Chapter 169 "Heart-to-Heart"
"Why so many questions? I've already said I'm going to be a wise and benevolent emperor. How could I abandon you talented people just because of a little suspicion?"
Yinzhen followed up on Yinsi's words and explained, as if everything was that simple.
"What about seventeen?"
Unexpectedly, Yinzhi didn't dwell on the issue. Instead, he shifted the focus to Yunli. Yinzhen tilted his head, his brows furrowed with surprise and confusion: "What's wrong with Seventeenth?"
"Why are you so good to Seventeen? She's not much worse than Honghui."
Yinzhen gave a helpless smile: "Seventeen is intelligent, and raising brothers is more reliable than raising court officials."
“Yes, so Seventeenth Brother has no experience, so you let the older brothers mentor him. First, he followed Thirteenth Brother to the Ministry of Justice, then followed Third Brother to the Hanlin Academy, then followed Fifth Brother to the Imperial Household Department, and now he's followed Seventh Brother to the Court of Colonial Affairs…”
Yinzhi turned his head and looked directly into Yinzhen's eyes: "I guess, next, you will send him and Honghui to negotiate with Tsarist Russia."
Yinzhen was somewhat taken aback, as if he hadn't expected Yinsi to guess his thoughts. He then smiled knowingly and said, "As expected, Eighth Brother understands me best. Russia is beset by internal and external troubles, so a war is absolutely out of the question, and they wouldn't dare to fight. They can only negotiate. With you, eldest brother, in charge, this negotiation won't cause any major problems. But it's a good opportunity for training, so I do intend to send Honghui and Yunli, the two younger ones, together."
Are you paving the way for him?
"who?"
"You're paving the way for Honghui and the Crown Prince. Whether it's the thirteenth prince who wasn't put into the Grand Council, the fourteenth prince who was granted the title of 'Grand General,' or the seventeenth prince whom you personally trained, these three uncles who are closest to Honghui are all the right-hand men you've prepared for him."
Yinzhi remained calm as he articulated his reasoning, word by word: "You bestow the Yonghe Palace upon Honghui, appoint him as Crown Prince, and uphold his legitimate status; you purge the court with iron-fisted methods, sever the ties between powerful families, develop the people's livelihood, and cultivate talent... You will govern the country, expand the territory, and resolve both internal and external troubles. Even if Honghui lacks ability, he can still be a ruler who maintains the status quo. Moreover, Honghui is promising, and there are the thirteenth, fourteenth, and seventeenth princes who can assist him. It can be said that his future is bright."
"Isn't this a good thing? Honghui is my most outstanding son. Doesn't he deserve this kind of upbringing?"
Faced with Yinzhen's question, Yinsi did not show much emotion, but his gaze never left Yinzhen: "Honghui is worth it, but what about you? Fourth Brother, what about you?"
What's wrong with me?
"Fourth Brother, you know very well that from the moment I started calling you Fourth Brother, this has been a conversation between brothers, not between ruler and subject. As your younger brother, I only have one question: what's wrong with you?"
Looking at Yinzhen's earnest yet worried gaze, Yinzhen gradually fell silent. After thinking for a long time, he began to speak slowly, as if he were narrating someone else's story.
"In the thirty-ninth year of Kangxi's reign, in order to secure my position as the wife of the emperor, Lady Uya and Lady Ulanara conspired against me, which resulted in me falling seriously ill. However, it was also in this year that I conceived Honghui."
"In the 41st year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, the Governor-General of Liangjiang, Irali Ashan, exposed a corruption case in Jiangnan. I was appointed to investigate the case in Jiangnan, which overturned half of the officialdom in Jiangnan. I also survived countless assassination attempts, and returned to Beijing covered in wounds."
"In the forty-second year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign, while accompanying his father on a southern tour, the ship was attacked and sank on the way back to Beijing from Jiangning, leaving a permanent scar on his left shoulder..."
"Fourth Brother..." Yunsi's heart sank, and he dared not listen any longer.
But Yinzhen, who was talking about his painful past, was unusually calm. He looked at Yinsi and smiled lightly: "Eighth brother, I am a human, not a god. Just because I become emperor doesn't mean I will live forever. Father Emperor only experienced one shipwreck, which broke his foundation. I have been through wind and rain, and it is already very good that I can still sit here and chat with you."
"Fourth Brother, what did the imperial physician say?" Even though he already had a bad feeling, Yinzhen's casual remark still made Yinsi's eyes redden.
"The imperial physicians all use the same old methods, there's nothing much to say about them."
Yinzhen avoided answering, but Yinsi was very stubborn: "If the imperial physicians are useless, we will recruit famous doctors from all over the country. Fourth brother, you can't give up first."
"Why bother hiring a famous doctor? I know my own body best. Don't cause any more trouble at this crucial moment. Eighth brother, don't worry, I'm not that easy to kill."
"Fourth Brother!" Yinzhi roared, unable to accept Yinzhen's indifferent attitude.
Seeing this, Yinzhen put away his smile, looked at Yunsi seriously, and patted his shoulder: "Eighth brother, I would not joke about my own body. But everyone will die, but at least I have made a name for myself in history. My name can be passed down in the long river of history for a hundred years, which makes me happier than if I live for a hundred years."
"Don't overthink it. Maybe one day God will see my good deeds and not have the heart to take my life. Relax, look at me, I'm doing pretty well now, nothing serious will happen to me anytime soon."
...
[Waaaaah, host, please don't die—]
Not long after Yun Si left, a pitiful 555 jumped out and wailed.
Before Yinzhen could react, 556 jumped out and rolled her eyes at 555, saying, "[555, don't cry! Master is just acting. I've told you so many times. You're taking it too seriously!]"
Helpless, 556 realized that if it hadn't been holding 555 back, 555 would have jumped out and burst into tears long ago. Although Yun Si couldn't see, it was afraid that its master would break down, and then it would suffer along with 555.
To avoid this possibility, it racked its brains to comfort 555 and explained to it word by word that its master just wanted to be lazy and was just playing the emotional card. Why was it crying? As the bound system, didn't 555 know whether his body was healthy or not?
Unfortunately, 555, who is too emotional, couldn't help but rush out as soon as the person left.
[I know it's fake, but the thought of the host getting hurt makes me feel terrible, and I wish I could take their place.]
556 Speechless. So you've been all this time trying to show your loyalty, huh? What does this leave us here? Should I cry along with you?
Yinzhen shoved 556 back into his mind, realizing its intentions; he wasn't prepared to accept the baptism of the demonic sound. As for 555, at least its crying was somewhat melodious, and its silly antics were rather endearing.
"Don't worry, I just want Lao Ba to work for me for free. He's healthy."
【Oh.】 Hearing the host's straightforward answer, 555 suddenly couldn't cry anymore. Suddenly feeling a little embarrassed, she didn't dare to stay any longer and quickly darted back into the host's consciousness.
Yinzhen chuckled, twirling the thumb ring on his thumb—or more precisely, his "plot awareness"—savoring the rich emotional snacks.
Even the most delicious food can become tiresome if eaten too often.
Therefore, he didn't actually say everything just now. Not wanting to work was one aspect, but on the other hand, he did experience burnout, and the emotional value provided by the plot was becoming less and less meaningful to him.
So he accelerated the process in all aspects, and of course, he kept his promise. Since he promised that the plot consciousness would remain until the end, he would definitely stay.
However, bringing forward the finish line shouldn't be a problem, right? Thinking about how Zhen Huan's protagonist aura had been gradually weakening in the recent plot feedback, Yinzhen nodded in satisfaction.
With the affairs of the previous dynasty largely resolved, it's time to speed things up for the harem as well.
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