Chapter 84 Regarding this, Yinzhen and Yinsi also…
Both Yinzhen and Yinsi were utterly speechless at this.
"If Suo'etu knew, he'd be so angry his head would be steaming," Yinzhi joked.
Yinzhen shook his head: "Falling in the same place twice is indeed a headache."
How could the Crown Prince be so unable to resist the allure of women?
Yinzhen asked Yinsi if the previous crown prince was like this.
After thinking for a while, Yinzhi said, "Power, money, and women are probably something that all men in the world crave, or all of them. The Crown Prince is no exception."
"But the crown prince of the past never acted so absurdly."
It can only be said that this life made the Crown Prince feel fear and pressure too early, and under such pressure, he would naturally seek some amusement.
Women were probably the least likely source of amusement for the prince, but whether it was bad luck or lust that clouded his judgment, he always managed to cause big trouble.
That's just human nature, there's nothing more to say about it.
Yinzhen thought for a moment and said, "Have someone keep an eye on Wang Shi. Given Suo'etu's style, he will definitely get rid of Wang Shi and the child."
Just as Princess Yundai was not wanted by Suo'etu back then, let alone Wang, who is now the daughter of a disgraced official.
Yinzhi said leisurely, "Of course, after all, the child in that woman's belly is our nephew, and we uncles have to take care of him."
After Yinzhen and Yinsi returned to the capital, their subordinates reported that someone had indeed tried to sneak in and assassinate Lady Wang that night, but they had stopped them.
“This way, Suo’etu will know that the matter has been exposed,” Yinzhen said to Yinsi on the way to the palace.
Yinzhi said, "But he doesn't know whether it was you, me, or the First Prince who did it."
Yinzhen pondered for a moment: "With the connection to Nuomin, I will naturally be the first person to suspect you."
“So we can’t let Nuomin handle this.” Yinzhi raised an eyebrow and said, “Let Longkodo and Tong Guowei take care of it. They’ve been quite free lately.”
Yinzhen: "...You really never think of anything good, you always dump these kinds of messes on Tong Guowei."
Yinzhi feigned innocence: "This can't be blamed on me. That old fox Tong Guowei wants to be a womanizer without getting a single petal on him. There's no such thing as a free lunch."
“But now, of all the waters in the world, he only wants to drink from one.” It was rare for Yinzhen to joke with Yinsi.
"..."
"Fourth Brother, what you said makes me want to vomit."
"Of all the waters in the world, I only drink from one gourd." Is this really something that Fourth Brother would say?
It's true that things are different after marriage.
Upon entering the palace, the first thing Yinzhen and Yinsi naturally did was to go to the Hall of Mental Cultivation to pay their respects to Emperor Kangxi. Emperor Kangxi was busy cleaning up the mess left by the Crown Prince and preparing for the expedition against Galdan, so he didn't have time to pay attention to the two of them. He said a few words and then told them to go to the Xianfu Palace to pay their respects to Wenshan.
Yinzhen and Yinsi were overjoyed and headed straight for Xianfu Palace. When they arrived, Zhenzhu and Baoquan were directing the palace servants to sprinkle water in the courtyard to cool it down since it was too hot.
"Fourth Prince, Eighth Prince! Your Highnesses are finally back." Pearl greeted them with a smile, saying, "Your Highnesses have been talking about this all these days. I'll go and tell them right away. Your Highnesses will be overjoyed."
Wen Shan was overjoyed to see Yinzhen and Yinsi and quickly asked them if they were tired from their long journey. She then asked Pearl to fetch some chilled fruit.
"Mother, we're fine," Yinzhi said with a smile. "We came back slowly along the way, it's nothing."
Yinxiang was in the Imperial Study, not Xianfu Palace, at this time. Yinsi looked around the hall and saw two large vats of ice, but it was still hotter than in previous years.
"Mother is most afraid of the heat, so please have someone add more ice. If the Imperial Household Department doesn't provide enough, I'll have someone bring some in from outside," Yinzhi said.
Besides the official ice cellars, the high-ranking officials and nobles in the capital naturally had their own places to store ice. Yinzhen and Yinsi were no exception, and they had people prepare ice as soon as the weather got hot this year.
"It's alright, everything's fine now." Wen Shan excitedly showed them the ice maker recipe she had written down from memory a few days ago.
Well... the content is actually quite abstract.
