Yinreng acted swiftly; almost simultaneously, Consort Rong was the first to have her name removed by Kangxi and was punished.
At that moment, Consort Rong was dumbfounded; she had no idea what had happened. Everything had been fine before, so why had the Emperor suddenly come to her palace and given her a veiled reprimand, using extremely humiliating words?
Since the passing of the Imperial Noble Consort, Consort Uya was demoted from Consort to Concubine. Now, only Consorts Hui, Yi, and Rong are in a three-way power struggle in the palace. With Consort Rong suddenly losing her title, Consort Yi and Consort Hui immediately became rivals.
Consort Hui relied on having the eldest prince, while Consort Yi had two sons and enjoyed the emperor's favor. The two women were locked in a fierce rivalry.
This matter has nothing to do with Yinreng and Tong Wanyan; as long as Kangxi and the Empress Dowager stand up for them, that's enough.
Yin Zhi was also implicated. Whether he knew about it or not, his confinement was extended because of him.
What a disgrace it is for a capable prince to be suddenly punished by being confined to his home and forced to study! How will the Third Prince, who prides himself on his scholarly integrity, ever try to outsmart the Fourth Prince and show off his elder brother's power again?
After taking down two people, the next target will be the Dong'e clan.
Yinreng's blatant revenge caused immense suffering to the ministers surnamed Dong'e. In a family where honor and disgrace are intertwined, they had lived diligently, only to be dragged down by a mere young woman—a truly frustrating situation.
The ways to suppress court officials were either to strip them of their official positions or to exile them to sparsely populated areas.
However, this was no problem for the Dong E family.
They can wait it out for a while, until the higher-ups forget about it, and then they can still get back on their feet.
Therefore, after discussing it, Yinreng and Yinzhen decided to send Dong Epengchun to lead the disaster relief efforts.
In summer, for wealthy families, it's simply a matter of having more ice and water, but for ordinary people, it's a catastrophe.
Not to mention that Emperor Kangxi was about to personally lead an expedition, which would drain most of the national treasury's funds, providing disaster relief to the people who had no harvest would be an extremely difficult task.
Dong Epengchun is not an incompetent person; he can handle this situation well, it's just a bit tiring.
Judging from Yinreng's intentions, he still needed to take some money from Dong'e's private treasury to make up for it. As the saying goes, spending money can avert disaster, and there's nothing wrong with that.
Emperor Kangxi turned a blind eye to this, thinking it was all for the benefit of the country and its people, so he let them do as they pleased.
Moreover, the words of the monk Zhenhuan often echoed in his ears, reminding him that the person in Yuqing Palace was a great blessing, and he should not offend her but treat her well.
Tong Wanyan, who was born as a lucky baby, was unaware of Kangxi's thoughts.
She would often tease Tana and Hongzhao, and the three of them together would act like children.
The Yuqing Palace was filled with cheerful laughter all day long. Even though he was exhausted, Yinreng could hear the happy voices of the mother and her two children and no longer felt tired.
Before setting off on his expedition, Emperor Kangxi gave Tong Wanyan a big surprise.
With a single imperial decree, he bestowed a marriage upon Tong Qinian and Princess Jiarong, bringing immense prestige to the Tong family.
Look, look, look! Even though they are only collateral relatives of the Tong family, the Emperor still cares about them.
Princess Jiarong was overjoyed. The day after receiving the imperial decree, she rushed to Yuqing Palace to share the good news with Tong Wanyan.
As luck would have it, not long after she entered the palace, she encountered Tong Wanle.
Thanks to Tong Qinian, Yinzhen unexpectedly remembered that he also had a Tong woman in his backyard.
After all, they are blood siblings. Tong Guozhu and Tong Fujin are far away in Shengjing, so Tong Wanle, as the younger sister, should go and congratulate her blood brother.
For the past six months, Tong Wanle has been very well-behaved, not making a fuss, which has almost made Yinzhen forget her hysterical and crazy behavior back then.
"Greetings to Princess Heshuo." Tong Wanle deliberately went out to intercept Princess Jiarong and Princess Heshuo, and she succeeded every time.
Jia Rong and Princess Shuo looked at her with a reserved yet bewildered expression: "May I ask which distinguished guest you are?"
A closer look at Tong Wanle's attire reveals that it is of a superior quality among the women in the harem. It's just unclear whether she belongs to the Emperor or one of the princes.
Tong Wanle smiled gently. Having not seen the sun for a long time, her skin was pale, and she looked even more frail.
"I am the Fourth Prince's daughter, and also Lord Tong's younger sister. I heard that Princess Heshuo will soon become my sister-in-law, so I beg you to allow me to come out and meet you." Tong Wanyan lowered her head slightly, as shy as a white lotus.
Jia Rong and Shuo Gege got goosebumps: "I've heard about it before."
I've heard that Tong Guozhu's two daughters were switched at birth, raised as illegitimate children while being treated like legitimate ones. Now, upon closer examination, it seems that Tong Wanle was indeed raised with the petty, scheming nature of an illegitimate daughter, and her behavior was anything but respectable.
"Does Princess Heshuo know me? Did my brother mention me to you? My brother treats me the best; he often says he wishes he could give me the best of everything in the world," Tong Wanle said excitedly as she leaned closer.
Jia Rong and Princess Shuo were blocked by her, unable to move forward or backward.
She forced a smile and said, "I'm not very familiar with Lord Tong, and I don't know about this private matter. Princess Tong must have something else to attend to, please."
Jia Rong and Gege stepped aside, forcing Tong Wanle to leave.
She wanted to give him the cold shoulder, but she couldn't because of Tong Qinian.
Otherwise, if this got out, wouldn't it be said that Tong Qinian married up to a royal princess, while she looked down on her husband, who came from a collateral branch of the Tong family?
Public opinion can be devastating; she needs to be careful.
If only Tong Wanle were as smart as her. She's just a self-righteous fool who can't see the situation clearly or understand how others like or dislike her.
Jia Rong and Princess Shuo dismissed her after only a few words, clearly indicating that they didn't want to talk to her anymore.
Tong Wanle, however, thought she was genuinely considerate and worried that she might delay things.
"I'm fine, I just wanted to see you, Princess Heshuo," Tong Wanle said, leaning closer.
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