Chapter 108 Disposition
"It is what everyone expects, truly what everyone expects!"
No sooner had Yinzhi finished speaking than Emperor Kangxi flew into a rage, pointing at Yinzhi who was kneeling on the ground and rebuking him: "I think the Eighth Prince is quite good at winning people's hearts. You, the son of four concubines, are actually willing to follow him. Could it be that you are greedy for this merit of following the emperor?"
"Father!" How could Yinzhen accept such suspicion? He immediately knelt down and continued to explain, "Your Majesty, I had no other intentions. Eighth Brother is virtuous and talented, and I simply admire him..."
“Father Emperor,” hearing Yinzhen’s seemingly explanatory but actually infuriating words, Yinzhen, who was standing nearby, disregarded everything else and knelt down beside Yinzhen, boldly speaking up to stop Yinzhen from continuing, “Father Emperor, Ninth Brother didn’t mean anything by it, he was just following the recommendation of the court officials…”
"Enough!" Kangxi shouted sternly.
The tenth prince's words weren't much better than the ninth prince's. He was perceptive, but he had been neglected by Kangxi in the past and hadn't experienced many such grand occasions, so his words weren't exactly pleasant to hear. No wonder Kangxi's face grew darker the more he listened.
Unwilling to continue entangled with his two sons, Kangxi turned to Yinzhi and decisively gave his final decision: "Yinzhi is cunning and treacherous by nature, and harbors great ambitions, as I have long known. I hereby order Yinzhi to be arrested and handed over to the Council of State for trial."
"Father!"
When Kangxi said this, everyone was shocked. The deposed crown prince was only imprisoned in Yuqing Palace, so why was Yinzhi being handed over to the Council of State for trial?
Yinzhen, already seething with resentment because Kangxi implicated the thirteenth prince and forcibly assigned his fourth brother to guard the crown prince, could no longer contain himself. Remembering the kindness his eighth brother had shown him during this time, he knelt down before Kangxi and loudly remonstrated.
“My brother has no such intention; I am willing to protect him.”
"You're willing to protect him? What will you use to protect him?" Kangxi looked at Yinzhen, who had knelt down, his expression growing increasingly grim. He pointed at Yinsi, then at the Ninth and Tenth Princes who had also pleaded for him, and questioned, "Are you like those two, hoping that he will become the Crown Prince and ascend the throne, and then grant you the title of Prince? You claim to be loyal, but I think it's just the loyalty of Liangshan Marsh!"
“Father, I dare not,” Yinzhen first apologized, then surprisingly boldly looked directly at Kangxi with his neck stiff and said, “Father, it was you who issued the decree to recommend the Crown Prince. Now we are merely speaking based on the recommendations of the court officials. What is wrong with that? I am risking my life to remonstrate today only for the sake of justice and fairness.”
Upon hearing this, everyone present was shocked, never expecting that Yinzhen would dare to contradict Kangxi in this way.
Before anyone could react, Kangxi flew into a rage, drawing his sword from the side. "What a fine example of justice and righteousness! What a fine example of risking one's life to remonstrate! If you want to die, die now!"
"Father!"
Everything happened so suddenly that everyone was shocked to see Kangxi's sword coming straight at Yinzhen.
Yinzhen was so terrified that he was speechless. His pupils dilated, and before he could dodge, a figure quickly blocked his way.
"Fourth Brother..."
In a flash, Yinzhen stood in front of Yinzhen, gripping the blade that Kangxi was about to strike with, his hands instantly covered in blood.
The eldest prince, Yinzhi, and the third prince, Yinzhi, grabbed Kangxi's arms from behind, while the fifth prince, Yinqi, and the seventh prince, Yinyou, quickly rushed to Kangxi's front and each grabbed one of his legs.
The remaining three princes, the fifteenth, sixteenth, and seventeenth, no matter how mature they appeared, were still young and had never witnessed a patricide. Unable to help, they could only stand by, trembling with red eyes.
The group worked together to stop the enraged Kangxi. Kangxi, whose blood was rushing to his head, was held back by his sons and could not move. When he saw Yinzhen gripping the sharp blade tightly, the sight of blood brought him back to his senses.
"Let go." After his initial rage, Kangxi's voice was hoarse and still held a hint of murderous intent.
"Father..." The crowd hesitated, not daring to let go of their father who had suddenly gone mad and murdered his son.
"Let go, does Yinzhen not want his hand anymore?" Kangxi rebuked coldly.
Seeing that he was now paying attention to Yinzhen's hand, they figured he probably wouldn't make a move again. The brothers exchanged hesitant glances for a while, but in the end, Yinzhen, who was facing Kangxi directly, slowly released his grip on the blade when he saw Kangxi's clear eyes.
