You're really bold!
The Ninth Prince and the Fourteenth Prince looked at Prince Zhi with admiration, and for a moment Prince Zhi shone with brilliance.
Emperor Kangxi glared at his eldest son, who was in his thirties, unsure whether to hit him or scold him.
"You scoundrel!" Kangxi cursed.
Prince Zhi chuckled: "Father is right."
Emperor Kangxi was taken aback and said, "Shut up."
Prince Zhi's residence was closer to the Forbidden City than that of the Eighth Prince, so as soon as he received the news that the Eighth Prince was entering the palace by carriage, he immediately ordered his servants to bring out his carriage as well, so that he could enter the palace ahead of time.
You need to get a good seat to watch a play; if you arrive late, you might only get a seat at the front of the line.
"Go stand aside." Kangxi shooed his three sons, who were watching the play, to the side.
Prince Zhi, Ninth Prince, and Fourteenth Prince immediately took a few steps back to ensure they were out of Kangxi's sight but could still clearly see the expressions on Kangxi and Eighth Prince's faces.
It's impressive that they were able to pick such a good spot.
"The house where Zhang Mingde lives was part of your dowry brought by your wife," Kangxi said.
Yinzhi made preparations: "Mr. Zhang is very talented and also proficient in physiognomy. I am eager to find talent, and it is rare to meet Mr. Zhang. Moreover, I see that Mr. Zhang does not have a house in the capital, so I will give him a house."
Zhang Mingde was indeed a master of physiognomy. But the more skilled he was, the less Emperor Kangxi liked him.
"Have you ever seen Zhang Mingde?" Kangxi suddenly called out the names of Prince Zhi and others.
The three stood silently to one side, and when Kangxi called them, they shook their heads like rattles.
"Never seen it, don't know it, never heard of it," the three denied repeatedly.
“Since that fortune teller didn’t even see all the princes, yet he said you have the appearance of great nobility, it’s clear he’s ignorant,” Kangxi said.
Ninth Prince almost burst out laughing; his father was really ruthless.
The Eighth Prince was also quite devastated: "My son never thought of anything else."
"If you never thought about it, why is the matter of face reading so widely known?" Kangxi asked.
The Eighth Prince's shoulders trembled, and he realized something was wrong: "Your son is innocent. Father, I only brought Mr. Zhang into the manor a few days ago, and we've only met for a couple of days. I really don't have the ability to use rumors to try and do anything else."
Unfortunately, his explanation came too late, and Emperor Kangxi didn't want to hear it.
"I once thought you were kind, gentle, and sociable, and that you would become a wise prince of the Qing Dynasty. But I never imagined that I could misjudge you. You are actually cunning and treacherous by nature, secretly colluding with your cronies and harboring grand ambitions. The son of a lowly woman from the Imperial Household Department, do you even deserve to become the Crown Prince of the Qing Dynasty?" Kangxi spoke harshly, belittling the Eighth Prince to nothing.
The Eighth Prince was dumbfounded, unable to believe what he was hearing.
The son of a lowly woman from the Xin Zhe Ku?
Is this how Father Emperor views Mother, and this is how he views him?
"Regardless of whether the rumors originated from you, since you do not deny Zhang Mingde's words about physiognomy, you are simply ignoring such nonsense. Today, I hereby strip you of your title of Beile and demote you to a sinecure member of the imperial clan," Kangxi said coldly.
At this moment, the Dali Temple sent someone to report the news.
Zhang Mingde was a spineless coward; he confessed before the torture instruments even came on. He probably was quite capable, knowing he couldn't escape his fate and that it was better to die sooner rather than suffer needlessly.
"Your Majesty, Zhang Mingde has confessed," said the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review.
Yinzhi glared at the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review with eyes as sharp as swords: "From arresting someone to sending them to the Court of Judicial Review, it only took a little over an hour. When did the Court of Judicial Review become so efficient in handling cases?"
The Minister of the Court of Judicial Review had a face as sharp as a knife, and he looked like a cold and unyielding person who was not easy to talk to.
Ignoring the somewhat delirious Yinzhi, he said only to Kangxi: "Zhang Mingde knew he had made a grave mistake. Without waiting for my interrogation, he wrote down everything he knew and participated in, and signed and sealed it. The evidence is clear. After personally verifying it, I have confirmed that what he said is true."
"The Eighth Prince, in collusion with the fortune teller Zhang Mingde, intends to use the fortune teller's words to create momentum and seize the position of Crown Prince. Moreover, Zhang Mingde has a servant with high martial arts skills who is on his way to the capital, waiting for the opportunity to assassinate the Prince of Yuqing Palace." The Prince of Yuqing Palace mentioned by the Minister of the Court of Judicial Review naturally refers to Yinreng.
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