"Father!"
Tong Wanyan stopped being coy. Even Emperor Kangxi was willing to let her acknowledge this father. If she backed down again, she would be crushing Tong Guogang's loving fatherly heart.
The voice came so suddenly that Tong Guogang was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes again.
Kangxi watched from the tea room and laughed, "Back when we were fighting on the battlefield, my uncle would be stabbed more than a dozen times, but he would grit his teeth and not utter a sound of pain. I never expected that he would be such a crybaby in front of his daughter."
"Yuanbao'er, my dear Yuanbao'er!" After a moment of stunned silence, Tong Guogang immediately hugged his daughter, who had been missing for more than ten years, tightly in his arms.
"It's a pity your mother couldn't enter the palace. If she could hear you call her 'Mother' in person, she would probably die without regrets." Tong Guogang had no inhibitions and said whatever came to mind.
Tong Wanyan gave an awkward smile. Were all the men in the Tong family a bit slow? Apart from her eldest brother, it seemed like none of them were smart; they were all just brave, simple-minded fools.
When Emperor Kangxi heard this, he burst out laughing in the tea room.
Whenever his aunt came to the palace to say that his uncle was stupid, he didn't believe her. Now that he had seen it with his own eyes, he felt that his aunt was already being very kind by not whipping his uncle.
Sitting in the tea room, eating snacks and drinking tea, Kangxi secretly watched the play, thoroughly enjoying himself.
Tong Guogang felt that he was just straightforward, not really stupid.
"Your Majesty, stop hiding in the tea room watching the show. Your little cousin and I have been reunited, father and daughter are together again. As her cousin, don't you have anything to show your appreciation?" Tong Guogang roared towards the tea room.
Emperor Kangxi touched his nose and leisurely came out of the tea room.
After their identities were revealed, Kangxi and Tong Wanyan felt somewhat awkward with each other.
From daughter-in-law to younger cousin, the relationships are a bit complicated.
"Well, a woman follows her husband after marriage, so Yuanbao'er will still follow Baocheng's generation," Kangxi said.
Tong Wanyan obediently replied, "Yes, Your Majesty."
Tong Guogang, watching from the side, muttered resentfully, "Your Majesty, your poor little cousin. The precious eldest daughter of the Tong family, it would have been fine if she had married as a concubine, but fate has played a cruel trick on her. Now that she's been recognized by her ancestors, she can't even call her own cousin anymore."
"Tong Guowei's illegitimate daughter calls him 'cousin' so sweetly. My own daughter can only call him 'Your Majesty.' Yuanbao'er, I'm so sorry, Father."
Tong Guogang is a talented singer and composer; his voice, tinged with tears and trembling, is truly remarkable.
Kangxi glanced at Tong Wanyan, wanting her to teach this scoundrel a lesson.
Tong Wanyan lowered her head, pretending that she couldn't hear anything.
She is a junior and should not meddle in the affairs of her elders.
The father and daughter, one pretending to be stupid, the other acting crazy.
Emperor Kangxi's headache worsened. Had he known this would happen, he should have stopped Tong Guogang from acknowledging his daughter.
With Tong Guogang's daughter in the palace, Emperor Kangxi could foresee how much trouble he would have in the future.
"Call him Imperial Father. From now on, follow Bao Cheng and call me Imperial Father!" Kangxi said.
Tong Guogang's old face beamed with a smile: "Yuanbao, listen to your cousin. Hey, Your Majesty, am I being treated unfairly by my seniority?"
His daughter calls him nephew "father," so if we go back in terms of seniority, wouldn't he become his nephew's older brother?
Emperor Kangxi was amused; he felt secretly pleased by what he had heard.
“Uncle, seniority is determined by each family, you don’t need to take it to heart.” Kangxi smiled broadly, but pretended to be fine.
Tong Guogang's dark face became even darker at this moment.
Tong Wanyan obediently replied, "Father Emperor."
"Hmm," Kangxi said.
