Chapter 114 Wholesale: Sometimes surprises come without warning. As staunch supporters of the Crown Prince, the Crown Princess and the Yuqing Palace have…
Sometimes surprises come without warning. As a staunch supporter of the Crown Prince, whether the Crown Princess and Yuqing Palace have children is not just a matter of continuing the family line; it is one of the most important matters concerning the interests of everyone on this ship.
Later generations often joked that families who preferred sons and insisted on having a son must have a throne to inherit. Never let Yinreng hear this, or he would confidently retort: "Yes, I do have a throne to inherit!"
Yuqing Palace, Suo'etu's faction, including Yulang and Akdun, Suhe, and Martai who are now attached to Yulang, and even Fu Guang and the eldest branch of the Shen family in Shengjing, and Shen Wenyuan of the Central Patrol Battalion, have all more or less boarded the Crown Prince's ship in recent years.
Once you're on board, it's like being branded; changing allegiances is no easy feat. At best, you'll be skinned alive; at worst, you'll lose your life. Unless absolutely necessary or lured by enormous profits, ordinary people won't easily take this path.
Unless the Crown Prince himself is causing unrest among the people, and there are only two possibilities for him to be making his ministers and servants uneasy: 1. He himself is not secure in his position as Crown Prince, and the Emperor is considering replacing him. 2. He has no heir.
Power changes hands and is passed down from generation to generation. No one wants to think, "I'll enjoy myself for a few decades, and then I'll just abandon everything once I'm dead. Let the floods rage and my descendants beg for food; it's none of my business."
Even though Yu Lang was so infatuated with Shen Wanqing that he spent several years living alone with her, he was still overjoyed when Yi An was born, smiling from ear to ear to everyone he met.
He even carried his son around the room where he kept his swords more than once, saying that all these good swords would be his when his son grew up. This is an innate human instinct, which cannot be changed.
So, no princes or princesses were born in the Crown Prince's Yuqing Palace for several years. Did Yinreng really not want them to be born? After all, if the Crown Prince had no children, even if he could ascend the throne in the future, the throne would eventually fall into the hands of a collateral branch after many years.
Throughout history, there have been countless instances of chaos caused by emperors adopting sons. Leaving aside the power struggles between the old and new emperors during their lifetimes, just the question of how the new emperor would conduct ancestral rites after ascending the throne is enough to drive anyone crazy.
The idea of divine right of kings is something everyone knows is just a way to fool the common people, but everyone sitting on the throne wants their rightful succession to the throne to be legitimate.
Logically speaking, if you were adopted by an old emperor who had no heir, then your father would only have the old emperor. But how can the debt of gratitude for your birth be so easily severed? Whether or not your biological parents posthumously confer titles, and how to account for the old emperor who gave you the throne.
It's not that they're really afraid the late emperors won't have any descendants in the afterlife, but rather that the living all have different allies and factions. They've seized on this seemingly reasonable excuse, so they'll fight over this little thing. It's definitely not over until a few people are killed.
As for former officials like Yu Lang, whose lives and fortunes were entirely tied to the old emperor, and the Hesheli family, it would be difficult for them to retire gracefully and die peacefully. As for the future prospects and official careers of their descendants, what about them? They would simply never have any more.
So when Yu Lang heard Gao Laixi say that the Crown Princess was pregnant, he was overjoyed. He poured Gao Laixi three cups of wine, had someone cut off a pork leg, took it himself, sliced it with his personal knife, put it on a plate, and handed it to Gao Laixi.
"Please try this roasted meat, and if you think it's just as good as what you get in the palace, I'll take some back to the Crown Prince tomorrow."
"Tomorrow? Aren't you going back today?"
"Eunuch Gao, aren't you famous for your ability to read people's minds? Why are you being so ungrateful on such a good day?"
"You just came out of the palace this afternoon, right? The Crown Prince must have wanted to see me then, but it's already so late. Wouldn't it be a bit of a hassle for me to go into the palace now?"
The black pork, roughly marinated for half an afternoon with spices, soy sauce, and citron, turned out to be firm and chewy when roasted, with rich fat that wasn't greasy at all. The spices made the meat more tender without overpowering it. In short, every bite was filled with the aroma of meat, giving you that most primal sense of satisfaction.
