Chapter 110 Extra Chapter: Sky Screen Cinema 16
"This is your eldest brother—"
Soetu spoke casually, and Mingzhu looked annoyed. "Is this never going to end?"
"Hmph, that's not your crown prince..." Mingzhu looked at Suo'etu threateningly. Everyone knew that the emperor was wary of Suo'etu getting close to the crown prince. If you know what's good for you, don't provoke him, or don't blame him for trying to take the crown prince from you!
Mingzhu has come to terms with it. What difference does it make whose subject he serves? The Heavenly Curtain has already appeared; what's wrong with him changing sides?
Having understood Mingzhu's gaze, Suo'etu was speechless. Mingzhu was indeed his nemesis!
"Stay away from the Crown Prince!"
Faced with Suo'etu's warning, Mingzhu remained calm and smiled gently: "That's not just your crown prince, is it, Lord Tong?"
"!" Tong Guowei froze, forced to maintain a fake smile, when he was suddenly called out halfway through the performance. "Look at the screen, look at the screen, what do you think Hongli is thinking?"
Tong Guowei looked up at the sky, determined not to get involved in their dispute. He wouldn't stray; they weren't on the same wavelength!
In this situation, apart from the emperor's nephew, neither Tong Guowei nor anyone else in the Tong family will get close to him!
Of course, if the Fourth Prince were to give birth to Hongli, they might be able to get close to him out of respect for Empress Xiaoyi.
Faced with the rumors that A'Ruo had taken advantage of Ruyi's unpreparedness to climb into her bed, Ruyi ignored them and only punished A'Ruo with a look of being betrayed, which made more people believe the news.
Soon after, news came from the court that a palace maid had climbed into his bedchamber. But for some reason, Hongli fell ill and did not even attend the morning court session the next day.
"If it weren't for A'Ruoqi's bad behavior, how could Brother Hongli have fallen ill? It's a pity I can't go see him..."
Ignoring Ruyi's melancholy, the people outside the canopy all frowned.
"What happened?"
Yinreng didn't believe that Hongli fell ill because a palace maid had climbed into his bedchamber; he suspected there might be someone else's scheme involved. Countless conspiracies and plots had crossed his mind, and when trouble struck in the palace, Yinreng's first thought was of the previous generation.
"Eighth Brother..."
Yinreng looked at Yinsi, who was taken aback. Before he could explain, Yinsi retorted, "It couldn't be Eighth Brother. I already believe Hongli is Ninth Brother's child. How could Eighth Brother not know..."
Yin Tang's expression changed, and he tried to cover Yin's mouth, but Yin dodged him. Yin was still very proud: "Haha, I knew Ninth Brother would use this trick. Now you can't catch me, can you?"
Feeling the strange gazes falling on the two of them, Yinzhen's face turned pale and then red, and he said through gritted teeth, "Shut up!"
"I haven't finished speaking yet..."
Yinzhen stopped Yintang with a forced smile, saying, "Let the tenth brother speak."
The slightly intimidating gaze made Yinzhen stiffen. Finally, after glancing at the smug-looking Tenth Prince, who seemed to know some big news and couldn't wait to vent, he closed his eyes helplessly.
"Tenth brother, what is it?"
Seeing that Ninth Brother did not jump out to stop him again, and Fourth Brother was still speaking to him in a nice tone, completely unaware of Yinzhi's hesitant look, Yinzhi proudly puffed out his chest: "If you ask me, it can't be Eighth Brother, nor can it be any of our brothers."
"Your Highness, eldest brother..." he blurted out, then realized he needed to be more tactful. He couldn't very well say directly that they were dead, so the clever tenth prince could only gloss over it, "Fifth brother and seventh brother couldn't be, and it wasn't me either. It was Prince Dun who thought Hongli was Ninth brother's child and wholeheartedly supported him. How could Ninth brother, his own father, and Eighth brother, his own uncle, possibly harm him? From then on, the thirteenth and fourteenth princes had an even better relationship with Hongli..."
"Dear Father" Yin Tang and "Dear Uncle" Yin Si silently turned their heads, looking left and right, as if they were very busy.
The real father, Yinzhen, smiled wider and wider, his face growing darker and darker. Even Yinzhi, who had been tormented by Ruyi to the point of being completely lost, couldn't help but move aside.
