Chapter 157 The Reason
"No one can take Bao Cheng away..."
Inside the warm pavilion, the charcoal fire was burning brightly. Kangxi stroked the sleeping Bao Cheng's little face, his smile gentle yet stubborn.
She tucked the blanket around him, turned and walked out of the warm pavilion. Kangxi's face instantly turned cold. The palace servants kneeling outside lowered their heads, their clothes already soaked with cold sweat, but they dared not move. The whole room was silent as if they were being frightened.
As Kangxi sat in his seat, he could recall the scene he had just witnessed on the palace road with his eyes closed. He had clearly forbidden anyone from mentioning anything related to Buddhism in front of Bao Cheng, yet someone dared to recite Buddhist scriptures in front of Bao Cheng and even forced him to watch them.
The mere thought of it filled Kangxi with murderous intent.
The emperor's wrath could cause the deaths of millions; the sheer force of this aura caused everyone who sensed it to tremble in fear, including Liang Jiugong.
After such an incident, it's clear the Emperor doesn't even trust him anymore, since he does know more than anyone else. If the other palace servants were negligent, then he might have leaked the information.
So at this moment, Liang Jiugong only hoped that Eunuch Gu could find out the truth. In any case, at least save his life.
As if on cue, the advisor arrived. He walked briskly but steadily, and knelt before Emperor Kangxi, saying, "Your Majesty, this servant has investigated and found out."
As he spoke, he presented a stack of confessions.
This is actually an unspoken rule in the palace: if something is involved that would damage the royal family's reputation, the investigators will not say it directly, but will present the confession to the emperor, who will then decide whether to make it public.
But in Kangxi's eyes, no one was important except Bao Cheng. No matter who was behind it, he would never let them go. So he said coldly, "Recite it."
The advisor, having anticipated this, calmly nodded: "Your Majesty, the one who instructed that little eunuch to recite Buddhist scriptures for the young prince was the head maidservant of Consort Tong in Changchun Palace. After interrogation, she confessed that Consort Tong, upon learning of His Highness the Crown Prince's rescue of Prince Changquan, wanted His Highness to rescue Prince Yinzhen..."
"presumptuous!"
Emperor Kangxi was furious. There were other princes in the palace back then, so why was Changquan the first younger brother that Baocheng came into contact with? It was because he intentionally separated Baocheng from the sickly and obviously weak princes.
Bao Cheng is soft-hearted; he's afraid that if feelings develop, Bao Cheng will be sad.
After Bao Cheng saved Chang Quan, he became even more cautious. Although both were princes, he allowed the healthy Yin Zhi to approach Bao Cheng, but he forbade Wan Fu, who was two years older than Yin Zhi but was exceptionally sickly, to approach him, precisely because he feared that such a situation might arise.
He was naturally saddened by Wan Fu's death at the beginning of the year, but he was also glad that Bao Cheng had not been allowed to get close to him.
Shortly after Wan Fu's death, Consort Tong, of the Nara clan, gave birth prematurely to Yinzhi, who was clearly not a child who could be raised to adulthood. Naturally, he would not allow Bao Cheng to get close to him.
He believed he had treated Nara and Yinzhi fairly. But how dare Nara scheme against Baocheng? Who gave her the audacity!
Emperor Kangxi gripped the thumb ring on his hand and asked in a deep voice, "How did Nara find out about this?"
"After investigation, it was found that Consort An intentionally spread the message, and Consort Jing added fuel to the fire. The trail ended with the two consorts."
The advisor bowed his head, finished giving his instructions, and waited quietly for Kangxi's orders.
Kangxi gritted his teeth, worried about Bao Cheng sleeping inside, and suppressed his anger, not raising his voice: "Consort Tong, Consort An, Consort Jing, my harem is truly full of talented people! They dare to scheme against my son, do they really think my palace is a place where they can run wild?"
Everyone prostrated themselves even lower, not daring to breathe. The hall was eerily quiet, with only the sound of Kangxi's angry breathing clearly audible.
