Chapter 103 Me: "Your Majesty, a memorial from the capital has arrived." "Bring it here, and take a look at the Crown Prince..."
"Your Majesty, the memorials from the capital have arrived."
"Bring it here, let's see what kind of trouble the Crown Prince has given me today."
That's why sometimes the truth isn't just one person's opinion. After being persuaded by Yu Lang from afar, the Crown Prince went to Shi Qionghua to comfort him, feeling down. Meanwhile, Emperor Kangxi was also upset when he heard that his good son had sent a memorial to the emperor.
The officials in the court were all seasoned veterans. With the Emperor absent and the Crown Prince in charge, they treated him like a fool. They talked about consulting with the heads of the Six Ministries and the Grand Councilors before sending memorials to the Emperor; they were all subtly pushing the Crown Prince to the forefront.
Unlike the open and confrontational approach of Suo'etu, at least half of these people were Mingzhu's men. The other half either genuinely wanted to curry favor with the Crown Prince or didn't want to cause any trouble while Kangxi was away from the capital, so they wanted to smooth things over and wait for the Emperor's return.
In short, everyone had their own agenda, but the result was consistent: the country belongs to the father and son, and whether it's good or bad and what to do with it is up to them to decide; we shouldn't interfere.
Yinreng was not stupid, in fact, quite clever, but compared to the shrewd civil and military officials below him, he was far too inexperienced.
The little notes he pasted into the memorials clearly showed his own thoughts. No one can think alike on everything. The Crown Prince's little notes exposed his strengths and weaknesses. If the person were in front of him, it would be fine. But Kangxi had his son by his side, so he could praise him or scold him as he pleased.
But now he can't see him, and because Yinreng is the Crown Prince who is in charge of the country, Kangxi is full of anger but can't send a message back to scold his son, or tell him openly to stop posting these little notes. He can only keep his anger to himself, and even when he wins a battle, he doesn't seem so happy.
"The Crown Prince is very filial to Your Majesty. I heard from the guard who came to deliver the memorial that before yesterday, the Crown Prince would be busy until after midnight every night before he would rest."
“If he really has filial piety, he should take good care of his health. He is so young and he is already acting recklessly. He is young and cannot feel anything now, but he will suffer when he gets older.”
"When that day comes, Your Majesty, if you bring this up with the Crown Prince, who knows how the Crown Prince will react."
"What reaction? What kind of reaction could that stubborn bastard have?"
Kangxi casually picked up a memorial, opened it, and couldn't help but exclaim "Eh!" He then picked up another one and found it was still empty. Only then did he look at Liang Jiugong: "You old servant, you've learned to play riddles with me. Just now you said that the Crown Prince must have been busy until the second watch of the night before yesterday. So what was he doing yesterday?"
"Your Majesty, the news that Your Majesty led the army to defeat Galdan has recently reached the capital. The Crown Prince is delighted and yesterday he decided to have the palace guards make preparations. This morning he went out of the city to go hunting."
"Damn it, I'm here braving the elements and fighting this war, while he, the Crown Prince who's supposed to be the regent, is out hunting and having fun. He really has the guts."
When Kangxi heard this, he was both angry and amused. He then picked up another memorial and opened it. This time, there were notes. The memorial reported simple matters, and the Crown Prince's notes were also concise, straightforward, and to the point.
Upon seeing this, Kangxi opened several more memorials. It turned out that Yinreng had divided the memorials into two parts: greeting memorials and minor matters, which Yinreng had handled as before, were now being handled as before; major matters and matters that he could not decide were being sent directly to his father, Kangxi, without any notes.
The meaning is very clear: You are the Emperor, Your Majesty, Father Emperor; you have the final say on important matters of the court. I am the Crown Prince, Your Son; I will handle the small and miscellaneous matters at home for you, but I dare not make decisions on important matters on my own.
He did that before because the war was still unresolved, and as the crown prince overseeing the country in the capital, it was his duty to share the burden with his father. Now that the battle has been won and there's nothing much to worry about, the affairs of state should naturally be returned to his father. As for him, as the son, going hunting to celebrate with his father and the soldiers wasn't exactly a wrongdoing.
