was made a Noble Consort. They were precious and elegant.
“Such fine Hetian jade is hard to find these days. I haven’t worn these hairpins much since His Majesty bestowed them upon me, so they’re perfect for you,” Wen Shan said with a smile.
Fucha's temperament does indeed have a delicate, lotus-like quality, which is very suitable for these elegant pieces of jewelry.
After accepting the gift herself, Lady Fucha smiled and said, "Your daughter-in-law will certainly pass on Mother's good wishes to your two younger sisters."
Yinzhi and Yinxiang arrived after only a few words.
As the eldest sister-in-law, Lady Fucha also prepared gifts for her two younger brothers-in-law. Because Yinxiang was still young and studying, she gave him a set of proper writing implements, and for Yinsi, she gave him a set of warm jade chess pieces. They were all carefully selected good things.
"Thank you very much, Fourth Sister-in-law. Fourth Brother has never prepared any gifts for me and Thirteenth Brother. We have to rely on Fourth Sister-in-law's help." Yinzhi said with a smile.
Yinzhen rolled his eyes at him. It was always Yinsi who would take whatever he wanted without asking for any gifts.
Empress Fucha smiled and glanced at Yinzhen, saying gently, "Eighth Brother and Thirteenth Brother grew up with Fourth Prince, so naturally they have a very close relationship. Yesterday, Fourth Prince specifically instructed me to be filial to Mother and also take care of my two younger brothers."
Yinxiang flipped through the writing implements; they were indeed fine items, but he wasn't really interested in them. He immediately made a request: "Fourth Sister-in-law, could you please give me some food and toys instead? These things give me a headache just looking at them."
"If you don't want it, just return it. Why all the fuss?"
Lady Fucha was not very familiar with how her brothers interacted on a daily basis. The thirteenth prince was just joking, but Yinzhi saw Lady Fucha's smile freeze. This could easily make her think that she had given the wrong gift and upset the thirteenth prince, so Yinzhi quickly spoke up.
Yinzhen also looked up and said, "This is what I asked your fourth sister-in-law to pick out for you. Don't you like it?"
Wen Shan said helplessly, "Yinxiang has been close to Yinzhen since childhood and loves to joke around. Le Jin, don't mind him. Yinxiang, hurry up and apologize to your fourth sister-in-law."
Yinxiang was also quick to speak, especially in recent years when he had been pampered by Yinzhen and Yinsi. He spent his days eating, drinking, playing, reading, and sleeping, and was hardly asked to do anything troublesome. Now that he was in Xianfu Palace, he was not so careful with his words.
"It was my fault. I was just joking. Fourth Sister-in-law, please don't be angry. I like this. I'll take it to the Imperial Study tomorrow."
Fucha thought to herself that her father's instructions before the wedding were indeed correct. The Eighth Prince and the Thirteenth Prince had good personal relationships with her Fourth Prince. It was just that the Eighth Prince was more cunning, while the Thirteenth Prince was more straightforward.
“What are you saying, Thirteenth Brother? I will definitely prepare another gift that you would like another day.” Fucha smiled slightly.
Yinzhen and Empress Fucha didn't sit for long either, as they still had to go to the Empress Dowager's palace to pay their respects, so they couldn't have breakfast together.
After the two left, Yinxiang drank his porridge and said, "It's only the first day of the wedding and Fourth Brother is already protecting her. It seems he's quite satisfied with this Fourth Sister-in-law."
Yinzhi glanced at him: "You dare to talk nonsense. People have to give their bride some face on her wedding day."
Wen Shan nodded, but Fucha was a very generous girl and wouldn't take it to heart.
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