Wen Shan knew absolutely nothing about these mechanical things, and it was only because she was so hot that she racked her brains to come up with a rough idea. Fortunately, she had previously bought a small ice maker for home because she found freezing ice cubes in the refrigerator troublesome, and also for fun, so she knew a little about it.
Yinzhen and Yinsi naturally didn't quite understand it either, but Yinsi carefully put it away and then said with a smile, "I'll have someone send it out later."
Wenshan smiled and rested her chin on her hand as she looked at her son, whom she hadn't seen for two and a half months, and sighed, "He got so tanned after just one trip out."
"There's nothing I can do, my fourth brother and I are always out and about." Yinzhi started to act pitiful and ingratiating. Wen Shan knew as soon as she saw his expression that this kid was about to order something again.
This has been the same approach since she was a child, and Wen Shan always falls for it; it never fails her.
Wen Shan agreed to cook the dishes he wanted, but just as she was about to go to the small kitchen, Yin Si suddenly frowned and pulled her back.
"Never mind, Mother, it's too hot. Don't go to the small kitchen. Let the servants prepare it."
Despite the sweltering heat and the smoky atmosphere of the kitchen, Yinzhi still felt sorry for his mother.
"It's alright, you've just returned, we should have a proper welcome-back dinner," Wen Shan said with a smile, then turned to Yinzhen and asked, "Yinzhen, would you like your wife to join us for the meal?"
Lady Fucha hadn't seen Yinzhen for over half a month. During this time, she often brought Lady Majia and Lady Ulanara to Xianfu Palace to keep her company and talk. At least for now, she liked all three of her daughters-in-law quite a bit.
Since they were newlyweds, and Yinzhen had just returned and couldn't be in two places at once, it would be best for the whole family to have a lively meal together.
"No need, Mother. Lady Fucha just sent someone to tell you that I can have dinner with you at Xianfu Palace," Yinzhen said.
"She's so understanding," Wen Shan exclaimed.
When Yinxiang returned from the Imperial Study, he jumped directly into Yinzhen's arms.
"Fourth Brother, Eighth Brother, you're finally back!"
Yinxiang is now eight years old and quite heavy. Just like when he was a child, he rushed into Yinzhen's arms, causing Yinzhen to stumble and almost fall.
Upon seeing this, Yinzhi scooped him out.
"How old are you, still throwing yourself at Fourth Brother? Don't you even know how heavy you are now?"
Yinxiang made a face: "Eighth Brother, you're already scolding me as soon as you get back."
Yinzhi ruffled his hair: "Nothing's happened in the palace these past few days, has it?"
"Something came up, so Father Emperor sent the Fifth Princess to Yanxi Palace to be raised by Mother."
“As expected,” Yinzhi said. “How could the Fifth Princess be left behind when Yonghe Palace is sealed off?”
"But we can't put it in Yanxi Palace."
Yinxiang was still furious when the matter was brought up, and began to complain to Yinzhen and Yinsi about how the Fifth Princess had been acting arrogantly and doing evil in Yanxi Palace.
Yinzhen shook his head and said, "You're exaggerating. Consort Min is still there. How could she allow the Fifth Princess to be so arrogant and domineering?"
Yinxiang touched his nose guiltily. Okay, he admitted that there was a little bit of fabrication in what he said earlier, but the arrival of the Fifth Princess did make Yanxi Palace much more uncomfortable.
Yinzhi chuckled and said casually, "Thirteenth Prince, I think you've been living too comfortably these past few years. Whenever something happens, you come to me and Fourth Brother. Figure it out yourself."
Even such a small matter requires them to come back and handle it; the thirteenth son is incredibly lazy.
Yinxiang simply gave up.
"The people in the palace are all in your hands, Eighth Brother. It's just a matter of a word from you, why should I bother?"
With Yinzhen and Yinsi around, who would want to work hard?
Let him enjoy himself for a few more years, and then he can work for the two of them after he enters the court.
Yinzhen glanced at Yinsi and knew that he didn't really not want to help Yinxiang, but just had other ideas.
As expected, Yinzhi continued, "You'd better ask Consort Min what she thinks first, so you don't just act on your own."
Yinxiang thought it made sense, so he nodded and prepared to ask Consort Min and Wenke Dunke what they thought the next day. If they also disliked the Fifth Princess, he would find a way to move the Fifth Princess to another place to be raised.
Soon Wen Shan came to call them for dinner. Yin Xiang responded crisply and pulled Yin Zhen and Yin Si out.
During the meal, Yinxiang also talked about the Crown Prince, which is now the biggest excitement.