Yinzhi and Yinti listened with the same expression, completely engrossed; Yinreng, watching the drama unfold and observing his other brothers' expressions, was thoroughly amused. Indeed, besides him, Father Emperor, who else would you dare choose for this empire? Who else would you choose without losing face?
Kangxi looked around, making all the gossipy civil and military officials lower their heads, so embarrassed that they didn't know what to say.
Seeing the tenth prince's animated expression, Kangxi laughed in exasperation. He had actually discovered that the tenth prince had another advantage: he was good at storytelling. Why not just give up being a prince and let him go to Tianqiao to tell stories!
For some reason, Yinzhi glanced at Kangxi's expression and suddenly understood his displeasure. Seeing Yinreng's indifference, Yinzhi was delighted. Sure enough, at this time, it was still his eldest brother who had to step in!
"Tenth Brother, that's enough!"
Yinzhi stepped forward and stopped Yin, but when he caught a glimpse of Kangxi's slightly softened gaze, Yinzhi became even more certain of his thoughts and continued, "Keep your voice down, is this something to be proud of?"
"Puhahaha..."
Yinreng couldn't help but burst into laughter. "My boss, you really know how to talk!" He had made something that wasn't real into something real.
Kangxi closed his eyes. Sure enough, he shouldn't have trusted Yinzhi. He turned to look at Yinreng, who was smiling without any attempt to hide his feelings, and couldn't help but call out, "Baocheng."
Yinreng tried hard to suppress his laughter: "Ahem... Father, I understand why you were so considerate of my elder brother before. My elder brother truly lives up to his name."
"Protect Cheng!"
Kangxi was shocked. Yinreng didn't care. Yinreng had laid his cards on the table. He was now indiscriminately using Yin and Yang!
After seeing this sky, even knowing that he might be deposed in the future, Yinreng was no longer afraid.
That's just how arrogant he is. If you're so capable, really cripple him. Anyway, Father Emperor, look at these remaining brothers, choosing any one of them won't be a disgrace!
"All women born at this time are strictly prohibited from foot binding; those who have already bound their feet must unbind them; those with bound feet are not allowed to participate in the imperial concubine selection. Those who defy the imperial decree to bind their feet will have their husbands or fathers flogged eighty times and exiled three thousand li; if the women in their families have bound feet, their students will be barred from participating in the imperial examinations, and officials and members of the imperial family will be stripped of their official titles and ranks. Those who cultivate and sell so-called 'thin horses' or 'bound feet' will be severely punished! The same laws apply to both Manchus and Han Chinese!"
Soon after, the emperor recovered from his illness and issued two imperial edicts: one banning foot binding and the other abolishing the shaving of heads. When the edicts reached the inner palace, a large-scale inspection was carried out throughout the palace.
Rumors spread from the previous dynasty that several princes and ministers strongly supported the movement to ban foot binding and abolish head shaving.
"I see."
After calming down, the crowd couldn't help but sigh.
If the Manchu officials still had some questions, then most of the Han officials were moved to tears. What they saw was not just the abolition of foot binding and the shaving of heads, but more importantly, "equal treatment for Manchus and Hans"—truly equal treatment for Manchus and Hans!
Even Emperor Kangxi, who spoke of "Manchu and Han as one family," did not truly achieve this, but Hongli on the celestial screen did.
Emperor Kangxi and his many princes couldn't help but feel a sense of emotion.
"Hongli was a born emperor."
Despite being born in the Yuanmingyuan Garden and having no one to teach him anything from a young age, he easily won over the hearts of the people, ascended the throne, and truly succeeded in appointing people based on merit in politics.
"I knew Ruyi wasn't worthy. Hongli is putting himself in the game to implement his policies and win people's hearts..."
Seeing the Han officials moved by just a few words on the screen, Yinzhen couldn't help but say that it wasn't hard to imagine how devoted the Han officials would be to Hongli in the real world.
"Huh?" Yin asked, puzzled. Looking at his nephew's usual temperament, Yin seemed to understand something. "Why do I feel that Hongli is simply fond of beauty?"
Yinzhen glared at him, "Do you think Hongli is like you? He's the emperor!"
"Can't an emperor appreciate beauty?"
"I can't reason with you!"
"I can't reason with you!"
Yin pouted, feeling utterly wronged by the disapproving looks in everyone's eyes. Was he the only one who thought Hongli was just vain?
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