"Where did this kid learn such smooth talk? He's my crown prince, do you think I'd be wary of him? He's young but already so calculating. I'll have to give him a good talking to when we get back."
When Kangxi said this, he had a stern face. Liang Jiugong and the eunuchs and maids serving Kangxi could all see that His Majesty was not angry at all, but rather quite happy.
Liang Jiugong felt a huge weight lifted off his shoulders. He had witnessed the Emperor's mood worsen as he reviewed memorials these past few days, and although he knew why, he couldn't say anything.
If he, as the emperor's trusted eunuch, dared to contact the crown prince so openly, or even tell the crown prince about the emperor's moods, then he could consider his life over.
Fortunately, the Crown Prince realized what was happening on his own. Whether it was someone who told him something or the Crown Prince himself who figured it out, Liang Jiugong felt that as long as he could continue to be so clever, his position as Crown Prince would not be unstable.
Shen Wanqing was unaware that Yulang had left such a message for the Crown Prince, but she really didn't have the mind to think about it right now.
Shen Wanqing didn't concern herself with anything outside the capital. Even though her caravan members were frequently traveling in and out of the capital, she wouldn't ask about these people and matters unless Shen Hongshi sent someone to deliver a message to her. One can only concern oneself with what one is supposed to care about; sometimes, not knowing is much more comfortable than knowing.
Moreover, after the Dragon Boat Festival, the weather got hotter day by day, and Shen Wanqing's body also became heavier day by day. Although she had lost all the weight she had gained in the past two months, she still got tired more and more easily, whether walking or doing anything else.
For this reason, Shen Wanqing specially prepared a room in the west wing, laid out a thick, soft wool blanket, and made it into a yoga room.
She always closed the doors and windows tightly when she did stretching exercises, and she did it all by herself inside. Everyone in the East Courtyard knew that it was Grandma exercising, but no one knew exactly how she was doing it inside the house.
Galdan fled into western Mongolia with several dozen cavalrymen, and the central and western armies still had to send men to pursue him. In fact, everyone knew that it was probably impossible to catch up in a short time, but because the battle had gone very smoothly, it was not unreasonable for the army to pause for a while.
Especially since the Western Route Army had launched a fierce raid, resulting in relatively few casualties but considerable exhaustion. Sending out elite troops to pursue and search for Galdan and his remaining forces allowed the rest to set up camp and rest for some time.
Since her son-in-law couldn't come back for the time being, Madam Xu naturally had to come and see her daughter every few days. In her mind, a woman whose belly was getting bigger and who was due to give birth in about two months should be extra careful.
Normally, it's enough for the maids to help you walk around in the courtyard. Why do you have to close the door and do some exercise by yourself? And what kind of exercise do you have to do in secret? You might hurt yourself and it would be a loss.
But there was only one thick carpet in the room. The carpet was brought from Persia. Apart from the dense and tight texture of the carpet, there was nothing special about it.
So even if Xu was a hundred times worried, she couldn't find anything wrong with it. Her daughter was just clearing out a room in her own yard to put the carpet. Could she really let someone throw the carpet away?
"Mom, have you finished reading it? I've already told you that I've been staying home and doing nothing lately, why don't you believe me?"
"You didn't do anything and you even sent the Guanyin statue that grants children to the Crown Princess. Countless people in the capital have had their prayers answered by Guanyin for children, so why did she choose you?"
Xu was both happy and worried that her daughter had only become pregnant three years after getting married. She even went to Xiangshan Temple outside the city to bring back a statue of a Bodhisattva and burned incense three times a day and night, praying for Shen Wanqing's safe delivery and for her daughter to give birth to a son.
“I don’t care about your relationship with your mother-in-law, but the Bodhisattva she invited this time really worked. I was thinking of letting this Bodhisattva protect you and the baby in your belly. But you sent the Bodhisattva away before the baby was even born. That’s really inconsiderate.”
"Everyone says that if a master wants a servant's life, the servant has no choice but to give in. But all this person wants is a Buddha statue. Do you think I would really refuse?"