"Father's intention is to downplay the matter and let it go, but my elder brother is furious and can't understand why Father isn't pursuing it," Yinxiang chuckled.
The eldest prince still needs to work on his mental fortitude. He got so angry over such a small matter that he smashed a lot of things in the mansion, and I heard that he almost accidentally injured Lady Irgen Gioro, who went to mediate.
Wen Shan asked, "What is the Crown Prince doing now?"
“If there’s no punishment, then we should just do what we’re supposed to do,” Yinzhi said as he walked. “But the Crown Prince will probably be busy soon.”
Yinxiang keenly sensed that there was more to this than met the eye, and pressed Yinsi to tell him what was going on.
Wen Shan's curiosity was also piqued, and she and Yinxiang stared eagerly at Yinzhen and Yinsi.
Knowing that Wen Shan loved hearing gossip, Yin Si recounted the story of the Crown Prince and Lady Wang in great detail.
Wenshan gasped after hearing this.
"The Crown Prince has had another child?"
It hasn't been long since Yun Dai's incident, and the Crown Prince is clearly forgetting his mistakes.
Yinzhi spread his hands: "We didn't expect this either, and the Crown Prince has already replaced the person. Yarha just found a scapegoat to take his place."
Wen Shan has been busy lately preparing for the Crown Prince's wedding with Xiao Tongjia and Consort Rong. The Crown Prince's wedding and the welcoming of the Crown Princess is a major event. Emperor Kangxi attaches great importance to it and even gave special permission for Guarjia to be carried in through the Qianqing Gate on the wedding day, a privilege reserved for the Empress.
Therefore, Wen Shan thought that if Emperor Kangxi found out that the Crown Prince had another pregnant concubine, he would be so angry with this precious son that he would lose several years of his life.
“The Crown Prince’s wedding is already being prepared, and at this time…” Wen Shan sighed, “Can’t the Crown Prince just be more patient? After the wedding, he can have as many concubines as he wants openly.”
Then you won't have to sneak around and cause yourself any trouble.
"There's a saying among the common people: a wife is not as good as a concubine, and a concubine is not as good as a stolen one. It's all the same principle," Yinzhi said with a smile.
Yinzhen rubbed his forehead: "Eighth brother, thirteenth brother is still here."
Yinzhi glanced at Yinxiang, thinking, "He's not really an eight-year-old child, what's there to be afraid of?"
Since the Crown Prince had committed such a serious mistake, Yinzhen and Yinsi would naturally not let it go so easily, but Yinxiang was somewhat worried.
"The Crown Prince's mishap in the Shaanxi disaster relief effort was also fueled by the First Prince. Father Emperor is discerning and understands this perfectly well. If we were to expose this matter now, given Father Emperor's suspicious nature, we might not gain anything in return."
It's one thing for the Crown Prince to make a mistake, but for the other princes to rush to point out his faults to Emperor Kangxi one by one.
The eldest prince still doesn't understand this principle, which is why he's always baffled as to why, even though it was the crown prince who committed the crime, he himself doesn't get any good outcome.
"Don't worry, everything will be arranged naturally." Yinzhi said with a slight smile, "What you need to worry about now is how to resolve the matter of Yanxi Palace."
"Your fourth brother and I won't help you."
Yinxiang: "..."
The myna bird is getting more and more wicked!
Wen Shan covered her mouth and laughed. Yin Si was all bark and no bite; in reality, he loved Yin Xiang more than anyone else. How could he possibly ignore him?
He just loved to tease Yinxiang with his words.
After having dinner and chatting with Wenshan for a while, the three brothers left as it was getting late.
Yinzhi and Yinxiang now live in the Fifth Palace in Qianxi. Yinxiang has even moved into the house where Yinzhen used to live and become Yinzhi's neighbor. Yinzhen, of course, has returned to Chonghua Palace.
Yinzhen and Yinsi still needed to discuss the matter of the Crown Prince, so Yinsi planned to sneak into Chonghua Palace under the cover of night. Yinxiang claimed that he needed to think carefully about how to deal with the Fifth Princess, so he did not go with his two brothers and returned to Qianxi Wusuo alone.
Yinzhen shook his head helplessly as he watched Yinxiang leave in a huff: "Why do you always like to tease the thirteenth brother?"
Although he knew that his eighth and thirteenth brothers were people who had been reborn and might be more mature than him, Yinzhen could accept that Yinsi had shown precociousness since childhood. However, Yinxiang seemed to be no different from a normal child from a young age, as if he was simply enjoying the opportunity of being reborn. Therefore, Yinzhen always found it difficult to treat Yinxiang and Yinsi as adults.
