Chapter 24 A Crown Princess Like Empress Yuan: It is said that the Crown Prince was raised by His Majesty from a young age, and was raised to have the bearing of a dragon and the grace of a phoenix, elegant and noble. Just standing there, he was...
It is said that the Crown Prince was raised by the Emperor himself from a young age, and he was raised to be elegant and noble. He has the appearance of a crown prince wherever he stands. If the Crown Prince is stable, the foundation of the country is stable. If the foundation of the country is not shaken, the world will be at peace.
Yu Lang couldn't say for sure whether the world was stable or not; right now, he just felt that his new master was really hard to fathom. Why did they stop talking so abruptly? Was he going to leave or not? He needed to give a straight answer.
"You just got married. What do you think about getting married and having a wife?"
Before Yu Lang could even react to the question, Yinreng was startled, only to realize that he actually cared about it quite a bit.
However, the people around him before were either eunuchs or officials who had been married for many years. Even Eshan had long been married and had children, so he couldn't remember to ask them this question.
Then there's the eldest son. In the past two years, my relationship with Yinzhi has become increasingly complicated. I am the legitimate son and he is the eldest son. After I moved from Qianqing Palace to Yuqing Palace, I began to participate in court affairs, while Yinzhi first participated in negotiations with Tsarist Russia, and last year he followed the army to fight against Galdan.
The eldest brother may have many flaws, but his horsemanship and archery skills are truly remarkable. It is said that on the battlefield, he is even more valiant and eager to kill the enemy, thus gaining considerable prestige among the Eight Banners.
After returning to the capital, Yinzhi spoke louder at court meetings than before. On the contrary, Yinreng has become increasingly low-key since last year because he did not show any signs of worry when going to the emperor's presence. This change in attitude has also stirred up the thoughts of the officials below.
From outside the Great Wall to entering the Central Plains, from Shengjing to the capital, Yinreng was the first crown prince; none of the emperors before him had inherited the throne as the eldest son of the legitimate wife.
Therefore, to this day, in the eyes of many Manchu noble families, Crown Prince Yinreng is both stable and not so stable. Ultimately, it depends on which prince they can benefit the most from succeeding to the throne, and that is which one they are more willing to support.
In such circumstances, even brothers would inevitably develop estrangement. Moreover, Yinreng and Yinzhi were not born of the same mother. Asking Yinzhi, who had been laughing like a fool every time the First Consort was mentioned for the past two years, would be worse than just taking his own life.
Only Yulang, who was of the same clan and generation as the Empress Dowager and was born in the same year as him, gave Yinreng a sense of destiny. Since he had just gotten married, perhaps asking him would be a good choice.
"Your Highness, your question has indeed come to the right person."
Yu Lang was cursing inwardly. How could he casually talk about whether his marriage was good or bad? It didn't matter if what one person said was wrong, but what about the reputation of the Shen family? Even if you were the master, you shouldn't ask such a question.
"To be honest, I was just asking casually."
I can't just give a casual answer, can I? The young master of the Eight Banners is quick-witted. Yu Lang was already babbling in his mind, but he could only force himself to keep quiet on the surface.
"Getting married is quite tiring, there are so many things to take care of before and after. My family's situation is a bit special, and there are many things that I said I wouldn't care about and would leave to my aunt to handle, but how could I really not care?"
As the housekeeper, Madam Shumulu naturally handled the marriage arrangements for Yulang and Shen Wanqing. Yulang wasn't particularly satisfied with the marriage at first, and he inevitably complained and grumbled about it.
But how could he really trust the West Courtyard to handle everything? Every time Shumulu had everything arranged, he would find various excuses to go and check, and if anything was missing or missing, he would quickly have someone make up for it.
After everything was taken care of, Yulang regretted saying those angry words about not caring about anything and doing whatever he wanted with the house.
"I dare not hide it from Your Highness. I regret it long ago. I should have kept a close eye on this kind of thing myself. Otherwise, I would be worried about everything afterward and would have to go back and make amends."
Yinreng originally wanted to ask him what it felt like to get married, but he didn't expect Yulang to talk about this. However, the Crown Prince listened with great interest, and his originally chaotic mind gradually began to sort out some ideas.
Before, I was always thinking about why my father suddenly wanted to choose a crown princess for me, but I never thought that after I found out about this, I should take the initiative to ask my father what kind of crown princess he wanted to find for me.
This is essentially about finding a crown princess for oneself; it's a matter of state, but also a family matter. Asking a couple of questions is fine, but not asking anything at all seems too deliberate. It's wrong to think too much and do too little; that's likely to cause problems.
"What you said..." The Crown Prince thought for a moment about how to evaluate Yu Lang's reply, and after thinking for a long time, he could only come up with a word that he rarely used: honest.
The word "honest" shouldn't exist in the Forbidden City. It's so vast, filled with all sorts of people, yet it's difficult to find a truly honest person. Now, I've stumbled upon one by chance; it seems like fate has truly brought us together.
"He Yuzhu, go and bring him the Shun Dao that was presented as tribute by Mongolia this spring."
"Thank you for the reward, Your Highness."
"Get up. Now that you're serving me and are a member of the Hesheli family, don't always be so tense. I've been keeping that knife lying around anyway, so I might as well give it to you."
"I will obey Master's orders."