After a moment, Kangxi's expression softened, but it still exuded a chilling aura. He ordered, "Go, take all those involved to the Censorate and torture them severely until they confess whether anyone else is involved. Consort Tong, Consort An, and Consort Jing are demoted to commoners and confined to the palace. Without my decree, they are not allowed to step out of the palace gates. Everyone in the palace, from top to bottom, must be thoroughly interrogated!"
In the sixteenth year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, he established the rule of having four imperial consorts and six concubines.
In reality, seven concubines were promoted in the harem, and with the addition of the later-appointed Consort Tong, there were a total of eight concubines. But today, three of them were implicated and killed.
The concubines in the harem did not know what had happened, only that the emperor was furious and palace servants were being taken to the Imperial Prison, causing panic in the harem and forcing everyone to stay indoors.
Just as the situation was about to escalate, it was Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang who stepped in to stop Emperor Kangxi.
"Xuan Ye, stop now. The court and the harem are interconnected. Don't cause turmoil in the court and the country." Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's expression was calm, but it carried a profound sense of dissuasion.
Kangxi sat in his chair, his anger barely concealed by his imposing presence: "Grandmother, this matter concerns Bao Cheng, and I cannot tolerate it. Someone dares to play dirty tricks on Bao Cheng; I will not rest easy until they are eradicated." As he finished speaking, his fists clenched unconsciously.
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang sighed, "I know you feel sorry for Bao Cheng, but how could I not feel sorry for him too? But Xuan Ye, have you ever thought about what your pretext is for investigating the harem? Is it just because someone was reciting Buddhist scriptures in front of Bao Cheng?"
"Grandma Empress..." Kangxi looked at Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang in disbelief. Wasn't reciting Buddhist scriptures a bit too much?
"Xuan Ye, Buddhist scriptures are your weakness. If this gets out of hand, are you going to expose your weakness to the whole world?"
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang gave him a deep look. Xuan Ye always found it difficult to remain calm regarding Bao Cheng's affairs. Was it that Bao Cheng couldn't tolerate Buddhist scriptures? No, it was that Xuan Ye couldn't bear Bao Cheng's exposure to Buddhism.
Her words silenced him, and unease and fear unconsciously crept into Kangxi's eyes.
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang's heart softened at the sight, and she sighed softly, her eyes filled with a worldly wisdom: "Xuan Ye, I've heard that you've been keeping Bao Cheng confined to the Qianqing Palace all this time, refusing to let him in, and not even allowing him to go to the Imperial Study?"
Kangxi's gaze darted away. "I am uneasy because the person who leaked the information to me has not been found."
He was indeed uneasy, especially when Bao Cheng suddenly asked him why he had never seen Buddhist scriptures before after waking up. A hint of curiosity appeared in his usually clear and undisturbed eyes, and Kangxi almost collapsed.
He was terrified of losing Bao Cheng, so terrified that he couldn't bear to let Bao Cheng out of his sight. Just like now, when he was speaking with the Empress Dowager, Bao Cheng was also brought along and was being guarded by the advisors in a side hall.
Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang closed her eyes. Sometimes she didn't know whether Xuan Ye's stubborn love was good or bad for Bao Cheng.
“Baocheng will grow up eventually. If you keep avoiding him and restricting him, problems will inevitably arise. Wasn’t this time someone took advantage of the situation? Xuan Ye, sometimes it’s better to guide than to suppress…”
Kangxi closed his eyes. He knew this principle all too well, but he just couldn't accept the slightest risk of losing Baocheng.
“You are the emperor, not just Bao Cheng’s father, but also the affairs of the court and the harem.” Empress Dowager Xiaozhuang observed his expression and advised him in a different way: “If you want to keep Bao Cheng, you need to create a good environment for him. Haven’t you been doing it very well before?”
"Instead of letting Bao Cheng live alone under your wing, wouldn't it be better to try to sever his ties with Buddhism, so that he has more attachments and more things he can't bear to part with, to keep him here?"
“You raised him all these years. In Bao Cheng’s heart, aren’t you far more important than some vague Buddhist connection? Bao Cheng loves you the most, have you forgotten?”
Kangxi's expression gradually softened. That's right, Bao Cheng loved him the most, and nothing could take his son away! Not even all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens!
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