It rained all night, but the next morning was a rare sunny day.
With high clouds and blue skies, the weather is so refreshing and invigorating.
On his way to court, Yinreng ran into Yinti and said, "Congratulations, elder brother."
Yinti knew that once he told Kangxi, Kangxi would definitely tell Yinreng right afterward. However, he was still a little unhappy.
It's a little secret shared between the father and son, why should they tell others?
Even though it was good news, Yinqi still forced a smile and said, "Your Highness also needs to step up your game. Hongzhao and Tana are rather lonely, and your backyard is empty. You need more people. Look at my wife, how generous she is."
Yinreng chuckled coldly: "Eldest brother has worked so hard for so many years, and he still only has two princesses. Sister-in-law's third child will probably be another princess. Eldest brother should earn more military merits and save up some things for my nieces' dowries. My Tana is different; she has brothers."
Yinti was furious. If there hadn't been so many people around, he would have rolled up his sleeves and punched Yinreng in the face right away.
Yinreng raised an eyebrow: "Brother, this is fate, it's not something you can change by getting angry."
Yinti took a few steps forward in annoyance and said, "If you can have children, then find a few more to have."
"That won't do. How can anyone else compare to my concubine? If they give birth to useless children, it's better not to have them at all, as they'll only bring shame upon us and waste money raising them." Yinreng said this without any sense of the pain of raising a child.
He was happy to see Yinti get so angry at him that he was jumping up and down, but he couldn't do anything about it.
After all the officials had taken their places, Emperor Kangxi arrived slowly.
Sitting on the dragon throne, he saw his eldest son's angry expression and knew that Yinreng had just bullied him.
Kangxi smiled inwardly, pretending not to notice Yinti's subtle emotions.
He was happy to indulge Yinreng occasionally. If even the crown prince couldn't act recklessly, how could someone who was always subservient be expected to shoulder the responsibility of the country?
Yinreng's many temper tantrums were deliberately cultivated by Emperor Kangxi.
The weather has been favorable lately, and there's not much to discuss in the court.
Seeing that no ministers had submitted a memorial, Yinzhen, with a stern, youthful face, stepped out from the ranks.
"Your Majesty, I have something to report," said Yinzhen.
Yinti turned to look at him suspiciously, certain that no matter what Yinzhen said, the Crown Prince was behind it all.
Yinreng stood with a smile, his calm and gentle aura more convincing than Yinti's impetuousness.
Han officials were most impressed by Yinreng's gentlemanly demeanor and respect for scholars. When they compared the two older princes, they were more inclined to support the legitimate crown prince.
As expected, the Emperor's discerning eye was spot-on; the successor he personally groomed was flawless.
The Qing Dynasty was blessed!
As for the brave and skilled eldest prince, he can simply go to the border and win a few battles to expand the territory for the crown prince.
The court officials, without proper consideration, assigned duties to Yinti and Yinreng, and their actions naturally became biased accordingly.
Unbeknownst to him, Yinti had lost a portion of the court's power, pitifully unaware of his own actions.
"The artillery battalion has spent countless taels of silver developing new cannons. The soldiers of the Great Qing have been fighting for many years, and the national treasury has suffered excessive losses in grain, fodder, and weapons. I recently went out of the palace and saw that some ministers were living extravagantly, yet they owed the national treasury countless sums. I hereby request that the debts owed to the national treasury be recovered so that the soldiers of the Great Qing can be re-equipped with new armor and weapons!" Yinzhen said in a serious tone.
The military officers present all applauded and praised the idea, with voices of agreement constantly rising.
The Tongjia clan has a large number of military officers, and now there are the brothers Tong Qinian and Tong Ruita, who make up almost half of the military officers.
Tong Guogang and Tong Guowei stepped forward one after another, and this time the eldest prince did not go against Yinzhen. Suo'etu received the crown prince's instruction to side with Yinzhen.
Therefore, along with other military generals who were worried about being resented by civil officials, they boldly stood tall and gave Yinzhen confidence.
The Emperor's maternal uncle, the Crown Prince's maternal uncle, and the eldest prince all stood up; they were not afraid!
The Dong E family has all gone mad! What's going on?!
They have recently been preparing lavishly for the marriage of their future third wife, acquiring land and shops, and purchasing fine timber to make new furniture.
Every family's wedding is a grand affair, and with the future Third Prince's wife bringing a large dowry, the Emperor and the Third Prince will certainly have a lot of face.
Why were the people of the Dong E family the most feared by all the civil and military officials on the spot?
Because, after Yinzhen finished speaking, his eyes stared straight at the person in charge of their household.
It's obvious that they're deliberately picking a fight, without any attempt to hide it.
The Fucha clan lowered their heads in relief. Although they had a daughter who had never fought for her life, fortunately, they had never borrowed money from the national treasury, so they didn't have many political weaknesses to exploit.
After a period of decline, they were still the Fucha family with outstanding military achievements.
“Fourth Prince, the national treasury being funded by ministers is an act of imperial grace,” Dong Efeiyanggu stepped forward.
Fei Yanggu was the younger brother of the late Emperor Dong E's concubine. He belonged to the Plain White Banner, which was not the same clan as the Dong E clan of the Plain Red Banner. However, even if the bones are broken, the tendons are still connected, and they shared the same ancestor.
Despite Fei Yanggu's intervention, Dong Eshi did not feel relieved.
Previously, Fei Yanggu was favored by Emperor Kangxi because of Galdan, who had always provoked the Qing Dynasty. After all, it was rare to find a minister who shared the same political views, so Kangxi did not care about the affairs of the previous generation.
Now that Galdan has been killed by Tong Ruita, the reason why Fei Yanggu was favored by Kangxi has been successfully transferred to the Tong brothers.
Once the favor is gone, all that's left is the resentment of the previous generation.
Dong Epeng felt extremely upset; he desperately wanted Fei Yanggu to stop talking.
The Emperor was already dissatisfied with their family. They had been hiding like cowards for over a year, and had finally managed to erase some of the bad impression. They mustn't let the Emperor remember it.
Actually, the Emperor didn't think much of it. It was just that Su Mala Gu had returned to the palace, along with the Empress Dowager—two formidable figures in the harem, both of whom had disliked Consort Dong'e back then.
Fei Yanggu returned to the capital, but he was not very familiar with the turbulent changes taking place there.
He firmly believed that he was still the emperor's most trusted minister, and that Emperor Kangxi had praised him for his loyalty, filial piety, integrity, talent, and virtue.
From the time of the late emperor, the Tongjia clan and the Dong'e clan were not on good terms.
Fei Yanggu wanted to reject Yinzhen's proposal without considering whether the Tongjia clan would agree.
"The Emperor's grace is boundless, which is a blessing for us servants. However, it is outrageous for us servants to be so ungrateful and disregard His Majesty's wishes. My Tong family once borrowed money from the national treasury. When we return from court, we will buy some estates and land and go to the Ministry of Revenue to make up for it," Tong Guogang said righteously.
Fei Yanggu was successfully silenced; he didn't owe the national treasury any money, so there was no point in continuing the argument.
"Lord Tong is truly virtuous," Fei Yanggu said, bowing respectfully.
Fei Yanggu stirred up a lot of hatred for the Dong E clan, making them grit their teeth in resentment.
Was this guy just putting on an act for the Fourth Prince? If you're going to stand up for someone, stand up for them to the end. What kind of person backs down after only being criticized once and then praises others?
Dong Epeng was devastated; he was having a really bad year.
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