"I'll do as Lord Yu says. This servant will stay tonight and enjoy a good meal of your roasted meat. After all, last time..."
Gao Laixi found it amusing to recall the last time. The Crown Prince couldn't find the person no matter what he looked for, and when he finally did, the person was locked in a fight with a silly deer outside the city. Not only was the fight unresolved, but the person couldn't even catch the deer. When he finally managed to catch one and sent it to Yuqing Palace, it wasn't enough to go around.
The Crown Prince, who was usually very generous to his servants, was unusually stingy. Apart from sending half a bird to His Majesty and the Empress Dowager, the Crown Princess only got a small plate of the remaining half.
"A penalty drink! Why talk about such unpleasant things?" Yu Lang couldn't stand this. "Chang Shun, tonight you'll serve the wine to Eunuch Gao. If Eunuch Gao isn't drunk, I'll only hold you responsible."
"No, no, no, this servant will stop talking, okay? It's all this servant's fault for not knowing how to speak. I'll punish myself with three cups, and I hope Lord Yu will forgive this servant this time."
The wine at the manor was very strong, and Yu Lang and his entourage were all heavy drinkers. Even Shen Wanqing had a good capacity for alcohol. On the contrary, Gao Laixi, who had served in the palace for many years, couldn't handle it and became dizzy after just a few cups.
Fortunately, Gao Laixi had already sent his accompanying eunuch back to the palace to report before leaving the city. He left the city today with the Crown Prince's token, so it didn't matter if he didn't go back tonight.
Thus, this night of eating and drinking around the fire pit with wine and meat became a source of great joy in life that Manager Gao could still talk about with great enthusiasm many years later.
However, that was later. The next day, when Gao Laixi woke up from his hangover, he felt dizzy and lightheaded. When he went out of his room, he saw Yu Lang, who was full of energy and urging him to wash up and eat quickly so that he could hurry back to the city and the palace, he was so angry that he almost laughed.
The excuse of "it's too late to make a fool of yourself" is actually just that you don't want to bother with anything else while eating, and you don't want to bother with anything else either, but you also want to drag yourself into the mess.
No wonder he poured three glasses of wine as soon as we met. After three glasses of wine, no matter how sober you are, you won't be sober anymore. Then, he served a plate of roasted meat that Yu Lang had personally cut. Who can resist such a thoughtful and respectful compliment? Nobody can resist it!
Fortunately, neither Yu Lang nor Shen Wanqing were fools. They had their fun, but they couldn't let the Crown Prince and Crown Princess be left out.
After the barbecue party ended last night, Shen Wanqing instructed Zhuang Ming to process the black pig sent from the south and the yellow goats that Yu Lang had hunted in the past few days.
Early in the morning, he went out again to pick out a bouquet of flowers for the Crown Princess, along with the first batch of buckwheat noodles and tender corn that had just been harvested from the estate this year. The two of them pulled a cart full of meat and noodles and swaggered into the Forbidden City.
"I never saw you being so generous when you were always around me. Now you're finally receiving a tribute from Lord Yu. It's not easy."
The crown prince was happy, but the happiest moment of yesterday had passed.
He originally thought that the emperor was as he thought, because he knew the emperor's inexplicable thoughts and therefore didn't care so much about when Yuqing Palace would have a child.
But it turned out that this was not the case. Yesterday at noon, Shi Qionghua was just about to have lunch when she felt a strange smell in the room that made her dizzy.
This was quite alarming! The Crown Princess's room wasn't clean and even smelled strange? Immediately, the head eunuch of Yuqing Palace led the nannies and maids to clean it thoroughly, inside and out.
Not only did they clean it thoroughly, but they also checked all the hidden corners, just in case someone tried to sneak in something they shouldn't have.
The item itself was nowhere to be found, but Shi Qionghua could still smell the strange odor. When Yinreng returned in the afternoon with the news, he learned that Shi Qionghua hadn't eaten lunch because of this smell.
Seeing Shi Qionghua leaning listlessly against the soft couch, the Crown Prince suddenly remembered what Yu Lang had told him before: that after Shen Shi became pregnant, she became particularly sensitive to smells. As a result, every time he came home from drinking outside, he would first go to the guest courtyard to bathe, rinse his mouth, and change his clothes, and only dare to return to his own courtyard after the smell on his body had completely dissipated.
