Although the Crown Prince said that the Emperor's entourage would arrive later, the Fourth Prince and the others still waited for more than half an hour before the Emperor's entourage finally arrived.
Before the Fourth Prince and the others could even see their father, the Emperor, they heard a cold voice: "Crown Prince, follow." When they looked up again, the Emperor's carriage had already disappeared into the distance.
The Emperor's tone was not very pleasant, and the Fourth Prince's heart skipped a beat, but he still bowed and agreed.
Soon, Liang Jiugong, who was by the Emperor's side, came out from outside: "Your Majesties, His Majesty has been traveling a long way and is probably not able to see you for a while. You may go back now."
Fourth Master cupped his hands in greeting and was the first to agree before preparing to leave.
The Third Prince was filled with curiosity, but since the Fourth Prince had already left, he could only look towards the Prince of Zhi.
Prince Zhi remained unmoved, watching the Crown Prince's figure disappear into the distance before speaking, "It's getting late, let's disperse."
Since the Prince of Zhi was the eldest, the Third Prince naturally agreed when asked.
He couldn't ask Liang Jiugong right now, but surely he could find another way to find out?
If you want to know what caused the Emperor's delay, you can find out by asking around.
Not only did the Third Master try to find out, but the Fourth Master also arranged for Su Peisheng to inquire after leaving Desheng Gate, and he went straight to the Ministry of Revenue.
However, the Fourth Prince had only just arrived at the Ministry of Revenue when he heard all sorts of news. Well, now Su Peisheng doesn't need to inquire anymore.
It turned out that the emperor had encountered some young noblemen causing trouble on their way back to the capital. His Majesty had been in a bad mood these past few days because of the Galdan tribe's visit to the capital, and these young noblemen had just walked into his trap.
Later, His Majesty ordered Longkodo to investigate personally, and the investigation led him to the Hesheli clan.
Those young gentlemen were all direct descendants of the Hesheli clan.
Well, this time His Majesty was furious.
This matter has nothing to do with the Crown Prince. Although the Crown Prince's birth mother was from the Hesheli clan, it was not the Crown Prince who committed the crime...
However, the fact that His Majesty would not blame the Crown Prince did not mean that he would not reprimand others. The first to suffer was Prime Minister Suo'etu.
At present, the most influential person in the Hesheli clan in the court is Songgotu, so His Majesty's punishment is naturally justified.
Naturally, the Emperor did not punish the Crown Prince, but he probably still had to give him a lecture.
However, Su Peisheng also found out something else, about a favorite of the Emperor named Gao Shiqi.
I heard that he was originally a scholar who had been promoted by Songgotu, but it seems that he lost contact with Songgotu later. I don't know how he gained the emperor's favor.
It is said that His Majesty likes his paintings. During his trip north, Gao Shiqi painted many pictures of the scenery beyond the Great Wall, which were highly praised by the Emperor. I wonder if Gao Shiqi was trying to take advantage of his misfortune.
However, Suo Xiang was ultimately punished by being confined to his room to reflect on his mistakes, while the young masters who caused trouble on horseback were punished with a beating and were permanently barred from inheriting titles and participating in the imperial examinations.
This effectively ruined the future of those young masters; from now on, they will only be able to rely on the Hesheli clan for survival.
However, this time, the blame was entirely due to them, and there are probably countless people in the Hesheli clan who hate them.
It seems their lives are over for the foreseeable future.
After the Fourth Master understood the whole story, he felt it was absurd. In his opinion, the punishment given to Prime Minister Suo was not too unfair.
The Emperor did not return to the capital at the last minute; news of His Majesty's return had reached the capital several days earlier. All the princes in the capital had made preparations to receive him, and the people of the Hesheli clan were truly audacious.
To be honest, it was indeed due to Suo Xiang's poor discipline.
The Crown Prince wasn't implicated much; I heard he was only reprimanded a few times.
However, when he went to court the next day, he didn't see Prime Minister Suo and felt as if something was missing.
With His Majesty's return to the capital, many things should be settled.
For example, after Prince Jian passed away, his eldest son Yarjiang'a inherited the title; and the matter of Prince Zhi marrying his second wife.
It was perfectly legitimate for Yarjiang'a to inherit the title, but after inheriting the title, Yarjiang'a was very busy with social engagements and did not have time to thank Fourth Master.
Fourth Master wasn't in a hurry either.
As for the matter of Prince Zhi marrying his second wife, the Fourth Prince overheard a bit about it. He heard that his elder brother had declined twice in front of the Emperor, but in the end, nothing changed.
The last consort that His Majesty arranged for Prince Zhi to marry was the daughter of Zhang Haoshang, the commander-in-chief of the Plain Yellow Banner.
Zhang Jia's family background wasn't particularly good, and her family wasn't considered particularly powerful in the Plain Yellow Banner Han Army; it was just that her father was quite capable.
Since she was only a concubine, there weren't many customs surrounding her marriage. The wedding was scheduled for the nineteenth day of the first month of the forty-first year of the Kangxi Emperor's reign.
In retrospect, it was indeed somewhat rushed, since the imperial edict was issued close to the Double Ninth Festival, and four months was a very short time.
However, for Prince Zhi, who has just experienced the pain of losing his wife, he probably only feels that the wedding period is too short.
After these events, the capital city was bustling again for the Double Ninth Festival.
This time, all the children in the manor except for the Fourth Prince went to the palace. The Fourth Prince was too young, so he was ultimately exempted.
In addition to the Second Princess, Li Chenjiao also brought the First Princess along, as usual.
My dear reader, there's more to this chapter! Please click the next page to continue reading—even more exciting content awaits!
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