He was clearly a mischievous and playful child.
With his hands behind his back, Yinzhi said slowly, "Fourth Brother, you don't need to worry about him. The Thirteenth Prince is just too lazy to use his brain. It's good to find him something to do so that he won't just spend all his time in the Study irritating Master Zhang."
In other words, Yinxiang was born with a handsome appearance. As he grew up, he began to resemble Kangxi by four or five points, which made Kangxi love him even more and dote on this youngest son.
As the two were taking a shortcut toward Chonghua Palace, Yinzhi suddenly remembered that he had left some intelligence at the Fifth Palace in Ganxi, so he went back to the Fifth Palace in Ganxi to pack some things. Unexpectedly, he ran into Longkodo on the way.
"Your humble servant greets the Eighth Prince."
Yinzhi squinted at him and asked, "Longkodo?"
"Get up. Are you still on duty in the palace so late today?"
Yinzhi continued walking towards the direction of the Fifth Palace in Qianxi without stopping. Longkodo was obviously waiting for him on this inevitable route and quickly followed, saying, "Yes, Your Majesty, I heard today while on duty that the Eighth Prince and the Fourth Prince have returned to the palace, so I thought I would come to pay my respects."
Yinzhi gave him a half-smile: "Alright, there are no outsiders here, so just say what you have to say."
Before they knew it, they had arrived at Yinzhi's residence. The eunuchs were not surprised or suspicious when they saw Longkodo following closely behind. They simply went about their business as usual and kept watch over the gate.
This was the first time Longkodo had dared to come to the Fifth Palace in Ganxi to see Yinzhi so boldly. The Tong family and Yinzhi had always interacted privately, and Tong Guowei had often told him not to appear too close to the Eighth Prince in the palace. However, this time the matter was so urgent that he couldn't care less about such things.
Moreover, it was somewhat unexpected that the usually cautious Eighth Prince had also brought him into the Fifth Palace of Ganxi. However, the Eighth Prince's courtyard was indeed as secure as an iron barrel, so it seemed that he was not afraid of any news being leaked.
Meanwhile, Yinzhi was sweating bullets, constantly thankful that he had come back; otherwise, it would have been troublesome if Longkodo had waited all night and found out he hadn't returned to Ganxi Wusuo to explain.
"Lord Longkodo, is there something you need so late?" Yinzhi sat down at the table and gestured for Longkodo to sit down as well.
Xiao Shunzi served tea to the two of them, then left, closing the door behind him and standing guard outside.
"Has the Eighth Prince heard about the matter of the disaster relief minister recommended by the Crown Prince accepting bribes?" Longkodo asked.
Yinzhi took a sip of tea and smiled slightly, saying, "Of course, even if I'm not in the capital, I've heard about such a big event."
"The governor of Shaanxi is the First Prince's man. It was the governor of Shaanxi and the First Prince who instructed the deliberate leniency that allowed the disaster to spread to this extent. Your humble servant already has some evidence. Eighth Prince, do you think we are like the mantis stalking the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind?"
Longkodo was confident that he had presented Yinzhi with a good plan.
"Is this also Tong Guowei's idea?" Yinzhi asked.
Longkodo remained silent and continued, "Eighth Prince, you may not know this, but the Crown Prince's recommendation of Wang Kuo was not just about receiving 30,000 taels of silver from him. Wang Kuo also offered his daughter to the Crown Prince. Now, Wang is pregnant and the Crown Prince is secretly hiding her in a villa in the capital."
Longkodo's words were full of confidence in these reports, as if he felt it demonstrated the extraordinary abilities of the Tongjia clan.
Yinzhi was a little annoyed. When would Longkodo get rid of this habit of talking to himself?
"Oh, is that so?" Despite saying this, Yinzhi still feigned surprise.
But in reality, it was he who leaked the information to the Tong family.
“That is indeed the case,” Longkodo said. “Your Majesty, I have verified that the Crown Prince smuggled Wang Shi, the daughter of a disgraced official who should have been exiled to Ningguta, through the intervention of Yarha, the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Justice. Eighth Prince, if the Emperor finds out, this will be a serious crime.”
"Do you want to bring down the First Prince and the Crown Prince all at once?" Xinsi said with a smile, "Prime Minister Tong really has a big appetite."