Seeing this, the others slowly loosened their grip. Then, from the eldest prince Yinzhi to the seventh prince Yinyou, the five brothers knelt down before Kangxi. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, they knelt in a row, shielding their younger brothers behind them.
"Father, please forgive me."
Seeing his five eldest sons plead guilty, Kangxi could clearly see that they were protecting their younger brother, and he couldn't help but snort coldly.
"You two seem to have a deep brotherly bond..."
Kangxi's cold gaze swept over the five sons who were obediently kneeling in the front row, lingered for a moment on Yinzhen's blood-soaked hands, and then looked at the three youngest sons who were quietly kneeling down at the back, their bodies filled with fear.
Finally, the disgusted gaze fell on the eighth, ninth, tenth, and fourteenth princes who were being protected behind him.
“The Fourteenth Prince, Yinzhen, disrespected the emperor and father. Considering that many of your elder brothers pleaded for you, he was dragged out and given twenty strokes of the cane, and then banished back to the Prince’s residence, where he was forbidden to leave.”
When the news of Yinzhen's punishment came out, everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness, being flogged and confined to the house was better than being beheaded by the Emperor.
Before everyone could relax, Kangxi pointed at Yinzhi, "Yinzhi is a convict in prison and the son of a lowly slave from the Imperial Household Department. He is unworthy of his position and cannot possibly be the crown prince. Remove him from all his posts, strip him of his title of Beile, and demote him to a minor official position..."
Yinzhi didn't hear a word Kangxi said after that. Even though he knew his fate was bad, when he heard the phrase "son of a lowly slave in the Xin Zhe Ku," Yinzhi instantly went deaf, with only a loud, piercing whistle playing incessantly in his mind.
“The son of a lowly slave from the Imperial Household Department…” Yinzhi, like a rusty machine, struggled to raise his head. When he met Kangxi’s disgusted gaze, even though sorrow had overwhelmed him, he still couldn’t help but feel a pang of pain in his heart. He felt that everything he had fought so hard for in the past had lost its meaning.
He climbed so hard, and was about to reach the top, but in his own father's eyes, he was always the son of that lowly slave from the Xin Zhe Ku.
"Pfft!" With his blood rushing to his head, Yinzhi coughed up a mouthful of blood and collapsed heavily to the ground.
"Eighth Brother!" Yin Tang exclaimed in surprise, his eyes red as he tried to help Yin Si up.
Kangxi watched this scene coldly, feeling that Yinzhi was dissatisfied and not only did he not feel sorry for him, but he was even more annoyed by him.
"Guards, drag him away."
"Father..." Yinzhen seemed unable to hold back any longer and looked up as if he wanted to say something, but was interrupted by Kangxi.
His eyes, filled with rage, swept over each of his sons, and he said, word by word, "Those who plead for mercy will be punished as well!"
Instantly, silence fell over the room. Yinzhen, kneeling behind, had his arms firmly held down by Yinxi, gritting his teeth and remaining silent. At this moment, Yinzhen dared not raise his head, fearing that if he did, Kangxi would see the disrespect and hatred in his eyes.
Having dealt with his two sons, Kangxi's mood did not improve. He also did not want to know what his remaining sons thought, so he waved his hand and dismissed them.
"Cough cough cough..."
After everyone had left, Kangxi collapsed weakly onto the dragon throne, unable to suppress the itch in his throat, and coughed incessantly while covering his lips.
"Your Majesty!" Liang Jiugong, who had been hiding for a long time and not daring to breathe, finally appeared anxiously, approached Kangxi, and handed him a cup of tea.
"It's nothing." Kangxi took the teacup with trembling hands, took a sip of tea, and tried to calm his mind.
Liang Jiugong smoothly took the used teacup from Kangxi's hand, but before he could even breathe a sigh of relief, Kangxi's expression suddenly changed, he clutched his chest, and spat out a mouthful of blood.
"puff--"
"Your Majesty!" Liang Jiugong supported Kangxi's half-fallen body, his expression panicked. He immediately tried to order someone to summon the imperial physician, but Kangxi stopped him.
"Don't call anyone, secretly bring the imperial physician."
"emperor……"
"Liang Jiugong! This must not be known to outsiders. This is my order." Even in his weakened state, Kangxi still placed state affairs first.
He had already deposed the crown prince and punished two other princes; at this moment, he absolutely could not let anyone know that he had health problems. For the sake of imperial power and the court, he had already sacrificed his own sons; what did it matter if he sacrificed his own health as well?
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