She dared not tell Shi Qionghua that she might be pregnant, as she had already gone through several ordeals over the years regarding having a child. Thinking she was indeed pregnant, she made a big fuss by summoning the imperial physician to examine her pulse, only to be disappointed again.
So yesterday, we only said we were checking the Crown Princess's pulse for good health. When the imperial physician arrived and confirmed that she was pregnant, we quickly sent someone to find the head of the Imperial Hospital. Only after he confirmed that she was pregnant did we send servants to the Qianqing Palace and Ningshou Palace to report the good news.
"Your Highness says I'm stingy, and I'm certainly not very generous. But the things sent today are all newly acquired. The deer and yellow sheep were just hunted back by me, the black pigs and ducks were just transported from the south to the capital, and the buckwheat and corn are the first harvest of the year. In my eyes, they are auspicious for new life, so please don't find them offensive, Your Highness."
"Yes, that's well said."
"He Yuzhu, go and pack these things up. Pick out the best ones and send them to the Qianqing Palace. Tell them that your son has received a lot of tributes and wants to send them to Father Emperor so he can have a taste."
"Your Highness, we prepared two sets before we came, and the ones sent to the Qianqing Palace are the best."
“Then take half of what I have and send it over together, especially the new buckwheat and corn harvested this year. We need to make it clear to Liang Jiugong; he knows how to talk to Father Emperor.”
Upon receiving the good news at Yuqing Palace, Yinreng was both pleased and worried that Qianqing Palace might not share his joy. After all, Yinreng had already guessed Kangxi's unspoken thoughts. Sending the gifts there now was also a way to probe Qianqing Palace's intentions.
“You are a straightforward and intelligent person, so I won’t beat around the bush with you. It’s a good thing that the Crown Princess is pregnant, but do you think Father Emperor will postpone letting the eldest son and the others leave the palace because of this?”
The emperor was close to the crown prince, so the other sons could be arranged as they pleased. After being enfeoffed and sent out of the palace, they could still serve and do things, but they were still a step further away from the palace and the emperor.
But now that the Crown Princess is pregnant, it's hard to say whether the Emperor can still be as close to the Crown Prince as before, or whether he will be as wary and strict as he was back then, or even take the opportunity to keep the eldest prince and the other princes who are getting older in the palace, so that they can counterbalance the Crown Prince with the support of their respective maternal families.
“No.” Yu Lang said no first, then after a long pause, he shook his head firmly and added, “Your Highness, you are the one destined by Heaven. This time, the tide is on your side. It’s too late for His Majesty to back out.”
"What do you mean by that?"
“Last year, after returning to the capital from the campaign against Galdan, before the grand ceremony of bestowing titles, I vaguely heard that I would be granted a title at the ceremony. I could keep it on the surface, but I was secretly overjoyed. These kinds of things can either be kept quiet or become widely known once they are mentioned, so there is no way to back down now.”
If he didn't leave the palace, he might still be persuaded to stay. He could talk about having a son or taking a step back. If Kangxi gave him even the slightest hint that he still had a chance, he would definitely be willing to stay in the palace.
But what about the other princes? The third and fourth princes are all behaving themselves right now, not to mention the fifth and seventh princes. For them, the crown prince Yinreng is an insurmountable mountain. Who would be so bored as to try to challenge his brother's position?
For them, the most pragmatic and best path was to be granted a noble title, leave the palace to establish their own residence, and then find a real position outside the palace as a prince or nobleman.
Now that the title is about to be bestowed, why is it suddenly not being given? They certainly won't say anything, but it's not hard to guess what they're thinking.
The Crown Prince should be wary of his younger brothers growing up to pose a threat to him; shouldn't the Emperor be equally vigilant?
If the titles and ranks are not properly granted, will the princes, who are growing up and confined to the palace, continue to obey the emperor's orders, biting the crown prince and the eldest prince and then biting each other like dogs when given a few pieces of meat, or will they simply vote in advance to follow the next emperor, Yinreng, and perhaps a prince will become a duke, and a duke will become a prince?
Before Yu Lang's appointment as the Director of the Construction Department of the Ministry of Works was even officially confirmed, people were already indirectly asking where the princes' residences would be located, how big they would be, and how the craftsmen would be assigned to build whose residence first and whose last.