Shen Wanqing kept calling herself a servant, but there was no sign of obedience or respect on her face, which made Xu's eyelids twitch.
Three years have passed since her daughter got married, and she can hardly remember what Shen Wanqing was like when she was unmarried and at home. It's as if this daughter was born with this kind of temperament, talking about ruler and subject, father and son, but her eyes are full of arrogance.
"Don't try to shut me up with that. Although I didn't treat you as well as your older sister when you were little, you are still my child, and I can see what kind of person you are. If you really don't want to give something, even if the Crown Princess wants it, you won't give it away so easily."
"So, if the Crown Princess wants it, I'm willing to give it to her. There's nothing wrong with having her invite the Bodhisattva to Yuqing Palace. We're all from the Crown Prince's faction. Don't you hope that the Eastern Palace will have a child soon?"
"His Majesty's campaign against Galdan was a resounding success. If someone in the Eastern Palace were to conceive a child at this time, wouldn't that child be exceptionally fortunate and have arrived at such a crucial time?"
Shen Wanqing knew, of course, that Shi Qionghua was really anxious. As the Crown Princess, she was in charge of Yuqing Palace. If the Eastern Palace remained stagnant and childless, even if the Mingzhu of the Outer Court and the First Prince didn't make a fuss about it, her own pressure would increase day by day.
So when Guanyin, the Goddess of Fertility, entered Yuqing Palace, Shi Qionghua immediately placed her in the side hall of the Buddhist temple and made her a statue. She also specifically instructed that several concubines and princesses of Yuqing Palace could go there to offer incense and make prayers.
Shi Qionghua is now just like a branch manager who desperately needs to produce results to impress the boss. It doesn't matter who made the achievements, as long as there's one. Whether it's a princess or a prince, it doesn't matter. If there's one, there will be two. Now that there's none, why would she dare to be picky?
But things don't always happen by chance. Even after the Emperor returned to the capital, no news of the Crown Princess or any of the concubines or princesses being pregnant was reported from Yuqing Palace.
However, Shen Wanqing's belly had grown even bigger, which made Yu Lang, who had dismounted and was standing at the gate of the mansion, stare at her for a long time before carefully walking forward and gently embracing her.
"I've only been away for three months, how come I've grown so much?"
"Three months isn't enough? I heard that your armies had already set off and returned earlier, so why are you the last to come back?"
"Grandma, from now on I can probably live at home every day."
"Huh? What do you mean?"
"Galdan has been captured alive, and His Majesty will soon reward those who have rendered meritorious service."
"Why didn't this news get back to the capital beforehand? Did they really arrest him? Who arrested him?"
"I."
"who?"
“I captured him with Akdun and a squad of firearms soldiers.”
The battle fought in Zhaomodo in May didn't end until mid-June when the Emperor officially returned to the capital. So many people stayed there during that time to try and capture Galdan, but who knew that Yulang would stumble upon such good fortune?
The Emperor chose to keep it a secret, naturally waiting until he, the Emperor, returned to the capital before announcing the news. After all, such a momentous event would immediately cause a great stir throughout the capital, and Kangxi, as the Emperor, wanted to experience that excitement firsthand.
It's a bit of a letdown to say that the news has been sent back, and that the only master of the palace is the crown prince, while the emperor is still rushing back day and night.
But for Shen Wanqing, the significance of this matter was not even how Yulang would be promoted and rewarded after making great contributions. What she cared about was that now that Galdan had been captured alive by Yulang, there would be no third campaign against Galdan.
Previously, Shen Wanqing had already vaguely sensed that the course of history had undergone subtle changes, but due to the ambiguity of the timeline and the uncertainty of many major events, Shen Wanqing only had this feeling but could not explain it clearly.
The obvious change was right in front of her, and the variable was none other than her husband. Shen Wanqing suddenly felt incredibly happy, so much so that her fingertips were tingling with excitement.
But she couldn't say anything. She could only hug Yulang tightly, ignoring the large crowd at the gate. Live on, live well, and the future will surely be brighter!
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