However, Yinzhi did not expect that he had underestimated Tong Guowei's courage.
"Eighth Prince, don't forget that Minister of Justice Nuomin is also the Fourth Prince's father-in-law. Although Nuomin's daughter is only a concubine, she is still someone on the Fourth Prince's ship."
Longkodo was increasingly impressed by his father's meticulousness, which had somehow connected the remaining three princes in the struggle for the throne.
Yinzhi frowned slightly and asked calmly, "Oh, what does this mean?"
Longkodo said confidently, "Although the prisoner exchange was done by Yarha, Nuomin, as the Minister of Justice, is also guilty of negligence. At that time, the censors will jointly submit a memorial to the Emperor requesting that Nuomin be dismissed from his position as Minister."
"Killing three birds with one stone, indeed a good plan." Yinzhi nodded thoughtfully.
Longkodo said, "That's why I rushed here last night to meet with the Eighth Prince. If we make proper preparations this time, the First Prince, the Crown Prince, and the Fourth Prince will all suffer heavy losses."
"Didn't Tong Guowei tell you about another possibility?" Yinzhi raised his eyes and said, "It's common knowledge that Father Emperor favors the Crown Prince. It's also possible that Father Emperor will continue to suppress this matter as always."
"Don't worry, Eighth Prince. Now that I've taken on this role, I'm confident that this matter can't be suppressed."
Tong Guowei meant that this time it was time to go all out; if they could succeed in one strike, the probability of Yinzhi ascending the throne would indeed be much higher.
Yinzhi neither confirmed nor denied this, but asked again, "Has the Wang family sent people to protect her? I'm afraid Suo'etu won't let her live."
"The Eighth Prince is indeed a brilliant strategist. Suo'etu has already sent someone to assassinate her once, but fortunately Wang survived. Otherwise, we would really be missing a crucial witness."
Yinzhi nodded and, without saying anything more, let Longkodo leave first.
Fifteen minutes after Longkodo left, Xiao Shunzi came in.
"My lord, Lord Longkodo has returned to his quarters to rest."
Take a break? Judging by his opinion, this kid will be too excited to sleep tonight.
"Pack your things, let's go to Chonghua Palace."
Yinzhi arrived at Chonghua Palace much later than when he went back to get some things, but since Yinzhi hadn't sent anyone to inform him that he wasn't coming, Yinzhen waited for him.
"Why did it take you so long?"
"Longkodo came to see me." Yinzhi lay down on the couch, put his arm behind his head, and tilted his head to look at Yinzhen, who was sitting upright and looking at something.
"That old fellow Tong Guowei has quite an appetite; he wants to swallow the First Prince, the Crown Prince, and you all in one bite."
Yinzhen put down what he was holding, thought for a moment, and said, "Nuomin?"
Yinzhi nodded: "I did overlook this move. Tsk, troublesome."
“Then we can only let Nuomin report this matter before Tong Guowei does,” Yinzhen said. “If Tong Guowei’s people accuse him of dereliction of duty, it will be troublesome.”
"Not only that, but we also need to have Nuomin speak to Father Emperor privately," Yinzhi said with a smile.
Yinzhen understood immediately and wrote a private letter to Nuomin.
So the next day, Nuomin hurriedly submitted a secret memorial to Emperor Kangxi.
After reading it, Emperor Kangxi summoned him to the Hall of Mental Cultivation.
"Is what this says true?"
Nuomin immediately knelt down and said, "Your Majesty, I dare not deceive you. However, since this concerns His Highness the Crown Prince, I dare not act rashly and can only secretly inform Your Majesty first."
Nuomin's memorial detailed the events in great detail, giving Emperor Kangxi a headache.
"Get up, you did a good job."
“Your humble servant has failed in his duty of oversight, causing the prisoner to be lost, and therefore dares not rise.”
Emperor Kangxi rubbed his forehead and waved his hand, saying, "I told you to get up, so get up."
The fact that Nuomin secretly reported this matter to him already saved Kangxi from a potential trouble, so Kangxi naturally didn't intend to pursue this minor matter.
"Have you found out where that Wang woman is now?" Kangxi asked.
Nuomin replied, "We are still investigating, but if it's the Crown Prince... I'm afraid it will be difficult to investigate."
"Don't worry about him, find the person for me."
"Yes, sir."
Kangxi wanted to say something more, but ultimately didn't, waving his hand to dismiss Nuomin.
"Liang Jiugong, summon the Crown Prince. I have something to ask him."
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