The people's hearts have been stirred up. Even if it were Emperor Kangxi, and even if his methods were terrifyingly ruthless, it would be impossible to bring his sons back to the Imperial Study and keep them there for daily lessons.
So this is the power of fate. After repeatedly treating Yinreng like a chick, pampering him one day and scolding him the next, they finally stood on his side once again.
"You're right, you're right..." Yinreng slowly exhaled, calming himself down, and then called He Yuzhu in again.
"Be careful these days, and don't let any rumors about the Crown Prince or anything like that spread outside. Everyone in Yuqing Palace can be as happy as they want, but we must keep the same story: that it's because the Crown Prince and I have finally had a child. Don't say anything else that shouldn't be said, and definitely don't spread anything that can't be spread. Do you understand what I mean?"
"Don't worry, Master, this servant understands."
Not only He Yuzhu understood, but Shi Qionghua also gradually realized what was going on. At least yesterday, only the Empress Dowager had given a reward; the Qianqing Palace hadn't made a single move.
"Congratulations, Your Majesty, your wish has come true. This time it's all good."
“Yesterday afternoon was quite lively here. My mother brought several of my sisters-in-law to the palace to see me, and the Empress Dowager even specially prepared a table of food for them to have with me. It’s just a pity you couldn’t come. I had so much to say but I didn’t know who to talk to.”
"I'm glad I didn't come. What kind of behavior would it be if I stood there and overheard the Empress and the Lady having such a heart-to-heart talk?"
It must be said that being the Crown Princess is really not easy. Although she is a lawfully married wife, Shi Qionghua's mother, even though she is a member of the imperial family, is still treated as a servant when she enters the palace.
Outside the palace, they would be related by marriage; inside the palace, even a meal becomes a reward. How much of this is out of genuine honor and how much is out of helplessness, perhaps only they themselves know.
"There are no heartfelt words, just the same old sayings over and over again. Give birth to a prince as soon as possible, and my position in Yuqing Palace will be secure."
"Whether or not a prince is born, we'll only know after the child is born. Why worry about it now? Your Majesty, don't think so much. As long as you can give birth and it's your own child, it doesn't matter whether it's a prince or a princess."
Shen Wanqing was standing by the window arranging flowers in a sky-blue porcelain vase that a palace maid had just brought over. When she heard Shi Qionghua say this, she only paused slightly before continuing with her work.
Shi Qionghua not only didn't blame her for this somewhat nonchalant attitude, but instead got up and walked to Shen Wanqing's side, watching her arrange flowers with a hearty smile.
Shen Wanqing was an amateur in this area, and she kept changing flowers without finding one that suited her taste. Shi Qionghua knew she was just fooling around, but she still watched with great interest.
"Yes, I also think that as long as it's my child, that's all that matters."
"But it would be best if we could have a son first."
Shi Qionghua couldn't stand it anymore, so she picked out one of the three flowers that Shen Wanqing was gesturing back and forth and put it in the vase. "I told you that I can only ask you to come and talk to me. Just saying a few words will make me feel better."
The Crown Prince and Crown Princess tacitly kept Shi Qionghua's pregnancy a joyous occasion of "a young couple having a child," never mentioning "the Crown Prince's grandson" or "the Crown Prince's legitimate son," as these words might displease the Qianqing Palace.
However, it's possible that what Yu Lang said about fortune and luck really is so magical. The Crown Princess was diagnosed with pregnancy in early August, and the First Princess, who had already given birth to four princesses in October, was also diagnosed with pregnancy.
Then, in November, the Third Prince Yinzhi's primary wife, Lady Dong'e, became pregnant. In December, the Fifth Prince Yinqi's concubine, Lady Liu, became pregnant, and the Seventh Prince's concubine, Lady Nara, also became pregnant. In addition, the Fourth Prince Yinzhen had just given birth to his second daughter this year. It was as if the princes were being called upon to start having children.
Yuqing Palace was perhaps quite conspicuous when the Crown Prince and Crown Princess were pregnant, but now that everyone is about to give His Majesty a grandson, Kangxi, who was originally somewhat melancholy, has completely given up and can no longer stir up any ripples.
What can I do? I'm just at this age, I'm going to be a grandfather now, and I can't possibly take care of all my sons one by one!
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Bodhisattva: Hey Kangxi, I'm doing a big wholesale deal for your family, aren't you happy? Unexpected? Surprised?
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