The best sword that could be presented as tribute to the Crown Prince was naturally the one with the best quality. The ivory handle was carved with only a circle of water ripples, and the hilt was made into a small and exquisite Ruyi cloud pattern and fixed to the top of the handle. The scabbard was made of sharkskin, the blade had smooth forging textures, and the blood groove was flat and smooth. It felt heavy in the hand, and you could tell it was a good thing as soon as you held it.
"How is it? This knife is pretty good."
"Great, really great."
"Alright, go ahead. Don't let me mess things up on your first day."
Yu Lang truly loved it, holding it in his hands with obvious affection. After all, he was only seventeen or eighteen years old. Seeing Yu Lang's beaming smile and his somewhat excited back, Yinreng's lips also curved into a smile.
"He Yuzhu, it must be his birthday in the first month of the lunar calendar."
"Replying to Master, Lord Yu's birthday is the sixteenth day of the first month."
"He's a bit older than me, but he looks like a child."
"My lord, how can Lord Yu compare to you?"
"Yes, it's incomparable. Don't let this get out. Don't cause him any more trouble since you've just entered Yuqing Palace, understand?"
"Don't worry, Master, this servant remembers it perfectly."
After rewarding Yulang, the Crown Prince soon left Jide Hall and headed towards Qianqing Palace. For the past six months, although Yinreng had attended court assemblies at Qianqing Palace every day, he rarely went there on his own initiative. He only went when summoned by His Majesty.
The servants in both palaces knew that the two masters were still vying for power, and no one dared to break the unspoken agreement. The fact that the Crown Prince had taken the initiative to come to the Qianqing Palace at this hour made Liang Jiugong extremely happy.
"Your Majesty, the Crown Prince requests an audience."
Emperor Kangxi was reviewing memorials when he heard that it was Yinreng who had come in. He immediately put down his pen and said, "Let him in."
Yinreng's footsteps were still quite leisurely. Seeing that his son, who had bowed low, stood up without any sign of panic, Kangxi finally felt relieved.
"Why is it already this late?"
"I heard that Father Emperor is going to choose a Crown Princess for me, and I couldn't help but think about it. I wanted to find a teacher to give lectures at Yuqing Palace, but I was afraid that I wouldn't be able to understand them, so I simply came to find Father Emperor."
The concubines that Emperor Kangxi chose for his son were selected last night, and they were sent to Yuqing Palace early this morning. The summons to the Minister of Rites wasn't kept secret, so it's understandable that Yuqing Palace knew about it.
To Kangxi's surprise, Yinreng actually took the initiative to come to the Qianqing Palace to ask him about the selection of the Crown Princess. He had thought that after failing to decide on the Crown Princess several times, and with the estrangement between him and Yinreng last year, Yinreng would be extremely careful in this matter and would not dare to make any mistakes.
"Baocheng, come here, sit down and let's talk."
Seeing his crown prince standing somewhat hesitantly to the side with a nervous expression after asking about the choice of crown princess, Kangxi's heart softened immediately.
He was well aware that he had been too harsh on Yinreng this past year, but perhaps it was because he loved him so much that he was so critical. No matter what Yinreng did or how he did it, he always felt that the Crown Prince could do better, but he overlooked the fact that Yinreng was not only the Crown Prince but also his own son.
"Tell me, what kind of Crown Princess do you want?"
"Your subject will naturally obey Father Emperor."
"Nonsense. If you really listened to everything I said, you wouldn't be here today. Let's talk. Just consider it a private chat between the two of us. I promise I won't tell anyone outside this door."
Upon hearing the second half of the sentence, Yinreng's face flushed red. This was when he was a child, the Crown Prince raised in the Qianqing Palace, who would often be taken by the Emperor to the Southern Study to play. Children often say strange things that make adults laugh, and even the Crown Prince was no exception.
Emperor Kangxi, as the father, could only repeatedly assure his son that these words were only for him to hear, and once they left the Southern Study, no one else would know.
The young prince once believed these words without a doubt. It wasn't until later, when he was chatting with Suo'etu, that Suo accidentally let slip that Yinreng had actually heard many of the things he had said to his children back then, and that he couldn't forget them even if he wanted to.
It was only because his father had given him instructions one by one that young Yinreng believed for many years that everything he had said was a secret between him and his father.
Perhaps because both father and son were thinking of the past, the atmosphere in the Southern Study was exceptionally warm. Yinreng looked down at the jade pendant tassel hanging on his belt, and his originally peaceful heart suddenly skipped a beat. He knew what kind of crown princess he wanted, but he had kept it to himself and dared not say it.
"You have to dedicate time and effort to keep a close eye on things like this; otherwise, you'll be constantly worried afterward and have to go back and fix things."
Yinreng, who was hesitant to speak even when the words were on the tip of his tongue, suddenly remembered what Yulang had said. He had already decided not to say them, but he still blurted them out.
“Father, I have heard since I was a child that my mother is gentle, dignified and calm. No matter how big the matter is, she can always handle it properly.”
"My son wants a crown princess like his mother."
Even though he was a son, Yinreng had never actually seen what Empress Hesheli looked like. He could only see her portrait in the Shouhuang Hall on the anniversary of Empress Yuan's death each year. But he still wanted a Crown Princess like Empress Yuan, someone he could entrust the Eastern Palace to with peace of mind.
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