“Your Majesty, Yuanbao’er is both your cousin and your son’s concubine. You must give her a double gift, not less,” Tong Guowei said.
Emperor Kangxi was well aware of his ulterior motives: "I have given Yuqing Palace quite a few gifts on a regular basis."
“That’s different. His Majesty is wealthy and powerful, and not a stingy person. To celebrate the discovery of your little cousin, he will definitely bestow some good things upon her. Yuanbao’er is sixteen this year, so theoretically you should grant her a sixteenth birthday gift. There will also be rewards for festivals and holidays, which are indispensable.” Tong Guogang made an exorbitant demand.
Kangxi really wanted to go up to Tong Guogang, grab his face, and tear off his skin to see how thick it was.
Tong Guogang stood tall and proud, completely self-righteous.
He wasn't wrong. If Tong Wanyan were to marry out of his household, Kangxi, as her cousin, would definitely have to provide a dowry.
Tong Guogang was shrewd in his calculations, and Kangxi was a little intimidated by his wolf-like gaze.
"A generous reward! Once you correct Yuanbao'er's family tree, I will reward you handsomely!" Kangxi blurted out, following Tong Guogang's lead in calling Tong Wanyan by her childhood name.
The name Yuanbao'er was considered auspicious and prosperous. After Emperor Kangxi repeated it a few times, he found it quite pleasant to pronounce and decided not to change it.
He couldn't really refuse to give Tong Guogang face!
Tong Wanyan wasn't used to such a glittering nickname. Kangxi and Tong Guogang spoke of it cheerfully, but she didn't feel any sense of reality when she heard it.
As soon as Kangxi finished speaking, Tong Guogang pulled a small notebook out of his sleeve.
"Your Majesty, please grant me pen and ink. I have brought the family genealogy with me, and we can revise it now," Tong Guogang said earnestly.
"Uncle is really proactive." Kangxi couldn't think of anything else to say.
Tong Guogang chuckled sheepishly: "Recognizing a daughter is of utmost urgency. This servant has been waiting at home for over a month, and now that I have Your Majesty's permission, I naturally cannot delay."
A tall hat was placed on Kangxi's head, and Kangxi was quite pleased with himself.
"Liang Jiugong, bring me pen and ink, and assist the First-Class Duke in revising the Tongjia clan genealogy," Kangxi said.
Tong Guogang was the first to use the emperor's personal brush to write family genealogies.
It's just adding a legitimate daughter; it won't take much effort.
Tong Wanyan's name was originally going to be changed, but since it was a daughter's name, there was no need for outsiders to know it, so Tong Guogang didn't bother to do it.
After all, she was Tong Guozhu's daughter, and he couldn't erase the mark of Tong Wanyan's many years of living in Tong Guozhu's family.
With a flourish of his pen, the Tongjia clan genealogy was completed in no time.
Tong Wanyan became Tong Guogang's youngest legitimate daughter without any sense of reality, and the assessment of her ordinary background could no longer be applied to her.
Emperor Kangxi couldn't help but chuckle as he looked at Tong Guogang's delighted expression.
"Yuanbao'er, although you are the uncle and the daughter, you still cannot be willful in the backyard of Yuqing Palace. You must remember the virtues of a woman, to be a good wife and mother." Kangxi admonished Tong Wanyan.
Tong Wanyan listened calmly to Kangxi's admonition: "This servant will obey Father Emperor's teachings."
Tong Guogang slapped his thigh and said, "Your Majesty, Yuanbao'er is the Crown Prince's cousin. Don't worry, she will definitely take care of the Crown Prince."
Kangxi's face froze: "Uncle, you're so old, why did you have to have a daughter late in life?"
He was wronged; his beloved concubine became his cousin, putting him at a disadvantage in terms of seniority.
Tong Guogang looked at Kangxi as if he were a fool: "This servant is in good physical condition, and this servant's wife is in good health. It is a blessing to have a daughter in old age, and Your Majesty will have one too."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
